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

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How has it been more than a week since I last checked in with you guys?? Oy, I’ve been busy preparing for one of my favorite shows that’s happening this weekend! I’m participating in the Indieana Handicraft Exchange in Indianapolis on Saturday, June 11th. I have a soft spot for this show because it officially marks my one year anniversary participating in shows. Last year, we had such an amazing time meeting the Indy crowd and I can’t wait to see old faces and meet new ones!

I wanted to show you (yes you!) a preview of what I’ll have  this year…I’ve created new styles of pillows and brought back some classic ones. If you’re in the area, please stop by and say hello! Can’t wait to see everyone…excited, happy dance happening. right. now.

Ruffle Pillow Collection

Ruffle Pillow Collection

Ruffle Pillow Collection

Embroidered Pillow Collection

Embroidered Pillow Collection

We hope to see you there! Yay!

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How was everyone’s Memorial Day celebrations? We were supposed to go to my in-laws for their annual Memorial Day BBQ but my cold/allergies that started last week worsened and I had to stay at home while my hubs enjoyed some quality brats, potato salad and hot weather (I wasn’t jealous at all…:). Laying in bed with my box of kleenex got me thinking about summer and some of my favorite things…

One of my favorite things about summer is eating out doors…I love, love, love it. I love when it’s that perfect non-humid night with a summer night breeze and you’re eating by candle light…dreamy. Seriously, I wish I could do it every night. But alas, I cannot because we live in the city with no backyard and a balcony that is literally an arms reach from my neighbors (where’s the privacy in that??). Instead, I’ll look longingly at these images and imagine myself enjoying one of these amazing summer dining rooms…

Martha Stewart

Apartment Therapy

Farmhouse

Shelter Interior Design

House Beautiful

Martha Stewart

Habitually Chic

Martha Stewart

Isn’t it dreamy? Don’t think about those pesky mosquitoes…they don’t exist in my dreams. :)

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This really stopped my in my tracks…Sarah and Bendrix creates amazing artwork entirely from paper hearts and the result is so simple and clean. Really love these, there are so many places I can think of putting one of these gems…of course, the white and yellow colors are my fav!

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My weekend was full of hair pulling, cursing and general frustration. It started out great (!) and then an innocent DIY project (that I was way too excited to show you!) turned into the DIY project. from. hell. (Let me just say that Valspar paint and I don’t get along…) And when I start a project, I like to finish it right away…so I’ll be doing some major paint control in the next few days and will keep you in the loop…how was YOUR weekend?

Anyway, I came across these fun and colorful digital illustrations from twoems (via Etsy). These brighten my morning (and let’s face it, mood…)! Hope these helps break your case of the Mondays too!

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What a week…I couldn’t be happier that it’s (finally!) Friday! And to top it off, it’s supposed to be gorgeous here in Chicago. We’ve had our fair share of horrible weather lately so I’m thrilled to that it’s going to be gorg! Anyway, this weekend is going to be quiet for my hubs and I…what are you guys up to?

Before I head into the studio this morning, I discovered so many amazing links this week…take a peek at some of my favs! I’m sure you’ll love them too…:)

DIY Moroccan Lanterns via Ruffled

Summer Hideaway via Bliss
(I really, really want this summer cottage…dreamy.)

DIY Sequin Vase via Sania Pell

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake via Mint
How good does this look? Yum…

Peonies in Paris via Oh Happy Day
Peonies are hands down my fav flower…the picture above remind me of my wedding bouquet. Absolutely beautiful!

My wedding bouquet…loved it.

Happy Friday & Weekend!

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Image via Decor Pad

You’ve heard a million times that the easiest way to re-decorate your home is change out the accessories, right? (I know I’ve heard Nate Berkus say it at least 20 times and I myself, have told this to clients…because it’s true!) And of course the biggest bang for your buck (in my humble opinion) is to change out the pillows because they can add so much color or the last finishing touch.

So I want to hear from YOU! Tell me about your home! How often do you change out your accessories? Do you change them with the season (summer vs. winter?) or do you stick with the color scheme you love? Are you influenced by the current trends?

I’m getting ready to head into the studio and make some new pillow designs so I want to know what colors you love right now! Feel free to comment below or on my Facebook page! I really want to hear from YOU so don’t be shy!

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I love the blogosphere. It’s one of the first things I do in the morning…catching up on my favorite blogs. But it wasn’t until I started reading and immersing myself into design blogs that I realized how amazing flea market finds can be to a space.

First of all, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE a good deal. When someone compliments me on a shirt or necklace, I usually follow up with the place I got it and the price. It’s like a knee-jerk reaction. I can’t help but share the deal…and “flea-ing” is about finding a good deal. (check)

Second, I LOVE how flea market finds instantly changes a space and gives it character. I’m an interior designer, right? But even I get in the “I’m-stuck-in-the-big-box-retail-store-rut”. I scored some deals last year at a flea market and it instantly gave my living room some depth. (double check)

Third, I love the history of an object. I love imagining who had it before me, why they bought it, and where it’s been…so clearly, I’m addicted to the hunt. (triple check)

In the past few weeks, I scored some amazing finds that I’m dying to share with you!!

Got all these goodies from this past weekend’s Vintage Bazaar !!

Vintage lunch box…so rusty and perfect!

Vintage scallop edge bowls…stay tuned for where these little guys will end up!

Vintage Bingo cards…this one made me squeal! I instantly knew what I was going to do with them…stay tuned!

Really amazing old movie posters…my hubs is going to take these to work because he fell in love. And we found the vintage old hangers that were perfect for them!

Okay, get this story. My dad got this vintage library card cabinet at a garage sale…he got four shelves it (two are shown) and all the old tools in it for $1!! I could not believe it…I convinced him to give these to me and I super heart it. (I saw similar cabinets at the Vintage Bazaar going for $100!)

This one is my favorite…I got this chair at the Wolff Flea Market for a mere $10! The fabric is harvest gold 1970′s goodness…I got this chair because we desparately need one and I’ve decided to try and re-upholster it. By. Myself. Yup, gulp. We’ll see when I decide to actually attempt this…I’ll keep you updated. Gulp. again.

Do you guys go to Flea Markets? Are you hooked like me? If not, have I convinced to give it a try…? :)

Happy Flea-ing!

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Last weekend was one of my bestie’s birthday! Last year, she made my birthday so amazing by flying out from Los Angeles to surprise me! Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that for her so I thought and thought and thought really hard….what could I do for her that would make her feel really, really special (and on a budget of course…). So I came up with a “birthday-party-in-a-box”! Wanna see the results? (Warning: this is uber craftiness at it’s greatest…)

I started out at Target trying to find a cute box for the “party-in-a-box”…I found this box but it was for a baby and it didn’t have a flip lid. So I modified the top with supplies that I had and attached the lid with masking tape and ribbon (to cover the lid…).

When you opened the lid, I decorated with a “happy birthday” garland made from my computer and wonderful Divine Twine (it’s the best!). I made the little pom pom flowers with tissue paper…and of course I had a little too much fun wrapping all the goodies…I loved the look of it (obviously since I’m sharing it with you guys…). Wouldn’t you love to open this present? Wheee!

Sooo…you’re asking yourself what exactly is in the box? It’s filled with all kinds of goodies but I wanted to make her something different. I’ve been wanting to try painting porcelain and thought this was the perfect occasion! I got a bowl from our local thrift store and hand drew a design. I super heart how it came out…I thought it would be a cute place to store jewelry or whatevs. (Might have gotten a little addicted to painting porcelain; do I see this in White Nest’s future??)

And the last thing was fabric flowers! I wanted to send her flowers but real flowers obviously don’t last forever. So I used this tutorialand made some! Really easy to do and I loved how they turned out…going to make some for my living room too!

Anyway, I had way too much fun making this…hope you guys like it! Love channeling my inner craftiness…Happy Birthday Lauren!

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I want to share with you some very EXCITING news over in White Nest land…we’ve had our first magazine publication feature! Chicago Home & Garden (an off-shoot of Chicago Magazine) has been kind enough to feature some of my pillows! I met editor Gina Bazer at the One of a Kind Show in Chicago last December and it was great working with her. We are so honored and humbled by it…if you’re in the area, check out the May/June issue! If you’re not local to the area, check out the digital copy…thanks Chicago Home & Garden!

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