Gifted

What a fabulous birthday! I should bake and throw a party every year! Being lucky as I am to have such a great group of friends, I ended up with an overly generous assortment of lovely things to show off here on the blog. I was especially excited to be given my first set of "real" jewelry from Boyfriend. I didn't expect it by any means, which made it even sweeter. He cleverly bypassed my birthstone (red is not my colour) and selected a set of blue topaz. The shade of blue is exquisite and will go anything in my wardrobe.

Also contributing to this outfit, my friend Tammie gifted me this awesome Target purse. The colour is a perfect neutral for all my pastels and is quickly becoming my favourite bag of the summer.
Amanda and share a mutual love for owls, and she picked out this gorgeous peachy pink owl brooch from Etsy. I anticipate using it often as it also lends itself pretty well to my personal colour scheme.

The last birthday goodie is this breezy, cotton dress. I don't think I ever noticed this online, but when I was grabbing up items to try for my birthday discount, I fell in love. Subtle cherry blossom print in a sky blue, machine washable (!) ... what's not to like?

Gifted;
Dress: Anthropologie Beau Ideal dress (on sale, give it a try!)
Top: H&M peach cropped cardigan
Bag: Target mocha shoulder bag
Shoes: Anthropologie Dearie Me wedges
Accessories: Cushion-cut blue topaz ring & necklace
Anthropologie High Prairie belt
Etsy custom owl brooch

Laced with floral grace

Laced with floral grace;
Hat: Accessorize (UK) crocheted beret
Necklace: Topshop (UK) love birds necklace
Dress: Anthropologie Laced with Grace dress
Bag: Pink lace bag from Etsy
Tights: H&M dusty pink floral pattern tights
Boots: Seychelles Four Leaf Clover boots in dark brown

I actually have a substantial little collection of hats. I need to make better use of them because they are awesome. There is one pink cloche in particular from Anthro that I haven't worn nearly as much I should given its high levels of beauty.


I also have a slightly insane collection of patterned and colourful tights that I have been neglecting. Being an Anthro addict, I find that my current wardrobe is now almost too adorned with embroidery, print, and bright colours, so I have a hard time mixing in loud tights.  I 'm trying to invest in a few more subdued dresses and skirts now that I've weeded out a lot of old items from my closet. It has been a struggle! I have a difficult time parting with a lot of cash for something seemingly "plain" as a solid coloured item.  I think this dress and the Waffle Weave in my previous OOTD post are a good start at bringing some solids into my dress collection.

Memo: memory boards

Right now I'm living between places. I had been in a shared apartment for my undergrad career but after a recent string of unfortunate luck with potential new places, I am in limbo (aka my family home). Don't get me wrong, there are upsides. For one, I've missed having a dog around every day. However it is rather disheartening on a day to day basis.

To keep up my positivity while I'm here, I spend a lot of my time picking out pieces for the first home that will be just mine. My main inspiration is a ribbon board I've had on my bedroom wall for a few years. As it is Parisian themed, I filled it with postcards and momentos from my trip to Paris. The colours for my future home are pulled right off this board - my favourite pinks, subtle blues, whites, and black for that Parisian accent. My other inspiration from this item is the fact that as a board, it's overall look is customizable based on the placement of my personal trinkets. I was really drawn to the idea that the look of my walls could change with just small touches. I thought to continue that theme through other boards.

To find things to fit my girly colour palette and French inspiration, I looked to Etsy. There are so many talented craftspeople on Etsy, I knew I'd find exactly what I wanted there. I found a few very cute white boards, but I was really wowed when I found two sellers with magnet and chalkboards.

Seller ShugabeeLane is a husband and wife team who make adorable magnet boards for children's rooms or just to cute up your own walls.

Pink and black damask magnet board

Black and white damask magnet board

White and blue floral magnet board

The board I bought from this store is probably the most delicate and girly one she had up for sale, so I will probably buy a black framed board from her as well to balance the colours.

My other favourite seller is Revived Vintage. She paints vintage frames to make what have to be the most beautiful chalkboards I have ever seen.

Oval Regency style chalkboard

Ornate Regency style chalkboard

Louis XIV style chalkboard

I already bought one board from her store, but I am definitely coming back for more. What really appealed to me was the over-sized nature and oval and other shaped frames her shop offers. I really envision my living room centering around a few of her large chalkboards. My hope is that people visiting my home creates the opportunity for a new piece of art for my wall. All her boards are compatible with chalk ink pens, so the possibilities are endless. I can't wait until I can make this a reality!