design=love

delicious sketti cakes

I was in awe when I spotted the above cupcakes on my friend Jessie's facebook. Jessie is a super talented graphic designer who I went to school with at UD. She is also one of the creative ladies (along with Alison) behind Sweet Street Gals — designers of announcements, stationery, and custom invitations.

The above cupcakes were made for her boyfriend Marco's birthday. Jessie described the process of making these masterpieces... "They're devil's food cake, with confectionery icing... I just used a ziplock baggie and cut a tiny corner to make the skinny piping and then the red "sauce" is cookie icing (it hardens up) and the meatballs are chocolate ganache rolled in graham crackers. You just melt down semi-sweet chocolate with heavy cream and chill it and it becomes easy to roll into shapes :)"

So cute and creative... both Jessie and the cuppies!

leanne's sweet new blog

Amazing artist and fellow wood grain lover, Leanne Biank has a brand new beautiful webpage and lovely blog to go along with it. So excited to see more from her! 

summer wish list

While browsing around my favorite shops, I came across some of these summery items I have to get my hands on! 1. Element Adelaide and Indiana Tanks / 2. Volcom Now or Never Dress / 3. Blowfish La Villa Sandals / 4. Billabong Rainbow Tote / 5. Ando and Friends Slash Hat

New Obsession: This Young House

Searching through decor8 today, I came across this post. I was intrigued by the photo of a cute couple and chihuahua so I followed a link to their site, This Young House. That cute couple turned out to be Sherry and John Petersik and their chihuahua, Burger. I then spent the next [what seemed like] several hours going through their whole blog. I was so inspired by their amazing room makeovers to their adorable DiY Wedding. I also really appreciated the detail they put into the site. They provide a room by room source list to let readers know exactly where they purchased all the items in their adorable home. 

Living in an apartment, I dream of the days when I'll be able to own a home and have the opportunity to make it my own like Sherry and John have done. I'm so excited for that time in my life, but for now I'll just live vicariously through their adventures!  

If you are as inspired as I am, make sure you vote for the Petersik's in Better Home and Gardens' 48-Hour Challenge.

photos from This Young House

The Girls' Guide to Rocking

 

Awesome book, The Girls' Guide to Rocking, written by Jessica Hopper that teaches young ladies how to be rock stars. The book is incredibly detailed and goes through everything from picking an instrument, to naming your band, to making flyers. I was really impressed with the amount of info packed into this book. Then to top it all off, it was designed by my girlie, Rae Ann Spitzenberger at Workman Publishing. Check it out at your local bookstore or here.

Tracy Feith at Target

While at Target the other day I spotted these two adorable dresses. All I really want to wear recently (and all summer) is dresses, so I was super excited about them. They are part of Target's Go International collection by Tracy Feith. I read up on him and love him even more after I discovered the below pic! An avid surfer, Tracy is known for his free-spirited clothing. His collections revolve around unexpected patterns, colors, and textures. 

 

new puppy love

Inspired by both my fam and boyfriend getting new puppies, a new greeting card. I'll eventually be selling this on etsy. 

nikita: spring 2009

Realllly loving the new Nikita line. Everything is so fresh from the cuts, to the styling, to the patterns. I love that bubble skirt in the first pic the best! 

I'm also pretty excited about a book Nikita is putting together, Sideway Sisters. It's to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. They say, "The book will portray the lifestyle of the Nikita Girl; in photos, words, poems, graphicss, art, or any which way possible." The book is being designed by Icelandic designer, Thordis Claessen. For more info about the book, check out their blog.