Such Pretty Things

Forever 21: Pretty Bling

You probably have a Forever 21 in your local mall.  I know I walked by the one near me about about a million times before I ever actually went into it.  I'm not sure if I thought it looked too young for me or what, but It just didn't occur to me to shop there.  Then, last year friend of mine gave me a Forever 21 gift certificate for my birthday, so I needed to check it out.  Well, boy, had I missing out!  Forever 21 is THE go-to place for cheap and chic clothing and accessories. Sure, your pretty blouse may not make it past this season, but for $12.99 - who cares!  Forever 21 is perfect for those trendy peices you want to try out, but without the major financial investment.  Ruffled tops and cute floral sundresses abound. And the prices are phenomenal!  Now, my favorite thing about Forever 21 is their costume jewelry. The selection is constantly changing and it's very inexpensive (many items are just a few dollars!) - so, you can get a new piece of bling for every day of the week!  Here's how I made good use of my gift certificate...

These intricate floral necklaces look like ones I've seen in all the fashion magazines lately.  You can buy one at Nordstrom or Neimans for $400+ or get one of these at Forever 21 for $12!

I went crazy for the vintage-look of these.  And the colors are so pretty!

These colorful beaded chains look great layered and worn at different lengths.

These earrings are so beautiful - lots of pastel gems and rhinestones in all my favorite colors.

  

These were $3!  I saw a similar pair at Anthropologie for $35!

And finally, I had to get these super fake, but super fabulous bracelets...for my daughters - just a little too much bling for me!

So, next time you're at the mall, check out Forever 21.  You'll find some very pretty things at some bargain prices!

:-)

Fabulous Finds

Soooooo, on the way to the beach this past weekend, we stopped in to shop at a bunch of antique shops. It took a little bribery (lots of candy for the little one and some sparkly vintage rhinestone earrings for the older one), but the girls were pretty good sports about it.  Usually, I only find one or two things worth buying.  I guess I'm just getting picky in my "old" age, but unless something is really great and a very good price, I typically pass it up.  But, this week I did extraordinarily well!  Almost every antique mall was having a big Memorial weekend sale, so the prices were really fantastic and I found some truly fabulous finds.  I think you'll agree...

I hardly ever find vintage floral hats this nice anymore.  Look at the beautiful, beautiful millinery flowers.

These vintage wallpaper-covered hatboxes were only $4 each!  Even though they are less than perfect, this was an unbelievable buy.  They will make great storage for my new hats!

I love these bits of pretty vintage French ribbon...

This little bunch of velvety forget-me-nots is really old....and so pretty.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Italian toleware?  Well, I do!  And this lovely floral hook was a "must have" at the bargain price of $6!

Love the chippy paint.

And, finally, I found this gorgeous vintage tole tray.  It's a real beauty - all my favorite colors!  Not exactly a bargain, but worth every penny!

:-)

Jessica

Target Tuesday: Pretty Beverage Cooler

When I entertain company during the warm summer months, I always like to have lots of cool, refreshing beverages on hand. That's why I was so delighted to find this pretty beverage "tureen" for sale at Target.

I love it's curvaceous, retro-shape.

Just fill it about halfway with some ice and then arrange your drinks inside.

  

It's such a pretty way to display your beverages and it keeps them cool at the same time! Since I love good packaging, I am always on the hunt for attractive bottles with interesting labels (of course, they have to taste good, too!).  Here are some of my favorites...

  

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!  We did manage to make it to the beach (and some great antique shops along the way), so I'll post some pictures of my pretty finds later this week.  And, I haven't forgotten the Stationary Show - more to come soon...

Happy Tuesday!

Jessica 

Family Dinner Al Fresco

I think I've mentioned before how much I love to dine outdoors.  Especially dinner.  There is nothing like dining in the glow of that golden-hued sunlight of early evening.

Yes, just as soon as the weather is warm enough, we start eating dinner outside as much as possible. It's great for me because my husband does all the grilling! We keep it simple and easy, nothing fancy.  I throw a floral cloth over the table - this ruffled one is from Anthropologie, circa 2007 - and put some beautiful pink peonies from the farmer's market in a glass pitcher.

Pretty pink glasses - perfect for lemonade.

Silverware (the pink handled ones are for the girls), practical (but pretty) paper napkins, and crisp, white melamine plates that look like real china.

The girls do a great job with setting the table.

It's amazing what little work it takes to make even your basic burger seem special.

A beautiful Spring evening and dinner with your family...what could be better.

:-)

P.S.  I have had a ton of emails asking where I found the pretty toothbrushes that I showed in last week's Target Tuesday post.  I found them several years ago at Anthropologie, but I haven't seen them there in a long time.  I'm sorry, but I don't know the name of the manufacturer either.  If anyone has a current source, please let me know and I will post it.  Thanks!

P.P.S. Also, for those of you who wanted to know, the pink glasses above are from April Cornell - back when they still had retail stores.  I found them while in in CA and had a bunch of them shipped to me, but when they arrived, more than half of them were broken.  :-(  These are the survivors!

Target Tuesday: Stationary Organizer

I just got back from the the National Stationary Show up in New York. It's a huge industry trade show, but there is so much more to see there than just stationary - beautiful wrapping papers, gift items, soaps, etc... True eye candy everywhere!  I will post more on the show later this week, but all that stationary got me thinking about how to store it.  All those cards and papers are just too pretty to hide away in a drawer somewhere.  Sooooooo, I found this Simply Shabby Chic bath caddy at Target last week.

It's made of pretty white wicker and is designed to hold all your bathroom essentials.  What I liked about it was all the little compartments.

I thought it would make a great stationary organizer.  The fabric ribbon that it came with was nice, but I wanted something with a bit more color - so I just replaced it with some pretty aqua ribbon.

 

Then I just filled it up with some of my favorite stationary, note cards, and labels.

I also added some pretty, colorful pencils in an antique china cup.

This will sit on my desk - now my stationary is all neat and organized...plus I can look at it whenever I want!

Happy Tuesday!

Shabby Seashells

I wish I could say I was responsible for these lovely shabby seashells, but alas, I am not.  They are the work of one of my nearest and dearest friends, Jodi. Jodi is one of the few people that I know who totally "gets" and shares my love of all things shabby, floral, and pretty. Jodi also shares my love of party planning and gets just as excited as I do about all the little details. She painted these gorgeous seashells for her daughter's "mermaid" birthday party.

Aren't they beautiful!

I just adore the soft, shabby colors and the way Jodi has delicately glittered them.  The aqua ones are my favorites.

If I'm really lucky, maybe Jodi will make some for me to sell in my online store...

...that is, when it FINALLY opens!  Hopefully, soon...

:-)

Pretty, Pretty Purse

I've been doing some more organizing...which means finding more wonderful things that I had completely forgotten about. This pretty vintage purse, for example...

It's made out of straw,

completely woven through with the softest, pale pink velvet ribbon,

and covered with the sweetest millinery flowers.

Way too pretty to forget.

:-)

Target Tuesday: Ruffled Hand Towels

I found these pretty hand towels in the Bath department at Target.  They are part of Rachel Ashwell's Simply Shabby Chic Collection.  You can buy them individually in the store or as part of a larger set online.

I am loving the sweet rows of shabby ruffles.

These would be great to leave out for your special house guests - just put them in a pretty basket with some bath essentials...

Some lovely pastel soaps and a fresh tube of fun toothpaste is always nice. 

Some pretty toothbrushes in a vintage glass, of course.

And don't forget a beautiful floral china trinket box to store cotton balls and q-tips!

Happy Tuesday!

Jessica

Mother's Day Petit Fours Part II: Baking & Decorating

With Mother's Day fast approaching (tomorrow!), I decided this morning that I had better get started on my petit fours.  I had already made all the sugar paste flowers, but it was time to do some baking and decorating. I won't say that this is a simple project, as there are many steps involved, but it's not difficult and the results are more than worth it.  If you want to make some, too, here's what you'll need: 

• butter pound cake (use your favorite recipe or buy one at the bakery!)
• good quality seedless raspberry or apricot jam (or other flavor of your choice)   
• icing  
• sugar paste flowers or other decoration 

I like to make my own pound cake and icing.  I use two wonderful recipes from Karen Porter of Tilly's Cakes.  They can be found on Martha Stewart's website.  If you are not a big baker, never fear - Sara Lee will do just fine!  To begin, bake your pound cake and let it cool completely.  Then, trim off any brown crust and cut the cake into approximately 1/2" thin slices.  The size and shape of your petit four is completely up to you and you can make them free-hand or use a cookie cutter.  I just eye-balled it, so you can see that my 1 1/4" squares are less than perfect. You will need two "shapes" for each petit four (you will be sandwiching the jam between them).

Next, place your jam in a saucepan over low heat and stir until it melts slightly. This will make it easier to spread.  Using a small butter knife or offset spatula, spread a thin layer of jam on one half of each petit four pair.  Be careful not to go all the way to the edge - this will keep the jam from flowing over the sides when you add the top piece.  Add the top piece.

  

Next, place your finished "sandwiched" cakes on a wire rack set inside a cookie pan that has sides. Prepare your icing and allow it to cool and rest a bit (this will give it some time for the air bubbles to dissipate).  If you want to tint it, add a drop or two of gel food coloring. I made mine a VERY pale pink.

Using a pastry brush, gently remove any loose  crumbs from the surface of your cakes.  Now, carefully pour your icing over the petit fours, making sure to completely cover all the sides.  You may have to do two coats.  The excess icing will drip down into the cookie pan.

Quickly add a sugar paste flower or two to the top before the icing completely sets up.

Let the petit fours dry and then, using a small metal spatula, transfer them to some parchment paper.

You can use a sharp knife to trim and clean-up any extra icing that has collected around the bottoms.

Here they are all finished and sitting pretty in their paper candy cups...

Now comes my favorite part - the packaging!  I decided to just use some simple white candy boxes lined with wax paper.

In keeping with my sugar paste flower color scheme, I added some deeper violet-colored millinery flowers and a ribbon in a pretty shade of fuchsia.

Have a great day!

Jessica

Antiquing: On A Whim (AKA Vintage Prom Dress Paradise)

You really need to be sitting down before you read this post.  Seriously.  Get the smelling salts ready because what I am about to show you may really make you faint. It's a wonderful antique emporium called On A Whim and it has some of the most gorgeous vintage prom dresses I have ever seen. Beautiful, frothy, fluffy, glorious prom dresses.  And lots of them. On a Whim is owned by Donna Troxler, a lovely woman that I met a number of years ago while we were both designing rooms for Luckett's Design House. The main building houses a number of different dealer spaces - selling everything from floral china teacups to queen-sized antique beds.

Many great shabby finds to be found!

Just outside the main building is a little jewel of a room - a true treasure trove. Donna has amassed an incredible collection of vintage prom dresses and accessories.  Take a looky...

Unbelievable, right?  I really did almost faint the first time I walked in.  Since words can't really express such beauty, I will let the photos do the talking...

So, are you still with me???  Now, most of the dresses are for sale - although I don't know how Donna can bear to part with them. There are also pretty vintage gloves, purses, and hats adorned with millinery flowers.

On a Whim is a girly girl's fantasy come to life!  It's a must-see if you are in the Leesburg, VA area - located just down the road from Lucketts Store.  And you can't miss it - just look for the pretty pink and black polka dot silo!

:-)