sometimes...

it seems like in the last few years, life has thrown alot onto the plates of jill and jay.

i know everyone gets life thrown in their faces at times... and that its just meant for us to get through to the other side wiser, stronger and better equipped for what comes next. and we will get there. sometimes i just want to press the pause button.

granted alot of our life is great, full of the holy goodness stuff that i wouldn't change for the world.

but then there's alot of meh stuff that i wish we didn't have to deal with.

its just that sometimes life requires a swipe of your big girl lipstick....

and the healthiest dose of courage to get through it all.

but we'll come out on the other end with a marriage that rivals the best of em, where the sunshine's 100% of the time, and we can look back and say, "remember when...? that sucked."

i know this is so vague.

its just not the right time to mention some of these things because we're still dealing.

i know we have it better than alot of people in the world and this is not me complaining or wishing my life were different, i just need that extra dose of courage sometimes and today's one of those days.

sorry i don't have a great post for you today.

i just couldn't muster one up.

even just typing out this cryptic message has me feeling a little bit better.

at least we have our faith and health.

and love, which is so corny but so true :)

and we're making our way through this maze of life together.

i hope the sun's shining on you guys today.

love you, mean it.

JILL

happy happy!

happy happy birthday, elle!!!!

love you.

miss your face.

JILL

edgy egerton

i have a hallway and a bedroom that i want swathed in beautiful, patterned wallpapers.

i haven't done anything yet out of indecision.

but for the bedroom, if i could, i would choose this:

egerton by cole and sons.

in this colorway.

the first room is from an old domino, of amanda peet's home.

the second, plum syke's dining room. don't know what publication it appeared in.

i'm not going to say it...

{perp erf cerler}

sound it out ^

because the saying makes me cringe.

like a really great song that was played to death on the radio and every time you hear it you instinctively smash your hand on your car radio... switching to to something else, anything else.

that is how i feel about

a pop of color.

i hate it now.

they've over used it and pinterest is making it even worse.

but i really do love the effect.

can we just call it something else already?

what about a burst of pigment?

or an explosion of hue?

or a chunk of rainbow?

something else, anything else.

seriously, all my weirdness aside, it really does have a huge impact. take these rooms for instance...

they've totally funked up the girly and subdued colored floral wallpaper.

amanda peet added tons of tonal prints and a bright yellow lamp and red chair.

plum sykes added hot pink silk chair cushions.

and if i were to do this in my bedroom,

i would be doing something very similarly.

dying over it with hot pink.

thoughts?

JILL

fancy, and for like $5!

as promised, here's what i did to make my ruffled party streamers used for my mom's bday party on friday.

and sorry, i don't have a photo of them hanging up. wah wah.

but i decked out their whole house. like, if it stood still, i stuck something to it.

it wasn't a surprise party, so she kinda mentioned that she didn't want any of that ugly over-the-hill party junk you buy at the store... i wouldn't do that anyway.

but do nothing? yeah right.

so i made it girly. and colorful. and sparkly.

we had tie-died/marbled balloons, and pink ones with white polka dots,

and her name in glitter. twice.

gold, and black and white mixed it.

it turned out really cute, actually.

i had pinned the streamers over a year ago and was waiting for the perfect chance to use them.

it was originally from the awesome blog: made.

you can find the link to her whole her tutorial here, i won't list out the steps because i credit dana 1000%.

her directions were easy to follow and i've said this before, i own a sewing machine but i use the standard settings that it came with... and try not to touch much because i don't really know what i'm doing.

and she made it easy, even for sew dumb people like me!

so i ran to hobby lobby and bought a few rolls of their standard crepe paper for $1.29 a piece.

i got aqua, hot pink, red, blush pink, and yellow.

(then later i had to run to our standard party supply store for some other party stuff. mine's called fun services. they had every single color and shade of color under the rainbow and they were only $0.99. so if you don't like what hob lob has to offer, try elsewhere. and i'm sure online has em all, too.)

i chose hot pink and aqua first.

followed her directions, turning up my tension to 9 and my stitch length to a 5. those were both the highest settings for my machine.

she also suggested keeping your right hand on your thread at the top of your sewing machine, to keep an even tighter tension. and that helped. it made it even more ruffle-y.

this is how i kept it free flowing and tangle free... because this stuff is delicate and kinda high maintenance otherwise.

after you're finished, just roll it up and it's ready!

i did every 2-color combo and 3-color combo i could come up with.

(please don't mind my ugly dining table. it's been on the to-do list for a coat of high gloss black paint for oh, 3 years now. maybe this year's the year.)

and just went and went and went.

i was going to go until i ran out of crepe paper (which makes a ton)

but my sewing machine broke!!

 i swear i offended it somehow and now it doesn't like me.

second time in 2 months.

so instead of paying over half of what a new one costs to get it fixed, AGAIN...

i just got a new one.

the first one served it's purpose well.

and if one day i feel like paying to get it fixed, well then, i'll have 2.

but seriously, they're cheap at walmart.

and they have a 4 year we'll-replace-it-if-you-break-it warranty for only $15, so i took it.

and knowing me, i'll be using it, too :)

if you take your streamers down and store them properly, these will last for multiple parties.

so i think all of our parties just got a whole lot more festive.

{i think they're perfect for cinco de mayo*}

hope you had a good weekend.

JILL

flowers for friday #130

tonight's my mom's big birthday fiesta.

i was up burning the midnight oil last night making special stuff for her party.

i was in charge of decor. just the way i like it :)

it gave me a huge opportunity to put my pinterest party board to use.

i made garlands, and flags, and stuff and stuff and stuff! it definitely went into the girly, colorful, sparkly realm. but she likes those things! and you only turn 50 once. plus she had 5 kids, 4 of which are boys. so she and i could use a little extra girly in our lives...

instagram got a glimpse of some of it. the thing that excited me most was the ruffled crepe paper streamers.... i am going to post it here on monday in case you want to make your own, because if you own a sewing machine-- it's so very easy to do. and it takes a $1.29 crepe paper roll from cheap to fan-freaking-tastic.

i am only working half day today.

i have to go hang all the stuff i made!

and make some goodies to eat.

so long story short, i am on a crafters high.

i hope you have the best weekend.

happy friday.

JILL

happppppy birthday, mom!!!!

today my mama,

super awesome and hot mama,

turns 50.

happy birthday, mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love you forever.

JILL

{image via bellevivir}

stacked bobbies.

have you been noticing the stacked bobby pins everywhere you look?

i'm kinda obsessed and have been casually looking for some colored bobbies since fall. casually meaning i didn't seek them out but if i found them, i'd be happy.

well, mission accomplished!

run to target and get your own for $2.50:

and i'm kinda in love with these bc they're mini's!

i'm sporting the green ones today.

i was coerced into taking this photo in the bathroom at work.  i really prefer to be the one behind the camera, not in front. its so stupid awkward!

but here it is:

 

i like mcphee's look of multiple colors.

my pack has lots of black ones that won't show up in my darker brown hair so i think i'm going to take some nail polish to those and who knows... maybe neon? hot pink? most probably.

and maybe mint or lavender.

there are tutorials abounding online for how to paint your own.

i first spotted a similar look last christmas when babble posted 10 holiday hair ideas and i've had this image saved ever since.

(this is ban.do's jumbo party bobbi)

i just thought it was an easy and cute way to tame my similarly messy, insanely long hair with minimal effort... which is the way i play when it comes to my hair.

taza's been sporting it similarly, too.

so that's when target came to the rescue last night.

do you guys even like it this look?

i do :)

JILL

the d family.

the beautiful d family.

i took these back in october and i'm just now getting around to sharing.

these little nuggets were full of energy.

i had lots of fun exploring nature with them.

exploring nature in a bow tie.

i mean, how else would you do it?

that smile at the top slays me...

and the eye lashes.

and the hugs.

and the pretty nature lurking in every corner.

JILL

tis the season.

citrus season!

it's cold and gloomy and gross outside...

and thank goodness for these, bright sunny spots of vitamin c.

{i love fruit. fruit is like dessert to me.

i don't understand those out there that don't like fruit. it's like candy!

and i will take most any fruit flavored dessert over any chocolate dessert you can throw at me. ever.

drives my husband crazy because he prefers those with chocolate and i prefer... key lime pie.}

at my grocery store right now, grapefruits are 2 for a $1.

i have been eating at least one a day.

at least.

saturday morning breakfast at my house ^

i was tempted to do the grapefruit brulee.

you sprinkle your halved grapefruit with sugar, then pop it under the broiler.

i was tempted...

but it was going to take too long and i just wanted to eat it.

i normally don't even add sugar.

but i think it sounds good.

another one i wanna try:

blood orange bars.

like lemon bars but waaaaaaay more beautiful.

do you see this color?!:

i think it'd be so lovely for a brunch.

or on tuesdays. or fridays. or any day really.

you can find the recipe here.

are you enjoying any fruits of the season right now?

JILL

flowers for friday #129

 

oh, tgif.

i know i had a short week, but sometimes those feel longer!

my house needs cleaning and the amount of couch time i've logged in the past few days has exacerbated the issue.... am i lame for saying i'm excited to deep clean tomorrow?

then consider me lame.

happy friday!
 

JILL

chicken soup for the soul.

 

yesterday afternoon i really started to feel like real food again.

consider my not very satisfying diet of vegetable broth, water and gatorade the previous 36 hours, not very satisfying...

so we made some chicken noodle soup,

to slap the rest of the sick right out of me.

husband and i use this recipe from real simple, found here, lots.

the only thing we do differently is we add half of an onion and a little thyme.

its easy and tasty, and gets the chicken noodle soup work done in no time.

the other day i pinned this:

if i wasn't so starving :)

maybe i would have taken the time to do that.

probably not.

but if you wanted some chicken noodle soup for valentine's day, or you wanted to make your husband or child feel better while they're sick with the dirty flu, you could most definitely make it with tender, loving, heart-shaped carrots.

the carrots hail from here.

and i think it's pretty cute.

(you could save those carrot peels for making broth... which i'm also too lazy to do myself. emeril makes a tasty organic veggie or chicken :)

negative side of being gone for 2 days unexpectedly, my desk and inbox look like a war zone...

bright side of being gone for 2 days unexpectedly, it's thursday and tomorrow's friday!

JILL

that. was. awful.

friends friends friends.

the sucky, disgusting flu hit me yesterday at 3am.

i woke up running to the bathroom.

and between 3am and 10am, i did that a number of times.

and then once more on my way to bed last night, you know, just for kicks.

the whole day i laid motionless on my couch watching horrible daytime tv.

trying not to move because it hurt, and honestly i didn't want to stir anything else up.

it was awful.

i wouldn't wish that junk on anyone.

i'm still not back at work today, but at least i'm feeling better to wear i can sit. and stand. and shower. and blog! and who knows... i might eat some real food today.

you should go get a flu shot if you haven't, which i didn't, and wished i did.

it's the most awful thing.

see you around these parts tomorrow.

JILL

where we eat.

 

 

 

not only what we eat, but where we eat it, is important.

i am drawn to kitchens/dining rooms with interest.

with details.

with stuff!! (shocker, i know)...

and not just new stuff. definitely the old stuff, too. 

the kind of things that bring a sense of history, and charm, and that lived-in quality that usually can only come with collecting pieces over time... and you know, actually living in the space.

old table cloths, antique china cabinets, chandeliers, upholstered pieces, and great art...

all great kitchens, do make.

or they at least help it out!

this is a little off the topic, but not really i guess, since we're talking kitchens...

but i foresee stainless steel appliances dating our era in the future.

will people in 20 years look back on our time and see the ss fridge like we do the old avocado ones? people on hgtv kill me while house hunting. they walk into a kitchen and bitch, excuse my french, because it doesn't have stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. ugh.

but that's another post for another day.

fill your kitchens with the things you love, and use. old copper pots look better out of the cabinet than in :)

and art loves kitchens.

in case you didn't know that.

happy monday.

JILL

{all images via my pinterest board}

flowers for friday #128

 

sorry for the radio silence.

i have to admit it was kinda nice.

although awkward at first. i've only ever taken a day or two away from here at a time before. i had this feeling in the back of my scattered brain that i was missing something important. then... i became ok with it :)

i was still glued to my iphone, but a few days away from here was just what the doctor ordered...

alot of bloggers out there feel my pain.

i think pinterest, while THE largest reason why i'm glued to my phone, is sucking the life and creativity out of blogging. i used to use this place as somewhere to document and keep track of all the things i found beautiful, and to share the knowledge of some lesser known beautiful things with you...

now, that is what pinterest does.

and they do it over and over and over again. really well.

like, too well.

and again, while i love me some pinterest time before i even get out of bed every single morning (and through the whole day), i am finding it harder to find stuff to blog about... are we becoming desensitized to pretty? good, i didn't think so either.

so, i will be back here on monday all bright eyed and bushy tailed. raring to go.

with even more original content than ever before.

i'm going to share lots more of my photography.

and there's a TONNNNNNN to catch up on over the last 3 or 4 months. so i will do that. and i'm excited.

and i'm going to share what's happening at my house more often. because it's one giant work in progress, has been and always will be i think!

and because frankly, the blogs i love to read most are those with their own content! and i want you to love it here, too.

so that's what i'm going to do.

along with those same things i'm still finding beautiful and just can't keep to myself. 

so that you can pin them.

ha.

happy weekend, kids.

JILL

{image taken by emily steffen, via ruffled blog}

flowers for friday #127

just really really late.

 

 apparently i'm no longer able to upload photos onto blogger from my work laptop... which is where i do 90% of my blogging. whoops. i was able on thursday, and then friday i was not. so i thougt it was maybe a blogger issue and assumed it'd be fixed by monday where i could catch right back up....

but it wasn't a blogger problem.

it was an old computer problem.

i installed some updates thursday afternoon and one didn't fully go through and that prevents the upload button on blogger from appearing...apparently. IT's working on it :)

so i'm making do until its resolved.

show must go on.

i'll be back later this afternoon.

sorry for the silence around here these past few days.

didn't mean to!

JILL

{image via my pinterest}

nye #ootd

i just now got into instagram.

i've had it for awhile but never really did anything but take photos and use a cool filter.

now i'm following people, and interacting, and i love it!

my only promblem with it-- when i like something, i can never go back and look at them. but that's me and photos... i've always been that way. i like to hoard everything. they're like memories on screen/paper and i can't let go.

not going to lie though, i had to google what #ootd meant.

seriously. and for those of you about to do the same, it means outfit of the day.

i don't do twitter. never have, and don't think i ever will.

words, meh. but pictures, now there's a language i speak fluently.

so i'm into it.

but as promised,

here's my nye outfit.

i hadn't tried any of it on together, i kinda picked it out in my mind.

it was a white tee with a full black tulle skirt.

and i sorta loved it.

but it was snowing out and i felt i might be slightly overdressed.

even though it was so casual on top, it was a bit shmancy on bottom for where i was going.

so i chickened out.

husband said to "save it" and i'm not sure what for bc we don't do alot of things where that fits, but i'm saving it in the back of my mind for the perfect time.

so i switched it out for your standard gold sequins.

felt much better.

and that was new years eve 2012/2013.

what did you wear? any epic #ootd? ha.

JILL