carefully curated vol.5

As the end of summer fast approaches I'm dreaming of dark moody vibes, transitioning my wardrobe and nesting it up like a mad woman!  I recently rearranged our living room and told Brandon where I wanted to put our Christmas tree this year, I guess I'm a little eager for fall & winter.  

This edition of Carefully Curated is dedicated to sunny days, cool evenings, seasons changing, the craving of being home more and dreams of slowing down.

carefully curated vol.4

A little while ago (okay maybe a long while ago) I introduced a feature here sharing a way that I pin more intentionally.  For me, pinterest became an overwhelming collection of things I wanted to bring into my life (decor, recipes, diys), but never actually did.  It was an ugly clustered mess that left me wanting to delete my account, because let's be honest- I don't have time to make my own anthropologie inspired pillows while staining our deck, with a new recipe in the oven and some amazing home hair treatment all up on my head.  I mean, do you?

Instead I decided to put pinterest to work in a way that made sense to me.  An archive of beautiful images, inspiration and ideas that influenced my life rather than made it seem like it wasn't enough.  Having a folder with decor inspiration actually helps me more than a folder full of home project step-by-steps.  I guess for me there's just something about pretty pictures and a calm cohesive look that doesn't make me feel like I'm not doing it all.  I don't need to "thank pinterest" for a coat rack I just made on my own, or the dinner on our table tonight, I don't need to constantly check back for ideas on outfits or projects for a rainy day.  That might work for some (& cheers to you!), but instead I carefully curate my interests- for me its a lot less pressure, and a lot more fun!

Here are a few tips to clean up your boards:

• organize your boards and name them in a way that makes sense to you, freshen up the board covers to give your profile an updated look.

• go through your boards and delete old pins that aren't relevant to your life anymore.  your style and taste has probably changed since you first started using pinterest, get rid of things that don't interest you anymore.

• be picky about what you pin*.  this might sound snobby, but to create beautiful collections you need beautiful images.  if you want to pin a recipe or diy that is of poor quality or has ugly text slapped all over it, that kind of puts a kink in that plan- visit the link of what you want to pin and there is probably an image without all the messy stuff that you can pin instead.  *or pin the not so pretty images into a secret folder

• clean up who you follow.  if your tastes have changed over time than maybe who you follow has too.  weed out boards or pinners that just don't interest you anymore, then find someone who has an awesome account and check out who they follow for some new inspiration.

Each week I'll share a few pins that I'm really feeling, like this moody end of summer board.  The heat wave is back in the Pacific Northwest and it has me wanting beachy hair, days off and green all around me.  So... how do you pin?

Check out previous versions of Carefully Curated here. 

carefully curated vol.3

I've been hit with a color crush of cream, mustard and pink lately.  Its odd because the colors haven't appeared anywhere in purchases for my home or closet as of late, but every time I see them I get a case of the 'ohhhs' and 'ahhhs'.  As you can see in this edition of Carefully Curated, I've been hit hard.  The color combination strikes me as being clean, happy and just a tiny bit girly without the frills and fluff.  All of which is just up my alley.

plant macrame

poster

home styling

wall hanging

Carefully Curated is a feature that encourages you to Pin consciously.  How do you pin?

carefully curated vol.2

In the midst of enjoying the season, it seems as though fall is slowly fading away and winter will be here shortly.  I still love it all- the cold, the cuddles, the layers and love.  As each day passes the craving for something simple seems stronger.  This morning I noticed another girl in my old town is opening an etsy shop (great for her & small business) and starting to blog, she mentioned 'following her dreams' and I wondered.. how did we all get this same dream.  Have you noticed that?  Where its like you make it by opening shop and becoming a blogger, networking, partnerships, brands and what not.  Don't get me wrong, I love what I do- but sometimes the over-saturation of the same stuff and the marketing of it all seems like so much.  Another reason sidebar ads will be making an exit from here very soon.  Anyways I'm rambling.

I think thats where the simple comes in, less pressure, more intent.. more of doing what you love to do it, not because everyone else is.  This edition of Carefully Curated seems to be what I'm feeling lately- finding love and sticking with it, making things from scratch and living with less while becoming more.

and then my soul

painted acorns

cabin love

imogene + willie

In case you missed this feature Carefully Curated, you can catch up on what its all about here.

carefully curated vol.1

Not too long ago I decided that I was using Pinterest in a way that really wasn't useful to me.  I was putting so much pressure on myself when I pinned because I thought I should be making all the projects, cooking all the meals and decorating all the rooms.  However, thats just not realistic for my life or personality.  I'm a collector of images- I truly love to look at inspiration and from there I can decide how I interpret and use it in my own life (and work).

I went through and cleaned up all of my boards and turned my pinning time into a thoughtful activity, arranged by a color palette where each photo pinned somehow goes with the photo next to it.  In being a little more honest with myself I gave my old pinning habits the finger and I couldn't be happier!  Now when I see my boards, everything makes sense.  I choose items I truly love and everything is much more authentic.  I no longer sell pins to sponsors because I started to feel like I was selling myself out.  Don't get me wrong, if you include Pinterest as a marketing tool for your sponsors there are no judgements here, its just not for me!

No longer gathering anything & everything I find all day long actually takes a bit longer as things are carefully sourced and selected, but I love how its all looking and am proud of the new direction I decided to go.   I also wanted to be able to remember some of the finds that really stuck out to me  more than just adding them to a board, so this new feature Carefully Curated will share just a few things I'm loving via my pinterest account.  I hope you enjoy my finds and follow along!

Art by Arian Behzadi

The Brand Market

Style Guides by Color

Calling Cards

How do you pin?