(Alice, at the Grand America Hotel.)
This week was pretty quiet, and we celebrated Valentine’s Day with James and Rhys at their school. Tonight is Ryan’s twice monthly brew day, and tomorrow we’re planning to attend a local Chinese New Year festival. Hopefully the boys won’t find the Dragon Dance too scary. Here are a few things that caught my attention this week.
A sneak peek of the final episode of Downton Abbey, Season Four, including a glimpse of adorable baby “Sybbie.”
Katrina Tan of Pugly Pixel is a girl after my own heart, and this post is right up my alley. She inspired me to change my link color, so I treated her to some coffee. If you’re in need of inspiration, I highly recommend her blog and her Style Screencasts.
I ran across this photographer’s site after seeing Alyssa’s tweet, and was instantly drawn in. She is the subject of her work, and it’s quite interesting.
And this post on motherhood is making the rounds right now. I’ve felt this way a lot lately, and it’s so refreshing to know I’m not the only one.
Have a wonderful weekend!
(A lovely pom-pom bouquet, created by a very talented crafter.)
Last fall, I attended a craft workshop at my local Anthropologie store and had a wonderful time. This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend a Valentine’s Day event held at the larger store downtown, featuring the lovely Austin blogger, Camille Styles. This time, we worked to create a fun pom-pom bouquet that we could take home to enjoy. You can see the full tutorial at Camille’s blog here.
It’s no secret that I lack basic crafting skills, so my pom-poms were extremely unimpressive and I never made it to the actual bouquet crafting part, but I did meet some wonderful ladies and enjoyed the workshop immensely! It’s so much fun being surrounded by beautiful clothing and decorations while you chat and work with your hands, and I definitely encourage you to attend an Anthropologie event if there’s one in your city. I only had my phone with me, but I snapped a few pictures of the event to share with you.
(The beautiful brunch display.)
(Mid-morning mimosas.)
(Pretty Valentine’s Day cookies.)
(A goodie bag from the store.)
Camille, her team, and the staff at Anthropologie were incredibly sweet and helpful, and it was really a wonderful day. I love these fun workshops and they are such an amazing opportunity to meet other women who share my interests. Here’s hoping there’s another one very soon!
Back in January, I wrote about my new interest in Steampunk design, and I’ve been working to add a little of its style to my living room. I bought new curtains, and yesterday, I told you about my smelly adventure with the crinkly fans from BHLDN. Those were part of a larger plan to jazz up my mantel with my interpretation of Steampunk.
Here’s the final result.
(My Steampunk Mantel.)
Like I said, it’s Steampunk reinterpreted, so until my mom finally agrees to give me my grandfather’s vintage typewriter, this is a very loose interpretation. The crinkly fans are reminiscent of wheels or gears, at least to me, and I added a few other details, too, including an armillary sphere, a hot air balloon, a couple of snails (because I adore real snails even though they are gross!), my favorite fairy vase, and a green garland for spring.
(A closeup of my Steampunk mantel.)
I love the delicate fans and ivory details combined with the darker metal pieces, and the finished look isn’t overpowering at all. Plus, it’s light enough for spring, especially with the greenery and tiny creatures from West Elm.
(My hot air balloon.)
I found this balloon sculpture
(My armillary sphere.)
I also added the armillary sphere I purchased from One King’s Lane, which was the initial inspiration for my foray into Steampunk.
(Felted Foliage Garland from BHLDN.)
And finally, I hung the Felted Foliage Garland, which also came from BHLDN. This is actually a set of many small garlands that can be strung together or used separately, and I love it. Since James was old enough to color, we’ve been making garlands for our mantel, and I’m always on the hunt for new ideas. This garland is so lovely, and could be used at Christmas, too.
I’m pretty pleased with my new Steampunk-style mantel, and it was most definitely an adventure procuring all the details. Now, I just have to invent some type of contraption to go along with everything!
