Get me OUT OF HERE!

This kid is a genius.

Today I have that mild headachy-burn-behind-the-eyes feeling because I've been working into the wee hours and last night also doing laundry (12:30am in the basement laundry room, totally normal) in advance of the insanely anticipated vacation I'm going on tomorrow (#JamaicanMe30 woop woooop!) I'm not complaining, because hello VACATION, but the "do it all now so vacation can be vacation" workload combined with my building excitement is making any level of focus today... interesting. And when focus is coming and going I thank the holy heavens for Pinterest. Here for your reading pleasure are some freshly mined gems from site that just keeps on giving (distractions... and procrastination... and mind numbing entertainment). Enjoy!

I'm not usually one for whites and pale pinks, but this bouquet is just stunning.

Well don't YOU just look like an out-of-this-world salty and sweet treat!?

If it could be done for just 24 hours, I'd totally do it.

Beautiful to look at and no doubt delightful to eat!

I never thought about it that way... 

I desperately want to slide on this slide.

Pin there, done that Vol. 2

This post brought to you by the fabulous 

(parent)thetically speaking.

When I last left you with Pinterest project updates, one project's fate hung in the balance. I'm happy to report that it turned out great.

Pinspiration here. My result:

Playing-with-cars-while-scratching-dads-back Fathers Day gift was also a pin-success.

A #fail were these oven-baked "matzah"rella sticks. I've seen the breadcrumb version pinned all over the dang place, and decided to give it try with matzah during Passover. Obviously, no. (blame the chef and matzah, not the recipe)

A combination of a win and a whomp whomp is my DIY upholstered headboard, pinspired by this post and this post. When I made it 2 years ago, the fabric covered buttons just did not cooperate to make the tufts. So I left it alone with just the fabric and I love it, win! (very squishy and great place to rest your head while reading). But, just a week ago, we moved our bed and headboard to make room for a new area rug, and the screwed-on legs broke off. Whomp whomp. So we'll remount it directly to the wall with no legs, and it should be all better.

And last but not least (because it's one of my favorite pin-to-real-life projects) is this "monster door" that I did for my baby boy's Halloween-themed First Birthday party. I saved all the components and plan to use it every year for Halloween decor. 

What pinteresting things have you been up to lately? Any successes we absolutely must know about?

For all things fabulously (parent)thetically speaking, click HERE. 

Funnies for your Friday!

HELLLLLZ to the YES.

So yesterday the universe shined 20 minutes of spare time at the computer upon me so I paid a visit to my long lost lover Pinterest for some delightful pinning. The results are hysterical and the perfect way to head into the weekend. Enjoy!!

Best. Graffiti. Ever.

Particularly funny for this former sheepdog owner :)

hehe.

Tru dat Barb

And for your final funny of the day - I'm nearly 30 years old and travelling home tonight with a rolling suitcase containing nothing but a Father's Day Gift and dirty laundry.

#NevertooOldtoUseMomandDadsFreeWasher #HappyFathersDay!

Pinterest-ing Lately.

I needed to pin this. Obviously.

I am a Pinterest addict. I absolutely LOVE the site as a source of inspiration, information and mindless entertainment (not to mention crucial to my blog content!) and I actually get stressed if more than a day or 2 goes by without time to scroll through my feed (how will I catch up on all those pins!? What if I miss something epic-ly awesome that I NEEDED to re-pin!?) Some of my pins have a clear purpose (recipe, craft idea, decor or fashion inspiration) while others are just because they make me smile (I have an entire board dedicated to "Disney Dreams" and another simply for things that are "Beautiful to Look At"!) So here for your Thursday clicking pleasure are some of my favorite Pins from lately:

How simple/sexy/chic is this look!? I have all the pieces in my closet (black blazer, ripped boyfriend jeans, grey t and black clutch).Add some strappy heels for additional polish... Friday night are you here yet!? Pin it HERE.

OMG this is brilliant. Perfect for road trips, tailgating or general ready-for-anythingness! Pin it HERE, buy it HERE.

So true.

I keep my sunnies collection balanced on the top of my bedroom mirror, but this storage/display solution is pretty cool (plus I always find that keeping all my options visible is key to remembering all my options!) $50 to buy for those of you that aren't craft-inclined, but I think you could easily DIY this with some ingenuity and assistance from Home Depot. Pin it HERE, buy it HERE.

This dessert... this Nutella, berry bruschetta dessert, must get in my BELLY! Pin it HERE, full recipe HERE.

Wishlisting

Sultry for September

As seems to be "the way of things" on Pinterest, with the shift from summer to fall has come a deluge of new outfit images filled with this season's trends and gorgeous (see also: unaffordable) designer pieces. But even when the look is outside my budget...

Loeffler Randall Quinnie
 $295 via Zappos Couture

Burberry leather trim blanket wrap jacket
Price unknown (never a good sign)

I still allow myself to lust after the items...

Freda Salvador - $365

Sweater, sunnies, purse. I want it all.

I mean, how else am I going to find us the best off-brand copies!? When I find them, I will share.... (after I've purchased my own of course:) 

Click and Run.

Get on it.

Before you head off into your long weekend, I have a few requests for my loyal readers. Pretty pretty please (with sugar on top!) take a minute to connect to SeektobeMerry in a few great places:

Click HERE to like SeektobeMerry on Facebook (Get my daily post in your newsfeed!)

Click HERE to follow Merry Meri on Pinterest (I'm an awesome pinner!)

Click HERE to follow Merry Meri on Twitter (I tweet daily posts and more!)

Click HERE to follow SeektobeMerry on Bloglovin (an excellent blog aggregator site)

Not only are these things helpful to you, but your connecting with the blog helps me grow my traffic, which just might help me (maybe, someday) make writing in this happy little space something I could do on a may-jah scale (and that would be oh so lovely!) So please take a minute to do some clickin... then get the hell off your computer and go enjoy this last bit of summer!

(pin) there, done that

(pin) there, done that.

This post brought to you by the fabulous (parent)thetically speaking.

Our fearless leader, Ms. Merry Meri recently talked about some (adorable) items and ideas that she has pinned for possible-future-bambino(s). I can vouch for the awesomesauce-iness of one of those items, the bow-tie onesie from Haddon & Co. (it’s as dapper as it looks). Her post got me thinking about other home runs scored on Pinterest and the times that I struck out swinging…(nice little baseball metaphor, huh? sometimes you just have to let it happen).

* I made this for my guest room – I painted the canvas an accent color and added in a second dot color. I love the finished result.

* This chicken recipe was not so good, I’m not sure where it went wrong. Too much lemon maybe? And soggy green beans, yuck.

* A headband holder was in order for J’s room – iced tea mix container for the win. (I actually took a headband to the grocery store with me and walked around sliding it onto containers until I found one big enough. I have the Ziploc bag with 3 lbs of iced tea mix to prove it.) She loves that she can get her headbands all by herself.

yum!

* Last year, right before Passover, I made this bread. It was the perfect way to carb-load before the holiday got under way. I would like to make it again and try this soup for dipping.

* Fail. I tried so hard to make this work, but it was just not meant to be. I think I used the wrong foam and the wrong greenery. I ended up buying a moss ball from Michaels and shoving (literally…I’m not being dramatic) on the tied-up sticks.

* And I am smack-dab in the middle of an Etsy-inspired project that could either be a success or a dud. Its fate lies with my hot glue gun.

Going through my pins as I wrote this, I realized how many ideas were lying dormant in my boards – so I am off to DIY, cook, organize and create a unique, functional wall shelf by simply hanging an old baby grand piano on the wall (I mean, c’mon. if you get a little lost in Pinterest-fantasy-land, click on over here for a reality check)

not going to happen, Pinterest.

Part of the fun of Pinterest is talking about it with fellow addicts! What have been some of your most successful pins? Any flops? 

For previous posts from (parent)thetically speaking, click HERE and HERE.

Over-Inspired

Stop the yelling in my brain!!

Last night I could not get my brain to fall asleep. Though I felt physically tired (from an awesome weekend in Vermont!) my mind would not stop churning... when am I going to finish decorating the bedroom?, I need to cook with that fresh garlic I bought, is that exhibit at the museum closing soon?, when will I read my backlog of Vanity Fairs if I keep listening to Podcasts!? The (ridiculous) list went on and on in my head and sent me into an unusual, completely overwhelmed state. In a desperate attempt to restore order to my brain (and finally fall asleep!) I diagnosed myself with the newly discovered and wildly spreading condition of being "Over-Inspired". 

Over-inspired (adj.): the state of being overwhelmed by a plethora of good ideas, beautiful images, creative opportunities and content for consumption.

Thanks to social media, blogs, smart phones and crowd-sourcing sites like Pinterest, our days are filled with more inspiration than ever. We see beautiful homes filled with creative DIYs, our meals should be delicious and Instagram-worthy and every possible cool activity is advertised to us as something that shouldn't be missed. We see constant examples of how to be styled, organized, creative and active and though it's wonderful to have so much inspiration,  it's easy to feel overwhelmed by ideas and opportunities to go, do, see, eat, play and create.

To successfully treat a case of "over-inspiration" (as I did, around 2 a.m.) remember these important truths: (1) we are not all professional chefs, decorators, craft-ers or travelers; (2) half-finished projects are not failures, "eventually" is just fine!; and (3) ya can't do it all. The planet is filled with more coolness than 1 person can possibly absorb so sometimes you just have to pass. And if all else fails, there's THIS.

For thought and laughter

always look lovely.

Every so often, I come across a quote, either on a blog or Pinterest, that really resonates with me. It makes me think...

So true.

Or smile.

oh kate...

Or laugh. Laughing is good...

I heard unicorns poop rainbows.

Happy Friday my Merry Friends

Hump Day Distractions

hehe.

I'm feeling a bit "off" today... not sick enough to stay at home, not healthy enough to be cheery at work. Blegh. Let's get right to the distractions!

* Just a few white lies we can all get behind.

* Holy CRAP this dog is freakin amazing.

* Melted cheese is the key to my heart (balsamic soaked tomatoes don't hurt either:)

* You know how I feel about concerts alone, but what about travelling?

* Was I the only person on the planet who didn't know about the Harlem Shake phenom until last week!? Well in an effort to improve my cool factor, I went on a shake binge. Check out my favorites HERE and HERE and HERE.

* Got loads of compliments on my mani when I brought this Pin to life (note: I used dark purple for the base coat).

* Did you know that this happened to Venice in the fall!? How cool/crazy/scary/nuts!

* Makes you say "whhhhhhhhat!?!"

In an alternate universe...

I have a Pinterest alter-ego, and she has a seriously glamorous wardrobe... I don't know what she does for a living, or where she goes on weekends, but she gets to wear stunning and funky things like this: 

and this...

and this...

Her shoe collection is pretty incredible:

... and when it comes to accessories, she spares no expense:

All in all, she's a pretty fabulous gal.
Happy Friday my friends:)

Beautiful to look at.

Versailles gardens in winter

I'm a sucker for a stunning photograph and lately Pinterest has been overflowing with beautiful wintery images. Snowy wonderlands like this:

bison.

and this...

reflect.

and this:

bah.

Winter can be oh so very glamorous...

yes please.

May your weekend be wintery and merry and bright!