MIA blogger - it's not permanent...

Image from decor8 (original photo from poppies and posies events)

Hey all! Just a quick note to say that I'll be back soon - sea*life*style is not closed for business and I'm hoping to be posting again regularly shortly. Please check back again next week. Looking forward to seeing you!

xo,

r.

Heads above the rest?

Peeps. Did I tell you I won my first-ever giveaway (a free prize from another blog) on the lovely Leslie's blog, A Room Somewhere? The prize was a custom-designed blog header from Jill of Freshly Squeezed Designs. I was ecstatic, considering the current sea*life*style header is something I jury-rigged myself back when I started s*l*s - needless to say, it's not the most professional looking thing ever. Behold, the current header:



(You can also just look up to the top of the page to see it full size and in full color - as long as you're actually on my blog and not reading this post through an aggregator).

Now, here's what Jill came up with for this site:
(....drum roll, please....)



What do you all think?

I would love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment below. However, I've been picking up what you're all puttin' down and I know some of you said you don't always have time to leave a comment or sometimes you just want to be "quiet" online (see? I do listen to you all!). SO. If you don't want to comment but have a second to literally click a button for "old" or "new" instead, I'm trying out my first-ever in-blog poll. Today is a day of all kinds of new things, huh?

Here is my first attempt at an automated poll; please give it a go!:



If you want to comment, please do! If you don't want to comment, maybe just submit via poll? If you don't want to do either, I understand. I still love ya!

And here's to hearing what you think about the header sitch. Thanks and cheers!
xoxo, r. (sea*life*stylista)

Some things I'm loving...

Today feels like a bit of a ramshackle day. It's the end of a much-anticipated holiday weekend, we're all trying to get back into the workweek, it's way hot again, and I have a dentist appointment (fun stuff).

Instead of trying to wrap my head around one singular, cohesive theme or concept, I thought I'd be a little fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pantsy and give you some of my favorites from the week. I hope you don't mind the visual menagerie. Maybe you're even in the same place I am and feeling a bit flighty? Well, if your brain can take it, here is a visual mix - a few things I'm loving right now:

I love a bride and groom with a sense of humor.

Photo by Braedon Photography, via Snippet & Ink

I love the subtle peek of lace, especially with a modern neckline (pic on the left).

Images from Stella McCartney's Resort 2011 collection

I love wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and the perfect neutral couch.

Photo from Domino magazine (RIP), via Shelter

I love a tufted chair (especially with nailhead trim!) and a cheeky pillow.

Photo from Style Files

I love a cheery door (especially in blue) and I looove quatrefoils.

Photo via Caitlin Creer Interiors

And with the lovefest concluded for now, I'm off to the dentist (love! not.). Please stop by again a bit later for a fun end-of-day post/query. Hope your day goes swimmingly. Ciao for now!

Recovering from the 4th / slow start

Do you ever feel like this after a long holiday weekend?

Photo via quite cheeky.

I do. We had a great holiday weekend, filled with gorgeous weather, lots of time out on the water, a festive 4th of July fireworks show (both downtown and an unsolicited show in our parking lot), tons of food, friends and some downtime for B (I had to work while everyone else was off - boohoo). And even though the weekend was great - and I loved having everyone around for the additional day off - I'm still moving kind of slowly this morning. If only there was one. more. day. off.... ;)

Nonetheless, I'm getting back into the swing of things and will be back in a bit. Check back!

Happy 4th of July weekend!

I'm hard at work trying to wrap things up before the holiday weekend (which, I will unfortunately be working during as well...), but I hope you're already out there enjoying this gorgeous day. B and I have some great plans coming up this weekend, including lots of eating outside on the water, boating, hosting a friend (the very guy that introduced us, in fact), and some good-old fashioned fireworks watching. I hope you have some awesome plans too and happy 4th of July!

Photos from Martha, via Ritzy Bee

Be back after the 5th!

Whale print for good, by Children Inspire Design

The print above is not only adorable, but also charitable. Children Inspire Design has created this super-cute signed, limited addition print, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund. Bonus: along with your purchase of the print, you not only get to feel good about helping the sad situation in the Gulf, but you also get a $10 gift certificate to ChildrenInspireDesign.com. Score!

I love the friendly whale - I think he'd make the perfect gift for anyone with kids (too bad your birthday's not 'til Dec, Cov and Finn's not 'til March!).

I also happen to know that Children Inspire Design is a great company since I bought this little print as a kids gift for the holidays:

Though I'm not sure if the recipient liked it or hung it up... but I thought it was cute, so that's what matters, right? ;)

If you're in the mood for some fanciful art, or just to help out with the Gulf restoration while getting something fun, definitely go check out this adorbs whale print for 30 bucks well-spent.

Originally spotted here.

Rise up

Photo by Pia Ulin

Can you imagine having a bookshelf tall enough to warrant a remote-controlled mountaineer's harness? Scratch that - can you imaging having a home big enough to house a two-story bookshelf??

Um, very cool. That would be so fun to use to grab a new book! We might be doing a lot more reading if we had one of those...

For more pictures of this rad house, check out the story on Dwell.

Originally spotted via Swiss Miss.

Happy 1st of July!

Photo via Mary Ruffle

Can you believe July is upon us already? The summer is zooming by and I feel like I haven't fully taken advantage yet. No complaining, though, yesterday was gorgeous and we've got tons of fun plans to come: lots of outdoor concerts, camping and the Poconos Blues Fest, baseball games, and a week-long beach trip. I need to get more scooter rides in and this will be a great summer. Hope yours is going well too!

Oh and if you missed my posts yesterday (they were a little late), here they are: magic ice cream and watermelon deliciousness (or just scroll down). More to come!

Happy July, y'all!