ROMPING 'ROUND PHILLY

After the random snow and chilly weather that consumed our second weekend in April we took full advantage of the 75 degree weather this past Saturday. Since Alisa moved to Philly recently, Rachel used good ol’ Septa to make her way to the city for the day! 

FIRST STOP

We started the day hungry of course, so we popped into Marathon Grill and had some bangin' omelettes, home fries and multi grain toast. The atmosphere is chill and screams fresh food. Let’s just say we will definitely be back again for more.

SECOND STOP

The place we can never get enough of. PAPER SOURCE. We probably spent the most time here out of any other place we explored. Between the stationary, desk accessories, gifts, and even a scratch-and-sniff book on whiskey, they definitely have everything you could ever want, and more.

THIRD STOP

Rittenhouse Square. Since the weather was so nice the park was packed with so many people and more dogs than ever (secretly wishing we had our cats on leash...) After taking a stroll around the farmer's market we planted our butts on a bench to bask in the sunlight and people watch. The perfect combo.

  

FOURTH STOP

The lovely Anthropologie where visual displays are always on point. Walking around there always leaves our mouths wide open at how much detail is put into the displays. With such a refreshing atmosphere we wandered around each floor in anticipation of what beautiful display would be next. 

 

FIFTH STOP

La Colombe. Where coffee lovers dwell. After Rachel’s first experience with the can of draft latte, she was so looking forward to getting the real deal. And boy, was it worth the wait. It is the perfect amount of smoothness, creaminess and foam that there could be.

We’re looking forward to the next time we will meet up to explore more of this city. Thank goodness for friends and fun-filled cities. Until next time, keep on exploring!

Be sure to follow our adventures on Instagram! @rayandablog

#cityofbrotherlylove

DIY: Chalkboard Paint Clipboards

A few months ago we did a contributor post for Monica at East Coast Creative, and we're excited to share it with you now! Monica is a super talented designer, blogger, and supermom, and you'll be sure to find some awesome DIYs and home decorating inspiration from her blog.

This quick and easy DIY is the perfect combination of organization meets cute home office decor! Heck, this can even be your new after work de-stressor, so doodle away!

Easiest calendar ever, and fully customizable if we do say so ourselves.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own chalk paint clipboard!

MATERIALS: Clipboard | Chalk paint | Brush | Metallic paint/paint market (optional) | Chalk

Begin by painting the entire front of the clipboard with the chalk paint. Be sure to get underneath the clip! Allow each coat to dry for about 20 min before doodling. Two or three coats make for a strong, thick surface to draw on! Once the board is dry, let your imagination fly! Use this clipboard as a calendar, to-do list, or a place to store your daily reminders!

We painted the sides and back of the clipboard metallic gold for that popular luxe look everyone seems to be going for these days… 

Get inspired with a motivational quote!

Use your clipboard as a to-do list, guaranteed you won’t forget to get milk this way…

Clipboards already have hardware attached, so your project is ready to be hung, just tack up a nail, and you’ve got yourself a new piece of wall art!

So what are you waiting for? Go grab a clipboard and start painting now!

Use #rayandablog so we can see your creations! We’d love to see your take on this DIY!

DIY: Spice Up Your Stationery

Envelopes...

MATERIALS:

+ Envelopes! The more colors and paper types, the more fun you'll have customizing!

+ Pens and markers

+ Ink pad

+ Rubber stamps

+ Ruler

+ Decorative paper

 

We're suckers for some good stamps, ask your friendly Post Office worker what stamp designs they carry—they normally have a lot of different types, you'd be surprised!

Washi tape is a fun and easy way to add a little flair to your mail. Make a little border with your favorite color, or seal off the back with a little swatch, and send that bad boy away!

Yeah, I guess you could say we're pretty tight with Jenn... jk, I've just been on a huge Friend's Netflix binge lately.

If you're like us and have a ton of extra scrap paper lying around, these little envelopes are a fun way to send notes to your friends or leave tiny messages around the house. 

Plain white envelopes can be, well, plain. Grab a marker, a ruler, and some scrap paper, and line the edges and creases with your favorite color!

 

Stamps are a super easy and crafty way to add some pizzaz to your stationery. Having a few sets of alphabets and some decorative stamps can work for a multitude of projects.

 

You've all seen the metallic calligraphy trends all over the internet, but it's a tried and true classic way to spruce up those colored envelopes and paper you have laying around. Excuse the pencil lines, but we always sketch in pencil before putting down the ink!

Hopefully you're all inspired to grab your fancy pens and get to work! Some of our favorite envelopes are from Paper Source and Envelopments.

Liebster Awards

What a surprise to open our inbox and find a Liebster Award nomination from the lovely Julia over at Philly with a Fjallraven! The Liebster Awards are a little recognition and encouragement for bloggers, and a way to connect us all together by discovering new blogs. So we have to answer 11 questions that Julia created and nominate 11 other bloggers with 11 questions of our own. Here goes!

1. Coffee or tea?

Ray: Tea for me! SO MANY VARIETIES

A: COFFEE. That’s not even a question… next!

2. What is your favorite meal of the day?

Ray: Breakfast/brunch! Who doesn't love a stack of French toast or big ole plate of cream chipped beef on toast?

A: Breakfast (or brunch)! You can either go sweet with some French toast, or savory with a classic omelette and home fries.

3. What is your favorite place that you’ve traveled to and why?

Ray: Poland for sure. Being able to experience the culture, food and beauty of such an amazing country.

A: Probably LA - It’s warm (with no humidity), full of cool design inspiration, and land of the best and cheapest tacos I’ve ever had!

4. Which blogger(s) do you most admire?

Ray: Bri Emery over at designlovefest. I'm constantly keeping up with her through Instagram, Snapchat and of course on her blog. She's the founder and editor of designlovefest living in LA and everything she creates for her lifestyle blog is fun and exciting. Check out her latest designs at Target!

A: I may be biased because I’m her design assistant, but Monica over at East Coast Creative is a superhuman— she’s a blogger and designer, a DIY and home decorating expert, and a full-time mom, so, busy to say the least. She’s a highly motivated lady with a million and one awesome ideas!

5. When did you start blogging and why?

Ray & A: We started blogging last summer as a way for us to express our interests and create something fun for others to read. Post college, we were bored and job-less, so we put all our efforts into starting Ray & A, and are so glad we did!

6. What is the last book you read?

Ray: Looking for Alaska. If you haven't read it yet, get your hands on a copy and prepare yourself for late night readings plus deep thoughts about your life choices and experiences.

A: Let me just dust off my bookshelf...

7. If you could meet anyone (past or present) who would it be and why?

Ray: Adande Thorne, aka Swoozie on YouTube. His life stories are hilarious and he always stays true to himself. Still waiting for him to look at the Snapchat I sent him back in March…

A: Probably Jimmy Fallon. I actually just want to hear him say “EW!” In person...

8. Are you a morning or night person?

Ray: Hmm. It depends! It's quite difficult to get out of a nice comfy bed in the morning, but I definitely cherish sleep. Weekends are when I'm more of a night owl.

A: I’m an (after 8am and coffee) morning person!

9. For April Fools’ Day, have you ever pulled a prank and what was your best one?

Ray: I was able to prank my mom two years in a row and twice in one day with the same prank putting a rubber band on the sink sprayer. You think she would have learned to check after the first time… Hehe

A: I took one of those little clear rubber bands and put it on the handle of the sink sprayer… and was my mom ever MAD.

10. What was your latest blog post about and where do you get inspiration?

Ray & A: We did a DIY post on how to repurpose old Altoid tins into little storage kits for travel. They’re such great little containers, and it’s a shame to just throw them away, so we thought we’d make them useful!

11. What is the number one thing on your bucket list?

Ray: To travel somewhere I have never explored before! I love experiencing new surroundings.

A: Go to Rome with nothing but a sketchbook and a suitcase. Okay, I guess a passport too...

Here are some bloggers, creatives, and boss IGers we’re nominating:

Renée from Renée Nicolo Photography

Monica from  East Coast Creative

Jess from The Craftery

Melissa from design equals love

Emily from Land and She

Olivia from Laura Olivia Photography

Erika from Lark & Lace

Rachel from The Crafted Life

Chaucee from Streets and Stripes

Camille from Positive Publicity Blog

Kendall from Buttons and Blossoms

And here are our questions:

1. City or Country person?
2. Cats or Dogs?
3. What’s the most challenging part about blogging, and why?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?
5. If you could throw any themed party right now, what would it be?
6. When and why did you start blogging?
7. What’s your dream job?
8. What are you binge-watching on Netflix right now?
9. What’s your favorite fashion era?
10. If you could be an expert on one subject/topic, what would it be?
11. What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

#liebsterawards