{crafty} cinco de mayo.

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Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Though I have no Mexican roots, I wanted to take part in the cornflake dreams Let's Fiesta blog crawl! I have always admired the bright and bold colors associated with Cinco de Mayo. I first fell in love with those colors through the beautiful banners my freshman year roommate, {si}, brought from California to hang in our room. I tried hard to find a picture of them hanging in our room--but only found blurry ones, so I decided the best way to remedy the situation was to make my own! 

So, without further ado, here is my attempt at making my own papel picado...

Now, I must admit, the final product looks a little more elementary then I hoped...but I have dreams of creating better ones in the future...for celebrations other than Cinco de Mayo, perhaps?! Make sure to hop over to cornflake dreams and see the other lovely Cinco de Mayo fiestas across the blogosphere! 

If you decide to celebrate tonight, have fun! Even if you don't, have a very happy Thursday! xoxo {av}

P.S. Don't forget! Tomorrow = Friday, which also means Friday's Fancies! After the phenomenal turnout last week, I cannot WAIT 

to see who decides to join in the fun tomorrow :) If you have any questions, please email me or check out this handy post!!

sweet + southern.

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Growing up in Indiana, I used to make frequent trips down to South Carolina to see my grandparents in Hilton Head. On many of those visits, we made day trips to Charleston and Savannah. I always seemed to spot pineapples in southern decor, but it wasn't until I was older that I made the connection between pineapples and {southern} hospitality. 

Pineapples are traditionally a sign of hospitality--and the southern states do a great job at showing it to their guests {and their own residents}. I pulled this post together for my blogger buddy, Ashton. She is not only a Friday's Fancies Faithful but also a southern girl through and through. When I made the trip to Charleston a few weeks ago, she even took the time to meet up with little ol' me--talk about hospitality!

Since pineapples are a sign of hospitality, I thought it only appropriate to ask:

How do you make your home more welcoming to your guests? 

What is your go-to hostess gift?

Have a happy Wednesday everyone--and be sure to stop by Soulshine and say hello :)

xoxo {av}

a perfect may day.

On Sunday, I spent my last few hours in New York City with a bevy of beautiful bloggers in 

Central Park. Christine, Lauren, and I {along with Christina, who sadly couldn't make it} 

spent the last few weeks coordinating this lovely little blogger meet-up over email. The weather cooperated and we had a perfect May day in the park, picnicking in the sun with 60-degree 

temperatures. Our group meshed immediately, bonded by our mutual love of blogging. 

We shared stories and offered tips for almost two hours while munching away on our snacks 

and Amy's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Here are a few snapshots from the day!

standing {left to right}: Melissa from Strong Sense of Style, Amy from The Closet Confessions, Leanna from OMG! I Moved to NYC, Courtney from BB to 79th, Orlagh {+ Elle} from True Life: I Live in NYC, Lauren from little lg in nyc, Christine from bun&borough + Courtney from Cupcake Dynamite

sitting from {left to right}: Summer from Athena in the Middle, Casey from Classic Case, yours truly,

Keely from The Bonds of Medlock + Drew from An Extended Vacation

{not pictured}: Marz from Royal Mail, Micaela from Dolce Vita + Karina from Ramblings of a Simple Girl

{Sadly, they came after I had to run and catch my bus back to Rhode Island!}

I left the park feeling invigorated. We shared why we blog and what keeps us blogging--and it illustrated just how real the connections you make in the blogosphere are. I have a feeling there will be plenty of these NYC Blogger Meet-ups in the future...I only hope I can catch the bus back down from Rhode Island to be a part of them! My advice? If you see a meet-up posted on a blog for your area, GO. 

I assure you that you won't regret it!

I'll pose the same question to all of you today:

what prompted you to start your blog?

{I started blogging to find a creative outlet in my very uncreative career!}

Have a fabulous Tuesday--and special thanks to all the ladies who took time out of 

their gorgeous Sunday morning to meet up! xoxo {av}

{If you're interested in finding out about future dates in NYC, please email: nycbloggermeetup{at}gmail{dot}com!}

orange you glad.

first row: left - middle - right  |  second row: left - middle - right 

third row: left - middle left - middle right - right  |  fourth row: left - middle - right

fifth row: left - middle - right

May is one of my favorite months of the year--partly because it signals the return of 

real spring weather and because it holds my birthday :) While I was in NYC this weekend, 

I made my pilgrimage to the Kate Spade store on Mercer Street in SoHo. Gorgeous as always, 

the store was decked out in the color of the month for April: a beautiful spring green. When 

I inquired about the color for the month of May, one of the sales associates quietly 

said orange. I nearly squealed with delight!

Over the years, I have always gravitated toward the color orange {along with cobalt blue 

and yellow, coming in a close second and third respectively}.  I know it may not be a 

favorite of everyone, but this girl loves sporting vibrant orange pieces. In honor of this 

upcoming announcement from Kate Spade, I pulled together a few of my favorite orange 

pieces from across the internet--until their new pieces appear, of course!

So, I'm curious: what is the one color to which you always gravitate?

Can't wait to share some more photos from my NYC weekend, including the fabulous blogger 

meet-up that we had on a perfect sunny day in Central Park! Hang tight--they're coming soon :)

Much love to you all this Monday! xoxo {av}