checking out the boutiques of bville.

on friday at lunch, tasha and i hit up all the different boutiques in downtown bartlesville.  there's a store that recently opened called chevron chic, and i've really wanted to go in, but i usually don't have time. jen's birthday gave me the perfect excuse. 

i needed a great gift for jenny's birthday and based off their window display, i thought they would have just the thing.  we went in and looked around, but before making a decision i wanted to see the other boutiques downtown.

the next place we stopped was curbside closet. i loved, loved, loved this shop.  i tried on a couple of dresses (to hopefully wear to jen's birthday), but neither fit me well.  i found another dress i really liked for jen, but she would have had to have it hemmed because it was too long even for me.  i wanted to get her something she could immediately use, so we kept looking. 

this is one of the dresses i tried on -- isn't it darling?  i wish the sleeves would have hung better when i had it one. 


sweet p's was our next stop.  it's such a cute gift and home decor shop, but tasha and i didn't see anything that we couldn't live without, so we didn't spend a lot of time there. we only had our lunch hour to find the perfect gift for jenny, and so far i wasn't have the luck i'd expected to have.

i've been seeing billboards for lubella's boutique and i'd been dying to check it out, so we headed further downtown.  it was a really sweet shop, but i didn't find anything there for jen or for me. 

while driving into work i'd noticed the shop right next door to lubella's.  it's called the french nest, and it was fantastic! i texted kate to tell her she and i would definitely be frequenting this store. 

i still hadn't purchased anything to wear or a gift for jen.  we wrapped up at the french hen and headed back toward the office.  we stopped back in to chevron chic where i ended up making a couple of purchases.

i ended up with this darling dress for jen.

 

 

i tried on several dresses, but didn't purchase anything.  it seems when i'm window shopping, the stores have a million cute pieces i would purchase.  but when i'm actually out shopping, i find so much less.  i hate it.  does this happen to anyone else?  no? just me?  excellent. 

i did snag this oversize envelope clutch for myself.  i didn't end up taking it out for jen's birthday, but i still think it's cute.  the guys at work say i have a thing for handbags and shoes.  i suppose there's a little truth to that ...

tasha and i don't often have one-on-one time outside of the office, so i was glad to spend a little time with her when we weren't talking about recruiting processes. 

new bedding.

our new bedding arrived while we were on vacation this past week.  i ordered a new down alternative comforter from jc penny and this gorgeous duvet cover from pottery barn.  i love how light and airy it is.  sometimes there's just nothing better than new bedding.

starbucks chai tea latte ...

... with skim milk and honey. oh so good in between grocery stores today. i don't know what i'll do when my christmas gift card runs out! {the only gift card i've had no problem spending}.

thanks, love!

bachelorette party: the cabin.

before telling all the juicy details of our night at the cabin, i wanted to post the pictures i took of each of the rooms.  this was such a fun cabin for a bachelorette party!

this was our view of the stairs leading down to the cabin.  we parked at the top of the stairs and made our way down.

 
i took this picture just to show that the level we were on was surrounded by rock.

there was a deck that wrapped around two sides of the house, and we had great views of the lake from the deck.

this is the part of the deck that ran right next to the front door and the front windows. 

this is the deck next to the dining room in the cabin.

isn't it gorgeous? 

right outside the dining room there was also a grill.  the girls had hoped for a fire pit {for s'mores} but we never found one.  there may have been one down by the lake, but we stayed close to the house. {i actually took these pictures the morning after the bachelorette party.  the sun was already setting the night we arrived and it was too dark to capture and shots}.
 

 this was the "master" bedroom in the cabin ...

... with a nice big closet ... 

... and a jack-and-jill bathroom ...

... with a large shower across from those shelves of towels ...

... and the other "main" bathroom off the main living space.

this view looks into the main bathroom from the hallway.

these doors are gorgeous and are in the hallway just outside of the bathroom.  they conceal a washer and dryer. 

you can see straight from the door of the master room back into the great room.

directly across from the sliding wood doors is a staircase

and just beyond the staircase is the dining area with sliding doors that go to the deck.

if you go up the stairs, they turn to the right

and then turn to the right again to go up to the loft ...

where there is a queen size bed ...

... and a leather futon that folds out into a bed.

you can see from the loft down into the great space.

i just loved our little cabin!  thanks for finding this little beaut, girls!

Project 365: a couple of things on my wish list.

we were so blessed at christmas this year and loved all of the presents we received, so i feel a little silly starting a wish list so soon, but travis and i have decided that we would like to be better this year about shopping early for events we know are approaching. we would even like to purchase everyone's christmas presents over a matter of months instead of the last couple of weeks leading up to christmas. our moms are slowly starting to buy us more and more things for "around the house" and while i hope i don't start receiving crock pots and ironing boards for my birthday {how boring, right?} i do have some things i just love and have been eye-ing for the past year or two.

this is a set of dishes/accessories at dillards that i have been in love with for two years or so. i love this cake platter in particular! i like the large dome and the iron scrolling. i don't particularly care for the oranges and greens {though a couple of serving dishes in those colors could be festive for thanksgiving}, i adore the cream with hints of brown. adore. the canisters and the pitcher are pretty divine, too.

we took these pictures while walking around the mall returning a few christmas presents that weren't our size and looking for amanda's birthday present.

a perfectly wrapped present.

do your presents ever turn out looking as crisp as the photo above? i always try, but i don't think mine ever look so nice. while it's a little late, i decided to go ahead and post the link to the mother huddle's instructions for wrapping presents like a pro. i figure it's a great "skill" to learn for upcoming birthday parties, showers, weddings, and christmases to come. and if any presents i give you don't look so nice, please, no judgement.

a little ahead of myself.

whoops ... the post about mila's daydreams was actually supposed to go on the notably noted blog ... but it's so great, i might as well share it here, too. what a precious, precious idea!

mila's daydreams.

copyright (C) Adele Enersen

oh.my.goodness! have you seen mila's daydreams? a definite must-see, it's an entire blog dedicated to the "daydreams" of mila. while mila naps during the day, her mommy quickly creates a scene around her and snaps a photo {like the one posted above: let's play beauty salon}. i love this idea.

l is for love. or leach. or lear.

so after travis put our sofa table together last night and we had situated the furniture like we wanted, we both sat back, read a little, spent a little time online, and just basked in the glorious rays from our beautiful new lamp.

he had been waiting to hear from justin and lindsay, though, because they were going to need a little extra help. it was well after 11:00 p.m. before he heard from them, but they were going to need his help so early in the morning, he decided to just drive down there last night so he would already be there bright and early.

i didn't realize how late it was when he left. i think i was still riding the new-furniture-high and i didn't feel sleepy at all. when we moved out of our last apartment and back to muskogee, travis had put our furniture in storage. the media stand part of our entertainment center {was cheap and} had bowed in the storage building. since he had given away our flat screen tv anyway, we decided to ditch the console piece, keeping the two piers for the time being. the console had two doors on it, though, that i rescued. i always see such cute wall hangings made from old doors. i told travis i would make something. he was skeptical {i may have a slight tendancy to be a packrat}.

the new comfortable feeling, shopping and looking at home decor for the past two days, and the warm lamp light inspired me to finally start my old door wall decor project. i can't buy fun fall decorations, so i decided i would make my own decoration ... even if it wasn't specifically directed at fall.

this is what i came up with ...

aren't they fun?! i love them! i was a little skeptical myself that i could turn them into something i would really love. travis isn't here to help me attach wire or any necessary hardware to the back, so for now, you get to see a picture of them on my carpet and on the kitchen counter. i'll post a pic once i get them on the wall.

i want this dress!

i have been daydreaming of this dress for the past week or so ... and then i saw it on another sweet girl's blog, which reminded me of the dress again and made me want it even more.

image courtesy of anthropologie.com

tulsa is getting an anthropologie this month, and i couldn't be more excited! some of their pieces are a little too bohemian-chic for my tastes, but so many of their outfits are classic with a touch of trend. i love it.

all things homey.

wow. these past couple of weeks have gone by in a blur! i have so much to update you on ... but tonight's post, oddly enough, will not be about my recent trip to hawaii {as fabulous and beautiful as it was -- most special wedding i've been to i think}. don't worry though; that post will come.

instead, i want to talk about my latest obsession: decorating blogs! travis and i have both talked about how we want our new apartment to feel like a home when you walk in. not a drabby ol' apartment. i don't want to wait until we have a house to have a home.

megan of talesofthetrees.com recently purchased a home with her husband and became facinated with decorating blogs, too. tonight i decided to look through her archives and check out the decorating blogs her readers had suggested. i've only gotten through two or three and already i'm in love.

in case you want to check them out as well, you can visit:

www.glamlifehousewife.blogspot.com {i looked specifically at her "decorating" labeled posts}
www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com {i looked specifically at her "decorating" labeled posts}
www.brynalexandra.blogspot.com
www.emilyaclark.blogspot.com
www.brooklynlimestone.com
www.younghouselove.com
www.blog.urbangrace.com
www.hookedonhouses.net
www.southernlivingathome.com -- which i discovered is the same thing as www.entertainingathome.com ... just with different names; but the same products and the same company founders.


swoon.

because i don't want to spend a fortune, i need to get more in the habit of doing things like the thrifty decor chick -- a little spray paint; a little fabric here; a little embellishment there. i am completely capable; i'm just not much of a do-it-yourself-projects kind of gal.

i'm sure i'll have more to come because each of these blogs was following additional fun decor blogs.

happy decorating!

laptop portfolio.

so i now need a fabulous portfolio for my fabulous new laptop. the only problem is, none of the shops around here carry bags large enough to hold a 17". little did i know, many people don't purchase a 17" with the idea of carting it around all the time. travis says i have to have a "laptop specific" bag so it will protect my new obsession. i started looking online, but haven't had just a ton of luck. some of the sites that were suggested to me are a little too cutesy for me. i fell in love with a kate spade bag, but it's out of stock everywhere.

i like that it's professional, but not too serious. that buttery leather is divine and a bag like this isn't going to fall apart with the weight of the laptop. fingers-crossed it really is just out of stock for a limited time.

fourteen days of love. 12.

12. big sexy hair root boost


oh. my. gosh. as soon as i fixed my hair today, i knew exactly what my love post for the day would be. big sexy hair root boost. i constantly battle with my hair to not lie flat against my head. while i don't want the big hair of the '80s to return, i also don't want helmet head with my hair flying flat against my scalp.



i've been a big fan of the catwalk root boost for years. and while i would still recommend it, my heart was immediately taken with the results i got from the big sexy hair brand. goodbye flat locks ... hello gorgeous! {hear barbara streisand}