Red Velvet: A Shop I'd Take a Road-trip For

Elsie Flannigan (Elsiecake) of A Beautiful Mess blog, is seriously one of my idols and a huge inspiration to my own creativity. I have a little list of creative minds that I admire and look up to and I have always wanted to get to a point in my life where every facet of my being is just dripping with creativity like theirs.

I look up to her for all she has accomplished in her twenty-eight years of living. Not only does she have a stunning blog, filled to the brim with creativity and inspiration, but she also owns a beautifully sweet little boutique shop that I am determined to make a road-trip to.

She recently opened up her shop, Red Velvet, and I just love, love, love how she decorated and set it up. I am certain pictures do not really do it justice, but even these are sure to inspire you!

I just love her window displays and detailing as well as the fact that she sells handmade, vintage, AND sweets in her shop! Her sister is in charge of the sweet shop and I love the beautiful candy colors decorated around her counter.

So seriously, this is on my life list. Anyone wanna take a trip to Springfield, MO? 

MaieDae GIVEAWAY & Christmas Shopping SALE!

To celebrate Christmas, winter, decorating, and gift giving, MaieDae is having a one-week Christmas shopping sale! All you have to do is use the coupon code: RunOverByAReindeer and you will get 20% off your entire purchase, including custom orders between now and December 15th!

If you would like to place a custom order, just message me on my Etsy account and we can talk details!

To top it all off, I am offering a $20.00 MaieDae credit GIVEAWAY to one winner to get you started on some shopping! 

Like the prize? Here are the entry details:

• TO ENTER: Comment on this blog post, letting me know your favorite holiday tradition.
• BONUS ENTRIES: 1. Become a follower of MaieDae's blog 2. Tweet about it! I've made it easy for you, just copy and paste this: ( @MaieDae is having a Christmas shopping sale & $20.00 credit GIVEAWAY! http://tinyurl.com/2776sfa ) Please leave a comment for each entry to let me know you've entered!
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Saturday, December 11th at 12:00PM and the winner will be selected using Random.org and announced Saturday night!
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

Happy shopping to everyone! And a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

Grand Day for a Date: Puppets & Fudge

Jon's sister and fiancé gave us an early Christmas present to go and visit the Center for Puppetry Arts and watch the classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

There were about 587 excited kids in the theatre giggling and laughing and we just loved it. The puppets were beautiful and we loved the fact that the puppeteers came out afterward and explained how the puppets worked. Definitely a creative date success! As a huge bonus, they had a mini puppet museum out in the lobby and we got to visit the Jim Henson exhibit, as well as see big bird in person! 

Not only did we receive tickets to the puppet show, but we got a gift card to Kilwin's. A delicious candy//ice cream parlor in Atlantic Station. I have to admit, we each got a cup of ice cream and bought 1.5 lbs of....fudge...gosh! Anyone wanna share?

Also, if you notice...my hair is A LOT darker than usual. Funny story, but to make it short: it was supposed to be "more blonde" which turned out to be "more peach" which turned into collecting our coats at 10:30pm and taking a trip to Kroger to pick up "soft black" (Jonathon's suggestion.) We did not end up making it to bed until 12:30am, but Jon was a super sweetie and helped me put it in my hair. Gotta love a husband that will put on the rubber gloves and play around with hair dye!

Something to be excited about! Tomorrow I will be showing off some new products in my Etsy shop and kicking off my Christmas shopping sale//coupon week!

Until then,

Fancy Shmancy: A Tuesday Collection of Favorite Things 12.7.10

This week's Fancy Shmancy is filled with glitz and beautiful pops of color!

1. You Simply Glow print by Jessica Swift

2. I used to collect marbles when I was little and this made me want to restart my collection. 

3. Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic: Colors, what is better than a hot cocoa and a good interior design inspiration book?!

4. What is better than a vintage shop? A vintage shop on wheels! I love this amazingly adorable business by Vanessa & Dan called Wanderlust. 

5. Yes, please! I will take one in every color!

6. I love sugar, which naturally would mean that I love Jones Soda! I have never gotten brave enough to try any of their "Thanksgiving flavors", but seriously soda pop is so much better in a glass bottle. 

7. Kurt Halsey has been one of my most favorite artists and inspiration for years. I adore his work. I would love to own an original painting of his one day. This one is called: So much Greener in the Dark.

8. Ughh! I could pass away these are so adorable. I have always secretly wanted those little ruby flats inspired by The Wizard of Oz, but these knock-your-socks-off-heals are a much more grown-up glam version, wouldn't you say? Perfect for a holiday party?

9. Not only am I in love with this photograph and her vibrant red lips, but this whole Ruche holiday lookbook is stunning.