The 60/40

missed connections.

Sometimes I like to read Missed Connections on Craigslist late at night. Usually those from New York City; alot of them are well spoken and read like a dream. Sometimes I get lost in them and find myself making up little stories about who these people are, what they do, what drew them to the other person.

Well tonite; admist all the snow up north; these caught my eye all the way from New York City.

McCarren park Snowball fight wednesday - m4w - 28

"my group of friends picked a snowball fight with your group of friends at mccarren park on wednesday late afternoon. we were each other's favorite targets. the whole 2nd grade "pick on the one you like most" thing was in effect. you told me i left a few bruises on your legs and said i was a worthy Adversary. i was wearing a black coat and black pants, brown hat and have long blond hair. You had a Blue coat and black pants i believe... i should have asked for your number or at the least asked where you and your friends were going to catch a beer. hopefully you'll read this and make up for my infraction"

via sophie blackball

Followed by this:

Snow Ball Fight at McCarren Park! - w4m (Williamsburg)

"Dark haired girl in red cap and brown coat seeks bearded (redhead??) cutie with glasses. Our separate groups of friends started an impromptu snow ball fight with each other at McCarren Park around 6pm. You have terrible aim and cannot really make a proper snow angel but I found you adorable. Please write!"

via sohpie blackball

What are the odds? My stomach was literally in knots for them. Does Blondie have a beard? Or does he have a redheaded, Bearded friend? Will he read Red Hat girl's post and tell his Bearded buddy? Will his Bearded pal then go out with Red Hat girl and ask about Blue coat (he owes Blondie after all)? Will Blondie and Blue coat meet and fall in love and get married at McCarren Park on a snowy afternoon?

What if no one reads it at all? Do you ever consider the possibility that someone was longing to talk to you and you walked right past them? What if you never noticed the love of your life?

I know opening my eyes and looking around at the people staring back at me was one of the best decisions I ever made. It brought me to my husband; it showed me love. What's your take on fate?

via sophie blackball

*le sigh* I'm such a romantic. I didn't mean to get all sappy on you. I hope you enjoyed the illustrations too; Sophie Blackball draws Missed Connections and sells them in her Etsy shop. I think they'd make a great last minute Valentine's Day present. xo.

worth every minute.

It's fair to say I spend a little too much time reading blogs I love. Then one blog leads to another, which leads to a great Etsy shop, which leads to another blog, which leads....I think you get it.

Well now there's Blog it Forward. When I first saw it on Victoria's blog (one of my faves) I was a) bummed I didn't get in on the gig and then b) adamant about staying away! Ok, that didn't last at all. It's the first day of 300 bloggers writing about what inspires them, then directing the reader to another blog.

via smile and wave

Needless to say, this is going to be worth every minute. I really hope to get in on it next time, but I think I'll be thoroughly satiated with pretty things to look at until then. Just look at what I found today!

I must have this and some snow to go with it.

via allencompanyinc

via heart fish

Be *still* my heart. This photo takes my breath away.

via ink on my fingers

Oh what's that, you're sending me one of these for Valentine's day? You're so sweet!

via the vamoose

via little paper planes

See what I'm saying? This is going be one stellar treasure hunt (and/or money thief). Want to join me in spending an exorbitant amount of time on these blogs over the next month?

I'm now off to brainstorm some awesome changes the blog and finish up a few projects. Have a great day!

chirp.chirp.

I know these things to be true: 1. I am not a morning person. 2. I loathe waking to an alarm clock. 3. I don't utilize iPhone applications nearly enough. But a gal learn, right?

Today I saw BirdBox featured on Design*Sponge and knew that it was a much better alternative than the horrible honking of the alarm I currently use. The application is free, but you can also buy this adorable little birdbox to house your iPhone and wake you with pretty little chirps in the morning.

via design*sponge

It comes in faux bois? Yes, please! I think this may find it's way to my nightstand. What sort of alarm do you use?

last minute love.

Valentine's day is this Sunday, have you made anything for your sweetheart yet? I have, but it's under wraps until next week; I hate spoiling suprises. Try some of these quick (and wallet friendly) projects that will make your love smile.

I made these fortune cookies a few years ago and wrote on each slip the things I most appreciated about Josh.

via martha stewart

I *love* this robot. Love him.

via whip up

I can see this little sweetie filled with lavendar for a sweet friend.

via the creative place

Who doesn't want a heart shaped cloth? I do!

via boogie socks : pattern via ravelry

I think this is quite possibly the cutest idea ever

via lucy kate crafts

Tuck in a sweet little Valentine.

via little miso

And serve your treats with a scrumptious breakfast.

via martha stewart

All of these red and pink pretty lovlies are making me so festive! I want to see what you're making for Valentines day; do tell.

come on down.

Guess what? I couldn't wait until morning to find out who's the winner of the have a little heart giveaway. With all of the following, commenting, etc; we had a total of twenty entries! Reading your comments was so much fun (and appetizing). Be sure to send your husbands and boyfriends over here so they have a Valentine's day hint.

Before we get to the winner I wanted to share my favorite flower/chocolate combo too. I'm quite a flower lover, peony and hydrangea top my list, but for Valentine's day I love Dahlias. They're so versatile and even a single bloom can make a gal smile.

This 'aurora kiss' dahlia is my favorite.

via wikipedia

An 'appleblossom' dahlia. Doesn't it look like a watercolor painting?

via wikipedia

via wikipedia

And when it comes to chocolate, I'll ~~shove~~ eat aynthing from a Kit Kat to Godiva. But for special occasions my heart, and taste buds, always goes home. Enter Sarris Candies, the best chocolate in the world, made with love in my hometown of Pittsburgh. The chocolate covered pretzels are probably my favorite, but any of their yumminess is fine by me! They ship from online, so check them out.

Ok, ok I know you're dying to know who won and I'm sure that our winner actually knows a thing or two about Sarris'. Random.org selected #8, which is Katie of 24/7 365!!! I had no clue Katie was reading my musings until her sweet little comment popped up as the winner.

She said:

Roxanne! I love this site and I am happy to become a follower. You are so darn cute and creative. I am excited for this Valentine's day as it will be Brice and I's first and it's wonderful to have a Valentine's day with the man I truly love and who truly loves me. I finally know what it means to love unconditionally and to receive the same in return :) As for flowers I LOVE pink roses. love love love pink roses. Candies, well I am not picky. The cutest thing Brice did was when I was on homecoming court he got me buckeyes since I am a buckeye at heart now :) so pink roses and buckeyes are perfection for me :)

See, Katie and I went to college together in Ohio and at one point dated guys who were in the same fraternity. To further the oddity, we both grew up in Pittsburgh. Imagine my suprise when I saw her entering my little contest!

Congrats Katie; I hope this year is the best ever for you. I'll get ahold of you and send 'Sweets' in the mail just in time for Valentine's day!

Happy early Valentine's day to everyone else and thanks for entering! I look forward to another contest very, very soon. See you tomorrow; xo.

inspiring work.

So, I've decided to share some super fun news with you all. My friend Angela is a photographer and often works from her home office. She claims the space is "horrible", but it really isn't. She's asked me to organize it for her and give it some style!

Little does Angela know I covet doing things like this for friends. I was always the girl that friends called over to help rearrange their rooms. But this is different; Angela has an actual budget and keeps telling me how "flexible" she is. The space is charming, big and gets awesome natural light.

I'm going to post a little inspiration board here for her to gander over so we can discuss some ideas when we see each other. I'd love to hear what you all want in a home office space; do you like open shelving? Or tons of closed furniture so you can throw everything in there and close the door?

1. office, 2. My new office, 3. modern-home office- photos, 4. office, 5. South Hall Office, 6. Pauline working, 7. More office, 8. The Finished Patterned Vase, 9. My Studio, 10. My office, 11. trading spaces, 12. The Shipping Center in My Studio, 13. New Home Office, 14. the office, 15. living room shelves, 16. my office, 17. Office Makeover - After, 18. my home office, 19. Office & Yarn Room, 20. the office gets lots of light now, 21. my office

With her blessing; I'd love to keep you all updated on the progress of her space and show you the final product! Be sure to check out her blog too; she's amazingly talented.

make due on a monday.

When life throws you lemons you make lemonade, right? I think that's why I love this little D-I-Y by Amanda of Red Jet Whistle. She goofed and she knew it; but instead of getting bummed about it not being perfect, she improvised. And I think it turned out way cooler than her original plan.

all via red jet whistle

Isn't it fantastic? I'm brainstorming for a little project that I can't wait to share with you guys. Also be sure to enter the have a little heart giveaway; today is the last day! I'll stop taking comments after 5pm eastern and will have a winner on Tuesday!

Enjoy your Monday, xo.

super {bowl} sunday.

Did you pick up the clever play on my usual Sunday words? Of course you did. Today is probably the biggest day in Football in the NFL and I am pretty pumped to spend the day with Josh and friends. We're making some chili cheese dogs and chicken buffalo dip, yum.

via we heart it

I'm taking a {flea} day off, but I promise the {flea} next week you won't want to miss! And don't forget; tomorrow is the last day to enter the have a little heart giveaway! I can't wait to pick a winner!

Who are you rooting for today? I'm rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But Roxanne, I thought the Colts and Saints were playing? Sure they are, but in my world my hometown team (and biggest winning NFL team ever) would storm on the field and play the game anyway; kinda like superheros. Haha; see you tomorrow. xo

happy weekend.

Oh it is a beautiful Friday and what a happy weekend it will be. Did Old Man Winter unload on you? If so, know that I'm jealous and still willing to trade.

You should also know that there's still time to enter the 'have a little heart' giveaway. Be sure to enter by Monday for your chance to win a handcrafted little plush! Squee!

Now onto the weekend; what are your plans? I may play with this beautiful Three Irish Girls yarn I received in the mail today. It's fifty percent silk, fifty percent merino wool and entirely too scrumptious.

The color, Mirth, is heavenly too. Different shades of blue pop up everytime I glance at it. It really reminds me of Pantone's color of the year.

I'm also going to:

1. absolutely 100% no doubt about it finish my dang Mara Shawl! I'm so close.

2. Work on few more Valentine's suprises for some of my favorite people.

3. Craft a pretty cool tutorial to share with you next week.

4. Hang out with Josh; hopefully catch a movie and some dinner tonite.

5. Sunday we'll be heading to my friend Christy's house for the Superbowl. We're bringing Buffalo Chicken dip and some fixin's to make Chili Cheese Dogs for the big game! I can't wait for the laughs.

It's supposed to rain here this weekend, which I don't particularly care for, but it'll motivate me to stay inside and finish up some long overdue projects. See you Sunday for the {flea}; have a glorious weekend!

via we heart it

have a little heart giveaway.

Valentine's Day is approaching quite quickly and I love this little season of love. I've been crafting all sorts of cute little things to show my favorite people how much I love them. And guess what? I love you too!

To celebrate the month of love I'm giving away a custom little plush I made. I call her 'Sweets', she has a happy little smile, pretty eyelashes and a vintage doily bow.

On the back is a hand stitched vintage doily.

'Sweets' really makes me giggle. If you'd like the chance to win her, here's what you need to do:

Comment below by Monday February 8th, 2009. Let me know what your ideal Valentine's candy and flower combo is! (Cause I'm a sucker for flowers and candy). I'll choose a winner on Tuesday the 9th and mail 'Sweets' to you just in time for Valentine's day. You can cuddle her for yourself or give her to someone you love.

Want an 3 extra chances to win?

1. Follow The 60/40 for one additional entry. If you already follow, let me know.

2. Blog about my little give away on your site and leave me the link for two additional chances to win!

I've just started to really fall in love with my sewing machine, so I hope you all love this giveaway. I hope you have a Valentine's day filled with love and many happy things. xo

make room.

I've made an executive decision. When we move there must be room for a teepee/fort in our new place. Why? Because I want one. There's something whimsical about crawling into a cloth draped structure on the floor with a bunch of blankets and a good book. I think it'll be a good place to knit and relax too.

I want to give the design some thought. Do you have any ideas? But as usual I've found plenty of inspiration on we heart it. Enjoy! Today I'll be working on a little giveaway prize.

I love all of the old quilts!

Yes, yes, yes! This is a good excuse to buy more used books.

This is so peaceful.

all via we heart it

heaven on earth.

Something's Hiding in Here is one of my favorite Etsy shops; owners Shauna and Stephen are some insanely talented people. I stumbled across their Flickr photostream and pictures of their loft. You know what's about to be hiding in there? Me!

I'm not even green with envy of their space; I'm inspired. I can't even say anything half intelligent about what I think about their design asthetic or decor because I'm too busy drooling. Part of me does want to seriously stalk them. Is that bad? I don't think they would mind if I showed up with muffins or something yummy. "Hey Shauna, hey Stephen...uh, we've never met but I'm gonna need to spend the night, ok?" Can you tell how crazy I've gone over their space? They've inspired me to look for our own unique space for our big move. I'll let their loft speak for itself and attempt some written verse that can do the photos justice.

Um, hello there globe collection; those shelves are mighty pretty too (and built by them).

Do you think I could add a glass top like this to my Army box? I may try. I can't get over the color of their floors either.

Who doesn't want a swing in their house? Their bold color choices really make me smile; I bet it's hard to get upset or angry in their house. I also love the dresser, it's painted navy in other photos, but the bare wood is so refreshing. Is it just me or does it look like some of the drawer fronts are stained slightly darker?

It never ceases to amaze me what people do with everyday items like concrete blocks and clipboards.

Their now infamous fawn headboard. I wish I had the ability to mix and match sheets like this too. When I do it always looks like I was just lazy.

Painted wood floor, I want to hear your opinion on this. What do you think?

all photos via something's hiding in here

This is their bathroom. Their bathroom. Who has faux bois in their bathroom? They did a tutorial for this in ReadyMade magazine and I can't find it anywhere. I loooove me some faux bois.

There is one more thing and if you don't click the play button below, you'll always wonder why you didn't. Shauna and Stephen's home was featured on Etsy's series There's No Place Like Here. Here's why you must watch this video. Number one, it'll be four of the best minutes ever. Number two, you'll know why I love their home so much. These photos are gorgeous, but they're decor shots. In the video you get a sense of the grandness and composition of the space. The light seriously blows me away.

I'm a sucker for old homes and unique spaces, but what really draws me in is the way the rooms are set up and how the owner uses the space to create flow. For such an open floor plan, their home feels like a cozy cottage. I want to sit on their swing, sip tea and watch the sun come through those huge windows and scatter across the honey floors (sooo...see you two next week?).

I really hope you enjoy the video and post as much as I have. I've seriously watched it once a day since I discovered it. PS. Can you believe they're renters?

monday funk.

That would make a great name for a jazz band, don't you think? Instead it describes my day. I don't know what it is (perhaps it was yesterdays uplifting post jinxing me), but today was utter crap. Ok not utter crap; I have many blessings like food, shelter, not living in an earthquake rocked country, the ability to marry the person I love, and I'm very grateful. But you know what I mean, right? Funkiness is abundant.

This is symbolic of the funkiness raining on my parade.

via we heart it

I'm going to step away from this post before I keep going. Josh is 'being creative' in the kitchen tonite (his word, not mine. I'm a little scared) and I have my giant project notebook and my shawl sitting in front of me.

Tomorrow will be a fantastic day because I have two awesome projects to start, two more to complete and a super fun post for you. There will be a giveaway later in the week too!

Brighten my day with a funny story or something, will ya? Here's some pretty inspiration to make you smile (who am I kidding, the pics are for me). xo.