i suck...

at blogging today.

i'm all out of creative juices.

i think it's the 139873 degree temperatures.

i kid you not.

and how everything- every blade of grass, every flower- has turned brown.

blah brown.

even the trees are starting to look droopy and sad.

we were watering our yard but it was turning brown just like the neighbors who weren't so we just stopped and saved the money. and now it's dead.

don't even get me started on how hard it is to dress for work when it is legitimately between 97 and 105 degrees straight for 3 weeks.

i don't even want to think about what the forcasted 103 will "feel" like today.... and what i don't get, why can you say it'll be 103 out but it will feel like 111? why don't they just call it 111?

 but seriously what do you wear? i'm running out of ideas. what i'd like to be wearing and what i can wear are on two totally different spectrums.

i did find this yesterday:

this is what i'll be wearing tomorrow.

and until my brain can cool off, i'm afraid i have no fun junk to blog about today.

my apologies.

JILL

a lady

nothing could make you feel more like a lady than a gorgeous (GORGEOUS) silk gown, with a fierce up-do, and a pair of heels.

well, maybe except walking down a cobblestone street with steve mcqueen, who's done up in a tux and bowtie.

and a healthy dose of kissing.

against a wall on said cobblestone street...

with steve mcqueen.

the thomas crown affair is one of my favorite movies, both the old one (faye dunaway with steve mcqueen) and the recent one (with pierce brosnan and rene russo).

both of the ladies new how to be a lady.

and dress! like one too.

i bet they also knew how to live like one. 

here's to being a lady.

JILL

{interiors via: jeffrey bilhuber, reality and whimsy, simple everyday glamour, and pinterest}

cobalt bubble necklace.

i don't buy anything from ebay.

i'm always tempted, but i got burned back in college on some (probably fake) lacoste polo shirts... i bet jo remembers. we waited and waited and waited.

those super collegiate-preppy polos never came.

and the jerks were off with our poor-kids-in-college money!

i know i shouldn't be nervous now with paypal,

but still am.

anyhow,

i retract my first statement because i just bought this:

i have been eyeing the j.crew version for how long now?

don't know. but that means it's been a long time.

but we can start from the very beginning.

friday afternoon i stumbled upon a new blog and within a few posts, she had mentioned how she bought and just received her new j.crew necklace in turquoise. but it's not really from j.crew... it was from hong kong. funny enough, it even has the j.crew tag on the clasp.

she says the quality is just like the j.crew version.

and she wears it all the time:

so i figured hmm.

why the hell not?

let's check it out.

followed her link to ebay and they are between $15 and $30.

MUCH better than the j.crew $150.

i mean, i would never. what happens when i wear it twice and then i'm over it?

so i got a little shaky from distrust... and then a little nervous, because i went ahead and jumped on that bandwagon and bought the cobalt blue one.

i think cobalt rocks with almost every other color.

so i'm crossing my fingers, toes, arms and legs that i don't get burned on this one....

or else!

just kidding.

i can't really do anything, just like the jerks who took my money along time ago. positive side-- it's not much money and i'm not as poor as i was in college. but now i'm excited and i want it.

so i'll sit here and wait for my necklace.

and i'll be darn sure to keep you updated in case you want one of your own.

did i mention there was free shipping?

from hong kong?

so a necklace for exactly $18.99.

like i said, fingers crossed.

and in case you don't want to buy it directly from hong kong yourself...

you can buy an also-much-cheaper version of this necklace from furbish.

{i just found these.}

i'm more a fan of the one color version so i'm still happy with mine (provided it actually gets delivered),

but if you like the two toners, i'm betting a million dollars that transaction would be a whole lot more trustworthy.

furbish's tessa necklaces in blue and green.

guessing these are also coming from hong kong for that price :)

love.

JILL

flowers for friday #103

i'll be out of doors if you're looking for me this weekend.

bon weekend.

JILL

{the beautiful soup}

soak it up.

summer is half over.

i feel like it goes by so much faster than it did when i was a kid.

i turn around and its july 20th.

where.has.the.time.gone?

i had a realization this morning as i was running.

i usually run to music but i turned it off.

i just listened to summer as i went along.

birds. lawn mowers. sprinklers. the breeze.

i made a vow to myself to take control over the last half of summer so it doesn't slip right on by like the first half did.

i want to go to the pool more.

make fruity cocktails and drink them with bright straws and umbrellas.

head to the ocean.

stop saying it's too hot.

sure, it's 108 outside but come january, i'm going to wish for a little more of this.

play more games.

i wanna wear more dresses.

more hats.

get a little more tan.

take deep breaths.

listen to the wind. and the birds and all those summer sounds. more.

i wanna take more photos.

i want to eat outside more.

take a road trip.

stop at the fruit stands along the side of the highway.

eat more fruit. more peaches!

worry less.

be colorful.

think happy thoughts.

remember the same feelings summer used to give me when i was a little kid.

sit on more patios.

go night swimming. at least twice.

take my dog to the dog park and let her go swimming in the lake more.

go to the lake more.

laugh more.

smell the smell of sunscreen.

worry about work a smidge less. it will be here tomorrow.

listen to children laughing.

feel the sun. let it warm me up.

take more walks at night and more runs in the morning.

hang out with my husband. outside.

listen to my music a smidge too loud.

go barefoot.

and thank God for summer.

who's with me?

i'm taking back summer!

happy friday.

now go outside.

love.

JILL

{all images via anthropologie, tumblr or pinterest}

little people big world.

not the show.

the art!

there are a few artists out there creating art with little miniature people using objects our size.

i just showed husband what i was going to be posting and he thought it was weird and said very lovingly,  "you should rethink it--- in the nicest way possible of course"... apparently we all won't appreciate this photography.

but they make me laugh.

they're cheeky.

and clever.

and mayby i just like little teeny tiny art.

and who listens to their husbands anyway?

here are some of my favorites.

and if you think they're weird, come back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled posting.

from christopher boffoli:

and slinkachu:

jason barnhart:

jean joseph renucci:

funny, right?

happy thursday :)

JILL

wedding weekend.

did your wedding fly by? go way to fast? wish it could have lasted longer?

mine, too.

this particular couple wanted all that to linger as long as they could...

so they rented out the entire ace hotel in palm springs.

for 4 days.

for all their friends and family.

on thursday night, they had a swanky bourbon and bow ties party to kick off the weekend and welcome everyone in.

friday morning they had a special and intimate ceremony in the dessert with just their closest friends and family...

and came back to this:

a giant pool party.

and the addition of those hundreds of black and white beach balls = perfect.

anything en masse makes it a while lot more special. 3 beach balls just wouldn't have cut it.

the next day, they just wanted to host a giant dinner and dance party. 

successful.

again, the mass of balloons... awesome.

and then finally:

the wedding.

with more dinner.

more drinks.

and lots more dancing.

there was even a local marching band thrown in for good measure.

seriously, do you wish you were invited as much as i do?

what a great party.

what a great long weekend!

how special for them, their friends, and their family.

i only shared a fraction of the details and pretty shots

{taken by my idol, max wanger}

you can find more over at 100 layer cake.

they had 3 separate posts to cover the whole thing.

the first.

the second.

the third.

go check it out.

love.

JILL