Wednesday, October 30, 2013

9 Questions For...Michaela Noelle Designs



1. Your blog and why you started it…
        
         I began Michaela Noelle Designs due to my dad's pushing me to start a blog and put my work up online. He told me as a freshman in college that being in a creative industry would be fun but also trying at times. With his push to get my name out there, I started a little blog that soon became my “baby” as I watched it grow and develop over the last 3 years!


2. The book that has impacted you the most in the last year...
     
     OneThousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. In this book, she suggests we create a list of 1000 things we’re thankful for, and that has totally put life into perspective for me, remembering to count my blessings, no matter how big or small.


3. The person you forget to thank, and now that you've remembered, what you would say to them…
     
     This is hard! I guess I would thank my college professor who sat with me in her office as I cried my freshman year over being homesick. I wanted to walk away when it got hard to be away from home, but I didn’t. That little pep talk got me through :)


4. The movie from your childhood that you loved the most...

    Most Disney films and of course, Parent Trap! (Back before Lindsay Lohan took a turn for the worst!)


5. Others think it's geeky, but it's awesome…

     The Sims. I grew up playing this computer game, but I would only build the houses. My mom would actually have to remind me to go eat dinner when I would be playing-- I got SO into it!


6.Your blog's darkest moment was when…

     I got a nasty anonymous comment. I was sad for a day, and then realized if you put yourself out there like this, that is bound to happen!


7. The skill you would learn if there were more hours in the day...

     Cooking. Definitely!


8. The trend you can't stand…

     Highwaisted shorts and pants. Just not my thing!


9. You would like us to pray about…

        I always pray for the safety of my family and friends. In this world, you just never know. I pray for love, joy, comfort, and also to actively use the days we are given for good!


10. Care to add a 10th question?

     Your favorite guilty pleasure….
                
     Watching The Bachelor while eating my favorite flavor of ice cream. (Either cookies n cream or      chocolate and caramel. It’s a toss up!)


Michaela Noelle Designs is a beautiful tribute to design and the life of a Christian woman in the gorgeous state of California. She regularly posts about her work as an interior designer, fashion, entertaining, diys and more. I have greatly enjoyed working with her! Thanks for being here, Michaela!



Monday, October 28, 2013

Monday...


Hope your Monday finds you well-rested and awake without the help of copious amounts of caffeine! I'm on my way out to drink a little bit of decaf with my mom and sister. Today's Ma's birthday!!! :) Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here is another piece from last week when I was bitten by a "white bug." Gorgeous rock crystal with little gold bows...click here to see it in the shop. Tidbit: Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder was known to have thought that rock crystal was in fact water that had frozen permanently. :)



-Song for Monday

Friday, October 25, 2013

Farrago Friday 10.25.13

This weekend...


From the week:

-Pretty DIY from Garland of Grace. Click here for instructions...



-I have a cream cardigan similar to this one (about a foot shorter) that I practically live in during the cold months. Here's one now. And another one. And another.



-I enjoyed looking through Michaela's pictures of Napa! Brought back memories.



-10 Words To Cut from Your Writing I shall be using the words "just" and "really" a lot less from now on...

-Mini Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes...dang.



-If you've ever struggled to understand some of the basic photography terms like ISO, aperture, or exposure, this article does a great job of explaining it in a simple way. It really helped me!

source


-Take this quiz put together by the New York Times to see how well you can read other people's emotions. It's cool! I got 29/36.

-Did you know this existed?! There are actually pink lakes in the world! This one's in Australia. Read a little about it here.



- I love this! Two minutes before Abbey Road...


Thursday, October 24, 2013

3 Days a Week...


Fall rolls on. I've been missing days posting over the last couple of weeks and after pondering what to do about it, I've decided to do it on purpose! I'm trying to balance two part time jobs and my jewelry business in addition to other projects floating around, so in order to give myself breathing room, I'm going to begin posting just on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (at least, temporarily). This will also allow me to focus on improving the quality of the content. It's a win-win!

TODAY...(is Thursday, but that's okay. We'll pretend it's Wednesday.) I have really been inspired by all of the beautiful white gemstones sitting on my work bench. Rock crystal, moonstone, tourmalinated and rutilated quartz, herkimer diamonds...beautiful all the time, but I especially like them paired with gold! For the holidays, I'm focused on white stones, mostly with gold, but some with silver, as well. First, is a moonstone bar necklace with wavy vermeil discs. Click here for the shop listing.


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Leather Clad

After jeans and t-shirts, jackets are my favorite things to wear. Fall is the perfect time to draw your attention to all the pretty leather ones...










Monday, October 21, 2013

Healthy Words

I was going to save this for Friday, but I decided to go ahead and share it cause it's cute and thoughtful enough to have it's own little post... This is really what people (especially girls) do with themselves. No one else wonders why God made you the way you are, they just accept the good and unique things about you as easily as they accept that an orange is orange. Speak healthy words to yourself! The orange has an incredibly wonderful citrus flavor and is full of immune boosting vitamin C!


(Wish I could find the source for this! On Pinterest it sourced to the website of a portapotty supplier. Doubtful.)

Friday, October 18, 2013

Farrago Friday 10.18.13


We have sweater weather again! Here's wishing you a great fall weekend!

From the week...

-Beeswax Candle DIY from A Beautiful Mess...



-Cute story about a future navy seal.

-A friend sent this to me this week and I thought it was great, so I'm sharing...Celebrities in Renaissance... more here.



-Milano Cookie recipe!


-5 Things Super Successful People do before 8AM

-This just saved you money:



-Pumpkin Spiced Almond Milk...:)



-I still want one...


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Breakfast!

I recently realized that I have quite the online collection of breakfast recipes sitting in pinterest or bookmarked. And most of them are sahweet! Thought I would share some of these unhealthy delights with you. As far as the sugarey ones go, if you feel guilty about the overdose of carbs, I think I've seen people toss sprigs of something green on top. That should help balance things out.

-Cream Scones and Grapefruit Curd



-Almond and Yogurt Waffles with Orange Honey Syrup



-Creamy Polenta with Egg, Arrabiata and Bacon



-Banana Pancakes with Coconut Caramel Syrup



-Savory Spinach + Cheese Waffles



-Hazelnut Crepes with Honey Whipped Cream and Fruit



-Blueberry Doughnut Muffins



-German-Style Dutch Baby Pancake








Monday, October 14, 2013

Photographer in Training


Not sure how successful the photographer in training will ultimately be when she is being trained by her untrained self, but she practices. Here are a few of the results...




Song

Thursday, October 10, 2013

9 Questions For...A Creative Day



I am really excited to kick-off a new little series today called 9 Question For... (I went with an obvious title). The purpose of this series is to connect with some other blogs and swap stories with their authors. Should be fun and encouraging! First up is A Creative Day written by a dear and long-time friend of mine, Eileen! 

     
     1. Your blog and why you started it...
I started my blog way back in 2010 (!Crazy!). I had just started a career in interior design and wanted a way to chronicle my design choices and projects. It's turned into so much more than that now… the blogging community is amazing and supportive and the 'friends' I've made over the past three years have impacted my life in ways I could never have guessed. 


2. The book that has impacted you most in the last year...
I read Blog Inc by Joy from oh joy, and it was a great read. Helped me to refocus and define where I want my blog to go.  


3. The person you forget to thank, and now that you've remembered, what you would say to them...
I think my dad. He’s a rockstar at everything but more specifically I haven’t thanked him for always allowing me to be a part of projects. He let me lay tile and run electrical with him when we worked on our house and that sparked my love of architecture.


4. The movie from your childhood that you loved the most...
The Emperor’s New Groove. Just the best movie ever. I still laugh so hard I cry.


5. Others think it's geeky, but it's awesome...
I have my dad to thank for this as well but classic Sci-fi novels. Not the fluffy new stuff but the classics like Ender's Game Taught me to think and push boundaries.


6. Your blog's darkest moment was when...
Before I knew how to photograph well and resize photos. Some of my early posts are so dark and small… YIKES!


7. The skill you would learn if there were more hours in the day...
Sewing! I wish I knew how but anything more than hem tape scares me.


8. The trend you can't stand...
I don’t like the shabby chic look. Too messy for me.


9. You would like us to pray about...
Joy. God has been teaching me so much about how much bigger He is then my storm and how to have joy in the midst of the storm. ‘In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world” John 16:33




Big "thanks" to Eileen!!! :) Follow her beautiful blog, A Creative Day for design inspiration (from a very talented interior designer), DIYs, fashion tidbits and encouraging words.