the anthology: gorgeous gifts.

 I've been seeing some really pretty things on the interwebs lately, many of which would make the perfect gift! Here are some of my favorites...

A simple thank you of jam, bread and a tea towel from You Are My Fave

I love these two-toned wooden spoons from Anthro. 

Did you see Alder & Co.'s adorable berry napkins featured on Design Sponge recently? In love. 

This handmade soap gift set by FrogGoesToMarket on Etsy is a steal, and the packaging is gorgeous! 

And lastly, how sweet is this tote from Oh Leander? I think I'd carry it everywhere.

What are your go-to gifts for friends and family?

xoxo.

new bedroom layout + diy artwork

Hey hey, happy Wednesday! Over the weekend, Landon and I rearranged our room, and I love how it turned out.  Our bed has been at an angle across one of the corners of the room, but it was taking up a lot of space, and since we don't have a headboard, not having a wall to lean against when we're reading wasn't really the best. We moved it to be centered under a window, and I like it much better. I bought some cardboard letters for half-off at Hobby Lobby a few months ago to make the "BRIGHT" sign, and covered them with some striped fabric (using Mod Podge) that I had from IKEA. Easy peasy!

I also took two of our dining room chairs and turned them into nightstands, since we don't have any. Add our new $12 Target lamps (on sale this week, score!) and a stack of books, and voila! 

(I have a great little stack of books that I'm reading right now...The Lost Art of Real Cooking, The Help and Start With Why)

Now to the really fun part: my mom gave me the most thoughtful gift for Christmas. Using newspaper, she cut out little symbols of our beloved Portland and framed them...

I cried when I opened them, she knows me so well!

Aren't they cool?

So, with the new layout and new look for our bedroom, I'm thinking I'll hang the pictures to the right of the window. What do you think?

xoxo.

P.S. A very happy birthday to my wonderful sister Jen! Love you Junie!

Jen and I at our brother's wedding, 2009

a handmade christmas: diy fabric flower necklace.

 Happy Friday! Today is the third (and final) day of my little handmade Christmas series. As part of my mom's present, I made her a fabric flower necklace. 

 I already had the fabric and beads, and just had to buy the jewelry chain. I cut long strips of fabric, braided three together and hot glued them into spirals to make each flower. I attached the beads with hot glue as well. The chain is hooked to a piece of felt on the back of the necklace, which is holding the flowers together.

Just like the last two, this is a fun and simple gift to make. I think it's time to make one for myself!

xoxo.

Day One: DIY Glitter Champagne Flutes

Day Two: DIY Flower Pots

a handmade christmas: diy flower pots.

Welcome to day two of our little series, A Handmade Christmas. I'm sharing a couple of the projects I did to put together handmade gifts for my family. Today's project is DIY flower pots. I made one for my mother-in-law, DeAnn, and one for my sister-in-law, Ashley. 

 I followed this method to make the pots, and I would recommend a somewhat sturdy fabric. I filled each pot with some paperwhite bulbs from Portland Nursery. 

And there you have it! DIY flower pots for a fun, handmade gift!

xoxo.

diy monday: 10 (easy) last minute holiday gifts

 Can you believe Christmas is only SIX days away? My, this year has flown. If you've still got a few gifts to shop for, consider these quick and easy handmade gift ideas...

1. Lace tile coasters by The Crafts Dept. at Martha Stewart

 2. Gold-dipped holiday glasses by Liz Stanley on Say Yes to Hoboken

3. Tassel earrings by Full House

4. Mercury glass candle holder by Walk With Me, Darling on Blue Eyed Yonder

5. Sequin striped tote by Anna of In Honor of Design 

6. Map picture frames by Martha Stewart Weddings 

7. Hot Cocoa Kit by Meagan Reardon of Not Martha, via Kirtsy 

8. Jersey knit bracelet by Vanessa of V and Co.

9. Washi tape candles by Anne of Copy Craft

10. Colorblock earrings by Lindsay of Delighted Momma

Which is your favorite? I'm partial to the mercury glass candle holders, and I've got some metallic spray paint laying around, so I'm planning to give them a try soon! I hope your holiday shopping and gifting is wrapping up (pun definitely intended)!

xoxo.

P.S. I found a lot of these DIY projects on Pinterest, of course, but I've linked to the original sources here.

P.P.S. A very happy birthday to my brother (today), and my dad (last Friday)

sunday lovin: an early christmas.

 Landon and I had an early Christmas yesterday. Since we're flying to Portland for the holidays (and we aren't checking bags), it would have been tough to squeeze our gifts for each other into our suitcases, only to bring them back a the end of the trip. The solution? Open them early! And open them early we did. We celebrated yesterday morning with donuts, hot cocoa and Christmas music. 

 I love love love what Landon gave me:

1. Moleskine Weekly Planner (My friend Maryn recommended this style to me a few months ago, and I can't wait to use it. It's got a calendar on one side of the page and lined paper on the other--perfect for staying organized!)

2. A sweet little Texas ornament, complete with the state mammal (armadillo), bird (mockingbird) and flower (bluebonnet).

3. 3-pack of Moleskine Notebooks (these are the perfect size, and, again, I'm excited about staying organized!)

4. Cavallini Numbers Washi Tape, which I've been wanting to get my hands on forever! Now that I have some of my own, washi tape is quickly becoming my favorite thing. 

5. (not pictured) Start with Why, by Simon Sinek. I've been a Simon Sinek fan for sometime now, so Landon pre-ordered the book for me. I can't wait to read it! (PS, if you're interested in hearing what he's about, watch this video)

And here's what I got for Landon:

1. Jeans (skinnies!)

2. Gift certificate to the bike shop in town

3. Framed Portland Trailblazers Print (by PRSNT on Etsy), which I bought back in August, because I just couldn't resist how perfect it was for Landon.

It was a great little early Christmas. And you know what the funny thing is? Now that we've seen our presents, we're taking most of them with us to Portland (with the exception of the framed print, ornament and gift certificate), so I guess it didn't really solve our problem after all. Whoops.

merry merry.

cold hands, warm hearts swap

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm linking up with Cold Hands, Warm Hearts to share what I received from my swap partner, Amanda of And They Will Become One Flesh. 

I found a very sweet package in the mail a couple weeks ago, with lots of goodies inside, and I couldn't wait to open it!

(sorry for the poor photo quality, I took these in the early morning, before the sun had come up...)

Amanda sent me some very sweet gifts, and it's been great getting to know her through her blog and emails.

 First up, the gloves of course! Or, glittens, to be more specific. I love the pattern on these, and because they can be worn fingerless, they're perfect for chilly mornings in my office! I've already worn them plenty of times!

 Also in the package were pencils and a set of cards...two of my very favorite things! The pencils are even Christmas colors...perf!

 And finally, this gorgeous scarf. This photo isn't a good representation of how pretty it is! It's a beautiful coral color with black lace, I've worn this a few times already too...I love it! 

 So, there you have it. The swap has been so much fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year! To see the goodies I sent Amanda, click here.

Amanda, it's been so fun getting to know you, and I'll be keeping up with your blog, especially with your little one coming soon! Have a wonderful holiday season celebrating the birth of our Savior! Xo, Katie

xoxo.

the TylerBright Texas weekend (and a baby shower).

 Remember when I told you about TylerBright? Well, the "Tyler" of TylerBright came to visit me over the weekend! It was LOADS of fun, and we accomplished some great things (including a 5k...of which there are no photos included in this post. Turns out running a 5k when you're out of shape is not as fun as it sounds).

There was lots of this (yummy food):

a little of this (YouTube karaoke...who knew?):

and a whole lot of this (Renee putting her amazing handwriting to work on my tablet/stylus thingy):

I also attended a baby shower this weekend, and Renee helped me put together a little present for the mommy-to-be. First up: Some embellished long-sleeved onesies for the baby...

And some lemon sea salt scrub for the mommy!

All wrapped up...

I can't take credit for the adorbs handwriting, we all know that's Renee...

And, if you want some of this adorbs handwriting for yourself, head over to our shop!

I found the recipe for the lemon sea salt scrub on The Beauty Department...LC to the rescue! (which makes this the second time I've found myself thanking Lauren Conrad publicly on my blog...see wedding hair)

The baby shower was in our church library, which just so happens to be the coolest room I've ever been in. Giant globe? Cubby desks? U-shaped table? I'm sold.

 It was an AWESOME weekend, and I'm so glad Renee made the trek to little Abilene all the way from San Diego!

xoxo.

P.S. We also did quite a bit of work developing a price sheet for both handwritten and typed wedding invitations through TylerBright. If you know someone who is planning a wedding and you think they'd like our style, feel free to pass our name along!