First Harvest

Last weekend we crossed one more thing off our list of things to do before little r comes.  Mr. Handsome took me to a local farm to enjoy the harvest this season. We researched a few and found our way to Bate's Nut Farm. The whole way up the mountain, the scenery, the kick back schedule, it was a welcome change. i wrapped it all up and tucked it away in my heart for keeps. it was one big happy moment.



i have to admit it was pretty silly of us to be in a large place filled with families and little ones. We were the only one's there without kids it seemed. just us and our little baby bump :) We picked a pumpkin a tad bit bigger than little r :)



i had asked mr.handsome for a pumpkin and i got a golden sun shiny kiss :)



The corn maze here wasn't so lush but we made it work. It certainly made for a perfect backdrop to a snapshot of what i like to call my "super pumpkin mama look".  *cheesy* yes, i know. thanks to the mister for being patient with me :) I was going for a happy baby bump + mama + pumpkin photo. i think little r is going to love picking our pumpkin next year. I'm so excited! i can't wait to toast up the pumpkin seeds & make some pumpkin bread this weekend. yay :)



and just because i'm so darn silly and i do love to share a good laugh (even at my own expense) a story about my la la moment while at the farm:  so with all our research i remember seeing various farms offering a variety of treats; apple cider, hot chocolate, caramel covered apples, apple pies, cotton candy and even pumpkin pie... and for some reason i remembered the pumpkin pie. It got stuck in my head (actually my craving tummy :) And when we got there i kept asking mr.handsome where the pumpkin pies were. he kept giving me this blank look like what are you talking about?! we went to the ticket booth to buy our tickets and i kept looking around hoping to find the lucky pumpkin pie stand and nothing. i turned to the mister and he was talking to the ticket lady and she mentioned pumpkins and i said quickly oh yum! pumpkin pie! and she then gave me a blank stare... i get those alot :) hahaa. and the mister knowing i was going crazy just kept the conversation going about where the pumpkins were etc... i once again asked so the pumpkin pies are over there? and i totally pointed and everything and then both the mister and the lady stared at me with there "crazy lady face" stare. the mister paid our tickets laughing and turned leading me to the pumpkins to pick and told me i was the craziest pregnant lady he knew. i must've been craving a slice of pie and that's all i had on my brain :) nope. no pumpkin pie at the farm. what a let down. but we laughed it off anyway and the next day he came home with a big pumpkin pie just for me... which i'm happy to say i have enjoyed a slice each say since. xoxo.. one for me and one for the baby :)

so crazy pregnant lady i am... the end.



another thing i've been crazy about is making huge crochet flowers to pin on my coats :) I made the one I am wearing in the harvest photos a while back. Back when we went to mr.handsome's grandmothers funeral. i wanted to wear something pretty in her honor. and i knew she loved to crochet etc so i made the large flower to embellish my dress i wore for her funeral. i think she would've liked it :) and since then i've been making them to give to family & friends xoxo.



especially during this gift giving season ahead of us. i think they would look great on some lovely friends xo.


lots of pretty colors to choose from available in the shop.  I hope you like them too :) i've been wearing them on my sweaters even though it still is pretty sunny and warm around here. i can't wait to wear them around a scarf & my big winter coat! so excited :)

i hope you find some time to get out and enjoy a little bit of pumpkin pickin' and some pumpkin pie eatin' :)  i'll let you know how everything goes with the pumpkin cookin' :)  ps: if you have any favorite pumpkin recipes you think i should try i'd love to hear about them, pretty & please and a big thank you  :)

happy times to you
xo
-d & her baby pumpkin :)

October brings in the spice :)

These last couple of weeks the mister and i have been pretty chill. As our time gets closer to meeting little r ( about 8 weeks to go! yikes ! ) I've been making mental notes about places and things i want to visit & try out. mostly visit :) but one thing on my list of things to try out was making cake pops - some of my favorite desserts that seem to be popping up all over the web. I found this recipe through Bakerella. She has her own book and I came across it a few months back which lead me to her amazing tasty blog :)



I made a few changes:
- instead of red velvet cake I tried to spice things up with a little fall lovin' and made mine from carrot cake. mmmm..... yummy xoxo. *smiles*

- I also added a few cups of chopped walnuts to the mix

- I topped the cake balls off with a sprinkle of extra walnuts as the chocolate set. we are a bit nutty about nuts over here tehee.



They don't look as beautiful & perfect as Bakerella's but for our first attempt i think they came out quite alright. Either way, it's all about the taste right? and they were mighty delicious! i could honestly only take one cake ball. it was such a sugar rush!!! i wish you could reach over and have a few. we still have some left over :)

also something else i've been making and thought i'd share a peak with you xo
crochet love xoxo
for family& friends... flowers are the best :)
soon to be hitting the shop shelves, Inspire Lovely for holiday gift giving. sweetness xo

and taking a wee break, resting my arm from all the crochet. with my silly puppy

mr.rogers and i snuck outside away from the studio to catch some sun rays yesterday... trying to spend more time with the little guy... preparing him for his new little buddy, little r.  getting all emotional and of course blaming it on the pregnancy hormones raging.  i hope we make time to catch more sun rays together. and more puppy hugs :)

we are wishing you a very happy weekend lovelies!
xo
-d

Inspire Lovely Studio Tour

It's been some time since sharing the studio with you. It's gone from a silly craft room to a part-time work from home/craft room to a full time shop studio. And each time it changed, it was hectic trying to reorganize everything in this space but thankfully with Mr.Handsome's help we made it work.  I have extra storage up in our attic area for the rest of the items from the shop that are organized by color in a box :)  It's so pretty, convenient, & efficient since I had such a hard time trying to organize everything each time I would add something new to the shop. Now i can just think of the color and easy peasy, locate what i need in the correct color box :)  My brain... it's so elementary hahaa.

so welcome to my studio!

This is the first view upon entering the studio. ( I of course would be waving hi to you on the right side by the desk :)




Turn to the left and you will see my cute little closet space turned into a simple craft storage area.

I like to keep my yarn in rainbow order :)  I've hung some pretty fabrics I purchased from a recent trip to Purl Soho in NY. They are so pretty to look at i love peeking over & seeing them there. xo
PS: I get so many questions about the mini organizing cubby and where I got it. It's from Making Memories and I bought it at Michaels back over 5 years ago. It's one of my favorite things they've made :)

Look to the right and you will see the upcycled storage piece I scored at a local thrift store.


The cubby piece was originally a floor piece with cabinet doors. Mr. handsome took those off and painted all the pieces. (that's deep love xoxo thank you mister xoxo :) And the bottom piece was a simple vintage armoire piece. But together i think they look pretty fabulous. Like they were meant for each other :) xo



i love shopping the clearance/sale section at my local anthro. it's so nice to buy cute knobs to brighten these drawers up for less than $3 bucks. I've kept some of the original brass circle knobs just for fun and also to stay within budget :) i LOVE my puppy knob xoxo (mr.handsome again rained supreme by painting the bottom piece with a fresh coat of white paint to match the top)



all the cubby storage is really a dream come true. it's been so fun moving things around and it really helps to see what you have and use it :)

on top of the space i like to keep my collection of jars filled with spools in all shapes + vintage globe + vintage horses i scored at a local thrift shop.  
they are so pretty & cute to look at :)

and inside each cubby i keep Inspire Lovely shop items on the "virtual shelves" + extra bits of things i collect. here are some of my favorites:


















And finally my desk space, where i take care of all things "Inspire Lovely" :)



I've had this IKEA desk for years and i love it. it's very clean & has plenty of space for extras.  I cleaned it all out though just to start over clean and now i am counting down to just how long i can keep it all uncluttered :)  So far, its been 2 weeks hahaa!

well thanks for stopping by and i wish you a happy & lovely day

ps: if you have any questions about the studio i will answer them here in the comments section :)

xo
xo
-d

hello october :)

oh october. i'm loving you so much. except i don't really fit into any of my cardigans or sweaters. and i have a big love for all things warm & fuzzy. especially my cardigans and sweaters. but being here in san diego you really don't need those yet :)  we had such an awesome weekend this past week it was full of warm sun + no schedule + food = happiness :)  i had asked mr.handsome to please help me update my photo journal of baby r & my belly bump and so we did. :)



For my birthday i picked out this cute blue + coral outfit from a local boutique "1+2+3". It was pretty much the only thing in the store that fit hahaa. But the little shop is packed with beautiful pieces almost like anthro. but for half the price xo love it xoxo.

i love the blue. i've never been one to wear bright colors. but since i figured i'm having a little boy i might as well embrace the blue :)



so 30 weeks have flown by and i'm getting nervous. i am both very excited about having little r nestled in my arms soon & anxious about the upcoming birth process. for now i'm taking it easy. mr.handsome and i are attending classes for infant CPR etc and touring the hospital facilities soon. Plus lamaze classes. it's quite thrilling :)  and yet sometimes i forget i'm pregnant. it must be the pregnancy brain or something.  one thing is for sure, i'm making a list of things i want to do in the next 10 weeks before little r gets here. places i want to visit. a new recipe to bake. just explore a bit. maybe one last quick road trip just me and my mister :)  who knows? we'll see where the wind will take us xo



i spent last week cleaning and purging the house and finally updated the frame wall. one frame but it sure makes a statement. we bought the frame at IKEA earlier this year. and i of course now have to promise to use everything i buy :) so thank you mr.handsome for the frame and true to my word... ta-dah! a frame on the wall :)  ( i am notorious for buying frames and not hanging a single one. i have a hard time committing to a hole in the wall- heheee :)

this time i felt a bit whimsical and added a cute mix of orange in honor of october & the new season. I framed a favorite art page i made last year, added a cute succulent plant in an orange stripe pot from trader joe's + his new pal the giraffe under a thrifted bell jar, a mini pumpkin from our local market & some orange spine books from the thrift store.

My new favorite thing is the vintage globe. it lights up!!! yes, yes it's true. i love that thing to pieces. it reminds me of the one that is used in "While you were sleeping". At the beginning where Lucy & her dad plan their adventures around the world and in her room there is a shot of a pretty vintage light up globe.  xoxo favorite movie xoxo :)

and a quick shot of my work table. progress! yes, i am excited about using this paper kit in the shop to journal my transformation into motherhood.  I hope to finish the pages soon and share the mini with you. its been SO long since i've created anything and getting back to paper is proving to be therapy. i wonder if that happens to you too? i kind of had to lay low for a while just because it got to be too much. then somehow the timing is right and it comes back like an old friend :)  either way. i'm happy to be playing again. i'm keeping my fingers crossed i finish it before baby r comes *

oh & ps: Inspire Lovely is giving away a little mini spool of 10 yards of black & white bakers twine :) starting today, October 12 - 26, on all orders over $10.00. i LOVE free xoxo  happy october friends!

sweet & cozy days to you

xo

-d

birthday + baby shower + peace

september has flown by and here i am back to update you with a very long post.  i had high hopes for september, being my birthday month and all :) This month brought a quick inspiration trip to New York where Mr.Handsome and I celebrated my birthday on the 15th of September. ( happy birthday to you if you also celebrated a birthday this month!!!  Pictures in the form of a mini album to come :) 

And this past weekend my family and i celebrated a dual baby shower.  My little sister is also having a sweet baby ( a few weeks before me ) and we decided to celebrate both our babies together :)  I of course stayed true to my handmade gift lovin'.  The above picture is the pretty little tag i put together for my little cute niece :)

i hung up the blanket so you could see all the pretty colors in this baby blanket.

a few months ago i got started on over 200 granny squares :) i kind of killed my hands. but i was SO worried that i would develop arm trouble later on in my pregnancy so i got a head start and everything went wonderfully :) I made 3 blankets and still have over 75 squares to make a few more. yay for yarn love :) 

 

at the last minute i figured every little cutie needs a crochet bear hat right? i whipped this little one up in a few hours. i love quick projects :)

I figured it would be cute if the flower was actually a pin and could be pinned on baby coats or dresses and not just on the beanie. easy & adorable :) i actually want to wear this cutie !

then i did something very daring. I actually sewed something and made an article of clothing. Okay, i didn't make the onesie :) but i had sewn the little bird a few weeks back and had this ridiculous idea of putting it on a cute onesie for my little niece. So i did it. The cute applique sparrow fit perfectly in the center. I just added fabric glue to the back and glued it on the onesie. ta da :)  a cute little look for a cutie patootie. sweet! 

The baby shower brought a lot of cute outfits for baby rafael and lots and lots of food for me :)  I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly blessed for everything. Not just the gifts, the amount of work and effort by family and friends to help celebrate the two little ones on the way. xoxo  In an effort to be equally thankful and not delay in giving thanks to our guests I wanted to give everybody a thank you package from our little family. I made the little bags out of the glassine bags in the Inspire Lovely shop. Filled them up with Hersheys Hugs & Kisses chocolates + our favorite Almond Roca chocolates :) Sewed the package shut and then added a cute printed "R" thank you card I designed + a cute little picture of Rafael at 20 weeks in his first sonogram. My little cutie patootie was smiling :) xoxo  And a fun little puffy heart was sewn on top to keep all three things together. I might've stayed up to late ( past 2:30 AM ) just finishing up these little guys but it was worth it since everyone loved them. Of course, everyone loves chocolate *smiles* wink* wink*

and here we are today. after a quick doctor's visit to hear little r's rapid heart beat. xoxo

These past few weeks have been very hard emotionally since losing a beautiful soul dear to us. Mr.handsome's sweet grandmother passed away recently and now we are left reflecting on her life and all the lovely memories & holding dear to the footprints in our hearts she left. In this moment i was reflecting on little rafael never getting to meet her. It breaks my heart but even more I'm filled with regret as we visited her recently right before her passing and she was having a great day. I could feel little rafael kick and move as i held her hand. i regret not having pressed her hand on my belly for her to  feel little R move. I've cried over this so many times since then and even though i thought at the time it was so silly to do i really wish i had just done it. So here is to missing her, to finding peace in knowing she is resting and keeping all the beautiful memories in a special place in my heart for her. I can't wait to share them with little R xoxo

in her memory i decided to make my birthday flower arrangements and share them with her. She loved hydrangeas so mr.handsome bought me a few at the store. I added a touch of pink for a bit of lovely cheer. xo

and guess who wanted some photo love? this little one followed me home from the baby shower :) guess what the baby shower theme was? hehee.  I thought i'd add some whimsy to my little floral arrangement for added cheer.  i think grandma would've liked it. i hope it gives you a bit of peace and cheer too. xoxo  

xo

- d