Homemade Valentines

Instead of buying Valentine's Day cards this year, I made some of my own. I picked up this stamp that reads 'I'll always cherish' in the dollar bin at Michael's a while back and finally found a reason to use it. I got a black ink pad in the same dollar bin, and the red glitter glue was also a dollar at The Dollar Tree. I love a good value!

Are any of you making things for Valentine's Day?

Design Books I Need in My Life

Images found via Rizzoli.

I was perusing design books in the course of my work today, and decided I need all of these for myself!

I hope that you're all having a beautiful day!

Inspiration: Black Lacquer

Image found via Canadian House & Home.
Today these black lacquer walls are an inspiration. If you're going to have a black and white room, you might as well go all out and throw in a zebra rug!

Two Unfinished Projects

I started out this morning hoping to finish a project. I was in the mood to have a productive day. I decided to use a blank canvas and some embroidery floss that I had around the house to make some art. Then I ran out of embroidery floss. This is as far as I got...

So, then I decided to paint our Kitchen. Then I ran out of paint. This is as far as I got...

So then I went out and bought more embroidery floss and another gallon of paint. Here's to hopefully finishing something tomorrow! :) I hope you've all had a great Saturday!

First Snow of the Winter

I'm like a little kid today! Snow's accumulating on the ground for the first time this winter and it's beautiful! We've got house guests for the night and warm soup in our bellies. Doesn't get much better than that!

Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy

Image found via Wikipedia.
I haven't done a book review since September, so I think it's time for another one! I read The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins before Christmas and was really impressed by it. They're in the 'Young Adult' genre, but like Harry Potter and the Twilight books, they're suited for adults as well.

The main character is a teenage girl named Katniss who lives in Panem, a country located in North America where the United States once was. Her story is dramatic and exciting, and addicting!  

I finished the three books in about four days, so that alone tells you how entertaining they are! The first movie comes out in March, so I'd recommend reading them before then! You can see the trailer here.

Have you read anything great lately?

Dreaming of a New Kitchen...

Our Kitchen renovation is still a while away, but I've been daydreaming about it today. If I'm honest, my actual train of thought was: "Maybe if I had a Kitchen I wanted to spend time in I'd manage to cook a little more." :) This image is similar to what I'm after...simple black/white/grey scheme. And I love the idea of two different cabinet colors.

Image found via Shelter.

Plus a comfortable place to hang out. Preferably in leather, like this sofa.

Image found via Pink Wallpaper.

Oh, and a functioning dishwasher. But for now, I'll make due and be thankful that I have a Kitchen! What does your dream kitchen have?

Twitter, Pinterest and Etsy, Oh My!

Image found here.
Everyone be sure to check out the additions to the column on the right side of my blog. I've added links to my Twitter and Pinterest accounts, and also my Etsy shop! Thanks for all of your encouragement and suggestions that I add these. I'm just a little slow with teaching myself how to do these things, that's all! :)

Living Room Before and After

This is the first time that I've posted about the Living Room design of our new house. I've been waiting for ages because I was without a rug and a coffee table. But, in the last two weeks I've found both pieces so I'm finally ready to post!

Here's what the room looked like originally when we bought the house last summer. I think these photos speak for themselves!

Here's the room today. It's the epitome of 'design on a dime', to say the least! But it's cheerful and colorful which is exactly what I was after.

The sweet faux shagreen box is from West Elm, the metal picture frame was $5 at Wal-Mart (gasp!) and the glass lamp is one of a pair that I bought years ago at a rummage sale. I like to use this glass (which was given to me by Kane's grandmother) as a make-shift vase.

Books are my main accessories, since that's what I seem to buy more of than anything else!

I found the vintage blue-painted coffee table for $69 at Gas Lamp Antiques here in Nashville. Any of you in the Nashville area who haven't been should check it out. I never leave empty handed!

My copy of the Lady Gaga coffee table book was also a bargain find at McKay's Used Books, for $23.

The blue and natural chevron-patterned rug is from Home Decorators Collection. I'm very pleased with the quality for such a reasonable price! 

Now, the last two photos are of the opposite side of the room, which is still a little bare. I have plans for lots of art in the near future! I'll post more on that later.

We Have a Winner!

Congrats, Leslie from Pink Tulips! You've won the calendar and notepad from Rifle Paper Co. and the set of vintage stamps from the A Girl in the World Etsy shop.

I selected the winner via Random.org, which generated number 19.

Thanks to my followers that have been around for some time, and welcome to everyone who's new! It's been a fun giveaway! Let's do it again sometime, ok?

Reminder: Last Day of Giveaway!

Images found via Rifle Paper Co.

Don't forget to enter my Rifle Paper Co giveaway! It ends tomorrow evening, January 4. Go to the post right here to enter. Good luck, everybody!

Resolutions for 2012

I feel like I should start this post with a recap of my 2011 resolutions. You can see that post here. Here's a brief summary of how I did:

1. Read more books. I suceeded quite well with this one. It feels good to have recaptured one of my favorite personal activities. And I also discovered one of my new favorite authors this year. Ann Patchett. I'd recommend any of her books, and also her new bookstore that she's opened here in Nashville.
2. Paint more. I painted a handful of things, but I'd say that in general I wasn't successful. Maybe this year...
3. Take a really great trip. Didn't work out. :)
4. Develop and expand my blog. I'm counting this as a success since I have lots of new followers and also because after two years I still love doing it.
5. Buy a house. This was the most important item on my list, and we did it!! Kane and I love our new home and have already made so many great memories in it.  

Well, 3 out of 5 ain't bad! I'm going to call our first full year back in Tennessee a success. Now for my 2012 resolutions:

Image found via We Heart It.

Make a career change. Don't get me wrong, I love being an interior designer. I just need to approach it from a different angle. I've got something in the works that I'll keep you all posted about!

Image found via We Heart It.

Improve my health. Leaving New York meant better mental health for me, but it's also lead to a more sedentary lifestyle. I need to work on staying more active this year, and finding a routine I can stick with.

Image found via We Heart It.

Take a great trip. This is a repeat from last year. We didn't accomplish it because, well, we bought a house! But I've got a good feeling about this year. We'll have been married for 5 years this fall, and it seems like the right time to get away.

Image found via We Heart It.

Make as many improvements on our new house as possible. This one is self-explanatory. We love the house, but it needs a lot of love!

Image found via We Heart It.
Expand my blog and Etsy shop. This is also a repeat from my 2011 list. I still enjoy blogging after two years, so I'm going to continue giving it my best. My new Etsy shop, also called A Girl in the World, will hopefully become an outlet for all the creative little crafty projects I always want to try. It's an experiment. We'll see how it goes!

This turned into a really long post, but it feels good to put goals in writing. I want to hear what all of your goals are for 2012! Big and small. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know!

New to the Etsy Shop

I've added two fun new items to the A Girl in the World Etsy shop! You can check them out here and here.

Don't forget that I still have an awesome Rifle Paper Co. giveaway going on until January 4! See the details right here.

Happy New Year!

I hope you all celebrated New Years Eve in style, with your family and friends close by! We celebrated with friends at the Opryland Hotel here in Nashville. It was beautiful all lit up for the holidays. A perfect night. I think we may have started another new holiday tradition!

Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!