My Muse of the Week: One Pretty Thing

In the spirit of DIY, I was so excited to find this new blog called One Pretty Thing written by it's creator Rachel Klein. Everyday, this site brings together and showcases loads of DIY projects that range from those for the home to entertaining. It's practically a never ending source for projects, and their search engine makes it easy to find something specific. Projects can come from anywhere, whether they be from the master DIY Diva herself, Martha Stewart, or from everyday project tacklers like myself. If you have a DIY project that you would like to share, One Pretty Thing has a Flickr group that allows you to upload pictures of your project which could be featured on the next post! Different projects are usually put together in photo collages like the one above and you can click on the one that interests you.

Being that I love picture galleries in the home, I automatically clicked on this one:

Instead of the usual random shapes, One Pretty Thing linked me to the tutorial on the Martha Stewart site, which used a horizontal line as the main element in the picture gallery. Pictures of different sizes were then placed according to the line, I love the orderly look to it, but it still is eye catching! It reminds me of this staircase look that I would love to recreate in our home from Pottery Barn:

Ahhh, I love frames!

My Muses of the Week: Vogue and Fashion Addict's Diary

Happy Monday!

Like I promised, it's officially Mangonett's Fashion Week! Get ready because this is going to be a lot of fun! This week I have not one, but two Muses of the Week, I couldn't really decide between the two. There are so many great fashion blogs out there, I'll probably be mentioning more of them in the future. However this week, these are my favorite two...

Vogue's Style File Fashion Blog

How can you mention fashion and not talk about the go-to place for everything fabulous, Vogue? One of the oldest magazines in the fashion world, this is the place you go to for hardcore, up-to-trend news. However, since it's hard for me to wait for the issue every month, I was pleased to discover that they have a fashion blog! It's authored by several writers who collaborate and report about hot fashion items and news from the fashion world. I love their feature called "Model Behavior" which features different models from around the world, both super and up-and-coming, my favorites are the quirky ones!

Fashion Addict Diary:

Above is the picture of the fashion addict herself...hello, you are not alone. This has quickly become one of my favorite blog reads because she combines her sassy wit with awesome fashion news and great editorial pics. I just can't stop scrolling down the page and reading older posts. Her daily fashion accounts are short and sweet, usually filled with great photos that leave you wanting to go out there and hit the mall. If you aching for even more great fashion blogs, check out the amazing blog roll. It's definitely not helping this fashion addict!

My Muse of the Week: Nest

Yesterday while reading the always amazing Modern Design Blog, I read about this wonderful organization called Nest. This nonprofit organization dedicated itself to helping women around the world, specifically those in developing countries by helping them start their own businesses. Nest aides women artists and artisans to help develop their craft and sell it on the Nest site, it reminded me at first of Etsy, but then when I learned more about the organization I realized that the items were handmade from female artists all of the world and that the proceeds go to a good cause. In order to help these ladies start their businesses, Nest provides "micro-credit loans" in order to help these ladies buy supplies and any other materials to start and maintain their businesses. These interest free loans can range from $50 to $2,000, the women then pay the loans back with goods that are sold on the site. According to the Nest president, Rebecca Kousky, they have had a 100% payback rate! I found it inspiring that there is someone out there giving a voice to female artists all over the world, especially in developing countries where their talents usually go unnoticed. If you get a chance check out the Nest site and even stop in on their blog, where they are constantly updated about the progress of these wonderful artists!

My Muse of the Week: Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone...

What is it about reading about other people's lives that we find so fascinating? Is it that as human beings we are naturally curious or "nosey" as my mom likes to call it? Or could it be that during all the shenanigans we get into, it's nice to know that there is a complete stranger out there getting into the same mischief we are? Well, whatever it is, I'm definitely one of those people that loves to read about other people's adventures in life. For some reason, reality is so much more fun, or as I like to say, "You can't make this stuff up!"

A couple of weeks ago I discovered the blog of a young couple called "Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone". The tittle caught my eye because as a child I lived 10 minutes from the big apple, and it was quite normal for my parents to take my sister and I to the city on the weekends and walk by those beautiful homes. Up until today, I still wonder what they look like inside and who lives in those historic homes. So I was thrilled to find this chronicle of a couples journey to make this beautiful limestone their own. Not only do they constantly post about amazing decorating ideas, but they share in the wonderful mishaps that come with decorating a home. The limestone is amazing with it's wood floors and architecture, everything I pictured they would be. Don't be fooled, if you look at the recent posts the home looks absolutely beautiful, however since 2007 this couple has worked very hard on it and given it lots of love.

While reading this blog and staring at my own 3 story town home over the past couple of days, I realized that I can create my own limestone here in sunny south Florida. It might not be in NYC, but the beautiful homes of the city are now my inspiration for our home! Beautiful and relaxed decor along with great architecture and personality are must haves, however I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun!

My Muse of the Week: Good Things Catered

Along with decorating our home, another obsession of mine has been cooking. Before I was married, I wasn't really one to be described as a master in the kitchen. Over the past 5 months I have gone from a complete blank to an apprentice and have learned tons of new tricks along the way.

One of my favorite go-to places for great recipes and cooking advice is the blog "Good Things Catered" authored by a fellow "nestie" Katie D. Her recipes are simple to follow and delicious. I love the new twists on everyday dishes and the fact that they do not take very long to make, a must when you work 9-5 and have a husband that tends to be quite hungry when he gets home! The recipes tend to be generally healthy, however she throws in some tasty treats every now and then, like these Sunflower Cupcakes that I am itching to try:

If you are a beginner like me, definitely check out Good Things Catered, you'll be a pro in no time!

My Muse of the Week: Material Girl's

I've been a fan of this blog for a while now, and their recent posts on home design have made me take some risks while shopping for cool items to put in our home. The blog is authored by two ladies named Emily and Lauren, who met at interior design school and since then remained friends ever since. Their love for all things design inspired them to create this great blog where they post about everything from architecture to fabric designs. Plus, they've hung out with Brad Pitt...not to shabby.


* Post correction: They did not get a chance to meet Brad Pitt, however, I think they're pretty cool so I'm going to pretend they did!

My Muse of the Week: Taste Spotting

One of my favorite recipe websites was on hiatus for a little while, but it's back up and running in all it's glory again! Taste Spotting is a beyond fantastic recipe site that features practically any dish you can think of, and some you might have not even imagined. It's my Muse of the Week because the holiday weekend is here and I am inspired to whip up some of these delicious creations...mainly the sweet stuff.

The website is created to look like it's made up recipe cards, featuring a picture of each dish. If you click on a card it will lead you to a rather easy to follow recipe and real life comments on how readers enjoyed making the dish. Their search engine up top allows you to search for anything you might have specifically in mind, giving you some wonderful options to try. Some of my favorite recipes that I want to try this weekend are the Margarita Ice pops

and the Extreme Rotini and Cheese.

My Muse of the Week: Lotus Haus

My first "Muse of the Week" find is dedicated to Lotus Haus, a Seattle based blog authored by Joanna Dyckhoff. Her blog is a wonderful mix of creative inspiration, mainly focusing on design. She features interesting design concepts that are full of color, I love her GlobalFlora feature which showcases global weddings and special events.

Throughout her posts you will find amazing insights into different cultures and the wonderful design facets that they have created. Local artists are also featured, as well as unique shopping finds. Since a lot of my friends are currently either getting married or having baby, I really love looking at her features on bridal and baby shower design to make it fun and unique. Not only does she showcase her own work, but also features the work of other amazing designers. This is a great site that I could not wait to share, enjoy!

New Mangonett Weekly Feature!

Like most creatures, I am a creature of habit. Along with my morning hot chocolate, nothing starts my day better then checking up on my favorite blogs and I have a lot, check them out in the right column. When I started this blog, that column was small, however over the past couple of months it has grown. Mainly because as I peruse my favorites, they lead me to new and unexplored finds that eventually get added to my list.

Even more fun than finding these great sites, is sharing them, which is why I've decided to create Journey's of Mangonett's first weekly feature called "My Muse of the Week". Every week I will post about a blog, site, store, or any find that has inspired me. The reason why I'm not limiting it to any one thing, is because we all find inspiration from different places and the best part is when it comes from somewhere unexpected!

Enjoy!