{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Techie

My final installment in the Last Minute Gift Guide is for The Techie and all items can be found at Best Buy.

1) Targus Paintbrush and Stylus.  I've never tried one of these before, but I really hope it works as well as they say it does.  I love the idea of being able to paint on my iPad!  

2) Sony DSCQX10 Attachable LensStyle Camera.  I have been impatiently waiting for this to come out!  It pairs up with your phone to enhance your phone capabilities and allows you to take better pictures.  It can be clipped on to your phone or placed anywhere you want and controlled with your phone.

3) Canon CP900 Compact Photo Printer.  I've been looking into getting one of these for years.  With everything being digital now, sometimes all those lovely pictures just get forgotten.  This little printer makes it super easy to print out your favorite snapshots so that your photos aren't lost forever on your hard drive.

4) Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio.  I have one of these and it's really nice to have.  I especially love it for working on the go.  I can just pop it on my iPad, throw it in my purse, and I'm ready to work from anywhere.  

5) CaseMate Glam Case.  Any tech obsessed girl would love this iPhone case.  The perfect little bit of glamour and sparkle.

Well that's it for this year's Last Minute Gift Guide!  I hope it helped you with a gift or two.  I hope you all have the happiest of holidays!            

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Man

Today's gift guide is for The Man in your life and all items can be found at Urban Outfitters.  Once again, I tried really hard pick a different place this year, but I just really like the variety Urban Outfitters offers.  Alright, on to today's guide.

1) Fred Perry Woodford Twill Shoe.  I love these shoes and they are very affordable.  

2) BDG Speckled Ragland Zip-Up Hoodie.  This sweatshirt is a staple in the hubs wardrobe, and they are really nice and comfy to steal from their closet for yourself.  

3) iPhone 5/5s Charger Keychain.  I love that this charger is super small and convenient.  I also liked the fact that it charges back up via usb giving you endless opportunities to get it charged up.  

4) Herschel Supply Co. Novel Weekender.  Every man need a good duffle and this one is timeless.

5) Brooklyn Brew Shop Beer Making Kit.  This one's for the beer loving man because what beer loving man wouldn't want to try out making their own brew?  

That's it for today!  I'll be back on Monday with ideas for The Techie!    

Edit: From the time I put together The Man gift guide to today when I posted it, the Fred Perry Woodford Twill Shoe sold out.  The Fred Perry Kingston Twill Shoe is another great option for you to check out.  

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Fashionista

Today's gift guide is for The Fashionista and all items can be found at J Crew.    Shall we dive right in?  Lets!

1) Merino Tippi Sweater.  It's classic, will never go out of style, and pairs nicely with #3.  

2) Fanned Droplets Necklace.  Oh, what can I say...I'm a sucker for pretty jewels.  Probably the reason over half of my jewelry collection is from J Crew.  Great quality and always gorgeous! 

3) Minne Pant.  These pants are oh so cute, girly and fun!

4) Bar Clutch.  Every Fashionista needs a good clutch and I really love the the gold details on this one! 

5) Etta Suede Pumps.  I had to include a pair of shoes to complete this look.  The Etta Pumps are the best...so comfortable, yet so stylish.  These black ones are a great pick because they'll go with everything!  

Well that's it for today!  See you back here tomorrow for some last minute ideas for The Man in our life!    

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Beauty Obsessed

Today's gift guide is for The Beauty Obsessed and all items can be purchased at Lush.  I don't have it on the guide, but if  the recipient loves baths, make sure you throw in one of their awesome bath bombs!

1) It's Christmas Deer Knot Wrap.  How cute is this scarf!?!  It has a vintage vibe to it and is the perfect thing to wrap up all your goodies for your beauty obsessed friend.  

2) Vanilla Delite Body Lotion.  Super light yummy smelling lotion.  You can't go wrong!

3) Love Lettuce Face Mask.  Their face masks are amazing and this one is one of my favorites.  It leaves your skin feeling great and it even smells like it's good for you!  

4) Mint Julips Lip Scrub.  Perfect remedy for those chapped winter lips!

5) Ocean Salt Scrub.  Another perfect product for winter.  I love this scrub because it's not so course that it makes my skin hurt after and it works wonders exfoliating dry skin.  You can also pretend for just a moment that you're on a nice sandy beach somewhere!

I hope you all got some great ideas!  I'll see you tomorrow with some ideas for The Fashionista.             

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Hostess

Today's Last Minute Gift Guide is for The Hostess.  I tried to mix it up this year and find something other than Anthropologie, but I they are just way to hostess worthy to pass up.  

1) Mr. Boddington's Mistral Pomegranate Hand Soap.  The bottle is pretty and it smells amazing!

2) Color Blocked Cake Stand.  I haven't met a hostess yet that didn't like a good cake stand.  I love them so much, I've basically started collecting them.

3) Cocktail Chatter Napkins.  These are absolutely adorbs...enough said.

4) Salt Water Taffy.  The packaging is so cute, and I really like the idea of mixing in a little food with Holiday gifts.

5) Tea-And-Crumpets Apron.  Every lovely hostess needs a good apron and this one is so festive and bright.  It's a must have.    

Well that's it for today's gift guide.  I'll be back tomorrow with a guide for the Beauty Obsessed.  

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Workaholic

It's that time of year again!  Are you ready?  After my trip to New York in October, I was in full Christmas mode, so unlike last year, I'm all ready to go.  If you're not like me, don't feel bad.  With such a short timeline between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm sure you're not alone.  

I had so much fun putting together the Last Minute Gift Guide for you all last year, I thought I'd bring it back.  Just like last year, each day will focus on a particular recipient and all items will be from the same store to cut down on the number of stops you have to make.  

Today's gift guide is for The Workaholic...the Fashionable Workaholic that is.  Everything can be found at Kate Spade.  I hope you all enjoy this year's first installment! 

1: Break The Ice Insulated Tumbler

 2: Bow USB Flash Drive

3: Library Card Small Notepad

4: Idiom Pencil Set

5: Colorblock Cube Paperweight

{My Life} Lowes Deck The Halls Event

Photo taken by Patrick Schneider for Lowes.

Happy Thursday!  I hope you all are having a lovely week so far!  As many of you know, I've been working for Holly Becker since April.  I've really been loving it so far!  It's really interesting to get a behind the scenes look at how things work at decor8, but also, Holly is uber sweet and a great person to work for.  Holly is currently pregnant with her first child and was unable to travel, so when Lowes invited her to attend their Deck The Halls event in New York, she sent me in her place.  I had a really great time and my mind has been in Christmas mode ever since.  To hear more about the event see my full post on decor8.  

{Holidays} Minted's Holiday Inspiration Board Challenge

Through The Woods board by Jessica. See more Minted

It's that time of year again!  I had so much fun putting together my inspiration board last year for Minted's Inspiration Board Challenge, I just had to do one again this year.  I've been really inspired lately by Scandinavian design and also an overall "woodsy" feel especially for the holidays.  If you want to see where my photos came from here are the links (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

{My Life} Feeling Ready...

Photo Credits (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4

It's funny how life sneaks up on you, and suddenly, something that seemed so far down the road is right around the corner.  My husband Jason and I have been together for 11 years now and it seems like for as long as I could remember we said we would start trying for kids when I turned 30.

{Freebie} October / November Desktop Background

Hey everybody!  How are you all?  I missed you!  I know I have been a terrible blogger this summer, but since I've always looked at this space as a creative outlet, unfortunately it's the first thing that gets cut when life gets busy.  I feel very fortunate to have had so many fun things going on this summer, but we ended up being out of town or busy almost every single weekend for the last 4 months.  While it was all fun stuff, I'm extremely excited to have life get back to normal and slow down a bit.

Get Creative with Color

Happy Monday everybody!  I'm going to be leading a Washi Tape Workshop this Saturday at the West Elm in Edina as part of their Get Creative with Color event.  If you're interested in seeing how you can use this fun medium to spruce up everyday items, you can RSVP here.  I would love the chance to get to meet some of you in person!

I hope to see some of you there!

{Freebie} June Desktop Background

Happy June everybody!  (Can you believe it's already June!)  I know it looks bad, but I promise my blog is not going to turn into a once a month desktop background freebie blog.  I've been super busy lately, and Serendipitous Things unfortunately is one of the first things I cut when I have  a lot going on.  I'm hoping I'll have more time soon to get back to posting on here more regularly.

{Freebie} May Desktop Background

Can you believe it's May already?  It hardly feels like May to me, since it is just starting to warm up here in the Twin Cities!  I hope that we get a nice long summer after this not so nice spring.  Anyway, here is the desktop background I made for May.  I had to include one of the photos I recently took after doing some flower arranging.

{Lovely Pins} Spring Favorites

Photo Credits (clockwise from left): 1, 2, 3, 4

One of my favorite things about spring is all the bright colors.  I also love spring flowers (tulips and ranunculus!!!) and temperatures that allow you to be in a dress with a sweater sans tights and coat.  I've always been the type of girl that needs to be by/in the water if it's hot out, otherwise I'd just assume be in the comfort of my air conditioner.  That's why spring and fall are my favorite seasons.  

{Freebie} April Desktop Background

Hey everybody!  It's my 30th birthday and I have family in town, but I just wanted to pop on quick to share the wallpaper I put together for this month.   I think it's my favorite yet!

Once again, I have a plain one, and one with the folder boxes.

{Fashion Obsessed} Watch out J Crew, Old Navy's stepping it up!

I wouldn't consider myself a brand snob at all, but I have to admit that most of my wardrobe consists of J Crew and Anthropologie clothing.  It's entirely based on the fact that they seem to fit my "style" to a T, and I just can't get enough.  

Last week I received an email from Old Navy, and while I usually just click the delete button whenever I get them (I haven't shopped there hardly at all the last, I don't know, 7 years?) this one was hard to delete...All Dresses On Sale.  My biggest shopping weakness...dresses!  I figured I better go check it out.    

Photo Credits: Old Navy

I was blown away at how much cute stuff they had.  I felt more like I was in J Crew, not Old Navy.  They had an adorable floral button ups that were incredibly similar to the Liberty button ups I've been eyeing at J Crew only they were $15 compared to $150.   I felt like a kid in a candy store, I bought 3, and they fit like a dream!  They had tons of other stuff that was just as adorable (much of which also came home with me).  

 If it weren't for the same old boring industrial somewhat cheap looking store, I really would have felt like I was at a much more expensive/trendy store.  They seriously need to think about updating the "look" of their stores and also about how they style their photos for the website.  Look at the difference between theses photos.  

Photo Credits: J Crew and Old Navy

If I were just looking online I would assume the Old Navy one (on the right) was no where near as cute as the J Crew one (on the left) in person, but in reality it is.  It's obviously not as high quality (not that it necessarily looks cheaper by any means), but for the price you can't beat it.  

Moral of the story?  If you were like me and wrote off Old Navy forever ago, go check them out again. I doubt that they're going to replace my two favorite stores any time soon, but they might save me a little money here and there.  

{iPhoneography 365} February

I've been chugging along with my iPhoneography, and I can't believe how fast February flew by!  So without further adieu, here was my February.  

February 1st: I put up my cute homemade Valentine's banner.

February 2nd: Doggert had his cousin Oliver over for a play date.  

February 3rd: It snowed a bunch the night before, but the hubs and I ventured out for breakfast anyway.  

February 4th: I was out running errands and snapped this pic of the clouds.

February 5th: I picked up this amazing sweater with a Liberty print collar from J Crew.  Amazing!

February 6th: My polka dot J Crew button up from last year spruced up my boring parka very nicely.  

February 7th: My hubs and I stopped at a cute little small town bar on our way to meet up with our friends for a weekend of college hockey in Omaha, NE.  

February 8th: First night of hockey success!  

February 9th: Second night of hockey success, this time outside with less than ideal ice conditions.  We needed lots of layers to stay warm.

February 10th: Our third less than ideal drive home this winter, but we made it home safely.

February 11th: My blog's 2nd birthday!  :)  We celebrated with a yummy little cake and balloons.

February 12th: A delicious caprese salad I made for dinner.  So good!  

February 13th: I was doing some work on our townhouse that we rent, and this was some of my handy work (new curtains and rod).  It was a big improvement from what was there before.  

February 14th: I woke up with a sore throat, and was miserable for most of the day.  I did take a break from my chair to go to a delicious Valentine's dinner with my hubby.

February 15th: I woke up feeling sicker and I didn't realize I hadn't snapped a photo yet that day until we went to bed, so I snapped a photo of our nightly routine...a few episodes of one of our favorite shows before we go to sleep.    

February 16th: Still sick, Doggert helped by cuddling with me every chance he got.  

February 17th: I literally didn't leave bed all day, and was so sick I forgot to snap a photo.  

February 18th: My sickness continues (I'm actually still sick as I type this...it's getting really old).  Fluids, hand sanitizer  and my thermometer are becoming some of my new best friends.  

February 19th: This is a common occurrence between Doggert and my computer.  It's his "Mom, pay attention to me instead" face.  

February 20th: I had a craft day with my sister.  We made little ring dishes out of clay.  For this one I attached a little monkey figure to it and painted them both gold.  

February 21st: I turned my studio into a packing zone for our trip to Los Angeles.

February 22nd: Time to leave for sunny California and we picked the perfect time to do it! 

February 23rd: The first day of our trip, my aunt and uncle met up with me.  

February 24th: This one was taken from Universal City right before we went to a movie.

February 25th: I decided to go to LACMA while my hubby was busy working, but didn't realize everything closed at 5pm.  I was super bummed, but made the best of it and checked out the outside instead.  

February 26th: For our last full day in LA we decided to go to a taping of Conan.  It was super fun!

February 27th: Last look of the ocean and the beach.  Time to head home.

February 28th: He makes being back in the cold worth it.  Such a cutie!  

I have lots more fun stuff in store for March, most importantly my 30th birthday party at the end of the month and Easter with my family!

{Freebie} March Desktop Background

Hey everybody!  It seemed like my February Desktop was kind of a hit, so I made one for March too.  I've really been loving all things chalkboard, so I really wanted to do something with that.

 Just like last month I'm giving you the option to have it with or with out the folder boxes.   I personally like them, but then again, I like to organize everything!

I'm hoping to be back to blogging more regularly in March.  Between being sick for most of February and being out of town, it was hard to fit it in last month.  I'm also excited to be taking another Blogging Your Way course called Blog Boss!  I can' t wait for more awesome inspiration from the lovely Holly Becker.

Happy 2nd Birthday Serendipitous Things!

I'm recovering today from a little vacation with friends, but I had to pop on quick to wish my blog a happy 2nd birthday!  It has added so much to my life these past few years, and I can't wait to see all the fun stuff it brings me in the future.  

{iPhoneography 365} January

 A few years ago I attended the Creative Connection here in St Paul, and one of the speakers was Becky Higgins.  She was talking about her project life line, and she said something that really made sense to me.  She said that we often times only take pictures of people (which was obviously great), but that we often end up missing all the little everyday seemingly ordinary moments.  

With those words in the back of my mind, I thought that it might be fun to see if I can do a photo a day for the next year.  I am after all constantly taking pictures on my phone.  I'm skeptical that I'll be able to pull it off, but January was pretty easy so you never know.  Anyway, here is my January through the lens of my iPhone.  

January 1st: The aftermath of our New Year's Eve party...we threw some glitter and made it rain.

January 2nd: The start of a new planner...always a good feeling for some reason.  

January 3rd: The adorable owl cookie jar I got from my Mother-In-Law for Christmas, and the super cute canister that marries perfectly with it (found at Target).

January 4th: Bring on the next holiday and let the Valentine crafts begin!

January 5th and 6th:  Sometimes you're pup is so cute that he has to be the subject two days in a row.

January 7th: New year, new hair.  Decided to go a little darker.  

January 8th: Doggert decided that my leg was enough protection to save him from the vet...sadly he was mistaken.

January 9th: My sister and I went shopping at some lovely new jems, and in one there was this very cute rescue dog that was very fond of Katie.  

January 10th: I tested out my sewing skills and made some of these little canvas Valentine bags.  

January 11th: I was having a good hair day...always photo worthy.

January 12th: My sister found some sunglasses that were just made for her...

January 13th: We had some Sunday funday beers with our friends Derek and Alli at our favorite local bar.

January 14th: I cleaned my closet...it was long overdue.

January 15th: I gathered up some pretty things for a little impromptu photo shoot. 

January 16th: I went to my sisters for the afternoon and saw her adorable kitty Oliver (who is growing up way to fast).

January 17th: I put my mantel back together (after I took down the Christmas decor) and made a little Valentines banner to spruce it up a bit.  

January 18th: I stopped to grab beer at a nearby liquor store I had never been too, and went back in time.

January 19th: We had a bunch a friends over to eat tacos and watch hockey.

January 20th: We enjoyed some yummy Russian food with our friends Phil and Missy.

January 21st: It was freezing outside!  I think this was the only time I ventured out that day

January 22nd: I mailed out some Valentines to some of my girlfriends and to some of the little ones in my life.

January 23rd: I saw these adorable little creatures on the walls of I Like You.

January 24th: I put some hardware on my cabinets in my studio...love, love, love them!

January 25th: I went to Crashed Ice...very fun to see the Cathedral all lit up in blue!

January 26th: I made a DELICIOUS cake for my friend Kristen's birthday...complete with a 30th chalkboard birthday banner.

January 27th: Rain + Ice + Snow = No Fun...but it was pretty.  

January 28th: Not so great roads on the way to say goodbye to my husbands wonderful Grandma Wilma.  Saying she'll be greatly missed is an understatement.

January 29th: Our very dapper nephew getting his juice on.

January 30th: Using my newly downloaded Vine app to send some of my favorite ladies a #bloghug      

January 31st: Flipping through a stack of new magazines.

I  can't wait to see what the next month brings!  

  

{Lovely Pins} Mint And Pink

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

So many fun little Valentine projects have me obsessing over the color combination of Mint and Pink.  No matter what shades of either color you use, the combination is so fun and pretty.

Happy Friday everybody!  Have a fantastic weekend!    

{Freebie} February Desktop Background

I don't know about you guys, but for me, having my computer desktop organized and pretty is just as

important to me as having my physical desk all organized and pretty.  I'm always searching for new and exciting desktop backgrounds, and lately I've been really liking the ones that allow you to organize your folders.  What I don't like though is that they usually have very specific titles that don't always exactly work for me, so I decided just to make my own.

Then I thought, why not share it with all my readers, which leads me to Serendipitous Things very first "freebie."  There are 8 different versions in 4 different colors...4 that just have the calendar and 4 that have folder organization built in.  All you have to do is click on the one you want, and it'll open it larger.  Then just right click and select "Save Image As."  Please let me know if you have any problems.  I'm super new to this, so it's very possible I'm doing something wrong.

Have a lovely day!

{Fashion Obsessed} Golden Globes 2013

I almost never actually get to sit down and watch an award show, but without fail I'm always online looking at all the beautiful ladies in their pretty dresses.  Oddly my top 3 favorite dresses from the Golden Globes this year are all sweatheart top and all various heart day colors...I think all these Valentines crafts I've been doing are starting to affect me in other ways.  My absolute favorite had to be Jessica Alba's Oscar de la Renta dress.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I love that she left her hair down instead of opting for an up do.  

I hope you all had a fantastic night last night, whether you got to watch or not.  Have a great Monday!    

{Fab Finds} Valentines

Every year I give myself about a day to reflect on the last holiday (New Year's Eve) before I'm onto the next one.  This year was no exception.  Right on cue, January 2nd I immediately started working on some Valentine's Day crafts, and it has me all excited about pink and red and hearts.   I love picking out Valentines for all of my loved ones, so I thought I would share some of the fun one's I've stumbled upon this year.  

1: Polka Cupid by Mr Boddington's Studio // 2: You're The Bee's Knees by Rifle Paper Co  
3: Underwear Bear from Kate's Paperie // 4: Happy Valentine's Day Card by Quill & Fox

I also found some cute ones for the kiddos that I just have to share.  

1: You're A Blast by Dish & Spoon for Minted // 2: You're A Peach by Chryssi Tsoupanarias for Minted
3: Owls Valentine Kit from Paper Source // 4: Guitar Valentine Kit from Paper Source

In addition to some pretty adorable valentines, I'm also in the process of making some lovely card cases for a few of my friends.  I can't wait to share them with you when I'm finished.  

{Random Things} Resolutions

It's all you see this time of year...resolution after resolution.  If you've been on Facebook or Pinterest in the last 24 hours you know what I'm talking about.  I personally have never been one to make resolutions for the new year.  It's not that I think there is anything wrong with it.  It's just that I've always thought that it's just an arbitrary date, and that you should be setting "resolutions" for yourself all throughout the year.  This year however, I've been excited to start a new year.  It really feels like a fresh start and for whatever reason I feel inspired to set some goals for myself this year.  Here they are.

Be a better blogger: This little blog of mine doesn't get nearly the amount of readers as some other blogs out there, but I love it anyway.  I truly appreciate all of my regular readers and hope that I can inspiring you all in some way this year.

Improve overall heath: Now this isn't the usual weight loss resolution.  I don't have some big goal to loose x amount of pounds.  I just want to get healthier in general...eat better, get more exercise, etc.  If I end up loosing weight, awesome.  

Career...enough said: Like a lot of people, I'm still struggling to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.  It's a strange feeling because I feel so "together" with most aspects of my life.  I get overwhelmed by all the things I think I would like to do, knowing that I can't do it all.  

Stay organized: Staying organized keeps me sane.  Lately everything has been so chaotic that I've let things slide a bit, and it's been driving me crazy.  

Do more creative exploring: The creative process was very instrumental in my happiness last year.  This year I would like to delve into new creative things even further.

Be the best person I can be: Treat others with kindness, be a good wife, sister, daughter, and friend.

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I look forward to seeing what 2013 has in store for us all!