so, i am not out of the woods in terms of work and transition, and it is good to take a break from this space (although i actually miss it). i need to focus on some other things right now, but i figured if i were going to do that, i might as will post something really beautiful for you to look at if you stop by during my little hiatus (besides, as soon as i saw these on modish yesterday, i knew i wanted to look at them some more). amy's frantic search for a dress this week (she is going to a wedding tomorrow) led us to a discussion about being prepared for such things with a pretty dress. i think one of these tea dresses from sohomode might just be my choice. and with prices starting at $85, they are just as affordable as any old dress you would find at the mall (without the stress and sore feet), but made by hand out of gorgeous vintage cotton.
i have high hopes of getting to the family cabin in wisconsin this weekend (provided i get my work done and can find a ride), and i hope you have a wonderful long weekend.

happy friday! so, we can classify this under "things i can't stop thinking about/when i finally do get married, i am going to want to remember this!" so i might as well bookmark it and share it with you! there are so so many more beautiful photos of this wedding over at once wed and our labor of love (that site makes me really like weddings!), that i would encourage you to take a look at, but i picked a few (seen first on cup of jo):look at this awesome red truck that transported the bride and her (ten!) maidens to the ceremony! and those clutches! so cool. not to mention the BOOTS. and the pretty j. crew dresses.

beautiful REAL cakes made by a friend and the milk! (i guess i'm feeling pretty exclamatory today.) the MILK, people! i love it.

these might be my favorites: the bistro lights strung up in a field, and the sparkly send-off. so perfect. anyway, i just think these are gorgeous. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

dovetail love.

my little vacation is over! and it's back to work for me (boo). but! at least there is air conditioning at the office (which i actually feel a little guilty about, since it's putting holes in the ozone layer), and at least i only have THIRTEEN MORE DAYS OF WORK!! i am sending out resumes at the speed of light and hoping for a good little part-time gig. even if i don't land one, something will work out. it always does.
as i'm working on opening up the shop again and, specifically, on a set of wedding invitations (among other things, i will be offering some different lines of custom and semi-custom wedding invitations), i am thinking about giving gifts for weddings and how i never know what to give. i want to give something unique yet universally appealing, something useful, but not mundane. i often think that it would be really easy to just pick a gift to give to all the newlyweds in my life. a signature of sorts. a go-to. a standby. something surprising and wonderful that everyone will love getting. and of course, it is great to support artists i like. and i really like dovetail (this whole post is basically an excuse to talk about them). so, i think maybe my new go-to standby wedding gift will be a pair of dovetail mugs. maybe the bike ones. or maybe the letters. although i think maybe the neighborhood ones are my favorite. it's so hard to decide! but once you do, margaret and josh will send your pair of mugs to wherever you want them from their studio in lexington, ky. you can find a list of shops that carry their work here. and find out more about them here: shop :: etsy :: blog
what about you? do you have go-to gifts that you like to give to the people in your life as they reach milestones? favorite artists or companies you like to buy from whenever you get the chance?

weekend!

what are you up to this weekend? i have the meet the babies party, and i am excited to bake a cake! it will be wonderful to see old friends and have an excuse to get the final boxes out of the house and the art on the walls--and then take some real pictures to share with you next week (i think next will be picture week). i am also hoping, as always, to get some art made.
i hope your weekend is sunny and wonderful, summer really is here and i want to soak up every second! have a wonderful weekend!

get ready babies, you have a sa-weet party coming up on saturday! (although i have to say, jack and emmeline are probably not reading yet*, so they will likely not see this post.)
i have no words (i write this late on wednesday night), but this is one of the many things i did tonight. see those curtains in the background? the chrysanthemums? they will likely become a skirt as soon as i have the white curtains up (i do like them as curtains, but crafty planet is done carrying that particular fabric and, to be honest, i don't have time to scour the internet for more). just call me sister maria.
i really did almost post pictures of the house, but looking at them was really depressing since there is no art on the walls. this weekend, i promise, the art will go up, the photos will be taken and posted! you will likely also see my new hairdo, as requested by my mother.
i guess when i say, "i have no words", i really mean, i have plenty to say, but it might all come out as stream-of-consciousness because i just don't know how to organize the words.
*they are two months old!

momentum.

it has been rainy and gray in minneapolis the last few days. i have been enjoying it, honestly (i prefer it to ninety-five degrees and 100% humidity). the sea of chairs sitting on nicollet mall outside the local are gorgeous, and i enjoy passing them each day on my way home from the gym. today they were totally empty.
i have barely been keeping up these days, there is a lot going on here! the house really is magical (i took some pictures tonight and will post them as soon as i can gather the energy), with enough space in my second-floor bedroom to work and sleep. i am sleeping better, i am working more productively (already! it's only been a week!), and in the midst of my low-grade exhaustion, i am energized. i have a lot on my plate, and that's exactly how i like it.
there are some really exciting things in the works, and hopefully i will be able to share some news in the next week or so.
also, i would just like to say that i have really been enjoying decor8 lately. sometimes the layout is a little too busy for me, and i get overwhelmed by all the visual doo-dahs going on. but the content? the writing? delightful! the images? gorgeous! i'm a fan, especially after reading her post on bedside table options.

happy effing monday!

as i write this late on sunday night, the thought of going back to work tomorrow does not give me the sinking feeling it normally does. i had a restful and productive weekend. i enjoyed my house, baked a thousand cookies, and slept in--finally! i test rode some wonderful bicycles, fell in love with one and fell off another (have you ever ridden a fixed gear bike? yikes! i don't know who would choose to do that! i have some nice big bruises on my right hip to remind me of my spill). i will likely post more bike details later as i am rather preoccupied. now, on to your pretty things (not conventionally pretty, but a little newsy).
i give you one guess as to where this amazing, slightly over-the-top (and rather poorly photographed) chandelier is:

um, did you guess my house? because that would be right. there are actually two, one in the dining room, one in the living room. they are kind of amazing. i will definitely post some comprehensive pictures of the magical house, but not until the boxes are gone and the art is on the walls. this will happen as soon as possible, so be patient (i'm talking to you kim lambright). but to give you a little taste, i give you the chandeliers. and part of our enormous kitchen:

oh, and i found my ring. it is possibly my favorite possession (i made it several years ago at a little jewelry making class), and i was sure i had lost it somehow in the moving process. i was quite ecstatic to find it the other night and haven't taken it off since. it occurs to me that this is a terribly dorky and possibly boring thing to post about, but i can't help it. that's how pleased i am to have it back. i hope your week is off to a good start this morning!

my favorite part of the creative process is that feeling i get when something i imagined has not only materialized, but turns out to be better than i even imagined. that was how i knew, with the help of a wise professor, that i should choose printmaking over pottery as my medium of choice in college. i loved my pottery classes and working with clay, none of my pottery ever turned out like i wanted--and not in a good way. my prints, on the other hand, never turned out the way i wanted, either--they turned out better (well, usually). anyway, i was reminded of that feeling this week as i painted these little flags.
my friends an i are getting together to meet two new little folks in a couple of weeks and i put the invitations in the mail a couple of days ago. i think the design might just make an appearance as a part of my inventory when my shop reopens (with better photos--please forgive the shadowy lighting. these were taken in the middle of the night). and yes, i guess i am obsessed with garlands lately. they will probably appear in other forms at the party, as well.

how i ended up liking mornings, or: my favorite part of my house.

shhhh!! i am playing hooky from work today! mostly because i have about a million things to do, and no time to do them. today i just want to talk about coffee (!) and about the sun in the mornings, especially in the summertime--if there is anything that makes up for the forty below in minnesota, it's these looooong summer days. i wake up in the morning and, for a few seconds, think i have been transported somewhere exotic, with all-night sunshine. anyway, about the coffee:
my programmable coffeemaker has changed my life. seriously. every weekday since i received it, i have programmed it to brew my coffee at six a.m. and you know what? it has made all the difference in the world. admittedly, sometimes the coffee sits in the coffeemaker until six-thirty, but for the most part, the gurgling sound and coffee smell are a great alarm clock (i still need my normal one, don't get me wrong). and in the warm months? ah, i love to sit on my back porch and just be in the sun. or write my morning pages, now that i do that.
the mug is one of my favorite possessions, the first piece of pottery i bought in college, and carried all over the world with me (or, at least to norway). and when i say 'possession', i mean, i'm weirdly possessive about it. i can't really handle seeing anyone else drink out of it. i'm not like that about anything else i own.
i will really miss this back porch. but somehow, i think my new back porch, with the private backyard and garden, will not be too difficult to get used to.
i hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

welcome, summer.

it could not have been a more beautiful weekend for a move. and by that, i mean: it didn't rain. nor was the weather too hot. we had so many people graciously help us move all of our earthly possessions from one house to the other. now we just have to wait for the painter to finish up at the new house (which is looking great!) and should be able to start settling in next weekend. i am tired, but relieved that everything went so well.

rewind a week: i finally had a chance to upload my photos from art-a-whirl last weekend and realized this was the only one i actually took, from the fifth floor of the california building (full of beautiful studio spaces with gorgeous light). to be honest, i was a little bummed out by art-a-whirl (i was thinking of maybe blogging about it, but i just didn't see much work that i really liked, and really don't want to bring negativity into this spot, especially about art and other artists). however, it was a lovely, lovely day for biking around northeast and being a part of my little neighborhood. i really do love my city in the summertime.