five things

here are a few fun snapshots from my week.

1. barcart flowers

2. barista parlor’s colorful signage

3. the best cilantro margaritas at saint anejo

4. winning $4 on powerball..oh well

5. the new five daughters bakery and cronuts

how is your week going?

madeline

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decorating for christmas

{boxwood wreath similar here / door hardware similar}

one of the simple pleasures of the holiday season for me is decorating for the season. i look forward to it each year and we have made new traditions each year. we love picking out our tree, turning on a christmas record, drinking eggnog, and stringing lights. these pictures are really poor quality and it may not be what the holiday season is truly about, but it sure feels festive. merry christmas!

{fairy lights / rug similar here / basket similar here / sunburst mirror similar here}

{lighting the japanese maple}

{dining and barcart}

{wooden garland}

{garland similar here / christmas memories book / deer figurine}

{red berry branches trader joes / the best candle / snowglobe}

{picking the perfect tree}

{and the tree all lit up}

even our office is feeling the cheer…

{parsons desks / file cabinets}

happy holiday season!

madeline

diy : shibori dyeing

this winter before it got too cold, i thought i would try my hand at the shibori indigo dyeing trend that i am seeing everywhere. blue is my favorite color and i wanted to use make tablecloths and napkins for parties and specifically, a baby shower. my sister and i tackled this project together and had so much fun. i bought this indigo dye kit and these cloth napkins to dye. i am so happy with the results and am sharing some of the lessons we learned.

{indigo dyeing kit, wood blocks, and rubber bands}

{napkins folded six ways}

{the ‘bloom’ on top of the dye bucket}

{mixing in soda ash}

{wet bucket, dye bucket, and rinse bucket}

{post dyeing dry out – start as green and fade to blue}

{the results after unrolling}

{hanging on diy rope line}

{six different designs}

{tablecloth hanging to dry}

{tablecloth design made with woodblocks}

this turned out to be a really quick and easy diy, and now i have some beautiful textiles to use. thanks natalie for your help! a few tips:

• make sure to buy more rubber bands and more wood blocks than are in the kit. we used a large bag of rubber bands and made some large wood blocks for the tablecloth design.
• spend the time to get everything set up before starting – the lines, the rinse buckets…so you can quickly dye and hang.
• if doing a large amount of fabric, use large clean five gallon buckets.
• dip into the dye more than once. we only dyed once and the colors fades when dry. they will look very dark at first, but only because it it wet.
• wash in the washing machine once after dyeing process with no detergent on cold.
• these two tutorials are really great for folding designs. (one and two) i also made up a few of my own designs.

there are endless possibilities. be creative and enjoy!

xoxo

madeline

iced over

this week has been the craziest of winters i can remember in tennessee. a massive ice and snow storm came through the south monday and covered every surface in a thick layer of ice, from roads to leaves. tornadoes, humidity, and mosquitos are commonplace here, but it is not often that we get ice and snow. the city slowed and quietened over the last two days; we spent them at home, playing with the dogs, sledding, and watching movies. the ice glimmered like diamonds on the trees, coating each branch and leaf. i could not help but snap a few images of the ice before it melts into spring. this morning we woke up to a beautiful powdery snow in a blanket of white. are you staying warm and safe?

also, happy first birthday to little baxter! hardly little anymore, he weighs 77 lbs and stands almost as tall as our lab, sampson. he came to us 9 months ago and we have loved every minute with him.

madeline

new traditions

2015 so far has been about rest and recharge. we spent new year’s day exploring with the dogs and letting them run and play at an agriculture center and preserve near our home. we decided a family hike in the woods would be a tradition every year on january 1, a time to reset in nature and be together. growing up on new year’s day, my parents always cooked black eyed peas for prosperity in the coming year. last NYE we were in nyc!

do you have any new year’s day traditions?

don’t they look like they are having the time of their lives…?

xoxo

madeline