well hello strangers!

sorry to have fallen off the face of the planet but we got swept up in fun and adventure in ireland with some amazing new friends jemma, james and jen.  and sometimes, i believe, it’s so important to check out of anything that even remotely feels like responsibility and just be completely free.  we ate amazing food, had as many cocktails and glasses of wine as was manageable and stayed up till (what is for us) crazy hours of the night/morning.  pure, relentless fun!  and i tell you what, dublin is so incredible, we’ll be going back soon!  you can see a few photos from our adventure on my instagram and facebook.

as the sun rose early this morning we flew into milos, greece.  the view from the plane alone was spectacular, i can’t wait to start exploring the island!  i may disappear again, but i promise at some point i’ll share photos of the incredible things we see.  in the meantime, here are a few peeks at where we’re staying. i hope you are having fun wherever you may be!  xx

sit / nibble

I II III IV

happy friday everyone!  here in the states it’s a long weekend for most, and one that typically involves taking advantage of the last days of summer with bbq’s, beach days, and lots of other fun outdoor activities! as for us, i’ll be shooting a wedding for birds of a feather and then rushing home to pack for ireland and greece!  while i’m away i haven’t pre-planned any posts or invited any guest bloggers to stop by. i’m taking a vacation, the good old fashioned way.  i’ll be checking and posting if i’m inspired, and letting the blog sit as it is if i’m not.  i hope you’re all ok with that!  and please do follow along my instagram (sarahyates) for our european adventures.  we’re most excited about the friends we’ll be seeing in ireland and going to papa fragas in greece. oh! and sailing around the island. we’re also reaallllly looking forward to that!

here are some things around the interweb to follow down the rabbit hole this weekend.

shoko discovered something that i think is genius, take a peek here

this bedroom inspiration has me smitten 

3 sweet little nooks that i wouldn’t mind lounging in on apartment 34

i really really really need to make these to satisfy my sweet tooth when we get back into town

this dress, sigh.  will be trying to find it here (i’m late to the game, this is brilliant!)  

10 awesome homes that i too, wouldn’t mind visiting for tea! 

jessie’s instragram photos are a thing of beauty.  see a few here

i just ordered this to complete our bedroom makeover (!!!)

have a fantastic weekend my friends!  

no bad days

a few weeks ago i was at the griffith observatory waiting for my friends and eaves dropping on a grandfather and his grandson (in my defense, we were sharing a wall!).  the grandson had broken his parent’s ipad screen and was devastated. he was worried about getting in trouble, beating himself up over it and generally just feeling miserable.

the grandfather was this amazing man who said all the best things to calm the kiddo down- reminding him that everyone, young and old, breaks things. that life isn’t about ipads, that this hurt he’s feeling is only temporary. he was saying it almost the way i would imagine buddha saying it, with so much love and compassion. but the kid couldn’t shake it off. he was sobbing. eventually i interrupted their conversation, apologized for eaves dropping and told the little boy that they can probably have it repaired at the apple store, that i’d just googled it and it’s totally fixable. and then the grandfather continued to try to console him with all the right messages. i learned so much from listening to that grandfather, he was amazing and all of his words to this heart broken little boy could be applied to my grown up problems too. 

they got up to leave while i was still waiting, and i told them to “have a good day!”.  the old man responded with full sincerity and sweetness- “every day is a good day”.  the thing is, i know he meant it.  whatever might come at  him, he’s able to fully appreciate each of his days on this planet, to see the big picture- that even life’s most brutal lessons are gift. it was such an inspiration to me i just had to share (i even added it to my vision board).  happy tuesday my friends!  image source : brian vu

jewelry organization: complete!

do you remember this messy mess, the jumble of jewelry and gems that sat on my dresser top as a constant reminder of my organization failure? IT’S GONE!  if you’ve been following along on instagram (sarahyates) you’ve seen bits and pieces as i worked to replace it with my dream system- my favorite bracelets displayed on the dresser top with my watches. and two drawers containing the rest of my collection, tucked neatly away and organized well enough to make martha herself happy!  and i finally framed a bunch of our wedding photos! when our bedroom is complete i’ll show you the whole shebang, including our final decision on the wallpaper.  it will be the first (and only) room in the house that will be all done.  we can’t wait!

i found these black velvet display cases at the container store for my necklaces.  and i edited. anything that didn’t feel entirely ME anymore- gone. just my most favorites made it into the drawers. i’m hoping this will also keep me in check with my consumerism- if i know i have to lose something that i have in order to bring something new into the collection i’ll think long and hard before making a purchase. 

these acrylic bracelet stands are from here, and the ring storage was from here (unfortunately it looks like the seller is out). i was worried that lou was going to fight me on the girliness of it, but let’s be honest it was such a major improvement from the old mess i think he was too happy to see it clean to complain!

the dish i use to hold my watches was a white elephant gift exchange win. such luck that it works so perfectly for my watches!  since those are in heavy rotation it’s great to have them so easily accessible. from left to right :  marc jacobs, nixon, nixon.

to go alongside the black velvet trays i got two of these white lacquer trays for earrings, bits and bobbles. they’re the perfect place to store my ban.do goodies. and, that’s it!  what do you think?  it’s a pretty major improvement, right!  do you have any tips and tricks to share on how you keep your jewelry organized? *wedding photos by max wanger

friendship breakups

at one time or another we have all been that friend, the one that is constantly asking another friend for a favor, or relying on their help, or talking their ear off about whatever personal crisis we’re going through. the friendship balance shifts during these times, and as the other friend, you know that it will eventually shift back- that this give and take is exactly what friendships are made of.  except, what happens when it doesn’t?  what do you do when you realize that things aren’t shifting, that the friendship is out of balance with no hope for change on the horizon?

or have you ever just grown apart from a friend who you thought for sure would be there with you till the end- because of distance, or different life choices, or who they fell in love with?  have you ever realized that you were in a friendship that had no common ground whatsoever, except for a shared past?

it seems inevitable in a lifetime to have friendships that don’t work out, for whatever reason.  but in my limited experience, friendship breakups can be almost as brutal as relationship breakups!  the difference is, when you break up with a friend, your other friends don’t come knocking with ice cream and comedies to distract you from your hurts… it’s kind of expected that you’ll just move on with your life, even if you’re left feeling like there’s a giant hole that friendship used to fill. 

anyway, this was random (inspired by my own life and a mtv true life episode- no shame!). i hope you all have a fantastic weekend with lots of summery fun and goodness.  see you back here next week! xx

photo by alix rose cowie