Supa Fresh Weddings

Hey, Cleveland! Have you heard about this fun new event called Supa Fresh Wedding? It's next Saturday, February 8, from 2-7. I can't believe it's almost February! Anyway, it's a collaborative event hosted by Cleveland Flea and Borrow Rentals and it's bound to be inspirational and provide so many engaged couples with great vendors to personalize their special day. The list of vendors is long and full of some pretty impressive talent from the area. Check out all of the information here! Tickets are on sale now, $20 in advance and $25 the day of.

Come with colors in mind and we can talk about customizing the perfect necktie, bow tie, pocket squares, or tie clips for the men in your party. Plus you'll have a chance to enter to win something free for your groom if you come and see me! And if you can't tell, I'm totally pushing this amazing radiant orchid chambray that I picked up! 

I hope to see you there!

Made in the 216.

Hey friends! I'm excited to announce the return of Made in the 216 to Ohio City this weekend! I will be participating in this fun event again hosted by Room Service at a pop up location, 1810 W. 25th St from Friday-Sunday! There will be a whole lot of awesome local artists, bands, and food so please come and check it out! The bow ties are looking pretty fly in my humble opinion. See you there!

Neckwear Explosion

I think I took about an 18 hour break from Saturday's show before I started prepping for the Boutique Bridal Bazaar next month at the 78th Street Studios. My brain was on overload at the fabric store that day. I decided that if I can help it, I'm not going back until after the show. So I bought stacks! The poor dining room table won't be cleared for weeks! OK I'll probably clear it off for the holidays...for a bit.

And today my husband left the house wearing my latest creation, that took several pattern adaptations to create....a skinny neck tie. Woohoo! I'm excited. Happy Thursday!

Denim in Autumn

I was the lucky winner of a gift card to Madewell from the lovely Clevelandshopaholic and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I went in a few times before I made my final decisions. I've been in envy of  these chambray shirts for awhile now but was fearful that I would accidentally be reliving my oversized baggy phase from high school. I was pleasantly surprised at how flattering this shirt was. It's nothing like the giant shirt I used to wear, mostly because I bought a size that fits me. But the denim is nice and sturdy and it's quickly becoming my favorite new layering piece. And then I discovered this...

 

It's also my favorite shirt for Oliver too! I'm sure eventually we'll wear them on the same day and it will be nerdy and cute. So many thanks for my new shirt! What is your favorite piece for fall?

Image: Madewell

HEX

HEX was quite a party on Saturday night! For us it was triple date night with our friends and we made the most of it! We had a fabulous dinner at L'Albatros before the party where we dined on amazing fish, meats, and a savory french toast that will seriously have you coming back for more.

The new MOCA building in University Circle is really cool. The whole scenery down in that area of town is so remarkably different it's amazing. We walked over from dinner and ran into friends on the way. It made the event seem really special for me to see so many of our friends there celebrating art and the city. Above is a The Orbit and Inside Out and From the Ground Up, two giant pieces in a shared space.

The outside party area was a little too dark for me to get any good shots of the crowd so you'll have to just believe me that it was packed! I'm always a fan of cool steps so I took this awkward angle of the spiraling staircases. And I'll leave you with my favorite photo of the night. These two are quite the models. I hope you had a great weekend too! I'm still tired from all of the fun! Happy Monday!

Tie Dye: Reinvented

Ok, it's not really reinvented, it's just totally new to me. I bought these spray bottles of Tumble Dye after reading a blog post and seeing the vibrant colors! I knew I had to try it myself. And naturally, Little Man and a few of his friends needed some new summer gear. The process was really simple and the cleanup was pretty minimal compared to having buckets of dye like in the olden days. The colors are amazing and the process is fun. My only complaint is that because you don't saturate the fabric in dye the way that you do when you use buckets, there was a lot of white left over. So I retied and tried again a few times until I got the results that I desired. Here's the scoop.

Materials

Damp cotton shirts

Tumble Dye Spray

Newspaper

Rubber bands

Fold, roll, or twist the dampened shirts on a protected surface and add rubber bands. I tried a couple of different techniques. My favorite one was accordion folded, then rolled into a smaller ball, and then I tied it up with a rubber band. If you are interested in some tips you can check more out here, and find some video tutorials here.

Next,  you start spraying! As I mentioned, I did unfold things and check out their process along the way and added more dye as needed. Once you have achieved the look you like, untwist and cut all rubber bands off. Hang up the shirts to air dry. Once they are dry you toss them into the dryer to set for 20 minutes.

After a full wash cycle, some of the colors did fade a bit but I think they turned out pretty great! I added a little more embellishment to the pink and yellow onesie just for fun. Now Oliver and his buddies are geared up for summer music festivals! More likely just some backyard fun. And here he is scoping out the other babes on our way home from dinner last night. These temps are brutal and therefore our kitchen is closed.

Bangled

The closest that I ever came to achieving the bangle bracelet look was when I wore about one hundred jelly bracelets on both of my arms. I've always been envious of those able to wear a ton of bangles on their arms and not be annoyed with all the banging. I find them to be bothersome when I'm going about my day but I like the way it looks. 

These two bracelets were both gifts. I wear them all the time. Particularly the smaller one because it's the perfect shape and size. My father-in-law is currently living in Tai Pei and made it for me for Christmas at an outdoor market. It's small and simple and seems to go with everything. Plus it feels pretty special to me too.  How do you accessorize those arms?

My Life In Stripes

These few images document five out of seven days worth of outfits from last week. It's a minor obsession.

Madewell Stucco Stripe Dress, Gap stripes (in stores only), JCrew stripes (two years ago), Target striped skirt (in stores only), Old Navy stripes (last season)

The Black and Gold

I'm feeling inspired by this golden sunshine we are experiencing.

Image Sources: studs // necklace // dress // shoes // ring 

Away We Go

Wednesday it was an unbelievable 65 degrees here in Cleveland. And it had me dreaming of hot sun and sandy beaches. This image evokes the feeling of an easy, breezy, and hot vacation. We are not ones to pick up and travel on a whim but I certainly have the bug in me. It would be a dream to just jet off to the Mediterranean or Caribbean for a week's worth of R&R. But I'm not too sure who would be against that. Since it's all make believe anyway, I would take these items with me! Happy Friday!

Image sources: photo, shoes, poncho,  glasses, bag, suit 

And Everything Nice

One of my favorite past times is crafting. I love to make things and I feel really good when I'm busy creating something. All of my son's little friends are turning one soon so I've been busy busy getting things together for their birthdays. I'll be sure to share things as they roll out. So first up is something for a little lady friend who will be one on Saturday. I used make headbands all the time and sell them at craft shows and in a few places around town and this little girl loves to wear headbands so it seemed like an obvious gift. I sure hope that she likes it!

Supplies

Wool felt

EZ felt

Scissors

Needle & thread

16" measure to fit if possible) Elastic band/metal snap clips

Hot glue gun

Beads, sequins

For this project I decided to keep it simple and make one large flower. I cut four large circles out of the felt keeping one for the base. Next, I folded the circles in half and then in half again and tacked them down to the base piece using matching thread. I arranged the circles in to three sections on the base and attached them all. Next, I sewed the piece of elastic together using my machine. Using a hot glue gun I attached the flower to the elastic band over the seam. Cut the EZ felt to cover the bottom of the flower in order to create a firmer base. Attach the EZ felt base to the flower with the hot glue gun.

If you are using a clip, cut a small hole in the EZ felt and slide the clip through and attach to the flower. Now you have a lovely gift!

Dancing Shoes

It feels a little cliche, but I do love a nice pair of shoes. As always, there will be weddings this spring and summer and I wouldn't say no to wearing any of these shoes to celebrate and dance the night away!

Source: http://www.toms.com/womens/ballet-flats-1/lina-woven-ballet-flats, http://www.madewell.com/newarrivals/shoesboots/PRDOVR~64229/64229.jsp, modcloth.com, www.miumiu.com