{ weekend plans }

Recently, I was organizing one of our closets and {re}discovered an old Canon AE-1 camera

that my dad handed down to me years ago. I can't wait to play with it for the first time this weekend!

What do you have planned for the weekend, friends?

image found here...my go-to resource for all things beautiful

{ blog it forward: what inspires me? }

Today, I am thrilled to be participating in the Blog-it-Forward event. For those of you not already familiar with it, the lovely Victoria from SFGirl has coordinated over 300 bloggers to participate in a progressive blogging party of sorts in which we all share what inspires us personally. The idea is that readers will discover new and inspiring blogs along the way {I've already added many new favorites to my list}. So, without further adieu, I'd like to share but a few of the many things that inspire me...

Homes that tell a story

Family mementos, treasured collections and pieces with a past....my kind of dream home.

image via lola b

image via lola b

image via joanna goddard

image via from me to you

Creating Memories

Road trips, days at the beach, and new discoveries...if forced to choose, I'd pick shared experiences over things any day of the week.

Outdoor Cafes

Whiling away the hours at an outdoor cafe is about as good as it gets. Those I experienced in Paris are my favorites, but just about any one will do.

image via From Me To You

image via little brown pen

and of course...the thrill of the hunt

{ a few of my favorite finds }

Click here to follow the Blog It Forward schedule and be sure to check out the other nine bloggers also participating today:

~ nectar & light

~ angiegoboom
~ cafe cartolina
~ pois rouge
~ design fixation
~ her sunday dress
~ the baker's daughter
~ lilac & ivy
~ victoria klein

Psst...don't miss Shutterly Lovely's blog-it-forward post tomorrow.

image sources: all images were taken by me unless otherwise noted.

{ weekend snapshot }

Over the weekend, my sweet Valentine escorted me to the Second Sunday Antiques Faire and waited by patiently as I indulged in my latest obsession, vintage cameras. I happened upon a Brownie Six-20 Junior and had to have it for my tiny, but growing collection, which I plan to display in our home { photos forthcoming }. Exactly how I will display these little beauties has yet to be determined, which is why I found these flickr faves oh-so-inspiring...*swoon*.

via everyeskimo

image sources here

via kimhas7cats

What did you all do over the weekend?

{ unconditional love }

happy friday...

may your weekend be filled with love...and all of your favorite things

xoxo ~Suzanne

image sources here

{ it won't be long now... }

I'm starting to see tiny buds on our trees and the teeniest of green starts poking their way out of the ground -- a welcome reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

In the meantime, I'll continue to stalk Shana Rae's insanely pretty flickr stream {and you should too!}

Have a beautiful weekend friends. xoxo ~Suzanne

{ inspired by: lisa congdon's, a collection a day project }

I recently stumbled upon A Collection a Day, 2010--

an utterly delightful 365 project, by artist, Lisa Congdon.

Each day, she documents one of her collections, creating a daily masterpiece, if you will, that showcases her talent for capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Real collections, found in her home or studio, are photographed. Those that are "imagined" are either illustrated or painted. Pictured are a few of my favorites. To see more of her swoon-worthy collections, visit the lovely A Collection a Day blog.

I missed you all yesterday...I hope you're enjoying a most wonderful weekend.

{ sunshine on a cloudy day }

from our garden to our table { oh-so-delicious! }

hope you're having a lovely weekend too.

{ pretty in pink }

Happening upon the peonies and polaroids blog was just what I needed today.

It's been a rather gloomy week and I was longing for some pretties...

And then I spotted this...

I can't help but smile when I see a pink door.

Discover more lovelies in the p & p flickr stream.

P.S. The shop reopens in February.

Smiles and a happy, happy weekend!!!

{ real digs: kelli jane's photography studio }

You may remember my friend Kelli from her inspiring guest post on S.HOPtalk last month.

kelli and her daughter in their matching wellies

Recently I was perusing her lovely new photography blog and was thrilled to see that she had included some shots of her studio space which I had the pleasure of visiting last year. I was instantly smitten with its casually chic and warm, welcoming aesthetic -- a reflection of Kelli's irresistible photography style.

I especially love that Kelli was able to furnish her space for pennies on the dollar with pieces found by stalking Craigslist and local thrift stores. My kinda girl! A few coats of colorful paint and her studio was born. Isn't it sweet?

I know we all love to drool over home design magazines, but I find it refreshing in these budget and environmentally conscious times to see how real people use repurposed pieces to style real spaces , don't you? Thank you, Kelli, for letting us take a peek.

I'm always on the hunt for stylish spaces to feature on S.HOPtalk. Please email me at shoptalkbuzz {at} gmail . com if you're interested in having your real digs featured on S.HOPtalk.

{ hazy shades of winter }

Alicia Bock's latest photo collection is absolutely stunning.

Fingers crossed that the lovely Alicia will add these

dreamy captures to her etsy shop {soon}.

Happy, happy Friday!

{ a photo a day for a year? shutter sisters 365 }

Very excited {and a little nervous} to challenge myself this year

by participating in the Shutter Sisters 365 project.

This is one of my first few photos taken and submitted.

You can follow the featured photos here.

To see all of the photos submitted, visit the Shutter Sisters 365 flickr pool.

{ holiday card outtake }

I grabbed my daughter and the pup and headed to the park the other day to shoot some photos for our holiday card. It felt reeeeeally good to dust off my good camera {film} and take something other than quick snapshots. Must make a point to do it more often! This shot is one of my favorites from the day. From a technical standpoint, it may not be perfect, but there's something about it that I love. {Obviously there was something much more interesting than the crazy lady behind the camera.}

P.S. Do you have a recommendation for good photo cards? I've been really happy with Shutterfly, but would love to explore other options as well.

{ caught on film: photographer, irene nam }

I was in need of a little mental escape today...

Irene Nam's portfolio whisked me away to two of my most favorite places. Just what I needed. Paris & Venice... as magical as my memories of them.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. What are you up to? We have lots of kiddo activities...soccer, ballet, and Brownies. Looking forward to it. See you all on Monday. xxoo

P.S. I love her blog too.

{ caught on film: summer allen-gibson - aka indierocket }

These gorgeous photos were taken by Summer Allen-Gibson whom you might know from Design-is-Mine, her inspiring design blog. I'm in awe of her talent and love the richness of color and texture found in her photos, which by the way, were all taken using film. She's made me realize that I need to give up my wimpy, conservative ways when shooting film and just go for it. I hope we continue to see more photo loveliness from Summer (wouldn't it be great if she started making her prints available for purchase--hint, hint!).

To see more:

Visit Summer's flickr stream, IndieRocket

Stop by Summer's blog, Design is Mine

{these are the days }

Good morning all. It's so good to be back here with you after our incredible week away in Washington D.C. 

I love, love, love these gorgeous photos by new {to me} photographer, Alice Gao. I'm especially drawn to these images now because they seem to savor the final fleeting moments of carefree summer days--something which I, too, am trying to do.  Next week, it's back-to-school for my little one...always bittersweet for me. Sleeping in, family movie nights on a (gasp!) weeknight, and our girly-girl road trips will give way to the morning rush, homework, and soccer games. All good, just not so carefree *sigh*.

I look forward to catching up on your lovely blogs this week--thanks for your patience as I acclimate back to reality and try to make headway on my massive post vacation to-do list. 

You can purchase photography prints from Alice Gao via her lovely etsy shop.

Don't miss her gorgeous flickr stream.

{ open for business: paper cameras print store }

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. As you might have noticed, I was absent yesterday--busy catching up up on some work projects. I'm so happy to be back here today to share one of my favorite photographers, Sydney based, Amanda. { Long time readers of mine might remember this post. } Amanda's gorgeous work has been captured in several projects, including the book, For the Love of Light. The good {great} news is that Amanda recently opened an etsy shop--Paper Cameras--featuring her dreamy polaroids, so now we can have some of her prints for our very own.

You can purchase the prints currently on display in her shop and also visit her flickr stream and choose other favorites--I found a few new faves of my own...

Best of luck with your new endeavor Amanda, I'm certain it will be a huge success.

Psst: Be sure to visit Amanda's enchanting blog too.

{ inspired by: the MARFA [trip] }

What do you get when you gather 13 women photographers 

--from all over the U.S. -- for 5 days in a remote, Texas town?

An amazing adventure + incredible photography documenting it all.

{Looks like an amazing experience--hope there's a book deal in the works}

all images via the MARFA blog

Quick links:

The MARFA [trip] blog

Prepare to lose yourself for a few hours exploring these links.

Did you all have a lovely weekend? Ours was packed with 4th of July fun...still recovering. :)