For the Office: Simple Desktops

Looking to add a little flair to your office life?  Simple Desktops is a good place to start!  They have pages and pages of quirky, fun, high-quality desktop eye candy to choose from and none of them are epic images of snow covered mountain tops, thank goodness...unless that's your thing, then no judgement!

Russas

Vinyl

Rocket Launch

Squares

Bob

Wayfarer 2

Where in the World?!

Two of my favorite people in the world are currently on adventures of a lifetime and even though I miss them like crazy, I am so excited for the memories they are making!  My younger sister needed a change of scenery (don't we all sometimes?) so she moved to Hawaii.  Selfishly, I can't wait for her to come back to the mainland, but I know she is having a blast so I am so excited for her.

My longtime friend, Janelle, was recently accepted into a study abroad program.  She is a history major and where better to study than in Italy!?  She has been keeping us back home updated on her website and video blog, Bazaar Trek.

Janelle is bottom row, second from the left.

I'm so thankful to live in a time where keeping in touch with these two very special ladies is easy.  What would we do without texting, Skype, and Facebook??  But still, I don't think there is anything better than opening your mailbox and finding a good ol' piece of snail mail from a loved one.  Since mailing care packages and letters can add up, I decided to invest in some postcards (only $1.10 to Italy!).

PaperSource is one of those stores in which I could easily run my checking account dry so I opted to make an online purchase and save myself some checkout-shock.  I bought a box of lovely postcards featuring quotes from Jane Austen but it was difficult to choose just one box! 



Jane Austen Boxed Postcards

The Art of Vintage DC Comics Postcards

Cavallini Vitnage Map Postcards

Rougin' It

At the end of the month, I will be taking a long weekend and camping in Yosemite with my main man and I could not be more excited!  I was a Girl Scout for 13 years (nerd alert!!) but loved every second of it.  The camping trips my troop took in the earlier years were pretty legit...bugs, tents, roasting hot dogs on sticks, no showers.  As we got older, and our leaders decided we had had a rich enough camping experience, we slowly become more and more like Troop Beverly Hills.  Which, by the way, is still one of my all time favorite movies...no shame.

I dabbled a little in easy camping during high school and college with friends, but this trip marks my first adult, I'm doing it all by myself (with the help of boyfriend, of course) camping experience.  I've planned our meals for the weekend, made a list of needed supplies, researched the hell out of Yosemite (Rim Fire is 80% contained and our campground is open for business), and am just counting down the days until we take off on our first camping adventure!

My packing list is pretty substantial...call me OCD but I call it prepared!  Here are a few of my favorite camping essentials...

1 Survival Can Kit - Urban Outfitters

2 BDG Waterfall Tunic - Urban Outfitters

3 Preppy High Waist Shorts Olive - Minxshop Etsy Shop

4 Stanley Classic Flask - Urban Outfitters

5 FieldCandy Silhouette Tent - Urban Outfitters

6 Wet Skin Sunscreen - Neutrogena

7 Twelve Creative S'mores for a Party - theKitchn

8 Off Track Planet's Travel Guide - Urban Outfitters

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful, adventure-filled Labor Day weekend!

Dictionart - Etsy

Etsy Roundup: Back to School

I don't miss going back to school one bit.  I do, however, miss going back to school shopping.  Even though I've never been to New York, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail) makes me all swoony every time I hear him say, "Don't you love New York in the fall?  It makes me wanna buy school supplies.  I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.  On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."  And I hear him say this a lot since I will watch this movie every single time it's on TV, I don't care what plans I've already made.

So in the spirit of the new school year, I have done an Etsy roundup of what I would buy myself if I was, in fact, going back to school.

1 New Backpack - wolike Etsy Shop

2 Mustache and Gentleman's Hat iPad Sleeve - StudioPapilio Etsy Shop

3 Don't Forget Notepad - QuillandFox Etsty Shop

4 Adventure is Out There Totebag - rachelwalter Etsy Shop

5 Khaki/Black Wool Jacket - happyfamilyjudy Etsy Shop

6 Arrows Pencil Case - UrbanBirdandCo Etsy Shop

7 Payphone iPhone Case - LYCshop Etsy Shop

8 Macbook Keyboard Stickers - kidecals Etsy Shop

Weekend Projects!

I love a good weekend project as much as the next girl, but my weekends have been booked full lately!  I'm not complaining...they've been awesomely fun (yes, I just said "awesomely"...live with it) but our apartment is not quite complete and we definitely need a few more chairs around the kitchen table.

My incredible deal-finder of a roommate Craigslisted this slightly used DOCKSTA Table and two URBAN Chairs for a mere $35 just a short drive away from our place!  We tipped the guy $5 for hauling all three pieces downstairs and helping us pack them into our tiny Los Angeles-sized cars like a life size game of Tetris.  If you're not as well-versed in the IKEA Catalog as we are...that's a retail value of $279.97 for just $40, Bob.  Cue the happy dance!

We're trying to figure out how to introduce a small, but standout pattern into our mostly neutral white and gold palette and maybe something like these DIY folding chairs will do the trick.  Featured on Poppytalk's 10 Summery Weekend Projects these Drab to Fab Folding Chairs are to die for!  I mean, come on...burlap with gold polka dots!?  See the full DIY's on Whipperberry and My Fabuless Life.

Hang in There, Baby

After a particularly hectic morning and a jam-packed busy weekend ahead of me, I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.  Instead of losing my cool, I'm choosing to hang in there.  And this print from Urban Outfitters Society6 is reminding me to do just that.