The Late Afternoon

I’m sure you are all familiar with Anthropologie’s ultra luxurious  Rosette Duvet (above). I’ve always liked the duvet’s ruched texture and even attempted to get a similar, cheaper version at Target last year. Naturally, when I stumbled upon Kojo Designs’ Anthropologie-inspired DIY duvet tutorial via Pinterest, I was not only in awe of how similar it came to the real deal, but had to give it a try myself. The entire duvet requires 56 squares of ruched and “knotted” fabric, so I decided to make just one square to see if this would be feasible for me. The square was super easy to make and only required an 18X18 inch square of white jersey fabric (I used an old bedsheet since this was a test), a plate, thread, and a needle. Now, I’m going back and forth about whether I should attempt this very time-consuming, large project! To make or not to make…

{Kojo Designs’ perfect replica of the rosette duvet…and it only cost $30 to make! I am amazed.}

{My less-than-perfect attempt at making one out of the million rosette squares needed for this project. Okay, not a million….we’ll see if I can get myself to make more…!}

Source: 1, 2, 3

Have you ever had a banh mi sandwich before? The toasted baguette, juicy chicken, cilantro, and pickled veggie combination is a welcomed change from my regular turkey avocado sandwich. My mom used to bring these Vietnamese sandwiches home from the city for us to snack on when we were younger and I only recently re-discovered these deliciously tangy sandwiches. Recently, I was introduced to this recipe for banh mi and, after making it once, I’ve been craving a second attempt at this increasingly popular sandwich. Yum!

Forget Sunday drives – its all about Thursday drives. Mike and I went on a search for a relaxing, lay in the grass, soak up the sun kind of day. After searching for the perfect park (one was too cold, one had an entrance fee, one was more of a marsh…) and a quick stop at a taco truck, we ended up back at the large grassy field at our apartment. Funny how things work out, isn’t it?

{Happy Weekend!}

Following three gorgeous days came a surprisingly gloomy, rainy day – right smack in the middle of my vacation week. Though gray outside, I took the opportunity to spend a quiet day indoors indulging in a rare moment of free time. It. was. great. Here are three things that made my day:

1. Waking up to find the pupster, Emma, had curled up next to me some time in the early morning. Isn’t she adorable?

2. Snacking on a ramekin of leftover Guinness chocolate cake with a huge helping on cream cheese frosting on the side. Yummm.

3. Mid-afternoon painting with my new sparkly tube of metallic gold paint…and a few other very girly colors.

Watercolor was never my thing – the lines of paint never quite stayed where they were supposed to, colors mixed into weird brown puddles, and the end result was always a little..soggy. Enter Leanne Shapton, whose “A Month of…” series that captures life’s minor details in an effortless watercolor paintings, totally has inspired me to break out my ten-year old Crayola watercolor set. She starts with a month of Sunday walks (a collection of moody trees), moves onto Monday Shower Songs (bottles in purples and pinks), Tuesday Blooms (flowers in pretty vases), and continues with Wednesday Patterns. Each painting stays in line with its theme, but is unique in its own way. They’re so pretty separately and when viewed together as a collection.

All images via NY Times.

Scout & Catalogue is my ultimate summer sewing inspiration – just look how breezy and refreshing these summer scarves and pouches are! The airy tie-dyed fabrics and soft leather goods are a direct translation of Scout & Catalogue’s aim to inject a feeling of the bohemian beach culture of Mexico into each of their pieces.I would love to get my hands on some of these sun-kissed pieces.

Images & Quote via Scout & Catalouge