Portraits

I love the idea of collecting old pictures of people and displaying them together. Now I have something to look for at the thrift stores. That and wooden spoons. Via Simply photo and here.

Joanna Henderson

Beautiful Photographs by Joanna Henderson, found via Simply Photo.

Our life at home.

Lately I haven't been doing a whole lot of posting about Trent and I. We've been really busy and to tell you the truth, I haven't used our camera in a while. I finally took a few pictures this weekend, and it inspired me to do a personal post.

My brother and his wife are flying in from Portland tomorrow, and so we've been really busy around the house making it look its best. Trent's mother is also flying in from Iowa the same week. None of them have seen our house since we moved in almost a year ago, and I'm so proud to actually have a presentable living situation. Up until 4 months ago, we didn't have a couch, our sideboard, or a the television in our living room. It was a storage area and home of the litter box for 3/4 of the time that we lived here.

This is mine and Trent's very first real home, and we're so, so proud of the life we've made here together. I look forward to posting pictures of the progress we make and writing about how far we've actually come.

Flickr Favorites

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled

I'm feeling warm and cozy tonight.
I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful Saturday night.

Unico

Some fantastic furniture and photos from Unico, a japanese online shop.

Found via Naive.

Mini Modern

Oh My God, I about peed my pants when I saw the Flickr group Modern Miniatures. On a whim I searched for modern dollhouses in Flickr to see if I'd find anything awesome and turns out there's no way I could even post all of the amazingness that I encountered. I'm not even kidding when I say that I could host an entire blog with all the fantastic modern miniatures I found. I dare you to go look around flickr and not turn to the other person in the room and squeal "Oh my God! Look at this!"

Pictures also from here.

Eames Jr.

Isn't this mini Eames office chair adorable? I could never ever justify a purchase of an actual Eames office chair, but this replica would make me equally happy next to my computer.
When I was a child, I was obsessed with miniatures. I remember fantasizing about winning the writing award in second grade that came with a $200 prize so that I could spend it on a fancy build-it-yourself dollhouse. I spent hours in the miniatures isle looking at all the tiny, detailed renditions of everyday products. I wanted the itty bitty silverware, the tiny hairbrush and mirror set, and the barely-there breakfast scones that were too perfect to be made by hands. I wanted it all.
I never did win that award, and therefore never got the dollhouse, but my fascination has definitely followed me into my much more modern tainted adulthood. I love the idea of a dollhouse filled with modern furniture.

Erin Tyner

Erin Tyner's photography blows my mind. The depth and colors and the way she manages to make it look so alive! Some of them are so eerie, I found myself feeling afraid for the figure in the photograph.I'm definitely going to put her at the top of the list of art to buy. I have a wall being currently occupied by some homemade art (aka: black and white photographs from some old-school thrifted college photography books in cheap frames) that would eventually forgive me for replacing them with a few of Erin's photographs

Porcelain Succulents

Finally! Plants that will not wilt away and die under my care. I'm currently nursing a baby pine tree that Trent and I bought for Christmas, and I'm doing my best to keep it watered and loved, but its needles keep turning brown. I hope this isn't an indication that I'll be a terrible mother... I can't even take care of my houseplants. Earlier tonight Trent went to the sink to do some dishes and found our baby pine tree amongst our dishes. I had been watering it and completely forgot about it. When he asked about it I told him how terrible a job I'm doing at keeping it happy. In my old apartment I went on a plant shopping spree and bought three plants. For a few months I gloated in my tiny garden, watering them religiously and bragged about it to anyone who would listen. Flash forward a few weeks and every single one of them is dead and in the dumpster outside my building. I told Trent this story to which he replied "I guess you just don't have a green thumb..." With a look of pain and my hands in the air I said "But I'm such a nurturing person!"

Found here via here

Amy's Apartment Therapy House Tour.

This blue door is stunning. I love the way she matched the blue in the picture to the paint color. It's very Leah Giberson for me.

Now I've got air plant at the top of my wishlist. I love the way the wooden dish cradles it, it looks so natural, as if it grew right there.

Such a precious collection of animal figurines.

I love these tiny details in her home. Those are always the things I notice first.
You can see the rest of Amy's house tour here. Via Apartment Therapy.

Small Stakes

When I saw this poster over at Nestled In, I immediately went over to The Small Stakes to check out their amazing selection of band posters. Amazing design, amazing bands.

These are my favorites-

It almost hurt going through the 'sold out' section of the website because there are so many amazing posters. I'm tempted to write a pleading letter to bring a few of them back to life

Nestled In

Today I stumbled into a blog called Nestled In, a home decor blog run by a really cute couple named Katja and Minna living in Oulu, Finland. It's safe to say that I'm a tiny bit obsessed. I've read three years worth of blog posts so far. It's easy to think you know someone after you've read about a hundred of their posts and it feels as if you've actually been inside of their home because you've seen so many pictures of it in flickr and through posts, but really you're just another reader reading their presented story. God, I love blogs. I was getting frightened that I had actually become a bit jaded. I have my favorites, but after a while, photographs start to blur, I scroll over words, and I start to think "What's next?"

Thank you Katja and Minna for the inspiration and for making me feel better about honestly liking Ikea.

(Photo credits: Katja from Nestled In)

Wingo Designs

These number necklaces by Wingo Designs are amazing. They're pretty pricey, but my God, the attention they would get.

Cinnamon glazed pecans

I know the holidays are over, but c'mon! Cinnamon glazed pecans? Yes please. I baked like, three pecan pies over the holidays and I ate about 3/4 of them. You'd think that would have curbed my craving until the next year, but no- I wanted more. I finally figured out that it wasn't pecan pie I was craving per say, it was candied pecans. I bought a $5 bag of raw pecans, ate half the bag, then decided to candy the rest.I was actually shooting for those kind that you buy at booths at the mall or street festivals that are $6 and come in a paper cone, and you revel in those tiny sugared pieces in the very bottom and refuse to share with your partner because there are simply not enough.
I've never made my own before, which is baffling, because it's so simple and you get way more than can fit in a meager paper cone.

The recipe I used called for about 2-3 cups of nuts (your choice, but I love pecans), 1/4 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar (though next time I'll probably use 3/4 cup), a tablespoon of cinnamon (all spice and nutmeg too, if you're adventurous), and a bit of vanilla. I made the mistake of throwing it all in together at the beginning, and they turned out pretty grainy. This in no way affected the taste, only the texture. I really like a smooth glaze, and if you're the same way, I suggest you let the sugar and water warm up together for a few minutes before you add the nuts.

Stir constantly until the consistency becomes sticky. You don't want them to get too dry. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

When done, pour over parchment paper and wait to cool. Or, like me, eat them while they're almost too hot to handle.

Frosted Helvetica.

I don't want anyone getting the impression that I'm some kind of cookie-cutter connoisseur, but I stumbled across these helvetica cookie cutters, and I couldn't not post about it. I have the tendency to mercilessly research the hell out of anything I'm interested in, and when I saw the alphabet cookie cutters, I immediately thought "I wonder if any helvetica font cookie cutters exist..."

Turns out they do.

Design by Beverly Hsu
Photography by Drew Hendrickson

Maria Allen

I just found Maria's etsy shop online, and I had a lot of fun looking through her collection of charms. The ampersand and the folded paper crane are my favorite.

ABC 123

Aren't these great? They make me feel like a kid again.
Found here

Apepazza Pavia

Not only do I not ever wear high heels, but these are like, three times out of my price range. I just keep fantasizing that with these, every outfit I wear will be magically pulled together and my longing for a more vast wardrobe will be temporarily outshone by their brilliance.

Lookbook

I'm almost exclusively unimpressed with Lookbook, as most of the people in them take me back to my shameful high school years of obnoxious personality, but this one hit home on so many different levels for me.

500 Days of Summer

As cliche and embarrassing as it was, I really liked it.
Picture from One Day, One movie (You should really check this place out, I had a lot of fun going through all of my favorite movies and then some.)

Multi-faceted

These faceted blocks are to die for. Even the picture itself begs to be hung on a wall. From here.

Missed Connections.

After seeing Sophie Blackall's blog, I immediately went to SLC's missed connections. Alas, it was mostly gay men looking for their friendly encounters in the gym showers or the 26 year old male who "failed to catch a cougar".

I wish they were all this romantic.

She also has an etsy shop here.

Welcome, 2010

I'm actually not in the habit of writing out my New Year's resolutions for myself. My method has always been to just jump cannon-ball style into a new year and hope for the best.
I just turned 21, and I have a very swanky temporary ID in my wallet to prove it. I had my shining moment and the liquor store on New Year's Eve when I flashed it to the middle aged woman at the counter who wished me a happy month and then continued to make jokes about celebrating birthdays all month long. I didn't say it, but I have actually been 21 for almost a month now, but due to time constraints and a pinch of laziness, I hadn't been to the DMV to spend a few hours in a line of people to get a bad picture taken.
It will forever be imprinted in my brain that the first official bottle of liquor I bought at 21 was a bottle of Absolut Citris for orange peel jello shots. Now, I know that the word 'jello shot' brings to mind cheerleaders in a frat house falling all over each other while downing paper cups of brightly colored gelatin, but these were different. When we showed up to the party where Trent and I were invited, the entire room oohed and aahed over their cleverness, adorableness, and eco-friendliness.


The proud foodie inside of me beamed, but alas, I had to give credit where credit was due.
I am fairly confident that Trent and I will be on the guestlist for the next party that they host, and when we get the word, I'll be bringing party favors.




New Years Resolutions:

• Draw more pictures.
• Be less frustrated with said pictures.
• Take more photographs; especially of Trent and I.
• Continue to go to Yoga and get the most out of my gym membership.
  
• Continue to grow hair out.
• Be less frustrated with said hair.
• Keep a daily journal.
  
• Write often.
  
• Start a garden.