Etsy finds

I love searching around on Etsy and can spend hours on there (and very often do!) just browsing and looking for cute things for gifts for others of for myself. Since we have had quite a few Etsy packages come to our house lately, it seemed like a good time to do an Etsy post.

1) two color monogram decal from DecalInnovations

I received a blank plain wine glass as a favor at a holiday party. Since I didn't have use for a single wine glass that didn't match any of my others, I decided to jazz it up with a monogram decal. I fell in love with the decals from Decal Innovations because you could get more than one color in it. I chose to go with a pink and navy one with the decal shape from the last one with the font style from the first decal. (You following all this?) The shipping was a bit long but I think it had more to do with the fact that it was shipped via First Class mail. (Side note: never send a package to an APO address via First Class mail. Your recipient could be waiting months for it.) I was so excited to get my decal that I put it on rather hapzardly and caused some wrinkles in it that I could not get out.

Overall, not my best effort, but it doesn't impair my ability to  drink wine, so I'll keep it on there.

2) stretchy hair ties from Bowties Bowtique

I love this style of hair tie because they don't cause weird bumps in my pony tail and the elastic looks just a tiny bit nicer than the usual plain black Goody elastic. Bowties Bowtique's prices are quite good ($0.99 for one elastic- shipping is $0.50 for one item and $0.25 for each additional item). I liked that you get to pick the colors and aren't forced to pick one pack of pre-selected colors. I ordered 3 to start out with- one in noir, one in surf blue, and one in baby pink.

The package was shipped on February 12th, and as of today, it still has not arrived. (This is why you never ship anything via First Class mail to an APO address.) The seller was very sweet and gracious about it and resent them. They arrived about a week later and I have been wearing these ever since. I plan on ordering more very soon. Be sure to like them on facebook because they seem to have some kind of special going on every so often.

3) Lilly Pulitzer Inspired Hotty Pink First Impression Address Labels from elleofont

Ordered these on a whim because they were cute and I needed more address labels. This is one of my favorite Lilly Pulitzer patterns. The address labels themselves are really cute and came here fast. The girl who owns the shop, Lindsay, is a total sweetheart and I have gotten a few more things from her since then including a facebook cover photo and a monogrammed Lilly Pulitzer Pop background for my iPhone.

4) Custom onesie from BiasedBaby

Normally, I detest onesies or shirts for children that have writing on them, but there are a few that I will make an exception for. I saw this on Etsy a while back and mentally bookmarked it for future possible shower or new baby gifts. When a dear sorority sister of mine announced that she was pregnant, I knew that this was the perfect baby gift for her. I ordered this to arrive when she got back from vacation to surprise her. I asked to put a gift note in with the onesie so she would know who it's from and the store did. My friend loved the onesie and so did every other Alpha Sigma Alpha on her facebook page who saw the picture of it. In addition to sororities and fraternities, they also do onesies for the police and different branches of the military.

5) This Too Shall Pass Aluminum Cuff from StampinOffThePath

This is one of my favorite sayings and something I have been trying to remind myself of a lot lately. We have been facing some hard times and decisions so I wanted to get a bracelet with that on it to remind me that no bad time lasts forever. It came here pretty quickly and I fell in love with it instantly. I wear it most days either alone or with other bracelets and have gotten so many compliments on it and so many people have asked me where it's from, so here it is.

Hope you enjoyed my recent purchases. Let me know if there are any Etsy items that you've bought recently and loved or if there are any that you are currently lusting over.

Friday 5- Etsy Love

I have been spending a lot of time on Etsy lately. A lot. I have mainly been looking for home decor things and anything with a monogram on it. And I do mean anything.

Here are some of my recent favorites:
1) Monogrammed Lime Green Wafffle Weave Bag from KatieClaire

I was feeling sad because all I wanted for Hannukah were monograms and I didn't get a single monogrammed thing, so I decided to buy some for myself. I have been needing a new larger size makeup bag for traveling, and when I saw this, I knew I had to have it. I'm really hoping that it comes before I leave for the Canary Islands.
2) Navy Seersucker Clutch with Monogram from SouthernBeaus

No words. This is just perfect. I hope to make it mine for this summer.
3) Custom State & Location Chevron Print from RedRobe Designs

I seriously love chevron so I love this. You can put a little heart near a specific city/town, so I want two get two of those, one for NYC and one for Omaha and hang them up next to each other in pretty frames.
4) Vintage Telephone Booth in Coral Photo from Swede13

I would love to hang this up in my house when I start thinking about/missing England.
5) Turquoise Blue Ceramic Necklace on a Silver Chain from amaniworks

I actually bought this necklace today after seeing a voucher for the shop on Heartsy. I think it will look great with a navy sweater or top. (Lord knows I have enough of those.) My total cost was $15. If you haven't heard of Heartsy, it's similar to Groupon, but only for Etsy. Every day, they have deals for several shops and once in a while, they have auctions as well. I loved it because I have discovered so many new shops through it.

Etsy Love

I have a love/hate relationship with Etsy. I love so many things on there, but 1) I hate having to sift through pages and pages of things I do not like to find the gems, and 2) my wallet hates that I love it all. Since moving to Germany, my Etsy obsession has only increased exponentially since most sellers ship via USPS Priority Mail which means that shipping to APO addresses is never an issue!

Here are my most recent purchases:
Ophelia Ivory Chiffon Flowers from Amie Noel Designs.

I tried on an almost identical pair at Kleinfeld the day I bought my dress to see a completed look. However, they were $350 (not including sales tax) and while I am ok with paying around $800 for my wedding shoes or several thousand for my dress, I am not ok with paying a couple hundred dollars for chiffon flowers. Since that day, I have been searching for a similar hair accessory with a dissimilar price tag. When I found this one, I knew it was the one! It came a few days ago and looks absolutely wonderful in person. At $45 shipped, it also does not break the bank!

Snoopy Notecard Set- $5.50 from DebraTA Crafts

Snoopy + stationery= perfect!

Merci Beaucoup Letterpress Cards $14 from SmockPaper.

I ordered these on a day when I realized that I had run out of thank you cards. The picture does not do these cards justice. They are stunning.

And now, my ever growing wish list:
Wedding Monogram Handkerchief- $17 from jfybride

Sweet and Simple Bow Earrings- $18 from LittleMandCo

Pink and Brown Grosgrain Bow Headband- $8.00 from A&J Accessories

Monogrammed Pink Toile Bucket- $26.00 from The Butterbean Tent

My bathroom is white, pink, and green and I want to keep this in my bathroom to add some more color to it and to keep all the little things that keep a bathroom looking untidy and disorganized out of plain sight.

Small Pebble Bowl with Blue Interior- $18 from kimwestad

Perfect to use in the living room or hallway as a catchall for keys, loose change, and other odds and ends.

Dupioni Silk Card Box- $55 from SheaChicDesigns

While I realize that my wedding is a bit far off for me to be worrying about what the card box will look like, I cannot stand the craft store looking card boxes that seem to be so prevalent at so many of the elegant weddings I've been invited to. The other option seems to be something super expensive. This box strikes a happy medium and in my opinion is just gorgeous. I would get this box in navy instead of the brown, keeping the white and pink bands the same. After the wedding it would be used to store stationery and cards that I receive.

Favorite Things Friday

KMH can breathe easy now, I'm finally blogging. Ever since TLS and I found out that we'd be moving to Germany and I would have a house to decorate, I've been nesting hard core. I signed up for every home accessories catalog available, have created wishlists on several sites, and have started flagging/clipping pictures of things I like. At the Barbara Barry sale on Rue La La a while back, we bought an adorable set of four rocks glasses with chairs on them, and are keeping them in the box so that they are the first thing that we bought together for our new house.

I have quite a lot of things on my wishlists, so this is the condensed version, in no particular order:

I absolutely love this set of tea cup hooks from Uncommon Goods. I think that they're both quirky and practical at the same time. ($28 each)

It doesn't actually get much quirkier than this "You are Here" Doormat, also from Uncommon Goods, $24. When I showed this to TLS, his response was "I don't get it- are we planning on having a round door?" Way to not have a sense of humor about things.

I realize that I have already posted this once before, but there is absolutely no way that this print will not make it into our kitchen. Everything about it screams MRM from a mile away. $26 from Etsy seller jennysbakeshop.

I love entertaining guests, and since TLS and I are both big iced green tea drinkers, this wonderful pitcher from Tiffany ($165) is on our list of things we need, not want.

My friend JMK received this beautiful Acacia Salad Bowl set from Bed, Bath, and Beyond ($30) at her bridal shower, and I loved it so much that I had to register us for one as well. I love wood salad bowls, and the picture does not do this one justice.

Since TLS knows my love of pretty, fun coffee mugs, he agreed that when we finally get our own house, we can get a full set of the Lilly Pulitzer mugs. Wee. Where else would we buy them from but my favorite store, the Preppy Princess? $14.50 each.

I'm going to end this post here to prevent myself from going overboard and clogging up anyone's screen. If you see something that you think I just need to have for our house, please email me. Have a fabulous weekend to all, and if you are Jewish, Shana Tova u Metukah!!!

the absolute last thing that I will do before I leave work today*

*aside from kicking TLS's rear end in Lexulous

Will be to post my weekly favorite things!

In honor of my trip to see KMH (32 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!), this week's favorite things will be devoted to luggage tags.

One of my favorite things about travelling is getting fun luggage tags. I have a really cute matching Lilly luggage tag and passport case set that I won from one of Kappa Prep's giveaways that is going with me on this trip! Despite the fact that I have so many luggage tags, I always seem to be acquiring more. Probably because they make a cute gift "extra." Here are some great ones:

Pink and Green Leather Crown from Baekgaard, $9

Pink Heart Luggage Tag from Tiffany & Co, $60 (if anyone can figure out how to post better pictures from Tiffany, let me know

Pink and Yellow Polka Dotted Flip Flops Luggage Tag from SB Design Studio, $9.95

Pink Polka Dot Luggage Tag from Etsy Seller thecottagecupboard, $9.50.

Silver Stripe luggage tag from Flight 001, $9.

Set of 6 patterned luggage tags from Flight 001, $12.50.

who's ready for my favorite things?

This week's favorite things post is devoted to something I have been buying a lot more of recently, pretty stationary.

First up is an item that I have been lusting over and begged the Preppy Princess to stock. Boatman Geller Ladybugs Repeat notecards. How many times can I use the phrase awwwwwwwwww until it starts to completely lose all meaning?

These cards fall under the category of need, not want. Right now may be a good time to remind my mother that I have a birthday coming up and already have a nutcracker. $66 for a set of 25 at the Preppy Princess.

Also from the Preppy Princess are these Fuschia Edged Folded Notecards by Donovan Designs. $20 for a set of 10. I am a sucker for anything that's personalized.

Next up, an Etsy find that pretty much defines what it means to be MRM. Red, pale blue, and a ladybug? Yes please! $5 for one at Arlissa Vaughn.

Another thing that I am obsessing over is notecards that have fabric on them. I love the colors, textures, simplicity, well everything of these Pink Lotus cards. $17 for five from one of my favorite stores, Kate's Paperie.

Being that I'm a big dork, I think these cards are so cute.That's snail cards for snail mail, get it? $9.95 for a set of 14 at Papyrus.

More cards from Papyrus and the reasons for why I'm going to go broke:

Flocked beetle notecards. These may be some of the most beautiful and classiest cards that I've seen. $24 for a set of 8.

Also pretty but much more affordable, these Calligraphic Swash cards with caddy make a great gift.

The caddy includes 40 notecards and 40 envelopes for $24.95.


Flowers and Silhouettes note cards in my favorite color combination. $14.95 for a set of 20 cards/ four different designs

Really, I can't have an opportunity to blog about Lilly and not take it.

Notecards with cutouts made to look like the classic shift:

$15 for a set of 10 from Lilly Pulitzer.

From Lilly's personalized stationary line, foldover note cards in my favorite pattern.

$75 for a set of 25 from the Preppy Princess. Mommy, please remember that I am an only child and you love me very much.

favorite things

It's Friday, it's gorgeous out, and due to the fact that I handed in my report four days early, I have literally no work to do today. That means it's time for my weekly favorite things post. This week, in honor of my charity giveaway, I will be showcasing items that donate back to a non-profit organization. (If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, please do so. I want a lot of entries for this one.)

First up is this lovely necklace from Jewelry Without Jewels, $15 from her Etsy shop.

The color is pretty darn close to Tiffany Blue (yes, I'm a creature of habit), it's cute, perfect for summer, and makes a great gift. Also, 10% of it goes to the Save the Music Foundation which helps fund instrumental music education in public schools.

Since I can only go for, oh, 5 minutes without gushing about Lilly (I'm pretty sure it's 5 minutes, KMH you've been timing me- what's the official time?) here is a piece from their celebrity designed Jubilee Collection- A Colorful Cause.

The Shields Bikini, $178. I am in love with this print. Unfortunatly, I am one of those people who is two different sizes on the top and the bottom so I cannot buy a bikini that's sold as a set as opposed to two separate pieces. If you can buy it, do so, it's gorgeous and 15% of the sale of it goes to The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation.

Moving on to more Lilly, another thing that I have been buying a lot of is pretty stationary. I am absolutely in love with the idea of personalized stationary and hope to acquire some soon.

I am absolutely head over heels in love with these Winter Playground Pink Foldover Cards from The Preppy Princess. $75 for a set of $25, with 5% of the profits going to the Fisher House.

As I have mentioned on here before, I am really into ladybugs. Partly because they are my sorority's symbol, partly because I adore polka dots, and partly because they are too darn cute. When I found this serving platter from Uncommon Goods, my fingers could not type in my credit card number fast enough!

I always serve cookies on this platter when guests come over, and it's fun when I have sisters over for dinner and they see the ladybug and start to squeal. $40 with 10% going to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. (KMH, are you shrieking yet?)

For a long time, I was very fascinated by the Clarisonic Brush at Sephora, but could not justify the hefty $195 price tag. I just knew that if I bought it, I would only use it a couple of times and then it would sit there. Boy I was wrong. One day, I had a $165 gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided that I would buy one. Since then, I have used it almost every day, and my face seriously feels dirty if I go for a few days without using it. When I got mine, there was only the plain white version available, but since then Clarisonic has created the pink version as well. Not only is it cuter, but the proceeds from this one go towards funding breast cancer research.

Since Passover has finally ended and I have survived another year, I can now talk about baked goods without turning into something resembling a drunk Cookie Monster on crack with slightly less fur. Therefore, I bring you to my final item on this week's list, something that we are all familiar with and that many of us hold near and dear to our hearts: Girl Scout Cookies.

At around $4 a box, these are the cheapest item on this week's list. They come in many varieties, my favorite being the Samoa, above. (Does anyone find it coincidental that my favorite cookie just happens to be the most fattening one? I sure as heck don't.) What could be better than knowing that while I'm sitting on my couch watching Phantom of the Opera on dvd, I'm actually helping girls become better and stronger leaders? You tell me.