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!