happy spring and giveaway reminder

Spring has finally arrived here in Portland.  We had a full day of sunshine yesterday with temps in the 70's and  it looks like we might have more of the same today.   Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and renewal is in the air.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

If you haven't already, enter my giveaway for a $50 Shabby Apple gift card.  You have until mid-day tomorrow to enter.  I will announce the winner tomorrow evening.

Hope you have a beautiful day!  I snapped this picture yesterday while we were out walking the dogs.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." - Rachel Carson

McCall Point hike

We still haven't located our Paris film photos.  I'm holding out hope that they will turn up but honestly, we have pretty much searched the whole house.   I think that they most likely got thrown away by accident.  Such a bummer!  We have the worst luck with photos.  It all started about 9 years ago.  Ben and I had only been dating for a short time.  The two of us and a mutual friend flew from NC to California, rented a car and spent 5 weeks touring/backpacking/camping/hiking all around the west coast, Nevada, and Idaho.  We visited 10 or 12 different national parks and saw so many cool things!  We took lots of photos as we went and every few days we uploaded the photos onto Ben's laptop.  Once we got home, Ben decided to transfer all of the photos from his laptop onto a PC.  Somehow in that process, every single photo got deleted.  It was terrible!  He tried very diligently to recover them, but they were gone.  We ended up not having one single photo from the trip.  We've had other mishaps along the way, including my camera malfunctioning at my wedding and our "photographer" making errors that resulted in lots of blurry pictures. Now this - our lovely images of our Paris honeymoon captured on film - gone.   Boooooo!

I will stop whining now.  I'm very thankful that we still have so many digital photographs of the trip to enjoy and cherish.  

Here are some photos from a hike we went on this past weekend (McCall Point hike in the Columbia River Gorge).  If you follow me  on instagram, you have seen most of these already.

Looking high and low

I finally got around to hanging up some frames today on one of our blank living room walls.  I have been thinking about doing this for quite some time and started collecting frames a few months ago.  I could still use a few more nice, ornamental frames, but I think the project is off to a good start.  I found this guide on Pinterest, which was really helpful.  I ended up going with #4, Line Up.  I really, really like the way it turned out.

Found on Pinterest, originally from LiveLoveDIY

Unfortunately, this whole process led me to a (potentially) terrible discovery.  Our "real" (from film) photos from our Paris honeymoon are missing.  ACK!!!!  Once we got all of the frames up on the wall, I started filling them with pictures I had picked out.  Like I said, I've been thinking about this photo wall for a while now, and I had some photos in mind that I knew I wanted to put up.  I also ordered a print from Etsy to include.  As I was doing this, I asked Ben to hand me our Paris photos.  He didn't see them on the bookshelf, so I went to grab them.  I was sure he had just overlooked them.  Nope, not there.  We are talking 10-12 packs of photos with the negatives.  Not a super small thing that would easily be misplaced.  We went through the entire bookshelf, taking every single book out, looking behind, on top of, underneath - no pictures.  We then proceeded to search the entire house.  Still no luck.  We'll look again tomorrow.  Fingers and toes crossed that they turn up.  I have this distant memory of me telling Ben "I'm going to stick these pictures _______, so don't let me forgot where they are".  I don't know if that actually happened or if I'm imagining it though.  It feels like I'm going to remember where they are any second now.....  I hate this feeling!  It's driving me crazy.  It's like when you can't remember someone's name, but it's on the tip of your tongue.  I'm so glad we have a lot of digital photos from the trip.  Still though, there is something really special about the film photos and I will be sad if we can't find them.    


Here is an outfit from a few days ago.  It doesn't feel like spring yet, but it also doesn't really feel like winter anymore.

Jacket:  J. Crew
Top:  Anthropologie Deeply Rooted Henly
Skirt:  Anthropologie
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Anthropologie Bouquet-of-Roses shoes
Necklace:  RedEnvelope
Bracelets:  Antrhopologie


Just for fun, here I am with one of the chicks!  Can you tell I don't really like to hold them?  It makes me nervous when they start flapping their wings.  They are getting feisty!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $50 Shabby Apple gift card!!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!

***GIVEAWAY IS NO LONGER OPEN***

In honor of spring (even though it doesn't quite feel like spring yet), I am excited to extend a Shabby Apple giveaway to the fabulous readers of Lovely Apidae!

Here are a few of my favorite Shabby Apple items that would be perfect for spring/summer.

Alice

Love the color and love the lace!  

  

Lemon Drop Skirt

Yellow + polka dots?  Yes, please!

Sea Breeze

This looks like the perfect dress for a lazy summer day.

To enter to win a $50 gift card from Shabby Apple:

1)  Like Shabby Apple on facebook (here)

2)  Be a follower of Lovely Apidae either through gfc or bloglovin

3)  Leave a comment letting us know what your favorite Shabby Apple item is

Open to US residents only, unfortunately.

Winner will be announced on April 1st, 2013.

*For 10% off any Shabby Apple order*
Enter code:  lovelyapidae10off

Sugar and Cream

Happy Sunday!  This is an outfit from Friday night.  Ben had to work out of town last week, so we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate his return.  Last week was a busy one.  It felt good to put on a dress and my new favorite shoes to start the weekend off right:)

We spent yesterday moving the chicks outside to their coop (finally!) and cleaning/rearranging our living room.  It's funny how different the room feels now, after rearranging everything.  It feels new and fresh!  I'm inspired to work on the house more.  I'm thinking about buying the Young House Love book.  Do any of you have it?  Is it good?  I really like their lamps, especially the wire globe lantern.

Dress:  Anthropologie Sugar and Cream Dress
Cardigan:  J.  Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Anthropologie Olivia Cutout Oxfords

Spring Wishlist (Chie Mihara and Anthropologie)

Although we still have a lot more winter to make it through here in Portland, I have spring on my mind!  I am ready for sun dresses and bright colors:)

Ped Shoes finally got their spring/summer  Chie Mihara's in!  So many beautiful shoes.......

Chie Mihara Obara

Chie Mihara Ibor

Chie Mihara Isias

I really like the purple color scheme that Ped is offering, but I like these even better:

I die.  How perfect are these?  Not sure if any US retailers are carrying the navy version, but they are available from the Chie Mihara  website. 

*Stepping away from the shoes*

Chessia Dress from Anthropologie

This is at the top of my anthropologie wishlist.  I haven't tried it on yet, but I have high hopes:)  One of the reviews mentions an awkward fit in the back.  Fingers crossed that that was an isolated occurrence.  I really like the red shoes with it.  

Lace Yoke Dress from Anthropologie

Mint + Lace!  What's not to love?  The reviews are great too.  This looks promising!

Novelty Collar Tee from Anthropologie

This seems like a great basic.  I think this is my favorite version (look at the collar up close!), though I also like the green version (the one with butterflies).  

Colorblock Pointelle Cardigan from Anthropologie

Love the colors and the texture.

Chick Update!

You guys, these chicks are growing SO FAST.  They went outside for the first time a few days ago and absolutely loved it!  We set up a little pin for them and they happily pecked away at the dirt and plants for hours.

 This is what happened in less than 3 weeks:

Aren't these 3 little chicken butts the cutest thing ever?

In another few weeks, they should be ready to move into their new coop.  They've been fun to have in the house, but I'm looking forward to them moving outside.  They are messy and sometimes loud, but so entertaining and delightful to watch!

Candy Apple

Here is a quick OOTD from last week.  I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so I came home from work early.  I am in my PJ's and ready for dumb movies, ginger ale, and most likely a long nap!

This is my all-time favorite essie nail polish, mint candy apple.

Please ignore our "camouflaged" house!  It is in the process of being painted.

Top:  Anthropologie
Pants:  AG Stevie Cords via Anthropologie
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

Mad Men Party!!!

Ben and I attended a Mad Men themed dress-up part last night.  It was so much fun!  I had a blast going shopping for my outfit and meeting up with my girlfriends the night before so that we could strategize about what to wear.  The party itself was just perfect - great food, great drinks, great company, and so many beautiful dresses!

When shopping for my dress, I initially passed right by this one.  When the other dresses I tried on didn't really wow me, I went back through the rack and this print caught my attention.  It looked quite frumpy on the hanger, especially because it had a huge white collar sewn on the neckline (front and back), but I decided to try it on anyways.  The shop owner, Alex Sandra, took one look and knew that it had so much potential underneath that collar.  With the collar tucked in and out of sight, I fell in love with the dress!  Once I got it home, removing the collar was a breeze.  

Dress, Hat, and Purse:  Vintage via Alex Sandra's Vintage Emporium
Gloves:  These gloves also came from Alex Sandra's, though I bought them a couple of years ago for my wedding.
Necklace:  Vintage (gift from Ben)
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Teco

It wouldn't be a Mad Men party without tons of booze!

Yes,  that's a chocolate fountain!