back it up (part two)

+boot crazy

+surprise parties with pretzels hanging from the ceiling 

+trips to chicago for fencing, cheese, and deep dish pizza 

+bachelorette parties with wine and crowns

+a wedding (and it was beautiful! 

+croquet and grand ol' day

+cotton candy nail polish 

+friends leaving, friends returning

 


+cabin lounging+top knot wearing+catan 4 ever+hair experiments

+pancakes, bbqs

+going to the races

+eating out way through the state fair

+working our butts off on freelance

+seeing more plays, loving them all

+new glasses

p.s. I hate to say it, but I've been pretty delinquent in my outfit documenting in these colder months. I don't have much to show for now, but maybe my resolution for 2012 will be to take more photos in general!

back it up (part 1)

I liked doing my round up of outfits I liked from last year so much, I think I'll do it again.... but this time I'll include some memoriessss as well. So step into my time machine (which I imagine is gold and sparkly with pink lucite chairs inside), and we'll travel through the first half of 2011.. TOGETHER!

+made resolutions, accomplished some. 

+snowsnowsnowsnow 

+hard boiled eggs

 

+got my hair dyed professionally for the first time

+tried out the holga 

+super bowl chili party extravaganza!

 

+botanical garden trips 

+a new partner in crime 

+snowsnowsnowsnow (still)

merry & bright

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

holiday inn

Hello blogtimes!

I'm in Michigan for the weekend - today we're celebrating my mom's birthday. We already went out and bought pies (instead of cake), got a giant potato cheese mountain for breakfast, looked at furniture, splurged on cupcakes, and now we're settling in for some olives and cheese.

Does everyone else have this sort of food centered Christmas eve, or is it just me?


Either way, I'm glad to be home.

ohayo

A little late, but here's a photo recap of my trip to Akron, Ohio with Bryan for Thanksgiving! He met about half of my five billion relatives, and a good time was had by all.


We like to play a lot of games after we eat - this year included Mafia, Bang!, Four Square, Euchre, Boggle, and a few others that I forgot already...




We also ventured into downtown Akron, which was way cuter that I realized! We poked around a tiny Christmas market and dropped boom-boom dollars at the peanut shoppe. Friends, if you ever find yourself in the fine city of Akron, do yourselves a favor and go to the Peanut Shoppe. Old fashioned sweets and memorabilia lining the walls? Who could ask for anything more?!



I'll leave you with this rad photo of my dad and his wonderful siblings. This is the greatest photo in the world!

cold season (#3)

I don't know about you guys, but it's officially winter in Minnesota. We had a longer fall than usual, and every day without snow was maaayyybeee the best day ever. Fall is seriously my favorite season, but now that there's snow on the ground I'm trying to remind myself how much I love cozy nights and holiday food. Luckily I've also got a couple more of these cold season posts lined up! This time it's the fantabulous Erin from Babes in Thriftland. I just got to peak into her closet last night (at a fantastic ugly sweater party) and it confirmed my suspicions that she is the master of thrifting. I'm betting that by the end of the year Erin will have found both of the items on her cold season list!



"The clothing item I am most looking forward to would be a big scarf. I love snuggling up in chunky knits and I think that they compliment any outfit. I can see myself in a cute dress, jacket, tights and my big scarf. Now if only I could knit really fast..."

(I can't knit at all, so I might check out this scarf from ASOS!)



"For non clothing items, I've been looking for a new to me vintage afghan. I found a light and dark teal one the other day but it wasn't quite right. I'm hoping to find maybe a chevron print one. I love being able to drink a hot cocoa and snuggle under a warm blanket when the temperatures drop"

(Looking for a chevron blanket too? How about the one above from Gore Dean or this vintage one from Sue Stitches?)

Thanks again, Erin!

relish it

Oh hello there, blog. I went away to Akron, Ohio, for a few days to see my dad's side of the family and overload on cranberry relish. I meant to post this little happy cranberry as a "brb" while I was out, but in my excitement to introduce my fella to my extended (read: VERY LARGE) family I entirely forgot! Happy belated Thanksgiving to all, I hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as I did mine. I'm thankful for everything!

Bryan and I got back to Minnesota last night and promptly ran downstairs for a surprise party for our friend David. Alli took some super awesome photos, and I'll leave you with one of those, since I'm too zonked from a long weekend of playing hard to do anything else:



p.s. ladies making silly faces 4ever!

flagged

Here are how things generally go in the Emma/Bryan apartment household: One of us will e-mail the other one with some sort of link to a photo of another person's apartment that looks cool. We both freak out (via e-mail, which looks like this: YES OMG YES LETS DO THAT PLZZZZ). I then start online window shopping for whatever it is that we need to recreate the photo, and Bryan sets off to measure things and figure out how to lay things out and all the practical stuff that I am no good at.

This is essentially what happened when Bryan decided that he wanted an American flag for our living room, which I agreed was an awesome idea. After a quick etsy search I found the perfect specimen at sit and sing vintage. Each stripe is a different piece of fabric, and it's got the right amount of wear and tear.

in bloom

cardigan: banana republic / necklace: modcloth / dress: vintage from blacklist / belt: thrifted / booties: bcbg

I don't normally post outfit photos, but I was so happy with this little number I threw together for work last Thursday that I figured it was worth a looksee. I tried out the sock bun technique this time with MUCH success. I'm a total sock bun convert, friends.

I've actually been trying a LOT of new hair techniques - last night for the MCAD Art Sale I attempted to do this little faux jazz age bob, and though it looked NOTHING like what it was supposed to turn out like, I think it still looks pretty good! Three cheers for trying new things, yeah yeah yeah!

unlisted #2

Yep, I liked my little hexagon layout from the last time I wrote up the ubiquitous "list of obsessions", so I'm sticking with it.

This time around:

-tattoos. I keep thinking about them. This one is of Caroline Loosen shot by Stefan Khoo. Though Ms. Loosen seems to not have this tattoo in real life, it is my perfect floral tattoo. I keep coming back to the florals, and then get scared away from them. I'm also still not sure I want color. Luckily I'm waiting till Bill and I finish up the neverending project of boomboom $$ to splurge, and as this project is neverending .... well, I have some time to think about it.

-fun reads. It is almost impossible for me to click onto The Hairpin and maneuver myself away from it in less than thirty minutes. I tell myself I'll only read one article, and then I stumble upon the personal bests archive and it's all over. I may have read several articles just now when I went to get the links for this post. These are some of the funniest females (and sometimes dudes too) that I've ever had the opportunity to read.

-future diys. I'm definitely planning on taking this cute kid's playroom storage idea and spray painting the animals gold and filling the jars with cookies and giving them out as holiday gifts. YOU CAN'T STOP ME, THE CRAFTING WILL HAPPEN.

-wishlist additions. Gosh, is it almost Christmastime ALREADY? Oh no I will have to write a Christmas wishlist and OH NO, I will have to put The New Domestic's newest offering, the Bon Journey Bag on it. Woe is me!

-gift ideas. Speaking of the holidays, it is finally time for a new issue of Gifted Magazine from Creature Comforts! When the first issue of Gifted Came out last year, I was so thrilled to find a gift guide that actually had good recommendations, and this year's issue is no different. I already found something for my notoriously hard to buy for mother (whom I love sososososo much), what will you find? Also it's pretty to look at, which is generally a plus.

-fancy nails. I am terrible at painting my nails, but the tutorials on the beauty department have given me hope. I feel like maybe I can cover up how bad I am at this very important aspect of girldom by simply doing crazy designs over all my imperfections! I already tried my hand at black and gold nails, I'm thinking gold and pink next.

What's on your list?

cold season (#2)

I think it's about time to bring another inspiring ladyfriend in to talk about what's keeping her excited for these collllllld winter months. Today was the first snow of the season for us in the Twin Cities, so it seems fitting (although I won't lie, I cried exactly three tears at the sight of it). You folks may know Maria from her blog, Lulu Letty. If not, go check it out! Maria has a fantastic style and a sweet etsy store full of goodies. We share a love of the fries at Sweeneys, and also both hail from Michigan (M go blueeeee). I know you'll love what she's got on her cold weather list!

"I am obsessed with coats and have more than any normal/sane person should own, but I just can't seem to help myself. I love being able to snuggle into a coat and feel my winter blues melt away. This vintage beauty was an amazing find that I was lucky enough to snag from the lovely Amanda's shop, Salvaged Strawberry."

(I couldn't find anything similar to this marvelous beauty of Maria's, but if you like the floral tapestry look you should check out this coat.)

"I'm really looking forward to going back to MI for Christmas and hopefully going up to my parents' cottage on Torch Lake. Maybe I'll even get to see some deer like last year!"

(The Mitten State really is picturesque in the winter. Want to see it for yourself? I think this Michigan cabin looks great. I also dream of staying in a treehouse cabin one day, like these ones in Washington.)

Thanks again, Maria, for sharing your winter pick-me-ups! Stay tuned, I've got the equally fab Maggie and Erin on the docket.

stuffed

I don't often work in 3D media. I've delved into bookmaking from time to time, but it was really only for school projects. I think I have a hard time removing myself from paper, because I find drawing to be so incredibly cathartic. (In reference to cathartic drawing, see also: making tiny marks over and over again, painting stripes of white onto colored paper, etc).

When I see work from people like Lithuanian adantine, however, it makes me think twice. They're simple yet stylish, and SO adorable.

Mr. Leo brooch (he is calling my name! I need him!)

The Black Pig (did I mention that the photos are sublimely styled?!)

How about a Fox?

A Kindhearted brooch. 

Now quick, go snap these up - the holidays doth approach and I have a feeling these will be fantastic gifts!

creeper

On our way home last night, Bryan and I happened to catch the Halloween edition of Sound Opinions on the radio - and they were, of course, talking about the songs that creeped them out the most. This really got us thinking, so we put our heads together (well, Bryan's vast-knowledge-of-music head and my minute-understanding-of-what-music-even-is head) and put together a little list of creepytown Halloween sounds for you! Happy Halloweenie, and thanks to Bryan for help on this one.

    

Le Chat Du Café Des Artistes - Charlotte Gainsbourg 

When you're dead, you're dead. My top pick.

The Amazing Sounds of Orgy - Radiohead 

Bryan's ultimate #1 top pick.

Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone 

Sound Opinions played this one, I'd never heard it before but DANG. Nina Simone knows what's up.

God's Away on Business - Tom Waits 

Master of demented songs, and a great music video!

Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground 

"It's like a fever dream" - Bryan

What's a Girl To Do - Bat For Lashes 

1:20 in this video seriously haunts my dreams/makes me want to draw 500 million ghosts.

Wicked Game - Chris Isaak 

Another genius pick by Bryan, Chris Isaak with a song that manages to be 100% creepy and 100% sexy at the same time.

b - iamamiwhoami 

Remember when there was speculation that this lady might have been Christina Aguilera? Xtina!

Devil Town - Daniel Johnston.

Disturbing song from a disturbed mind. 

 And, to end on a light note, this silly song for funsies:  

Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell

vitamin e

OH HEYYYYY! Remember that fab weekend I had? And that extra fun Paper Darts party I went to? Well, I didn't want to jinx it but I totally got stopped by the super awesome Ellen Dahl Lawson (of the minneapoline fame) to do a little outfit photo for vita.mn's fashion column, and the photos are up today! Was that enough links for one blog post? SORRY FRIENDS, I'm just excited. Nothing like feeling like a minor internet celebrity (as fleeting as it may be) to brighten my day.

Also, check out that extra hottie next to me! Regan is one awesome lady, and she looked awesome that night. Big congrats to her for being amazing in all aspects of life!

Okay, excitement over, go back to your regularly scheduled blog reading.

cold season (#1)

I'm bringing in some fashionable ladies I know every once in awhile for the next couple months to talk about what's keeping them going now that fall/winter is upon us. They'll be accompanied by an illustration, because I need to make sure I keep drawing now that fall/winter is upon me! First up is Allison Vallant of dotluv. Not only does Alli blog about fashion and photography and a lot of other cool stuff BUT she is also one of my bestest ladies! We are pretty much the most perfect shopping companions for each other, which is a true sign of friendship greatness. Here are Alli's top choices for fall:

"I want a nice black wedge boot that I can wear with both jeans and dresses, but is also in some way Minnesota-winter appropriate. Both fashionable and sensible. It would be great if I could find one with tread! But when am I not thinking about shoes? Never."

"I also cannot stop thinking about rearranging the living room in our apartment. I've been thinking lately that our apartment is a little bit more on the feminine/whimsical side than I would like it, and especially now that winter is upon us, I've been wanting to make it a little more masculine looking. A new rug, and maybe rearranging the art and plants that we have will help for now! There are a few things that I will have to just dream about for now (two Eames shell chairs to replace my yellow upholstered chair, anyone?) but something I can do, is invest in a clean white cow skin rug."

 THANKS ALLI!! Stay tuned, folks. I've got more ladies on the docket for you!

sweathouse

What a weekend I'm having! Do you ever have one of those weekends where you do five million things but still want to do more BUT you also want to collapse on the couch and not do anything for five days? That's how this weekend has been shaping up, and I love it!

Here's a list of some of my weekend activities, for my future self to come back to and look at:
-Halloween-themed wedding in a haunted cave
-Vintage clothing show at the State Fairgrounds with Alli (who should dye her hair pink) and Erin (who has the cutest outfit with a long skirt on her blog right now). I got this amazing awesome sweater (pictured) and also got talked into a winter coat... at least now I have something to look forward to when it snows! I had to cut out early, SO curious to see if the other ladies found anything good!


it's true, i have the pale-est hands / new sweater, new glasses!

-Saw Burial at Thebes at the Guthrie with Bryan after a fab lunch at their Level 5 Cafe. The play was so amazing, it certainly had me in tears by the end of it. Greek tragedies ftw! 

-Went to a party for a new book put out by Paper Darts with an illustration featured ON THE COVER by my buddy/art partner Bill. It was everso much fun. Now I'm back from a breakfast date with plans to watch some Breaking Bad and maybe look at the internets for awhile. Can this weekend last for a few more days?