It's the Month of Invitation Shopping Parties!

I have recently been invited to two different shopping parties - a CAbi party at my sister-in-law AG's house and a Stella & Dot party at my friend MF's house.  Both of these are the types of parties where you go to someone's house for cocktails, appetizers and shopping, and they sell things you can't find in stores.

Here are the two items I purchased at the CAbi show I went to:



I bought this top in a bigger size so I can wear
it as a beach cover-up.  I loved the flower detailing.



I'm picturing wearing this top with white pants in the
summer or with jeans in the spring.  And maybe I'll add a brown or
gold belt to give it shape. 

The Stella & Dot party is coming up in a couple of weeks.  Here are some of the pieces that I have my eye on.  Now I just have to patiently wait for the party date to arrive.....

Stella & Dot by insandouts on Polyvore.com

Great Bag for Spring!

I had this deep orange-colored J.McLaughlin "printed Aken tote" bag on my Christmas list and Santa came thru!  I think this is a perfect bag for anytime of year, especially spring, and mine even fits my laptop which makes it so versatile.  And I was just in a J.McLaughlin store a couple of weeks ago and saw they now have this bag in other fun patterns too!

Sunday Afternoon at the MFA

Friends of ours, ND and KC, have a membership to the Museum of Fine Art in Boston and they invited PRG and I to go to the MFA with them yesterday afternoon.  We had a great day together and I really liked the work by one artist in particular, Jim Lambie.  He works with colored electrical tape in playful patterns and designs and, in the below MFA installation, he used cut up painted furniture and glittery purses on a wall - so crazy that his patterns are made of tape.  Talk about an accent wall or floor!

What I saw yesterday at the Boston MFA

Here are some other Jim Lambie installations: 

From the MoMA, 2008

From the Tate London, 2003

Courtesy Anton Kern Gallery, 2003

Also courtesy of the Anton Kern Gallery, 2003.  

From the Mizuma Gallery, 2006

This is an image of a Gramercy apartment that belongs to Tim Nye of the Nyehaus Gallery

Loving Milly's Spring 2011 Collection

Milly's 2011 spring collection is full of navy mixed with orange/coral -- my favorite color combination!   Here is a sneak peek:

Navy/Orange by insandouts on Polyvore.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

My friend LW just sent me this e-card from Paperless Post - so cute!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  xo

Great Gifts - Recent Finds on Etsy

I discovered Etsy.com last year as I was browsing the web looking for custom stationary products and now I'm obsessed with it!  Here is a description about this site and, for all of you artisans out there, you might want to consider posting your handmade goods on this site too!

^{{From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia}:}Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads, wire, jewelry-making tools and much more. The vintage items on the site have only one rule to follow: they must be 20 years or older. These items range from old boots and ice skates, to dresses, hats and scarves. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee of $0.20. It has been compared to "a crafty cross between Amazon and eBay", and to "your grandma's basement".

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with every seller whom I've purchased from and here is a sampling of some of the various items I have bought from Etsy in the last few months.  I've made sure to note where you can get each item - happy shopping!

Devon Baer Designs:

Here are the starfish earrings I bought...
and you should check out all of Devon's
great tunics and belts.



Devon and I worked together to create this custom necklace I
wore on my wedding day.

MonkeySee Boutique:

Here are some of the monogrammed luggage tags I had made for some friends.

Anders Ruff Custom Designs:



I worked with Maureen from Anders Ruff to
create these thank you cards we put at each of
our wedding guests' seats.  I gave them the wording
I wanted and described the look I was going for and
in less than 24 hours they created these for us.




Here is a sample of the custom table name cards
Anders Ruff created for our wedding.  Each table name card
was the name of a different San Francisco neighborhood
since that's where PRG and I met.

RockPaperDove:

Here is a sample of the baby shower invitations
I purchased for my sister-in-laws baby shower.  And
they even made me sailboat envelope sealer stickers to match.


Say Your Piece:



Here is the custom ring dish we purchased from SayYourPiece
which our flower girls used to carry our wedding rings down
the aisle.  (I've whited-out our names above if you're wondering
why it looks a little funny.)

  
The Preppy Ladybug:



Here are the custom monogrammed note cards and address labels
Shannon at the Preppy Ladybug created for me which I used for all of my
bridal shower and bachelorette party thank you notes.

  KiddliwinkKreations:


Here's a sample of the sailboat ornament I gave
my sister and brother-law since their new baby boy
was born right around Christmas time. 



Loved this!

I went over to my brother-in-law (JG) and sister-in-law's (AG) house for dinner last night and I had to take a pic of AG's outfit because I loved the color combination she chose!  I thought you would like to check it out as well -- don't you just love the turquoise and fushia worn together?