29 July 2011

Have A Beautiful Weekend!


I hope everyone has a beautiful, relaxing weekend. After last weekend's chaos, I am excited to be able to have a romantic & restful weekend with Nick. I hope to get a little bit of "back to school" shopping done & eat some really tasty foods.

What is on your list of things for the weekend? What has inspired you?

◦ I am absolutely inspired by Natalie of iheartthisblog & her 30x30 posts. She has picked 30 pieces to mix & match for one month {30 days} and photo documents her daily outfits. While I don't expect to actually blog my outfits for 30 days, I do expect to more carefully chose my clothing for the month of August. I tend to get so lazy with my wardrobe, especially when I go back to work. Teaching art always seems to lead to big messes & I have never felt like it is worth the effort of looking stylish.

◦ The "Let's Play Pretend" photoset by Lissy Elle is enchanting & adorable. It has inspired some of the style decisions I have made this week, and will continue for the month of August--soft scarves, loose waves, ruffles, pinks & creams.

◦ Another inspiration is the photographer Antonella Arismendi. Her photographs and models have a natural beauty and soft glow. Check out the Kling Summer and White portfolios, especially.


{Photo Credit: 1 & 2 Lissy Elle, 3 Antonella Arismendi}

28 July 2011

Things I Love Thursday - July 28, 2011

{Photo of Jasmine Van den Bogaerde, Birdy}

Life & Style
I am envious of ladies with super long locks. Just look at Birdy's! My hair is finally reaching lengths of which I've always wanted {& I can't help but think about the story The Gift of the Magi.} Anyways, now that it's so hot out I'm struggling to come up with different ways to style it besides my usual messy bun or ponytail. How about these cute braids?

I love Joanna's, of A Cup Of Jo, post about the etiquette on introducing people.

Television
You already know my obsession with John Slattery {a.k.a. Roger Sterling} and now I can just stare at him all day because Mad Men is finally available streaming on Netflix. If that isn't reason enough to pay for the 60% subscription increase, I don't know what is.

Ryan Gosling, Jimmy Fallon and Best Week Ever.
These 3 things come together and it's perfect.

{This also reminds me of how entertaining I find my husband's love/hate relationship with Jimmy Fallon. He thinks he's hilarious but hates how he laughs at his own jokes. Have you ever noticed how many comedians actually do this though? I think it's kind of funny. And I would have to imagine that they aren't laughing in an egotistical way.}

Internet
This explanation of Google+ seems to hit the nail on the head. So far I really like Google+ over Facebook as a networking site. I'm so tired of all the advertisements and spam that has overtaken Facebook.

Baby screech owls. They are too adorable & remind me of animatronics.

Music
I'm usually a pretty harsh critic of cover songs. But I have found two that I cannot stop listening to...

Birdy's cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love"


& Ellie Goulding's cover of Elton John's "Your Song"

26 July 2011

Take Nothing For Granted

On Saturday my dad was over at my house cutting down a tree when a part of the trunk smashed his finger. This caused him to lose his balance, fall backwards, knock himself unconscious and plummet 15 feet.

It was literally the most traumatic thing I had ever witnessed. To have to make a 911 call for an unresponsive parent is something that I hope I never have to do again. My family spent the greater part of Saturday and Sunday at the hospital. But thankfully he is fully recovered with the exception some bruises.

It made me realize how unpredictable and delicate life can be. I can't imagine not having my dad {or the rest of my family and friends} around right now. Needless to say, I'm not taking anything for granted.

{And really, neither should you! So go ahead and call up your family and friends and let them know you love them. Please!}

This beautiful photograph of my dad and I was taken by Genevieve Nisly.

18 July 2011

When You Believe In Things You Don't Understand

I am not a huge superstitious person. Yes, sometimes I have little rituals that, when they get interrupted, I might feel a little anxiety. But other than that, I don't avoid black cats, dread Friday the 13th {I was born on one, after all} and I have no problem picking up pennies that are heads down.

But lately I have noticed that on Mondays everything has been going wrong. Now, I am on summer break so I don't even work on Mondays. There are no deadlines and no stress; just chores and errands that I still wake up and try to be ready for by 9am.

Last week I brought Noelle to the groomers and when I picked her up my car had stalled in the parking lot. This morning while making my morning cup, I was holding the canister of Teavana loose tea and dropped it, spilling all of it's contents.

I'm sure I could think of more, but quite honestly, I do not want to criticize Monday too much. I'm afraid I will not want to finish today! I will just head back to bed and wake up on Tuesday.


{This self-portrait was part of a final photography portfolio in college. I was stressed out, can you tell?}

Here are some interesting facts on superstitions and phobias:

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. It was said that if you could pronounce the word paraskevidekatriaphobia you could be cured of the fear.

Abracadabra, a word used by magicians as a mystical word to invoke spirits, has origin in the Aramaic phrase, avda kedavra, meaning "what was said, has been done." For those of you Potter fans, J.K. Rowling was influenced by this for her Avada Kedavra curse.

In November 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Wonder's song "Superstitious" at #74 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The most popular lucky number is 7, but according to Cha-Cha the most winningest lottery number is 32 & 3.

Whether it would bring me more luck or not, this ceramic bowl from Paloma's Nest would look lovely on my dresser holding my jewelry. {I have always joked, for being born on Friday the 13th, I have always been very lucky!}


15 July 2011

Happy Friday!

Good morning!

These summer weeks are FLYING by. Can you believe we are already more than halfway through July? That is crazy to me! Nick & I are visiting another farmers' market tomorrow and then heading up to Painesville for their annual Party in the Park. I have always loved summer festivals & fairs, especially when they are able to bring in some talented musicians and artists! I'm going to try to slow down and really enjoy my weekend, and the rest of the summer, as there are fewer days till I'm back at work. I hope you all can do the same.

The gorgeous flowers that have been warming up our kitchen since Wednesday. Can anyone tell me what kind of flowers they are? I am tempted to grow them next summer.

I'm always excited to learn about new music. This Seattle band has been on heavy rotation as of late and I'm thinking about going to see them open for The Decemberists in Cleveland.

How cute are these color wheel earrings? Perfect for any art teacher...

This would be so nice for potting herbs during the months I don't have my garden.

I am in love with this bedroom collection from Anthropologie. It would go great in my salmon colored bedroom, no?

I agree with Ron Swanson {and also Seth Meyers} where is Nick Offerman's Emmy nomination?


Anyways, be safe and see you all Monday!

14 July 2011

Things I Love Thursday - July 14, 2011

A short, but sweet, Things I Love Thursday, as I have to head off to work for a bit. Enjoy your day, as I know I will!
  • This print by Mike Monteiro. I think that I need to get this for the husband
  • Hitting the snooze button & snuggling with my pup for an extra ten minutes
  • Fresh blueberries for breakfast
  • Teavana JavaVana tea with breakfast
  • Being excited for tonight's dinner of fresh vegetables & locally bought chicken for dinner
  • Going to see Winnie the Pooh Movie this weekend
  • Going to see the Harry Potter movie, as well
  • Knowing that Saturday I will pay a surprise visit to an old friend


12 July 2011

Photos From The Weekend /// How Does Your Garden Grow?

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time tending to my garden. Nick and I hadn't made it up to Michigan as planned (it really was never about visiting the IKEA store, it was actually to adopt a kitten, but the shelter never returned our call *tear*) So, instead, I did a lot of work around the house.

I got tired of pulling weeds so I snapped some photos of our very first garden!


11 July 2011

Gray Hair?

Over the weekend I had this incredibly realistic dream that involved me heading over the my hair stylist only to realize that my hair had turned completely white. Instead of continuing to highlight and dye it, my stylist suggested we just change it to be all white and no longer color it. I woke up in a bit of a panic, but at the same time, I was happy that my dream-self was accepting of the gray and embraced it. Would I be able to do this in real life? I don't know. I'd like to think so!

Here are some insanely beautiful graying ladies.

{Clockwise starting top left: Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, Jane Goodall, Stacy London of What Not To Wear, Beatrix Ost}

Isn't it unfair that men can get away with this more easily than women? {I just needed an excuse to post photos of my two favorite {among many} graying men!}

{John Slattery of Mad Men, Eric Dane}

What about you? How will you/do you handle gray hair?

08 July 2011

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Anything exciting going on this weekend?

I am thankful it is Friday! Tomorrow Nick and I will be taking a little road trip north to Michigan. We wanted to do some shopping, check out the IKEA store, and possibly pick up a little something extra while up there. (My "little something extra" is going to be a surprise until Monday, because nothing has been set in stone.) AND! On Sunday I will be going to an Indian's game with Nick, Chase & Dad.

I had a sort of falling out with Cleveland sports, as I'm sure, every Northeast Ohioan does at some point in their lives. Within the last... well, for as long as I can remember... they've been breaking my heart.

Although pessimism seems to still be coursing through my veins. I'm ready to let the past go. I'm going to go there Sunday and enjoy myself and the company.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A letter to Cleveland, one year after "The Decision", from Ohio State blogger, Ramzy.

One of the brighter moments for Cleveland sports on July 8th.


Time-lapse video of the field being painted for the All Star Game.

Unrelated to sports, but, this is such an awesome way to share herbs fresh from your garden.

And a collection of some inspiring interiors with hardwood floors.

07 July 2011

Things I Love Thursday - July 7, 2011


The Color Of - A beautiful site where you can enter in a word and it pulls and overlays images from Flickr to create a color for that word.

TEDtalks Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity - I have to watch this every once and awhile to help me get through my creativity funks. This TEDtalks features Elizabeth Gilbert, writer of Eat, Pray, Love, and her feelings on genius and creativity. Put aside 20 minutes and watch this.

photoset of Sweden - I have been reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I've become a little intrigued by the idea of visiting Sweden. Although, not in my near future, hopefully I can get there someday. And until then I'll look at this lovely photoset by Chelsea of Frolic.

Genevieve Nisly's Photography Blog - OK, so, I might be a little biased and sent you directly to the photos Genevieve and James took of Nick & I's wedding... but how could I not?! They are stunning and I get all emotional when I see them because they so perfectly represent the day and how I felt.

(photos from elseachelsea)