Off to Los Angeles! My Baby Brother is Graduating!

My little brother is graduating tomorrow. It's such a strange and exciting feeling. It's strange because I think of him as so young. He's the baby of the family and he sure has been spoiled, accordingly. Coming out of high school he wasn't exactly, shall we say, focused? So, it's a sweet feeling knowing that he pushed through college and made it to the end. I'm sure I'm going to cry like a big fat baby seeing my little one walk across that stage as a man. But then again, if you're reading this Daniel, don't feel special, I cry in G rated movies.

His graduation makes me feel more excited than anything. The chapter is closed. He's the last child to graduate and our lives as siblings and as adults has only begun. My older sister is now on her second child (who should be popping out sometime next month). The overwhelming love I feel for my first niece, is proof in the pudding that the best of life still awaits us. And I'm very excited about you moving closer to all of us to join in on weekly family fun, cause in the end, we're all we got.

So, cheers to my baby brother. You did it! Congratulations! And I hope our childhood memories of memorizing Twister and watching Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies, only bring us more laughter and happiness as we make even sweeter memories together as full fledged adults, baby!

Now, enough of the gushy stuff, go out and get yourself a J-O-B!! Yup, welcome to the real world. Weekends are great, the rest of it sucks. Love you! We'll see you soon in Southern Californiaaaaaa!

Design: Douglas and Bec

Douglas and Bec a shop in New Zealand is chock full of great furniture and home decor. If only I would have known about it when my dad was in New Zealand last month! Grrrr. He brought me back a coaster. Thanks, dad. What? He could have put that brass stool in his luggage!! 

Chandelier

Gold Bottom Dish

Floor Lamp

  Copper Pendant 

Weave Chair 

Triangle Pendant 

Brass Stool 

  Tripod Floor Lamp

Everything is gorgeous, right? And now, I will pin away all of this gorgeous decor on my Pinterest board. Check it out and follow me here! 

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Martha Stewart's Celebrations Line for JC Penney

I have been in the festive mood lately particularly because I'm planning my sister's baby shower that completely crept up on me! It's already next week! Eeep. I've found that the best place to find cute party supplies is Etsy (of course). The only problem is that when you're in a crunch like I am, Etsy sellers are often a little slower than other online retailers which is a big problem when you need something yesterday. So, I was happily surprised when I stumbled upon good ol' Martha's new Celebrations line with JC Penney. There are some chic paper supplies from plates, tablecloths and cupcake liners. Here are some of my faves!

Ornate Cocktail Plates in Indigo

Paper Cups in Sterling

Linen Look Napkins in Gold

Square Plates in Ebony

Round Dinner Plates in Turquoise 

Dinner Napkins in Gold

What do you guys think? Pretty fabulous, right? I mean, let's be honest, we can't buy new "real" plates every event (even though we want to)! The collection is pretty extensive, too. So, there is bound to be SOMETHING for the type of party you're throwing. I'm in love with those gold linen textured napkins. So chic. Gosh, that Martha, you gotta give it to her! Shop the line here.

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It's a Sad Day in the Bay: Olympian Dies in Artemis Crash

Usually, I don't post about too many serious things around here. I try to keep it light and enjoyable, an escape from real life which is usually filled with a lot more strife and hardwork than beautiful pillows. But, it's rare that something so tragic shakes our tiny island. In fact, Alameda is one of the safest and BORING places to live, ever. Yesterday, I found out some sad news that the Swedish World Cup Team who practice off our naval base, capsized their boat, Artemis, which led to the death of one of their team members. The news hit closer to home since these inspiring athletes work out at our local gym with us and provide endless entertainment on the island, as we watch them race right off of our shore.

image via KTVU

If you don't know about the World Cup, it's a huge international sailing race that has graced our San Francisco Bay with some pretty exciting training events thus far. The whole Embarcadero is getting ready for the Cup this Summer and you can think of it as a mini Olympics atmosphere around here. A combination of strong winds yesterday and one of the fastest high tech catamarans available, caused the boat to capsize and trap gold medal Olympian, Andrew Simpson, under the boat for around 10 minutes. He leaves a wife and baby who moved to San Francisco 8 months ago to be close to Andrew's training.  Condolences to his family and all of the athletes in the competition. Safe sailing. And I wish you all a safe and enjoyable weekend with loved ones!

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Eskayel: Hand Painted Fabrics

Do you guys remember those kaleidoscope looking cathedral ceilings photographed by David Stephenson? When I saw these pillows, I immediately thought of those gorgeous ceilings and had to share these with you too! Eskayel, is a design studio based in Brooklyn, New York, that actually started off creating wallpaper. Yes, you can get all of these gorgeous designs and more in WALLPAPER! How amazing and impactful would that be?! 

Probably more exciting than the pillows and wallpaper, is that Eskayel sells their fabrics by the yard! What a special treat to make your own custom sized pillows, blankets or even curtains in these gorgeous fabrics! 

The skies the limit at Eskayel. They will even work with you to create your own custom color way and design. I'm pretty much way too excited about them! You HAVE to check them out!

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