To Do... Zen: An Alfresco Event | Botanica

I am so excited to be on the Alfresco Event committee for Botanica again this year. I was on the committee last year and we had such a good time planning! Then, actually going to the event was a total blast and a great way to spend an evening with friends. This year, we have decided to add some Asian flair to the event. They are currently working on building their Chinese Garden of Friendship, so we wanted to incorporate that feel into the event. I am so excited and we have come up with some amazing decorations, food, drinks, entertainment - the whole shebang!

For entertainment, we have St. Anthony's Lion Dancers performing and a live band, Annie Up - both amazing! Plus, this year we are making sure there is room for an official dance floor, so we can all dance the evening away under the stars (and fabulous lanterns we will have hanging everywhere!).

Kathy (center with black & white dress) with the St. Anthony's Lion Dancers. Kathy is the director of special events at Botanica and has done an incredible job so far on planning events!

This band knows how to have a good time and make sure everyone else is too!

If the entertainment piece hasn't done enough convincing, I will tell you about our food and drinks! First of all, we have open bars with all types of beverages. For food, we are planning on starting the night with sushi and then for dinner having hibachi style bowls - you pick your carb, veggies, meat, sauce, etc. and they cook it for you! So delicious - the committee had a taste test.

Great food, fun entertainment and beautiful gardens, what more could you ask for! Plus, this event is a great fundraiser for our city's gorgeous gardens. Something we definitely want to support! If you want to join in on the fun, please hurry and purchase tickets, there aren't a lot left. Purchasing tickets online at their website is the easiest way, but you can also mail in the attachment if you receive the formal invitation by mail.  There is also a number on the website that you are able to call. If you have ANY questions please let me know! I would love to have you all there and I promise it will be a great time.

Picture with fabulous friends at last year's event:

Lots of Love,

Fav Floral Finds

Some days a girl just needs a pick me up and looking at these fun floral products put a big smile on my face! It all started when I stumbled upon these AMAZING Rifle Paper Co. books:

Anna Bond, founder, says they will be available soon! Can't wait and I think they are perfect for display in a nursery, kid's playroom, on a coffee table or bookshelf. They're gorgeous!

This Chanel gold foil print is perfect for a dressing area or bathroom. Great twist on a classic!

Lulie Wallace is one of my favorite artists and these lunchboxes are the perfect way to take a piece of art on the road!

This floral wrapping set is adorable and perfect for birthdays, showers and just because.

I seriously would frame this if I received it as a save the date for a wedding! First Snow Fall does incredible florals.

Order any of those items, and you will be ecstatic to get them in the mail! And just in case you need one more pick me up, how fun is this lunch setting:

Pink and yellow lunch party - amazing setting for a birthday lunch, shower or bridal luncheon.

Do you have any favorite floral finds?

Lots of Love,

How to: Clean a Chalkboard Wall

End of last year we put a wonderful chalkboard wall in our office. Recently I tried to clean it and did a BIG NO NO - tried cleaning it with water. I know it seems like a reasonable idea, but ugh, it ruined my wall. I didn't know what to do, so I started searching online. I put some tips together and really liked the idea of cleaning it with vinegar. I really wish I would have done this in the first place because I have some water spots that are still peaking through. That's why I am sharing - to stop you from spotting up your beautiful black chalkboard wall!

You can barely see what I wrote because our wall was such a mess!

First, you need to wipe whatever you have drawn on your board off with an eraser - I like to use the Mr. Clean magic erasers.

Second, try to wipe off the excess chalk dust with a dry cloth.

Final step, fill a bucket or bowl with warm water. Then mix in a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Soak a cloth in the mix and make sure to ring it out. Next with a flat side of the cloth, wipe sections of your board in horizontal strokes. Viola! Should look better.

Most important thing to remember, DO NOT CLEAN YOUR CHALKBOARD WITH WATER! I love character, but not the hot mess kind! I want my board to be ready for new creations. You don't have to do this all the time, just on occasion. I use my magic eraser on a regular basis and it works fine.

Lots of Love,

Fav Spots in Minnesota!

This past weekend, Dustin, my mother and I headed up to Minnesota to see my little brother and cousins, Missy and Matt. It was such a great weekend and Missy showed us some fabulous places to shop and eat. I figured I should share in case any of you head up that way. The Twin Cities are full of culture and amazing food - seriously, I felt like all we did was eat! Best part, we ate outside for every meal. There's a reason we made our visit in mid-summer - the weather was amazing!

Ok, on to the fabulous places to go...

1. On our first day, Missy took us to a wonderful little place off the river called the Wilde Roast Cafe. It was very quaint and the patio was fabulous, plus you have a city view.

2. Day two, we met up with Missy's friend, Jodi, at her great little store called Corset Styling. I found some very fun jeans and a fantastic dress for an upcoming wedding! She has all different styles to fit every woman's style.

3. We then went to lunch at a new little spot called Agra Culture in the St. Francis area. My harvest salad was so fresh and delicious! They also had a great little patio and their inside atmosphere was great. They are organic and have lots of menu choices - it was very hard to choose.

4. On Saturday night for Matt's birthday, we decided to go to a fun beer hall downtown. Free House was a very cool place and, surprise, they had an awesome patio. The Minnesotans convinced us to try the cheese curds and holy moly they were so tasty! They also have their own beer options and most of us went with burgers for dinner.

5. Saturday night, Mikey wanted to show Dustin and I a fun rooftop bar in Uptown called Stella's. I love a good rooftop bar and we had a great time. We met up with some of his friends and enjoyed the night people watching, enjoying some drinks and sharing good Mikey stories!

6. Last, but definitely one of my favorites, we went out to a great brunch spot called WA Frost. Their patio is dreamy and I felt like I was in a movie. It was so green and the atmosphere was very inviting. Helps that the brunch was scrumptious!

For our last meal in Minnesota, my cousins made us a delicious beef tenderloin. Unfortunately, they aren't open for customers, so you will just have to be jealous! It was such a fun weekend and I loved hanging out with all of them. Plus, we got to celebrate Mikey's and Matt's birthdays, which is always fun!

Thanks to you three for a wonderful weekend - we loved it! Definitely a recommended place to visit...in the summer.

Lots of Love,

Olive Box in my Mailbox - July!

Last month I told you all about my husband's great birthday gift to me, a subscription to Olive Box. Well the July one came and it was fabulous! I was very happy with the surprise and I'm excited to share.

Spoiler Alert if you haven't gotten yours yet! People I have talked to got theirs earlier this week, so I think we are good!

Drum roll please...

Bam! Love it... seriously this book is amazing!

These are a great alternative to fake flowers...can't wait to try making some!

That is just a taste of the book! I am going to start trying to make some for packages, parties and home decor, and of course I will show you all the creations.

I also love the cards that came with the box. They will be really cute framed in the guestroom or perfect for sending some love to a friend!
Photos via me.

Well that is my Olive Box for July and I was very pleased. It was a great surprise to come home to yesterday. The book is a great idea to keep in mind as a present for your crafty friends, plus it is just pretty to look at. It makes a great book for a coffee table or fun book shelf. I keep opening it up and finding new favorites!

Sign up by clicking below to get your very own OliveBox:

Lots of Love,

Painted Globes

I've been working on some random projects lately and one of them is hand painting a globe. I saw the idea on Pinterest and I feel in love with it. The hardest part was tracking down a globe - seriously, I had to go to Toy'R'Us! I ended up going with a classic, regular sized globe (aka I went with the only option I could find). I painted the ocean areas a pretty sea green and then painted the continents black. I then practiced writing the continent and ocean names a million times before painting them on with gold leaf paint. I love the look of the gold lettering on top of the black continents - adds fancy character!

The base of the globe is plastic, so I tried to get creative with making it look pretty. I should have just spray painted like I originally thought, but I got ambitious. I decided to attempt gold leafing - like the actual gold leafing, not the paint on kind. Here are the needed items for gold leafing:

All purchased from Hobby Lobby

Let me tell you friends, do not first time attempt gold leafing on something plastic and weird shaped like a globe stand unless you are Martha Stewart herself! It was hard and it was frustrating - I'm just being honest. I'm excited to try it on something easier in the future, but it was a struggle. That stuff is fragile and doesn't do what you want it to. I also recommend the paint on adhesive because the spray is volatile. Luckily, I was able to fake it and get most of it covered. Then I used the wonderful and much more recommended gold leaf paint to go over it. Here are my pictures of attempting to gold leaf:

Such a pretty mess. I will make sure to share if I have any successful attempts using it on something less awkward!

Here is a sneak peak picture at the other globes I am working on. I was able to find a vintage globe on Ebay and a fun quirky globe at Hobby Lobby:

Photos via me

You can see more details as I progress on them. The vintage globe in the back still doesn't have a solid idea, so if you have any requests, let me know! (I promise the bases won't be such a cluster!) I will most likely be selling these two, I'll keep you posted.

Lots of Love,

IKEA Hack - Sputnik Chandelier

A while back I stumbled upon a fabulous blog called Little Green Notebook and she was showing off her new office. I immediately fell in love with her chandelier. When I read that it was an IKEA hack, I was shocked. The IKEA Maskros light is all over Pinterest, and she managed to turn it into something gorgeous. Well, last weekend over the Fourth, we were in Denver and decided to stop in IKEA - massive and intense! After Dustin gave me the green light, I purchased the $50 pendant lamp and decided to try the makeover for myself. It was worth it because we love the results!

Her instructions for making the light (she's done it twice and both look great!): Sea Green Sputnik & White Sputnik

When you open the box, there are of course a million pieces - it's IKEA and expected. I spray painted the "arms" of the light with my favorite gold spray paint: Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold. Didn't take long to do (well shouldn't, except I kept running out of spray paint! Not the best idea to rely on cans that you've used before!) and it takes about one and a half cans to cover.

While those were drying, I had to cut the flowers down. I used a cup with a 2.5" opening to trace the circles. Then I used scissors to cut - I tried slicing with a slicer, but it didn't work as well as I wanted it to. After they are cut, you need to glue the white Le Fleur cups onto them. She recommended Fabri-Tac glue and it was awesome.

The cutting and gluing takes the most time - I seriously thought the flowers were never going to end! There are 84 you have to cut down if you get the smaller Maskros light. After I finished gluing, I convinced my wonderful husband to install the light fixture part of the light - love how IKEA has you add the crazy arms after you install the light, makes it so much easier. Of course being in an old house, installing the light wasn't as easy as we had hoped, but after my 9pm Wal-Mart run for longer screws it worked - yay! I think it looks great in the space and it looks really good for a $90 light (light $50, materials $40)!

Adds some great character to our dining room and I'm excited to get rid of the old fixture we had in there before. I love how the white cups look similar to milk glass and the paper flowers shine through. Plus, you all know how much I love gold. I think my first IKEA hack worked out well! I have some lanterns I'll share with you once I get them painted. Alright, it's late so lights out!

Lots of Love,