Father’s Day’s a-comin’, so let’s make something manly for a change! This dude apron is perfect for your husband or dad, especially if he loves meat. It’s kind of an homage to a carnivore, if you will. It’s also an awesome sewing project because all you need is a flour sack towel and some black trim. Let’s do this.

Materials

• flour sack towel, 33″x38″ (like these)
• black woven trim, about 1″ wide
• sewing machine
• pins
• scissors
• freezer paper
• iron
• pencil
• fabric paint
• sponge brush

Make Time: 2 hours

Arrange the towel so that a 33″ edge is at the top and the hems are wrong-side-down. Fold in the top corners 11″ from either side, and so that they fold at an angle down about 15″ on the outsides. Pin at the corners.

Cut in horizontally on both 38″ sides to meet the fold. It should be a 5″ cut, 15″ down the side.

On the wrong side, sew a straight stitch hem where you cut in on the sides. Then sew down the diagonal folds. Trim away the excess. This will form the top portion of the apron.

For the neck strap and waist ties, your measurements may vary. I cut three pieces of black trim, each about 20″. Pin the first behind the outer edges of the top of the apron and sew both sides down with a straight stitch.

With the remaining two, sew one on each side of the waist (the area where you cut in horizontally and hemmed). Pin one end behind the apron and sew with a straight stitch. Make a quick fold-over hem on the loose end so that it doesn’t unravel.

Download and print this template. Cut it out of freezer paper. Iron the freezer paper, shiny side down, onto the chest of the apron.

Using a sponge brush, liberally but carefully paint over the stencil with fabric paint. Be careful to put something down underneath the apron in case paint seeps through.

Gently peel away the freezer paper.

Be careful to let the paint fully dry before you wrap up your apron. Since we’re using fabric paint, you may want to wash the apron once before you give it as a gift. Be sure your dude knows how much love went into this bad boy! And then let him grill away to his heart’s content. Also, a word to the wise — this isn’t a project for someone who doesn’t like wrinkles. The flour sack material tends to hang on to wrinkles like crazy! You wouldn’t believe how many times I ironed this thing. I finally decided to go with the wrinkly flow. xoxo

What did we do in Palm Desert, you ask? Nothing. Glorious nothing.

Well, not exactly nothing. I mean, we cooked and ate delicious food with some of our best pals. We lounged by the pool. We even got our fitness on and worked out, believe it or not. But really, you don’t go to the desert to run around and kick up dust. You go to chill. And chill we did.

It’s so, so beautiful out there — I love the landscape. I remember when I was little I never really liked cactus plants or palm trees. I wanted things to be really leafy and green and lush. But now that I’m a little older I find something so fascinating about the minimalism of a desert landscape. The wide open space punctuated with tall, simple trees is so lovely. And the more you look, the more wildlife you see.

We did find some time to toodle around the shops at El Paseo, which you should definitely do if you ever visit. It’s a gorgeous little shopping area full of some of my faves, and the stores are small-ish but so beautifully stocked and merchandised. I wanted to just look more than I actually wanted to shop. The J.Crew and the Anthro there are particularly pretty.

We also headed into Palm Springs for a dinner on our last night, and if you’re there you have got to try Workshop Kitchen and Bar. Oh my gosh. The outside is all Palm Springs-y with white stucco and tile and cactus plants, and the inside is all minimal cement with these gorgeous hanging light fixtures. So good. It’s all fresh, farm-to-table, local ingredients, too. Get the Palm Springer if you need a sweet sip with a little kick. And while the entrees were delicious, if I were going again I’d just split a bunch of the salad bowls among friends and be happy as a clam. (Definitely have the beet salad and the asparagus & lobster chop.)

We left the desert feeling refreshed, clear-headed, and so lucky to have spent some time there with good friends. If you’ve ever been, I’d love to hear some of your faves, too! xoxo

Today’s Desktop Designer wears so many hats it’ll make your head spin (no pun intended). Stacey Millett’s got creativity to spread around, so that’s what she does. She is a photographer both at her own studio and at Gather West Photography. She and her hubs run Oliver + Michele Productions, their own boutique design studio. And to top of all off, she’s the blogger behind The Sunday Sparkle. I have no idea how she does it all!

Somehow, between her gorgeous photography, her studio work, and her blog, she also found time to put together a desktop design for us! I love this one, because it’s so unlike any that we’ve had before. And I also love her inspiration for it. We all work so hard, and it’s a perfect reminder to kick up your heels every now and then. (Not to mention, it looks exactly like my desk!) Here’s more from Stacey.

This one is up for grabs in three sizes, so get ‘em while they’re hot! Let’s clap it up for Stacey, too! Be sure to check out all of her links — you’ll get lots down a rabbit hole of awesomeness. Happy Friday! xoxo

Download for Desktop.
Download for Tablet.
Download for Phone.

You might have noticed from my Instagram feed that I’m hanging out in the desert! Mr. Lovely and I had planned a little trip to Palm Desert with my bestie and her fella, and we’re out here having a grand time. The trip just happened to fall on the same week as my mom’s surgery, so I’m checking in with family like crazy. And you’ll all be happy to know that everything went beautifully — my mom’s a champ and already fighting her way through recovery. (And she’s got a brand new hip to show for it!) After we leave the desert I’ll be heading home to stay with family for a couple of weeks to help with her rehab. I can’t thank you enough for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers — I’m so grateful for all of it.

So for now, I thought I’d leave you with a few snaps from out here! Keep following on Instagram, and next week I’ll share a full recap of our trip. xoxo

So I know that just about everybody in my generation, at some time or other in life, has owned an Ikea lack table. Don’t deny it. It was your coffee table in college; maybe now it’s your junk table in the garage or something weird like that. This one was holding our tool collection in a hall closet until recently. We brought it out and I decided to see if there’s anything you can do to it to hide its true identity. It may have worked. It also may not have. But either way, we tried, and so this newly fancy table is coming out to play.

Materials

• Ikea lack table (or similar)
• upholstery nails
• stain-proof fabric (pleather works like a charm)
• spray adhesive
• pencil
• scissors
• needle nose pliers
• soft mallet

Make Time: 1 hour

Cut out fabric for the top of your table. To do this, flip the table upside-down on the back side of your fabric and carefully trace the outline of the tabletop. Cut and set aside.

Add your nailhead trim. Hold an upholstery nail in place with pliers and gently hammer with mallet. Keep adding nails until you’ve covered all of the areas you’d like to trim.

Fully cover the back of the fabric with adhesive spray. Carefully align the fabric with the corners of the table and smooth it down, ensuring that the adhesive is secure.

There you go! Definitely an upgrade in my book. Put your favorite things out on your new(ish) table and enjoy. xoxo

A few years ago, if you had said “white skinny jeans” to me, I would have turned around and ran. I mean, tell me the thought of a tight white piece of clothing isn’t terrifying! I’ll admit it — I was skeptical. But I hitched up my britches, went into Old Navy and tried on every fit of white denim jeans they have (and there are a lot).

Somehow, magically, these jeans rock. If you’re a little on the curvy side like yours truly, I seriously can’t recommend these enough. They’re the Flirt skinnies. I frolicked all over the beach in these things. They were comfy, they didn’t gape in the back, and even though we were at the beach they didn’t make me terribly hot. Also, perfect with this skinny belt.

Oh, and I can’t get enough of that bag! Perfect for the beach but I use it as a purse, too. And I have to share these photos of Mr. Lovely because he’s so freakin’ cute in that sailboat shirt.

Okay Old Navy, you win. White skinny jeans it is. xoxo

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. Check out Old Navy’s latest fashion lineup in store or online at oldnavy.com.

Flower Photo by Oh Hello Friend.

We’re starting off the week on a personal note over here — hope you don’t mind. I don’t often share super personal stuff on the blog, but I’m wondering if I could ask you all a favor. My mom is having surgery tomorrow, and while it’s not life-threatening, it’s still heavy on my mind. Whether you pray or meditate or tap dance or whatever, if you have a moment today or tomorrow and could send some good thoughts toward my mamacita, I’d sure appreciate it. I’m sure she would too! She’s a tough one, but I figure it can’t hurt to have an army of awesome people sending prayers from all over the globe.

Thanks, guys — you’re the best. Have a great week. xoxo

Here’s more from Tiff!

I think we can all give this one the ol’ awesome stamp of approval. And all of you better put this right on your desktops, phones, and tablets, because you’re the awesome-est of all. Thanks, Tiff! xoxo

Download for Desktop
Download for Tablet
Download for Phone

But! If someone had handed me this list when I was a fledgling blogger, I probably wouldn’t cringe so hard when I go back now and look at my early posts. I mean, my Photoshop files were a mess, my photography was dismal — I could go on. But I won’t. Because now I get to tell you guys about these awesome resources in case you need them. Today’s all about tutorials and how-to resources. I still reference these sites so often they’re all bookmarked, because each one is so valuable in its own way. So here we go!

Fifth & Hazel. Melanie is a designer extraordinaire, and she has a whole FAQ column about design. It covers a little bit of everything, from fonts to design theory.

Nubby Twiglet. Shauna has a great column about the logistics, theory, and thought behind blogging. It’s a great place to go if you have a nagging question.

Pugley Pixel. This is everyone’s favorite! If you ask me, Katrina is one of the raddest girls in blogland (I totally have a blog crush on her). She’s the best of both worlds — an eye for amazing design and  the coding smarts to back it up. Her tutorials cover lots of fun photoshop techniques, and ways to pretty up your blog with a little simple coding.

Nicole’s Classes. I’ve taken a few courses through Nicole’s Classes now, and they’re all so informative and well-done. They have everything from Illustrator to Photography to Retouching, and you work at your own pace. If you don’t have a ton of dough to lay down for a class, you can search through their giant library of free tutorials.

Lynda.com. While it’s not as blogger-friendly (read: pretty) as the other sites, you can literally find a class for anything on Lynda.com. You purchase a monthly pass starting at $25 and you can learn to your heart’s content.

Hope some of these help! And as always, I’d love to hear your resources for how-tos and tutorials in the comments. xoxo

Have you come across iSanctuary yet? It’s short for International Sanctuary — it’s a jewelry company that helps survivors of human trafficking. That’s really a nutshell version of what they do. The company employs people who have made it out of the human trafficking system with the goal of helping them reintegrate and find community. Everything, from making the jewelry, to packaging, shipping, inventory, and beyond — it’s all done by survivors.

It’s hard to talk about the actual accessories while there’s so much to share about the cause behind them, but suffice to to say that they make gorgeous pieces and you should definitely take some time to explore them all. The new Spring and Summer line is full of pieces that I’m loving! They recently sent me this chevron necklace, and I wear it with everything.

Also, if you have a minute, read through their about page, too. It’s incredible what they’re accomplishing — employing women in India and the U.S., creating education and advocacy programs, and spreading the word about how to help. And by the way, if you’re interested in getting involved, there’s info here! Check it out. xoxo