Lavender Kay

Good morning friends!  Today I wanted to share with you an outfit I am obsessed with!  This outfit was highlighted in the new fall collection on Ruche, and I just think it is fabulous!  I love the pants with the red loafers and chambray top!  And, don’t you just love that red lipstick?!  Below I have highlighted the outfit essentials with links to the specific items on Ruche’s website.

1 // 2 // 3

(top image, via)

Here are some more pretty pins for you to drool over!  I was immediately drawn to the floral photo on the right because of its beautiful contrast between light and dark.  I just love the lightness of the flowers against the black shadows.

(Image source: Clockwise 1 // 2 // 3)

Hello!  I am so happy its Friday!  Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?  We are having some friends over for dinner tonight, and plan to make some yummy blueberry martinis.  It is also the one year anniversary of the Ruby Tap (the wine bar I told you about earlier this week) so we are hoping to stop by for the festivities!  I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Here are a few fun links from around the web:

I really want to try this salad dressing

Cute wedding ceremony with canoe seats

Great tips for buying things on craigslist

Floral wonderfulness

In case you missed it: Wine on Tap!

(image, via)

Well, its that time again!  Here is the new desktop calendar!  This illustration was inspired by my husband’s love of sailing.  Since moving to Milwaukee, and getting the opportunity to be right next to Lake Michigan, we have been thinking a lot about sailing.  Jonathan is even checking craigslist for cheap sailboats!  So here is my tribute to August summer days, and sailing Lake Michigan!  A girl can dream right?!  Happy August friends!

*To download, just click on the image and once the large image appears in a new window, right click and choose “set as desktop background.”

Good morning!  How is your week going so far?  Last night Jonathan and I went to a local movie theater in East Town, and saw The Way Way Back.  Have you heard of it?  It was a really good movie!  I loved it!

Today I have another color palette for you!  I came across this picture, and just had to post it!  I love everything — the sunglasses, the pop of color, everything! I liked seeing the colors from the picture highlighted in the color palette because they seem like such a random assortment, but with just the right balance they look great together!

(image, via)

I have decided to reboot my Explore Your City column!  One reason why I wanted to restart this column is that I think it is so important to immerse yourself into the community you are apart of, and take advantage all the wonderful places around you!  The other is because I LOVE Milwaukee!  I want you guys to be able to follow along in our crazy journey, and get to see all the wonderfulness Milwaukee has to offer!

Our first stop is the fabulous wine bar, Ruby Tap!  This is a fun, local spot right in our neighborhood!  One of the best parts of this wine bar is that they serve wine on tap — how amazing right?!  You can either choose the wine specials that they have on tap, or choose the wine machines that allow you to pour your own wine choosing the size you want and allowing you to try a lot of different kinds of wine.  I also love the menu at Ruby Tap because it is basically an amazing, build-your-own cheese board!  Now I’m in heaven!  And, not only is the wine and cheese wonderful, but the decor is fabulous too!  They have beautiful succulents on the tables, and huge floor to ceiling windows that slide open.  If you ever find yourself in Milwaukee, you must try this wine bar!

top left: fire pit // top right: art museum on lake michigan // bottom left: hanging plant on our front porch // bottom right: rainy day art project

Hello!  Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  My weekend went by way too fast!  Here are a few instagrams from the past couple weeks.  The top left picture is of this amazing fire pit at a coffee shop by our house!  It is a perfect atmosphere for cool, crisp weather!

Happy Friday lovelies!  What are your plans for the weekend?  I will be working a lot this weekend, but we might try to fit in a Brewers game too!  We haven’t been to a game yet since we moved to Milwaukee.  But, I hear the Brewer’s stadium is wonderful so we would like to make it to a game soon!

Here are a few fun links from around the web:

I love this modern home

Dying to try this recipe

Doesn’t this restaurant look amazing

Cute craft idea for kids

Just in case you missed it: our painted cabinets

(image, via)

Here are some pretty pins from around the web!  I thought it would be fun to start a column highlighting different inspiring pins from Pinterest from time to time.  These pictures have been inspiring me lately!  If you are interested, you can follow me on Pinterest here.  Have a beautiful day!

(Image source: Clockwise 1 // 2 // 3)

Good morning friends, and happy Wednesday!  Today I wanted to share with you a DIY project Jonathan and I worked on this past weekend.  We have these really nice, vintage cabinets in our kitchen that just needed a little love.  Someone before us had used that sticky paper stuff that is supposed to look like paint but it just wasn’t cutting it.  At first we were just going to rip the paper out and paint it white, then right before we went to the paint store we decided it needed a little extra pop of color so we decided to paint the back wall coral too!  First I want to show you the before and after pictures.  What a difference right?!

This process ended up taking a little longer than we thought but it was totally worth it!  Here is what we did.

Step 1: First, we used a scrapper to rip up all the paper paint.  I think it had been their quite awhile because it was pretty hard to get off.  But, so satisfying when you got a big piece!

Step 2: We sanded the tops of the wood to help the new paint stick to the wood.  Step 3: Then, we primed the wood shelves (top, bottom, and sides), and let it dry.  Once the primer was dry, we painted all sides of the shelves white.

Step 4:  Once the white paint was dry, we used a small paint roller and painted on the coral paint on the back and side walls.  After that paint is dry, your done!  Just make sure to leave the cabinet doors open so that they can dry quicker.