cake with giants l amy borrell

loving this amazing watercolor/pencil illustration by amy borrell, an illustrator & designer based in melbourne. check out her blog here to see more of her lovely whimsical illustrations!

ana kraš

i wish i could purchase this clothing rack somewhere. designed by ana kraš, it is such a tasteful solution for a small space! made from oak sticks and plywood panels, i love the colored bottom and lightbulb companion.



and i'm sure you've seen these bonbon lamps also designed by ana.. would make a lovely DIY project for a rainy day (if you had the right wire frame):

tiny collections

luci everett for the design files.

kinfolk brooklyn dinner

anything kinfolk + leo patrone touches is gold... loving this simple/intimate and and yet quintessentially "kinfolk" dinner.

a very engaged valentines

this is the first valentines day that i will have as an engaged woman, which is both exciting and strange. i've never actually been one to be overly excited about valentine's, but when you're engaged... you want to be able to take a break from wedding planning, celebrate your love for each other & the new season of life you two are entering into. the problem is, when you're trying to plan a wedding (on a budget), valentine's day can be an especially not-so-happy-for-your-wallet occasion!

i know it's kind of cheesy, but these are some budget-friendly ideas for those trying to save money for a valentine's date (the sad thing is, we have the extra hurdle of being semi-long distance, but hey, these might work for you).


1. enjoying the view

go on a scenic ride (if you have bikes) or drive nearby and pack a picnic lunch/midnight snack! not the most original date, but definitely romantic and relaxing. be sure to bring a blanket! if you even have a telescope for stargazing, i envy you.


2. make something together

whether or not you're getting engaged, use this valentine's day to start (and/or finish) a project together! if you're engaged, build/paint/fix something for your new home together. how fun would that be!? (and much more meaningful/affordable than two tickets to disneyland...though i do love me some disneyland)


3. a savory affair

decide on an all-time favorite or a new recipe you both want to try. make a grocery list and go shopping for the ingredients together... then go home and cook it! use the dinner time to take turns affirming one another and sharing the things you appreciate about the other (don't let wedding planning suck your happiness away).


4. the silver screen

instead of paying $24+ for a movie for two, try looking for a drive-in in your area. they're not as common as movie theaters, but if you can find one, go for it! and you might get lucky and pay something like $6 for a double feature!  load up on snacks, pillows and blankets. if you have a truck, park backwards and sit in the back.


5.  picture perfect

i may be biased because i'm a photographer, but i love going out on my free time with mutually minded friends on a photo excursion.  go out with your loved one and bring cameras (disposable works fine too!). you can do a scavenger of sorts with different categories, or simply pick a scenic area to shoot away. make prints of all your shots that day and put it into a scrapbook (if you're the scrapbooking kind...i'm not).


6. thrift shop melody

make a date out of thrift-shopping! (or going to a flea market if you have one nearby) you can give yourselves price limits and see who gets the best stuff, or find an old record together to listen/dance to later (you can pair this with date #3).


7. open house

for the engaged couple (that doesn't already live together), looking for your future home can be one of the most exciting parts of the engagement period. make a date out of checking out apartments or even furniture shopping at IKEA (since, let's face it, you're on a budget).



some other ideas:

- going fruit picking at a local orchard/farm
-  local theater productions
- movie-at-home marathon
- take each other on a tour of your childhoods (favorite places to go, schools, etc.)
- good ol' coffee shop + board games


(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 )

ryo kobo

(via audkawa)

ritornell for musicbox

ritornell for musicbox from ritornell on vimeo.

jaw- dropping music box business card designed by katharina hölzl (via erin jang).
simply amazing, i can't get over it!

more details here.

neutrals + golds

(lipstick, dress, heels, watch, nail polish, satchel)

wanderlust

i love liivia's beautiful travel photos. take me there, stat!

brian park

thoroughly enjoying these interior + exterior shots by brian park. a lot more great work where these came from!

gifts (old & new)

just thought i'd share a couple gifts i received recently and not-so-recently that i think are sweet and caught my eye today. sweet as in suh-weeeeet.



i love this book by lena corwin that i got for my birthday (yes... 4 months ago). thought i'd whip it out today and enjoy it with some ice cream. i can't wait to try something! i'm kind of limited in space until we get married but maybe i'll do something with print goods.



left: recently my cousin bought me a whole box of muji pens from hong kong. that washi tape is from my beloved when we went to japantown in sf!

right: you can't see it clearly, but that mint zippered bag thing is anthro's packaging for their gift cards! (at least...almost a year ago). i now use it to store other gift cards i don't have room for in my wallet at the time being. it's a cute creature of sorts. (ps, that happy birthday card is a botched print i designed for someone else)

i'm a happy girl.

emily rothschild usb locket

yep, you heard that right: usb locket. feminine and functional jewelry, someone pinch me now!

if you're rich enough (or feel generous...*ahem*), you can buy it here for $270. if i was both awesome and wealthy, i would buy these as bridesmaids gifts for my bridesmaids!

there is also an equally lovely mini version here for $170!

something's hiding in here

vintage wallpaper music boxes by Something's Hiding In Here (creator of Forage Bowties) for BHLDN!

(via designworklife)

grady mcferrin

i really admire grady mcferrin's lettering and illustrative work. there's a gritty folk feel to each of his works that i absolutely adore.

check out his work here.

quiet wednesday

(1, 2)

it's a quiet wednesday around here, nothing really to be done at work...but tons to be done back home. wish i could sit at a coffee shop, drink a hot cup of hot chocolate or coffee and edit away. since i can't do any of that right now, i'll share some links i like today:

- i'd love my wedding to feel like this birthday party.

- really cute lingerie from anthropologie.

- fun matchbook illustrations from tom frost.

- this amazing forest/nature/wood-themed wedding invitation.

- this quote:

“Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no whenever you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. " eve ensler

- ONA camera bags.

- braided hairstyles tutorials

bond glam

(watch, heels, ring, lipstick, swimsuit, tub.)

today's inspiration board is a (james) bond girl, classic glam kind of board. isn't that swimsuit to die for?

our wedding (palette)

(left to right, top to bottom: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7)

Believe it or not, my fiance has taken a very active role in the life of our wedding colors. He has been bugging me all week to give him a selection of colors I'd like for our wedding. So, I had some free time today and decided to whip something up and give the man what he wants!

Here's a very basic idea of what I want our colors to be (I know, it looks like I want all the colors in the world). Lots of subtle hues (ivory, beige, muted blues and pinks, peach, sage green, etc.) with pepperings of coral, mint, gold and silver. The last block represents wooden textures I'd like to have in our wedding. :) This is all happening in my head though, who knows how it will turn out.

I realized today that a very exciting part of planning your wedding and working on a tight budget is being given motivation to learn new skills!

Some things I'm planning to learn or improve on for wedding projects:

- calligraphy
- woodworking (ha-ha)
- sewing
- painting

- floral arrangement

- dancing (this is for day-of. probably the toughest thing on here, seeing as i have no rhythm at all.)

Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious....

dessert first, please!

(1, 2)

How typical of me to have gotten obsessed with dessert ideas for my wedding already. One trend that has won me over: dessert in jars! How cute would it be to have tiny jars of desserts with adorably tiny spoons to match? Think about it! Pies...ice cream sundaes...cake... italian ice! Is it crazy for me to think I can do this on top of making my own bouquet and decorations?

Some pros:

1. no messy transport!
these would be easy to transport in a box without worrying about a mess of epic sized proportions to follow. i'm sure the moisture and humidity inside a closed jar would make the cake even more rich and tasty. don't quote me on that.

2. portion control: you could definitely make individual sized portions for people to enjoy, or even use larger jars to share family-style!

3. the container: who doesn't love mason jars to keep afterwards!

Con:

I'd have to buy hundreds of jars.... maybe I could just have them for my bridal shower. Heh-heh.

----

make your own:

15 dessert recipes in a jar!

dinner rolls in a jar!

pies in a jar! (green wedding shoes)

colin dunn: it ain't easy being super

colin dunn's work is fantastic, clean and charming. he's still in the design program at MICA, which makes me more excited to see what kind of stuff he'll produce once he gets out! the second image is from a super cool project he started where he illustrates a story from the news every week.

(as seen on grainedit)

living sculptures

some here and theres i am loving this morning while i sip my coffee and eat my peach yogurt (and don't really want to spread out for a few months time):

-- (top) jillian tamaki embroidered covers

-- via kitka shop!

-- exploration of shapes and color

-- spring breakfast tart : i am LOVING asparagus right now.

-- pin: revlon orange flip

-- exploding appliances

-- these polaroids by grant hamilton

-- "smelling the books" project

-- the silk tulle samantha blouse and scarlet french tulle bow made by alexandra grecco

-- jcrew pleated unwire swim top