sweet find

I was perusing my way through Kate's Paperie last night when I stumbled across the loveliest little display of items-there was everything from stationary, to luggage tags to melamine plates and I was smitten! After looking around a bit I realized all these adorable little items were from a company called Fontaine Maury. They have a great assortment of designs for all their products and I couldn't resist sharing a few of my favorite discoveries!

These little plaques would be adorable as a baby gift with the child's name and birth date printed on them, or done with a wedding invitation! I love the pretty pastel colors they come in!

Could silhouettes be done any cuter? I especially love the brown and green & the little tidbit I on their website about these, apparently the origin of the word silhouette comes from this legend:

Etienne de Silhouette, a finance minister under Louis XV was known for his tight purse strings. You may wonder what Mr. Cheapskate has to do with modern day style. Silhouettes were the common man's portrait. The outlined likeness of your loved one was much easier and less costly to produce than a full color oil portrait- remember there were no photographs back then.

Gorgeous wedding invitations

Adorable little custom made place mats and melamine plates to match! Remember in elementary school when you would make those plates at Christmas for your Mom and Dad? Well this is the next generation of that, a little more modern!These would be adorable for kids!

And who can resist cute stationary!

Cutting Corners

I recently came across a quote that read; "There are no short cuts to anywhere worth going". I've been thinking a lot about this statement as I have literally tried to track down a solution to cut a few corners on a project I am working on. All the solutions I have come up with have been on minimum investment, but they also didn't achieve the result I was really looking for.

It got me to thinking how often when I think a short cut may be the answer, that I may sacrifice on the quality of what I am doing, or the experience I am seeking. Life is full of these situations, you want the house without the expense, the body without the sweat, the job without the qualifications or responsibility. Let's face it, most of us(including me) are often trying to find ways to take shortcuts in our lives, in whatever direction we may be going.

The irony of this is that by doing so we often miss out on some of the value of what lies right before us because we are so focused on what lies ahead. Sometimes, the point of life is what you learn enduring something, not getting through it as fast as you can. I know in my life, I need to make a better effort at valuing things for what they are teaching me, not what the end result will be.

All American

I absolutely love Norman Rockwell, so since I couldn't think of anything to creative to post, I thought I would just share one of my iconic favorites with you!

A day in the life...

It finally happened...

It was really only a matter of time, but since I hadn't seen him in the almost six months I've been working at my current job, I was wondering if I was ever really going to. To fill you in I work in the same building that houses the corporate headquarters for Polo/Ralph Lauren. This is slightly ironic because before I got my current job, I had been interviewing to be the personal assistant for Mrs. Ricky Lauren (yes that is Ralph's wife). As part of the interview process I had a couple of interviews at the Polo offices, one of which was in Ralph Lauren's personal office. Let's just say it was pretty cool and will forever be one of my most awesome NY stories. The polo offices (pictured below)are amazing, you step off the elevator and you feel like you are in an 18th century British manor or something like that. I swoon every time the elevator stops on one of the floors that Polo occupies because I get a glimpse of the gorgeous rugs and mahogany paneling-and the dishes of peanut M&M's they have everywhere because that is Ralph's favorite candy. Anyway, yesterday as I was leaving work, and walking through the lobby of our building, I saw him, the one and only Ralph Lauren. He was with his daughter Dylan (Of Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC) and they were heading out to the street to get in their car. Ralph was decked out in a white linen suit and aviator shades looking quite fashionable. The best part is, we made eye contact and he smiled at me! It was an exciting addition to an otherwise uneventful day at work, and needless to say, it is always fun when you get a smile from someone famous!

I love the little globes atop this bookshelf!
This might be my next little collection

On the road

We're headed to Newport Rhode Island for the weekend.

I'll be back Monday, hopefully with lots of pictures

All Target, all the time

If you like Target, then you will LOVE this blog

Craving

I saw this little beauty of a bracelet at Anthropologie recently and it was just begging me not leave it behind! I just might have to figure out how to justify purchasing one since

I know I will dream about it until I have it for my very own!

Je t'aime Paris, Je t'aime J. Crew

Since I help with the visuals at J. Crew, I usually know when the new stuff at is going come out, but occasionally they'll post new stuff online way before the stores get it in, and it is always a pleasant surprise. I am truly delighted with some of the new items which are more than adorable, but what I really love is the photography and and styling of the new collection. It makes me want to run to J. Crew, buy up a bunch of clothes (I guess that is the whole idea) and hop a flight to Paris! It always amazes me how they can come up with new variations on such classic styles!

Seriously love this stuff. For a little treat check out the link to this video!

Here are a few of my favorite items from the new arrivals....

forever a good deal

Last night as I was standing in line at Old Navy waiting for a fitting room, I spied a girl wearing this jacket. Usually I am not very bashful about walking right up to people and asking them where they got such an adorable item of clothing, but last night I just wasn't up to the task. As soon I the girl with the adorable coat was escorted to her dressing room, I was mad at myself for not asking. I sort of became obsessed over this coat, but I figured, hey, it probably cost $300 at Anthropologie right?

The night continued on and I had almost forgotten about the jacket when out of the corner of my eye I spied something yellow and white, could it be? Yes! Right there in the window of Forever 21 was the sought after item! I squealed with excitement and bolted right into the store to hunt it down, dragging my sweet friend Jill right behind me. After combing every inch of the disorganized store, and asking about 5 sales people who all gave us varying answers, there was good news and bad news...

The bad news is, they were sold out of the jacket.

The good news is you can buy it online and it is only $34.80!

This is why I love Forever 21!

I am not crazy about the buttons, but isn't the yellow and white hounds tooth just adorable?

yards and yards

I love the colors and the packaging of this seam binding ribbon from etsy. I am so tempted to snag a few. You could plan a whole party just around the pretty combinations.

Happy Birthday Eliza Jane

Eliza, is one of the funniest people I know. I have more laughs with her than with anyone else and she adds a special little spark to our family! Happy Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We can't wait for you to come visit!

Three years ago today...

Three years ago today we were here....

And Dan gave me one of these...

And he asked me a question...

And then a couple months later.... This was us!

Happy three years since our engagement! I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

We're glad to have you home!

Hope you got to sleep in today and that you have an awesome

night celebrating with the family! We love you!

Welcome Home James!

Dan's little brother James is on a plane right now headed home from his mission in Raliegh North Carolina! I am sure the Creer home is buzzing with excitement awaiting his return! He has a busy couple of days ahead since tomorrow is his birthday and Wednesday he starts school! Congrats James on a job well done! We love you, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and WELCOME HOME!

The new kid on the block

Darcy Miller the Editor of Martha Stewart Weddings has just started a new wedding blog which is destined to be filled with more "good things" and be a great resource of inspiration and ideas. Even thought I've been married for almost 3 years now, and my wedding has long been over, this is still one of my favorite magazines. Although it is just getting up and running, this blog is sure to become another favorite.

Maybe it's Maybelline!

Do you have a favorite mascara? Well I do. For as long as I can remember I have loved and lived by Maybelline Great Lash and I know many others who share my affinity for the little pink tube. The other night I popped into Duane Reade (NYC drugstore chain for those of you not familiar) to pick up a tube. Unfortunately, since I have this weird thing about waiting in lines to purchase only one item (weird I know) I put the tube back and walked away empty handed, figuring my current mascara could last me a couple more weeks if i watered it down.

The next day at work, I got an email from a coworker (thank you Emilee) that said the Maybelline girls were doing a promotion on our block and giving away free tubes of Maybelline Mascara. Well of course I grabbed my purse and high-tailed it down stairs to snag a freebie. There were swarms of women in pink patrolling Madison Avenue handing out tubes to whoever walked by. I went over to get one when the Maybelline girls asked me if I did in fact have a used tube of Maybelline Great Lash with me, in which case I could get a free $15 gift card to Duane Reade! I thought quickly and remembered that since I had been running late for work that morning, I had brought my make-up with me, meaning YES! I was delighted as I walked away with my free tube of Maybelline and my $15 gift card, and as I headed back to the office, I actually ran into another Maybelline girl who was so nice that even though I told her I had already gotten my goods gave me another free tube, and another gift card! SO basically I made out like a bandit with about $40 worth of goods, I guess it was just my lucky day!

do you need a cookie?

It seems like every other blog I read professes their love for Cookie magazine! For those of you not familiar with Cookie, it is lifestyle magazine geared toward the young/hip/creative mom. I have to admit it is pretty fabulous and the thing I like most about it is they feature real families and their real lives. I was perusing their website today, when I came across the coolest section. Every month, they feature someone in their Mother of invention column who has started a family/child related business they saw a need for through being a parent. It is full of those, why didn't I think of that sort of ideas and gives great insight into some very fabulous very creative people and the businesses they have started.

My favorite was the feature on Lucy Sykes (pictured above with her son Heathcliff) who founded her company, Lucy Sykes New york in 2004. She has the most beautiful line of traditional high end baby clothes that will make you swoon! Definitely worth a browse on her website, even if all you can afford to do is gather inspiration for you trips to old navy and baby gap! She is my hero, and let's be honest, anyone who has the courage to name their son Heathcliff is just plain cool.

sweet celebration

Who knew you could do such things with a candy necklace!

So cute! For more details click here

fresh produce

Look at all those beautiful colors! This is exactly why we love going to the Union Square farmer's market, one of our favorite places in the city! These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago when we went there to shop for some goodies.

a reason to be jealous

Is anyone else salivating over Martha Stewart's amazing craft room as seen in the newest issue of Living! It is seriously amazing. I especially love the green color she painted all the storage cabinets. Can't you just imagine all the amazing projects you could construct with all the goodies and supplies stowed away in this room? For more information on the amazing attic turned craft room, check out the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, or click here

BR is back

I have to be honest and say that although I love Banana Republic, I haven't bought something there in ages. I just haven't loved their stuff lately. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see some of their new looks for fall, which just posted online today. I think the new stuff should be in stores later this week. I am absolutely in love with this little wool jacket, and the brown silk dress, which I am sure you could wear anywhere and with everything!