Outfit to Room...

This adorable girl who can pull off absolutely anything is Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. She used to work for Domino so it really is only fitting to have her next in my new series. She and her blog are quite fabulous.

{photo via here}

Emily's outfit as a living room...

{Urban Outfitters}

{ferm living}

{West Elm}

{Z. Gallerie}

{Modern Dose}

You can contribute an outfit to twoellie@gmail.com. I believe I will keep this series going for awhile. It is a good and fun challenge for me.

Have a lovely weekend!

This Home's for Me

Since the demise of Domino I have been on the search for new magazines to love. I have received Metropolitan Home two months in a row now and I must say I have been quite pleased. I absolutely fell head over heels for this home in the March issue. The home is owned by Kerry and Dan Finkel of Chicago. The fabulous design was done by Kara Mann Designs. I absolutely love how they made so many traditional pieces feel fresh and new. No stuffiness here. This all makes me quite happy.

The Big 2

My little man turns the big 2 in early March. I bought him this shirt to wear for the celebration. Oh and don't you worry little man's birthday party and gifts were on the have to do it anyway list for this shopping hiatus.

{shirt bought from Happy Family on Etsy}

Shopping Hiatus: 6 weeks down

The shopping hiatus is still going well. I have bought some fabric for my daughters spring and summer wardrobe, but made sure I bought on sale. I also have bought for my son's birthday. I have found myself not only trying to make it fabulous but at the same time economical, so far so good. In the mean time, this weekend we took the kiddos to the airport to watch the planes fly by. This is one of our favorite and free activities. This time in particular we were blessed to see plane after plane. I must say I am loving my new Flip Mino, thank you babes!


watching the planes from paula on Vimeo.

If you are taking part in the hiatus, how's it going for you? I also recommend if you you haven't tried this then you should. It really does make you so much more aware of where all your money is going and and I feel so refreshed. I still have awhile to go, April, but sure do hope it lasts even longer.

Update: I bought two hats. Yes, I know. Technically my hubby said he would buy them so it wasn't cheating, but still. We are heading to the beach soon and I "needed" them. I did get them on the cheap though thanks to Target. I must say I do feel a pang of guilt. I could only find one on-line. Here it is...

{via target}

The Entry Hall

{images via here}

A front entry is the first place where guests get a taste for who you are. I believe this space should be special whether you have a specified area or you have to create one. In the Domino book they have a lovely write up with wonderful ideas on making it special. I love what Rita Konig said, "When I added the table and lamp, suddenly my sliver of a hall became a room". I already had the table and now I have the lamp. I must admit it gave the space a whole new feel. Here is the before shot in case you were intrigued. This is the new "room"...


With spring approaching the winter hats will be changed out with summer ones. I am hoping to find a fabulous new one for this summer. As for the tricylcle, it has somehow made its into the house and the my little lady loves riding it around while little brother holds on for dear life while riding on the back. It is quite a sight to see.

Outfit to Room...

I have always enjoyed Domino's "can this outfit be turned into a room?" feature. I want to try to keep it going in my own little way. This is my fabulous little sister, well maybe she's not so little anymore, but you get the point.

Her outfit as a dining room...

{DWR}

{Z. Gallerie}

{overstock}

{Pottery Barn}

{DWR}

If you would like to contribute an outfit or two to my new series then e.mail me a photo to twoellie@gmail.com. The outfit can be anything, get creative or use one you saw and loved.

A Busy Day

Today is going to be incredibly chaotic. So much to do in such a little amount of time. I shall be scarce, but will be visiting you all tomorrow. This image is from an engagement shoot hubby and I did over the weekend. To see more go to kellenjacob.com. Have a wonderful day!

Simply Photo

I absolutely fell in love these postcards from Simply Photo on Etsy. Her still life photography is quite beautiful. I will let the rest of her work speak for itself.

{raspberries on a blue table}

{spring bike}

{kindred}

Shopping Hiatus: 5 weeks down

Joslyn is brilliant, really brilliant. I love the way God can use people without them even knowing. If it were not for Joslyn having this some what crazy shopping hiatus resolution then I would not be saving all this money, I would not be using all this creativity and putting things I already own to use, and I wouldn't be set free from having to have to shop. I didn't quite realize how much I shopped just for the sake of shopping. Buying something new just for that weird fix for the moment even if I didn't really want it, ugh. So this all leads me to say "thank you, Joslyn!". I also want to be sure to let all you, the readers of my little blog, that you all have kept me going. Your encouragement takes away my need to buy. Well, the encouragement and I really would hate to fail in front of you especially since this all started with a God induced fast. Now that would be lame.


In case you were not aware, I sew. I hope to start an etsy shop with my little creations one day. Anyway, I decided this year I was going to make my little lady's spring and summer clothes this year. During the summer we only wear dresses and skirts, because of the insane heat. This all leads me to say I will need to purchase fabric soon. It gets hot here too soon for me to wait much longer though. In the end this should save us tons of money as long as I can stay out of Crewcuts. My daughter also gets giddy when I make her something special so that's extra bonus.

Now that I got that out of the way, I want you to know how easy this hiatus has become. I do not want to buy anything. I simply do not want to spend my husband's hard earned money. I also can not believe that came out of my mouth/fingers! Maybe there always was a frugal lady living inside me. This week I am even participating in a huge consignment sale for babies and kids. We are done having children atleast for awhile so it all must go. See, I am even making money. Now I must go and get all that stuff ready. Have a lovely day!

Apartment Therapy

I was very excited to see my room up on Apartment Therapy, but not so excited with all the comments. Some people can be kind of nasty, oh well. What I do appreciate is all the sweet comments you all left for me here! I know it's not perfect, but it's mine and the wonky wallpaper fits my wonky personality. Although I did get some good advice on hanging something above the bed.

I saw this image over on Element's of Style and I fell in love with it. I am now on the lookout for something similar. Hopefully next time I hang wallpaper it won't be so cringe worthy and I will be sure to match up the pattern. Luckily it's easy-change and if the need comes then I can well, simply change it. First time for everything right, ha! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

FYI: I received this lovely advise that will next time come in handy or be of use to some of you who might want to attempt this- Anyway, Paula, just so you know for next time, the pattern should continue from sheet to sheet. It easy to calculate where to cut once you know the measurement of the repeat. (brilliant, really wish I figured that out before)- doorsixteen

A lovely Day

from paula on Vimeo.

My sweet husband got me a flip mino! I can not even express how excited I am. I have a feeling it will get a lot of use. This was our first time trying out.

My Valentine

We don't do much for Valentine's Day, but I do try to do a little something especially since we have kids. This year we did a book to tell daddy/hubby how much we love him. I so got the idea from here, but we did our own take. I used mostly what I already had, but I did buy the accordion book by Martha Stewart at Micheal's with the 40% off coupon.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

In the Bedroom

Did you really think I would go rated 'R' on my little blog for Valentine's Day week? No, my master bedroom re.do is about finished though. Also you can go here for before pics. Of course there are a few things I would like to add, but not until after the shopping hiatus. I would like a rug to cover the not so pretty carpet and a fabulous chair that carries more weight for in front of the desk. I am sure I will continue to change a few things around, but for now I am happy with the result.

Say hello to my new room.

I recovered this settee that I had since college and painted the legs white.

I painted the dressers gray. The crowd in the background is a video team setting up a shoot for the dinner theater I mentioned Tuesday.

This tray was once red, but now is teal. The iron piece I painted black. I already owned much of what I used for the room since it was during the shopping hiatus. This made me get extra creative.

All the toys are now out of the room, but we did keep the beanbags in so the kiddos can have movie time.

This picture is horribly dark, sorry. That ridiculously huge mirror used to be opposite the bed. Don't get any funny ideas though. I must say I do like it over here much more. The desk a friend gave me. It makes a perfect spot to sew.

This is my end table.
This is his end table.

In the details: paint- snowbound white by Sherwin Williams, wallpaper- easy change also by Sherwin Williams, lamps- Home Goods, end tables- antique shops, duvet- Pottery Barn, toss pillows- Pottery Barn, curtains- Pottery Barn with added fringe from Hancock Fabric, bean bags- Pottery Barn Kids. (so it seems Pottery Barn was having some great sales, my home as a whole is not all Pottery Barn, ha!)

If you want to know more just send me an e.mail or leave me a question in the comment box.

Simply Sweet

I am always in favor of some yummy treats. I personally am not a huge fan of chocolate, but if they looked as good as these I may have to change my mind.

{images via delight by design via TYPOLADE}

Ever since seeing a write up on Sweets, a Boston bakery, I have been fantasizing about going. Cupcakes are something I do love and their cupcakes look amazing. You must also check out the actual shop on Elements of Style it really is quite sweet.

{Image via flickr}

Jelly Belly's happen to be my favorite sweet fix. I really can not get enough of them. Too bad they cost so much for such a small amount.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. I am finally going to post my bedroom re.do.