It Feels Like A Monday.

Monday's are always difficult for me after an especially lovely weekend.

Ryan and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on Saturday. Because we weren't able to get out of town like we usually do it was filled with typical Saturday things. Basketball game, Costco, Target. A trip to the gym and a movie at home. It was simple. And cozy.

We spent our 12th anniversary together, doing the everyday tasks we day dreamed of when we were engaged. A house full of children who needed scrapes to be kissed. Stocking the refrigerator with food to fill hungry bellies. We are living those fantasies now. There are days we wonder "what was life like before this?" and I'm sure there will be days ahead where we'll fondly look back and say "remember life when it was like that". I love this life we've created together. The day dreams we've made a reality.

p.s. My ring? An anniversary gift + a replacement for the wedding band that went missing this summer. It's so pretty and delicate, just perfect. You can find it here. Perhaps you would like cupid to bring you one?
I can vouch for it's sweetness.

This very moment. . .

The glorious sun is streaming through the windows and warming my toes.

Ryan has the day off + is playing at the river with Sam (remember him? more to come, I promise) and the three big kids.

The babies are napping.

I'm working on a few fun projects and I'm excited to share the details with you. Soon!

We've had a house full of sickies this week + today is the first day everyone is acting like themselves again. Right now I'm feeling especially grateful for our bodies and the ability they have to heal.

Tomorrow is our 12th wedding anniversary. I really am the luckiest.

Happy Weekend, friends. 

I hope the sun breaks through the clouds and shines on your faces. 

It has done wonders for me today.

Design Story + Rifle Paper Co.

Rachel just posted about Design Story and because I love a good deal, I had to share the news with you! Design Story is a site that offers really great designer products for less. They feature a couple of new specials every week. This weeks deal? Pretty Rifle Paper Co. products for a song. I just ordered up some valentines and had to show an incredible amount of restraint not to snag up every last one. I've mentioned my paper addiction before, right?

Sign up for Design Story right here and get yourself a $10 credit. I will get a $10 credit as well, which I think is a really nice way for Design Story to say thanks for spreading the word.

Pretty Calling Cards.

When I was young(er) I loved flipping through my mom's magazines. She usually had a Better Homes & Gardens or Country Living on the coffee table and I remember getting really excited when a new issue would come along. I can't remember which publication it was exactly, but one of the two had a page in every issue dedicated to "calling cards." I blame my paper obsession on this article.

Here are a handful of my favorite calling cards from ALT.

First row: A Little Sussy, With Style & Grace, Twig & Thistle
Second row: Fresh Nest Design, Sycamore Street Press, Collected
Third row: Paper Anniversary Co, You + Me, Snippet & Ink
Fourth row: You Are My Fave, Say Yes To Hoboken, Darling Design
Fifth row: Oh, Hello Friend, Creature Comforts, Oh So Beautiful Paper

I love that although we live in a highly technological time, we still find ourselves using an introduction method that started waaaay back in the 15th century.

Altitude Design Summit 2011.

How do I sum up my experience at ALT?  It's really difficult to put into words! It has taken me a few days to process everything...the entire conference was completely surreal. I gleaned so much information and feel so inspired.

My biggest regret? I didn't take enough pictures! I was so caught up in everything that was going on, I neglected my camera. All of the images here are from the ALT Design Summit photostream.

Here are a few of my favorite ALT moments:

*Wednesday night's dinner with the crew from Just Shorn. I'm very impressed with this company as a whole and was so thankful for the delicious meal they organized with Chef Bernhard Gotz from Little America. 

*Calligraphy with Melissa Esplin of I Still Love You. Melissa had sweet kits prepared for each student and gave tips and tricks to creating calligraphy in our own unique style.

*Listening to great panels. I enjoyed "Taking the Leap into Full-Time Creative Work" most of all. The women on the panel, Chelsea Fuss of Frolic!, Christine Castro Hughes of Darling Design, Christine Koh of Boston Mama's, and Lisa Warninger of Urban Weeds, offered great advice. Some main points:

-saying "no" to work that doesn't inspire you is not a bad thing
-value your work and others will too
-map out your plan for your transition into creative work
-trade your work to build your portfolio

*Susan's Design Camp went so well! Everyone who attended had a great time and it was really fun to see the creative juices flowing. Here's a shot of Caroline checking out Melanie's handiwork.

*Round table discussion with Joy Cho of Oh Joy! and Meg Mateo Ilasco of Mateo Ilasco. Joy and Meg were wonderful! Each person at our table asked a specific question and Meg and Joy did their best to answer them all. Some main points:

-be specific with time management by segmenting your day
-stay organized with invoices + emails
-approach companies you would like to work with
-provide your portfolio
-to get clients, be brave-send emails!

*Tabletop Photography with Nicole Hill Gerulat of A Little Sussy. It's been about a year since I took Nicole's Photo 101 Crash Course and I was anxious to learn more. Nicole's clients from One Charming Party set up some cute tablescapes for us to shoot during our class. Some main points:

-food shots look best with back lighting
-choose props carefully as to not detract from the product

*The networking! As much as I enjoyed the panels and classes, meeting all the talented + inspiring people was definitely my favorite part. I finally had the chance to meet up with long time friend Stephanie of Stephmodo, which really was worth the trip in itself. I also had the pleasure of meeting many of my long time daily reads, Ez of Creature Comforts, Danni of Oh, Hello Friend, Rachel of Black Eiffel, Suann of Simplesong, Marta of Marta Writes, Caroline of Armelle and lots of new friends I've added to my reader.

And did I mention I had super fun roommates too? Allison of Petit Elefant, Marie of Make and Takes and of course Susan of Freshly Picked who made this experience possible for me. Thanks, dear.

All images from the Altitude Design Summit 2011 photostream.

Wood Business Cards.

As soon as I finalized my Alt Summit plans, I knew I needed some business cards. My blog design has changed since the last time I created cards and this trip deserved something awesome.

I was happy to have the opportunity to work again with Rob from Bullfrog Laserworks. (You may remember Rob created the wood buttons we used on the ticket pouches for Project: craft.) I am so thrilled with the results! After a couple of short Etsy conversations, Rob and I came up with this simple design. Just a few days later I had stacks of handmade wood cards packed in my suitcase.

Passing out these little wooden cards to my Alt friends was a favorite experience from this past weekend. It was like giving them each a little prize for being kind and inspiring me.

So Long, Farewell.

Alright, guys. This is it for the week. My suitcase is packed, I've got stacks of business cards tucked in every pocket of my purse, there is a list + schedule for Ryan on the counter and I've hidden notes all over the cozy brick house for my loves.

This feels like a legit big girl trip. And I'm so nervous I feel like crawling back in bed and pulling my down comforter over my eyes. But I won't, of course. I'm going and I know there is a great time in store.

I'll be taking notes (and pictures!) to share with you all when I return. See you soon, dears!

p.s. Keeping my fingers crossed I have a chance to meet sweet Marta who created this blog placeholder for all Alt attendees. How cool is she?!

Pinterest.

Early last summer Marilyn was telling me how much she was enjoying the new(ish) site Pinterest. She was using it as a digital inspiration board, "pinning" images from sites she frequented and saving them (and their original source links) to her account. I drug my feet a bit, but finally set up my own account a few months ago.

Pinterest is one of those creations that has me wondering, "what did I ever do without you?" You can search for images, see what other people are pinning, follow other people's boards, and create multiple boards under your one account. I think the uses for Pinterest are endless. I use it as a way to catalog ideas for projects, weddings, parties, home designing/building, recipes or simply images that I love.

You can follow me on Pinterest here. And if you have an account let me know, I'd love to follow you too.

Almost Two.

My baby.

Almost two.

Do you hear my heart breaking?

Inspired by:

Organization.

for jewelry,

 workspaces,

books,

closets.

January always does this to me. 

Home Sweet Home.

Do you ever have days where you're dying to make something, anything? Days where your mind is reeling? Days when you dig down deep in your brain files to remember that one idea you tucked away safe. Safe for 'another time' when there would be 'more time'? Yeah, me too.

I was digging in my brain files yesterday. I felt the pull to create, but had no idea what I was going to do. Then, I remembered. I remembered this sweet little cross stitch I made in the fall. I would lie in bed and stitch away while Ryan read some dog training book and Liz Lemon kept us company. The poor thing had been nearly forgotten due to Christmas + life. It still needed a few stitches, the edges were still taped up but it deserved to be finished. And so that's what I did.

I decided to keep it in it's sweet thrifted wooden hoop for good. A little trimming around the edges, a touch of hot glue and it was done.

When I picked out this pattern from the super inspiring-to-me shop Chez Sucre Chez I knew exactly who's home it would go to. And now that it's finally finished, it's on it's way.

p.s. If you like a little cross stitch too you need to check out Chez Sucre Chez. Her patterns are sweet + simple and the shop girl Kimberly is as kind as they come. A true gem.

Exciting Announcement #1.

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I'm headed to ALT! What is ALT, you ask? The Altitude Design Summit is a design conference geared toward social media junkies held in Salt Lake City. My friend Susan from Freshly Picked fame has asked that I assist in her Design Class during the conference! I'm really excited, and to be completely honest, really, really nervous.

I know the conference is going to be amazing. I've only read stellar reviews from past attendees. Mostly I'm concerned about what I'm going to say when I meet my blog icons (did you read the speaker list, whoa). Another concern? What I'm going to wear. I've been looking through my closet + a few fashion blogs for inspiration but am coming up short. Do you have any favorite fashion sites I should check out? Or maybe you know of a fashion trend I should be sporting but haven't caught on to? I'd love your advice, friends.

Birthday Banner.

I was so blown away by the thoughtfulness of this idea created by two of my dear friends. Still makes me choke up a bit. In celebration of my 30th birthday Kristin and Lindsay arranged to have a picture from my childhood (and beyond) given to me. The photos were hand delivered by various friends and each one included a kind sentiment from the deliverer. Everyday leading up to the big day was so exciting! The anticipation of seeing who would be delivering that day, which picture they would have and reading the kind notes made me feel so very special.

There was even a photo of myself that I'd never seen before. It's hard to tell in this shot but if you look closely at the picture left of Ryan, I'm standing in front of the Christmas tree wearing an E.T. shirt. A child of the 80's, for sure.

Don't you agree this would also be a sweet way to commemorate a Bride at her bridal shower? Or even a new mother at a baby shower... you could use photos from both the new father and mother to be. Ooh...the wheels are turning.

Handmade Dolls + A New Dot Com.

Ryan's in the kitchen making dinner. A real dinner. He's been inspired by the cooking unit his young men from church have been working on and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm not exactly sure what we're eating but while out shopping yesterday we purchased green beans, bacon, ham, potatoes and swiss cheese. Sounds rich. And delicious. I guess I'll be doing the dishes here soon enough.

While my personal chef is slaving away in the kitchen I wanted to pop in and show you the handmade dolls I made for the girls this Christmas. I used this darling Wee Wonderfuls book. The instructions were easy to follow and the dolls themselves were simple enough. It did take a couple of late nights to get them finished up but the reactions I got from these two Christmas morning more than made up for the dark circles under my eyes.

Another project I've been working on? This little blog space. Earlier this week I took the plunge and purchased my very own dot com. You can now read me at www.dandee-designs.com. You should be automatically redirected to me but just in case, update your readers with my new url would you? It would make me terribly sad to lose any of you in the move.

Also, if you use a reader pop on over and check out the re-design Lovely Lindsay and I have been collaborating on. It's so nice to start the new year with a fresh new look.

Happy weekending, dears. See you soon for some exciting announcements!

Passionista Presents: Sarah Sample.

The Passionista's at it again! This time, the lovely Sarah Sample will be performing in Marilyn's cozy home. Have you heard Sarah's new album? I have been listening to it non stop since New Year's Eve. SO many of her songs resonate with me. Right now, "I'm Ready" is sorta my theme song. (You'll understand why in a few days...)

Grab your tickets fast, friends. Space is limited. Oh, and my uber-talented guitar teacher Charith Bagley is the opening act. It's sure to be a fun night.

Purchase your tickets here.

Stationery Kit: A Handmade Gift.

This Christmas for the family gift exchange we had three nieces on our list. They are 13, 10, and 9 + all happen to be paper lovers. I have seen kits similar to this in the past (Suann made a lovely wedding version awhile back) and when I found the wood cigar boxes on clearance, well I knew this was the perfect opportunity to put some together.

Each of the kits were made slightly different (the patterned paper I used to line the inside of the box lids varied) but contained the same items:

-lined notepad
-miniature memory game (could be useful in babysitting, yes?)
-assorted trims
-Japanese masking tape
-tiny pencils
-personalized letter writing paper
-envelopes
-spools of colored bakers twine
-cute stickers
-tiny mushrooms

I really loved putting these kits together but my favorite part was watching the girls open them, then study each and every little thing tucked inside. It's exactly what I would do if I received a box full of tiny paper-ish treasures.

New Year's Eve 2010.

On New Year's Eve some dear friends came to the cozy brick house. One of them, Lovely Lindsay, moseyed in with 4 boys, a tray of the prettiest mini cheesecakes + her camera with it's fancy new flash to document the fun. 

There were apple cider toasts...

treats...

ruffles, bows...

...silly made-up games.

And just like that it's 2011. Happy 2011! 

Have you already made your resolutions? 

I'm still working on mine - but I'm getting close, and I'll share soon. 

Very soon.