Lily Jane

Locket Roundup

Hello, my dears!  How was your Thanksgiving?  Did you have plenty of delicious turkey and treats?  We  were able to spend time with family for a good portion of the weekend.  Much playing and eating was done as well as much snowing!  We are buried in a mountain of snow today making it the perfect time to pull out the Christmas decorations and start thinking about gifts to give (and get). 

This year I've asked my husband for a locket.  I've been wanting one to put Lily's picture in since before she passed but I just haven't found the perfect one yet.  I suppose I'm pretty picky about this decision which is why he's asked me to be the one to pick it out.  Here are some of my favorite lockets that I've found while searching for the perfect one.

{vintage half heart lockets, $28; heirloom octagonal locket, $495; no worries locket, $275; 1890s Vulcanite locket, $165; huge vintage locket, $40; moroccan locket, $24; trois petits points lockets, $88; color study II locket, $54}

Lockets are such a lovely way to accessorize, whether you're keeping a picture of a loved one inside them or not.  You could also put a little love note inside or a tiny memento.  My favorite so far are the trois petits lockets above (and their tiny counterparts!), but I'm still on the lookout. 

Do you know of any great places to find lockets?  Have you seen any you love?

The Whole Story

Nearly six years ago I said my "I do's" and married my love.  It was beautiful and lovely (albeit a bit rainy) and we made sure to hire a photographer so we would have plenty of photos to look at in the years to come.  To show our children and our grandchildren.  You know, a keepsake for generations. 

Sadly, though, I have to confess something: those photos are sitting in a box somewhere.  And I'm not even sure where somewhere is exactly...  I still haven't found the perfect book for them and I don't want to put them in just any old album.  And so they've been confined to the box until I find just the right spot for them.  I'm thinking these books by Debra Folz would definitely do such a momentous occasion justice. 

Thanks to a reinforced cover, they stand on a corner.  They also have removable binding which allows the photos to be viewed in one continuous spread, just like a story, frame by frame.  Aren't they beautiful and unique?  If you had to pick one event to display differently than all the others, what would you choose?

{images via debra folz via happiness is}

Optimistic Tumblers

I like to think of myself as an optimist in training.  When things get crazy (like yesterday, when I spent half an hour at the airport before calling family and realizing they were still in hawaii...and their flight doesn't get back until the following day...) I usually get all stressed out right away and then...after a few minutes...step back and think, "hey, something good can come of this" (like getting to use their car for another day).  So when I saw these tumblers by Shanna Murray and Pigeon Toe Ceramics I, naturally, loved them. 

I think they'd help me remember to be optimistic.  Who wouldn't be happy sipping something hot from one of these beauties?  They're all sold out right now, but if you love them you can email Lisa at Pigeon Toe Ceramics to be notified when they're back in stock. 

Are you a glass-half full or glass-half empty kind of person?  What tricks do you use to help stay on the brighter side of life?

{images via shanna murray}

For the Children: Cozy Knits

Good morning, my dears.  Happy Monday!  It's the beginning of Thanksgiving week and I'm starting to get excited for Thursday and all the events that surround it.  Thanksgiving is an innately cozy holiday, but to make it even cozier we were covered in a thick blanket of snow over the weekend.   

Snuggling up and spending time close to one another is even more lovely to think about when the world is white outside.  How is the weather where you are?  Have crisper temperatures set in?  Can you smell fall in the air?  Or has winter already seemed to settle in to stay?

I'd love to have some of the beautiful projects in this MillaMia book, The Close Knit Gang, to wear right about now.  Or to give to friends because all the projects are for children (though adorable enough to covet for yourself). 

Other exciting news from over the weekend: the planners are at the printers!  I'm running a little bit behind this year, but as soon as they're back from the printers they'll be listed in the shop and available for purchase!  I love the color palette for this year and can't wait for you to see them.

{images by me and via millamia}

Roundup: Chess Sets

Growing up I spent a portion of each summer in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin visiting my dad.  With any luck, my half-brother (who is 20 years my senior and served as a father figure, too) would also be there.  It seemed that wherever I went during those summers there was always a chess board.  And my brother loved to play (plus, my sister and I liked to pretend we were experts) so chess games were constantly evolving. 

I wish I could say I'm an expert now but I'm afraid my love for the game developed faster than my skill.  For me, chess has become a game of nostalgia and cozy family time.  Happily, there are many beautiful set designs available now for the day I decide to add one to my own living room.

{Handcrafted Royal Chess Set, $70; Wobble Chess Set, $250; House of Hauteville Chess Set, $230; Lanier Graham Chess Set, $65; Bahaus Chess Set, $360; Xian Terracotta Chess Set, $54; Arthurt Elliott Modern Staunton Chess Set}

What games do you play with your family?  Do you have happy or funny memories of playing together?

Photographer: Daniel Bernauer

Some gorgeous film photography by Daniel Bernauer.  I love the mailboxes.  Someday I secretly hope to live somewhere where such mailboxes are required and there are acres and acres of land around.

{images via daniel bernauer via 1983}

New at the Shop: Baby's Breath Stationery

Good morning, my dears!  How was your weekend?  Mine was wonderful.  Learning to give eye drops to a three year old was a little bit stressful at first, but thankfully we've got it all figured out now (thanks to spur-of-the-moment stories he actually enjoys it now...go figure) and we're back to normal again.  We were able to spend a lot of time just doing things together, which is always nice.

Plus, I went through all the photos on my computer and organized them.  There were so many!  I find that we have more digital files of photos than actual printed ones these days.  Is it the same for you, too?  I was forced to clean them out to make room for new photos of stationery for the shop.

The Baby's Breath stationery is one of my favorites.  I started designing it a few months ago with a friend's expected baby girl in mind.  She'd been recently diagnosed with a condition similar to, but more severe than, my Lily's.  As I was thinking about it I sat down to draw, which led to my sketching this spray of baby's breath.  It's name, fragility and delicate nature just seemed perfect for such a precious baby girl.  Lastly, as I was adding color, I decided to go with a blushing pink for the blossoms instead of the standard white because pink is the color of life.  

For the Children: Robert Ingpen

After some suspicions starting yesterday afternoon, today my boy and I are officially quarantined with (his case of) pink eye.  In both eyes, of course.  If we're going to do it we may as well do it all the way, right?  Luckily, it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all and it's already starting to clear up thanks to a quick trip to the pharmacy last night.  While I was waiting for the prescription to be filled I took the opportunity of looking through the store's book section.  It isn't often that I get to do this on my own and I was able to find these gorgeous harcover classics, illustrated by Robert Ingpen. 

He's illustrated Peter Pan & Wendy, Treasure Island, The Night Before Christmas, Tom Sawyer and A Christmas Carol, just to name a few.  I want all of them, but most especially Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The illustrations are really out of this world.  

We always try to buy Brady a book for Christmas and it's already one of his favorite gifts to receive.  Do you give books for Christmas?  What books do you have on your radar this year?

"You're My Favorite" Game Night + Printable Invitations

For Friday's birthday party I wanted to do something that was really simple and casual.  But I still needed to have some type of theme; I feel that they help party plans come together more easily and cohesively.  I decided to have the invitations say, "since he's our favorite, we're throwing him a party" and go from there.  He loves to play games, so we did a game night.  The menu was a compilation of some his favorite foods: Philly cheesesteaks, root beer, artichoke dip and brownies.

A gathering of favorites equals a guaranteed good time.  Added bonus: it was low maintenance.  I love how easily and quickly game nights can be thrown together.  I put together this fill-in variation of our invitations for you to print out and use for your next get together.  Grab a couple of your favorite drinks, some finger foods and pass these out to your neighbors or friends.  Then let the good times begin!

Baking Day: German Chocolate Cake

When it comes to birthdays I am a die-hard fan of the birthday cake.  It's tradition and we have to make one from scratch for every birthday (they're so good).  My husband, Craig, is a big fan of coconut so when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted this year I wasn't at all surprised when he said German Chocolate Cake.  After the craziest Tuesday, and a Wednesday that took a close second, I finally was able to finish his cake on Thursday, two days after his birthday.  So sad, right?  I felt awful.  Thankfully, it was worth the wait. 

We tried this version from the Bridge Street Bakery in Vermont.  Instead of three layers I opted for two just to make things a little bit simpler.  I think it still has a stunning presentation.

Here's an interesting bit of information about German Chocolate Cake: it's not actually German.  In 1852 an employee of Baker's Chocolate Company, Sam German, created a new type of dark baking chocolate.  The company named the chocolate "German's Sweet Chocolate" in his honor.  Then, in 1957, a Texan housewife sent the recipe for a chocolate cake she had made using this chocolate in to a local newspaper, calling it "German's Chocolate Cake."  It was an instant success.  Since then, the possessive has been dropped but it's still a popular recipe today.

It's really rich and decadent and Craig loved it.  I think it'll be on the menu again next November.  Personally, I always choose carrot cake for my birthdays.  What's your favorite?