Pre-Fabulous: Marvelous Modular Mayhem!

I think I can safely say that my boyfriend and I have really started to outgrow our apartment. It's a great apartment that has served us many years and it's in a cool area, but we are in the mindset as of late that we want a place that is more our own. This lead to many internet searches for properties in our area that either turned out to be hideously expensive or houses so hideous it would cost a fortune to make it what we want. I mean, how much gingham wallpaper does one person need, if any??!! That got me looking at some of the cool new prefabricated modular houses that are available nowadays. No longer are prefabs just fancy double wides and bunker-esque boxes on a lot. It may not be in the cards in the future, but it's fun to look and dream!

Method Homes

Method Homes, a Washington state based company, just opened an east coast development facility that can now deliver all up and down the east coast. They make really cool, modern, sustainable, and eco-friendly houses that range from ultra modern to beach cottage. I won't bore you with words when we can have pictures! Here are some of my favorite designs from Method Homes!

Photo: Method Homes

Photo: Method Homes

Photo: Method Homes

Photo: Method Homes

They feature open floor plans, customizable features, and cool stuff like space for green roofs and solar panels. If you are in the mood fora new house our just want to daydream fora bit, visit their website at www.methodhomes.net

Blu Homes

Blu Homes is a California company that ships their houses nationwide and offers really cool, modern designs that really bring the outdoors in. Live on a bluff surrounded by gorgeous mountain scenery? Blu Homes has you covered! Their Breezehouse model is like my dream home. I've always wanted a house that has easy and open access to your backyard or any outdoor space, and this one does the trick. It really is the thing house day dreams are made of. They also are energy saving, sustainably built, and customizable to your liking (within reason, people!). Feast your eyes!

Photo: Blu Homes

Photo: Blu Homes

Photo: Blu Homes

Photo: Blue Homes

Super simple, yet really modern and cool. Blu Homes are available in a variety of floor plans and are loaded with cool features to make your Blu Home as energy efficient as possible. Take a gander at their website, www.bluhomes.com , and let visions of open floor plans dance in your head!

This may be a total pipe dream of mine, but I think it's really cool to know that options like this exist for people wanting to build a house, but who may not want the hassle of dealing with all the annoying crap that comes with it. So if you're in the market for an eco-friendly, modern style home that won't cost you millions, give these companies a look!

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Sunday Funday: The Best Time of the Year

There really is no contest; this time of year in my area is simply the best. The tourists aren't here yet, the weather hasn't gotten unbearably hot yet, there's all sorts of stuff going on, and I'm usually spending a lot of time outside.  It's like it went from dark, cold, boring nothingness that was seriously depressing to an almost overwhelming amount of stuff to do! My friends have their pool open, it's great hiking weather, Busch friggin' Gardens is open, the beach is warming up; it's almost too much to do! The past two weekends have been so amazingly perfect that it just kept my mood lifted all week. After my backpacking trip last weekend, this one was a bit more subdued, but still really enjoyable. I spent almost all day outside in my parents backyard on Saturday and the BF and I went on a long walk today. 

Two of the great things about my apartment is the fact that I have sunroom and that my landlord is an A+ gardener and keeps the place so gorgeous! I love having all sorts of plants in my sunroom, I sometimes like to call it my jungle room (like the Walking In Memphis Song!). We also have a tiny, shared backyard with all sorts of plants and flowers that are changed throughout the seasons. It's never the same stuff twice! Even though sitting at home can get boring, it's days like these that I really enjoy being at home just looking at all the pretty stuff around us.

I've been going through cookbooks (one of my very favorite things) looking for new recipes, but mostly just enjoying the pictures. This one in the photo, The Surf Cafe Cookbook, is a great cookbook for food and photo-lovers alike. The sandwich bread recipe in there is amazing, as well as the lemon squares! I highly recommend it to anyone with taste buds. It reminds me of the kinds of things I eat when I visit my relatives in England which puts me in instant vacation mode. 

 No smart-assiness here today; it must be all the sunshine. I've got no complaints and I'm very content just staring out of the window and watching the world go by. Hope you all have a great week!

Summer Trend: Palm Fun-Day

Palm Fun-Day by elbonner featuring H&M

A new summer trend is afoot and I couldn't be anymore excited about it! Palm trees are all over everything this summer and it's about damn time! The most majestic and tropicool of all trees are everywhere and they make me want nothing more than to be lounged under one, drinking too many rum punches, probably super close to total dehydration. If that happened and I had a coconut palm nearby, I could just drunkenly crack open a coconut (probably with my phone or a stray snorkel) and rehydrate with some life-giving coconut water! God bless the humble palm tree! I have collected some of my favorite palm-themed items to make your home and wardrobe a little slice of paradise!

For The Home

Beach Towel- H&M

Throw Pillow- Williams Sonoma

Duvet Cover- H&M

Men's Clothing

Balki Shirt- Rip Curl

Sundays Boardshort- Billabong

C&F Era 59 Shoe- Vans

Ladies Clothing & Accessories

Maili Clutch- Samudra

Grey Palms Classics Shoes- Toms

August Salt Palm Tank - Piperlime

Playa De Palm Sock- Stance Socks

Knee-Length Print Dress- H&M

So if you're hankering for a tropical vacation every day of the week, plaster yourself in palm trees and consider yourself on permanent island time. Palm it up!!

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LAZY BUGGER

The weather has been total shit lately. It'se been grey and raining non-stop since Monday and I'm over it, goddammit! All it makes me want to do is snuggle down in a million blankets and eat everything that is bad for me. My body wants to pack it on for the winter and I'm fighting it tooth and nail! I am also fighting the urge to spend unnecessary dollars on new bedding stuff. West Elm has the duvet cover that came literally from my dreams. When I have trouble getting to sleep, I imagine I'm in my beach-front cottage with an awesome, beachy-striped duvet and many fluffy pilows. I check their website like 2 months ago and BAM, there's my dream available for purchase:

Emily's Dream Bed, y'all!

 

 

I've been drowning myself in downy softness on Pinterest too. I can get lost for hours just looking at comfortable stuff! I really like little nap-nooks, and big daybeds with too many pillows. I always seem to fail in the bed design department because I'm too practical when it comes to what actually goes onto my bed, but these all just look so inviting!

 (All photos from Pinterest)

I think it's important to have a sleeping area that you really love and can really relax in. I've been on a quest to find the most comfortable things on the planet and slowly acquire them as the bank account allows. I've also been on the search for the most comfortable pajamas too with no avail. I'm just not satisfied with the comfort available to me, though Target is stepping up their sleepwear game. I don't know guys, I've officially hit the hibernation period and just want to get the stupid dark, cold season over with. I'll perk back up when the flowers do, but until then it's chili and hot chocolate for me.

Sew The Seeds

Holy Blog Neglect, Batman! I feel like I have done so little of substance on here lately. After confirming two actual human beings read this blog other than my boyfriend (whom I force to and quiz him on it) so I feel as if I need to step up my game. Unfortunately, this post doesn't necessarily do that, but it has a good set-up! After a macho Super Bowl Sunday consisting of eating salmon, doing my taxes, and watching Downton Abbey I realized that I need a hobby. Sitting on the computer and watching tv are great and all, but only in short spurts and I feel incredibly lazy for having nothing to show for my free time. I have no garden to tend to, I have no dog to talk, and if I keep baking things I'm going to be forced onto The Biggest Loser by my family.

So that being said, I have decided that for my hobby I want to learn to sew. There have been a million and a half times where I have moaned and groaned over not being able to find the perfect dress, swimsuit, or whatever else and have been overcome with a desire to just make that kind of stuff myself. It's a very useful hobby to have. My mom made my formal dresses for me my entire high school career. We would go to the local formal wear shop, look at the dresses I liked, and recreate them for under $100. It was incredibly satisfying wearing something gorgeous that was handmade for me at a fifth of the price of the original. I want to be able to do that for myself. Once mama gets her tax return back, I'm going to buy my little sewing machine, takes a class at a local craft shop and get to sewing! I'm pretty excited about it and hope to share some of my projects on here! Until next time, make something!