the hills

My love for Etsy is unending, and I think I add at least one pretty print to my Favorites daily. I added this hills print from leahduncan's shop yesterday because the soft colors and line details won me over, and hills will forever remind me of my time spent as a camper and counselor at Camp Akita.

yagööting

Yagööt opens today at Easton Town Center, and I seriously cannot wait to try it. So much that I may just make a trip over there tonight before the Bachelor finale, and I've been looking for a reason to trek out there for a few of these.

Frozen treats are my weakness, as evidenced by the fact that this winter I've stopped at Jeni's a few times on the way home from work when it's. been. snowing. Also need to try Red Mango and can't wait until Menchie's opens next door to my Kroger.

yellow

Back in grade school, a classmate told me I look good in yellow. I think I still remember that because it seemed like such a random color to look good wearing, and I don't know that it would have occurred to me if someone hadn't said it. Whether or not it really does work for me, I'm attracted to it since it's so sunny, and it pops up each season in my wardrobe. I have this handbag from last year, and now I'm especially loving this sun kiss necklace (currently sold out) and Lauren Conrad's jacket which, I think, showcase the color at its best.

(image sources: Anthropologie, Francesca's, PopSugar )

traveling owls

Columbus has been hit with 3 snow storms in 11 days, and I'm hoping flights are running smoothly tomorrow so I can get out of town for a long weekend in South Carolina. I already have a few totes to choose from for my carry-on, but I would love to tuck this bag with funny-looking owls under my arm to hold my MacBook, iPod, and other travel necessities.

Valentine's eats

On my way home from work on Friday, I stopped at Trader Joe's for a few staples and couldn't resist a box of their seasonal chocolate truffles. I'm a sucker for pretty packages, so the clean white space with whimsical hand-lettering made them an irresistible buy, and I'm so happy that the chocolates inside made the purchase worthwhile with their perfect mix of dark chocolate shell and fudgy interior. As good as these are, it's a good thing that these are only on sale a few weeks a year because otherwise my grocery bill would be $5 higher every trip.


Yesterday, Nathan requested mushroom risotto for lunch which was a nice departure from our usual Saturday afternoon meals of Chipotle or whatever's in the fridge. I've made this version a few times now, substituting fresh shiitake mushrooms and leaving out the Gorgonzola, and I was happy to make a simple filling lunch to share with him. Anything that he'll eat 2 bowls of and then go back for the rest for dinner is a recipe I'll gladly make over and over again.


We ran errands most of the afternoon, and since we were close-ish to my favorite bakery, Pistacia Vera, I requested a small detour for cookies which, of course, didn't surprise Nathan. I love their lime sugar cookies, but apparently so do other sweet tooths out there since there were none left, so I went with 5 of their macarons in various flavors. Naturally, I couldn't wait until I got home to eat one.

Valentine's treat

I know if I got flowers for Valentine's Day, my kitty would eat them, and my calorie intake doesn't really need an onslaught of candy. For those of you looking to give or get something other than the expected chocolate and flowers, a pretty little ring like this one from Coach is such a sweet alternative since it's simple and pretty enough to wear year-round, yet makes perfect sense for a holiday all about love.

Green Louboutins

(photo: Cheri Pearl, source)

When looking for the perfect wedding shoes, I would have given anything to be a few inches shorter and have a few extra dollars to have these Louboutins. But alas, I don't think there were even for sale anymore when I was on the search for my wedding shoes. Plus, since my husband's only a couple inches taller, I wanted to keep my heels more around the 2" mark. It's rare that I even wear 3+" heels anymore, but when I do he always jokingly glares at me, and I really didn't want to be taller than him in all our wedding photos.

My friend is now looking at the coveted Louboutin for her own wedding, and while I was checking out her potential choice, a couple green pairs in the current collection caught my eye:



They're perfection. Despite the fact that I already own 4 pairs of green shoes, I'd still like to add a pair of these to my shelf.

shoe source: Saks (first pair) (second pair)

Fast, Fresh & Green

(photo: Jessica Hische)

Jessica Hische's work is constantly inspiring, and I'm loving the combination of type, illustration, and photography here. It's so nice when great design comes together with something that can be so mundane, like a veggie cookbook. Most of my vegetarian recipes come from the internet, but this would make such a lovely addition to my small stack of cookbooks.

fabulous clutch

I have a dangerous habit. When I like something, I buy A LOT of it. Found some basic shirts that were the perfect length for my long torso...I think I now have 10 of them in almost all of the available colors. Scarves? In the passed couple years my stock pile has grown beyond what's really necessary. But I justify it because I wear one almost every day. And my worst offense? Might be my love of the clutch. I have plenty, yet I seem to always grab the same gray one found at Gap on clearance a couple years ago. (Which I had bought in black too the week before.) It's slightly bigger than the rest in my closet and the perfect neutral, with a little ruffle to add a unique touch.

And now, I've found another I'd really love to add to my collection this spring. The Fabulous Clutch from Boden has a ton of eye-catching ruffles and a giant clasp, which to me, completes any perfect clutch. It meets the perfect size requirement for my essentials for a night at the bar, along with my camera which doesn't fit in a few of my bags. Plus, since it's color options are all perfect for my wardrobe, ideally, I'd take one of each.

Giada for Target

Two of my favorite things together...Target AND Giada?! Pretty much every Saturday includes watching the newest episode of "Giada at Home" and a trip to Target, so this collection couldn't be more me. Too bad I seriously do not need one more thing for our kitchen since we got SO many gifts for the wedding. Where was her stuff a year ago when I was creating our Target registry?

Bye for now Conan

I have been a fan of Conan since I started staying up later and later once I went off to college, and I'm so sad to see NBC let him go. It's incredibly unfair that he only had 7 months to do his dream job, but I can't wait to see what he does next. I hope he has the rights to the string dance.

my dress

Today's my birthday! So it seems only fitting to dedicate today's post to one of the most wonderful gifts I've ever received. My wedding gown. I won't ever be able to thank my mom enough for it. And it deserves a montage:

My sister-in-law Vanessa was responsible for the buttoning, and I think I love those buttons a lot more than she does.

(all photos: *Print, except the 4th photo: my collection)

the honeymoon

As I noted , a couple weeks before our wedding, swine flu was all over the news, and Nathan and I decided to cancel our honeymoon trip to Mexico. After hours on TripAdvisor, I suggested we go to St. Lucia instead and more specifically, Discovery at Marigot Bay. The cost was much more than the trip to Mexico would have been, but the island is so wonderful and lush and we couldn't have been more pampered during our stay.

view from our drive to the resort


with Husband


our room and private pool


the harbor


poolside


view from my pool chair


the Pitons from a boat while on a land & sea tour


all geared up to go zip lining


at the breakfast table on our last morning

(all images: from my collection)

the invitations

New year, new motivation to continue posting here. I have been trying to figure out if it's worth it to continue with the blog since once again my blog's name rings true and I've remained indecisive for months. Yesterday I got a little encouragement, and I've been watching a couple of my friends (Jenny and Lindsey) maintain blogs, so I've decided to post lightly again. Though more frequently than last year hopefully!

I've been wanting to pick up an SLR camera again and relearn how to take photos beyond my point-and-shoot. Nathan was a photo major in college so I have a nice camera at my fingertips, and I took a photography class in college, so I just need to take the next step. Due to my tendency to procrastinate, I've been delaying posting my wedding invitations because I wanted to get a few more close-up shots beyond what my wonderful photographer (Christa at *Print) captured. For now, here are a few shots of the finished pieces.



The original plan was to print these with a gocco, but my boss was incredibly generous and, as a wedding gift, paid for the cost of letterpress. This then freed up some money in our budget to mail boxes instead of envelopes and use custom Zazzle stamps again. (Yes, I'm a crazy cat lady and addressed my sample-to-be-photographed set to the cat, who shares her name with a fabulous actress.)


Instead of an inner envelope, I decided to group the pieces with a ribbon and use a tag to list the names of the people invited. I had my parents help punch those out, which was quite an entertaining event. My mom helped again by putting the grass in all the boxes while a couple bridesmaids assembled the groups of papers and tied them together and Nathan cut and singed the ends of ribbons to keep them from fraying.



For the printing I worked with Travis at Parklife Press, and his printing exceeded my expectations. I seriously still can't get enough of the texture of the printed pieces. There's nothing better than letterpress! It was an exciting morning when FedEx dropped these off and I got to see my designs the way I'd always hoped instead of just on my computer screen.


My RSVP cards are my most favorite part of the system, and I really love the texture created by the polka dots on the ceremony card. Plus I need a photo of the front of the return envelope. So I'll get a few more shots of those up, eventually.

(all images: *Print)