The It List-April 29th

Happy Friday!  I can't believe April is over... hopefully all this rain and storms are as well.

I am ready for some May flowers!

• lady M is celebrating her birthday... stop by and wish her a happy day and also check out her fun wardrobe inspiration for the big day!
• rose a la mode is sporting an adorable new floral dress... even on a chilly spring day she perfectly accessorizes it! (find rose a la mode on twitter!)
• mama loves papa hosts a simply adorable little blog party for your stylish little ones - stop by to play along or just 'oooh' and 'aaah.' (find mama loves papa on twitter!)
• meet virginia design layers gorgeous neutral pieces for an ethereal feel to this casual outfit.  These colors are so on trend right now too! (find meet virginia design on twitter!)
• a little dash of ash has a delicious looking smoothie recipe to share with us. I always love to see what others' smoothie concoctions are - this one looks yummy and healthy! (find a little dash of ash on twitter!)
• rebecca with an R is definitely beach ready in this gorgeous maxi dress and oversized hat - I am seriously loving this outfit! (find rebecca with an R on twitter!)
• sweetie pie style is looking gorgeous in this drapey feather printed dress - it's just her style! (find sweetie pie style on twitter!)
• baby shopaholic had this super sweet little doll custom made for her daughter for Easter.  What a fun keepsake and toy for a little one, my daughter would love this!
• the capital barbie is giving away sassy shoe themed note cards on her blog this week - you must stop by and enter quickly! (find the capital barbie on twitter!)
• good tots features the artwork of modern pops - these bold graphic prints make for great nursery artwork!
• the stylish housewife sports a floppy sun hat and a chevron dress, quite possibly the most perfect summer combo ever. I am in love with this look! (find the stylish housewife on twitter!)
• good clean fun made these margarita flavored cupcakes for Easter - but I think they would be perfect for any summer day! Yum! (find good clean fun on twitter!)
• a spot of whimsy is sick of the rain... and quite frankly, aren't we all!?!? But rain never looked this good before... I promise! (find a spot of whimsy on twitter!)
• good life for less has a casual but chic outfit for Easter.  Check it out! (find good life for less on twitter!)

the IT list is produced weekly by jill of good life for less - check out how you can be involved here!

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What I Wore-Feathers and Fruitcakes

And by fruitcakes I mean people acting totally loony and not the Christmas treat.  This outfit hails from date night #2 from our "Holy Crap We Have Another Sitter!" week.   It was shaping up to be a pretty uneventful Monday, but then I checked the mail to find the new dress I had ordered from Spotted Moth.  I was super excited, doing the little "I got fun mail!" yelp, running inside to try it on.  Hubby comes in and is like "Hey that's a pretty dress, let's go out tonight so you can wear it.", then I'm like "Fat chance, who is going to babysit at such late notice?", and then he goes "Oh, my cousin had mentioned she could babysit tonight if we wanted" and then I'm all "Hells to the yeah, call that girl up!".  Or something like that.  Now wait, I haven't even got to the fruitcake part yet. That comes later in the evening.  Let me just show you the dress first:

Bam! I know I am assaulting your eyes with my DayGlo skin, I'm sorry.  I'll work on that tan, I promise. So I love gray and I love feathers and I love a bargain, so when I saw this dress for only $35, I threw it right in my virtual cart, no questions asked.  I am super thrilled by the fit and quality for the price.

We decided to go to a nice restaurant for dinner (really the only thing to do around here when you are dressed up), but the one we were hoping to go to ended up being closed since it was a Monday and apparently only losers go out on dates on a Monday night.  So we found another restaurant that was pretty nice, but only problem was they were having some giant "Tax Season is Over Hooray!" kind of party for a bunch of CPA's.  This is where the fruitcake comes in.  Now, before I offend any lovely CPA readers, let me just say, that I am only referring to this particular group of CPA's that we ran into, and not CPA's as a whole. These particular CPA's were all drunk and all loud and all immature (I'm talking shouting about men's genitalia across the bar and cackling incessantly). UGH!! Kind of ruined our nice quiet little date night.  But all was not lost, we managed to have a good time anyway, as those of you with kids know that it is hard to have a bad time when you are free of children responsibilities! 

  It was pretty chilly that evening and even started drizzling a bit, so I busted out my gray soft trench from Gap, which I love on so many levels.  It's so soft and silky and drapey and yummy.  Loves it. The perfect spring cover up.  This may have been my wordiest post ever. I actually have stuff to talk about when I get out into the world!

Outfit deets:

Dress-Spotted Moth (looks like it is no longer in stock)

Trench-Gap

Purse-Vintage

Shoes-Target

Earrings-Loft {similar}

Date night #3 outfit to come!

Afternoon Delight: All Things Aqua

Anything that reminds me of warm summer breezes and salty ocean air gets an A+ in my book.  Surrounding yourself with these aqua beauties will put you in that tranquil state of mind:

Ceiling Lighting by Thomas Paul
Sandals by Aldo

pillow

necklace

earrings

stripe shirt

vase

pendant lamp

shoes

What I Wore-Chambray in the Country

Last week when my husband was on vacation we had the crazy fortune of having not one, not two, but three babysitters.  That is pretty much unheard of for us.  And none were even planned, they just popped up so we took major advantage.  We were even able to take a little day trip on one of those days, so we decided to head up to Jamestown, a sweet little town we like to visit that has lots of antique shops and a great country atmosphere.  I thought what better day to bust out my new chambray top!

Excuse the wrinkles, it was a bit of a car ride to get there.  I should have brought my Downy Wrinkle Release. That stuff works good!  Once in town, we drove around some of the back roads to find a fun little spot to snap some WIW shots-my husband is really starting to get into this now!  We found this light blue weathered barn and pulled on over.

Now, I love the charms of the country, but honestly think I am a city girl.  All I could think of were ticks and rattlesnakes as I was posing for these pics.  I thought for sure I was coming out of there with some type of bite.

Luckily though, I remained unscathed.

And these shoes didn't make it past the photo shoot.  I brought flip flops in my purse and put those puppies on for wandering around the town.  Bright neon wedges and uneven country streets don't mix. I may be a city girl, but I know how to prepare for the country!

So are you a city mouse or a country mouse?  I'd love to know.  

Part Duex of our day in the country to come!

Top: Element via Swell
Pants: Kohls last year
Wedges: Target last year
Watch: American Eagle
Necklace-Macy's

Interior Infatuation: Moroccan Pool House

I would have no qualms about moving straight into this amazing pool house a la Ryan on the OC. He knew what was up.

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Design and images by The Desk of Lola, an amazing design firm based in L.A.  Here are a few other faves from different projects their portfolio:

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I love how the mass of votives in the middle of the coffee table makes it look like an indoor fire pit!

Source: thedeskoflola.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Their spaces definitely emanate that "California Cool" vibe, don't you think?

One Sweet Brand: Boden USA

I've known of the shop Boden for a few years now, though have never shopped it or even been that tempted too.  That changed over the weekend when I saw a pair of adorbs sandals on instyle.com and the link, to my surprise, sent me over to Boden!  So I perused around a bit and found a few very cute items that would be a nice addition to any spring wardrobe:

Two-Piece Swimwear by Boden
Shorts by Boden

Lilac striped top-

I love this fresh shade of stripes-a fun alternative to classic navy and white.  This top would look equally great paired with cropped denim or white pants.

Polka Dot shorts-

An absolute must have on my list for spring/summer is a pair of colored and/or printed shorts.  These polka dot shorts are super cute, and I love how they paired it with a fun green belt.

Swimsuit (top) (bottom)

Love the print and color of this swimsuit and the bottoms look like a pretty generous cut, which seems hard to come by these days.  And for those gals with a big ol' booty like me, generous coverage is a must!

Watercolor floral top-

This is a great punctuation piece, and so versatile.  Could be dressed both up and down.

Pewter cropped chinos-

Casual chic at it's best!

Sandals by Boden
Belts by Boden

Leopard print flats-

I need these. The end.

Ruffled ribbon necklace-

A fun statement piece to add interest to your outfit.

Braided belt-

In a bright color is the perfect accent for over a dress, or to cinch in a cardi. 

Tassel Sandals-

These are the sandals that started it all.  You know I am all abouts the tassels these days.  They come in red, purple and gray as well.

Have you ever shopped Boden? What do you think?

Monday Morning {P}Inspirations

Anyone nursing an Easter candy hangover?   Yeah, me too. Let's just gap out at these pretties until our heads quit pounding:

Source: vtinteriors.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

I neeed this watercolor wallpaper.  It's amazing on so many levels.

Source: popcultureafternoon.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Ocean blue nailpolish + grass green clutch = pretty time

Source: thehousehome.tumblr.com via Jackie on Pinterest

This shade of glossy red is spot-on.  Not too bright, not too muted.  Just somewhere in the perfect middle.  The bouquets of yummy purple anemones add the perfect punctuation.  Say that ten times fast!

Source: google.com via Jackie on Pinterest

This is the perfect shaggy bob.  BTW, I cut my hair.  It was getting unruly and that is what I do to punish it.

Source: ascotfriday.typepad.com via Jackie on Pinterest

A shot from inside the Cynthia Vincent flagship store. I kinda want to live there.

Have a sweet day!

The It List-April 22nd

Happy Friday ladies... I hope you all have a fabulous Easter weekend, whatever it brings to you.  "Hop" on over to these fab blogs for plenty of spring inspiration!

• strong sense of style gives color blocking a try... it's so fun and easy!  And really? What feels more properly spring than pink and green together?
• a spot of whimsy has some fabulous eye-candy from the movie Water for Elephants.  Please tell me you have read this book... if not, do it stat, the movie opens this weekend and it looks to be amazing! (find a spot of whimsy on twitter!)
• thought and musing wears a simple and elegant maxi skirt for some wine tasting... a perfect outfit for what looked to be the perfect day!
• good clean fun shares her favorite childhood cupcake recipe... angel food cake with strawberry frosting.  These look SO good and definitely what childhood memories are made of! (find good clean fun on twitter!)
• the capital barbie finds some fun accessories with bold angles... this bracelet stood out as a favorite for me.  Pop on over and see her other finds! (find the capital barbie on twitter!)
• good tots rounds up maternity poolside looks for summer, including this adorable peach polka dotted maternity swimsuit!
• rose a la mode sports this fun yellow and white striped dress and seriously has me craving more stripes. Is that possible? (find rose a la mode on twitter!)
• a spoonful of dish reminds me that flowers never disappoint in the inspiration department. Just looking at them I can feel that summer is closer!
• a little dash of ash will brighten your day with some good old fashion gorgeous guys.  Good looks never get old (sigh). (find a little dash of ash on twitter!)
• lady m says what we are all thinking lately: we can't get enough of Zara.  Check out the inspiration and some of their (very interesting) backstory over at her blog!
• meet virginia design is sure to put some spring pep in your step with this fun mix of bold colors and florals.  This outfit just screams sunshine! (find meet virginia design on twitter!)
• mama loves papa's daughter is quite the fashion prodigy!  Just look at these adorable items she (or her mama, either/or) picked out for herself! (find mama loves papa on twitter!)
• rebecca with an r proves that blazers never, ever get old... at least in my book!  I just love the simple sophistication of this look! (find rebecca with an r on twitter!)
• good life for less is color crushing on purple + blue + white for spring. It's such a simple color combo - check out her looks! (find good life for less on twitter!)

the it list is produced each week by jill of good life for less... click here for information on how you can be involved!

Thrift Score: Butterfly Specimen Display

I scored major big time when I found this amazing butterfly display at one of my favorite antique shops in Jamestown, Ca.  It's not antique, in fact the creator signed it '92.  I have had a long time love affair with preserved butterflies (sounds sad, I know, but they are so pretty).  Behold:

17 butterflies in a 17x13" acrylic box for $35.00.  Yes, you read that right, $35.00!

I'm not sure where it's permanent home will be, but for now it is in front of my marbled paper artwork and I am kinda digging the effect.

Just to give you an idea of what these have been known to go for, check out these from etsy seller Butterfly Artwork:

3 butterflies in a 3.5x3.5" box- $39.95

Around 30 butterflies in a 12x17" box- $595.00

Mine is starting to sound like the deal of the century right about now! I am in no way discrediting the value of this sellers' work, I've even had them on my wishlist for some time now.  I just get uber excited when I find a look for less.

And some inspirations for you:

Source: aprilandmaystudio.blogspot.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: goodbonesgreatpieces.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: anindiansummer-design.blogspot.com via hanna on Pinterest

Source: gardenerandmarks.com.au via sophie on Pinterest

Source: bloesem.blogs.com via sophie on Pinterest

So what do you think about butterfly specimens?