makes me merry

This week certainly was a big turn around from the few weeks that preceded it.  I have had a rejuvenated outlook on everything lately, which has been very much needed around here! The past few days have been draining with long days at work, computers that just don't work right, and a broken down car, but overall, it was a good week.

{photo}

productive monday mornings

new life

{welcome to our new baby cousin, Preston!}

raspberry green tea

minimal car trouble

{considering what it could have been}

pumpkin loaf that allowed me to pretend it was fall already

What made you smile this week?



PS - a year ago today

makes me merry

This week certainly was a big turn around from the few weeks that preceded it.  I have had a rejuvenated outlook on everything lately, which has been very much needed around here! The past few days have been draining with long days at work, computers that just don't work right, and a broken down car, but overall, it was a good week.

{photo}

productive monday mornings

new life

{welcome to our new baby cousin, Preston!}

raspberry green tea

minimal car trouble

{considering what it could have been}

pumpkin loaf that allowed me to pretend it was fall already

What made you smile this week?



PS - a year ago today

handmade :: doodlebug design

When I was little I absolutely loved playing with rubber stamps. I remember having a stamp party or two at a friend's house {it was very similar to the Tupperware parties our moms went to!} I was never very good at drawing or painting so stamping made me feel a lot better about my creative abilities.

I had forgotten about my long lost love for rubber stamps until recently when I used them in a project for my sister's wedding. I stamped a bunch of note cards with flowers and lovey-dovey phrases that friends and family across the country wrote notes on. Then I compiled them all and mailed them to my sister. It absolutely made her day. Not going to lie, playing with the stamps made mine.

Since then, I keep dreaming up of other little projects I can do with rubber stamps. Canvas baggies, personalized note cards, even just dressing up plain envelopes a bit.  Which brings me to these wonderful stamps from Doodlebug Design.

The hand carved stamps have a sweet simplicity to them and they come in many fun options {like this triple decker bus?!?} I'm certainly eying the custom name stamp and wouldn't mind picking up a few others to add to my small but growing collection.

When was the last time you played with rubber stamps? Do you love them like I do?

handmade :: doodlebug design

When I was little I absolutely loved playing with rubber stamps. I remember having a stamp party or two at a friend's house {it was very similar to the Tupperware parties our moms went to!} I was never very good at drawing or painting so stamping made me feel a lot better about my creative abilities.

I had forgotten about my long lost love for rubber stamps until recently when I used them in a project for my sister's wedding. I stamped a bunch of note cards with flowers and lovey-dovey phrases that friends and family across the country wrote notes on. Then I compiled them all and mailed them to my sister. It absolutely made her day. Not going to lie, playing with the stamps made mine.

Since then, I keep dreaming up of other little projects I can do with rubber stamps. Canvas baggies, personalized note cards, even just dressing up plain envelopes a bit.  Which brings me to these wonderful stamps from Doodlebug Design.

The hand carved stamps have a sweet simplicity to them and they come in many fun options {like this triple decker bus?!?} I'm certainly eying the custom name stamp and wouldn't mind picking up a few others to add to my small but growing collection.

When was the last time you played with rubber stamps? Do you love them like I do?

table manners

I'm a big believer of living a classy life, even if your life is in all actuality far from it.  Having good manners, being polite and minding your p's and q's can go a long way.  If you ask me, this all starts at the dinner table.  I hope I can casually encourage table manners with my future children without seeming too fussy just as my mother did with me.

When J and I actually get a chance to sit down at the dinner table, I always try to have it set nicely.  We may not be eating off of fancy china or drinking out of rare crystal, but we can take pride in what we do have rather than plopping on the couch with our cheap plates and plastic cups.

One thing that I hope to add to the classiness of our dining experience is to serve drinks in pitchers.  Nothing kills a beautiful table setting like a carton of juice or a brita pitcher.  I would love a vintage pitcher like this one from High Street Market. It will be filled with iced tea or maybe some water infused with lemons or mint. It's the perfect size to last through the meal without having too much leftover.

It may sound silly and unnecessary but it will add so much to dinnertime. Don't you think?

table manners

I'm a big believer of living a classy life, even if your life is in all actuality far from it.  Having good manners, being polite and minding your p's and q's can go a long way.  If you ask me, this all starts at the dinner table.  I hope I can casually encourage table manners with my future children without seeming too fussy just as my mother did with me.

When J and I actually get a chance to sit down at the dinner table, I always try to have it set nicely.  We may not be eating off of fancy china or drinking out of rare crystal, but we can take pride in what we do have rather than plopping on the couch with our cheap plates and plastic cups.

One thing that I hope to add to the classiness of our dining experience is to serve drinks in pitchers.  Nothing kills a beautiful table setting like a carton of juice or a brita pitcher.  I would love a vintage pitcher like this one from High Street Market. It will be filled with iced tea or maybe some water infused with lemons or mint. It's the perfect size to last through the meal without having too much leftover.

It may sound silly and unnecessary but it will add so much to dinnertime. Don't you think?

tenacity

{photo}

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.

Louis Pasteur

tenacity

{photo}

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.

Louis Pasteur

dog days of summer

{photo}

Sigh... I went missing again this week didn't I? This summer is completely passing me by. I have never wanted summer to end so badly in my life. I have this idea in my head that Fall will be oh-so-much better, easier, less busier, but in reality, it may actually be more stressful than this summer. Instead of focusing on the not-so-good, a few good things from this week...

a visit and bocce game with dear friends we don't see nearly enough

air-conditioning for these hot days of summer

registering for a week long training in Chicago (ok training not so fun. Chicago, very fun)

the prospect of a day a the pool

the opening of a brand new target in my neighborhood

Ok, that is a weak-sauce merriness list, but hey, it's something! Hope you all have a good weekend! Any fun plans?

dog days of summer

{photo}

Sigh... I went missing again this week didn't I? This summer is completely passing me by. I have never wanted summer to end so badly in my life. I have this idea in my head that Fall will be oh-so-much better, easier, less busier, but in reality, it may actually be more stressful than this summer. Instead of focusing on the not-so-good, a few good things from this week...

a visit and bocce game with dear friends we don't see nearly enough

air-conditioning for these hot days of summer

registering for a week long training in Chicago (ok training not so fun. Chicago, very fun)

the prospect of a day a the pool

the opening of a brand new target in my neighborhood

Ok, that is a weak-sauce merriness list, but hey, it's something! Hope you all have a good weekend! Any fun plans?

stories

{photo}

I don't think I need to tell any of you that I love any and all things vintage. What you might not know is why I love these things. Milk glass and depression glass is simply beautiful. If I could smell only one thing for the rest of my life, it may just be the inside of an old book. But the real reason why I love vintage is because of the stories.

{photo}

I love picking up a new vintage goodie and imagining who the last owner was. Why did they give this up? Did they not know what they had? Had it come from the estate of an old lady who had no one to pass it on to?

{photo}

Then I start thinking about the original owner. Was this a wedding gift? Did they buy it for a special dinner party or was it just a little gift to themselves after a long week of work? My mind races thinking through all of the possibilities.

{photo}

When I come across things like mason jars and glass bottles, I can't help but think why the heck is this so wonderful today? Surely in 50 years no one will think a Coke can from 2011 will be anything special. Or will it? What will be prized vintage treasures from our generation? I honestly can't think of much so I'm sure I'll be in for a real surprise.

stories

{photo}

I don't think I need to tell any of you that I love any and all things vintage. What you might not know is why I love these things. Milk glass and depression glass is simply beautiful. If I could smell only one thing for the rest of my life, it may just be the inside of an old book. But the real reason why I love vintage is because of the stories.

{photo}

I love picking up a new vintage goodie and imagining who the last owner was. Why did they give this up? Did they not know what they had? Had it come from the estate of an old lady who had no one to pass it on to?

{photo}

Then I start thinking about the original owner. Was this a wedding gift? Did they buy it for a special dinner party or was it just a little gift to themselves after a long week of work? My mind races thinking through all of the possibilities.

{photo}

When I come across things like mason jars and glass bottles, I can't help but think why the heck is this so wonderful today? Surely in 50 years no one will think a Coke can from 2011 will be anything special. Or will it? What will be prized vintage treasures from our generation? I honestly can't think of much so I'm sure I'll be in for a real surprise.

completely great

 {photo}

That is happiness; to be dissolved into something completely great.

Willa Cather

completely great

 {photo}

That is happiness; to be dissolved into something completely great.

Willa Cather

makes me {merry}

Let's have a moment of honesty here for a bit. Lately, blogging and I have not been getting along very well. It was demanding my time in a way that I just couldn't give in to, so I decided it was time to put it on the back burner {I tell you this as if you didn't already notice.} It has broken my heart to see my sweet little blog slip through my fingers, but it was a necessary break. I started this blog as an outlet, as a way to share the things that make me happy merry. I expected to occasionally get bogged down with daily posting but I never expected to borderline dread writing a post ever.

 {photo}

My new approach is that I will blog when I want about what I want. That sounds simple enough but I lost that somewhere along the way.  So that brings me to my new weekly wrap-up posts. Since this blog is about merriness, I figure I should probably take a moment at the end of every week to remind myself what has actually made me happy.  Now this week was slow and exhausting, but there were certainly a few things that brightened my day along the way...

cool summer mornings that feel like fall

{photo}

a Pittsburgh coffee break

{via small tower}

the best breakfast in town with one of my favorite bloggers

{photo}

a sweet note from my dear friend

{photo}

Please feel free to share with me what has made you merry this week! I hope to be able to develop this further to include more of my own photos {when I find the time to take them!} so please bear with me until then. Have a wonderful weekend full of love and inspiration!

makes me {merry}

Let's have a moment of honesty here for a bit. Lately, blogging and I have not been getting along very well. It was demanding my time in a way that I just couldn't give in to, so I decided it was time to put it on the back burner {I tell you this as if you didn't already notice.} It has broken my heart to see my sweet little blog slip through my fingers, but it was a necessary break. I started this blog as an outlet, as a way to share the things that make me happy merry. I expected to occasionally get bogged down with daily posting but I never expected to borderline dread writing a post ever.

 {photo}

My new approach is that I will blog when I want about what I want. That sounds simple enough but I lost that somewhere along the way.  So that brings me to my new weekly wrap-up posts. Since this blog is about merriness, I figure I should probably take a moment at the end of every week to remind myself what has actually made me happy.  Now this week was slow and exhausting, but there were certainly a few things that brightened my day along the way...

cool summer mornings that feel like fall

{photo}

a Pittsburgh coffee break

{via small tower}

the best breakfast in town with one of my favorite bloggers

{photo}

a sweet note from my dear friend

{photo}

Please feel free to share with me what has made you merry this week! I hope to be able to develop this further to include more of my own photos {when I find the time to take them!} so please bear with me until then. Have a wonderful weekend full of love and inspiration!

watching :: the kennedy's

J and I have been watching the miniseries, The Kennedy's, lately (now streaming on Netflix) and we absolutely love it. It's an 8 part series that follows JFK and Jackie throughout the presidency. It also spends some time focusing JFK's parents and his brother Bobby. It's an amazing glimpse into history and of course you know I just can't resist seeing Katie Holmes play Jackie... you all must go watch it and let me know what you think!