By craft contributor Rachael

Happy Memorial Day! Now that summer is just about here, it’s time to freshen up your entertaining pieces and the easiest place to start is making some cute color-popping coasters. These mosaic coasters use easy to work with air-drying clay and only take a few minutes to make. It would be a great project to get your kids involved in too!
Any fun plans this Memorial Day weekend? We were going to head out camping with some friends tomorrow, but their kids are sick so we’re looking for a plan b. Maybe Stinson beach! Either way, I’m looking forward to yummy BBQ and some R &R. Tonight though we’re going to see my little sister Katrina (she models sometimes for Say Yes) rock out with her punk band, Baby Ghosts while they’re here in town on tour. Planning on bringing Henry too. I think he’ll love it.
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments from the second post about our struggle with secondary infertility. Stay tuned for one more post this coming week if you’re interested to hear more about the emotional side of it all. It’s been wonderful to share and connect, thank you for all being so kind and open to sharing your own stories. Have a wonderful long weekend, here are some links:
How NOT to dress like a tourist in San Francisco (Piggybacking on Becca’s NYC post from last week. This was fun to write!)
An insane 10 minute video capturing the forming and intensifying of the Oklahoma tornado earlier this week- I hope everyone is okay in that area!
I need to pick up a few of these netted shopping bags
The invitations to this fiesta party are amazing!
Pretty hand lettering on a basic package
This stripe pop up shade would be amazing for summer parties, as would this hammock
An adorable little girls striped romper
Really cute shrinky dink Fathers Day DIY gift idea
Love these DIY confetti launchers on Julep for a party
Beautiful stripey Moroccan beach towels
And,
11 fantastic summer maternity dresses
Some ideas for perfect summer family vacation spots
11 of the very best baby shower gift ideas
By craft contributor Lauren
I made a beach bag a couple years ago and I’ve been itching to try another version, especially since dust has started to settle on my neglected sewing machine! Today I’m sharing a tutorial for this roomy, sturdy beach bag for summer excursions, picnics, and other outings in the warm sun. I’ve been drawn to black and white lately and thought a bright inner lining would be a perfectly summery addition.
Also, adding leather straps makes it feel less homemade and I was surprised how easily my sewing machine managed them! Remember the cute freezer stencil heart tote I made with the leather straps last year? I used rivets but sewing them in is even more sturdy! This might seem intimidating but I promise it’s not difficult- it took me about 2 hours. With lots of snack breaks.
Keep reading for the full tutorial on making one yourself this summer!
Photography and styling by Liz Stanley, red floppy hat and turquoise sunglasses from Target
___________________________________________________________________________________________
This summer inspiration is brought to you by Target. Find more fun and surprises all season long on Target’s #SummerUp Pinterest board.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Last week I announced our happy news after years of dealing with secondary infertility, and I promised I would talk more about our struggle in the next couple of weeks. Our journey isn’t over, of course. We have to make it through this pregnancy and then even after that face the reality of what this could mean moving forward in growing our family. I was floored by how many of you shared that you were dealing with or have dealt with the same issue. It’s always comforting to know that you aren’t alone in a particular struggle, especially one like secondary infertility that can be a bit misunderstood and feels really isolating.
I know many, many people have had or are having an even more difficult and even longer journey than ours to conceive even their first. My heart goes out to any of you in this situation. Clearly primary infertility is a much larger beast in and of itself. However, I see secondary infertility as a very unique situation that is widely unspoken about, poorly researched and not well supported both medically and mentally in my experience. And yet, so many people deal with it silently and painfully behind closed doors. It comes with it its own set of very unique challenges that I’d like to share with you all.
But first, I wanted to talk a bit today about the specifics of our journey and how we got to this point. Next week I’ll talk about the emotional component of secondary infertility and the struggles I face in that respect.
Keep reading to hear more about our process…
By fashion contributor Ashley
1. The Shirt Dress from Hatch (above)
This dress is so versatile. I love the beachy way that Hatch styled it. You could also wear it with a leather jacket and some platforms for a night out.
2. Midi Striped Dress from ASOS
This dress is the ultimate everyday casual dress. Perfect for running errands or a day at the park.
It would also look great paired with a Levi jacket!
Keep reading for 3 more!
In a couple weeks I’ll be sharing a full house tour, but we recently upgraded our bedroom and wanted to show you some pictures of it. Almost 9 (!) years ago on our honeymoon, Jared and I bought a seafoam color quilt set from a quaint quilt store in the Berkshires of Western Mass. that we were just starting to get tired of. Especially since our good news, I’ve been itching to re-decorate and start fresh. Plus, for a temperate climate like California, it just didn’t make sense in combination with our down comforter. I wanted something darker for this room to feel a bit more masculine so I went with a gorgeous new navy set Serena and Lily sent me. I love the feel of our nice new bedding especially the pickstitch navy quilt which is the perfect weight in my opinion for the temperature here.
Keep reading for a couple more shots of the room and the sources!
So on Friday I promised to share you some funny behind the scenes stories from a couple of the recent sponsored posts on how we were trying to cover up the pregnancy. Let’s start with the Redwood Hyundai video shoot. Because I was pretty early on, 6 weeks pregnant, I was really nervous about miscarrying and wasn’t comfortable climbing much at all on the tree and zip lining. It was kind of a bummer because I really have been wanting to do this forever! This was a shoot we had been planning for months and the Redwood tree climbing was our idea to begin with! Yikes, I was a little stressed about what to do up until the day of the shoot. Especially since I knew we’d be sharing this video here before I was comfortable announcing my pregnancy.
So, when we went up to Aracata for the shoot I had to pull the film crew aside and explain to them that I was a ‘tiny bit pregnant’ and if they were willing to do a little creative editing to make it seem like I was doing more than I actually was. HA! Luckily they were totally down (David Crowther and Casey Peterson you are the best!). I did end up climbing the tree a bit as you can see below, but then came straight down and they ended up doing a really incredible job editing it especially the zip lining parts which I didn’t do at all.
You’ll have to check it out again below to see what they did, and when I did climb it looked like I was a lot further up than I actually was. Yeah for fantastic video editing and perspective!
Hyundai Redwood Tree Climbing – Epic Playdate from Liz Stanley on Vimeo.
Keeping on reading to see how we tried to hide the baby bump and my massive weight fluctuation from the Old Navy shoots…
(maternity shopping yesterday, 15 weeks)
First of all, I’m completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and excitement you all shared yesterday here on the blog, on twitter, on instagram, etc. Thank you so much for joining me in this exciting step for our family. I’ll still be nervous until I get this babe in our arms safely, pregnancy is the scariest! Yesterday was such a fun day and I teared up reading so many of your loving comments, and especially those that shared a snippet of your own journeys in infertility. Apologies if I didn’t get around to responding to each and every one of your kind words, but know I loved every one.
Next week I’ll talk a bit more about what we’ve been through and the emotional journey for me. On Monday I also have a fun post prepared about the behind the scenes of a few recent sponsored posts (like the Hyundai tree climbing video?)–and the extent to which we were trying to hide the pregnancy! HA! I’ve been wanting to share with you these funny details and now I finally can!
Anyway! It’s the weekend, hooray! Henry is having a sleepover tonight for all the kids graduating to kindergarten. After a graduation BBQ they’ll be playing flashlight tag, having dance parties, flashlight bug hunting, and story telling. Then all the kids will crash in sleeping bags with plenty of adults sleeping over as well. Henry ran in this morning and woke us up yelling, “Today’s the day of the sleepover!!!”. He’s a bit excited. I think we’ll be checking out the Maker Faire tomorrow as well with some friends from Palo Alto (she and I have the same due date- I love when things work out like that!).
Hope you’re up to something fun, Have a great one!
Babble links:
How NOT to dress like a tourist in NYC (love this post of Becca’s–made me laugh out loud! The fedora thing is so true…)
15 of the BEST picks from Ikea right now
All about white denim for summer
10 clever spring cleaning tips
Friends! I have the most wonderful and amazing news to share with you all. After almost 4 years of dealing with infertility issues I’m so excited to announce that we are (finally!) expecting a second child the first week of November. Hooray!!! I’ve had the hardest time keeping this a secret since finding out, but with so much difficulty and heartache getting to this point I’ve been too terrified; and also been in complete shock now that things are so far progressing healthy and happily.
I haven’t really talked much about our infertility issues here, which has felt disingenuous to you all and I apologize. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve drafted up posts in my head, wanting to reach out and share with you all our journey. As much as I wanted to connect with others for support, I also was feeling too desperate and vulnerable to open myself up to advice.
Pregnancy is a funny thing, we don’t completely understand what all happens on the cellular level, and may not ever know why it doesn’t work, or one day after years of treatments and trying, it does work. Our doctor told us once after yet another failed fertility treatment that they don’t understand 90% of how conception happens. 90%!! And this was from one of the most respected practices in No. California! I wanted to feel confident about the path we were on in our treatments and feel good about the care we were being given so it was something I decided to keep private from the internet until we were on the other side of it. I hope you understand.
And here we are! On the other side! Finally pregnant and happy and wonderfully grateful for this little miracle for our family. However, the sting of years of devastating loss and disappointment month after month (let alone the financial costs) is still raw and tender to me, and I’m spilling over with things I want to talk about regarding infertility, and particularly secondary infertility as I feel like it’s a whole different package of unique struggles and challenges. My heart just aches for any of you in the middle of a similar journey for a child and I just want to sit with you, eat a big bowl of ice cream and have a good long cry together over the ridiculous of it all.
So! This post is the first in a series of 3 posts I’ll be sharing over the next couple weeks about our journey with secondary infertility. It will be a good way for me to process what we’ve been through and perhaps might be interesting to some that are going through a similar process, or know someone that is.
I’ve been more excited to start talking about my infertility journey than even announcing the pregnancy so hooray for being able to do both! Today is a good good day.
PS Thanks to my friend Liz of Cotton and Curls who snapped these photos after our fabric shopping yesterday
copyright 2013 liz stanley // all rights reserved
Hi there! I'm Liz Stanley. Born and raised a New Yorker, plus a few newlywed years in charming Hoboken, I now live in the fairytale city of San Francisco with my husband and son. This blog is a collection of simple ideas for making your home and life more crafty and stylish. MORE >>>
HGTV • Hyundai Ad • Lean Cuisine Ad • Levi's Ad featured on Hulu • Martha Stewart • Parents Magazine • Real Simple Magazine • San Francisco Chronicle Feature • The Huffington Post • TLC