Reusable Shopping Bags

If you ask my husband, I have far too many bags as it is. Whether it be handbags, beach bags, shopping bags, etc...he will tell you I have plenty. But I just came across this bag in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine and I think I need it (just don't tell Greg)!

It's insulated, which is great for going to the farmers market or for shopping for perishables on a warmer day.

The Kiwi color is $20 and the bag also comes in black, on sale right now for $8.99, both at Sur La Table.

They also have this reusable carry-all, which is super cute, and would be great for hauling everything from groceries to kids toys. Pricing on this bag is $19 for the Kiwi and $8.99 for black.

Remember me?

It's been so long since I've posted anything on here....I wouldn't be surprised if everyone forgot about me or removed me from their 'follow' list! ;)

Things have been busy around our house, and we've traveled too. The month of April flew by and we're now getting close to the middle of May! How does that happen?!

Anyway, I was just looking through a Potterybarn catalog and came across this lovely dining room.



Doesn't it look like the perfect place for a nice brunch on a warm sunny morning?




I also love these ceramic jars and the way they're used on the table.

It almost makes me want to host an impromptu brunch!

Love

While catching up with my magazines recently, I perused the February issue of Real Simple.

As it was the February issue, it was full of 'love' and romantic sentiments.

One of my favorite quotes was this, from the 'thoughts' section at the beginning of the mag...
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."

And from the editor's note:
"You wake up every day, look at the pillow next to you, and think, Oh jeez, you're still here? And then you think, Thank God."

As relationships grow, evolve, and change, I think it's important to remember how and why we fell in love. Remember the early days. The moments of passion. It's too easy to get caught up in the day to day grind, and life is too short to not enjoy the love that's often right in front of us.

Cute? Or not cute?

I saw these shoes on a blog that I follow.

I'm trying to decide if they're cute, or if they're something my grandma would wear. The peep toe makes them kind of cute. And I like the wedge. Hmmm....Fashionista friends, what do you think??

Happy Birthday...to me!

I celebrated my 29th birthday two weeks ago, and received 3 Nordstrom gift cards in celebration of the event (thanks to my parents and sister!).

You may remember my post from a few weeks ago, where I mentioned how much I loved this Elliott Lucca handbag.

Armed with my gift cards, I decided to go check it out in person, and maybe bite the bullet and treat myself. After seeing the bag in person, I decided I didn't like it at all. The color wasn't what I was expecting (much more gray, muted, and drab looking than the Spring-inspired lilac I was imagining). The texture wasn't the butter-soft leather I had felt in my dreams. And more than anything, the shape was off. In this photo, it looks fairly slouchy, round, and 'full'. In person, it was much narrower, more like a book bag. And while that may work for some, it wasn't what I wanted.

So I looked around, and almost bought another bag. My best friend was with me, and she could tell I wasn't completely sold on anything, and thankfully talked me out of purchasing anything (as I surely would have regretted making a snap decision).

I came home and looked around Nordstrom's website, and found another bag that I liked.

So I went back to the store, and didn't love that one in person either. I liked this one...

...but didn't love the color options.

After a little more searching in the store, I came across this bag by B. Makowsky. And I LOVED it. Color was right, price was decent (a little pricy, but you get what you pay for), and the texture....ahhhh. It's so soft. I couldn't NOT take it home!

This stock photo really doesn't do it justice at all. I transferred all of my belongings out of my black bag, and am so excited to use this tomorrow--a great bag for a spring day at church!

Stationary

Anyone who knows me knows that I love paper. Notecards, envelopes, pretty designs, wonderful textures...I could spend hours in a stationary store, pretending that I had enough money to buy it all (and more importantly, a reason to use it all!).

I recieved an email today from one of my favorite online stationary stores, Felix Dolittle. They're currently running a special, 20% off all return address labels. This is one of my current favorites, as it reminds me of a warm tropical place on this cold, frosty Seattle morning.

In addition to return address labels, they have almost every other stationary item you can imagine...notecards, envelopes, book plates, bakers labels, etc.

I also really like their notecard options...

And would probably choose this cute Adirondak design.

Jump over to Felix Dolittle and let me know which one is your favorite!

Swap Til You Drop

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm really far behind in my magazine reading, and was recently looking through the January 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. It addition to the great wall decals I posted about, I also loved this idea.

It's a 'swap party' and is a great way to get rid of things you don't want, while finding something you do.


The pages give great ideas of how to plan the whole party. Invites, ideas of tagging items, a way to 'claim' items, and suggesting that you box up leftovers to be donated.


They suggested serving a light breakfast, but I also think it would be fun to do as an appetizer party and have each guest bring an appetizer to share as well as their swap items.

You can click on the pictures to view them larger. I'm thinking I might set up one of these parties (that is, if I have anything worth trading!). I'll blog about it if I do...