Spring happenings

Photo found on luxe + lillies

It's been ages! While I've been off working, traveling, wedding planning, kickballing, and waiting for the good weather, I've missed quite a few major events. I could just pretend like I was on top of it (oops, totally wasn't), or forget they went by altogether, but I'd rather give a quick shout-out to the lastest spring happenings.

Here are a few of the things I've missed:
(let's do this oldest to newest, shall we?)

Earth Day came and went. Have you been doing your part?


Photos from We Heart It, as spotted on Lavender & Lilies

Easter / Passover / the start of Spring came. Oh and the cutest bunny ever - hello, cutest bunny:

Photo also found on Lavender & Lilies, from Baby Animal Photos

An everyday girl became a princess:

Image via Pinterest

And now that those happenings have zoomed by, we have even more to look forward to. The St. John's/Naval Academy Croquet Match, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, nice weather - I can't wait!

A little margarita / Mexican food combo never hurts:

Photo by This Modern Romance

And don't forget to thank votre mama for all her hard work:

Stationery by Rifle Paper Co.

Happy Spring everyone!

Hip-hip-hippopotamus

Photo by George Ross, as featured in Hamptons Cottages and Gardens

I'm way into those gorgeous blue gourd lamps, and loving the striking koi print in this room by designer Tara Seawright.There are far too many pillows on that daybed/couch for everyday life (in my humble opinion - and B's), but there is one thing in that room that is by far my favorite element... That leather hippopotamus footstool is bananas!


They're made of leather over a steel frame so they're strong enough to be a footstool anytime or a seat occasionally. Can you imagine one of your friends perching on one of these guys at your next cocktail party?

My favorite part is the cheery smile on his face. Here's a better view (or click on the image below to enlarge it):

Isn't he such a cute little guy? I think the smaller size would be perfect in a kids room - too bad the small size is $395 and the big one is $875. Ouch. They must be shipped straight from the Serengeti for those prices...

Regardless, I'm still putting this happy hippo on my "future dream purchases" list. So cute!

Available at Scully & Scully or Jonathan Adler. Originally spotted on House of Turquoise.

Dancing doggies

This one's for you, Marcy.

For Marcy and for everyone else, just watch the video below - it's awesome. If you like music, Ikea, or puppies, you'll be into it, trust me. (And if you don't believe me already, kindly reference these other amazing OK Go videos: 1 and 2 - the treadmill video [#2] is a classic at this point.)

Enjoy - OK Go's White Knuckles:

In case you can't see embedded YouTube videos (iPhoners!), here's the link.

Right? Riiight? :)

Originally spotted on Design Dust.

Feeling nautical

Folks. I AM BACK. :) I've missed you all! Fo reals. Did you all have nice Labor Day weekends? Ah, the last holiday weekend of the summer. When did it get to be September?? I feel like summer just started and now it will be over - officially - in 19 days! (Though Labor Day weekend really feels like the true end of summer.) Boo.

In the meantime, I'm grasping on to the last semblances of summer, which to me right now is feeling like a nautical tone - for the home, clothes and accoutrement. Here are some of the nautical items inspiring me right now:

Room by T. Keller Donovan (as seen in House Beautiful), via SHELTER

The above living room really started off this seafaring feeling for me. I don't like an overly "theme-y" room, but this one is done nicely and without getting too crab shanty. The striped rug, the tufted ottoman and the pseudo-leopard stripe pillows are killing me with goodness. (Also this room kind of looks like a much more chi-chi version of my own living room, so of course I'm in love.) ;)

Sheets from Land of Nod, as spotted on Design*Sponge

These sheets are totally nautical with a touch of French provencal - and would be perfect in any crisp guest room. Can't you just picture visiting the coast of Maine, sleeping in a white and blue room, with a lovely ceiling fan overhead and a seabreeze through the window? These would be the sheets I'd imagine gracing that bed. Ahhh....


Photos by Amanda Pratt, spotted on Full House

I would wear a stripey sweater every day if it wouldn't be just plain weird (and slightly dirty, no? or require tons of washing...). Oh yeah, and I'd happily float around all day on a lovely boat in Napoli, too, but that part may be a little less realistic than just rocking a sweater daily...


Illustrated print by Jon Contino, spotted on Soolip

I'm gaga for the look of the whale print above - the hand-written text is so beautiful (and done by a dude!).


Knot door stopper from Jayson Home & Garden

35 buckaroos for some seaside style in your house isn't half bad. I'd snap this up instantly if we had any doors that needed holding up (I don't think my bathroom door or the front door would work...).




From The Deep dinnerware from Anthropologie

I saw these dishes in person the other day and they are amazing. They're reasonably heavy-weight and the illustrations on them are gorg. They're a little pricey and maybe a bit much for everyday (the octopus tentacle handle on the teacup is both genius and creepy), but I still love 'em.

Sperry docksiders from J. Crew

I mean really. Who doesn't need a pair of gold docksiders in their closet? I know I sure do. (Also please note that I had an identical pair of these when I was in elementary school. They were fresh to death and I wore them allll the time. Such a trendsetter at 10. [haha])


Sammy the Seagull, by Wayne Pate, originally spotted on Design*Sponge

And finally, this fun guy was too cute not to include. We all need a little whimsy, especially when doing nautical, and this guy is pretty good. In fact, I would wear his outfit anytime.

So what do you think? Is this nautical route way too overdone these days? I'm not planning to run out and buy all of these accoutrement anytime soon (or any, likely), but I did love the breezy and clean feeling these pics gave me. Hope it helped you hang on to summer just a wee bit longer!

Not too crabby

May I remind you:
"Crab cakes and football! That's what Maryland does!"
(It's from Wedding Crashers, people.)

Summer is upon us and the time is ripe for both outdoor sports and delicious Maryland blue crab. But if you don't live in Maryland or don't eat crab, you can at least wear one:

I seriously love this belt from J. Crew - it's Maryland to the core, plus if you didn't have a bottle opener around, this puppy could come in handy. Too bad it's a men's belt (hopefully it wouldn't fit me...) or I'd snap it up. It's only 58 buckaroos - I wonder if I could coerce B into wearing something this preppy?

I'm totally into how this guy styled his, all off-t0-the-side and jaunty:

Photo from 13th and Wolf

Of course you can't miss the pink shirt and madras tie he paired it with. That's preppy to the nth degree, another thing Maryland does. Yikes. Sweet belt either way you cut it though...

J. Crew belt originally spotted on Beach Bungalow 8.

The smallest horse in the world

My boyfriend is very sweet. He sent me an email yesterday with a link about the world's smallest pony; he thought I would think it was cute and that I should post it here on sea*life*style. Wasn't that nice of him to think of me and this blog?

The pony is cute, true. Check him out:


Snark alert:
But what kind of blog does B think this is? I am not posting about cats here, people. (Oops.) Sweet thought on B's part nonetheless.

And just to prove I am not the world's biggest beyotch, here is a bit more info about Einstein the tiny pony:

Einstein was just 6 pounds and 14 inches tall when born. He is a half pinto stallion and was born last week in Barnstead, New Hampshire. He is not a dwarf, he was just teeny tiny at birth. You can get the full story here, if you're interested.

And to prove that I really love B (and horses too, right?), here's video of the little guy:

Kinda cute, no?

Here's a link to the video, in case you can't see embedded vids (via YouTube).

So there it is, the world's smallest pony. Enjoy.

Stanley la giraffe de bébé

I talked about Sharon Montrose's adorable baby animal photos here before (one of my friends even bought a few of the prints for her baby's nursery after seeing them!), but her newest photo shoot seriously tops the charts in terms of cuteness. She got to photograph this guy: Stanley, a three-month-old giraffe.

Isn't he so sweet? Here's an awesome video behind the scenes at the shoot. You can also buy a small size print of Stanley - or the other animals she's photographed - here.

Spotted on A Cup of Jo.

Ruffles and zebras and flowers, oh my!

Are pinatas the new mustache? (As in, are they the trendy new design-world obsession turned party schtick?)

I wouldn't mind having a disco-chic, sparkly zebra pinata like this at some party:

Photo via coco+kelley

Though it'd be hard to bring myself to whack the heck out of it.

This flower pinata is equally as gorgeous, but much less Elton John and more demure rosebud:

Photo via Inchmark

And while we're on the subject of demure and pretty, how sweet are these skivvies from
Frieda Maria?


Well that was quite a mish-mash of things, wasn't it? Welcome to my world... And happy Wednesday morning!

Herrrrre, pretty birdie

Sweet adorable B is such a nature boy. Even in our abode high up on the third floor, where we have no garden and no dirt, he's somehow managed to bring the outdoors in.

Now, he's harkened all kinds of creatures (okay, just birds and squirrels, really) to our windows by rigging a bird feeder off the deck and squarely in front of one of our living room windows so that we can sit on the couch and observe the wildlife high up here. He's so MacGyver meets Martha. (He even has bird calls on his iPhone - nature dork and tech nerd all in one! Just kidding, I love this kid to bits.)

I wonder if he'd like one or a few of these lovely original watercolors:


Watercolors by Dimdi on Etsy, spotted on I Suwannee.

Aren't they beautiful? She does other animals too:




And tons more... at only 25 coins each. Not bad! All available here.

To top it off: cupcake kits

I don't have kids yet for whom to plan birthday parties, yet I still feel oddly compelled to buy all of these amazing cupcake kits immediately.

These gorgeous mermaids are perfectly at home here on Sea*Life*Style.

I can think of a certain little boy (Finny Finn Finn) whose mom is going to snap up these pirate toppers immediately...

A cute gender-neutral option:


This one's girly all the way:


Perhaps I'll host a tweet-up and serve cupcakes adorned with these (grasping at straws here, looking for a reason to buy one of these kits!):


I can honestly see some dog-obsessed grown-ups buying these for their dog's birthday party (I still think it's hysterical [cough *weird* cough] that people do that):


Maybe I'll get these for the next friend of mine who has a baby shower:

I die with the cuteness.

p.s. Most of the cupcake themes also have coordinating party supplies, from invites to paper plates and napkins, etc. Check out the full selection here. So cute!

Spotted on Oh Happy Day!

Dog stache

I'll lay off the mustache posts after this (the trend is olllld, I get it), but this one was too funny not to share. Mustaches on dudes is one thing, mustaches on dogs is another:

(As you can see in the photo) it's a ball on one side and a mustache on the other. Your dog will bite the ball, leaving an awesome mustache sticking out. When we get a dog I'm so getting one of these. They're only $15, they're made from that uber-strong Kong plastic and, most importantly, they're hilarious! Available here.

Matt & Marcy, this has Sandy's name all over it! I'm assuming Bailey is a bit more discerning, but he might be into it too...

Via Swiss Miss.

Sea creatures

These incredible hand-drawn creatures couldn't be more at home here on sea*life*style, could they? Rachel Wilson’s gorgeous illustrations of sea creatures, some of which she developed in a collaboration with Brainstorm Print and Design, are amazing examples of not only beautiful hand drawings, but also intricate patterning. The varying patterns and amazing minutiae within each creature illustration is fascinating to check out up close; click here and here to see each in more detail.

As seen on designworklife.

Beware your ovaries now: Evan's 1st birthday party

Now that we've discussed pulling your own baby out of yourself (ouch & weird), we can move on to the much cuter side of having a baby: baby parties! Or in this case, a first birthday party. Sara, your biological clock is going to start ticking so loudly after this (sorry, Dan).

First off, the setting:
(click on photos for larger image)

I loooove that poster and the balloon arrangements are adorable too.

The plush stuffed animals on wheat grass in fun giraffe-print boxes are brilliant centerpieces - cheap, easy to put together and super-cute!

I honestly think my favorite thing about this party is the party hat design. Aren't they lovely? I love the mix of papers - but of course all kept within the color scheme - plus the piece de resistance: the pom-pom toppers! Custom "E" (for Evan) tote bags for favors aren't too shabby either.

Aunt Sandy's cake pops look delicious, as does that tower of mini-cuppies. But the best food offerings at the event (in my opinion) were probably this amazing combo:

1. Kogi BBQ (I'm dying to try this LA landmark. It's a traveling truck that serves up Korean Mexican tacos and BBQ, day and night, and tweets its location out to its 50,000 followers. And it's supposed to be amazing. Yum!)
AND
2. The Fry Girl's mini donuts - hot mini donuts, made on the spot for guests while they watched. Mmm.

And let's not forget the cutest guest in attendance, the birthday boy:

I'm not usually one for putting kids in suits, but this little guy is rockin' it (that and the mini Chuck high-tops are pretty amazing too).

All photos by Youkeun Oh Photography, found via The City Sage.