pin it forward.

The lovely Victoria of sfgirlbybay has hosted another blogger mashup, called Pin it Forward! Similar to the Blog it Forward mashup that she hosted a few months ago and in which I participated, this one employs several bloggers over the course of several weeks sharing what inspires them. This time, we are sharing things that speak to us and say, "Home."

A little different this time is our mode of sharing the home-y things we love. We joined a site called Pinterest and created virtual inspiration boards, called "pinboards."

I have to admit, I didn't even start adding things to my pinboard until today, because my time has been spent doing a hundred other things. But I have to say, I love this site. I love the look of it, following other people's pinboards, the ease of adding things to my own pinboard, everything about it. It is a beautiful site. It strikes me as a blend of ThisNext (of which I have been a member for years) and Tumblr. Although my Tumblr is more personal, I have seen many people use it as a site for sharing their inspirations. On Pinterest I can do the same thing but I do not have to write any recommendations. I can just pin the things that I like to my board, just as one would do with a real inspiration board. I am going to really enjoy adding things to it.

I love Victoria's blog. It is just so gorgeous and she keeps it chock-full of eye candy. She is a genius for putting these blogger mashups together.

It is my pleasure to share my humble pinboard with you. But first, a few quiet, personal images of what home means to me.

And now, here is the link to my pinboard! Enjoy!

the bright side project.

Here is a lovely found site. The fine ladies over at The Bright Side Project have exceptional giveaways every single day. They are also quite creative in how they select their winners. The winners are not chosen at random; there is always a thoughtful question posed which requires an answer. You can also "swoop" prizes (claim for yourself) that have not been claimed after a week's time.

I have yet to win one of the giveaways (I'm guessing I'm not as eloquent as I thought I was! haha) or successfully swoop a prize (darnit!), but no worries. I'm gonna keep trying. Their giveaways are just TOO good.

found: handmade charlotte.

So, here's a found link that's truly great and is going on the blogroll. Yep, that GIANT list of links on the left? This one makes number seven. Seven's a great number! And it belongs to my awesome friend Rachel.

Her name is Rachel Faucett, and she is the proprietor of Handmade Charlotte and the author of the blog of the same name. Rachel is a prolific artist, having produced so many varied and fabulous objects I can hardly keep it straight. At the moment, her wares of choice are little girls' fashions. Delightful little girls' fashions. Seriously delightful.

I am so glad I have a little girl so that I can avail myself (and her) of this delightful clothing. And yes, I keep using the word 'delightful.' On purpose.

It's delightful because it's girly and frilly in all of the right ways. It hearkens to an earlier, seemingly simpler time, while at the same time retaining a modern, baby Bohemian feel. And the fabrics that she chooses are just so pretty.

You'd best believe I have a few of Rachel's items reserved for my little rosebud, like this little gem of a top.

Rachel is one of my favorite friends for a number of reasons. We're about the same age and both homeschool our kids so we always have a lot to talk about. She's so talented and really cool and artsy and craftsy. She gives me her clothes. (And believe me, they're cool clothes.) She has led such an interesting life (she played competitive tennis with many of the pros on tour now) and lives on this idyllic farm at the base of a mountain with a beautiful lake and lots of animals and this awesome house which she and her husband renovated. She's just a fabulous person to know, and her blog is a treasure trove of finds for those who, like I, love art and design.

Go check out her blog, her Etsy shop, and her Flickr photostream, and expect to hear the name Handmade Charlotte a lot in the blogosphere in the near future.

found: wardrobe choices.

So, it's been a couple of YEARS since my last "found" post. I was reading over my blog archives the other day, and I started thinking about maybe bringing back a couple of elements that I had before. Like the "found" posts. I may not put every single link in the sidebar though; I'm thinking maybe I'll do posts of a select number of "found" links relating to a particular category. If the category has anything to do with art and design, or home comforts, I'll probably put those things in the sidebar.

Today the category is clothing. I've found some great sites that I've bookmarked or saved somewhere else or written down or whatever...

One is Shabby Apple. I've written several recommendations about this company over at thisnext because I am so impressed with their clothing. They have the most awesome dresses. Not only that, but they have incredible dresses for young girls. I could spend a lot of money over there. I think there are about seven or eight dresses on my perpetual wish list.

Another fine source is Shade Clothing. They also have lovely dresses that look ultra-comfortable and easy to wear, like this one. They also have a large selection of items for layering, tank tops and tees.

Down East Basics has a great selection of skirts. I also like their sweaters and tops. They also carry a maternity line, a young girls' line and a mens' line.

Tabeez describes their line as "trend-setting, modest apparel." They've got awesome tops (like this plaid ruffle top) and belts. They even have skin care and shoes.

And speaking of shoes, Wanted Shoes is an awesome site. I seriously want these boots. And these. I also want these mary janes. And these.

And if you have some serious money to spend, you could always invest in something like this lovely Orla Kiely dress, or this lovely ensemble from Kate Spade, or this J. Crew ensemble, or this sweet dress from Banana Republic.

Of course, Anthropologie is always good. Always. It's hard to resist when they offer outfits like

these.

I have found several wardrobe options on Etsy as well, but I will share those in another post.

One day I'll figure out html coding or whatever it is so that I can just post lovely collages of images from the internet instead of a bunch of links.

found.

Here's another good one. I love photography, spend way too much time on Flickr, and wish I had more time to spend taking pictures. I love looking at blogs with beautiful photos in them. This one is not exactly that, but it is dedicated to photography and gives tips on doing really cool things with your photos. It's called Photojojo. Check it out.

photojojo

found.

Okay, this one is just plain cute. I smile gleefully every time I visit this blog, due to all of the warm and fuzzy feelings it provides. Plus, I love fashion, and Fifi looks great in EVERYTHING. She's definitely up on all of the trends. Go pay her a visit.

fifi

found.

Now that I am returning to a regular blogging routine, it's time to continue adding to the blogroll. New on the found list is DesignSponge.

You may not have noticed (yet), but I love beautiful things. I'm into design, interiors, making one's home look super-dope (although mine has got a LONG way to go), letterpress (I am a slight paper-addict), colorful housewares, and just anything in general that helps to make the simple life fabulous. This blog contributes to all of the aforementioned things, and it's worth a look-see. Lurk away!

Design*Sponge

found.

Okay. If the images on this blog don't make you swell up with glee, then few things probably will.

Geninne's Art Blog

found.

I love food. Who doesn't?

I like to eat good food. I also love trying out new recipes, and I delight in the results. I also love pictures. Pictures with lots of color and detail are my favorites (aside from black and whites).

So, I have stumbled upon several food blogs that have lots of good-looking recipes and good-looking pictures of good food, which I know I probably would enjoy eating. Here is the first:

Pinch My Salt

I swear, I am chomping at the bit to call up Williams-Sonoma and order one of those mini-cheesecake pans so that I can make these mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving. My pumpkin pie is pretty scrumptious (so I've been told anyway), but those cheesecakes look like little bits of pumpkin heaven. Cute blog title too. Check it out at your leisure.

found.

Here's another awesome find...

I actually discovered Decor8 a few months ago, and it's pretty much a daily read for me. Holly had a workspace contest a few weeks ago, and ohmygosh. I really need to get on the ball with finishing mine, but her pictures were super-inspiring. She's got all these stellar links too, including some of my personal hometown faves! Her site is off the chain. Do check it out.

Decor8

On a more random note, let me just say that I am loving that new show "Heroes."

found.

I've decided to start a new thing on this blog, called "Found."

I'll highlight a blog that I've found and include the link, and you can click on it and go somewhere pretty cool, which is that person's blog.

I don't have much time at the moment to start a comprehensive list or blogroll, so I'll do it like this, posting the person's link here and then adding it to a blogroll list one at a time. That way I can actually get a list done!

Through posting these links, you can catch a glimpse into the different interests that I have, or the ideas that I find thought-provoking, or just the stuff that I think is cool.

The first link, I guess, was posted a couple months ago, when I posted a link to my associate pastor's blog, Kingdom Power on the Street. That blog is already on the sidebar. So,...

The first link to begin the new blogroll list is...Meaghan's blog!

Meaghan, I really enjoy reading your posts. You're a booklover like me, you're a Calvin and Hobbes lover like me, and you're a mom like me. I could list several other "like me's" but you get the point!

Meaghan's Daily Ponderings