DIY pom-pom snow window hanging

This DIY has been on my to-do list for seven years. I'm not even exaggerating, I got the idea when I was on a trip to Disney World in 2011. I finally bought the supplies to make this *three* years ago. And after shuffling the materials between drawers, I finally did it this week! Phew!

So, in 2011 when I was at Disney I saw a window display with fake snowballs made out of pom-poms and started brainstorming a way to make it myself as a holiday decoration. I'm so happy with how this came out and (like a lot of my holiday decorations) I've been staring at it wondering if it'll work all year long because I don't know if I can bring myself to ever take it down!



Materials needed:

- white pom-poms (the larger size was easier to thread)
- white yarn
- 2 wooden dowels
- a large plastic needle



Before you start, measure the height of the window where you want to hang the garland.  Then cut strips of yarn to fit the window. I varied the length of my pieces so that they aren't all the same. I think it looks more like snow and less like a curtain that way.

Tie a piece of yarn to the dowel with a double-knot and then thread your needle. Start threading pom poms until you reach the end of the yarn, and double-knot again. Then slide your last pom-pom down to the knot. I kept a lot of space between my pom-poms and mixed up the spacing so that it looked like snow. You can move the balls on the yarn, so once you hang up the display you can still adjust them and fiddle around with the spacing until it looks exactly the way you like :)

I did six strands of yarn on one dowel and five on the other (to make room for my hanging plants) To hang up the pom-poms just place the dowel over your curtain rod until it's weight is counter-balanced with the pom-poms in the front. Alternately, you could always do one strand at a time and tape them up or hang them with command strips instead of using the dowels.



This came out exactly how I envisioned it, and now I have a little Disney-style magic in my office! :)

nepotism and holiday shopping!

My dad has owned a small mail-order music t-shirt company since the late 1970's, and since times are tough right now I thought I'd try to help him out a bit! He had a huge setback this year when his web host suddenly went out of business without notice, so we had to quickly move the whole site over to Shopify and his sales have really stalled out ever since that happened. If anyone on your Christmas list is a music lover (or movie lover -- he has some movie shirts, too!) this is the perfect gift! He has merchandise on hundreds of bands, everyone from The Smiths to The Killers, from Radiohead to The Spice Girls. If you like them, my dad probably sells their shirts. And he's still running his Black Friday sale, so you can get 10% off with code "108" (It's a Lost reference, if you're curious!)

And if you're a giant fan of The Killers like I am, he has a lot of their designs in the shop right here. This is the one pictured above. (Sidenote - thank you to my dad for supplying me with an endless supply of band tees for whatever band/artist I'm currently obsessed with since I was like 5 years old!)

And now it's my mom's turn! ;D My mom runs a little etsy shop called Baubles Bangles and Beans, where she sells handmade earrings. She sells two kinds -- coffee bean earrings, made with real fair trade coffee beans, and "extreme decaf" earrings, which are similar to her coffee bean style, but without the coffee! My mom is so cute, it's ridiculous... I am not exaggerating in the least bit when I say that each time she's made a sale she's positively GIDDY with excitement. She usually has the order packed up and ready to go within like 10 minutes because she's so excited that she made a sale. It's so adorable! And this year she's 4 sales short of hitting her annual goal of 12 sales per year. If you help her reach that goal it will literally MAKE HER YEAR.

So if you have a coffee addict on your Christmas list, this is a pretty cool gift, right?! She offers free shipping on all orders, no coupon necessary (and you know you'll get it for Christmas since she ships it within like 10 seconds of your order, lol)

If you order from either of my parents and mention me or my blog in the notes section, I'll be sure to throw in some goodies from my shop as well, as a huge THANK YOU for supporting my little family of weirdos :)

And last but not least, a shout-out to my brother's burgeoning company, Welsh Knight, where he sells travel pillowcases. I love this idea so, so, so much! I have very sensitive skin so the idea of having my own pillowcase with me when I'm on the go is a dream come true. I used to take one of my own pillowcases from home, but honestly half the time I ended up leaving it at the hotel by accident and that's unacceptable when you've built a very curated collection of vintage-floral linens. Now I take one of my brother's travel pillowcases and I don't have to worry all that much if I accidentally leave it in Disney World ;) This is SUCH a perfect gift for someone you know who loves to travel! You can check out his pillowcases right here. (I can't guarantee he'll let me know if you leave a note saying I sent you, but it's worth a try!)

holiday dreaming

I'm still having a hard time shaking off this cold, blergh! I don't know about you but whenever I get sick in the summer I get really disoriented about what season it is. Colds just feel like winter. You take up a steady diet of tea and soup, bundle yourself in bed with a hundred blankets and watch feel-good movies in between coughing fits. You're stuck inside so as far as your body knows, it's snowing and the temperature is hovering just above zero.

So maybe that's why when I saw this ASOS holiday preview on Refinery29 I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Or maybe it was just the sudafed taking effect. Either way, some of these pieces are so pretty I really can't wait until they're available. The one in the top left corner looks like one of those rare seems-like-vintage-but-is-actually-new dresses, and the one in the right corner is a dream come true -- an all-over photographic print dress that *isn't* bodycon. Hooray!

dinosaurs and polka dots

I went to Old Navy on Monday to get my Christmas pajamas (every year my mom buys everyone in the family new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve) and ended up finding these amazing tights (and maybe a couple cardigans, too...) The photo didn't really capture the pretty mocha color but they're lovely in person! They're also pretty thick so I think they'll be getting a lot of traction this winter.



I've been wearing this coat constantly -- it's actually surprisingly warm and toasty. I tend to gravitate towards longer coats (like this one. OMG!) but I like having a shorter one to wear this year so my pretty dresses and skirts aren't always hidden.

On Wednesday I threw a little last-night-of-Hanukkah party. My parties are always goofy and totally amateur but I have so much fun! While I was grocery shopping for party food I came across the matzoh and a lightbulb went off in my brain -- a matzoh-bread house. I had NO idea if it would actually work but I was pretty certain it would make for a fun party activity. So I picked up some icing and gumdrops and crossed my fingers. My family and I had a blast putting it together and -- surprise! -- it actually worked. The icing held it together and it's actually still standing in my kitchen two days later! I sense a new holiday tradition ;)

dress- forever 21 | t-rex necklace - sweet and lovely | coat - c/o oasap

cardigan and tights - old navy | shoes - asos | hat - forever 21

Christmas freebie

Last year at Christmastime I got really discouraged by the number of people who were sending me very rude e-mails asking where their etsy orders were, completely out of their minds with worry that their presents might arrive late. As any internet seller can tell you, we do our best to get our orders in the mail as quickly as possible, but once we pass the package into the hands of the post office the delivery date is out of our control. Instead of getting unreasonably upset about snail mail living up to its name, this year how about we all just take a deep breath and enjoy the season of goodwill. Let's be kind towards one another and consider the feelings of everyone we come across during our shopping adventures -- be kind to the cashiers, the clerks, the baristas, the internet sellers, and keep in mind that our loved ones will appreciate the sentiment of our gifts whether they are given on the 25th or beyond.

I made this free printable & I'm including links to it on my invoices -- if you're an etsy seller or blogger I hope you'll consider passing it along, too! Way too many people let themselves get so overwhelmed by the stress of shopping that they forget the reason they're doing it to begin with -- to show love and appreciation for another human being. You don't need to do that on December 25th, you can do it on December 29th or January 2nd. You can do it every day of the year! :)

my cat-friendly menorah

My dad was raised Jewish and my mom was raised Christian, so I'm one of those lucky people who gets to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah! We've always made a bigger deal out of Christmas since my dad's family was never big on holidays, but lately I've been making more of an effort to celebrate both sides of my heritage this time of year.

The one hindrance to doing so in my own apartment is that I have very ornery cats (and, I have to admit, I'm a huge klutz myself) so lit candles are just not an option. Even if I sat at a safe distance with my cats locked in another room I'm pretty sure one of us would still manage to set my building on fire. Enter -- the cat (and Kate) friendly menorah!

I purchased this wooden toy menorah from amazon and simply painted the base pink with some leftover wall paint. The candles were already colors that I'm smitten with so I left them the way they were. Now here's the awesome thing about this set -- the little flames are removable! So you can technically "light" each candle! I love it!



Target is carrying wooden menorahs this year, too. As long as the shape is pretty you can really paint it any color to suit your own style! Obviously I will always go the pastel route, but I also think it would look so pretty painted white with gold candles and light blue flames!

a grainy christmas

Christmas here was really rainy and overcast, resulting in a pretty grainy and crummy picture. But I especially loved what I wore this year so I wanted to post it anyway.

I hope everyone had a splendid holiday! Mine was amazing. So much fun and so much good food! :) I can never sleep well the night before because I'm so excited for my family to open the presents I got for them, so then I end up being tired all day because I'm so sleep deprived. I ended up crashing for a two hour nap and Hubble stayed curled up next to me the entire time. It's our first Christmas with him so that's a special memory I'll always cherish. A little holiday nap with my new kitty <3

dress- modcloth (similar) | cardigan - old navy | shoes - asos | belt - f21

merry christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I think my favorite part of this season is enjoying the traditions that we've had since me and my brother were kids. We wake up super early to open presents and eat breakfast (croissants, every year!) then head over to my grandmom's for brunch, and then it's back home for dinner! Last year me and my brother started a new tradition of watching all of the christmas episodes of The Office before going to sleep on Christmas night, too. Also Chloe -- my antisocial cat -- joins us for opening presents on Christmas morning every year without fail. It's because she likes all the wrapping paper but we kid ourselves into thinking it's her gift to us ;) I look forward to it so much though!!

Me and my dad went out for some last-minute shopping this weekend and I found these cute little paper houses at Home Goods (my first time in there, by the way, and it's amazing!!) I had been looking for similar ones at Target (they were on the website and said "not sold online" but NO stores near me had them) but I like these a lot better, plus the whole set (including the little snowmen) was only $12. It was looking sort of plain, so I did a quick backdrop painting, inspired by this vintage greeting card (thanks for the link Casey!!) I'm going to be so sad when it's time to take all my Christmas decorations down next week! My room was starting to feel so festive!

Well I still have some presents to wrap (I'm writing this on Christmas Eve and scheduling it.. sneaky! ;D) and hot chocolate waiting for me, and I have my own little tradition of watching the "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" episode of The X-Files.  I hope everyone is having a wonderfully merry day! :)

ps. I'm having a one day 25% off sale in my etsy shop if you have some new Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket ;)

christmas, take two

I've done a bit more Christmas decorating since my last Christmas post -- not a huge amount but I love the little additions and wanted to share some new pictures! I loved how my tree looked bare, but I love it even more with some mini tinsel and a mid-century style star (both from target) I originally wanted to add ornaments instead but I think I love the tinsel even more!



I got these adorable flocked vintage Christmas mice on etsy! I'd love to add more vintage decorations to my collection. I'm also working on a vintage-style caroler after seeing Danielle's angel in this post. I have the doll head and the paper cone, I just need to find the time to put her all together lol :)

Also the art in the background is from an It's a Small World postcard set I got on vacation last month! Mary Blair stuff can be hard to find, so if you can't make it to Disney World or Disneyland, I also found them on amazon here.



I'm at Michaels (the craft store) almost every day, it seems, but I still spend at least 20 minutes scouring the shelves for something I might have missed on a previous trip. Last week I found these candy canes. I threw away the box so I don't remember what flavor they are (I'm thinking either skittles or smarties?) but they're so pretty and pastel, I just had to hang them up! I alternated them with these pretty snowflake ornaments I got at Target. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but they look like iced gingerbread cookies! They're adorable!



Lastly, I got a little pink Christmas tree for my dresser! I actually bought it thinking I'd put it in storage for when I eventually have more room (it's the perfect grapefruit-y shade of pink, and it was 50% off, so that's when my "buy it even if you need to put it in storage for now" thoughts kick in) but once I realized it would fit on my dresser I just couldn't put it away! And I made a makeshift star from an enamel brooch :)

Oh, I also got some miniature wooden nutcrackers from the dollar store and painted them to match my room, but I forgot to take pictures! I'll sneak them into an outfit post sometime this week ;)

red white and blue

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I've had my Independence Day outfit picked out for months now... and also that I took these pictures on Monday! I knew what I was going to wear, and I also knew that I was going to sleep in today and wouldn't get to post my photos at 9am like usual if I didn't take the pictures ahead of time. So I changed into this on Monday afternoon, took some photos, and then changed back into what I was wearing. I feel like such a weirdo admitting that, but I also felt weird not admitting it... sooo...

Anyway! All that blabbering, when all I really want to say is Happy 4th of July to everyone in the US, and Happy Wednesday to everybody else! :D (and please excuse me for the most corny, cliche 4th of July blog post title ever? I must have a serious case of brain-drain because I honestly could not think of anything. else.)

ps. I'm offering 25% off ad spots on this blog, and 25% off anything in my etsy shop today with the coupon code JULY4 :) It expires tonight so if you're interested, hurry hurry hurry ;D

Dress - atom retro | Shoes - asos

am I blue .. and red and white

top - vintage

skirt - h&m

belt - forever 21

shoes - blowfish

Some subtle patriotism with the red lipstick ;) Not going to really say much today since I know most people are out at picnics and parties, not home reading my silly blog (learned that lesson when I posted my epic Spice Girls slumber party post on a day when practically nobody on earth was home on their computer) ... We had our 4th of July celebration yesterday, with an indoor cookout (rain foiled my mom's outdoor grilling plans) and then played board games all night. My favorite, by far, is Clue.. mostly because I usually win, but also because I have a lot of fun strategizing. I think it's so much more exciting than just rolling dice and moving spaces!

So anyway.. Happy Independence Day if you live in the US, and if not, Happy Monday!

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What is your favorite board game?

Happy Easter

I'm such a dork. lol