Under Wildwood + Carson Ellis

I remembrer being a kid and climbing into bed at night with my brother and sister while my mom read to us from "Mr Poppers Penguins" or "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". I loved being transported into these imaginary worlds. As a new mom, I'm looking forward to doing the same when Wills is old enough and at the top of my list is the Wildwood Series.


Book 2 of the Wildwood series, Under Wildwood, is scheduled to be released this September and I cannot wait! I love Carson Ellis' illustration style. If you haven't checked out the Wildwood blog it is certainly worth a look. Below is a mixture of Carson's illustrations- some from the new book, and some from her portfolio. Each has captured my imagination.
http://www.wildwoodchronicles.com/blog/
By the way you can pre-order your copy of Wildwood 2- "Under Wildwood" through Amazon.

June's Flowers

I'm so pleased about this new series. If you missed my earlier post where I shared my plan to create a flower arrangement each month (similar to last years "cake a month" series) consider yourself filled in. So here it is- June's arrangement. Poppies, mums and tulips make up the bulk of the arrangement. I used lisianthus and garden clippings from around my neighborhood for filler. Don't you think poppies are such a happy flower?

Secret Holiday & Co.

I do love these quilts by Secret Holiday & Co. Ashley is also the mastermind behind the affirmation banners that you've probably seen around the web. Check out her shop here.

Leslie David

A few snaps from the home and studio of graphic designer, Leslie David- one of my recent faves on Freunde von Freunden. I love seeing how other people live. 

Life Lately

I've been doing a little bit of freshening up around the blog. It felt like time for a change. It's a process so we'll see where it ends up. This week I took a big step in 'mommyhood' and hired someone to help with Wills two days a week so I can start working more. It's a bit scary and is going to take some adjusting for our little family of three, but I'm looking forward to taking on a handful of new jobs and posting more regularly back here. 


Here are a few of my instagram pictures from our recent trip to the States and a few from life back here in Cape Town. 

Anntorian Handwoven Bags

I'm a firm believer of you can never have too many bags. These handwoven bags from Anntorian are super cute. Perfect for all my odds and ends. 

via Katey Dutton

Flower Arranging 101 + A New Project

I'm a big fan of both Amy Merrick's blog, An Apple a Day, and her floral design work. Her blog is beautiful, moody and full of gorgeous flowers that make me want to stop everything I'm doing and open a flower shop. Lately I've been doing more and more flower arranging (most recently for my brother and sister in laws wedding) and I love it- I mean LOVE. So I'm excited to start a new series on the blog- an arrangement a month. You may remember my New Years resolution, a cake a month (that I fell short of completing by one month!) A handful of those cakes turned out alright, most of them, not so great. So here's what I learned from that experience 1. I don't like baking. 2. Decorating cakes is flipping hard.  3. It's best to leave it to the professionals. But! I do have high hopes for an arrangement a month as I know that it's something I already love to do. So stick around... first arrangement coming up next week.

All photos via An Apple a Day

A Little Getaway

My mom is coming to visit in August so I've been busy planning a little trip for us to take when she arrives. We decided on Hermanus. For those of you who don't live in South Africa Hermanus is a little coastal town with some of the best whale watching in the world between July and September. We've rented a cottage on the beach for a few nights and I'm looking forward to both some exploring and relaxing. I put together a few things I'd like to take with me on our getaway- take a look. 

shirt, notebook, camera, shoes, bag, pants, sleeping bag

Shabby Apple Giveaway

What a treat- Shabby Apple is offering one size too small reader a $50 gift certificate! To enter leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Shabby Apple item is (also be sure to include your email address), and go to the Shabby Apple facebook page and "like it". Shabby Apple is also offering all size too small readers a 10% discount for an entire month. Just enter sizetoosmall10off at checkout. Good luck!

Unofficial Colab

Today I've been enjoying the "unofficial colabs" between the guys at the folklands tumblr and various photographers. The middle picture is my favorite. Go here to see more. 

image 1, image 2, image 3

My New Favorite- Acrimony

So much goodness over at Acrimony- a new favorite online store.