floral supreme.

this is my ode to this season's florals.

i am maxed out in love.

looking for the perfect floral jeans.

last month's lucky mag had a cute pair from aeropostale of all places.

it looked adorable in the magazine but online.... question marks. but super cheap.

i just need to make it to the mall. i usually kinda avoid that place ;)

but i don't discriminate.

i love granny florals.

mini florals.

giant florals.

bright florals.

muted florals.

i like em all.

i'd even take this vintage granny chic chintz ballgown.

where would i wear it? don't know but i'd find a place.

love.

JILL

{coco+kelley, dustjacketattic, gadabout, kendieveryday, greyandscout, sincerelyjules, shopsweetthings, and the vintage dress is from adorevintage}

spring.

i wish our spring would get here and then decide to stay here.

it gets warm and gorgeous, then laughs in our faces with cold.

then warm, then cold.

enough already! at least there was no snow. i know some of you northerners got some of that junk in the last week, and i'm not sure how i'd mentally handle it ;)

anywho...

these photos dazzle the photography lover in me.

for lots of reasons. the warmness for one, all her floral prints for two, and the scenery for three.

thought i'd share em with you.

from marie claire netherlands, april 2013.

happy monday.

JILL

sweatshirts and mini skirts

the weather right now is glorious.

but usually cool and warm in the same day.

here's how we can deal with that in between:

graphic sweatshirts and mini skirts!

i'm into it.

it looks so cozy.

JILL

autism awareness.

this blog has introduced me to alot of people i wouldn't have otherwise met over the years.

one in particular is a charming, southern belle of a teacher living in houston.

her name is elizabeth, and although we've never officially met, she's a friend.

she rocks it at school, where a few of her students deal with autism...

and then she rocks it on the weekends selling luscious stella and dot jewels.

she recently asked that i draw your attention to what stella and dot is up to in this fine month of april. from april 1st through the 31st, they will be donating 20% of the retail sales price of each of their items in their 'autism awareness collection'. all of these proceeds will benefit the hollyrod foundation, with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000.

the hollyrod foundation is dedicated to providing compassionate care to those living with autism.

we can help!

so let's help get that number over the $10,000 mark.

shop on.

1 - the pippa necklace

2 - the la folie necklace in purple

3 - the spirit bracelet

4 - the tree of life necklace

5 - the multi-stripe bring it jewelry roll

i'm kinda really partial to the delicate la folie necklace (#2 above).

here's 3 ways you can dress it up, dress it down, or in between for spring:



la folie necklace 1 by thebluehouse featuring a stella dot necklace

Madewell / Green skirt, $27 / Zara leather shoes / Stella & Dot stella dot necklace

la folie necklace 2 by thebluehouse featuring 7 for all mankind jeans

rag & bone boyfriend t shirt / 7 For All Mankind jeans, $305 / Leather shoes / Stella & Dot

la folie necklace 3 by thebluehouse featuring a stella dot necklace

Tshirt dress, $525 / GUESS peep toe shoes / Stella & Dot stella dot necklace

you can find more of elizabeth right here.

this is like doing something good for someone else,

and getting something beautiful to wear as an added bonus!

win win.

JILL

april showers

rainraingoaway by thebluehouse featuring a flared coat

Hooded anorak jacket / Trench coat / Via Spiga flared coat / Hunter tall rubber boots, $130 / Hunter wide boots, $155 / Dome umbrella / Fedora hat, $135 / Fedora hat, $135 / Merona® Women's Anorak Jacket

rainy days are inevitable for spring, they make the grass greener.
and you can be cute when it happens.
{i kinda really want that floral anorak from target.}

AND it's not snow, amiright?

JILL

(ps... i have that umbrella from 3 years ago. when we were jellyfish for halloween. i still use it and it rocks. its cheap but sturdy, go here for your very own.)



jcpenny's???

have you guys seen the new jcpenny ads in your paper/mailbox?

and do you love them almost completely like i do?

they have seriously stepped up their game from what i remember it being as a child/teen/young adult.

they have guest designers like joe fresh, and marchesa, and duro olowu.

way to go jcp!

and the stuff is like, dirt cheap.

the duro olowu line steals my breath away.

it plays with colors and patterns just like i like it:

because any of those would make a lovely easter outfit!!

and i kinda want this clutch:

it's only $30.

and this gold skirt: 

it's only $40

(i'll take that sweater, too.)

i'm off work tomorrow and imma going shopping for my "easter outfit".

at jcpenny's.

and i'm going in specifically for these:

(both by joe fresh)

have any of you purchased anything from them recently?

i'm assuming the quality can't be any different than f21, or something.

cute.

JILL

diy marbled eggs

a few weeks ago i pinned this tutorial.

since then, i've had this nail polish marbling thing on my brain and wanted to marble something.

with easter coming up, i figured it was the best option.

i remembered hobby lobby always having those wooden eggs but when i was up there 2 weekends ago, i found these instead in the easter section. much better because they were already primed white and cheaper.

only $6.99 for this pack of 8, and all the easter junk was 40% off.

so a little over $4.

my only obstacle was how to get these eggs into the water with polish and then dry them, without getting my fingers in it and smudging the marbling.

so i drilled some teeny tiny holes with the smallest drill bit, 1/16", in the bottom of each egg.

just big enough for these pointed skewers i had to squeeze tightly into the small hole and hold my eggs. i think i also got those skewers from hob lob back in january when i made some birthday cake flags for my mom.

like the tutorial suggests, you need to have all your supplies ready to go because the nail polish dries fast on your water.

i just used an old glass vase i had.

and another tip, use warm water so your polish doesn't seize up on you.

the tutorial also mentions that it doesn't really matter about the quality of your polish, so while at cvs, i grabbed the cutest spring palette of the cheap stuff. from $.99 to $4.

i didn't take any photos of the during because it went really quickly.

plus there are tons and tons and tons of tutorials online of how to do it, and i'm sure they'd be better than mine.

i even youtubed some before i got started, just to make sure i had it down.

but the one i linked to at the top, was the best i found.

and here are my eggs drying.

i used the same drill to drill holes in the top of an old shoe box so they could dry without touching anything on the skewers.

worked like a charm, if i do say so myself.

i love how they're different.

now they're hanging in a gold bowl on my front coffee table.

i have this ceramic egg container that i was planning on using, in the pics above, but it covers up too much of my marbles :)

the mint and the neon are quite trendy, yes...

but i don't think i'll ever get over the neon thing... like for as long as i live...

so i think we're good.

i did see that camille styles posted this same project yesterday, but she used blown out eggs.

you certainly could do that as well, but with the wooden ones, you can save them for years to come without worrying about them smooshing into a million bits.

(and those holes i drilled are so tiny, i didn't even fill them like i had planned. they aren't noticeable.)

happy easter!

JILL

i wish...

yesterday was the first day of spring.

and i wish i could say we here in kansas city get to join in on the good-weather-flowers-are-blooming festivities, but we. are. not.

the high of 39 degrees yesterday, was the average for the end of january.

not the average for the middle of march. today it's only supposed to be 34.

and for the next 4 days..... snow.

so while i'm dreaming of these things:

my reality is still this:

(i would totally love myself a giant blue fur coat. that might make it better!)

i hope your spring has gotten off to a better start than ours.

sorry for the light posts this week.

same old stuff ;)

JILL

scarf and earrings.

on pinterest the other day i came across this:

it was during nyfw but there was no link to follow and i doubt this was for fall.

i'm thinking it looks dior to me, but i'm wrong alot.

anywhoo...

i really enjoyed the pairing of whispy black couture with a silk scarf and a pair of true statement-making earrings.

whether or not we all have the means for her dress, or her african princess earrings, we can get a similar look and i'm buying it:

scarf and earrings by thebluehouse featuring post earrings

RED Valentino swiss dot dress / MASON'S floral sweater / AllSaints party top / Current/Elliott distressed boyfriend jeans / Leather brogue / Flat heels, $35 / Zara leather heels / DANNIJO earrings / Lulu Frost jewelry / Emilio Pucci printed scarve / Diane von Furstenberg yellow scarve, $235 / Dolce & Gabbana printed scarve, $340 / Deepa Gurnani post earrings

so, from left to right, formal to informal, there you go.

i have a few silk scarves, some vintage, one new. they cover not-freshly washed hair like a pro champion. (remember my post on head scarves?)

happy monday.

JILL

part deux.

my photo from earlier... as promised i'm back to share how it can be used as inspiration.

and apparently i was really inspired!

i just loved the colors.

dark olive green, white and cream, lavender, hint hints of pink and orange, and gold.

what's not to love?

so here's a bedroom to start with.

i am so in love with this army surplus green blanket. i'm getting one for my bed. stat.

from lots of places but i found one here. on an all white bed? scrumptious.

just add a few more accessories and a wall color change,

and we'd be good to go.

new wall paint: SW quiver tan.

this is the color of my bedroom now and i kinda love it.

it's brown, sometimes gray, sometimes a little army green.

awesome with white woodwork and wood floors.

rug from here.

ikat pillow from here.

pink velvet pillow here.

lamp here. but i changed it's color to lavender in ps... spray it!

lamp shade here.

AND

i couldn't stop...

so here's my favorite outfit for spring.

long dress. the perfect cover for my white legs (and/or my un-shaven legs).

sandals.

big shades.

and my dream hunter green prada bag.

kansas sunset by thebluehouse featuring reiss dress



Floral dress, $110
Zipper dress, £110
Blumarine summer dress, €1.698
Reiss dress, $465
Sam Edelman leather shoes, $112
Prada leather handbag
Prada plastic shades, $287

i love color.

did you know that?

do i try and throw it in your faces at least 3 times a week......maybe.

but i hope its gentle :)

happy wednesday, loves.

JILL

atrocious.

those would be my allergies.

this would have been me every other year of my life. just fine and dandy in the good ol outdoors. never sneezing. never with a headache. never sleepy {at least not due to allergies}.

eyes watering? gosh, that's a real bummer. not mine.

i don't even know what allergies are.

but now...

this is me this year.

it's the only way to survive.

they are rotten. rotten. rotten.

they've come back with a vengence to make up for all those other years of no-effect.

you know what else i kinda think is rotten?

designers putting their stuff on anything that will stand still.

like these gas masks.

not kidding, that's a diamond studded pair of gucci and one louis vuitton gas mask.

who comes up with this junk?

i guess it did make for a good photoshopped accessory for my uber dramatic allergies post.

who else is over their allergies this year?

JILL

{image via everything fab}

right on

here are three spring outfits that are perfectly expressive of how i aspire to look this spring.

now if we could just get those warm days back!!

xoxo

elle