Decorative Pets.

Taking inspiration from this [incomplete] wall art seen at a small gift store in Colorado Springs, CO last Spring, I knew I wanted to replicate it in some way in a future home.

But then we were torn with what to do after seeing these adorable little scrapbook paper birdies over at Ashley Ann photography

So we used a combination of the seperate canvas' (one for myself, one for Jess), fabric leaves, and a little DIY work, and came up with this whimsical artwork to hang in our living room. We can't have physical pets here at apartment #2, but that won't stop us from creating our own version of some household pets. Names for these cute little tweeters to come... Any ideas?

Winter Wonderland

As we all know... Winter Wonderland is just around the corner! I am excited for the warm apple cider, Christmas trees, cinnamon & evergreen scented candles, Christmas dishes, twinkle lights around the city, snow, pine wreaths, the list goes on and on for me!

One of the main reasons why I love this time of year is because it reminds me of the memories I have with my family an friends! And many of those memories are wrapped in winter fun activities. There is so much to do in the city during this time, and its time for you to take advantage of what Minneapolis - St. Paul provides us with!
Here are some of our winter to-do's:
1) Reindeer Run - around Lake Harriet, check out the photos from past years! I am sooo looking forward to this!
2) Winter Ski Weekend - I am thinking Lutsen Mountain Ski Resort
3) Saint Paul Winter Carnival - I haven't gone in years and I am looking forward to going and seeing the ice castle!
4) Holidazzel Parade - Some may say its overrated... I say it's festive!!!
5) Curl up, read a book and enjoy a good latte or mocha! One of my favorite places do this is at Swede Hollow in Saint Paul.

What are your winter activity goals??

This picture was taken last winter in Keystone, CO at our favorite local bar, Kickapoo Tavern!

A Stylin' Snuggie

Want the comfort of a snuggie, but the stylish look of a trendy poncho or sweater? Then this Bobeau Asymmetrical Fleece Wrap Cardigan is a MUST HAVE for this fall season and upcoming winter. I purchased mine last week (after debating the purchase for about a month-- Did I really need another cardigan?!) But, HALLELUIAH-- this thing is glorious! It's easier than wearing your pink snuggie all day-- and it looks just as fashionable buttoned as it does left open. Jess saw mine and instantly said "OK, get me one now!" You like? Let Allie know, or come visit me in the Point of View Department at Nordstrom, and I'll hook you up with one of your very own! The link on the nordy website only shows the color black, but in the store we have it in brown (what I own), olive green, charcoal (what jess has), blue, and black... take your pick! 

Traveling Goals

Hello All,

As many of you know... I will be traveling around the United States for the National Guard FLW College Fishing Regional Championships. Because I have to be away from my family & friends for a total of 25 plus days... I made a few goals for myself for the upcoming days!

Jess' Travel Goals:
1) Try something new everyday...
2) Only eat meals at places where you cant go to at home.
3) Find one sight-seeing activity!
4) Work out... either running (training for the Turkey Trot) or Turbo Jam in my hotel room!

I hope to be able to keep you all updated with my travels and experiences. This past week I was in Sacramento, Cali for the Western Regional Championship, where the first woman qualified for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship... this lady Allison Shaw from Chico Sate showed the guys that fishing wasn't just for guys! As much as it was a very very busy week with the kick off of our regional championships... I was able to do a few fun things!

My first stop was to Pinkberry :) My favorite yogurt place ever... seriously! I even had lunch there one day... and it covered goals # 1 and 2. If you have never been to a Pinkberry I highly recommend it!! Unfortunately for me the find the closest Pinkberry store nearest you... and Sarahlee, you probably wont need this as they are surrounded by you! Lucky lady!

My second stop was to Tex Wasabi's Guy Fieri's Southern BBQ and California Style Sushi. Such a great restaurant... so tasty and unique! As I walked in the door I knew it would be a great restaurant because they have a wall of T-shirt of other restaurants and "The Nook" was on there!

And lastly, I was able to enjoy a nice run around Sacramento State's campus. As a proud alumni of the beautiful Iowa State University and very fortunate to have been surrounded by a beautiful campus for four years of my life. I was very surprised that "Sac State" (what the locals call it) was so beautiful. I am pretty sure they have every kind of tree that there is on their campus, from palm trees to pine trees to maple trees to oak trees.

Well that's all for now :) Take care and good night!

Like Vintage?

If you like fashion, anything vintage, and live in the Twin Cities, this is the event for you! If I weren't working all weekend, I'd be here in a heartbeat! The Twin Cities Vintage Clothing & Jewelry show is taking place this Friday and Saturday at the State Fair Grounds... someone please go and tell us all about it, please?!

HOORAY!

A special shout out and THANK YOU goes out to our friend, Elissa Braun, over at ebb & flow for using her design/blogger skills to help us out with a new header! At last, our blog is coming together little by little... Make sure to check out her blog, too. It is definitely one to bookmark!

Chalkboard in the Kitchen

Jess and I have been looking for a corkboard or chalkboard to put in a certain area in our kitchen for awhile now, so THANK YOU goes out to my Aunt Lindy who invited my mom and I to the Umaga gift mart yesterday, where we were able to get all sorts of gifts and home decorations at wholesale cost! Woodwick candles for $1.50, picture frames for $4... heck yes! This is where store buyer's go to purchase all of the inventory for their stores. Needless to say, it was very dangerous... but, of course, we had lots of luck! Below is just a sample of a few of the things we picked up!

Already looking forward to decorating for Christmas in Apartment #2

It's a good thing we didn't purchase THIS at Target last week... this find at the gift mart yesterday only cost us $6!

Zombie Crawl

Well, its official. This weekend I (Allie here) participated in the strangest thing I have ever done. A couple friends and I got all dressed up for the Zombie Pub Crawl 2010. To any visitors that may have been driving around Minneapolis last night: I hope the 10,000+ zombies creepin' around the Cedar Riverside bars didn't scare you away for life... we hope you may return to the state of MN again. Despite what you may have seen- we are some cool people, we just like to dress up a little. Anway, here is a little taste of what it looked like last night:

Two months later...

After a great find at Hunt & Gather down the street nearly two months ago, operation "recover our bar stools" is complete! If you don't know who Amy Butler is, and you're thinking about doing a DIY project of your own, you must visit her website, Amy Butler Design. Please ooooh and ahhh a little bit over her fabrics. We're also in love with her wall art!
 Living in the Twin Cities? We found a great selection of her fabrics at Sewtropolis in South Minneapolis-- what a creative concept behind this business!

BEFORE: Yes, that is burlap someone used to recover these seats. All that can be said about that is OUCH.

AFTER!

Kinda wish we would have bought a third... but at least there is one for the each of us, or a couple guests that want to watch us cook :)

October already?

I suppose now that it is October, it means we should be busting out all our Halloween decorations and go buy our pumpkins! Well, for those of you who don't like this holiday, or the witches, ghosts, and spider window clings that come along with it- here is a tasteful way to celebrate the Halloween & Fall season without going overboard on the haunted house inspired home decor.
DIY supplies needed:
Pumpkins, gords etc. (real or fake... we chose fake so they would last longer)
Decorative napkins of your choice (tissue paper would work well, too)
Mod Podge (You got it. We're decoupaging again!)
Sponge paint brush

Cut napkin into strips for easier application

Ta da!

What's your Design Personality?

If you watch Oprah, then I am sure you are familiar with designer & Minnesota native,  Nate Berkus. Well, it looks like he is another example of the "O" effect, as he is now hosting his own television show, The Nate Berkus Show. If you haven't seen an episode yet, it airs weekdays at 10am (central time). Want to know your design personality?  Do you like Modern? Vintage? Traditional? French Country? Global? A little bit of everything? Take this quiz to find out your design personality.

Turns out, I have a "split personality" when it comes to design...I  like to mix and merge different design styles for a unique look. I tend to go for the one-of-a-kind looks, so it doesn't surprise me that this was the result of the quiz for me... Take the quiz and let us know what you find out!