Monday, January 31, 2011

Be My Valentine: Our Favorite Cards on Etsy



Images, from top: 1. 'Mixtape Valentine' by heatherjenny, 2. 'I Think You're Cute' and 'I Have a Crush on You' by Bubby and Bean Art, 3. Russian doll letterpress valentine by Pressa Russa, 4. 'You Make My Heart Beat' by Peppertowne, 5. 'My Life Would Suck Without You' by letterhappy, 6. 'Love Note' Fill-in-the-Blank Valentine by Bubby and Bean Art (my newest design!).

I hope you enjoy these pretty Valentine cards.  And thank you for letting me share a couple of my favorites from Bubby & Bean Art's new collection!  If you're planning on showing some Valentine love to your sweetheart or friends this year, consider supporting independent artists and take a few minutes to browse the wide variety of unique designs on Etsy.

love,
melissa

P.S. Official Giveaway date has been set for this Wednesday!


Sunday, January 30, 2011

Made For Walkin'

I've always considered myself to be more of a clothes girl than a shoe girl (my little sister is the shoe queen of the family),  but there seems to be quite a few pairs of pretty shoes catching my eye these days.

While not exactly in my budget, I drooled the first time I saw Miu Miu's spring 2011 shoe collection. The bold colors and playful polka dots are so fun and girly and would look stunning with a solid mini dress.

Sigh.  Could these Luisa Beccaria espadrilles be any more romantic?  I love the pairing of simple design and neutral color with the feminine rosette and seriously dramatic platform wedge.

These beautiful (and eco-friendly!) wooden sandals, designed by my friend Annie over at Mohop, have interchangeable ribbons that allow nearly infinite design options. I've had the pleasure of using her shoes when showing Mountains of the Moon's collections at fashion weeks, and can honestly say that they're some of the loveliest sandals out there.

I want to be Kate Spade when I grow up. In the Tipsy Flats for spring 2011, classic beige canvas meets glossy hot pink patent and they live happily ever after. (P.S. The top image of the gorgeous peeptoe heels with the ultra-pretty bow are from Kate Spade summer 2011).

Enjoy the rest of your evening!  I'll be lounging on the couch, dreaming of wedding shoes...
xo,
melissa

P.S. Giveaway this week!


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Pretty, Pretty Books


Images, from top: 1. and 2. Penguin Hardback Classic (source), 3. How to Sew a Button and 4. Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire (Anthropologie), 5. rainbow bookshelf (Freshome), 6. One of my bookshelves (my Flickr page).

Happy Saturday!
xoxo,
m.


Friday, January 28, 2011

Inspiration for the Weekend: Sunshine and Relaxation

Happy Friday!  I've had such a busy week catching up and am just now getting around to looking at the hundreds of photographs we took on our trip to Mexico with the boyfriend's band last week. As promised, here are just a few of them that I found especially fun and/or pretty.  If you live somewhere bitter cold like I do (Chicago is in the 20s right now!), I hope these will provide you with some sunshine and warmth-filled inspiration for your weekend.

I'm still daydreaming about all of the beautiful things we saw while in Mexico. Everything was so vibrant and warm. I'm officially counting down the days until spring.

xo,
melissa

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Project 365: Week 3

Our Project 365 Photos, Week 3
Admittedly, it's not that difficult to take a photo a day when you're on vacation, but so far, we're still on track with Project 365 for 2011. (See Project 365: Week 1 for some background on the project and our personal goals for the year).  With the exception of the adorable photo of sweet Bubby sleeping on Day 15, week 3's photographs were all taken on our trip to the absolutely stunning Riviera Maya in Mexico.

If you're doing Project 365 or a similar photo-journaling project, be sure to post your links in the comment section!

xo,
m

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wedding DIY: Pretty Felt Save the Date Magnets

I absolutely adore these little save the date magnets that I came across on Project Wedding. They're incredibly easy (and inexpensive) to make, and with these pretty handmade hearts on their refrigerators, your guests will be sure to remember your wedding date.  The messages can be easily modified to say anything you like and don't necessarily have to be dates, so even if your not planning a wedding, this can be an easy and fun DIY project.  I think they'd make lovely little Valentines!
All you need you need is some felt, scissors, ribbon, stamps or fabric markers, small adhesive magnets (available at most craft stores), embroidery thread and a needle. Position your felt in two layers and cut out small hearts. Cut your ribbon into pieces and stamp or write your date or message on each piece. For each heart, stick a magnet on the bottom layer, place one of the ribbon pieces in between the layers with the date or message sticking out one edge, stitch around the edges, and you're done! 

You can read the full step-by-step instructions here.

xo,
melissa

Au Revoir, Mon Amour

Alas, it's time to kiss my sweetheart goodbye for his band's yearly February/March tour run. Between the two businesses, the blog, and now wedding planning, I certainly have enough to keep me busy, but these long, cold winter partings always seem to be the hardest. Thankfully I found this fabulous vintage Fender tour bus ad to cheer me up.

Love,
melissa

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Spring 2011: Bright + Bold Stripes

All of the vivid colors (and sunshine!) in Mexico left me feeling extra excited for spring and the bright stripes we'll be seeing this season. I'm a big fan of the good old black-and-white striped look, but there's something about the pop of bold, colorful stripes that can instantly transform an everyday outfit into a fashion fiesta.


I'm so excited to release Mountains of the Moon's spring collection, which is full of bright candy colors. And P.S. - Marc Jacobs, if you secretly placed your entire S/S 2011 collection in my closet, I wouldn't complain at all. Promise.

xo,
melissa

Monday, January 24, 2011

And We're Back!

We arrived home this evening after our glorious week in beautiful Mexico, slightly exhausted but ridiculously blissful.  The festival was amazing, the fiance's band put on quite the rock show, the Mayan Ruins were breathtaking, and the local art was beyond inspiring.  I had limited-to-no internet access there, but will be back to reality tomorrow (sigh) with many stories and pictures to share.  Stay tuned for an abundance of posts this week, on everything from stories and photos from the trip to my favorite spring fashion looks to my new Valentine greeting cards/art to a special giveaway!

besos y abrazos,
melissa

Friday, January 21, 2011

Ahhh, Lovely Vacation!

Just a quick post from under the sunshine to share an example of the genius design of ancient Mayan culture. We were fascinated by the complex architecture and stone carvings of the ruins we visited in Tulum Tuesday. For the last two days, we've been on site with my fiance's band for the festival they're playing, at a lovely place right on the ocean.  It's strangely wonderful having such limited internet access, and a rare occurrence to have this kind of break!  I'll have some gorgeous photos to post soon.  This is definitely a magical and inspiring place for an artist to visit.

Adios for now!
melissa

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Everything Is Art

Playa Del Carmen is one of the most colorful, vibrantly beautiful places I've ever visited.  Everything around us is art...

This last one is my favorite. My best friend Jen and I couldn't put out cameras down today... We were both in awe of the colors and detail in everything we saw!  (And look at that moon!)

Later today we head to Tulum to visit the Mayan Ruins. I can't even imagine how inspiring they'll be.

love,
melissa

Monday, January 17, 2011

Hola from Beautiful Quintana Roo!

I just love this embroidered Mexican dress. Simple, a little bohemian, and very festive. I hope to find something similar while I'm here.

I have some really wonderful things I'll be posting about this week from down here in Riviera Maya, so stay tuned!

love + sunshine,
melissa

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Project 365: Week 2

Our Project 365 Photos, Week 2
So far, we're doing pretty well keeping up with our Project 365 photographs for 2011!  (See Project 365:
Week 1
for last weeks post with some background on the project and our personal goals for the year).

I have a feeling it will be fairly easy to come up with unique daily photos in Mexico next week...

love,
melissa

P.S. Be sure you post your Project 365 links in the comments section!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Wandering the World, In Photographs

Admittedly, the older I get, the more my wanderlust seems to fade.  I'm still a bit of a gypsy though - more specifically, a gypsy with a camera.  I'm really hoping to snap some unique shots in Mexico next week, and I'll be sure to post them here (hopefully along with some inspiring stories).  In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few photos from some of my other trips abroad over the past few years. (Above photo taken in Paris, March 2008).

AMSTERDAM, 2008

MONTEGO AND RUNAWAY BAY, JAMAICA, 2009


BRUGGE, BELGIUM, 2008

NEW SOUTH WALES AND QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, 2010

PARIS, 2008

Do you take a lot of photos when traveling, or prefer to capture the experience in other ways?

xo,
melissa