Too much?

I am starting to think that I may be working on too many projects at the moment....I have an ever growing list, but I've been inspired and I don't want to miss out on any opportunities!

Here is my ever growing project list:

-SEWING PROJECTS: I got a sewing machine for my birthday (yipee!) and need to start working on some projects so I get familiar with the machine and educate myself further. I have decided to make a nice flowy maxi skirt as well as some polka dotted scarves. I also would like to make a DIY heart sweater (a la the J.Crew one I would like to, but should not purchase). While I'm at it I think I will add some elbow patches to some old sweaters, perhaps even in the shape of a heart! And although not sewing related, I am making my own polka dotted skinnies since the ones I am obsessed with at Anthropologie are nearly $300 (boo).

-PAPER PROJECTS: I recently learned how to book bind (I even taught a class on it! oo la la!) and as a result I have decided everyone I know needs their own personalized hand bound journal. I have made 3 handmade journals in...2 weeks? I also learned the magic of DIY stationary and LINED ENVELOPES. Let me tell you- once you line an envelope you'll never look at an unlined envelope in the  same way EVER again. So two lucky people in my life will be receiving their own handmade stationary complete with lined envelopes. Those two people shall remain unnamed as they have not received this yet. :) I also decided I needed to get to work on the many scrapbooks we were gifted around the time of the wedding. The Italian Honeymoon book is almost complete, but I still have the wedding and family books to finish up.

-PAINTING PROJECTS: I have 2 paintings in progress, and would like to finish at least 2 more by mid to late September. This really should be PRIORITY NUMERO UNO. These actually have deadlines unlike the rest. MUST FOCUS.

-HOME PROJECTS: I have come up with a spiffy (yes, I said spiffy) way of displaying the sweet and lovely cards we receive or give to each other. DIY and photos to come! I got Mr. Butter the PERFECT card the other day (if I do say so myself, which...I just did). It says "Life is so much BUTTER with you". A-dorable. It was made for us. I would also like to make us a fun pair of curtains for the bedroom and perhaps a lovely fall tablecloth.

Don't even get me started on fall decorations...Fall is only MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR and there are so many fun things I want to make!!!!

Time to get back to those paintings! Poor Mr. Butter is already in bed, but I have to dedicate myself to this for the next few months. 8 hour work days followed by a night of painting? You gotta do what ya gotta do.

Love

This one might be the best one....So you should watch it. 

Because it's been too long

And you can never, ever have too much John Lennon in your life. You should definitely take a few minutes to watch this video. His style! Amazing!!! I can't even begin to express how happy I would be if I got to play with elephants in Central Park with John Lennon. I mean...look at all of the wonderful things happening in that sentence. John Lennon. Elephants. Central Park. All AMAZING things. 

Happy Friday!

PS. You should watch this one too because John and Yoko are the best.

Third and Fairfax

At 3rd and Fairfax you will find a little place called the Grove/Farmer's Market. This is another place that I used to frequent as a teenager living in Hollywood that has now become a tourist attraction and home of tv's Extra (why??). But it still has a soft spot in my heart and I love roaming the stalls at the Farmer's Market and trying some new delicious meal. Although, let's be honest here- most of the time I end up at the French crepe stand. Look at the goodies we found!

On this particular day it happened to be very hot outside so my sister and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice air conditioned lunch at the French restaurant inside the Grove. I adored their wall near the entrance and had to snap a shot...

I love how perfectly imperfect it is. 

Well, that's all for now. Have a great evening!

Butter goes to...

A visit to Los Angeles just would not be complete without a trip to the beach! We always seem to end up at Venice beach (the part off Washington, not so much the boardwalk). It's less crowded than the touristy Santa Monica beach and there are lots of fun places to visit near by. We usually end up taking a stroll down to the boardwalk but quickly return once we are feeling overwhelmed by the masses of people, body builders, and smoke scented air. If you are feeling hungry I always enjoy C&O Trattoria just up the street- their garlic rolls are amazing! 

As you can see the weather was perfect and it was great to spend some time relaxing in the sun (with sunscreen, of course!). Julian was the only one brave enough to enter the water this time (it was very cold!) but even that was a short lived adventure. I ended up burying him in the sand after just so he could warm back up!

Nothing quite beats the California coast.

The Good Urth

Oh, Urth Cafe. I loved you long before you became a mecca for the "see and be seen" crowd that flocks to you in hopes of accidental fame these days. Your strong Italian lattes stole my young heart when I was only fifteen years old and I will never stop loving you. Your bake sale pastries and deserts fill me with joy and you are still the only place I will order a restaurant pie. Mr. Butter and I often catch ourselves saying "if only we could go to Urth Cafe right now..." and daydreaming about the treasures you offer. 

Note to visitors: My favorite treats are the decadent chocolate pound cake (they give you three huge slices) and the deep dish peach pie. Always ask for your treat warmed- it will make it taste 1,000 times more delicious! The belgian waffle with strawberries and bananas is also delightful!

These visions of creamy coffee treats are going to dance around in my head as I drift off into sleep tonight...

To Infinity and BEYOND!

In all of my years spent in Los Angeles I am surprised to say that I never actually visited the Griffith Observatory. When I first arrived in the City of Angeles it was under renovation but I remember there was a big to do when it reopened. I have visited the park on numerous occasions but this, my friends, was my first trip the the observatory itself. 

We went with the intentions of viewing one of the planetarium shows about vikings and the Northern Lights (sounds amazing, right??), but much to our surprise the place was packed. We had to park so far away that we practically got in another hike. We missed our viking show and had to settle for one about the Mayan prediction of the end of times. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as we had anticipated but very fun indeed!

I think my sister fell in love and this is her new favorite place/soon to be second home. She was quite smitten with the Tesla coil and the Cafe at the End of the Universe. I even caught her pondering the ways of the universe with Albert Einstein. 

Another must see next time you are in Los Angeles!

Until next time- May the force be with you.

(Yes, I am aware I am a total nerd.)

Butter goes to...

My sister is living the fabulous LA life and just happens to live down the street from Runyon Canyon. What is Runyon Canyon, you say? It's the hot spot in LA to go for a run. We used to visit Runyon frequently when we lived in the Hollywood Hills and I have fond memories of walks taken there with my mom and Greg. I don't know why on earth I ever stopped going!

There are a couple of courses to choose from in the Canyon, and one happens to be very steep and quite the challenge. As you can imagine, I was feeling pretty accomplished after reaching the top. My brother Julian patiently waited for us at the top and then we ran back down as one happy little family. 

But the views! Oh, the views- you must see them! You can see the entire city and quite a good glimpse at the Hollywood sign. Plus, it's excellent people watching up there. Hardly anyone is wearing proper work out gear, and I spotted numerous women attempting to "exercise" in bikini tops. 

It's a fun little adventure if you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods! 

California Dreaming

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to sneak away for the weekend to visit my brother in Los Angeles for a few days. I bought a very last minute plane ticket and took off for sunny California for a long overdue visit (it had been 2 years since I last saw him!). 

The first night I got there we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see the BBC/Discovery Channel's Frozen Planet in concert. The Los Angeles Philharmonic provided the tunes and there were big screens displaying scenes from the documentary. It was amazing! We were given polar bear masks at the entrance and you better believe we had fun with them!

It was my mom and sister's first trip to the bowl, and I think it was a hit! My best friend Liz joined us for the evening as well. One of my favorite things about the Hollywood Bowl (besides the amazing view) is that it is picnic friendly! We brought a nice spread of wine, cheeses, fruit, and veggies to snack on. I am always amazed that even though the bowl is in the heart of Hollywood, it is so peaceful once you are inside. I spent a lot of time there in high school, and it had been years since I last saw a show there. It was such a treat! The only thing missing was Mr. Butter (he had to stay in P-Town and work).

Can you tell I was excited to see my Lizzieloo?? 

Anytime you are in LA during the summer you should definitely catch a show at the Hollywood Bowl! 

To Rome With Love

The other day Mr. Butter and I went on a little movie date to see WoodyAllen's newest creation, To Rome With Love. The highlight of this movie for us was, of course- the setting! We were excited to see the streets and piazzas where we spent our honeymoon together. The images of the Eternal city and the wonderful italian music were certainly the best parts of the movie. The film was written and directed by Woody (of course!) so I think you can know what to expect without me having to say much. However, I much preferred the story in Midnight In Paris to this one. 

All in all it was fun to cuddle up in the movie theater and enjoy a walk down memory lane with my husband! 

Photo via this site.

Let the Good Times Roll

Last weekend I decided to throw a little birthday bash for myself and celebrate another year on this beautiful earth with a few friends. I haven't thrown a party in a long while, but I certainly enjoy doing so! I tend to go a little overboard, and the perfectionist in me comes out. 

I am surrounded by all kinds of awesome creative inspiration at work every day and it gets my mind racing with ideas! We have festive tissue pom poms hanging in one of our windows, and I decided I had to learn how to do them and make some for the party. Then I found an awesome kraft paper flag that I decorated with muted pink and green paper and some sparkly alphabet stickers. The obsessive side of me even wrapped the wine bottles in matching paper. 

Oh, but it couldn't stop there. I had to coordinate the dishes, the cocktail napkins, and even the iced tea. I'm not a huge fan of cake (don't get me wrong, it's good stuff, just not my favorite) so I prefer pie on my birthday. My favorite recipe as of late is a peach and nectarine combo. Mmm! 

A few more photos:

And you better believe the night ended like this:

Cheer up, buttercup!

Look at this sad pug. He represents how I feel about the amount of neglect that my little blog has received as of late. But cheer up, little pug! I have some fun things headed this way.

My birthday was last week so I decided to throw myself a little celebratory shin-dig. The last time I had a birthday party I was still a teenager, but oh- the memories! I love throwing parties, mostly (if not completely) because I love making festive decorations! I am surrounded by creative inspiration at work all day and decided to make an assortment of tissue pom poms for this event. From there I got carried away (as usual) and made all kinds of coordinating party decorations. Photos and how-tos coming soon!

For now, it's time for bed. I had to work rather late tonight, and will need to rise and shine first thing tomorrow morning to do it all again!

Adorable photo via thedailycute.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy (belated) Father's Day to all of my wonderful fathers! I am lucky enough to have three fathers in my life- my father, my step-father, and my father-in-law. I love them all so very much and am grateful for each and every one of them!

Oh how I love my daddy! When I was growing up all of my friends were envious of how cool my dad was. :) He loved to go shopping, bake all kinds of delicious treats and we would stay up late watching all kinds of movies. And they are right, he is pretty awesome!! I miss him so much and wish we lived closer together so we could still go shopping, cook together, and have family movie nights! He has always been so supportive of me and I am so thankful for him!

My step-dad Greg has been a part of my life for a long time now and I am so thankful for him taking on the role of my second dad! He's always been there for me and our family, and I feel very special to have two wonderful fathers in my life! He's a very talented fellow with so much knowledge to share! I have learned so much from him and could listen to him talk for hours. I miss him so much too!

The day Tim and I got married I also got a third dad, my father-in-law Tim! He has welcomed me with open arms into the Donahue clan, and I feel very lucky to be part of their family! He introduced me to Rambo and oh-so-many crazy food concoctions (that I'm still not so sure about!). He's an inspiration to all of us, and I can't wait for all of the fun times ahead!

Thank you all for being such wonderful fathers! I am so thankful for your love and guidance. 

Here's a few more fun photos!:

xo!

...

Fun and funky!

Lately I have been enjoying playing around and having fun with different nail polish colors. I have been particularly enjoying some yellow shades, mint greens, glitters, and metallic polishes. Here are some I am excited to try!

First of all, how great is that name? It's practically made for me!! This color is called "Cheeky Chops" and I love it! You can find it here. 

This one is called "The Full Monty". It seems like a great classic gold polish, good for all seasons! It can also be found here. 

I have this fun sparkly collection and I love it! These glitters look great alone or swiped over another color. These are currently on sale and you can find them here.

Last but not least we have "Mint Candy Apple" by essie. I adore essie nail polishes. They have a great color collection and the polish goes on so smoothly! I must add this to my ever growing collection! You can grab it too, right here!

I am slowly branching out and testing out different designs and patterns...nothing too impressive so far! I might just stick to good ole fashioned solid colors. 

Oh How Time Flies!

My oh my! The past week and a half has been so busy and as a result I have sadly neglected my little blog. So much to catch up on!

I started my new job last week and so far it has been great! I am adjusting to a new schedule and to commuting via public transportation, and my poor feet are exhausted! On the upside, I am learning so much and getting to be surrounded by creative people and projects every day!

Also, I discovered Native Foods Cafe last week and I keep wondering why on earth no one told me about this delicious establishment before?! It's all vegan and oh-my-gosh-so-good. Seriously, check out this menu. I am forcing myself to bring my lunch to work or else I will be eating/spending all of my money here every day. I am going to make it a weekly treat though!

More posts are on the way!

J.Crew and the Man Who Dressed America

The hubby and I watched this video the other night and I found it worth sharing! It's really interesting, particularly if you work in retail, are a J.Crew shopper, or lover of fashion. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, Monday

How can your week not get off to a good start after looking at the adorable face? Wrigley says, "Have a great week!"

I start my *new job* today and I am very excited! Wish me luck!

Coming up soon:

A continuation of the guide to Rome (I haven't forgotten! The next installment is a good one!)

Musings on True Blood...I am way behind the times, but I finally started watching it!

and Mr. Butter's very first adventure on the city bus!

A DIY Wedding

When Tim and I started planning our wedding I knew that I wanted to take on some DIY projects. I love arts and crafts and it was a great way to personalize our special day. Instead of going the traditional route of choosing wedding colors, we decided to choose a theme. We wanted to go to Italy for our honeymoon so we decided on a rustic Italian theme. Once we decided on the theme all sorts of fun ideas started pouring out! Here's some of the items I made for our wedding:

Boutonnieres for the groom, groomsmen and fathers. So simple to make and they will last forever!

A floral headband for our flower girl!

I made the pillow for our rings using a template I found via Martha Stewart. I love how it turned out!

A lot of the venues we looked at would not allow flower petals, so I decided to make a flower ball for our flower girl. I liked it better than having another bouquet and it was super easy to make! 

I wanted a simple cake (the simple ones always seem to taste better to me than the super decadent ones) and when I found these faux grapes I had to have them! 

I made a "thank you" ("grazie" in Italian) sign to put on the table with the favors for the guests. I used a map of Rome as the background. It's one of my favorite pieces from the wedding. I also built a mini wooden leaning tower of Pisa as a table accent. It was one of the more challenging projects but also very rewarding!

Excuse the poor quality of this photo- this was taken at our old apartment when I was testing out the set up. I found a little suitcase at one of the craft stores and decided it was the perfect card box! I added a few more faux grapes to spruce it up a bit. 

Instead of table numbers we opted to use table names. I drew pictures of famous Roman monuments for each table. Time consuming, but worth it!

Making our wedding invitations was another one of my favorite projects for the wedding. It saved us a ton of money, and although it was a lot of hard work, it was certainly rewarding! I loved the traditional Italian paper- it added just the right amount of color!

One night I stayed up late working on assembling the invites while watching Bridget Jones' Diary. I giggle every time I see this photo- it was a complete accident that I snapped the photo just as they were kissing!

Looking back through all of these photos makes me a bit nostalgic for those days. I put in a lot of long hard hours but oh how it was worth it! 

Did you make anything for your wedding? What was your favorite project? I'd love to hear!

Butter Goes to the Beach

Yesterday the Donahue clan spent the day at the Oregon coast. It's always lovely getting to spend time with the family, especially a pretty day by the sea. Here's some photos from our little adventure!

This fella decided this was a perfectly good spot to take a nap. Good for you, buddy!

We were taking a few obligatory couple shots when Mr. Butter's father thought it would be a good idea to photo bomb us. Well played, well played indeed.

We played a round of mini golf and Mr. Butter scored a hole in one on the first two holes! In the end though it was a pretty close game. 

We also went for a ride on a surrey. Last year all six of us went for a ride, but the bike that was supposed to seat six of us this year was not quite large enough for all of us...We were holding on for dear life! But it was fun as always. :) 

And of course, a trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without some taffy! I love roaming the aisles to see all of the different flavors, but I really only enjoy the hot cinnamon. 

I already can't wait for our next trip over to the coast!