{note to self} exhaust fan pendant lamps

if we owned instead of rented our apartment ... the first thing i would do is change out the lighting! while i appreciate a good ceiling fan - especially during a hot tennessee summer, they are no where near as cute as these pendant lamps designed from old exhaust frames:

{source: kate osborne photography / diana palmer of yan photography}

they hang inside sarah winward's flower shop and are featured today on design*sponge. such a great idea.

love!

{blog}share: cinco de mayo ...

this is honestly the busiest week that wade and i have had since getting married last september. i've seen about 5.2 seconds of him this week. and that just won't do! tonight we have plans to squeeze in a quick little cinco de mayo dinner at home before heading separate ways again.

to get in the mood - here are a few cinco de mayo ideas that i had to share. asombroso!

1 // this fantastic ruffled streamers DIY by dana made it - guaranteed to make an appearance at every future party i host:

{source: dana made it}

3 // these yummy strawberry margarita popsicles from bakers royale. not a fruity drink person? check out her corona pops too!

{source: bakers royale}

3 // these adorable recycled tin can bouquets from style me pretty:

{source: jose villa photography}

{inspire} easter DIY roundup

wade and i arrived in illinois late last night to spend easter w/ my family. we're ready for lots of fun family time. in fact, we're about to start easter crafts w/ my neice nyah (2) and nephew haven (5) {and we'll skype w/ dayton (3) and easton (6mo) that are in rhode island. we miss u!}.

i can't wait until we have kids. i mean, i can & we are - but holiday crafts are so much more fun w/ little ones! i imagine i'll be more in to decorating for holidays then. in the meantime, check out all these fantastic easter ideas:

1 // papier-mache easter eggs - not martha
2 // butcher paper spring wreath - alisaburke
3 // easter egg-o-gram - poppytalk
4 // peep s'mores - eclectic recipes
5 // chocolate eggs - martha stewart
6 // sticky fingers cupcake - real simple

it's fun to decorate & bake ... but it's much more important to wade & i that someday we share the true reason behind celebrating easter with our kids. in the end, it would still be a celebration w/ out the chocolate bunnies and easter egg hunts and pretty new clothes (as enjoyable as all of those things are). it's about the love that was shown to us on that first easter!

we hope you have a wonderful good friday (and earth day) and easter w/ those you love.

{love} totally rad actions

yesterday, ashley ann at under the sycamore posted an amazing DIY on the wall photo collage in her living room. love! definitely inspired - though our poor little apartment is about out of wall space. we shall see. {at least i'll categorize this as a "note to self".}

{source: under the sycamore}

do you know what i love even more than her incredible DIY? i love that she shared this INCREDBILE site - totally rad actions. they provide the photoshop action that she used to color correct all of the images for her collage. immediately i knew this was something that i needed for work (and a little play on the side!)

what are photoshop actions? well in photoshop, you can click the action and it pretty much does the work for you. i used to use actions for basic things - like resizing images for the blog. but totally rad actions provides a wide palette of color and tone treatments to add a unique edge to your photos! love it.

here's a plain ol' picture of wade and i ... rather - our feet:

and as an example, here are a few of my favorite actions (w/ descriptions from t.r.a.)...

1 // troy - golden, desaturated colors with crushed shadows and soft highlights. cool-cyan shadows:

2 // lux (hard) - warm highlights and cool cyan shadows with a bit of kick and contrast:

3 // sx-70 - emulates the look of polaroid sx-70 film. reduces contrast, compresses the tonal scale and gamut, and softens the image slightly. retro-fun!

4 // b!chin' b&w - l.a.b. based b&w conversion – great for creating creamy, smooth skintones. adds a little snap as well:

5 // super old skool - simulates the look of a vintage (circa 1900) photograph:

incredible, eh!?! now to decide which action is my favorite & which would be the coolest for our wedding pictures. even more motivation to get started on laying out our wedding book! help me out - which is your favorite?

ps. so thankful for our wedding photographer - adrian hitt. she does beautiful work ... even with ankles!

{note to self} st. patty's day cake!

i always find ideas one minute too late. so i've started a new post category - {note to self} - as a reference for NEXT YEAR!

i know st patty's day was a couple of weeks ago now ... but {note to self} i will make attempt this cake next year. maybe not the full on leprechaun trap - i can't see the husband getting into that - but definitely the rainbow deliciousness!

oh not martha - you are genius. and your cake looks scrumptious. not to mention makes awesome rainbow-colored prep pictures:

{source: not martha}