flowers for friday #94

happy weekend, everyone.

i'm headed to the lake with my painting clothes on. my mom and i have a list of fun projects for the house-- a few coats of cobalt blue paint for a headboard i picked up on the side of the road (ha!), painting our wood swing under the deck a coat of sky blue, and a new table for under the tv that's going to be coral....

wish us perfect weather so we can do these things outside!

if we get anywhere near finishing all these things in 2 days, i'll share next week :)

JILL

one lovely blog award!

very exciting stuff!!!

the blue house was given the one lovely blog award by

emily @ sweet southern comfort.

she actually made my day with the sweet comment she left telling me so.

and i am so grateful... thanks emily, you rock.

but i just wanna say, i'm really grateful for each and every one of you, too.

i just wanted to start a blog to keep track of the junk i like and the junk i find awesome and inspiring... glad i could share it with you party people.

(so along with this honor, you're supposed to share some stuff your readers may not know about you... get ready. it's wordy.)

today i've chosen to lay out our simple life for ya.

my husband and i are making a serious conscious effort and movement to simplify our lives. have you seen the documentary, "bag it"? have you watched "supersize me" yet? DO. watch them both.

it made us step back from our very processed, very plastic american lifestyle and take a good hard think.

we've already taken some big steps, and we're constantly making smaller, but with big impact when added up, decisions that make us feel better about ourselves, our globe, our home and our diet, etc. etc.

some of the stuff you may not know...

we only have one car. and we live in a city that isn't tops in public transportation. but we've found it kinda works. we work in the same building so that's easy. we eat and go out alot of the times together, and when we don't... it's honestly not that hard to figure out between the 2 of us.

my husband had a big suv that ate gas just sitting in the driveway. so we got rid of that and just haven't gotten around to getting its replacement yet... and until its needed, i don't think we're going to. even though it sounds like the opposite, it's kinda liberating. and we're saving money! working on 4 months without it.

i've cut out almost every single nasty chemical from my morning routine. i use organic/biodegradable shampoo and conditioner. (still looking for a good face soap, any suggestions?) i moisturize with coconut oil... and GOODNESS. i love that stuff so much i'm saving it for an entire post all on it's own.

i only use 3 pieces of make-up to get ready in the morning. my eyeliner and mascara are bare minerals, and i'm just waiting for my concealer to be finished up before i replace it with something better. we're using tom's deodorant to smell so fresh and so clean clean. the only thing we haven't made the switch for is our toothpaste. we switched to the burt's beeswax brand about a year ago and i got my first not-perfect-report from my dentist so we switched back to the regular for healthy teeth. but there has to be a better way. i'm on the hunt, and i want your suggestions!!

there are lots of other small things we do/have chosen to quit but i'll move on.

did you know that i put parmesan cheese on anything that stands still?

i live for that good stuff.

i don't do wooden spoons. especially the kind that have been put through the dishwasher and are rough and cracky. that makes my teeth hurt just thinking up the words to type them. won't touch em. just won't do it. ick.

i also have the same hate relationship with nail files. something must have gone wrong with me and one of those as a child.

i'm almost a vegetarian but i love bacon.

i haven't liked most meat since i was a kid. in fact, i eat more of it now than i did back then.

but i love bacon.

that's a little bit about me.

weird. i'm aware.

but i love you.

and thanks for stopping by.

you do anything for a healthier you?

love yourself some bacon?

wooden spoons make your knees weak, too?

spill those beans.

SMOOCHES.

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

sunset

last weekend i was in south, very south, 6 miles from oklahoma south, central kansas.

i was visiting the new twins.

i took their newborn photos.

i was hoping to have a sneak peek to share but i have been busy doing other non-fun stuff.

i will probably share one or two sometime next week.

but as husband was driving, this is what i got to look at.

one of the more beautiful kansas sunsets.

wish i had out my real camera, this one was just with my phone.

i have a thing for clouds and landscapes.

i'll be back in a bit with a room that this photo inspired.

see ya then.

JILL

kate.

and maybe my favorite look of hers so far.

jenny packham. teal. lace.

that back is amazing.

absolutely.

JILL

block prints.

i trust that you all had a very happy mother's day.

i hope all you mothers out there got a chance to smooch your babies, old or new!

these were supposed to be the flowers on friday...

and i forgot. wah wah.

better late than never i guess.

via

back to the regularly scheduled monday.

so this weekend, i got to read up on some old issues of veranda while staying at my mother in law's. she always has the best magazines, i look so forward to it :)

but i found this page in the may issue:

re-affirmed my obsession with indian block printed fabric.

color and pattern just ripe for mixing and layering.

unfortunately, (especially coming from veranda) all of these were significantly out of my price range. like les indiennes, i have been in major love for years but some of that fabric costs as much as my first car. not really, but it's monday and i'm dramatic.

so i've had these 2 resources saved under my favorites tab for awhile and i thought i'd share the wealth. one you've probably seen elsewhere, one maybe not.

they are also hand-blocked, in gorgeous color, and light-years more affordable.

hip hip!!

the only downside i see is that this fabric is thin.

so no upholstery prospects.

but pillows, light curtains, bedding, little baby dresses... you betcha.

these first come from a little gem i found only available online:

indusdecor.

site looks a smidge sketch. and i haven't purchased from them, so i can't give any recommendations.... just a glimpse of their beautiful stuff. and i'm sure it's fine. i will let you know if i purchase anything in the future.

some of my favesies:

'azalea'

'off-white'

my absolute favorite out of everything today!!!

neon orange and pink. you better believe it.

will be living at my house. somehow, someway.

'orange fuchsia floral'

'pine'

'pumpkin'

'sandal'

'turquoise'

also one of my favorites,

'white floral'

this next bunch comes from saffron marigold.

i don't think they sell fabric by the yard but i have purchased a table cloth before from anthro just for the fabric, and it isn't a bad idea at all. especially here- they have curtain panels, duvets, and table cloths of all sizes... which means you could get lots of yardage for not alot of price.

'paisley au lait'

'wedding day'

'vanilla glace'

'moonlit taj'

'maharaja'

but hurry, this one is discontinued.

another piece of gorge.

'morning dew'

see, with a little bit of searching and creativity, you can get every bit of the les indiennes look without taking out a new mortgage ;)

happy monday,

JILL

flowers for friday #93

tail of of the best time of the year.

mine are looking a tad on the done-dy side of life. sad.

but they were gorge while they were here!!

love and have a great weekend.

JILL

{image via verandah house}