Valentine's Day Inspired

Valentine's week is here and Valentine's Day is nipping at our heels, so it feels only right to have a heart inspired post. Some of my favorite items to use and wear . . .

I'm sure you've seen the West Elm heart mugs that seem to be buzzing around the internet, but I love these sweet ceramic tea cups from Ross Lab via Etsy. 

A great take on arrow earrings. Abigail arrowhead stud earrings from Lily Wang. 

Valentine's Wish List

Is it too early for a Valentine's Day wish list? Forget the flowers and chocolate, here are some things on my wish list.

I cringe when I have to buy fresh herbs at the grocery store, and all the while knowing that I could be growing my own herbs on my wee porch. Herbs in clay pots via the Growers Exchange.

Every season, I try to change my everyday purse, and V-Day seems like the perfect milestone. To get through those wintry blues and to store the copious amounts of winterware, I'd love this Helen Beauty Purse by Ruche. 

Gorgeous Ring

(via Etsy, Specimental)

I love this ring. Absolutely gorgeous. I'll take a roughly cut stone with a hammered gold band any day.  Considering I was just gifted a shiny somethin' somethin', I wont' covet, but what a great Valentines gift, eh? 

Gift Guide: For Him

 (photo via Man Candy)

Let's do the 'for him' gift guide, shall we? Straying away from just Etsy on this one, I have some finds that I'm excited to share with you. So without further ado, here are some ideas for your boyfriend, friend, brother, husband, dad, grandfather, boy crush or whomever . . .

A Mad Men inspired cocktail glass set from Zest Vintage. 

A letterpress poster by Joey Roth to place above his desk. 

Stocking Stuffers: For Her

Stocking stuffers aren't just for children so here are some ideas for her.

From clockwise-  (1) Gold polka dot tights from ShopCurious (2) Take some of your Instagrams and turn them into Stickygrams to display for all her visitors to see (3) Fun tie dye hair ties from Mane Message (4) Minted Rose Lip Balm for those wintry days (5) A girly bottle of Bombay Gin.  (6) Balloon Monday Brooch from Howkapow to brighten her day

P.S. Be sure to check out  the for her gift guide and my wishlist. 

Gift Guide: For Her

I am obsessed with blogger gift guides. If I can even capture a sampling of their creative and ingenious ideas, then I'll be one happy lady. Let's give it a go via all things Etsy for those ladies in your life who are . . .

The Photographer: for that friend who drinks a copious amount of caffeine to stay alert until the midnight hour, perfecting snapshots from a recent wedding- how about this sweet little teapot from TheWhitePepper? She can make herbal tea and feel better about those sleepy eyes.

The Hippie: for that friend who wears loose dresses flip flops in the dead of winter but still needs to keep her head warm in the concrete jungles of Chicago- an urban turban from gertiebaxter?

The Humanitarian: for that friend who travels to foreign lands to start community art projects, how about this rad canvas and leather bag from Elvisbagdynasty for all her painting supplies?

The Homemaker: for that friend (or sister) who bears the resemblance of June Cleaver and will always shame you when it comes to homemaking- the book Dinner: A Love Story: It All Begins at the Family Table by Jenny Rosenstrach

The Maker: for that friend who spends her time creating and fashioning her own Etsy line, how about a colorful necklace that she didn't have to make from Fable + Lore?

The Ladyfriend: Ok, well I don't have a ladyfriend, but as a ladyfriend with a childish heart for coloring, I would love to get my hands on this little book from teamart. Jon Hamm . . . swoon

My Wishlist

If Santa were to visit our little apartment this season, these would be my wishes . . .

This aztec cape from Spanish Moss. Perfect for Saturday brunch, wouldn't you say?

Wedding: Gifts (boy)

(photo via Firefly Imageworks) 

For boy’s wedding gifts from me . . . 

 

*he received monogrammed cuff-links of my initials C (Caitlyn) and N (Nicole), and of course, he wore them to the wedding (via Forever Urban).  

Wedding: Gifts

(photo via Firefly Imageworks, our amazing photographer)

Oddly enough, I want to share some of the presents we gave to friends and family that joined us on our wedding day. I found this task particularly difficult. I wanted the gifts to be ceremonial and symbolic, but with my minimalist tendencies, I tried to find a balance of practicality as well.

'A treasure house of photographs'

The New York Times recently started a Tumblr page- The Lively Morgue. Why the lively morgue? The Times picture library is referred to as the morgue, and they are setting out to post several photos- historical highlights- every week. Apparently, if they posted 10 new archival pictures every weekday from the Times print collection, it would take until year 3965 (!!!). To enhance the story behind the photo, each image includes the reserve side so you can see annotations, captions and clues as to why it was chosen for printing- really neat! Some of my favorites . . .

Don't you wish men still wore hats?!



This was at first startling, but the notes on the photo read that the Parisian child seemed ' none the less happy' undergoing UV treatment, a procedure for urban children who lacked the healing of the sun's rays.

Reminded me of a contemporary snapshot of my favorite book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

P.S. you can order the prints - what a great gift idea!

How do you say thank you?

I am a firm believer in thank you notes and hostess gifts. It may be from my stint of living in southern Virginia, where hospitaility never goes unnoticed, but I'm sure my mom just raised me right. Boy and I were invited to a friends' home in Virginia Beach this past Memorial weekend, and since the trip was planned in a moment's notice, I'm scrambling around today to find the perfect thank you gift for our gracious hosts before the week's end. This is truly a classic case of what do you get for a couple that has everything. Well, here are a few of my ideas . . .

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys soap set via The Spoon Sisters. A fun, quirky gift that's sure to make their future guests giggle.



A Virginia state cutting board. Check out the Etsy shop, Aheirloom for other states- such a neat idea!