IDEAS!

Thank you, ladies, for your suggestions! I really enjoyed browsing the blogs. On the search, I came across a few other awesome blogs that are loaded with craft/diy/furniture restoration ideas. I have been thinking about some of them all morning. I have to admit, literally! I'm a little crazy, but when Mirabel woke me up at 4 AM I started thinking about this AWESOME LAMP! I'm kind of obsessed ;). Isn't it adorable? And I have to agree with her, I think it's a lot cuter and has tons more character than the one from Anthropologie--and I am a fan of that store, too :)!

Also, this dresser is adorable. I've never been a fan of yellow...until recently. I think living too long on the East Coast has made me a fan of everything that reminds me of sunshine. Though I love an airy white room, there's something to be said about walking into a colorful room. It's so cheerful. I have to admit, part of the reason why I'm getting ideas from books/blogs has to do with one little thing...I think if I really let

myself go, I might end up with a house that resembles PeeWee's Playhouse! :P But I love how that yellow dresser still looks cute and classy.

Ooh, and it's almost Easter! Isn't this a cute idea??!!

One more thing. Is there a place, maybe a little box under your bed, where you like to store clippings of your favorite things? Magazine cut-outs, maybe? I really enjoy weheartit.com because I don't have to worry about keeping track of that kind of box, or even lugging it with me across the country (because, after awhile, it'd get pretty heavy).

Check out the site! Basically, you put a button on your toolbar and click it whenever you see an image on a page (basically a blog/website) that you like. Then, the images on the page are highlighted and you just select your favorite image from the page :).

Fun, huh?

This is my page.

Now that I have a little girl...

I've been a fan of the Sanrio crew since I was a kiddo. Growing up in Southern California (I spent the first 9 years of my life there), I was surrounded by Hello Kitty and her pals (I'm very thankful to my young group of friends for introducing me to them).

Between the ages of 5 and 7, I lived two blocks away from a shopping center that included a Japanese bakery called Mikawaya, a grocery store formerly called Meiji Market, and a Sanrio Surprise (oh yes, and I was also about a mile away from the King's Hawaiian Bread headquarters!). My grandma and I used to go there all the time for fresh fish; my mom and I used to bike ride there on sunny Saturday afternoons. We'd be sure to stop by the Sanrio store so I could pick up a grab bag, or some over priced (but seriously cute) My Melody or Little Twin Stars mechanical pencils, for my matching plastic and probably pink pencil case (with an equally cute Sanrio character featured on the lid).

So many positive associations with these fun characters which is why I can't seem to let them go, even though I'm pushing 27.

But I don't have an excuse for Calico Critters.

And I didn't discover these Sugar Bunnies until high school/college (part of the Sanrio crew, possibly San-X). Doesn't this video have an Amelie twist to it? :)

Now that I have a little girl, I can use her as my reason for purchasing over-the-top girlie/kiddish items like these that I (yep, that would be me) just can't seem to outgrow ;).

Are there any cartoons or collectible items from your childhood that you don't want to outgrow either?