Apr

shake it up {splendor in the grass}

it’s back!! that’s right, after a long hiatus i’m bringing the shake it up series back! for those of you new to the blog, the idea behind the shake it up series is to do just that – shake things up! it’s all about adding a bit of creativity and spontaneity to everyday life (in other words – putting down that darn to-do list!!).

which makes it funny that we’re starting back up with a to-do list…but with a twist…a fun to-do list. one that’s inspired by april’s song of the month “splendor in the grass”. i created my own “splendor in the grass” to do list (shown above). so this weekend your mission is to:

create & check off an item on your own splendor in the grass to-do list (or just use the above one!)

i would love to see and hear about what you do. so grab your camera and take a pic of your splendor in the grass activity or to-do list! make sure you go to OSR’s facebook page and post your pics so we can all see!

have a wonderful weekend everyone! can’t wait to see your splendor in the grass activites!!

796 days ago Short URL 9 Comments

bags/shake it up

cool modern gifts/shake it up/splendor in the grass

Jan

{shake it up – it’s coming back!}

it’s friday!! and i have some good news to share. due to popular demand (thanks everyone for taking the survey!) i’m bringing the shake it up series back…but with a twist!! details to follow but here’s a little teaser…it’ll be a year long blog hop/collaboration! so get ready to shake it up!

now on to the weekend…we’re finally taking down our christmas tree before it becomes socially unacceptable. which begs the question…when do you take down your holiday decorations? right away or do you end up keeping it up until spring?

have a wonderful weekend! any good plans? p.s. you can download this cool 2011 calendar for free over at atypical type a

894 days ago Short URL 10 Comments

shake it up/stationery + paper

free 2011 calendar download/shake it up

Sep

{black + white and cool all over}

is it really almost the end of september?? where did this month go? i hope you all had a fantastic weekend. i managed to sneak in a little love “note” for my hubby while he was busy painting (for my office no less). but i definitely scored some points with my little note! (and i’ve always wanted to light that many candles – they actually acted like a space heater since it was so darn cold yesterday!) so, in keeping with my photo, here’s some black and white inspiration to kick off the week…

[images above: see creatures' photostream found via sfgirlbybay; lorenag's photostream; trampoline etsy shop; via australian house + garden; via lonny mag; via living etc; via paul barbera; the big harumph etsy shop]

996 days ago Short URL 14 Comments

art + photography/interior design/shake it up

black and white interior design/black and white interiors/lonny magazine

Sep

{shake it up – 1000 cranes}

happy friday!! i have to say that i love coming across cool ideas – of course, my first thought is usually “why didn’t i think of that?” – but once i get past that, it’s just pure excitement over someone’s creativity! so when i received an email from sandy regarding her 1000 cranes project, i knew i had to share it with you!

basically she’s made it her mission to make 1000 paper cranes, each with a different positive word, and place them in different locations for people to discover – so cool, right??! check them all out here.

since i’m feeling inspired by her project, this week’s shake it up idea is to:

make a paper crane & place it somewhere to be discovered!

would love if you joined in on the fun! also, if you get a chance, i would love for you to stop by makeunder my life and read my dream reporter post…it’s the one that was to be posted last week. it’s a personal post for me – so would love for you to read it.

as always, you guys are the best – have a wonderful weekend!

[images above, from top: 1 via bethan's photostream & her tumblr wanderlust; 2,3 via 1000 crane mission; 4,5,6 via bethan's photostream & her tumblr wanderlust]

1013 days ago Short URL 12 Comments

shake it up

1000 cranes/1000 cranes project/dream reporter/makeunder my life/paper cranes/shake it up

Aug

{shake it up – guilty pleasures!}

i feel like my friday posts lately keep showing pictures of dessert! but what better guilty pleasure is there than a full piece of red velvet cake with yummy cream cheese frosting. (one of mine!) talk about feeling guilty afterwards!

i have to say, though, that i’m in the camp that believes that there’s nothing wrong with guilty pleasures – if you enjoy it, who cares! be loud and proud about it! who cares that i have a jordan knight cd? that song rocked when it came out (grin)!

so this week’s shake it up adventure is to:

indulge in a guilty pleasure

i’m thinking we can all get on board with this challenge!

and of course i must know – what are some of your guilty pleasures?

happy friday – have a wonderful weekend!

[images above from top: via sweetcakes bakeshop discovered via lushlee; via style me pretty]

1027 days ago Short URL 22 Comments

art + photography/food + drink/shake it up

guilty pleasures/lushlee/red velvet cake/shake it up

Aug

{shake it up – the scoop}

smores

happy monday everyone! how was your weekend? i can sum up ours in one word…WET! our camping trip ended up becoming a “who can stay the driest” trip – and i’m pretty sure we all lost. we literally had just enough time to set up our tent when the floodgates opened…and of course we weren’t prepared. we set up a sad little makeshift canopy by laying a tablecloth over our 2 cars and holding it down with water bottles. but we didn’t let it get to us…we took a nice hike through the forest and even managed to upgrade our makeshift shelter by securing a sheet of tarp to trees…that ended up being our cozy little nook where we could chat and play games. all in all lots of fun!

so needless to say the photo taking was minimal (i apologize in advance – not the greatest shots!)…but the smore’s challenge was yummy!! the rain had stopped long enough for us to have a couple hours around the fire (my favorite thing about camping). and i gotta say…hands down the winner for me was peanut butter cups. my hubby says otherwise – he was a fan of the chocolate & caramel. but i got my friends on my side!!
smores3 smores2 smores1 smores4

1031 days ago Short URL 10 Comments

shake it up

camping/shake it up/smores challenge

Aug

{shake it up – s’mores challenge!}

happy friday – we made it!! so i was going to cheat and have this shake it up be “sleep outside”…but since i had already planned on going camping i guess that’s not quite the spirit! so in the words of emeril lagasse “i’m kickin’ it up a notch”!!

this weekend’s shake it up adventure:

s’more’s challenge!

we go camping every year with my best friend and her husband…and i don’t know if it’s the fresh air or a few drinks, but more often than not we end up just being silly around the campfire. one year we had an iron chef style marshmallow challenge – who could roast the best one? one year i brought ghost stories that i must have printed from a child’s website because they were more ridiculous than scary.

so this year the challenge is to see who can create the yummiest s’more! i’m bringing peanut butter cups, nutella, peanut m&m’s and of course chocolate.

any other ideas? hope you all have a great weekend! mine at the very least will be yummy!

[images above, from top: dandelion and grey via not your average ordinary; oh joy eats; style me pretty; from silverdays etsy shop]

1034 days ago Short URL 15 Comments

food + drink/shake it up

camping/shake it up/smores challenge

Aug

{shake it up – the scoop}

happy monday everyone! how was your weekend? mine was pretty low key since i spent most of it working on the store …so in hindsight not exactly the most spectacular weekend to “document a day” in my life! at least that day there was a cool thunderstorm, the dogs were ultra cute, and we had a mystery to solve…who left the larger-than-life gourd on our back porch? luckily, this has since been answered but i gotta say it was a bit strange to wake up to that on our doorstep! (oh and you’ll notice the pictures kind of trail off come night time…all my shots kept looking like i had accidentally been taking them in a bag!)

[above images taken by me and cannot be used without permission]

1038 days ago Short URL 19 Comments

art + photography/shake it up

document your day in photographs/shake it up

Aug

{shake it up – document your day!}

friday already? just kidding – if you’ve seen any of my tweets this week than you know i was ready for friday on monday! and i seem to be getting nowhere with my “4 day work week” campaign…i only have us worker’s down with the plan, can’t seem to get the people who actually make decisions on board! (ok, so i have yet to really do anything – but who wouldn’t love this campaign?!)

i’m really excited about this weekend’s shake it up idea – it’s something i’ve always wanted to try doing:

document your day – take a photograph every hour from rise & shine all the way to bedtime.

now the problem for me is that we don’t have anything very exciting going on this weekend – it’s definitely crunch time for me in getting the store set up (you can read all about it over at makeunder my life today) - but i still think it’s such a fun idea to just document a day – even if it’s a boring, normal one!!

and hopefully i’ll have my new camera to try out – woo hoo!!

anyone up for this challenge with me? would love to see your day!!

[images above, from top: 1.) via janna wages' flickr photostream; 2.) via suzi...schmoo's flickr photostream; 3.) via olly day's flickr photostream]

1041 days ago Short URL 17 Comments

art + photography/shake it up

document your day/document your day in photographs/shake it up

Aug

{shake it up – the scoop}

bike17

hip hip hooray…i did it!! i actually got my bike out…and didn’t just stare at it, i rode it. of course i had these grand plans for pictures. the idea was to take photos while riding which, let me tell you, is near impossible to do. i’m thinking it takes both expert biking and photography skills…of which i have neither (although to my credit, i can ride a bike no-handed – which does no good when you can’t see because you’re looking through a camera lens – consequently i kept finding myself in near-collision situations! luckily, my hubby and his cousin kept look out for me.)

i have to say it was a fun way to capture photos – most looked like they were taken by accident and were a complete, blurry mess – but the ones that worked, really worked! and we lucked out and found 2 baby deer! now that’s a good bike ride!

oh and fyi…you can check out my “summer must haves” over on a diary of lovely today!!

how was your weekend? did you get a chance to ride your bike?

bike6 bike12 bike18 bike13 bike16 bike9 bike8