Preview Party: The Megan Carn xx Moon & Lola Pups
Well, the Moon & Lola pups are ready for their big debut! I have to say, choosing just 20 from the GIANT list of submissions was so difficult. I think we managed to find some very good dogs, though!
Here’s a little gallery of them all together! I’m so excited that with this crew, we’ll be offering prints of all 20- at least to start!
And, in an all new twist- there are KEYCHAINS! So ideal. Giftables, yes!
Go shop it here. Have a blast!
Let's make a Wreath
How do you decorate for easter? Is it an all-out effort, or a wreath on the door? Are there tulips scattered all across the house and yard? It sounds like a dream to me, but I have to admit: Andrew and I are not currently egg-celling in our Easter decor game. In fact, if you were to walk into our house right now, you’d notice two themes…. dirty laundry and cardboard boxes. Not very spring! I think I’m going to opt for the egg-cuse that I’m busy getting the all-season decor finished before I start adding in seasonal decorations. That sounds good, right?
Anyway: there’s no egg-cuse for not hanging a wreath on the door. Egg-cept that I can’t seem to find one that suits my taste! It’s very all or nothing out there- either it’s too run of the mill, “here’s your tulips in a basket”, or its too “cartoon rabbit”. (Wait, let me add that there ARE some that suit my taste/size needs, but boy they are egg-spensive!) SO: I set out to make one along with all of you. A tutorial, if you will. I wanted three things: extremely easy, gorgeous, and inexpensive. Here it is!
Materials:
-scissors
-wire cutters
-20 or so mini zip ties
-ribbon you love
-one bunch of fake grass (I got mine from Hobby Lobby!)
-three bunches of fake tulips (I chose two pink and one yellow, also from hob lob!)
-wire wreath structure; mine is 20”
I should say here that if you feel like using floral tape and hot glue, by all means, go for it. I just don’t like using either of those things, and I had zip ties on hand! All in all, this project took me about 45 minutes.
Step one: using the wire cutters, separate the stems of fake grass. You’ll want them all cut and ready for the next step!
Step two: using the zip ties, secure the stems of grass every 4 inches or so along the outer two coils of the wire frame. Tighten so they won’t go anywhere! (tip- allow 2-3 pieces of grass to stay outside of the tie for extra security.)
Note: after doing this a few times, I decided that the zip tie should go around the outer wire as well! It helps secure it with the tie around two pieces of wire. Just imagine the tie in the photo is outside of the outer edge.
Done!
Now, tighten and trim your zip tie overage.
Step three: Cut your tulip stems to separate.
Step four: using the zip ties and the wire that the flowers are already equipt with, weave the tulips into the wire until you are pleased with your wreath! I wrapped some of the wire stems around the frame, and others I tied on. It’s best to place them, then secure! I love the organic look of being all around.
1 bunch, 2 bunch, 3!
Step 5: tie a large bow, just like you would a shoelace. (Or any kind of bow you like. I was going for super easy here.) Using two zip ties, attach the bow to the frame, as pictured.
Voila! We’ve arrived. If you’re feeling spicy, I found some precious egg ornaments you could easily tie on! For us, we need this to be more spring, so I left the eggs off.
So hoppy Easter! As I thought about cute Easter decor - painted and dyed eggs, baskets, crinkle fill, all sorts of pastels- I thought this little bunny would be a great addition to that party. Download her below and enjoy! (I’m thinking you could use it as a tag, place card, or pop it into a frame for some seasonal decor!)
COMING SOON!
The details are coming soon, but I wanted you to be the first to know! I’ll be popping up online at Moon and Lola in a few weeks, and taking submissions for pet models so soon! Stay tuned in your inbox and on social media for submission directions. I can’t wait!
Life Lately: What's Happening, Spring?
Hello All!
Things are transpiring, even as we type. It feels like the new year just got started, but it’s actually halfway through March! I thought I’d give a full update on what we’ve been passing the time with in these last two and a half months.
^^taken the day before her surgery by Josie Derrick
Effie: Per usual, Effie has been cuter than ever. Unfortunately, her health has not been so cute. (Spoiler, we are on an upswing- everything is okay now!) I mentioned this ages ago, but Effie tore her right miniscus and cruciate ligament last January while we were away on a family trip. After a close brush with liver failure due to Rimadyl, we decided to switch up our plan for her surgery. We finally had it after weeks of waiting and she recovered great! Fast forward a few months to the holidays, and her opposite knee tore. (ugh) We had to wait until January because of travel plans, and after rescheduling twice due to kidney infection and what we thought was an autoimmune skin disease, she had the surgery. We are currently smack in the middle of recovery- walking with a belly sling to go outside, medication, constant confinement- and I am so ready to be finished! (And let’s be honest, I miss having her right next to me at all times!) I told her after all of this she’s going to have to get a job. She rolled her eyes.
A little trip to Asheville: Right before the surgery, we went with two of our dear friends on an overnight trip to Asheville! It was wonderful. I had not seen the Biltmore in such a long time, and I had never seen the greenhouse on the Biltmore grounds, and I have to say- it was incredible. I know this isn’t groundbreaking news, but if you have a chance to go, go see that! I’m ready to put hundreds more plants into our house. Get ready.
Birthdayversary! On February 11, we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary and Andrew’s birthday! Andrew had some appointments that day, so we were able to squeeze in lunch together and that night, we went to the new Hall’s Chophouse on Main Street in Columbia. It was fabulous, of course! We spent the week celebrating with cake and calls with friends and photos and videos from the wedding, and then of course with candy for Valentine’s Day. I’ll never get tired of celebrating a birthday and an anniversary all in one!
ANIMALS: I released a new series. It was 10 pieces deep and so cool to create. It was filled with richer colors than my previous series and with tons of foliage, since I’m becoming more and more obsessed with plants. I can’t decide if the tiger or the leopard is my favorite…. or the birds? There are so many from this crowd that I loved. (If you missed it, you can see it here!!)
Add those major items to working on commissions, reorganizing this house, and trying to get on top of our massive laundry pile and you’re all caught up. Right now, we are gearing up for a busy spring. I’ll be painting some weddings, we have family trips and visits, and I have a fun online pop-up coming soon, too! And did I mention bunnies? Yes, I’ll be doing a few Easter bunnies this year! Stay tuned!
Happy Spring!!
BARCELONA
If you follow me on Instagram and spend any time looking through stories, you’ll know that Andrew and I went to Barcelona in October of 2018. It’s hard to believe that trip was a little over 4 months ago! It was so much fun. We saw family, tons of landmarks and important buildings, and generally ate our way across the city. I really loved it- Barcelona was easy to navigate and the architecture and parks are beautifully done. The palette there is so much my style, with tons of greens and pinks, and then the classic building colors as well. Also- and I think this was my favorite part other than ALL of the amazing food- there were plants everywhere. Balconies, hanging plants, planters on the streets, and then of course the green park areas. It really spoke to my “I wish I was really good at keeping plants alive” side. We used public transportation for a good majority of the trip or walked, and I can’t say enough about how lovely the whole experience was.
So here’s a recap of our trip! I’m going to do a whole separate post with simple lists of places we would recommend; this is more of a day by day recap!!
Day 1: We arrived, and went to La Rambla to meet Andrew’s cousin for the apartment keys! I’ll be honest- I was so tired, and so ready for a shower. We had been traveling for almost a full 24 hours because of an all-day layover in Atlanta. We made it to the apartment, and immediately showered and “rested our eyes”. Listen, I know everyone says not to sleep but this hour or so of eye rest really did the trick. Next, we went outside and wandered across the street to a little restaurant and had some food- that turned the day around too! We walked around and got an idea of where we were, and that night, we enjoyed dinner at the apartment with Andrew’s cousins. (We stayed with his sweet sweet cousins, Tati and Edu, and their 2 year old! This was the view from their roof:)
Day 2: We slept, maybe the best sleep ever, and woke up to a lovely day! A small bakery was just below the apartment building, so we walked down and had some breakfast. Then, we walked to the Sagrada Familia and took some photos. After, we walked through the Gothic Corridor to La Boqueria and it was fab. It was overwhelming, but in the best way! We had some juice, lunch at Bar Central and some other vendors, and then walked on for some more wandering. We ended the day in the same way- supper with family at the apartment!
Day 3: It was rainy, so we decided to go toward the coast and see the aquarium! I love aquariums, so I loved it. They had an amazing tunnel with a moving walkway, and we went through 3 times. After, the weather had cleared up, so we walked to lunch and shopped around. Dinner was takeout with the fam- we had Venezuelan and it was fab.
Day 4: On this day we had one mission- churros. Both of the days before, we had been trying to catch a place Andrew’s parents love, and both times, they were closed. So, we went for lunch and after, decided just to walk towards a churro place we’d heard about. We ended up on a large green/park area, with tons of gorgeous apartment buildings and, we noticed, one of the Gaudi houses! We got our churros, went through the Gaudi house, and Andrew mentioned that he had a plan. We ended up at the Arc de Triomph! That was really cool, and the whole area around it was gorgeous. Then, we kept walking and ended up at the prettiest fountain I’d ever seen:
That night, we ate out and did some night touring. By the time we got home, we were exhausted! This was one of my favorite days.
Day 5: Our friends arrived this day! We went to their AirBNB and met them, and took them to see the Sagrada Familia. After hanging out with them for a minute, we headed home to get ready for supper- at Barceloneta! This is a really special restaurant to Andrew’s family and some of the best paella I’ve had. Another cousin of Andrew’s met us there and it was fabulous. That night, Tati and Edu headed on their own vacation to the Canary Islands. (So cool) We got home and I reorganized our unpackings— it was a real mess!
Day 6: Early this morning, two of the dearest people came to town- Tati’s parents! They wanted to take us up to Montserrat, the area/church where Andrew’s grandparents were married. We got in the car and rode up the mountain- the only rock formation of it’s kind in the world! It was foggy and a little rainy, but the church was still so pretty and it was very cool to see the little chapel where Andrew’s grandparents took their vows. We headed back into the city and had lunch, and then Jose and Marta took us on a walking tour of the downtown area. Then, we met all of the extended family for a big meal! It was a late night, but it was so much fun.
the chapel!
Day 7: We went with Jose and Marta and another friend to a Venezuelan bakery and restaurant- I had my first tequenos and I could not have loved them more. WILD. After brunch, we walked through the same park with the fountain again, and kept going. We saw Andrew’s grandad’s primary school and the Catalonian parliament buildings, and tons and tons of dogs- the weather was so pretty. For supper, we had a home-cooked paella by Jose and it was incredible. We took notes— I think we can make it, maybe!
Day 8: This day was wild. We met up with our friends from SC who were in the city and took a day trip to Girona, Pals, and Costa Brava. It was great to get out of the city and see a little more, and the coast was stunning. The weather was perfect, and each place was so different. Also, it was surreal to be hanging out with our friends in another country!
Day 9: Bus tour day! Barcelona has a great bus line that you can buy a ticket for, and it stops at all of the major sights. It runs on three different lines, and comes with audio of history and facts around each spot. We saw the Barcelona Stadium, Park Guell, the Gaudi houses, and so much of the city we had not seen yet. That night, we went to dinner and said goodbye to our friends from SC, and I have to say- dinner was incredible. We went to El Nacionale and I was blown away by the decor. It was great!
Day 10: Andrew and I still had a day of bus ticket, so we went to the bus and rode around on all three lines, all day. We saw every stop! We got off halfway through for lunch, then hopped back on and saw it all. This was a cool day, and it was nice to take a break from walking and relax.
Day 11: This was our last day in Barcelona! We went to grab a some lunch, I got some really cool espaidrilles, and bought my first pair of Birkenstocks! (they were on a great sale.) We enjoyed the last of the time, and had a chill dinner at the apartment with Tati and Edu, and packed.
That’s a wrap! It. Was. Amazing. We cannot wait to go back! If you’ve been, let me know your favorite spots in the comments! I can’t wait to see them!