The Pumpkin Spot Guest Post

Welcome to Becky from The Pumpkin Spot! 

Hi there! Special thanks to Holly for having me over today on her lovely blog All Things Charming. I'm Becky and I blog over at The Pumpkin Spot about all things fashion with a sarcastic twist from time to time. Today, I want to talk tulle.

Amsale tulle wedding dress (via instagram in Nordstrom bridal)

In the ongoing search for my wedding dress, I have found a new love for tulle. I keep finding myself drawn to anything tulle, trying it on, and twirling around like a child on a sugar high. After trying on tons of these dresses, I found myself looking for everyday tulle (if that exists). Guess what? It does and I can't get enough of these tulle inspired gems...

1 / BCBG tulle trimmed blazer 2 / Frenchie tulle skirt 3 / Anthropologie tulle skirt 4 / Alice + Olivia party dress

The Alice + Olivia dress is my personal favorite but the price would blow my budget to pieces, so I'll stand back and admire from afar (sigh). Thanks again to Holly for hosting me and come stop by my blog and say hi! I'd love to hear what you think about this tulle trend. Would you rock it??

Percentblog Guest Post

I'm so excited to have Katherine here at All Things Charming today! Katherine and I have been friends for many years now and since we both went to the same meeting that I'm attending now in 2009, I though it would be fitting for her to be my first guest post! At percentblog, Katherine does an brilliant job of blending the lines of design, sustainability, and intentional living so be sure to stop by! 

When Holly asked me to guest post while she is in Doha, I jumped at the chance for two reasons. The first is, I adore All Things Charming and the wonderful little corner of the Internet that it resides in. The other, because I adore Holly and had the privileged of attending COP15 in Copenhagen with her. It was one of the most interesting, stressful, exhilarating, disappointing, and unforgettable two weeks of my life, and I wouldn't have made it through without her. I hope she's having an equally unforgettable but non-stressful time in Doha. I'm happy to keep things charming here in her absence. 

During winter I always have on a scarf and know Holly feels the same way, so I decided to share an easy-peasy DIY you can use to spruce up your wardrobe or to make the perfect holiday gift, a polka dot scarf. I love polka dots. Slightly preppy, slightly silly, they always bring a smile to my face. Plus, they are quite on trend this season. 

Here's how to make your own polka dot scarf. I used a pashmina but if you are in a chillier climate you could use a felt scarf instead. Be sure to place paper or cardboard under your scarf. The paint bleed through enough on my pashmina that I didn't have to paint both sides, but with felt you may need to repeat for maximum dots. 

1. Gather your scarf, fabric paint in your color of choice (I went with gold!) and a pencil to make your dots. I used a "jumbo" pencil that I picked up from the art store for 29 cents. 

2. Iron your scarf. You don't want wrinkles ruining your pattern. 

3 & 4. Dip the eraser end of the pencil in the paint and then onto your scarf. You may want to practice on a piece of paper a few times first.  

5. For the first 18" on each side, I spaced my dots 2" apart, alternating between rows. Then I freehanded between the ends to make the middle less concentrated, creating gradient effect. Feel free to experiment with spacing and placement. Let paint dry 1-2 hours. Wash according to directions on your paint.  

6. Congratulations! You are all done.

Thanks for having me, Holly! Y'all can typically find me blogging about design for social change over at percentblog, writing for Rue Magazine (holiday issue out Today!), on Twitter and Instgram as @percentblog. You can find percent jewelry on Etsy. 

Greetings from Qatar!

Hi, friends! You may recall that last Tuesday I shared my packing woes, well the good news is that that they weren't in vain--I safely arrived in Qatar last Friday! So what am I doing in Qatar you may ask? Well, when not working and writing for ATC, I spend my time focusing on environmental issues (explained further here)....and in following those issues I'll be writing for The Verb , an online news wire.

While I'm away you can except some amazing posts from these lovely ladies...

Katherine of Perfect Blog

Becky of The Pumpkin Spot

Lindsey of Flimsy Lindsey

Lindsey and Katie of Stately Things

Ashley of Ashley Nicole Catherine 

Jen of Pearls and Lace

Before I'm in and out for the next couple of weeks, here are a few photos in the city of Doha!

Excuse Me While I Pack...

Excuse the absence while I pack...Anyone have some helpful packing tips or words of motivation for me?? Having traveled a lot over the past few years I've developed the unfortunate habit of avoiding packing at all costs! It annoys me..there are so many piles, and options, annd what if I forget something?? I'm off to wallow in my packing sorrows, but will be back tomorrow with some of my favorite travel tips!

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Monday Pick-Me-Up

Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! I came across this little reminder and found it fitting to share. With thankfulness on the mind it is important to remember that even the smallest actions, if filled with love, can leave a lasting impact on those around us. So go out and love, be thankful, and have a wonderful day!

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Meet Baby Boone

Yesterday I got to meet Baby Boone! He is so tiny and adorable..and completely has my heart. Despite being born 7 weeks early he is doing really well--eating, breathing on his own, and making oh-so-adorable faces! I'm so in love...

L (aka Mommy) on the left, our friend M in the middle, and I'm on the right!

It's a Boy!

Hi, loves! Apologies for being m.i.a. yesterday, but it was for the most exciting reason EVER...L had her baby!  Although Baby B arrived arrived 7 weeks early, both L and baby are happy and healthy--such a blessing! Pictures of my adorable little nephew will be on the way soon :)

Adorable Things

Here's a little cuteness overload to brighten up your Tuesday! Get ready to squeal in 3,2,1...!!

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Monday Pick-Me-Up

Happy Monday, friends! Did you all have a nice weekend? I hope that answer is a, "yes!"...I had a very lovely weekend surrounded by some dear friends. They're the type of friends that you can sit around with and not really do much of anything, but still have the most wonderful time. At one point, during what turned out to be a very warm Saturday, we decided to venture out on some local trails. It felt absolutely amazing to step out and get a little fresh (and warm) air which made this this reminder pop into my mind...

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Here are a few more "little things" that I enjoyed over the weekend...

sunset on my grandparents' farm

a delicious soy latte

adorable calf hair leopard print loafers...on sale!

a lovely fall walk

sunset hike

 

 

Have a wonderful day! 

Thursday Love List

Happy Thursday, dearies! Here's your weekly dose of a few my favorite things...

What have you all been loving this week?

1. I just love these cream Marc by Marc Jacobs logo disc studs . They're so simple, clean, and cute!

2. With my upcoming trip on my mind, I've had my eyes on this Kate Spade tudor city passport holder. I think it would add the perfect touch to my travels! 

3. I featured this J. Crew cashmere purl-stitch snood in my post on Tuesday and I'm oh-so-in-love with it! Some kind person out there needs to purchase this comfy piece for me!

Cozy Up

One of my hands-down favorite things about the fall season is the opportunity to wrap up in a cozy scarf.  From the texture to the pattern and color to blend, I love scarves! My mild obsession with the oh-so-comfy accessory developed while on a trip to Europe with three of my best friends in high school. It only took about 20 minutes on British soil for me to make my first purchase, and the purchases continued as we traveled around northern Europe for the following three weeks. Since then buying scarves, especially while traveling, has become a bit of a tradition for me...I can't wait to see what I find in Qatar!

1. Chan Luu Ombre cashmere & silk-blend scarf 2. J. Crew cashmere pearl-stich snood 3. Calypso St. Barth cushy cashmere scarf 4. French Connection twinkle me lurex snood 5. Modcloth start with the basics scarf 6. Barneys New York romeo cowl infinity scarf

Lately

Happy Monday, friends! Did you all have a nice weekend? I took my own advice from Friday and had some quality relaxation time. Here's a little glimpse into what I've been up to!

Although this wasn't over the weekend I have to share my Halloween costume for the year. In my current position I have the absolute pleasure of working with K-8th graders..so I of course had to dress up like a cat for Halloween! It was so adorable to see their reactions when they saw that I had dressed up!

I spent a few hours over the weekend setting up my new computer! Since changing jobs I've been without a Mac..needless to say I'm very excited to leave my PC behind.

Since I'm going to be out of the country for Thanksgiving and my cousin was home on leave from the Navy, we had our family Thanksgiving yesterday. I was given the hefty responsibility of baking one of the pumpkin pies. Baking pies is one of my favorite things to do so I had to go all out! 

Here I am with two out of three cousins!

...And cooking with my adorable grandma!

Also, you may remember that I mentioned a family auction last week. For those of you who don't know, I live in a small town in southeast Iowa and my grandparents' have a farm about 30 minutes north of where I live. After years of collecting, my grandpa gave us the go ahead to auction off all of his antique tractors, parts, 4 wheelers...basically a bunch of his toys. I realize this is a bit of detour from what I typically share with you all, but my family and I spent so much time preparing for the day I though I'd share a few pictures.

Although it went from 70 degrees and sunny to 35 degrees with clouds/sleet  (resulting in me bundling up in the farm attire below), it was still a great success! Here are a few of my favorite images that I captured...

Have a wonderful Monday!

Happy Weekend!

I'm happy to announce that the weekend has arrived! Well, it will arrive soon that is... Between the heartbreaking devastation on the east coast, endless political ads, and my ever expanding "to-do" list (less than three week until Qatar!) I feel the weekend couldn't get here soon enough. In fact I feel like we all just need a weekend. It was one of those weeks that just weighs heavy on your heart, but also holds so many beautiful moments of humanity..so, now that the weekend is here I suggest that we all take a moment to relax, bake, volunteer, dance, laugh, nap...whatever it is that you need to enjoy a little time off.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

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Thursday Love List

Happy Thursday, loves! Here are three pieces that I've been lusting over this past week! Tell me, what would make your Love List?

1. I can't get enough of the color of this J. Crew Majesty Peacoat!

2. Glitter covered Madewell loafers. Enough said.

3. Isn't this Madewell Calf Hair Polka-Dot Belt adorable?!