Happy belated holidays!! Hope everyone had a lovely and relaxing past few days! Things have been winding down for me over here at White Nest. As some of you know (or may not know…) I’m in the final stretch of my pregnancy…three and a half weeks and counting (or until this little guy decides he wants to make an appearance!). My hubs and I have been cleaning and organizing our little Chicago apartment in preparation for him. My “studio” is now the nursery and my studio now lives partially in our living room and master bedroom…not the prettiest, but hey, it’s functional and seems like it will work for us…

Since the price of living in this fast and exciting city is space (which we are quickly running out of…), that’s where you fine folks come in! We had a great couple of holiday shows this past season and still have a handful of pillows left over. I love them dearly but just DON’T have the space for them! So I’m having a HUGE sale in my online shop and Etsy shop…40% off all current inventory!! That’s a win, win for everyone…you guys get an amazing deal on some sweet pillows and we get to clear out some more space for our impending arrival!! Love it.

So jump on over to one of my shops and take a peek! Sale ends on December 31st!

Read more...

Raise your hand if you can completely forgive me for my complete lack of blogging and being out of touch lately, c’mon…raise them high. Please?

Lots and lots of great things have been happening over here in White Nest land. First off, to my pleasant surprise, White Nest is featured in this month’s CS Interiors (for you out-of-towners, it’s Chicago Social Interiors and it’s uber amazing). Our Golden Ruffle Pillow is at the top of the calendar page, enticing all you locals to visit the One of a Kind Show in December. So exciting…lots…of…dancing over here!

Otherwise, we’ve recovered from our amazing September shows…the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair and the Strange Folk Festival! Phew, those were a couple of busy, busy weeks. Thank you again for everyone that stopped by!

Soon after we returned, I packaged up a few orders to some of our favorite stores. White Nest is now being carried at Renegade Handmade in Chicago (in Wicker Park) and at Dots & Loops in Nova Scotia. And we sent some new favorite pieces to our favorite Indianapolis store, Homespun!

And just for a little personal update…our little bundle is growing bigger and bigger (as am I!) by the minute. He’s kicking up a storm and his night time “parties-of-one” are becoming legendary. :) We can’t wait to meet this little rock star.

From our weekend hiking adventure...this weekend was gorgeous!

Me + our little bundle...

My favorite photo...Gracie is trying so hard to sit "like a good girl" but can't help but be distracted. :)

Read more...

Sweet home Chicago!

It’s been a week since the Renegade Craft Fair and once again, our hometown of Chicago continues to amaze us! This year’s Renegade was a complete and total blast…we really can’t say enough about how much fun we had. The weather was uh-maz-ing. Uh-maz-ing. The crowds and everyone that came by were so enthusiastic and the energy was contagious. It’s one of our favorite fairs of the year and Chicago, you reminded us this again! I took some quick snapshots of our booth before the crowds came rolling in…if you stopped by late on Sunday, it may not have looked like this. Let’s just say, there were only a handful of things left. :)

And because September wouldn’t be fun without two large festivals (I realize I’m a little nutty), next up is the Strange Folk Festival in O’Fallon, Illinois! Can’t wait…my head has been buried in my sewing machine gearing up for this one!

Read more...

Oh, I’ve been so so so busy the last couple of weeks preparing for my all-time favorite show of the season…the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair! If you can believe it, this is the first hometown show we’ve done this year and we are so excited (serious dancing happening over here!). We had such a good time last year and hope that we get to see all the same pretty faces from last year and more! If you’re local and you’ve never had a chance to stop by, it is a MUST that you stop by and see all the amazing artists. Word to to the wise: it gets crowded, really crowded. So come early (hours are from 11-7pm) and I advise coming on Saturday instead of Sunday. In my experience, Sunday of any weekend show seems to be busier. My busy little fingers that have been poked and stabbed consistently will thank you for stopping by and saying hello! (Oh, and please do any rain dancing, crossing fingers and general hoping that it won’t rain!)

By the way, ever wondered what it looks like behind the scenes to prepare for a show? This is currently the state of my living room…filled to the brim with colorful pillows! (And yes, there is a lamp in that mix some where…:)

Read more...

In light of last week’s a little announcement, it goes without saying that I have been having some crazy cravings (can we say Sour Patch Kids craving late on a Friday night…that was weird but heavenly!). Have you ever had chocolate with sea salt? If you haven’t, you’re probably thinking that is so bizarre, right? But it will change your world! I had a tiny morsel of this heaven last year at one of my shows and it rocked my world. And since then I’ve seen a smattering of recipes throughout the blogosphere…I’m really thinking that I need to try one of these…

Chocolate Covered Salted Caramel Cupcakes via Somewhere Splendid

Chile and Sea Salt Brownies via Sustenance Space

Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt via The Pioneer Woman

Salted Chocolate Tart via My Recipes

Salted Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Cookies via Confessions of a Foodie Bride

Okay, okay…lemme me wipe my drool off my face. And thank you to all that sent us special notes and congratulations on our little bundle of joy! We keep pinching our selves and doing happy dances! (okay, maybe not so much on the dancing on my end…:)
Happy Monday!

Read more...

Friends, we have some BIG news over here…drum roll please…………Nathan and I are having a baby!! (sound the trumpets…) This is by the far this biggest and most exciting venture we have ever taken on and couldn’t be more thrilled! I’m in my 2nd trimester and have to apologize for my flakiness and absence the past few months. The 1st trimester was filled with nausea, exhaustion and general fogginess but I feel like a brand new person again. (Thank goodness!) We are so happy to share this special news with you and will keep you updated on our fun adventure (although it will be business as usual for White Nest :). Oh, and since we will be brand NEW parents, any advice is always appreciated…lots of learning to do over here. :)

The Happy Couple + 1

Read more...

I’m a sucker for before & afters…aren’t we all? My latest “before & after” is of our living room sideboard. We used to have the standard Ikea piece of furniture (which is perfectly fine but I wanted something more unique…). I woke up a few months and announced to hubs (much to his dismay) that I wanted to get rid of the (perfectly) good Ikea sideboard and thrift a sideboard (yes, I’m using the word thrift as a verb because in my world, it is a verb).

I also clued my parents onto this idea and low and behold, three days later they spotted this beauty at a garage sale for $2!!! Yes, I repeat, $2. Now, let me tell you why this excites me beyond belief. I dare you to get to any decent thrift store in Chicago and find a piece that’s in worse condition for less than $100. I dare you because I was searching. For. a. while. So they scored big time!

Lots of sanding, paint and plenty of TLC later, I LOVE the how it turned out! It makes me excited to have a piece of furniture without MDF or particle board (thank you college years)…hope you love it too!

The dreaded BEFORE…I knew it was gem the moment I laid my eyes on it.

Either someone tried to do something with the top or someone abused it to no end…didn’t phase me!

Sorry about the lack of “during” photos…I painted it white. Not much more to say OTHER than I strongly advise you to buy paint with a primer in it. Long, long story why but we learned the hard way and ended up going back to the hardware store for the paint with primer in it and it worked like a dream. This photo is showing the chevron pattern I painted on top.

Lots of painters tape and time later, the top is ready for the light gray coat of paint. If you can believe it, from start to finish it took one day. Now, it was a looooong day, but it took one day. 

AFTER!! Yay! Makes me so happy…

Close up of the top of the sideboard…

New hardware…simple and polished. Perfect finishing touch.

The sideboard in action…my living room.

And because a side by side of these photos make me happy…!!

Read more...

Oh, poor neglected blog…it’s good to see your pretty face again. We have been busy, busy the past few weeks with shows and a road trip. And I am happy to report that we had a blast meeting so many new people and sharing our handmade goodness, but there’s no place like home and there’s nothing like a full day in my studio!! (yay, yay!!)

We road tripped it down to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Chatty Crafty show. It was a cool 12 hour drive, filled with lots of car singing, random traffic and even sighting a few trucks blowing tires (woah, that was crazy). The venue for the show was amazing…a small park right on the river. We couldn’t ask for a better set up! We had a blast sharing our goodies (despite the crazy heat). The 2nd day was filled with weather drama that ended in a mad scramble while a huge thunderstorm rolled in to finish the show. Luckily, all goodies were saved…unluckily, everything else (included us) were drowned! Nothing like a little weather drama to finish a  great show!

But we couldn’t jump in the cool for a short 12 hour drive without adding a few days to our road trip. We spend the night in Nashville and stopped at the Maker’s Mark Distillery (thanks to hubs…). Anyway, here are some photos of our lovely trip!! Enjoy!

Our booth…gotta love those rolling hills behind us. I don’t think we’re in Chicago anymore…

I made these pom poms for the booth for display and didn’t realize that they would be such a hit! Despite them being a little soggy from the rain, I was happy to hand them off to some girls that were oohing and ahhing over them.

Oh yes, there I stand so proudly…

Next stop was Rock City in Chattanooga! Had to stop here…super amazing views!

Ooooh, ahhhhh…

Self-portrait…

Because I’m a nerd…nuff said.

Next stop, the Loveless Cafe in Nashville! Hands down, some of the best southern cooking we’ve had…and I love the history of this place!

Loveless Cafe in all it’s glory…mmmm…dreaming about my meal…

Last stop, Maker’s Mark Distillery in Kentucky! Love learning about the process…of course hubs super loved it too…

Hubs hand dipping the red wax top to his bottles…

We had an amazing time!! Thank you to everyone that stopped by…we loved the southern hospitality!

Read more...

It’s been a crazy week (but of course I love a little craziness and wouldn’t have it any other way…)! So crazy that I haven’t officially had the chance to let you all know about my next show! The four-legged furry children are going to “camp”, aka, my parent’s house while hubs and I take off on our first road trip of the summer! The car is packed and we are heading down to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Chatty Crafty show this Saturday & Sunday!!! (so many exclamation points…) We’ve never been to southern Tennessee (other than the classic drive through on our way to Florida when we were kids) so we’re excited to see and explore it. We’re tacking a few days on to the show and taking our time back home for a very, very little vacation. So I’m signing off until next Thursday…okay, not really signing off but you know what I mean…by the way, did I mention how EARLY it is right now when I’m writing (which explains the giant amount of rambling…). Anyway, see you soooooooon!! Yay!

Read more...

Phew! The INDIEana Handicraft Exchange was the past weekend and it was awesome! The hubs and I had a blast and loved seeing old faces and meeting new! Besides a minor collapse of my table (oy! saved by my neighbors) everything was great…weather, music, crowd. Below are some photos of my booth (you may spy some new products that will be going online today…)! If you stopped by, thank you! You made it another great show!

And I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you…today is a special day in our home! Three years ago today I married my best friend. He is by far my biggest supporter and the love of my life. I took a trip down memory lane this morning and starting looking at our wedding photos…here are some of my favorites.  (by the way, White Nest wouldn’t exist without him…he is my partner in crime at every show and believes so much in White Nest…) Happy Anniversary Nathan! xxxxoooo, meg

Read more...