Royally Cool

Are you excited about the royal wedding? I am! This is partly because my husband and I share names with the royal couple. Well, I'm Katie and he's Will, but it's pretty close to Kate and William, no? In honor of this coincidence, I'm hosting a royal wedding party on Friday morning. I invited a bunch of girlfriends over for tea, coffee and breakfast treats and to watch the festivities on television. I bought us all sparkly tiaras and plastic rings to make us all feel a little princess-y for the day. It should be fun!

Photo from here via here. 

Flower Power

While I probably couldn't rock these looks -- from the Marc Jacobs spring 2011 show -- in real life, these stunning clothes make me want to wrap myself in purples, oranges and pinks. And add a big flower!

Photos from here. 

A Lovely Award

Recently I was thinking about how many marvelous people I've gotten to interact with through blogging. There are some fantastic girls who completely make my day when they leave a nice comment or have something delightful on their blogs. One such blogger is Jenny from Jenny in Ohio. She seems like such a cool girl, the kind of person you'd get along with immediately and find lots to laugh about together. So I was both surprised and touched that she passed along the One Lovely Blog Award to me and three others. Thank you so much, Jenny!


As part of this project I'm supposed to share seven things about myself. Here goes!

1. I'm a major animal lover. My little pup opens my heart in new ways every day. My love for animals is one of many reasons I've been a vegetarian for nearly fifteen years.

2. My husband and I met sledding one night during winter break in college.

3. I'm a total magazine junkie. I subscribe to several and regularly check out huge stacks from the library. It's a good fit that I work at a magazine!

4. I was voted the nicest girl in my high school class and I think trying to be kind to people is a good way to approach life.

5. I can't go to sleep in an unmade bed. The thought of crawling into a mess of tangled sheets and strewn blankets -- I can't even deal!

6. Travel is a huge passion for me, and for my family. My parents took my sister and I to more than thirty countries by the time I was twenty. I love seeing new places!

7. I'm not a cook but I'm a little snobby about my daily latte. (And isn't that print above cool?)


And now I get to tag a few blogs that I find especially lovely:

* Petra at Individualism has the best quotes and fantastic art.

* Ada at Classiq always offers something beautiful, plus great classic movies to watch.

* Ola at The Apple Tea is endlessly interesting and intriguing.

* Gloria at Little White Wale offers fresh, upbeat finds and a great point of view.

* Mandy at Dash it All is a neat girl who's constantly doing something awesome.

* Claudia, Lisa Michelle and Karina at Dreaming of Palm Trees put together a fun blog that makes me wish I was their cousin or something.


Thanks again, Jenny! And here's wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Photo from here. 

Happy Easter

In honor of what we celebrate today, here are a few beautiful prints inspired by Bible verses.

Photos from here. 

Grateful

Since I found out I'm pregnant, I've been a storm of emotions. I'm totally excited and then completely overwhelmed. So as this week wraps up, I'm especially thankful for:

* My friends who have been nothing but happy and supportive, and especially my friend Kelly who left me the most perfect message right when I needed it.

* My mom and sister who have offered advice, love, a sense of humor, non-judgmental ears and a fun shopping trip for dresses and tops to accommodate a growing belly.

* My month-old nephew for helping me keep in mind what I have to look forward to at the end of nine months. He's the best, most adorable perspective!

* Cute onesies to remind me of the little bug who'll be wearing things like this.

Have a great weekend!

Photos from here, here, here and here. 

Dress Up

I'll be spending today with my mom, sister and little nephew. We're planning to go shopping and I hope to come home with some pretty spring clothes. Gorgeous dresses are definitely on my list, and these lovely frocks from Queen's Wardrobe are nice inspiration.

Photos from here. 

Marrakesh Modern

How about today we pretend we're in this fantastic Moroccan home, reading books out on the terraces? What do you say?

Photos from here.

An Announcement

My husband and I just found out that I'm pregnant! I still can't quite wrap my mind around this. My emotions keep cycling through feeling happy, then calm, then nervous, then overwhelmed and then happy again. I hope this is normal. But no matter how I'm feeling at any particular moment, I want to be mindful and appreciative through this experience. I'm surely going to turn to my family and friends for advice and support along the way. Actually, I already have. And everyone's been so kind and supportive and excited -- I feel like I'm surrounded with love!

Photo from here.  

Weekend Wishes

Here's wishing everyone a weekend full of beauty, joy and love!

Photos from here and here. 

Screen Style

Each year when spring rolls around, I get a little angst-y. Even though I've been out of high school for years, I can't quite shake out of spring-fever, school's-almost-out, wanna-be-free mode.

The movie that captures these feelings best is Dazed and Confused, set on the last day of school in 1976. It's a fun flick about friendships and hookups, popularity and parties. And the fashion's pretty cool too, all bell-bottom jeans, wedge sandals, vests and psychedelic-print tops.

Given this inspiration and since '70s style is a big trend this spring, here are a few pieces I'd love to wear -- even if I'm not cutting class or heading to a kegger.

* Maxi dress

* Necklace

* Wedge

* Cross-body bag

* Printed top

* Flared jeans

Brighten Up

My latest quest in decorating my home has been to spruce it up with polished, glamorous, upbeat pieces. And there's some great inspiration to be found in this Utah home featured on Apartment Therapy. The cheery colors and crisp prints feel fresh, and I'm so digging the "K" details.

Here are a few peeks:

Photos from here.

On the River

This weekend my husband and I found ourselves in Dubuque. We'd never spent time in this Mississippi River city, but it proved a nice adventure. We had fun staying at a historic hotel, exploring a river museum, talking over martinis, walking along the river, indulging in great pizza and more.

Photos by me. 

Perspective

Today, I am grateful for sentiments like this one. Lately I've been challenging myself not to talk negatively about others. While I think it's healthy to vent and open up to those close to us about problems and people who are creating challenges for us, it seems like this can easily cross over into gossiping and trash-talking. And I don't want to participate in that! While it's hard to keep quiet sometimes -- and I've already failed at this plenty already -- I want to stick with it and focus on what's positive and good.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, the Art!

I'm constantly tweaking the art in our home. I often prefer to create my own -- and I always have projects and ideas swirling around in my head -- so it's an ongoing, ever-changing process.

But this Manhattan home, featured in Architectural Digest, is really something. The only thing nearly as impressive as the stellar and eclectic art collection is the incredible view of the city. What a place!

Photos from here. 

City Scenes

I get wanderlust all times of year, but the desire to travel hits especially hard in the spring. Perhaps not coincidentally, this is also my favorite time of year to visit the Bay Area, where my husband and I went to grad school and lived when we were first married. So I'm loving these acrylic paintings by Beryl Landau, the way she captures glimpses of San Francisco -- the hills, the layers, the light. It's almost like being back!

Photos from here. 

Nice & Easy

It's been a nice, low-key weekend. Sometimes it feels so good to take it easy and simply relax.

I like ZARA's latest lookbook for similar reasons. Crisp lines, easy shapes, pops of red -- is more needed?

Photos from here.

Happy April!

This month, I'm looking forward to thunderstorms (no more snow, please!), trenches, rain boots, slightly preppy pieces and Easter surprises. 

* Beach photograph

* Puddle photograph

* Sky photograph

* Umbrella

* Rain boots

* Trench 

* Ring

* Scarf

* Sweater

* Bunny photograph