One of our favorite things to do is pack up the pup, a pile of blankets, a good book and some good food and head to “our” picnic spot. It’s a really great spot in the middle of a really large park. My favorite part about it is that it is shaded by the prettiest willow tree that sites on the edge of a little pond. I think the pup approves.

On this particular picnic we stopped at a local Greek restaurant and picked up some salads and gyros to munch on. The weather was perfect, the sun was out, and it was the best way we could think of to celebrate Mother’s day when our mother happen to be hundreds of miles away.

*please note my pups cheeks in that last photo. HAHA

Another week has flown by and we are another week closer to my online shop opening up. Yipee!  I’ve been a busy bee over here, but I’m having fun and enjoying myself. See that pic above?? I have lots more photos from that field that I’ll be posting later in the week, so stay tuned!

1^ St. Louis had a Goodwill Outlet store open up on Thursday and I was hoping for it to be the greatest invention on earth. It was an “epic fail”.
2^ The Kentucky Derby was yesterday and this is the first year that I haven’t followed the horse stats the week leading up the race. I didn’t make any bets and I kind of feel like I missed out on something. Who doesn’t love those trumpets??
3^ Seems like all my personal projects have been put on hold and my focus has shifted towards market203. I must remember to get back to those once the crazy settles.
4^ I bought a onesie with a bulldog graphic on it. It was great. I hope he likes it!
5^ I’ve received more chai in the mail, so I’ve avoided the dreaded empty barrel syndrome that happens all the time. (I’m getting smarter 😉

Happy Sunday on a Monday!

*Have you jumped on the Google Friend Connect bandwagon? This is one of my favorite ways to find new bloggers to follow, so check it out!

First I must say that I was blown away with comments from readers on yesterday’s announcement post. It makes me even more excited to start a new adventure when I know my readers are just as excited. Thank you guys for making this moment a little more special!

This past week kind of blew by and I think it was because I have been BUSY. As you can see from yesterday’s post, I now have a big time consuming project on my hands. This project makes my mind run at one gazzillion miles per hour….what if I did this??  Or this?? I’m loving all the passion I am feeling for this adventure and look forward to the upcoming weeks as things get a bit more defined.

1^ Made my first shop product purchase and I can’t wait to share it with you once it arrives at my doorstep.
2^ Thursday was spent creating science experiments with dry ice and fire at a photo shoot for a private school here in St. Louis.
3^ The more I watch My So Called Life, the more I realize it’s similarities to a train wreck.
4^ At work on Friday, the Ad team took a half day off and spent the entire afternoon at a restaurant’s outdoor patio. We’ve been working on a massive project since before Christmas and it has finally ended.
5^ I really need to get caught up on laundry and other homely things.
6^ I think the rain is finally leaving the mid-west. It’s been raining straight through the past two weeks, but the forecast is predicting a week of sun.

Happy Sunday. Now get off the computer and go relax 😉

*Have you jumped on the Google Friend Connect bandwagon? This is one of my favorite ways to find new bloggers to follow, so check it out!

I haven’t posted any instagram photos on this blog since the day I started it and because I absolutely love instagram, I think I will post a few more. Just little snippets of my life, captured by my dear friend, my iPhone. What would we do with em??

From LEFT to RIGHT
row 1
1. kitty laying on the new quilt 2. Spring flowers at the agency 3. feetsies
row 2
1. houses in our neighborhood 2. Porter James in the car 3. new antique apron
row 3
1. Porter James on his walk 2. wall decoration 3. desk gnome
row 4
1. chocolate chai tea 2. simply apple juice 3. a storm is brewing

I was honored to be tagged by another Kristine to receive the Creative Blogger Award. (Ipek also tagged me to receive the One Lovely Blog Award – combined response) I think this is a perfect way to make others aware of all the creativity out there. Here’s how it works: list 10 facts about yourself and then tag 10 other bloggers. Because there are so many of these kind of things going around the blog world I choose to be very specific about what facts to share. I choose to only share little facts about my creative side, since that’s what’s being awarded.

10 Things: My Creative Side

1. As a kid, I was always crafting something or another. I remember lots of beaded projects and doodling.
2. One summer when I was in elementary school, I took a summer drawing class taught by Mark Kistler! Draw, Draw, Draw! (you know…the guy from Imagination Station)
3. I’m much better at communicating things with pictures than I am with words.
4. Through high school I was really big into scrap booking. I documented everything with pictures, stencils, stickers, and lots of bright colored pieces of paper.
5. I started getting into photography my freshmen year of high school. I took a black & white film class and fell in love.
6. Even with an art school background, I am not a very good drawer. I’m much better with the little details and typography. I can draw a mean stick figure.
7. I’m very passionate about color and how color plays a role in our moods. I guess all those hours studying color theory in college made an impact.
8. I took printmaking classes all through college. I would love to someday have my own printing setup in my house!
9. I keep my computer desktop spick and span. I can’t be creative when my “home base” looks like a tornado just ran through.
10. Although my digital design sense if very clean, modern, and all about “white space”, my home interior design sense is warm, cozy, with a touch of history.

Now I’m supposed to tag 10 people.
I know people have busy schedules, so if you can’t get to writing a post like this, I won’t be hurt. If you do…I’d love to see them!
Previously Owned
Olive Green Anna
Smile and Wave
La Catrina
Sea Blanket
Elise Blaha
I go by Katie
Maiedae
Poppytalk
Pugly Pixel

I hope you all have a chance to stop by these gals blogs. They’ve all been on my daily reads list and I am always in awe with what these gals can pull together. They definitely deserve the Creative Blogger Award.

*label courtesy of pugly pixel

This past week I was all off balance. I took Monday and Tuesday off work for some much needed R&R. When I returned to work on Wednesday I had zero time to adjust and lots of stuff to mark off my to-do list. It took me all week to get back into the routine of my daily schedule. I think I need this weekend to recover from my 3-day week. haha.  Next week we will be back to the norm.

1^ This has been the week of thunder storms. It’s been storming since last weekend with the worst storm hitting last night. The St. Louis airport was hit by a tornado, shattering 50% of the buildings windows. The airport will be closed for some time.
2^ This coming week is my best friend’s birthday. (the 29th) I miss her, but hope her recent move to Seattle is going well.
3^ I’ve been watching Sex in The City reruns on TV all weekend. Love it!
4^ I’ve finally purchased the quilt from Urban Outfitters that I’ve been drooling over for months.
5^ My boyfriend’s sister is attending a 20 hour dance marathon to raise money for her sorority. She’s new to the sorority and would love to be one of the top raisers. She just started raising money , so if you’d like to help her out you can donate here.
6^ The puppy got his teeth professionally cleaned on Wednesday and even though it was scary and expensive, I feel like a good dog owner. I think he’s happy too!

Happy Sunday and hope everyone is having a Happy Easter with their families!

*Have you jumped on the Google Friend Connect bandwagon? This is one of my favorite ways to find new bloggers to follow, so check it out!

First off, I must mention how thankful I am for those readers who were part of the discussion on yesterday’s post> I really appreciate all the insights. I feel like I have a wealth of people to tap into in this blogging community, so why not take advantage of it. Thank you!

On another note, this past weekend was spent on Cherokee Street, St. Louis’ largest strip of antique shops, 6 blocks to be exact. This “down and dirty” part of town is filled with character and people are starting to notice it’s charm and potential.

Walking up and down the streets you’ll discover all the little shops filled with treasures, some antiques and some just filled with old trash. haha. I’m actually surprised this was the first time I’ve been to this Antique Row and feel kind of blind/oblivious for just now discovering it.  I loved it. I loved the variety of shops that line the streets and no two stores are the same. Out of all the shops I found a few keepers that I’ll be visiting on a regular basis. (and it’s close to my loft! Bonus!)

Tomorrow, I’ll show you some sneak peeks inside the shops. I was like a kid in a candy store and I love how the shop owners feel the same way. I walked into one shop and said to the owner, “It’s like heaven in here!”. She responded with saying, “OMG it is. I love being in here!”. I may have found my new weekend tradition, so look out people!

* That mint dress apron shown in yesterday’s post was a real gem. $15 for hanger and apron. Love it!

I’m back to blogging. I took a 3 day break away from blog/twitter land and it felt really good. It was the first time since starting this blog back in January that I had taken a day “off”. I had waves of guilt that I was leaving my baby unattended, but at the end of the day…it was exactly what I needed. I’m back into the swing of things today and thought I would post my Sunday portrait on Monday since I took the time to take the pictures. My family was in town this weekend and we spent the entire weekend in and out of antique stores! I’ll post pics from our adventure this week.

1^ I’ve decided that I will be taking two e-courses in the upcoming weeks. I’m really excited about them and they are an amazing deal for the amount of information provided. 1. Style Your Space by Rachel Denbow & 2. Dream Job by Elsie & Emma.
2^ I’ve been doing a lot of “market research” when it comes to vintage shops. I stumbled upon these gems: Peppermint Vintage & Little Bee Vintage
3^ My freelance projects have official wrapped up. This little worker bee is taking a much needed break. If you haven’t read THIS yet, do so now….
4^ I’ve joined in on is Stephanie’s 1,300 Things to be Thankful for adventure. Check out what it’s all about!
5^ I’m dying to get some plants in my loft to make things a little more “springy”. I feel bad that any plant I buy dies within weeks. (I blame it on our industrial air vents in our loft)
6^ The weather is stilling trying to make up it’s mind. If I ever have to hear the words “chance of snow showers” one more time this spring, I might barf.
7^ The puppy is getting his teeth professionally cleaned this coming Wednesday. I find this completely necessary and completely terrifying.

I just realized there are a lot of links in this post. O’well. Lots of neat-o things going on in the interwebs!

Happy Sunday/Monday!

*Have you jumped on the Google Friend Connect bandwagon? This is one of my favorite ways to find new bloggers to follow, so check it out!