Showing posts with label LinkLove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LinkLove. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2012

MondayMust: LinkLove Valentine edition

Photo on 2012-02-13 at 21.38

Despite a nasty cold, I managed to spend an unimaginable amount of time online this past week. Here are some of the highlights:

I'm obsessed with these patterns by Ashley Goldberg. I want them on my clothes and in my house. NOW.

I'm kind of curious about how fresh these croissants from Williams-Sonoma would be once they arrived. But chocolate-chocolate? I'm pretty sure you couldn't go wrong.

I'm thinking this would be a good decor look for my upcoming "Mad Men" party.

I so want to try these DIY embroidery Vans.

This just might be my reward for losing those nagging winter 10 pounds.

If I had more time, I'd definitely be making this Chocolate-Chip Cherry Cheesecake for my valentine. Maybe for the weekend.

She is my new hair and makeup muse. Plus, her name is so cute. Gemma.

This is the next book on my reading list. What's yours?

It might be a bit late for V-Day, but sugar paper has some of the best cards I've seen.

As the OliveObserver I can't believe I don't own one of these.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

TruthBeToldTuesday: Cute blog award and paying it forward

Thanks so much to Carmen at Cheeky Cheeky for this adorable award. I love our little blogging community!



Upon receiving this award, you are to:
1) Link back to the person who awarded you;
2) Answer all of the award questions;
3) Tell something about yourself that you haven't told anyone on your blog yet;
4) Award as many bloggers that you think are worthy of this award and make them aware of it.

Here are the question...

Questions:
What is your go-to makeup brand?
I prefer Clinique for eye shadow and foundation, Mac and NARS for lipstick and Loreal for eyeliner. Anything I'm missing?

What was your favorite fashion trend of 2011?
Hands down, orange lips and chevron patterns. But please, you guys should know this about me already.

What is your favorite dessert?
Creme brulee, but more specifically, the crispy sugar on top. I also really love anything that incorporates pumpkin, ginger or cream cheese.

What is your favorite color?
As a kid, purple; as an adult, gray and all shades of greens.

What is your middle name?
Katherine because my big seester wanted to name me Katie.

The last song you listened to?
"Breaking into Cars" by the Raveonettes.

Dogs or Cats?
Cats, cats cats. I like dogs, but I'm a total cat person.

Something I haven't told anyone on the blog yet:
I have a new office in my home, and I have some projects to spruce it up that I'm almost ready to share.

Blogs I award:

http://www.teandbaby.com/
http://alittleofthisandthat-april.blogspot.com/
http://misslarissabree.blogspot.com/
http://ryanandelizabethshideler.blogspot.com/
http://www.lacy-everydayisanewday.blogspot.com/
http://www.hotbotbaby.blogspot.com/

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Five(timesthree)ThingsFriday: Nutella recipes

I go through more Nutella that I will even admit on a blog. Here's some new recipes for eating it, rather that just sticking your finger in the jar and enjoying its chocolatey hazelnutty goodness. And I couldn't stop at five, so this is technically a FifteenThingsFriday:

Dark chocolate salted caramel Nutella Twix bars:



Nutella bread:



Nutella Meringues:



Homemade Nutella:



Nutella Donuts:



Home-made strawberry Nutella poptarts:
Source: thekitchn.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Nutella fudge:



Healthy Nutella ice cream:

Source: rumkihn.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Nutella pudding:



Four-ingredient Nutella cookies:



Nutella cookie sandwiches:




Nutella fruit dip:



Nutella puppy chow mix:



Nutella hot chocolate:

Source: luuux.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Nutella dreams:


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

WardrobeWednesday: Bathing suits

Nothing like the thought of -17 degree weather (yes, that's seriously the forecast for tonight's low) gets you in the mood for bathing suit shopping. I suppose it's also a good time to start that bathing suit workout.


Source: jcrew.com via Heidi on Pinterest




Source: bonadrag.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Source: google.co.uk via Heidi on Pinterest



Monday, January 16, 2012

MondayMust: Link love

It's Monday again. I'm actually one of those people who loves Mondays. It's a fresh start. Today, I'm so tired though. One thing after another kept me awake last night. But my cure will be a good workout after work.

Here's some links to get you through your Monday:

I started following Can You Stay for Dinner a few months ago, but this recent post really resonated with me and my weight-loss struggles. I also can't wait to make these muffins.

I'm so loving J.Crew's latest collections:


Source: jcrew.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Source: jcrew.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Source: jcrew.com via Heidi on Pinterest


I was recently reminded of these fun Valentines my best pal Cristen and I made a couple of years ago. We are in the process of setting up a crafternoon to create some 2012 editions.

IMG_3370

I'm so in love with these Midwest-theme Tees by Raygun:







Friday, January 13, 2012

FiveThingsFriday: DIYs with a map

I love maps, and the thought of using them in a little project here and there around the house is so fun. Here are a few non-travel-related uses for your maps.

Map magnets:



map garland:



map chair:



map lamp shade:



map embroidery:




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

TopTenTuesday: My ten most-popular blog posts

We're already more than a week into the new year, but heck, I like reflecting. There are a number of new blog followers here at OliveObserver, so a big shout out and welcome to them.




I really love statistics. I don't know why, but part of the fun of blogging for me has been to watch which posts are popular and try to figure out how random people are landing on my little ol' blog. It's fun and fascinating.

So without further hesitation, here are the top 10 viewed posts of 2011:

10. MondayMust: My must-visit daily blog reads
Dec. 19, 2011

9. StoryTimeSaturday: Bean Boozled
Dec. 31, 2011

8. WardrobeWednesday: DIY shoe projects
Nov. 30, 2011

7. StoryTimeSaturday: Wedding invites and crosswords
Nov. 19, 2011

6. TopTenTuesday: Best books I've read in 2011
Dec. 6, 2011

5. FridayConfession: Not ready for Christmas
Dec. 16, 2011

4. Hand-made owl costume
Oct. 31, 2011

3. FiveThingsFriday: Toilet paper roll
Dec. 2, 2011

2. New hairs
Dec. 8, 2011

1. StoryTimeSaturday: Wedding cake and decor
Dec. 3, 2011

I also did a couple of guest posts on other blogs, if you want to check them out:


50 Days of DIY on the Paper Mama: Christmas tree skirt

TeenyTutorial: DIY cake plate over at Pamplemousse1983

Monday, January 9, 2012

MondayMorningMust: LinkLove

Start your Monday off right with these lovelies:

What a brave step Jen of Jen Loves Kev is taking in giving up sponsorship. I think it's quite awesome and can't wait to see what the year brings.

Another big step: Jess finding what she loves to do. Her free print downloads this week are pure awesome.




Raspberri Cupcakes posted an awesome idea for Salted Caramel Apples with Popcorn. Don't mind if I do.


Source: modcloth.com via Heidi on Pinterest


I'm so in love with this kitty cat dress from Modcloth. Unfortunately it's out of stock for the time being. Curse!

Check out this great Travelista feature on how to pack light via Danielle on Pinterest.

You can find some of my new blog discoveries from this week here, here and there.




And lastly, I really love these secret message valentines from Martha.

Friday, January 6, 2012

FiveThingsFriday: Making non-waffles

A waffle iron seems like one of those really useful appliances for a very narrow number of uses. Until I found these ideas that is. Who knew a waffle iron could be used to make an entire breakfast spread or even dessert?

Waffle iron cinnamon rolls:

Source: ahensnest.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Waffle iron brownies:


Source: chow.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Waffle iron hashbrowns:


Source: chow.com via Heidi on Pinterest


Waffle iron chocolate chip cookies (in 90 seconds!!):


Source: thekitchn.com via Heidi on Pinterest



Waffle iron croque madame:




Monday, December 19, 2011

MondayMust: My must-visit daily blog reads

Like many people who have blogs, I started mine because I loved reading others' posts. I follow what seems like a gajillion blogs, but there are a select few I impulsively check when I log on, regardless of whether a new post has popped up in my feed. Just to be clear, I don't do sponsoring on my blog, so these are truly my honest-to-goodness opinions.

Here they are:
hello picture
The Paper Mama: I love Chelsey, her DIYs and photo contests. Mad props. And she always looks so darn cute. Check out her holiday party dress.

irocksowhat: Jess is an awesome mom with an awesome kid and awesome style. Both Jess and Chelsey (the Paper Mama) are amazing designers and photographers. They are attending the Alt Design Summit in January, which looks like such a blast.
 

Peppermint_bleubird_2
Bleubird Vintage: I've followed this little lady for so long. She has three gorgeous kids and a fantastic vintage home.



A is for &: Amy is so adorably cute and so is her blog. Definitely check this one out, especially this new post on DIY fox gloves.



Sometimes Sweet: Danielle is another one of those bloggers I've followed for a really long time. She's cute and so is her family. She also posts from really frank entries about blogging and life in general. She and her husband Hank went to a Mad Men theme party this weekend, and the photos are great.


Ramblings and Photos: Ashley hosts a weekly Sunday Scavenger Hunt for photography, and it's been such a great inspiration to get me out shooting more again. I've slacked a bit lately in participation, but I encourage everyone to give it a try even if just one week. I just might even get some photos posted for this week's prompts.



say YES! to hoboken: Liz is one busy lady with all of her blogging. She has impeccable taste and fantastic project ideas. I think I pin pretty much every one of her posts. I am totally going out to get some paint chips to make these DIY paint chip ornaments today.

I'm sure I'm forgetting more than a few, but these are my absolute musts. What are your favorites? I'm always looking for new blogs to follow.

Friday, December 16, 2011

FridayConfession: Not ready for Christmas


There's just a week to go and so much to do. I'm not ready for Christmas, and I'm taking advantage of my three-day weekend this week to get it all done.

Here's what's left:

1. Gift wrapping, and lots of it. Like this, this and this.

2. Gift buying for about half on my list. Here's some ideas.

3. Cookie baking. These, these and these.

4. Holiday cleaning. Because look at this.

5. Christmas partying. With them. And him.

6. Snowflake snipping. Here and here.

7. Knitting. Lots and lots of knitting. In fact, why am I not knitting right now?

I think I'm going to need a lot of this and this to make it through.