Make it :: Tattered books

I don't think I ever shared with you a little project that I did.  It was awhile ago and it all started with these books from The Willows (one of my favorite local stores).  I saw these books scattered in a tray in one of their vignettes, I loved.  The books didn't appear to be for sale and I figured it would be a very easy DIY. 

Crummy picture quality, my camera phone.

So then I made these, probably last September.

And then yesterday I was flipping through a Ballard Designs catalog and saw these. 

Hah.  No way would I have paid this for these books.  It was as simple as heading to your local thrift store and picking up some paperbacks for some change.  Now I did spent a lot of time ripping out the books from the covers (usually page by page) and picking off any glue that stuck to the pages but they've come in so handy when my table just needs something.  I tied mine with regular twine but jute twine would look great also.  My mom suggested getting the edges wet so they would be a little more distressed which maybe one of these days I'll get around too because her ideas are usually good ones. 

Anniversary Sale

How lame am I that I get completely giddy over Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale? This sale always has me humming, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I love that the sale items are all the new Fall fashions, none of those crummy leftovers. Kidding of course, I love leftovers too but this is different all the Fall shoes and boots not to mention the handbags. {Sigh} It makes me long for cold weather which is in short supply in these parts.
Just in case you didn't know it starts July 16th. Yippee!!

Peach picking anyone?

You know what I really want to do this week? Go pick some peaches at Schnepf Farms. I've never gone and the peaches are really, really good. Maybe I can pack up Little and we can go pick a few on Thursday.

Mmm, think of it now, peach cobbler, peach pie, grilled peaches and peach margaritas!

{Image from Examiner}

Love it :: Found.

Tonight is the opening of a new local store called Found, it's the new baby of Dan and Kristin Alber of Domestic Bliss fame. Domestic Bliss is one of my favorite local stores so I can't wait to see what they offer at Found.

Found.

BLOG

Opening Night Thursday, April 29th 6-9pm

166 West Main Street

Mesa, AZ 85201

I don't think I'll be able to make the festivities tonight because the husband is working late and I don't really think it's a kid party. Boo! So you should go, and if you do have fun and tell me all about it!

{Found photography by Allison Tyler Jones}

Seesaw Vintage

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Angela from Seesaw Designs, I'm sure many of you bloggers will recognize the name from their bada*& calender that was all over blogland. Well the girls from Seesaw decided to open a vintage Etsy shop, which like their calendar doesn't disappoint.

Art-O-Mat

I just read about the first local Art-O-Mat, it's the coolest thing ever! I was surprised that I haven't heard about it before (at least in my corner of blogland). Artists sell their work in vintage repurposed cigarette vending machines. Ones that look like this.

Isn't it beyond? You have no idea how much I love it. If you're local go check it out at Vision Gallery in Chandler, I may just be heading in the tomorrow. I don' t want the supply to run out!

Shopping Trip

My mom and I try to sneak off for a couple of hours every couple of weeks to do a little shopping, yesterday was no exception. Our trips usually consist of checking out what's new at the cute local shops, mostly home stuff sometimes clothes. I brought my camera yesterday in case I found something really cool but instead I decided to just take a few snaps of my trip. We started off our trip at Frances (this is before I decided to take photos) adorable shop with lots of great clothing and jewelry. After that we headed next door to their new store Smeeks.

Think Candyland... and just as cute.

I ended up with a bag full of candy and cute cupcake papers.

Lots of little knick-knacky toys (my kids would have gone bananas for this place), old fashioned sodas and of course lots of candy. I planned on taking a photo of my loot but of course I ate it when we got home. I highly recommend the marshmallows with caramel and the chocolate taffy, to-die.

Next we decided to go to lunch at Pane Bianco it's the sister restaurant of the famous Pizzeria Bianco. I had never been there and my mother insisted that I try it, she was right it was delicious.

I had a sparkling water and a caprese sandwich. Everything about this was delicious, the bread was perfectly crispy and crusty on the outside and gorgeous on the inside. The mozzarella and tomatoes were fresh and luscious. I will be dreaming of this sandwich for the next couple of days.

{Here's a closeup of the goodness}

Next up was Haus, lots of modern and a very nice salesman. My mom is in the market for some new kitchen stools so we thought we would stop in for a look. They have the usual suspects but I was so surprised with their great baby stuff (note to self for friends babies). What I really wanted was to bring home a few of these pillows.

Our trip was going to end at the Waterworks showroom but it was closed on Saturday. Boo! Next time if we can sneak away during the week this is on my list.

My fun shopping excursion ended with my babysitting my new little cutie pie nephew. Don't his toes look perfect for nibbling? He's gorgeous and so sweet he was the perfect ending to a fun day. How was your weekend?