July 2011

Saturday Reading List

July 30, 2011

Good morning friends! Happy Saturday, I hope your weekend is off to a beautiful start! I wanted to just sneak in here and surprise you with a small post because, hey, sometimes surprises are nice :) It is a weekend reading list of sorts, a collection of book recommendations and blog post love that I think you might enjoy while you are relaxing at home over the next few days.

Let’s begin with the image above, such a simple yet beautiful little craft project from Sweet Paul. I love tiny projects like this that take what you have on hand (washi tape + an old bottle), and in a mere moment you have created something more than the sum of its parts. Here are a few more things I’ve been loving:

Book: Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters’ Guide to Shooting from the Heart. I’ve been devouring this book with my morning coffee…it’s actually making me want to read my camera’s instruction manual!

E-Mag: Gatherings Magazine by Heather Spriggs. So beautiful + creative, you will love it. Bravo Heather!

Tutorial: How to Paint Furniture from Centsational Girl. Because if you are like me, you have painted furniture in the past, but you know, without, like, a plan. This will help.

Gift Idea: The most beautiful DIY S’mores Kit from Creature Comforts. I’m taking my baby camping next weekend for the first time and we’ll almost certainly be having s’mores…I wish they looked this lovely!

Cookbook: The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual. Where has this been all my life? Classic yet stylish dishes that are healthier than the original Italian-American versions but all the more delicious for it.

Do you have anything to share? A book, film, art exhibit you’ve enjoyed? A blog post that inspired you? Feel free to share a link in the comments section, and most of all,

Enjoy your weekend! xo Laura

{ 4 comments }

{this moment}

July 29, 2011

in Babyland

{this moment} – A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining Soule Mama in a Friday ritual – if you’re inspired to do the same, please leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see! I love seeing your moments :)

Happy Friday! xo Laura

(image: Laura Gaskill)

{ 0 comments }

Stunning Interiors from Iceland & Sweden

July 28, 2011

in Books & Mags, Design & Decor

You know, as the Mama of a little guy who never stops moving (and I mean that quite literally!), the minutes I have to call my own are very precious indeed – I refuse to waste them on books or magazines that aren’t totally wonderful and inspiring. Thankfully, last night my moment of Laura-time was well spent on the current online issue of Rue Magazine, and I hope you will check it out, too, if you haven’t already! A home in Iceland and one in Sweden were two of my favorite pieces.

First I would like to share a few shots from the Icelandic home of Joel and Bergthora Gudnadottir, taken by photographer Emily Anderson. Modern and cool, but with just enough handmade, art, and vintage to keep it feeling personal and cozy. The dining room below was one of my personal favorites, but I couldn’t help but include a few more images to tempt you to click over and read the story!

Ideas to steal: large rectangular mirror used horizontally on sideboard, crochet lace on the table adds warmth, antlers + a candelabra if you want major drama.

More ideas to steal: keep your bedroom white except for a fanciful gold light, highlight a large antique brass bowl by using it to corral hats in your entryway, use an open table instead of cabinetry in the bath and stack pretty towels below, keep your whole house to a tightly reined-in palette of wood tones, black, white, and hazy purple-grays with metallics for a bit of flair.

I also loved the tiny Stockholm flat (shown above & below) of art director Joanna Swanson – especially inspiring to me because it is a) in Stockholm, a city I feel like I could move to (ahem, even though I haven’t been there…yet!) and b) because Joanna lives in this utterly tidy and stylish 750 sq. ft. space with her fiance, baby boy, and their dog. Amazing! I had to see more of Joanna’s work so I did a bit of digging and was so pleased to discover her lovely blog, Simple Blueprint, you should definitely go visit her there. She also shared on her blog some beautiful shots by photographer Alexander Pihl that were outakes for the Rue story, so I’ve included a few of those here as well – bonus! :)

I am head-over-heels in love with this bedroom, it looks so inviting with delicious bed linens, perfectly simple sconces, and a tiny foot stool used as a bedside table. Let’s take a closer look at that:

Adorable, no? Go read all about it in Rue. You won’t want to miss the table styling ideas either (really pretty) or the blogger profile of sweet Daniella. What about you? Are either of these two homes your cup of tea? Is there a place in the world that is drawing you, whether you have visited or not? For me Stockholm and Iceland are both way up high on my list, definitely in the top 5! xo Laura

(all images: Rue Magazine)

{ 4 comments }

Ideas For Creative Living + Building Community Online

July 25, 2011

in Blogs

Hello again lovelies! Welcome to the new-and-improved Lolalina ;) I forgot to mention something in my last post about the redesign…did you notice the new tagline above? Well, while I still loved my old tagline, “find your sweet life”, I wanted something fresh that would reflect more clearly the kind of content I regularly feature. So what do I love to feature most of all? Inspiring interiors, creative styling ideas, DIY and craft projects, and affordable art. The phrase “ideas for creative living” kept popping into my head and I decided that it fits my content and vision for this site perfectly.

Something else I spent time considering throughout this whole design process was why I got into blogging in the first place. I decided it was (and continues to be) because I wanted to feel like I was playing an active part in this amazing creative community of bloggers. I had been devouring blogs for years, at first quietly reading and bookmarking, and later commenting regularly on the blogs I love, before pulling up my own blank WordPress page and hitting publish for the first time more than two years ago. I love visiting my favorite blogs because it always feels like a little treat, like curling up in the living room with a good friend for a chat. My hope is that Lolalina can provide that kind of comfort and warmth and community to all of you as well.

I love the fact that I have “met” creative people from all around the world through their lovely blogs, and that I can always find someone, somewhere, willing to discuss the merits of pink paint or the best way to paint a floor white, no matter the time of day or night! One person who encompasses creative living is Yvonne Eijkenduijn of Yvestown, whose lovely home is pictured in this post. Her recent post on creating a room of her own is inspiring, you should go read it!

I just wanted to also take this chance to thank you for coming here to visit and read, whether you only have time to “eat and run” or if you stay longer and leave a comment or send me an email, I appreciate every one of you! xo Laura

(all images: Yvestown)

{ 12 comments }

A Fresh New (Blog) Look!

July 25, 2011

in Blogs

Good morning dear ones! I am so excited to say that over the weekend I was able to wrap up the main part of my blog redesign, and Lolalina is looking all shiny and new! There are still a million details I want to work on, both to put the final polish on the design and to make things even more friendly for browsing, but I will be tackling those little things in the upcoming weeks. One change I knew I wanted to make from the beginning was to make room for a bigger content column which means..bigger images! Hooray! I tried to keep the look personal and fun, adding small details that are meaningful to me like the domino book on the little table in my new banner :)

Like I said, I am still working out many details and there will be some small changes in the next few weeks. If you are reading this in your RSS feed or via email, I hope you will take a moment to hop on over to the site and check out the new look!