Scandinavia: Everyone's Dream Land

There's nothing original about a liberal claiming that Scandinavia is the promised land of happiness, productivity and a harmonious society, so I'm well aware that I'm not exactly cracking new territory here. But just for kicks, let's take a quick little journey through some of the best aspects.

Fashion Crush Friday: Killjoy's Dutch

In some ways, Dutch of Killjoys reminds me of Elena Michaels from Bitten. Both are woman playing in a man's world, dressing for combat, and making it clear that they are all business. No florals or pastels here. Lots of leather and tight gear that won't get caught in the woods or on a run.

Decorating the Nest: Living Like a Malfoy

FYI Voldie- I will take the Dark Mark for this couch!

When it comes to atmospheric inspiration, it's very hard to beat the refined, restrained Slytherin dungeons. These residents are from old money with exquisite taste, and the rumpled, mismatched good cheer of the Gryffindor common room does not fly here. Valuing tradition is one of the least respected aspects of Slytherin, and I love the idea of even children having a really beautiful, mature space. Let's take a little tour of that Slytherin inspiration and see what you think. 

Advent: Make Your Shopping War Plan

Confession: I despise Christmas shopping. I like winter, I adore shopping, and I love family, so in theory this should be when I thrive. In reality, I'm often left feeling overwhelmed, unappreciated and burnt out. After realizing that I felt this way year after year, I decided that I needed to treat Christmas shopping like the huge undertaking it is by employing some hardcore strategizing.

Biblio: Let Caldecott Be Your Guide

Source: Brit + Co.

I'm going to be a bit bold here and state the obvious. There are plenty of fantastic books for children published every year. Unfortunately, a lot of them are garbage and/or plotless. In a world where many people are already trying to utilize the library more often and want to focus on teaching reading through a strong foundation of worthy materials, it pays to be selective about what books your introduce into your home. 

Littles: Are Large Families Back in Vogue?

As someone who has a distinct interest in parenting a large family someday, I adore following along with different bloggers and articles about the trends in family size across America. Within the past few years it has started to seem like big families might be on the rise once again. Today I'd like to take a glance at the current national discussion on family size.

Nom-Noms: French Press Experience

We're really, really big coffee fans in our house. On our cross country road trip, one of my biggest issues out in the woods was realizing that I was going 2-3 days at a time without caffeine, and in exchange waking up feeling like crap. The Husband and I both suffer from charming caffeine OD symptoms. He gets paranoid and really twitchy, and I over drink and then hurl, so I think that tells you how committed we are to the magical beans. 

Fashion Crush Friday: Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten Dunst is a magical retired woman in her early 30s doing whatever the heck she wants. She works when she wants to work, and is a child star who didn't turn into a raging lunatic, which automatically makes me a big fan. She has a great eye for flattering silhouettes and strong colors, a slightly bohemian vintage vibe, and absurdly glossy hair. 

I love the way her hair is falling softly here, the jewelry isn't noticeable at all, and she's mostly focused on the subtle brooches on the dress. The color brings a rosy flush to her cheeks, her shoes are almost invisible, and the bag is structured and subtle. In both of these outfits, she focuses on a flattering solid color and silhouette, and then lets one detail on the dress shine. 

Wardrobe Holes: Satchel & Wallet

I'm not normally a bag girl, so this is a bit of a departure for me. I was never really a wallet person and in college I was like all the other coeds running endless small clutches into the ground. 

Food For Thought: Embracing Lent

Don't panic! We're not going to talk about fasting because that is probably my worst nightmare, and I'm also not coming at Lent in this segment from a true Christian perspective. Instead, I'd like to talk about how I used the Lent season to start changing bad habits and and exploring my weak spots. Lent is normally referred to as the 40 Days, but in reality the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter is 46 days or 6.5 weeks. 

Fashion Crush Friday: Karen Gillan

What I love about Karen is that she's one of the least "fashion" people that I've profiled so far. She really doesn't come across as anything other than a pretty girl doing her best to pick things that flatter her and work with her style. She doesn't scream designer and her choices are pretty simple, so she feels like one of those girls whose style is attainable. 

I may be a bit biased because Amy Pond was my preferred Doctor Who Companion, but I find Karen to be such a charming, endearing little gazelle. There's something distinctly U.K. about her style (the oxfords, maybe?) that elevates her girl on the street game. 

Wardrobe Hole: Watches

On a list of my wardrobe hallmarks, oversized watches are the blue ribbon prize. I cannot overstate my belief in the power of a bold, oversized watch. Watches completely upgrade an outfit. You can get away with wandering around on the weekends hungover in a T-shirt and jeans, because once you throw the watch on it adds a level of polish. 

Fashion Crush Friday: Lily Collins

I have to believe Lily Collins uses a driver because otherwise I'm really not sure how she makes it around in these massive heels every day.  But besides the heels, her style feels thoroughly modern and approachable with a real sense of authenticity. She's known for having a genuine love for fashion, which makes sense since her mother ran a vintage shop for years. 

Decorating the Nest: The Versatile Daybed

I'm in possession of the world's worst futon (no really, if you sat on it you'd agree) so a daybed seems like luxury in comparison. I think at first glance daybeds seem impractical for the normal home, but really their a genius compromise between a little couch, a reading nook, and a guest bed. As you my have realized, I'm not a massive fun of guest rooms that only get used a few times a year, yet require sacrificing a spare room. 

Biblio: Creative Challenges

With the huge growth of Goodreads, a literary social network of massive popularity, it feels like more people than ever before are officially challenging themselves each year to read a set number of books. Whatever your preferred tracking system, it's a blast to see how the year turns out and look at all this amusing data about your past reads. 

Decorating the Nest: Lively Wingbacks

Source: HappyDayOut.Tumblr.com

I've been falling in love with wingback chairs recently as I fantasize about a living room set with some structure to it! We've got a batch of hand me downs right now (the demon futon, and two overstuffed black recliners) that are great in their own right, but don't really have the structure that I'd prefer. My parents have a gorgeous rose toned velvet wingback chair that I've always loved, and I prefer my furniture to have a lot of well defined lines. Enter the updated, bold wingback chair. 

Mystical Monday: Tarot Card Art

Wild Unknown's The Chariot via Tumblr

Modern tarot decks are being released independently left and right and they are simply stunning. There's intimacy and a little bit of pressure in choosing the right deck. Because there is always an element of interpretation to the cards, you want to be sure that you're choosing a deck where the cards send the right messages to you. If you're looking through a deck and large sections seem pretty but meaningless or worse, distasteful, then you definitely aren't going to get a good reading. 

Decorating the Nest: Dressing Rooms

Source: Aimee Song via Glamour

In one of my many fantasy lives, I live in a sunny, rambling glass house in the woods. There's plenty of space for all kinds of glorious single purpose rooms, and one of them just so happens to be a dressing room. Because in this little scenario, I have a gorgeous collection that needs to be displayed properly.

Fashion Crush Friday: Carey Mulligan

In these profiles, I normally like to focus on a celebrity's street style with just a few flashes of their red carpet look. That's because basically everyone has a stylist, so once you're a celeb you can't exactly take full credit for your look. The way I see it in the hierarchy of influence there's street style, then red carpet style, then photo shoots where you're basically just a breathing prop.

 Carey Mulligan is kind of an exception. I'm insane about her red carpet style. She normally lives with her husband and their baby in the English countryside, so it's pretty rare to grab a street style look at her.