{pinteresting} happy valentine's day!

a little pin-spiration for your valentine's day! spread the love!

{holidays} happy halloween!

happy halloween to you, friends!  this year the girls and i went as the spice girls, greatest girl band of all time.  the boys were the soggy bottom boys, and i think they pretty much nailed it.  we trick-or-treated with our little baby spice, had the customary living room dance party, and even went up to boulder for a little while to party with the college kids (not recommended when you're 30 years old, and especially not when you're 30 years old and dressed as a 90s icon).

{pinteresting} happy independence day!

wishing you a safe and happy holiday weekend filled with fireworks, food, and fun!

{pinteresting} happy easter weekend!

a little bit of easter inspiration for you as we go into the weekend... {thank you, pinterest!}

{holidays} happy st. patrick's day!

wishing you a happy shamrock day filled with luck and love and lots of green goodies!

{1} diy clover patch cake topper  {2} bailey's irish cream cookie recipe

{3} coconut and lime macaron recipe  {4} diy chocolate coin gifty

{5} shamrock macarons with bailey's chocolate ganache recipe

{6} green velvet cheesecake cake recipe

{holidays} happy president's day!

happy president's day!  a little bit of wisdom from honest abe:

{20 items or less} happy valentine's day!

happy heart day friends! if you're here because you just don't know what to get me for valentine's day, you're in luck! below, in 20 items or less, are some of my favorite love day gifties {in fact, i'm wearing that heart sweater as we speak}... 

hope your valentine's day is filled with hugs and kisses!

heart intarsia sweater, $23;  love poems, $12;  woven tassel bag, $30;

neon belt set, $25;  sterling silver heart ring, $24;  floral mirror compact, $3;

macaron soap set, $16;  pink boat shoes, $78;  peach jeggings, $40;

hot pink lace tube, $38;  peach sunglasses, $6;  topshop lipstick in saint, $16;

stila all you need is love blush palette, $14

{pinteresting} valentine's day

i love love and i love any excuse to celebrate it! here's a little inspiration to get you in the mood for love...or maybe just cookies... {thank you, pinterest!}

{pinteresting} sweet home new orleans

happy mardi gras y'all!  don't mind me, i'll just be daydreaming about my favorite city in the united states... {thank you, pinterest!}

{20 items or less} happy chinese new year!

2013 is the year of the snake - and here's what the internet told me:

this 2013 year of snake is meant for steady progress and attention to detail. focus and discipline will be necessary for you to achieve what you set out to create... [the snake] is the enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the animals signs.

sounds good to me!

{1} 2013 mini calendar, $12  {2} whiskey and snakes screen print, $18  

{3} vintage gold snake bracelet, $450    {4} year of the snake dictionary print, $10  

{5} fold over leather snake clutch, $99   {6} etched rocks glasses, set of 4, $60

{shop} valentines

customized printable photo valentine cards are now available at my etsy shop - ready to print {or send in an eco-friendly e-card} in 24-48 hours!

{memory lane} 2012 in review

we've had a pretty big year this year!

i'm feeling superbly blessed as i look back at all

of the memories and adventures both big and small 

that we've had in the last 12 months.

{holidays} christmas in colorado

this has been one of the best christmases ever! my mom and stepdad came to visit and stay with us in our new home, A got to cook christmas dinner {with the help of the grown-ups of course}, and we hosted our first holiday {for my parents and some of our favorite friends}!

{pinteresting} merry christmas!

wherever you are, however you celebrate, wishing you a day of warmth and cheer! {thank you, pinterest!}

{three little things} thanksgiving

there are so many for sure, but today i'm thankful for 

1. good friends 
2. loving family and 
3. the chance to spend time with some of them this thanksgiving!

{bonus thankfulness: hooray for being at the thanksgiving day game to watch RGIII and our redskins beat the cowboys!}

{holidays} happy halloween!

it's our first halloween in the new house - A and i couldn't be more excited for trick-or-treaters and a mini-halloween-housewarming with friends {and chocolate of course}... 

wishing you a safe and spooky all hallow's eve!

{weekender} pitkin family fun time

we just got back from a loooong weekend in pitkin {which i know is probably not a shocker but this time my niece J, my brother-in-law C, and his girlfriend H came with}! 


on friday we picked our texan visitors up from the airport and headed for pitkin {with a brief stop at a giant hot dog for lunch, bubbles, and chipmunk-viewing}. we got to my in-laws' cabin in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing and catching up {and wondering when little J was going to get sleepy}...

saturday was my niece's third birthday {they grow up so fast!} and also the pitkin volunteer fire department's annual fundraiser {we may or may not have led J to believe that it was her giant birthday party...}. A and i had the honor of driving the family jeep in the parade while C and H drove the four-wheeler {why yes, we are very famous and fancy, thank you}. after the parade there was dinner and dancing and staying up much too late with our pitkin friends...

we spent sunday in crested butte, wandering up and down main street and eating popsicles mostly. we had a disgustingly huge dinner at slogar {it's a mcdaniel family tradition} before going back to pitkin...

monday morning we slept in {as much as we could, considering the bright sun pouring in through the windows at six a.m.}. when we finally got going, A and i headed out in ol' red {she's as old as me and i love her}. we drove up to cumberland pass and hiked around for a bit, but ominous thunder clouds threatened to ruin our day so we headed down the mountain again. when we were about halfway back, we spotted the perfect place for a picnic! we sat on our jackets in the middle of a meadow and got sprinkled on while we ate our lunch. our soda exploded all over us when we opened it, but we were able to rinse off most of the sticky in a nearby stream before hopping back into the truck.

that night we played basketball with our friends. when the game was over we all sat on the court and talked for hours, and when it got really dark we walked up to the kids' fishing pond and talked for a few more hours. the moon was so bright that we cast shadows on the ground as we walked. it was maybe the most perfect night that pitkin has ever seen.


tuesday was our last morning {for this trip} and i enjoyed it the way i enjoy most mornings in pitkin: sipping my coffee on the front porch with the dog and anyone else who cares to join me {usually A and/or his dad}, listening to the wind in the trees and the occasional hummingbird, and marveling at just how warm forty degrees can feel.

{holidays} happy fourth of july!

{wishing you a safe and happy independence day!}

{pinteresting} red + white + blue

just a little bit of fourth of july pin-spiration for you as we head into the long weekend {thank you, pinterest!}...

{holidays} happy father's day!

here's to all the dads out there -

i'm blessed with more than one!