Melissa Loves

Closer to home: Melissa, Brandi, Melisa & Uncle Beefy

Melissa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:11:18 -0500

Hello lovelies...

I guess you are getting the idea that it was all about the people I met at Alt. Or as I like to call them, the life rafts in uncertain waters....a port in the storm...or...you get my jist. :) The lovelies I mentioned in the beginning part of the week I met for the first time at Alt. Others, I felt I knew online and meeting them in person just sealed the deal. Lovely to me online via our blogs or in email. Lovely to me in person. Brandi from Not your average Ordinary was my roommate there ( & has been my friend in real life for awhile now) and though I apparently talk in my sleep & kicked her once or twice( also in my sleep) ...she always seemed happy to see me. That meant the world to me. A kind & generous gal who is so smart and so sweet. Brought homemade nutella ( did I mention she is a great cook?) and we all had it one morning on croissants. Sound heavenly? It was. Melissa of Reverie Daydream is just as beautiful & serene in person as you would expect her to be. Truly a lovely,lovely soul. I kind of wish she was my neighbor...I know her good vibes would rub off on the neighborhood. :) She is lovely & calm...yes. But, always ready to give you a knowing smile or laugh with you just when you need it.

~ Melissa & Brandi ( see those sweet smiles? Don't you feel better just looking at them?) * Also, Melissa has a beautiful shop here.

Melisa of The Lil Bee has always been a fave of mine...her sense of humor and wry observations on life, motherhood and the work place always make me laugh out loud. Her "On my mind" posts always make me smile & think " I just adore this gal!" Meeting her in person was exactly the same way...lovely, funny and so very, very sweet. So happy to be able to say I have met her in person.

~ Melisa- Isn't she adorable? Yup. She is. ( and isn't that a great dress?) yup. It is. :)

Now, Uncle Beefy ( or Beef, as I like to call him) is a walking warm hug. If you aren't a hugger I feel sorry for you cause you'd be missing out. I AM a hugger so, I was all over his big, enveloping, caring hugs & could have stayed there all day. Plus, he smells SO good! ( Black by Bulgari...just so's ya know) Ready to laugh, smile, check in on you, be a friend and wear a funny hat ( see below). He was the life of the party, yes. But, he also made you feel like YOU were the party...for everyone. Not easily done.

~ Uncle Beefy ( the toy store we are in, in this photo, is just amazing. Gorgeous design that would completely possess any child that walked in there. Heck, any ADULT that walked in there! I shot some video & will try to share it with you next week. We would go there when we felt a little stressed out and just enjoy.)

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention meeting a couple other lovely people. Cause really? Lovely people really can make or break your experience...no? A warm look, a smile, a hug...these things are underrated. I try to dole them out as much as possible because I want folks to feel at ease with me. It makes the world a better place, no? These folks( above & mentioned earlier this week) had it in spades. *Also; Joslyn, Anne, Melanie, Laura, Carrie & Morgan. & Erin

So, thank you for that, lovelies. And thank you for putting up with all of my Alt. chatter this week, friends. I hope you liked it and have a wonderful weekend! Oh, but just before you go...

~ isn't this gorgeous? ( more information about the artist: here )

~ LOVE this & this (by Luke Stephenson "The incomplete dictionary of show birds" via Holly)

~ so beautiful

I will see you back here on monday, until then be well.

Melis

ps sorry for the so-so quality of the photos, I was taking them with my iphone! :)

Little things & little moments: Estelle, Courtney & Kathleen

Melissa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:17:46 -0500

Hello sweet things!

So, this week's little things & little moments is a bit different as my 3 little things & moments are wrapped up in 3 lovely ladies. This week has been my own re-cap of Alt.- because for me, it was all about the folks I spent time with there. I will admit that I was stressed there and overwhelmed but, again....the new friendships I made there made it all worthwhile. The laughter and fun times were life savers. And the 3 ladies below...made me laugh so hard I practically snorted champagne out of my nose on more than one occasion! If you know me at all, you know that laughter is the quickest way to my heart. So, Estelle, Rachel and Kathleen had a direct line. Estelle writes for The Huffington Post (and actually did a lovely piece on Alt. here) and is so frickin funny I looked to her everytime I needed a laughter break. Courtney is a watercolor and stationery artist (and is also very funny- I wiped many a tear away after laughing with her over the few days we were there) and then there is Kathleen. Kathleen runs a super cool blog called Jeremy & Kathleen, a very successful creative & consulting company with her sister (here) and her brother is a charasmatic sideshow performer! Need I say more? Well, I will....she was incredibly supportive and clearly has so many great ideas just waiting to be put into play. She seems happiest when she can help those around her find their own great ideas and if she can hook you up with someone who will make that happen? She will. She is also super funny and fun and we discovered our mutual love of hip-hop and rap ( yes, two curly headed white girls loving on Lil Wayne in Utah) There is a joke in there somewhere, I am sure. :)

~ Estelle's gorgeous photograph (she shares a soup recipe every monday and doesn't it look adorable and delicious?)

~ One of Courtney's lovely cards here (she taught a watercolor class at Alt. and I am only sad that I missed it)

~ Kathleen (she does a feature called "anatomy of an oufit" .... did I mention that she has a wicked sense of style?)

Ladies three? Thank you, for being some of the most radiant sunshine at Alt. It wouldn't have been the same without you and your wonderful senses of humor, spirits and generosity.

See you back here tomorrow, my friends. Until then, be well.

Melis

2 of a kind: Kimberly

Melissa — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:34:54 -0500

Hello sweet ones!

So, continuing to share about some of the beautiful ladies I met at Alt., today I wanted to talk about Kimberly and her beautiful photographs. Sweet from the word go and funny as the day is long. Kimberly immediately put me at ease and was so very warm and generous with me. She lives on a farm with 4 boys and her hubby. She takes her inspiration from all the loveliness surrounding her and of her travels. I used to wish I lived on a farm when I was a little girl....no doubt I romanticized the notion. But, Kimberly's photographs rekindle that dream and make it seem even better.

~ "On life as a farmer" here (I am in love with this sweet little sheep, who is one of Kimberly's own)

~ quote (via Mary I have tried to find out more about this quote, if anyone knows please share :)

~ "On dreaming of France" here

~ dress here (via Erin)

~ "On adventuring through India" here

~ arrow marquee here

~ "On dreaming of France" here

~ bracelet here

~ "On adventuring through India" here

~ ring here (via Joy)

Kimberly's blog here

Kimberly's portfolio here

Kimberly, I hope you liked my pairings with your beautiful photographs. And thank you for being so sweet and kind to me at Alt. My friends, see you back here tomorrow. Until then, be well.

Melis

Cheap & Chic: Jeanne

Melissa — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:13:00 -0500

Hi darlings!

So, one of the most important things for me, about my trip to Alt., were the awesome people I met there. I thought I would feature them this week, as their presence made the whole thing worth while for me. Though I am gregarious and friendly...I am not always good in large groups. No one ever believes that I am shy but, I actually am. I wrestle with myself; fighting the urge to flee and hole up in my room with a book. But, the beautiful & talented ladies ( and Uncle Beefy) I met while at Alt. buoyed me up and as you know, a wicked sense of humor will snag me everytime. These ladies had all of that and more. Warmth, generosity and so incredibly fun! First up is Jeanne. Jeanne is radiant....a super talented clothing designer and small business owner. She has 3 beautiful children that she homeschools in her gorgeous home and she made me laugh so hard that my voice was a whole octave lower the next day. Jeanne, I hope you like the outfit I put together around your awesome dress.

~ Audrey french tunic dress by Jeanne here $89.00

~ ring here $62.50

~ bracelet here $40.00

~ bag here $72.00

~ flat here $59.99

Jeanne is also an amazing artist....this is my favorite.

Jeanne's shop here and her blog here.

Have a wonderful day, my friends. I will see you here tomorrow, until then be well.

Melis

Monday monday....

Melissa — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:19:09 -0500

Hello my darlings

Boy, I missed you and this spot....There are lots of things I want to share with you about Alt. Summit and will get them together for the end of the week. While I was gone I saw so many lovely things and met so many great new folks. To start your week off right I thought I would share these lovelies down below. Sure to brighten the start to your week.

~ beautiful florals here ( shop coming soon)

~ awesome diy here ( met this lovely lady on my trip, so sweet)

~ still love these shoes here ( similar, the darker pink seems to be unavailable right now)

I hope you have a wonderful week, my friends. I will see you back here tomorrow. Until then, be well.

Melis

Cheap & Chic

Melissa — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:04:46 -0500

Hello dear ones!

This may be my last post for the week but, I promise to check in while I am gone! I wanted to leave you with a little outfit...since my cheap & chic searchlight has been turned on me for the past week or so. At Alt.Summit I have to wear something white or in the white family for a party that will be thrown while we are there. Since I, personally, always feel more comfortable half casual/ half dressy....this outfit reflects that. Trust me that it looks nicer in person. The top is flattering in person and the shoes are more sparkly! I will wear the two bracelets in a stack with the two gold bracelets I wear all the time ( one of my own and one of Jennifer's) Geeta kindly lent me her beautiful necklace and the bag I bought awhile ago. It definitely looks more casual in the photo but, I feel good in it and that is what matters to me. Oh, and imagine a little bit of a cream colored slip peeking out the bottom of the top ( I like the layered look and it covers me on top, as the blouse is a bit see-through.)

~ top here

~ necklace here ( thank you lovely Geeta!)

~ bag (it no longer exsists online, I bought it awhile ago)

~ top bracelet here

~ bottom bracelet here ( mine is a little different than this one, just studs without the beading around it, but couldn't find that one online)

~ heels here

~ jeans here ( you can find Joe's jeans cheaper at outlet department stores or Century 21)

I hope you like it and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, my friends! I will talk to you soon and for sure be back on monday. Until then be well.

Melis

Monday Monday....

Melissa — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:05:31 -0500

Hello sweethearts!

I hope you had a lovely weekend! Any fun things happen that you want to share? We had a good weekend, although I did spend 5 hours wandering around the giant outlet mall on Sunday....searching for jeans. sigh....I found some though! Have you ever tried Joe's jeans? I really like them ( super soft) and found them on sale at the Saks outlet there. At any rate, I am leaving for Alt. tomorrow and am super excited. Especially to meet this wonderful guy, this lovely gal, this beauty and room with this sweet friend. I am not sure how much blogging I will be doing while I am there but, will definitely check in and share some of the fun things! Wish you all could come along! Over the weekend I saw this beautiful print by Janet Hill, below. Her work constantly makes me swoon. This one, with it's beautiful colors and the stars in the background....sigh. LOVE. So, I thought I would get together some other lovelies to go with it.

~ Janet Hill's "Nightshade" here

~ necklace (ack, this one seems to be gone...but, here is one kind of similar)

~ mirror here

~ rug here

Have a wonderful day, my friends! I will see you back here tomorrow,until then be well.

Melis

Closer to home

Melissa — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:12:48 -0500

Hello lovely ones,

Ahh.....the weekend. Looking forward to it, how about you? Mostly, because Joel and I have been doing this 3 day juice cleanse and it is over as of tonight! woo hoo! :) We will celebrate my brother in law's bday, have some sleepovers undoubtedly, and dance our butts off to Dance Central on the xbox. Do any of you guys have that? It is SO much fun! What are your weekends looking like?

Luna hopes you have a great one, whatever you may be doing. :)

But, just before you go:

~ this video is awesome - great voices, cool concept (thanks Holly)

~ this video is just plain adorable ( if you like baby sloths)

~ love this & this

~ isn't this great?

I will see you back here on monday, my friends. Until then, be well.

Melis

Little things & little moments

Melissa — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:04:18 -0500

Hello my sweets!

I am going to close my eyes and pretend that I am sitting on this beach in the Florida Keys, with a tall glass of something yummy to drink beside me, a great book and a cool breeze. Who's with me? Is it raining where you are? Cold? I know some of the lovelies who read this here blog, live "down under" so, it must be warm where you are, right? Sigh.....Well, since we are pretending, I am going to pretend that the 3 things below belong to me as well ( 3 little things that are making my day sunnier today).

3 little things:

~ Rebecca's gorgeous new cuff ( that she lay on the ice, on her tummy, in freezing weather to photograph) here

~ These lovely terrariums by Holly Handmade here (via Grace)

~ These gorgeous baskets here

3 little moments:

~ NOT being sick :)

~ getting in the bath at the end of a long day with a good book

~ realizing that I am going to Alt. soon and getting excited!

How about you, my friends? Any little things or little moments that are making you particularly happy today? I would love to hear about them.

I will see you back here tomorrow, until then be well. Ok?

Melis

Opposites Attract

Melissa — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:46:19 -0500

Hello lovelies!

So sorry to have been out of commission for the past couple of days. I was hit by either a 24 hour bug or food posioning and though I felt much better yesterday, it wasn't until today that I felt completely up to snuff! :) So, I thought, to make up for lost time I would get some real beauties together for today. Drawn to each other, without a doubt, though they come from different worlds.

~ feet on the ground here ( via Laura)

~ head in the clouds here ( how spectacular IS this ring? wow...via Babette)

~ modern gal here ( via Holly)

~ traditional gal here

~ heavenly here

~ earthly here

I hope you enjoyed my opposites today, my friends. I will see you back here tomorrow. Until then, be well.

Melis