Holiday Weekend

I love a 3-day weekend.

What I love even more is throwing a Holiday in there!

If you celebrate Easter, have a great weekend! If not, you can at least enjoy the fun candy!

Oh and Mr. Bunny, don't forget to bring me some of these goodies if you can!

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Easter Bunny Cakes--a tradition in our family! I was very proud of this cake in 1988!

Have a great weekend!! Be back Monday!

Vacation. Relived.

Don't you just love looking at photos when you come back from a trip?

Laughing about the funny things you did. Smiling over the views you saw.
I just love it.
My trip to Key Largo and Key West was absolutely fabulous.

It went by far too fast, but isn't that flip side of the coin with vacations?

It was a hot, sunny trip. Filled with SPF. Margaritas. Conch Fritters. Coronas. Memories.

Paradise.

Mile 0.

View from our seat at The Porch

I miss the hot air and sun. Must go on another trip soon :)

Nostalgia

"Nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone."

Mad Men

My trip to Iowa City was incredibly nostalgic. Driving up Dubuque Street and seeing my old apartment. Walking to tailgate & going to Kinnick. Hitting our old stomping grounds like Brother's. Browsing stores like Dulcinea, Catherine's and Akar. Eating at Quinton's. Sunday morning Chai Tea and paper at Java House. It goes on and on...

Nostalgia is hard. It's difficult to explain. I'm happy for where I am today, but I miss the days of college life. Or even my life a year ago. But memories are great and pictures are a fabulous way to remember what once was. I always find that certain songs bring me right back to a specific night or experience.

Here are some snapshots of my weekend down memory lane...

Apartment at Fairchild & Dubuque.

Love the beginning of the games! Our seats were awesome too!

Dulcinea is such an adorable boutique

Way too many carbs at Quinton's! Baked potato soup & the smoke stack. Yum!

Java House always has interesting local art hanging.

Mmm soy chai, berry muffin & the Sunday papers.

And last but not least....Halloween in a college town. Where students think less is more. It's not.

What are you nostalgic for?

I-O-W-A

Today is a great day.

I'm heading back to Iowa City, Iowa.
Home of The University of Iowa and the Hawkeyes!

Everything you need to know you can find HERE!

It's an amazing city. I know, I know, some of you are thinking "umm Iowa? No way." But you'd be wrong. It's a gem of a town. It is full of amazing restaurants, art galleries, and shops. The city is very forward thinking, full of intellectuals, and they pride themselves on having a big city feel with small town pride. I could go on for hours. Those of you who have been, know. Those of you who haven't, GO!

My weekend will be full of

Iowa Football at legendary Kinnick Stadium

Each corner of the field yelling out a letter for when we score a touchdown. I-O-W-A!


Wandering through the Ped Mall with friends.




Have a fabulous weekend!! Enjoy Halloween and be safe!

Love This

Did anyone see this last night? I love it. It's like a hip-hop time machine!

I have to say I was completely impressed by Fallon. He's got some talent!! I remember after 2Pac came out with California Love my brother and I used to stand on the couches like 2Pac stood on the stage and swing our arms like 2pac does at the 3:16 mark. Mind you I was 11 years old.

What the...

Have you stumbled across any blasts from your past recently????


The bar results come out tomorrow. aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

Moving Madness

Moving.Is.Terrible.

There, I said it. And the thing is, I've moved so many times and it's always irritating. The packing makes you believe you have WAY too much stuff. The photos sidetrack you and next thing you know it's been 35 minutes and you're Indian-style on the floor. The glasses and dishes make you mad as you wrap each platter and wine glass and think you should have entertained more because honestly who needs a 3 tiered glass dessert tray?

Ugh. Enough of that already. So here is what my move was really like. Studying 60 hours a week for the bar exam, my parents came down a couple times to grab clothes, etc. Then the day after the exam my dad and I packed up the rest of my apartment--- no big deal. The next part is where the move takes a turn for the worst.

I went to the White Sox game (Thursday night before Friday's move) with my uncle, mom and cousin. We started off in the Stadium Club and this was our view:

Four people. 8 beers. Necessary?

We then proceeded to our seats to consume more beverages and enjoy the win (12th game win streak! Go SOX!) while my mom and uncle slowed down on their beverage consumption. My cousin Jimmy and I, however, revved up our game. We then celebrated the win by having more drinks in my neighborhood bar, Kasey's.

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Here is were I made the wrong decision. Stoli drinks were on special for $4, so thinking I was being economical I had 4 or 5 (I honestly cannot remember and the beer I was drinking all night was $3; not very economical, eh?) Blueberry Stolis & Sprites that were too Stoli heavy. I then stumbled home up the block at 2am (my cousin walked me home, what a gentleman!)

I passed out. Now for me, drunk sleep = no sleep. It's passing out. It's being a different state ala Inception where I'm in limbo. I don't sleep, I don't dream, I'm just unconscious on my bed. Friday morning came WAY too early and the moving men (my brother, dad, and different uncle were there) I was in no shape to move.

Why on earth would I get so mind numbingly intoxicated the night before a move?! Not my best decision of 2010. I'm happy to report that I was able to eat around 3 pm and slowly gained the color back in my cheeks and felt like I had a little bit of life back in me. I also proclaimed I was never drinking again. This, was a blatant lie as I'm going back to the Sox game tomorrow and it's nothing but American to watch baseball and enjoy a beer :)

So with that trip down scary memory lane, I feel nauseous and pathetic...haha

And one last look at the great loft that was my home. So far, the best place I've lived...




HAPPY WEEKEND to ALL! Hope you're doing something really fun and enjoying the time off. I've got a busy day tomorrow but want to blog a great recipe I have, so fingers crossed I get it done :)

The GREAT Brick Wall

I currently live in a loft, I say currently because I'm moving soon and I'm so depressed I can't even bear to talk about it right now... The building is an old printing press in Chicago's Historic Printer's Row. I absolutely LOVE it. I have 12 ft (maybe 14...) ceilings, exposed brick, timber ceilings, 8ft windows, and my own vault! :)

My apartment used to be the office so I have a very large walk-in closet that is completely concrete (and a fabulous storage space...it's the length of the brick wall you're seeing) I only wish they would have left the old vault door on. Now that would have been ahhmazing.

I wanted to do something on the brick wall that juts out from the vault. It's such a large space and the brick is a beautiful color and it really grabs your attention when you walk in. Problem was, I didn't know what to do with all that space. So I looked for inspiration from Crate & Barrel, CB2, Ikea, West Elm, and numerous design magazines. Only problem is everything I wanted was $$$$. I just graduated law school so naturally the only $ I have is in student loans ;) I made the best of what I could with things I found and received from all over.

Here's a shot of the wall from the front entrance (a quick peek at my apt too)



The frames are all different shapes and sizes and have come from Ikea & Hobby Lobby. The console table (that I just adore) was a floor sale at Crate & Barrel. It's the Aldo Console table. I got it for $199 from $600, SCORE! Its sister side table is next to my chaise...$99 from $250!



The pictures are from all over. 3 prints I picked up of Firenze when I lived there. A shadow box filled with the business cards of my favorite Florentine restaurants. Another shadow box with wired flowers from Chait Gallery in Iowa City, IA


(artist is Justine T. Zimmer http://www.thegalleriesdowntown.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=6786)

And of course the pictures are from favorite memories of mine. Blizzard in Denver with a dear friend, Antigua with my random roommate from college (still best friends!!), a kiss with my grandma from when I was 2...ah, memories. It's what I like to call a happy wall. I always stop, look and feel complete.

My bamboo plant is a recent gift from my attorney Uncle who gave it to me as good luck for the bar exam. It's in the shape of a triangle, so 3x the luck. I NEED IT!

The beaded bowl is where I toss a little bit of everything. Mostly my keys but you'll find hair ties, pens, stamps in there.

The glass box to the right of the middle is another fave of mine. A gift from the friend (in the blizzard pic) from the Denver Artisans Center. It's truly beautiful and the glass work is phenomenal. I put a picture from my trip to Prague in the holder on the top. It's a box for any and everything...and b/c it's mine it's full of RANDOM junk (of course I cleaned it out for you guys hehe)



Then I have my art books. I wish I could have 1,000 coffee table books. I love art. I love going through the pages and just staring. I got these books at the Printer's Row Book Fair which is a treat itself. Didn't pay more than $14 for any of the books!




So tell me, how do you like to decorate? What's your style? I feel mine is ever changing and as I stumble across many of the blogs on here I'm in awe and intimidated by the creativity that's out there. A lot of you have an eye for design that I would KILL for! Now I just need to keep a running tab of all your smart DIYs and goodies that you find and implement them into my space. Like I said, my apt is always changing and I never really know what I want.

'Til next time!