Friday Favorites 8.29.14

Happy Friday, my friends! Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for the West Elm gift card! The winner was chosen and notified.

Now it’s time for my Friday favorites, where I share a few things I’m loving that may or may not be on your radar. First up:

These Rooms

My first favorite of the week comes to you courtesy of Instagram. I follow Lindsey from The White Buffalo Styling Company on Instagram, and this week she headed up a group of bloggers that shared their favorite rooms this week in the Blogger Stylin Home Tours roundup. I followed along on Instagram with #bloggerstylinhometours, and wow, were there some gorgeous rooms! These are a few of my favorites.

                   

Nursery by Charming in Charlotte

Entryway by Dimples and Tangles

Living Room by Desert Domicile

These Books

I love reading, but I go through phases where I read, like, 5 book in a month and then I don’t read anything again for another 3 or 4 months. Is anyone else like that? Well now I’m back in one of my reading binges and I’m loving it. I’m reading This is Where I Leave You for Sarah’s bookclub, I’m listening to Where’d You Go Bernadette in the car (for free courtesy of my local library and Overdrive), and I just received A Beautiful Mess’ new book, Happy Handmade Home on Tuesday. I’ve only had a chance to flip through it a little bit but it looks fantastic! You may have seen my Instagram pic of the book; I was so thrilled when Emma Chapman (one of the authors) commented on it! How sweet is that!

This Drink

I’ve been dreaming about these Watermelon Ginger Sparklers Jessica shared on How Sweet Eats. I haven’t made them yet, but they sound like the perfect summer cocktail. I’m loving all things ginger right now, so this is right up my alley. Oh, except Jessica is pregnant so she made this drink a mocktail; I would definitely be adding some vodka to my drink!

And on that note, cheers to the long weekend! I hope you all have a spectacular Labor Day!

Trending: Black and White Stripes

Last month I mentioned that I love browsing through my Pinterest boards to see what trends are sticking out. In addition to colorful kilim rugs, another trend I’m seeing on my board is black and white stripes, especially on upholstery.

via Little Green Notebook

via Rue Magazine

via Sydney Home

Backyard Makeover by The Hunted Interior via Home Depot

via Schappacher White

I love the graphic look a black and white striped piece adds to a room, especially combined with a bit of color. My black and white chevron rugs in my entryway are some of my favorite things in my house because they add such great pattern and style to the space.

If you want to bring the look into your home here are a few pieces that’ll do the trick. If you’re just dipping your toe into the trend, try the Target basket or the Ikea pillow, or if you’re ready to dive in buy a bigger piece like the chair or the headboard. Just don’t add more than a couple of these items to one room or people will start calling you Beetlejuice!

 

From top left: Striped Velvet Accent Chair, Staples, $210 // EIVOR Throw blanket, Ikea, $20 // Two Drawer Cabinet, Houzz, $278 // Canopy Stripe Elsie Headboard, World Market, $450 for a Queen // Black and White Striped Dhurrie Rug, $230 for an 8’x10’ // Cushion Cover, Ikea, $5 // Large Coiled Rope Basket, Target, $25

Sunday Funday at Prairiefire

Hi friends! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that you’re surviving the heat. We’ve been lucky to have had such a mild summer up until now so I guess I shouldn’t complain about this heat wave, but man it is miserable out!

Last weekend when it was still nice out Ben and I spent Sunday exploring the new Prairiefire district in Overland Park. They have a lot of cool things to see and do there: shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, and a museum.

The highlight of the area is definitely the museum. The building is absolutely gorgeous! I don’t think I’ve ever seen another building like this.

The Museum at Prairiefire is partnered with the American Museum of Natural History, which means they have the resources to bring in really cool exhibits and features. It’s free to walk through the main part of the museum, which is what we did last Sunday. The showstopper is the T-Rex! How cool is it that we have a T-Rex in Kansas City now!

I also like the pterodactyls hanging from the ceiling.

After the museum we stopped by a few of the shops and looked around.

We had fun playing with this giant marble tower at Fat Brain Toys.

I found Ben’s Christmas present at Threshing Bee. I loved all the cheeky cards and goods by That’s All.

After grabbing a drink and a snack at Paradise Diner (if you go, you have to try the Watermelon Juicer, it is amazing!), we headed to Pinstripes for a few rounds of bowling! It’s such a fun concept: a nice restaurant, bar, bowling, and bocce ball all in one place.

We finished the day with dinner at Cocobolos, the new Mexican restaurant by Kansas City restaurateur Michael Smith. I highly recommend it!

And just for fun, here are a few more pictures from the area. I love the sculptures and artwork sprinkled throughout.

I enjoyed getting out for the day and exploring a new area in Kansas City. Have you checked out Prairiefire yet?

 

*I’m linking up to Mingle Monday at Life of Meg*

West Elm KC Grand Opening + a GIVEAWAY!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to visit the brand new West Elm Kansas City store. They invited a group of bloggers out to tour the store before it opened to the public. It is a gorgeous store, I had so much fun exploring it!



I love this blue pottery dinnerware! I learned that blue is a big trend for fall, which made me very happy because you know I love blue!



Do you recognize the coffee table from my West Elm wish list? It’s even more beautiful in person!


I love that West Elm has some lovely and sophisticated furniture at reasonable price points. This Paige sofa is beautiful and it’s only $999 (plus 15% off right now!).



One of my favorite features of the West Elm KC store is the local marketplace featuring goods from 10 Kansas City artisans. Kansas City is their 18th location to feature local makers, and they’re hoping to add more local artists to the store!


How cute are these tote bags from Ampersand Design Studio!


I always love Hammerpress’s prints, and the reclaimed wood arrows by Axel Co. were really cool!


Lots of local goods! Planters by Convivial Production, KC prints (I bought one in blue!), notebooks, and coasters by Ruff House Art, and blankets by Happy Habitat.

You can read more about the local artists featured at the KC West Elm on the WE blog, Front & Main.

I also enjoyed all the handmade décor features in the store.


This dip-dyed muslin strip “chandelier” was just made this week! It was a big focal piece in the store.


The front of the cash wrap is decorate with reclaimed molding from old houses in the area.


How cool is this yarn installation! In addition to partnering with local makers, West Elm is really committed to working with artisans throughout the world. You can check the hangtags on a lot of their pillows, throws, etc to see exactly where they were made.

Thanks so much to West Elm for the preview tour of the new store, it is awesome! I highly encourage you to check it out!

And if you need a little incentive to do so, West Elm has graciously agreed to give one of my awesome readers a $25 gift card and a KC tote bag by Ruff House Art!


All you have to do to enter is just follow the actions on the Rafflecopter below. Entry is open to anyone 18+ in the continental United States. The gift card can be used at any West Elm store or online. And if you don’t live in Kansas City you should definitely still enter; I can draw another winner for the tote bag if you don’t want it Good luck! Drawing ends next Thursday, August 28 at midnight.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go Blog Social Meetup at Kate Spade

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a fun blogger meetup at the Kate Spade store at the Country Club Plaza. If you surveyed women in their 20’s and 30’s, especially creative and/or fashionable women, I bet 95% of them would say they love Kate Spade, so it was only natural that Go Blog Social would team up with them to host an event for bloggers and other small business owners.

I’m with the 95% that loves Kate Spade, and even though a lot of their items are out of my price range right now I love visiting their stores. They do such an amazing job decorating and styling!

They had cute drinks and snacks, a couple giveaways, and a 20% shopping discount for the night. I think everyone’s favorite part was just getting to catch up with blogger friends and meeting new ones!

I borrowed the above photo from Kari from This, Too. Pictured from left to right are Alexandra Sprerrazza, Kari, Meg from Life of Meg, and me! It was so great to visit with these ladies!

I was on a budget but I couldn’t leave the store empty-handed, so I bought this darling pencil pouch that I plan to use as a clutch. It was $30 but with the Go Blog Social discount I only paid $24.

I mentioned earlier that they did a couple giveaways and guess what? I was one of the winners! I won a ticket to the Go Blog Social pop-up in Chicago! I had such a wonderful time at GBS in KC this April so I am thrilled to learn more and meet more awesome people in Chicago. Are any of my fellow blogger readers planning to go?

Friday Favorites 8.15.14

Here are a few of my favorite reads and finds of the week, my friends. Enjoy!

This Article

Don’t be turned off by the goofy graphic: Why Are We So Nostalgic for Music We Loved as Teenagers? is actually a really good read. Ever wonder why you still love Britney Spears, even though she’s objectionably not the greatest artist? This article explains how our brain interprets music, and how our teenage years are incredibly significant in our memories. Combine the power of music and the brain’s nostalgia for our younger years and you’ll start to understand why the songs we loved as teenagers remain our favorite songs for years to come.

It’s no wonder then why the Backstreet Boys concert I attended this summer was the best concert I’ve ever been to!  (I wish I was kidding…kind of)

This Shop

It’s easy to find gorgeous photos of Paris; the city itself is so beautiful that it’s hard to take a bad picture there. But I especially love the Paris Collection shop from Anna With Love. In addition to the typical Eiffel Tower and building skyline photos, she’s also captured some lovely details that otherwise go unnoticed. The prices are pretty reasonable too: pieces start at $30 for an 8”x12” print. Be sure to check out the rest of her shop as well, there’s lots of gorgeous stuff there!

This House Tour

I love a good house tour, especially when the style (and budget!) reflects my own. The home of Caitlin Moran, editorial director at the lifestyle website the Glitter Guide, is filled with a stylish mix of big box furniture, special art pieces, and a few splurge items. Check out more photos here.

This Opinion Piece

This is exactly the article I needed to read this week. It’s easy to feel down about yourself and that you’re not good (or thin or successful or creative, etc) enough, but this article serves as a nice reminder that you’re not the only one feeling that way. And that behind that perfectly composed and filtered Instagram photo, there’s a woman with her own insecurities and doubts. Read more at The Everygirl.

This Art

Minted is primarily a paper goods (stationary, invitations, etc) store, but it also has a wonderfully curated art marketplace. One of my favorite artists there is Emily Jeffords. She paints some of the most gorgeous cloudscapes in beautiful shades of blues, pinks, and greens. They have such a peaceful feeling to them. She also creates really sweet floral paintings. Check out her prints here.

 

That’s all for this weeks’ favorites. Have a super weekend!

P.S. I went to a great blogging event hosted at the Kansas City Kate Spade store! Check out my Instagram feed (and follow me!) for a few photos, or search #GBSxKSNY for other pics from the night, and be sure to come back next week for my recap post!