ikea.... ya!?

We're here in Atlanta!  We'll be home tomorrow.  I've had a great time at the beach.  My sunburn is almost completely healed, and I have a pretty nice tan.  

My favorite "Patricia" fabric was not to be found.  I QUICKLY regrouped.  For only $7.99 a yard, I was able to get this amazing fabric.  Honestly the picture doesn't do it justice.  I hated it online, but I love it in person!  The green is perfect, and it's a really funky pattern.  To me, it looks a bit dated in the photo, but it looks really decorator-y in person.  LOVE IT!

My parents recently finished the renovations in my bedroom and were sweet enough to e-mail me photos so I could see it on vacation!  I love those two!  

Note: All of the items purchased on this Ikea run were to outfit my current bedroom are also for my future apartment....  

Meet Majken.

Say hello to my accent fabric: Katrin.  They look amazing together.  I promise.  These two together will make throw pillows, maybe a cushion for a bench, and I think I'm going to stretch a few over canvasses to make some accent wall art.  

My curtains: Matilda.  They're kind of sheer, not usually something I'd go for, but they're neat because they have this little bit of texture.  There are these little knots throughout that look really cool in person and the color is more off-white that bright white.  (Again, you're going to have to trust me on this.)

I got my lamps.   They're awesome! 

I don't have a ton of storage space, so I bought these boxes in lots of sizes in green and black (don't worry, they're currently collapsed, I promise I'm not squashing the Harvey fam too much with all of my purchases!)

This is a quilt to use as a bed-spread.  It's very plain.  I plan to accent it with the throw pillows.  I bought taupe colored sheets, but I figured you didn't need a picture to understand those.

How much do you LOVE these pillow covers?!  Meribeth found them.  I bought two.  They're absolutely perfect for what I need.  They're embellished with crewel embroidery that complements the very 2D fabrics.  

I would like for you to meet my impulse purchase for the trip.  Come on, it's perfect and it was only $6!  I can't wait to invite you all over (at least with photos) to my beautiful new bedroom. 

We ate at the cafe at the store.  They serve Swedish meatballs!  (Don't be too disappointed in me, I tried them.)  It was a pretty cool/ intimidating place to visit.  I can't wait to come back when I have a whole lot more car space, time, and money (I sort of spent WAAAAAAAY too much.)  The place is simply daunting.

don't i owe you at least 1,000 words?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this post pays you back in several thousand words.  Sorry I haven't been up to blogging lately. 

Well, I'm pretty sure my camera is kaput.  I'm devastated about this, because I really love being the friend who takes pictures.  This summer has already meant a few Redbirds games, the free concerts at the Levitt Shell, other great shows, Memorial Day festivities, the farmer's market, Greek Fest, and a few memorable meals I'd love to photograph.  I recently ordered a bunch of prints from iPhoto because I love being surrounded by photos of the people I love.  (I could totally turn this into an argument for the reason why I pray with icons, but this is not the time.) 

Here are a few photos from some recent events.  Some have been shared by others and some of these are from my photo booth application on my mac.  

Enjoy:

During Bright Week, Claire invited a few of us to participate in her yearly Bright Week tradition of getting a pedicure.  Most of us got both mani's and pedi's!  It was so much fun, and we ate at The Happy Mexican afterward.  Delicious!

Speaking of buying prints, I ordered the one of the 5 of us above in a 5x7 and now it's in a frame.  Isn't it precious?

Marjo, Claire, and Christine all took an online class together this semester.  They were kind enough to invite me to have celebratory end of the semester margaritas at Marjo's.  She made Texas Margaritas.  Very yummy! 

Sadly, my euphoria (aka, really silly face) in this picture was premature.  Since I later found out I had not, in fact, completed my semester.   Oh well, the celebration gave me the strength to go on!  

Pardon the narcissism.  My friend Ashley Newton gave me this wonderful haircut.  I really love it!  She is a great hairdresser, and you should call her.  (She works at Allusions Salon in Bartlett.)

Ashley and her boyfriend Nathan have been visiting St. John for a little while now.  I think they're just great!  We met up with them on Friday night at a show, and we had the best time hanging out together.  

I wish I had a picture to show you, but I have a new goddaughter.  Her name is Cailyn (yes, just like mine without a T, isn't that neat) and she is 9.  Her family enrolled as catechumens recently, and she asked me to be her godmother!  She is absolutely wonderful.  She has already decided to take St. Catherine as her Patron Saint.  I was thrilled to hear this, because St. Catherine is my Patron as well!  (Caitlyn is the Welsh form of the name Catherine.)  

I ordered this book for Cailyn.  It's from a really neat company that sells Orthodox children's books.  I love the illustrations.  They are based on St. Catherine's icon!  So cool.  (Also cool, they shipped the books, yes I ordered one for me as well, all the way from Greece!)

Remember sweet Cailyn in your prayers, she broke her finger this week while hanging out at her uncle's house.  Poor thing!  

Team Harvey/ Camp Caitlyn went to swim in my family pool this past Friday.  It's nothing much, mostly cool and wet!  

My sister Clare and Grace now have matching swimsuits.  So sweet!

Little Fiona.  I could just eat this child up!!!

Male model Pavel.  He really enjoyed my mom's hammock.  I thought his godmother, Claire, would appreciate this!

En route!  I got to come to the beach with Team Harvey this summer, poor Charlie couldn't come because he just started a new job.  These are some pictures from the car ride from my laptop.  Sweet Fiona is so happy to be on her way to the beach, and poor Gracie is not happy that I'm taking her picture.  

Meribeth.  Seriously, this woman is a Saint!  Two days in the car with 3 kids and a babysitter.  She's insane.  We stopped and got Gigi's cupcakes in Nashville, of course, and then went to Alektor Cafe.  Pretty funny, we made my typical Nashville rounds! 

Pretty typical for the car ride.  We stopped in Atlanta on Saturday night and ate at The Varsity.  The Harveys are pretty genius for NOT attempting to make the 12 hour+ trip in one day!  We'll be spending the night in Atlanta again this next Saturday on our way back, complete with an Ikea run!  My mom said "watch out bank account!"  

Here's what I want from Ikea so far.  (Since I spent most of the day yesterday indoors, I made a pretty lengthy wish-list.)

How much do we love this lamp!?  I'm not crazy about the shade, too small in my opinion, but for $39.00 I can afford to buy another shade in the future.  
I love this fabric, it's called Patricia (my mom's name.)  I just want to see it in person.  The pattern may be too large, and the green may be too yellow for my liking.  

This is my backup print.  I like it, but I'm not totally sure about the flowers, but I think it's smaller than the other one. 

We're here at Amelia Island.  We all have sunburns somewhere.  I have one on my face, even though I wore SPF 50 on my face and only donned SPF 30 everywhere else!  Fiona has a pretty rough burn all over, so Meribeth is going to pick up some medicine for her this morning.  Gracie got a pretty bad burn.  Pavel, the one who never burns, has a nice shade of pink.  Meribeth has a nice burn on the tops of her feet.  Even though she was adequately sunscreened, a "sand treatment" on her feet (by a certain pre-teen) removed the sunscreen.  Oops!    

Sometimes, no matter how many precautions you take, you get a burn.

We're having fun regardless.  I'll keep you updated.