NEW BLOG IS UP AND RUNNING

Exciting news! The new blog, Simple Street, is up and running full swing. I'll be making a few adjustments here and there so if you see me in there moving things around, don't fret. Just keep reading :)

I am SO excited to finally be making the switch. Thank god I love a simple design because it didn't take too long to create the site.

Happy blogging and hope to see everyone over on the new site!

PHOTO CRED: awesome phone

• Stick to Basics •

Wow, this has been a crazy week! I have a deadline set to launch my new blog, Simple Street, by December 1st. I'll talk about all of the same stuff as I do on this blog, only better! Ha, well I have to convince you somehow, right? Keep an eye out for the updates on my Twitter. Does anybody else wish they had a computer that would only let me go to one website at a time? Just me? Okay. I constantly find myself sneaking over to that dang tweet palace looking at updates. I think it's just a procrastination technique that I like to use during my busiest times.

Anywho, the point of this post was to gather inspiration for our bedroom. I am so wishy-washy on design. One day I like big bold colors, other days I don't like color at all, it's so random. So, I have wanted to change up the bedroom, but am afraid that I will, again, change my mind in a couple months. Enter pinterest... I scanned through my bedrooms board and noticed a trend. Do you see it?

 1 • 2 • 3

4 • 5 • 6

DIY Yarn Ornaments

Even the least craftiest of people can do this project. Alls you need is:

• a hot glue gun (but not too hot... I learnt my lesson)
• some yarn, preferrably thicker so that it doesn't take as long and so you don't burn your fingers (again, learnt my lesson)
• scissors, sharp ones. not your old 99¢ pair from 10 years back. you need some good fabric ones so you don't fray the yarn, because that's no good
• some ornaments you aren't too fond of. i bought mine last year for 50¢ from Walmart at the end of the season. they don't need to be pretty, you're about to cover them up. and if you're cheap like me, you might have to buy some ornament hooks because the cheap-o ornaments you just bought don't come with them, fyi.
• a pair of hands

So, directions are pretty basic as you can see from the pictures. 

First, glue around the top. I found this was easiest than to start at the bottom or, god-forbid, in the middle.

Then, just keep wrapping & glueing, wrapping & glueing, wrapping & glueing, you get the idea.

When you get to the end, you are going to need to make your circle very small and tight so that your yarn doesn't stick out. Just put a big dab of hot glue on the bottom and pat your yarn down onto the glue. Cut at the end, as close as you can get to the glue and VOILA, you're done!

I got really fancy and made a striped one. 

Cookie Collaboration

This is a brilliant collaboration, a cookie collaboration. Two greats, Shimtokk (designers) and Not Without Salt (cookie maker/blogger), create packaging for Ashley's "random acts of cookies". Man, I need a friend who does random acts of cookies. Where can I find one?

Check out Shimtokk's post here. You can visit Ashley's blog Not Without Salt here for more delicious recipes.

Links: Photo

The Vintage Bazaar

Meet Katherine Raz and Libby Alexander, owners of The Vintage Bazaar. TVB (yeah, I'm cool) is a pretty neat idea that started back in late 2009. These two vintage furniture obsessed created flea market pop-up shops around the Chicagoland area where they could bring all of their own finds from estate sales, garage sales, craigslist, etc.

Everything seems to be fairly priced and from the photo below there seem to be a LOT of great items available. I'm bummed that I won't be around this weekend to go to the holiday pop-up shop! If you will be in the area, don't miss it!

Oh, and they blog over here.

Links: Images

A Me-Time Weekend

I had a pretty successful weekend. I was able to relax and focus on things that I want to spend more time doing, like sewing. I made some winter-ish pillow covers for the couch, watched christmas movies (Home Alone, Elf, Scrooged... the classics), drank coffee, and put up our tree, but no ornaments, yet. We will be gone for the next couple of weekends, so I figured we may as well put the tree up now and enjoy it!

Did you do any fun projects this weekend? I already have some lined up the next upcoming weekends when I have some free time!

Happy Monday.

And the Winner is.....

The winner of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card is.... Kerri Holden!!

Kerri, please email me: me@amandagenther.com so I can get all of your info and send you your much deserved card!!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope to have more giveaways in the future, because that was so fun!

Links: Congrats Photo

This Weekend

So, after looking at my bank account and noticing the large lump of money that was taken out this month for our monthly dues to our gym, I decided I may as well go to the gym even if it kills me. I know there were like a million other things that I could have been doing, but I can't keep making excuses!

Anyways, for the rest of the weekend, I will be cleaning up the mess that I created last night when I decided to rearrange furniture to make room for the early christmas tree.

The dining room is now on the other side of the apartment next to the windows. I love it so much, I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!

The "office" is now where the dining room used to be, next to the kitchen (that might be an issue in the future). I have a HUGE mess to clean up and lots of throwing away/organizing to do! It's gonna be a long weekend, but a much needed weekend so I can make the space a little more motivational for work!

Have a wonderful weekend! Oh, and don't forget, my giveaway ends tomorrow at 12 pm (CST).

Products: Judy Kaufmann Cases

I have been a big fan of Judy Kaufmann's work admiring her unique look on everyday sights that she turns into amazing illustrations. The one thing I didn't know is that she sells her illustrations as iPhone cases. I've already picked the one I am getting!

She also sells iPad, MacBook, and iPod cases, along with prints and clothing. Personally, they are all amazing to me.

Link: Judy Kaufmann Gallery - Society 6

For Dolls Only

These are the cutest little sets of furniture I have ever seen. The shop owner, Kelley Quinn, found these little gems at an estate sale of an 85 year old woman. The previous owner believes she has had them since she was 10 years old. Well, I believe her. Plus, they were made by her own father using salvaged woods.

See the rest of her goodies here. 

Mid-Century Love

So, exciting day over here at the Genther household. Freelance is really taking off for me, first giveaway on the blog started yesterday, and we got our wedding pictures in the mail yesterday. I am in the middle of editing them, but hope to have them up on the blog by early next week. Oh, and got pre-approved for a house last week, even though we don't plan on buying until middle of next year...but still exciting stuff!

Anyways, I rounded up some of my favorite Mid-Century interior design photos. Soon, I'll have to start collecting these photos when I start to research for our new home!

Top photo, bottom left, bottom right.

Left photo, right photo.

Don't forget... Giveaway ends on Sunday at 12 pm (CST). You can find out how to enter here. 

GIVEAWAY!!!

Well, I promised a giveaway in honor of my 100th post. So, how abouts we give someone special a little, or lots of cups of cheer! Today, we have up for grabs a $25 gift card for Starbucks, who by the way, has their holiday cups out! [insert Happy Dance]

Here's how to win:

1. Follow me on Twitter

2. Retweet the giveaway on Twitter:
RT @amandagenther GIVEAWAY on the blog. Win a starbucks gift card for showing me some love! http://bit.ly/vVfm7l

3. Like my page on Facebook

4. Follow my blog

You get 1 point for everything that you do above (ex: 1 point for following me on twitter, 2 points for liking me on facebook AND following my blog). You can have a total of 4 points! 

Understand? Good! Now just leave a comment below telling me what you did so I know how many times to enter you into the giveaway!

Giveaway will end Sunday, November 6 at 12 pm CST. Winner will be announced here on Monday, November 7 so make sure you check back to see if you won! Gift card will be emailed to the email address of your choice (because I hate buying stamps)! 

Well, that's all folks! See you back here soon!

Link: Starbucks

Graphic Floors

Welp folks, this is the 100th post for my blog. Which means that I will be doing a giveaway this week! Stay tuned.

In other news, here are some awesome graphic floors. Floors are a hard thing to take risks with, but these home owners sure had some guts!

images found here, here, here & here

that time already... or too soon?

If you are anything like me (crazy), you want to listen to 'have yourself a merry little christmas' while hanging the lights around the fireplace TODAY! I know... it may be a little too soon, so I had to make myself a rule. No holiday music or lights until November 1st. Well, sad to say, I broke both of those rules this year.

In my defense, the lights were in my way, so I figured the best way to get them out of the way was to hang them up. The music, I have no excuse for. I manually typed 'alternative holiday music' into itunes and She & Him popped up. I bought it. No excuses.

I am in the middle of designing our holiday cards, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites from egg press. There is so much inspiration over there if you are DIYing your cards this year.

check out the rest of egg press's holiday collection here. 

geometry

left: CB2 turbine 20" pillow

right: Spira Jaffa Pink Swedish Cushion

dreaming

dreaming of our first home, with wooden floors. which should be somewhere in the near future.

image found here. 

Vintage Movie Posters

I know... I suck! I do have an excuse for my awful lack of posting, though. I'm a married woman now! Weird, yes, but it's wonderful. I can't wait to share photos with everyone. But, for now, here are some awesome vintage movie posters to look at (and very affordable if you're interested in buying). I'm going with The Breakfast Club print.

My Snuggie

a great hiding spot and some awesome wallpaper.

Restore that Wood

so, if you've been browsing through my pinterest boards, you probably have noticed my small (maybe not so small) obsession for restored wood furniture. here are a few of those beauties. 

DIY headboards: here and here

Middle Picture: here

DIY coffee tables: here and here

Just a Dream

just a little dream i had...

...maybe once the wedding has come and gone, it just might happen

image found here

She Wears: Fall

another fall post. i know, enough already. well, get over it, because this is my favorite time of the year, which means these are my favorite posts.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Made For Each Other: Starbucks + Dessert

Okay, so who else out there is obsessed with Starbuck's fall flavors? I know... a lot of people. I love them so much that I wanted to put together a new column. Made for each other. Because, these pairings WERE made for each other. Taking Starbuck's signature fall drinks, I found their dessert companion. 

caramel apple spice caramels
pumpkin spice latte cupcakes
chai tea latte smores

Planning a Fall Wedding

Since my wedding planning is quickly coming to a close, I figured I would share a few essentials for those of you out there who are also planning a fall wedding. Here are a few of my recommendations to pull off a solid fall-themed wedding.

mason jars; twine; kraft envelopes; hay bales; red 3' balloons; french lavender bundle

happy planning!

Vintage Romantic

Life, including pinterest, is scattered with vintage romantic lately. Good for me, because it's one of my favorite looks (there goes that word again). Soft pinks, lights grays, floral mixed with nature. In love. Here are some of my favorites that were floating around or I found:

top left: heather spriggs; top right: je suis un lapin; bottom: green wedding shoes

top: etsy shop; bottom left: etsy shop; bottom right: style me pretty

Boo to Me

i can not wait another 3 weeks to GET MARRIED! but i am a little selfish in my happiness. although i will love being married to my best friend, this whole wedding planning thing is just not for me. i have a  lot of hobbies and i mean A LOT of hobbies. but, somehow, wedding planning isn't one of things. at all. 3 weeks to go and it's crunch time. once the day comes, i will be able to breathe and focus more on things that i want to focus on. why are wedding planners so expensive? if you have the dough, i highly recommend hiring if you're anything like me.

for example, here is one thing that i would like to focus on. learning how to actually use my new camera.

photos taken by amanda

Graphic Design Crush

okay, so confession time. i am in love with this designer. i mean, absolutely in love. everything she does.... i want to do. and this is one of those moments where i am kicking myself in the ass because i should have thought of it first! they are from a design agency in Paris: ( Ma + Chr). check these babies out:

her web designs are absolutely brilliant:

all images can be found here.

gosh, they are gorgeous.

The Vintage Type

looking for a vintage typewriter? well, look no further. these Kasbah Mod typewriters are perfect. they come in a variety of colors and are so stinkin' cute. i gotta have one.

they are on fab.com's featured deals right now. get them on sale before they are gone. 

images via here.

2 Personalities

ahh, these two sheet sets from anthropologie just get my heart racing. i feel that i have 2 very different and distinct personalities at times. this is one of those times.

typeface sheet set
floral sheet set

ferm LIVING

i love, love, love the new ferm living autumn/winter line. it just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. the new line features bold, geometric pieces with a muted color palette. right up my alley.

there's lot more to browse on their website, so get to it!

Vintage Floral Treasures

i've rounded up a whole lotta vintage floral for everyone. i may or may not be obsessed with floral right now (even against the fiance's opinion). hope you enjoy. all links are posted below so you can go shopping!

shopping list:

vintage floral bike
vintage flower washi tape
cath kidston rose tea towels
vintage flower desk chair
rifle paper co. thank you card
rose vintage scarf
cath kidston floral fabric chairs
vintage floral nail design
cath kidston antique rose wallpaper

also: if you'd like to pin any of these, you can find them on my board here.

A Little Washi

so, I know everyone is in love with washi tape. i have been on the hunt for the perfect roll. But, who are we kidding, I'll probably end up buying like 10 rolls. so, once I came to that conclusion, i was on the hunt for some cute/affordable washi tape. here's what i rounded up. 

for all you creatives out there: there's a link at the bottom teaching you how to design your own washi tape in photoshop.

dots, lines, grids washi tape
romantic lace washi tape
colorful striped washi tape
black and white striped washi tape
solid colors washi tape

or if you are super creative and want to use washi tape on your blog (without sticking tape onto your computer) you can learn how to design your own washi tape. i'll be partaking on this little tutorial in the near future.

any more links out there for some awesome washi paper designs? share below.

Vintage Camera Bag

i am SO excited. my new camera bag should be arriving on Monday! that is the 12th, right? i sure hope so, because I can't wait any longer. if anyone else is in the market for a new camera bag, here are the deets:

Cosmos Vintage Brown Leather Camera Bag
14.5 x 4.5 x 9 inches
inside camera compartment can be removed to fit your laptop (super convenient)


best part: $49.99


you can find it here.

photos here

Watering Cans & Flowers

i'm a sucker for nice scarf. you can find a ton of cute ones here, along with other cute things. bri from designlovefest posted about their quirky rings here. which are your favorites?

you can find the scarves here, here, here & here

Laundry Bags

photos via here

So with back to school in the air, how awesome would it have been to bring with one of these back with you to the dorm? I'm surely jealous. These laundry bags are designed by Aesthetic Movement, a creative collaboration that can provide your business with design services like a logo, packaging, product design (like above), or they provide creative consulting to get your business up and running.

Their work is very inspiring. Join them on Twitter or Facebook to follow along on their journey.

A Monochromatic Life

Anyone else love this look as much as I do? There are so many styles I love, I often confuse the fiance (oops). The inspiration photo is Erin Loechner's guest bedroom. The monochromatic scheme looks so amazing, but I would have to add a few pops of color.

I have a rug that would go perfectly with these New Mexico style pillow covers. As you can tell, I love Leah Duncan's designs. They are just stunning to me. I would love to get my hands on some of her designs. Now, which of the bottom two should I get?

Oh and you can find that awesome bike print here. I really like it.

If you love this style as much as I do, you can buy the pillow covers here:

Leah Duncan’s Santa Fe ($38)
BeStill’s Lines & Arrows ($60)
Leah Duncan's Geometry ($38)
Leah Duncan's Triangles ($38)

A little vintage

Sorry for not posting yesterday. A full-time job + a holiday weekend = bad day for the blog.

But anyways... It's a happy day when I find a well-priced online vintage shop. Ran across Threadcase while I was blog stalking and I love it. There are so many gorgeous pieces that, get this, won't break the bank. I know you're excited, so am I!

photos via threadcase.

shopping list:

one. two. three. four.

Look Down...

Well you get it... have a happy holiday weekend. We will be on the road for 10 hours of our weekend, of course, headed back to Michigan for the long weekend! 

Ciao!

photo by me.