Simple pleasures

This week has been really busy (as all weeks-after-vacations are), so let's talk about simple pleasures. What are a few of your favorite things? Mine are avocado toast, linen sheets, Alex Baldwin on 30 Rock, and reading magazines in bed. I would love to hear yours. xoxo

P.S. Awesome that this photo is named "hammock bum."

(Photos by Julia Stotz)

Back garden

From our cramped Manhattan apartment, Alex and I always daydream about having a back garden one day, complete with red chairs and a hammock. You could have friends over and serve cauliflower soup, salad and Gruyere. Aren't these photos lovely?

(Photos via Remodelista, landscape design by Foras, butterfly chair from Circa50)

Banners

Oooh, I'm loving these fabulous banners, which are making their way around the blog world. They'd be fun to string up for a cocktail party or to display everyday at home. ("Magic Surrounds" would be especially sweet in a nursery.) The best part? They're only 10 bones!

P.S. The opposite sentiment.

(Via For Me-For You)

Cupcakes and cookies

Ming Thompson, a Harvard grad student with a sweet tooth, created this rad website with cupcake and cookie recipes. The recipes are all super creative, with ingredients like Guinness beer, figs, and lots of sour cream. Double thumbs up!

Berries

Just a pretty photo for you this morning. Don't these look delicious?

P.S. A guide to berry picking.

(Photo by Tracy Sue)

Guest Post: A Few of My Favorite Things

+ Sun-kissed freckles. Not only are they adorable, they give me an excuse to go easy on the makeup all summer long.

+ Architectural salvage yards. I have this dream of living in a modern home, sprinkled with rustic details, like this sliding barn door.

+ Being feminine.

+ Big, thick, oversized glasses. I crush on a new pair every week.

+ Hats. My mom had me in all sorts of different styles from an early age. Right now I'm enamored of a classic fedora I picked during a trip to Sonoma, California.

+ Boy things, like flannel, hiking boots, oversized watches, broken-in jeans, and super soft T-shirts. I'm always stealing my fianc 's clothes!

+ Cats that do human things. Like this one.

+ Cheeky accessories. I'm a true nerd at heart, with a soft spot for dry humor. I love these playful mittens from Kate Spade. Gotta find a pair on eBay!

+ The best days start with two slices of avocado toast.

+ Designer Paul Rand. Get to know his work here.

-- By Kate from Wit + Delight

Wee onesies

My darlings, I had to come back to post about these: How adorable are these custom letterpress-printed onesies? Mav is selling them for the month of June only in her WEE pop-up shop. You get to choose your favorite colors and the wording. I love them; they'd make such great gifts! xo

Guest Post: Sky treats

For pops

and ma

and little buddy.

-- By Melanie from You Are My Fave

Guest Post: I can see clearly now...

...through multi-colored glasses...

{left to right, top to bottom: milly gum drops ring, kate
spade gumdrop studs, acquamiki pendant lamp, wine and olive wood jar from moma, and ballet flats from fred flare.}

-- By Joy from Oh Joy and Oh Joy Eats

Have a playful weekend.

My darlings, what are you doing this weekend? Hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July, and here are a few great posts from around the web...

What would you give to jump in this pool?

This bride's vintage dress is gorgeous.

Love these red shorts.

Cute title.

What a sweet post about first steps.

Vintage mamas (including the Queen of England).

Photoshopping a swimsuit model.

Wouldn't it be sweet to hang this welcome sign outside a front door?

Anna Bond's new recipe boxes.

One family, thirty years.

Notebook paper tee.

Lego kitchen!

Just Woody Allen making movies. Just Hemingway kicking a can.

There are wonderful people out there.

Scouting models in Brazil.

(Photos by Philippe Halsman, via Hi + Low. Halsman said: "When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping, and the mask falls, so that the real person appears.")

Dream room

What a beautiful room, don't you think? I'd love to spend an afternoon in that chair.

(Photo credit unknown, via Lost)

Cheese wedding cakes

For you cheese enthusiasts out there: How amazing are these stinky cheese wedding cakes?! I wish I had known about these when we tied the knot!

The kitten who couldn't jump

This is totally random, but I'm sleepy and punchy so I'm going to post it. So, here, ladies and gentlemen, is the kitten who couldn't jump.

P.S. I really love that she still tries! There's a life lesson in there. :)

(Via Unruly Things)

Sleeping bags

You guys made camping sound like so much fun (bonfires! ghost stories! air mattresses!) that I couldn't help looking up a few cute sleeping bags, just in case.

P.S. This one is nuts.

Animal boxes

What a cute way to store your keys and quarters!

(Via Post Grad Hair Cut)

Home inspiration: Trapeze!

My friend Sophie (of the amazing children's brand Oeuf) has a wooden trapeze in her Brooklyn living room. She used to go to trapeze school in California, and now she has taught her kids a bunch of tricks. "They do knee hangs and swing quite high," she says. "They think I look like a big whale, but I do it to amuse them. We thought they'd use it for five minutes and never again, but it's completely part of their daily life. We call them monkeys."

(Photo from Milk Magazine)

Rainbow

This morning, I've been writing up a post about our weekend, but as a new mom, everything takes 100x longer than expected. So, in the meantime, I thought you might like this rainbow windshield. :)

(By Dutch artist Helmut Smits, via DesignLoveFest)

Missing phone?

Whoa, this is genius! You know when you lose your phone, and you have to ask a friend to call it for you? Well, if no one's around to help, you can go to this clever website, enter your number, and it will call your phone for you. Ha, I just tried it; it really works!

(Via Swissmiss)

Glow-in-the-dark poster

This letterpress poster is made with glow-in-the-dark ink! Genius.

(Via Swissmiss)

Max Wanger

Max Wanger (who took our wedding and engagement photos, luckily for us) just launched his new website and shop. They look fabulous and reminded me of the jaw-droppingly beautiful photos he always takes. Congrats, Max, we love you! xo

P.S. Cute.