This spring has been a wonderfully busy season for us. Between the move, decorating the new space, BHLDN store openings, and work-related travel my calendar has been anything but empty. And though I love it that way, I was relieved when this week - suddenly - everything seemed to come to a grinding halt and I have all the time in the world. At last I'll get to spend some time catching up with my seriously neglected pillow. Sleeping-in is a luxury that will never get old to me. That and wearing my pajamas all day.

What are you getting into this weekend? - b.

Happy Earth Day friends! I learned a really random, cool fact about Earth Day on my way into work today. Apparently, the first celebration was held in Philadelphia in 1970. Like most of you, I'm a big fan of Mother Earth and think it's incredibly important for us to recycle, conserve, and respect the planet we all call home. I think we can all make a difference with a lot of hard work and determination. Earth Day is the perfect reminder to take a step back and assess the way you're living your life, pin-pointing the areas where you can improve and determine the best next steps to do so.

Some of the ways I plan to help out this year:

• Plant an organic food garden for our summer salads
• Recycle more
• Drive less and walk/bike more
• Pick up litter I see in the streets (Philly has a serious problem with it)
• Buy less packaged goods from the grocery store
• Cut back on my electricity and water usage where possible

How do you plan to help our planet in the coming year? - b.

Wow, we're already almost a month into spring! It's really starting to feel it in Philadelphia, and I thought it was time to share part II of my five piece french wardrobe series (see part I here). The inspiration.

In order to narrow down the seemingly endless sea of clothing choices out there, it's important to pull images that inspire you. Whether they're a mood you want to evoke, color you're craving, or ensemble you just can't get out of your mind- pull/pin/print them all! After awhile you'll start to notice patterns in what you're picking, and from there you can begin to shop for the pieces that will become your five pieces for the coming season.

It should come as no surprise that this is my favorite part. I am a self professed Pinterest addict, and kind of pin a lot for my job too! I thought it would be fun to share a few of the images that are inspiring my choices for this season.

MOOD | There's something very peaceful, and subtly put together about the two images above. They share similar colors, creamy light, and feel minimalistic to me. Though the colors don't really suit my skin tone, I'm concentrating on the way these images make me feel when shopping for clothes this spring. I'm looking for minimal styles, made of high quality fabrics, with unique details that make them texturally interesting.

PATTERN | I'm embracing my love of stripes, and I'm not going to apologize for it anymore! Though I already own 4 striped shirts, I've decided to invest in one more. They're timeless, go with everything, and achieve that laid back feel I'm trying to evoke this spring. Plus, stripes are totally a neutral.

COLOR | Now, let's talk color. I can't help but crave a few vibrant shades here or there no matter what trends are telling me. I'm a color lover at heart and I always gravitate towards more saturated hues regardless of whether I'm in desperate need of neutrals or not. For spring I'm sticking to one really saturated piece, and one additional piece with more colorful accents. The colors I'm gravitating towards live somewhere in the range you see above.

And that about sums up my spring inspiration. It may seem a little haphazard this go round but in my head it all fits into my grander wardrobe scheme. I want a closet that not only fulfills my basic needs with great staple pieces, but also reflects my love of culture, color, and texture. All things that right now I feel I'm lacking in every area of my life. I've just about got everything picked and ordered for the season so you won't have to wait long to see what I ordered. I can't wait to share them all with you here. - b.

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image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4- unknown | 5- unknown | 6