{party animals} autumn love birds

A and i are so excited for fall - fall is most definitely our favorite season, and this will be our very first fall in colorado {where there actually is a fall, and a whole season of it, unlike some other states i know}.  
but we're also excited because we have two wonderful weddings to attend, one later this month and another one in november! the two couples are some of our very best friends; we are bursting with happiness for them, and we just can't wait to celebrate their big day{s}!
and, on top of all that awesomeness, i am the lucky girl who got to design the invitations for the november wedding! it was such an honor and a joy!

{bucket list} birth of the bucket list

this afternoon, A decided that we should write a bucket list. we started with a colorado bucket list, since we are so much closer to all sorts of new fun places now, and after three months here we've barely even scratched the surface!
naturally that led to a life bucket list - things we want to do and places we want to go {mostly places we want to go...}.
some are a little more of a reach than others {helicopter to space?}, some are admittedly misspelled {i'll blame A for that}, and i'm sure some will be added or amended along the way, but we're excited to start crossing things off our bucket lists - after all, that's the best part of list-making!

{local love} night flowers

"all great and beautiful work has come of first

gazing without shrinking into the darkness."

- john ruskin          

{local love} boulder fall fest

last night the mister and i didn't know what to do, but the weather was fantastic and we wanted to be outside, so we headed to boulder to wander around the pearl street mall. when we got there, we discovered boulder fall fest: live music, local booze, and yummy food! hello, happy accident!

{20 items or less} an autumn-inspired living room

in honor of the first day of fall {and because i've fallen hopelessly in love with this anthropologie rug}, i decided to design an autumn-inspired living room for myself {and A of course}... now, if only i could afford to redecorate every season...


some style notes:

• fall is my favorite season...
• i want to include some of our favorite pieces {our coffee table, travel photos, poufs & pillows, vintage treasures, and our comfy armchair}
• i hate our couch. and i'm a little in love with the pretty green one that my friend H has {i'm sure she won't mind if i steal it!}
• like i said, that rug. i die.

so below, in 20 items or less, my fall dream living room:

1.corona sofa, $699; 2.orange leopard pillow, $50; 

3.let's make out pillow, $89; 4.suzani pillow {our own};

5.personal travel photos in frames, $18 each;

6.vintage library signs {our own}; 7.vintage globe {our own};

8.aluminum side table, $149; 9.1.5-seat armchair, $649;

10.peace/love pillow, $98; 11.pom pom pillow, $25; 12.coffee table, $280;

13.vintage duck, $32 {we have a thing about ducks...};

14.inlaid flower tray, $199; 15.vintage suitcase, $39; 16.rug, $898;

17.poufs, $30 each; 18.tripod floor lamp, $298;

19.paint color: rhino by behr

p.s. i could also definitely get down with this lovely lady of a couch {$1299}...

{memory lane} dusty

today we lost a beloved friend, dusty.
she's been a part of my husband's life as long as i've known him {longer actually}...i think i only got to stick around because i passed the dusty test eight years ago. 
she was one of the sweetest, smartest puppies i've ever had the privilege of knowing. she had such a good long life that she shared with such a good loving family. we were blessed to have had so much time with her, but it doesn't mean that we don't ache right now and it doesn't mean that she won't be terribly missed.

{we love you, little stardust}

{20 items or less} 63rd annual emmy awards

being a one-television household, we spent last night flipping back and forth between the emmys and sunday night football. while my fantasy football team was busy winning its second game, i was busy checking out all of the pretty dresses and killer musical numbers...


first, the fashion that made me happy:

ladies in red: 

1.sofia vergara; 2.lea michele; 3.sarah hyland; 4.kerry washington

black and white:

5.aimee teegarden; 6.kaley cuoco; 7.christina hendricks; 8.jennifer carpenter

jewel box:

9.elizabeth mcgovern; 10.emily blount; 11.jane lynch; 12.heather morris

the menfolk:

13.john krasinski; 14.nolan gould; 15.rico rodriguez; 16.adam scott

next, the moments i adored:

17.the opening number 

18.the michael bolton 3-way mashup

and lastly, a couple of things i could've done without:

19.the "emmy tones"; 10.awkward charlie sheen moment

{local love} thumb-wrestling & 3D movies

once a month we {try to} take each other on a surprise date.
the rules: 
       1. it must be a surprise {duh}
       2. it must cost $40 or less
       3. well, that's pretty much it.


on saturday, A took me on a surprise date:
we walked to our local movie theater {because we can and because it was beautiful outside} to see a showing of the re-release of the lion king in 3D!
we got there early to check out the arcade games and ended up getting some sweet matching thumb-wrestler-heads. i killed him in a couple of thumb wrestling matches {as per usual} and then it was time for the movie! 


i still remember when the lion king came out the first time. i remember seeing the preview standing in the disney store with my mom and i'm pretty sure we both cried {before immediately purchasing a stuffed simba doll of course}. i remember crying in the movie when mufasa died and watching the movie about a zillion times because naturally we bought it the second it came out on tape. not to mention the lion king soundtrack was like the only thing i listened to on my walkman for at least two years. 
so, yes, i have a little bit of an emotional attachment to this movie. which is why i cried like a baby through almost the whole thing. and why i had to exercise some serious self-control in order to not belt out every word of every song in the film. and why it was the most perfect surprise date ever for me.

{local love} oktoberfest

friday was the most gorgeous day ever, so we decided that that evening was going to require a drink on a patio somewhere. we picked lucky pie in old downtown louisville, because {a}it had a patio, and {b}we'd heard from several people that it was incredible. but before we even had a chance to order a pizza we spotted a poster for our favorite of inappropriately-named september celebrations: oktoberfest!
we paid our check and headed down the street to the very first annual louisville oktoberfest. it was a little bit smaller than what we're used to, which involves rides and games and giant food pavilions and live music, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. some friends met us there for locally-brewed beer, yummy food, and yes, even some live music.

{the one with the jalapenos and spicy mustard? that's mine}

{20 items or less} a missoni-inspired bedroom

well, friends, did you make it to target in time to snag any fabulous missoni goodies yesterday? i know i didn't! so in order to soothe my aching heart, i decided to design a missoni-inspired bedroom for my friend carolyn, using the incredible chevron bedspread that she already has as a jumping-off point...

1.diy headboard+otomi fabric, $295;

2.chevron duvet cover+shams, $147;

3.knotted felt pillow cover, $39; 4.vintage alarm clock, $30;

5.pendant lamps, $30 each; 6.mirrored side tables, $90 each; 7.gramercy sofa, $659; 8.flokati pillow, $30; 9.suzani pillow, $108;

10.silver chevron pillow, $42; 11.suzani rug, $1899;

12.lucite coffee table, $249; 13.streak-dye bowl, $6;

14.missoni for target pentagonal pouf, $100;

15.dressing table, $129; 16.missoni for target ceramic vases, out of stock {boo!}; 

17.vintage mirror, $79; 18.chevron curtains, $168 each;

19.paint color: beluga by behr