F is for Fort

Love these images found over at fromlara....my childhood forts looked a little less dreamy and ethereal, being made from table chairs and old afghans.....

The Babysitters Club

Admit it, you read the Babysitters Club books as a kid. I was obsessed with both these and Sweet Valley High, as any girl growing up in the late 80s/early 90s should have been. I finally quit reading them somewhere in the 60s or 70s (there were over 100). Apparently they're revamping the series...not so much a fan of that, but I am a fan of this blog - What Claudia Wore. The genius blogger takes excerpts from the books that describe Miss Kishi's epic fashion sense, and finds what they may look like these days. Although I always thought of myself identifying most with Mary Anne/Kristy, I always dug Claudia for her love of Nancy Drew and ability to hide junk food in her room. Happy reminiscing!

E is for Easter Eggs

wouldn't it be nice to dye eggs and hunt for them again? shouldn't just be for kids. love how these images make me think of spring.....xoxo

via flickr/weheartit: easter eggs tag

meow...

yesterday I saw a bobcat on my mom's street as I was driving along...I thought it was a fox at first (from behind) but realized it wasn't as I saw the tail swishing about...so cool. Coyotes and foxes are quite common where my mom lives (and me, for a good chunk of the summer) but bobcat and bear have much less frequent sightings...

I have 3 days left of vacation before I head back to St Louis....payday is tomorrow.....thanks to my Memphis adventures I will have a big credit card bill....I started a fun DIY project today....pics soon....the weather has been sunny and 50s here, and is supposed to be in the 60s in Missouri....

D is for Duck

My neglected A to Z series clearly needed some loving and inspiration....the Peabody Hotel was the perfect solution...decades ago, some drunk hotel guests were duck hunting all day and left live ducks in the lobby fountain in the middle of the night as a joke...lo and behold in the morning, guests were delighted to see ducks swimming in the fountain. The owners promptly found ducks to live there....they have a palace on the roof and are marched in (on a red carpet, seriously) at 11am, lounge in the fountain all day, and are marched out of the fountain at 5pm to go back to the duck palace for the night. They also change ducks every few months and send the old ones to a farm, so its fairly humane. And they take the duck decor to the max.

on the be careful! signs

on the elevator floor

on the linens...

the food.....

now for E....E is for..............?

walkin' in Memphis

I've always wanted to have a spontaneous, indulgent, just-for-me trip to an exciting place.... I always thought it would come much later in life, but I just returned from an amazing weekend in Memphis...birthplace of the blues...it was so much fun. This could become an expensive hobby.

I splurged and stayed at the Peabody Hotel (AAA discount helped) which was phenomenal....I ordered room service and a movie since I probably will never stay in a place this nice for a looong time...

went to Graceland which I surprisingly enjoyed....and fell in love with the fabric-covered billiards room....

soaked my feet in the hot tub and pool....couldn't believe I didn't think to bring a suit

went to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated...

I also ate amazing soul food, drove over the state line to Mississippi (adding two I've-been-to states to my list, along with Arkansas), went to the Rock and Soul Museum, walked Beale Street....

And became obsessed with ducks. More on that soon.

pillow pallow

imagine this, with an 'm'....overpriced but so cute

my-sparrow.com

Hipster Puppies

http://hipsterpuppies.tumbler.com

this is genius. pretty sure I'm going to hipster-ize my beagle and send something in. best part: the comments. they capture the hipster essence and cliche (some of which I love)perfectly.

"willson will have you know that he can taste the difference between this and fair-trade coffee, thank you very much."

"the summer after his senior year, mr. chow traveled europe by train for a month, and now aggravatingly insists that its barthelona."

"for tillie, having a mad men premiere means dressing up, drinking manhattans, and being totally fucking insufferable"

Also Needed: Romper

LOVE this look from an amazing collection I stumbled upon - Harvey Faircloth. The whole spring/summer collection is much fun. At 190 bucks, this is even less likely than the linen hat.

I am SWOONING

Over this amazing handmade linen hat from Etsy seller Sanchia. Alas, there is no way, no how, that I can justify 75 bucks on a hat right now.

More great hats here

couple of things I'd like for spring/summer

French striped sailor shirt (mini-sized, apparently). I swore off horizontal stripes a long time ago, but I think I could pull off a beachy, off the shoulder version....

Loose fitting oxford shirt (not at j. crew prices). I'm still undecided about high-waisted shorts.

!@#$%^Y&*

Okay, this is awesome. I'm no saint, no prude, I enjoy a good dirty joke now and then, and a well placed swear word can feel so good. But I'm inspired by this - started by a 14-year old, California is officially declaring the first week of March "No Cuss Week". It takes a lot of courage to stand up for something you believe in. We could probably all benefit from softer, kinder, gentler words used in society and towards each other. More info here