with this ring, i thee obsess

A Pretty Crate & Barrel Box

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned before how the Crate & Barrel box has been my nemesis through 16 wedding seasons. (Yikes! Am I that old?) I once again triumphed in the fall, with a fun package that I prettied up for my friend's September bridal shower.

I used pretty green paper to cover the Crate & Barrel name, then stabled peach tissue paper that I had from my own incomplete wedding projects around the perimeter for frilly goodness.

Incidentally, I believe this package led to me tying 90 party favors for her October wedding. Lucky me.

A Sparkly Brunch

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

I hosted a super cute brunch for my girlfriends this weekend. Our group has some important December and January Birthdays and one newly engaged friend. I thought a sparkly, confetti-themed brunch celebrating our good friends and good will would be a great way to kick-off the new year.

I scheduled this spontaneously right before the holidays. I was inspired by a sparkly party that I saw in a 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living that had lots of sequins and paillettes. This evite design sealed the deal on the theme.

I picked up red, purple, and fuchsia glitter wrapping paper from Paper Source, I happened to have a gold Chilewich runner from a sample sale, and I found a pack of eight fuchsia napkins at Home Goods for 99 cents. It was party kismet.

Whole Foods had these PERFECT fucshia and purple flowers.

I used my circle punches to make "confetti" for the place cards and napkin rings. Each place card and napkin ring had a unique pattern.

I also made some party hats with the glitter paper and crowns by stapling crepe paper fringe onto dollar store crowns.

I started making some "HAPPY" signs to hang above the mirrors, but, as always, time got away from me. I didn't get past the "H" and "Y."

I forgot to take a photo of the food spread. The menu included:

Mimosas
Orange LaCroix and O.J.
Bacon, Leek, and Gruyere Quiche
Ham, Shallot, and Cheddar Quiche
Vegan White Bean Quiche (made by my friend)
Hashbrowns
Mixed Greens served with Fresh Vinaigrette Dressing
Fresh Berries
Bread and Butter

It was the easiest meal I've ever hosted! I had intended to make fresh brownies and sticky buns, but that Friday snowstorm threw a loop in my plans. I got some delicious bakery from Whole Foods, which was a million times better than anything I could have made myself.

I sent everyone home with a Godiva chocolate candy bar wrapped in glitter and more "confetti."

Our casual brunch turned into a four hour luncheon! It was so fun and a great respite from the snowy weather.

P.S. I used some scraps to make "Thank You" cards for the hostess gifts I received. I think that I want to make some "Tina" cards like this. Might as well use up the glitter spares before they become soooo 20XX.

366: Week 3

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

This 366 project is tougher than I expected. First, because when I'm busy, I forget to take pictures. Some days I'm grasping at straws and other days, I have too many. I finally decided to go approach this as a diary and select the photos that represent what made me happiest or had the biggest impact on that day. Hopefully, I can use some of the "pretty" ones in other posts.

Day 15:
Almost two full weekends of working until my bones ached, I have the Craft Room
all cleaned and organized. My friend took the bookcase and TV stand
off my hands this week, so it's even cleaner now.

Day 16:
My clean desk greeting me for a Work from Home/Big Deadline day.

Day 17:
I've been working so hard at knocking off the To-Dos
and working my way through the giant "Projects" list in my iPhone.
Our honeymoon album arrived this week!

Day 18:
I caught the "Revenge" pilot on the flight home from Paris.
I'm now embarrassingly addicted to this show.

Day 19:
MENTAL HEALTH DAY! I sat down around 8:30 a.m.
with the intention of working on this scrapbook until about 11:00 or so.
Andy called to check-in and I asked what time he was going to lunch.
He said he already had...it was 1:45 p.m. Oops!
Great Mental Health Day!

Day 20:
I knew about the snowstorm for two days, so I naturally waited
until it started to go grocery shopping.
Four 15-minute errands and two grocery store stops took six hours.

Day 21:
Even with two days off, I'm up at 1:37 a.m. the night before a party setting the table.

Sparkly Baubles

2012-01-19T09:27:00.000-06:00

I am hosting a "sparkle and shined" theme brunch this weekend. I asked my girlfriends to wear something sparkly, but I'm having a hard time finding something for myself to wear that's both flattering AND affordable. I'm thinking about just blinging it up. I have quite a few sparkly necklaces, but I'm bored with them. I'm kind of liking the odd subtlety of this necklace.

{Source: Anthropologie}

Speaking of sparkle, this necklace is on clearance at Macy's. I've been stalking it weekly to see if it's still there and if the price has dropped. It's on open display, so I hope that people aren't trying it on and scuzzing it up. Ha! If I get it, I'm going to make Andy take me to dinner just so I can wear it.

{Source: Nordstrom}

366: Week 2

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

DAY 8, 01.08.2012:
Wide Awake at Bed Time

DAY 9, 01.09.2012:
F@^K. It's January 9th.

DAY 10, 01.10.2012:
Working from Home.
I was literally online from 6:30 a.m. to midnight
with one Diet Pop and one Noodles with Butter break.

DAY 11, 01.11.2012:
Morning Rush Birthday Cake Run

DAY 12, 01.12.2012:
The First Snow of 2012

Day 13, 01.13.2012:
Swimming Pools, Sausages, and WAY TOO MANY Soliloquies.

Day 14, 01.14.12:In the home stretch of spring cleaning.
These closet doors haven't closed in over seven months.

The Calm During the Storm

2012-01-12T22:47:00.000-06:00

The trees were so beautiful on my walk home tonight. Living on a busy street, our window of pretty snow is limited. I was heading home late tonight and was lucky enough to catch a break in traffic and enjoy a little snowy serenity.

365: Week 1

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

I tried starting a 365 project on my birthday, in hope of practicing my camera. I last about two weeks or so before I got busy and fell behind. I decided to try a Hipstamatic album this new year for a few different reasons: to practice composition and for visual motivation to break out of the ruts I tend to get myself into. And since it's Hipstamatic, I will ALWAYS have my camera with me and won't have to do any processing. Hooray! Processing is what kills me.

Day 1, 01.01.2012: Hanging onto the holidays at my parent's house

Day 2, 01.02.2012: So long, Santa!

Day 3, 01.03.2012: Back to work

Day 4, 01.04.2012: New Year, New Possibilities
The P.S. calendar wasn't my favorite design,
but the numbers are big enough to be seen across the room
when I'm on calls and the bright colors really cheer up my drab office space.

Day 5, 01.05.2012: Busy Work chaps my hide.

Day 6, 01.06.2012: 5 Point Breakfast

Day 7, 01.07.2012: Crafting in the Car en route to Dad's Birthday Party

My goal is to drop the week's photos into a blurb album every weekend. So far, so good!

My Dad is 60!

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

A wrapping paper table runner.

Place Cards...

...turned Party Hats!

Each party hat had a photo of my dad and the wearer.
(Except for my bro.)

My dad's had a pix of him and his aunt/mom.

Andy and my mom were the only ones who humored me and wore their hats,
as my dad and brother were worried about "ruining their hair." They are both total curmudgeons.

My #60 fell off in the car. :(

To make the hats, I unassembled a cardboard party hat and traced it onto 12X12 and 8.5x11 cardstock from Paper Source. I used crepe paper streamers to make fringe decorations. I used my Sillhouette SD to cut the 60s, which I attached with floral wire and scotch tape, and the blue ovals for the photos, which were attached with foam squares.

Saving my Christmas Money

2012-01-02T10:32:00.001-06:00

I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday! Our Christmas celebrations were joyful and our New Year's Eve was peaceful. And both were delicious. I am normally very pessimistic, but the calm and anticipation that I feel as I enter 2012 can only be described as otherwordly. I don't know what's at the root, but I hope the feeling stays with me and passes on to my friends and loved ones.

One of my first goals of the New Year is to obsessively check my morning e-mails for the almost-daily 30% sales at Banana Republic. I have $125 in gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. I think that I'm going to get this:

{Source: Banana Republic}

Thank you, Pantone!

I also want these, but my lame knees said "no."

{Source: J. Crew}

New Project + Pretty Christmas Packages

2011-12-23T12:35:00.001-06:00

2012 isn't here yet, but it's already looking pretty good. My friend got engaged the other night. She has been saying for months that I would make her invitations when the time came. Seriously...she's an artist (and a psychiatrist) and wants me to make her invites? Hooray!

As a total aside, I'm loving how our Christmas packages look in the $1.99 wrapping paper that I purchased from Walgreen's. My bows look a little drunk though, don't they?

I hope that everyone's enjoying Christmas Week.

The CTA Holiday Train

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) runs a holiday train on weekends during the holiday season. I first spotted it travelling above Lincoln and Wrightwood Avenues about six or seven years ago and was stopped dead in my tracks. I've been trying to organically catch it ever since. I finally gave up and met Andy downtown one day to take the Holiday Train home together.

It was basically us and a bunch of people with toddlers waiting for the train. As is the case with all of my holiday activities.

Tell you what - the Holiday Train is *tough* to photograph. I'm hoping to someday get a good enough photo of it to use it for my Christmas cards.

"Elves" hand out candy canes in the train.

The train is SO CLEAN! And smells great, which the real holiday treat.

More pictures from other riders can be found on Flickr.

Christmas Fun

2011-12-20T12:26:00.003-06:00

My Christmas Week schedule made me smile, so I took a screen shot for posterity.

I participated in a few gift exchanges last weekend. My friend gave me one of my favorite new ornaments -- a "Y" ornament that he thought was a sideways "T" ornament. I hope that Yolanda isn't upset that I stole her Christmas booty.

I hope you're all enjoying your holidays. Our mailbox has been filling up with Christmas cards these past few days. Love it!

2011 Holiday Cards

2011-12-15T17:21:00.001-06:00

I hemmed and hawed over this year's holiday card selection. I really wanted to make my own cards, but couldn't think of anything nicer and wittier than what I was finding in stores. (And, really, who has that kind of time?) As a paper snob, I tend to like the most expensive cards in pretty much every store, which is tough when you send out over 100 cards. With my hectic November and December travel schedule and our party hosting schedule, I decided to cut my losses and purchase this year's greetings. I'm pretty sure everyone on my list will have received them by now, so here are our 2011 holiday cards:

{Ugly Sweaters Cards from Paper Source}

{Cavallini Eiffel Tower Joyeux Noel Holiday Cards from Paper Source}

The paper on the Eiffel Tower cards was luxurious. It was a pure joy writing them out. My LePens flowed effortlessly on their gorgeous stock.

A Photo a Day Album

2011-12-14T10:56:00.000-06:00

I realize that this is just a three-up photo album, but I saw this in Urban Outfitters last night and it tickled me. What a cute gift idea for a friend who is participating in a 365 Project.

{Source}

Handmade Holiday Cards

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite Holiday Blog Traditions is participating in the Brooklyn Bride Holiday Card Exchange. I made some fun cards last year, but couldn't figure out how to send them. So I ended up putting something together at the last minute using materials I had around the house. I think that these are one of my least favorite projects ever.

Christmas Potluck Invitations

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

This is a project from last Christmas that I never blogged -- invitations to a potluck lunch at Andy's cousin's house.

The red ornament cards and large snowflake stickers were purchased at Paper Source.

I printed the details on plain circle cards, then mounted them onto the ornament card and folded them into 3D ornaments.

Christmas Time is Here!

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happiness and Cheer.

Our First Thanksgiving

2011-12-05T16:47:00.001-06:00

Andy and I hosted our first Thanksgiving this year. We celebrated Thanksgiving Day at his aunt's house and hosted my family on Friday. It was such a great time. I hope that we get to host again someday.

I was so proud of us for pulling off our first big meal. Neither of us had ever made a turkey before, but it came out without a hitch thanks to a melding recipes from the Betty Crocker and America's Test Kitchen cookbooks.

I am a total stuffing-with-sausage convert. I can't believe I had never eaten it that way before. We had all of the fixin's and my family's traditional holiday dishes: Polish sausage with sauerkraut, homemade finger dumplings, and lazy man's pierogi (our's is minus the sausage).

I always get so distracted when guests arrive and forget to put out food. I finally wised up and hung a menu and "To Do" list to manage my giant task list and all of the different cooking times and temperatures. This was BRILLIANT and I can't believe that I've never done this before. I saw Andy checking the list and crossing stuff off all afternoon. I'm doing this for every party. It's so much easier than using my phone.

For the table, I used a table runner that I got on clearance at Crate & Barrel a few seasons ago. And because I am nothing, if not predictable, I whipped up some place cards using leaf patterns that I downloaded and cut with the Silhouette SD.

The 40/50/70 Party Details

2011-11-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

Andy and his family members are celebrating some milestone birthdays in 2011-2012. His sister turned 50 in June, his dad turned 70 in November, and Andy will be the big Four-Oh in January. We celebrated with a joint birthday party for all of them a few weeks ago.

We started off at Second City, then headed to the new Pump Room for some cocktails, and wrapped up the party with an amazing dinner at Mastro's. I mean, amaze-balls amazing.

I made some place cards from old family photos.

I had to take these pictures at work so that Andy wouldn't see them, thus the unattractive background.

For party favors, I ordered one of Andy's favorite desserts in the whole city, frosting cookie sandwiches from Sensational Bites.

I packaged them in custom tie dye boxes.

I photocopied some tie dye material that I had around the house onto card stock to make the box tops, using different sections of the fabric for variety. I paired the covers bottoms made from plain card stock in the party colors. I used my fun new toy, the Martha Stewart Scoring Board, to make the boxes. I used my Silhouette SD to cut some 40-50-70 banners to hold the boxes shut.

The cakes. I was HORRIFIED by the cakes. I provided the baker with the mock-up and example below, along with a big note that they should look modern and elegant, not psychedelic or groovy.

{Source: Brooke Weeber flickr}

This is what we received:

I was livid! They look like total sh*t. Psychedelic sh*t. And I paid an extra $40/cake for that design. To add insult to injury, the restaurant didn't set them up as the table centerpiece as I had requested, so they were still frozen when they were served. At least I didn't have to look at them for the entire meal.

Tragedy in Tina Town aside, the evening was a smash!

Art Nouveau Garden Wedding Projects

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Two of our best friends got married back in October!

Because the bride is insane, she made all of her own floral arrangements at the last minute. Apparently, people are more talented and stronger than me. Look at her bouquet!

{Source: Tyler Core Shoots People}

While I couldn't help with flowers, in true, I-wish-that-I-was-still-engaged Tina form, I helped the bride-to-be out with some other projects. Basically, I said, "Give me whatever you don't want to do yourself." I took a few vacation days and spent them in crafting bliss. Here are a few of the projects that I worked on.

{Source: Tyler Core Shoots People}

I'm so pleased with the programs, which quite literally came to life in about two hours the day before the wedding using some scrap paper that the bride had.

{Source: Tyler Core Shoots People}

I didn't "make" these bells, but I did pick them out to decorate the church and reception hall. I added the ribbons in her wedding colors.

{Source: Tyler Core Shoots People}

I made a few Welcome signs for the church and the hall.

The bride bought me a Silhouette SD in the spring as a thank you gift for helping her out. I had hoped to use it on some of her wedding projects, but her invitation design was too intricate to cut en masse. I surprised her with a bride and groom banner. The groom's family friend offered to help me hang them and spent about 20 minutes manipulating them and taping them to the awkward chairs with my green painter's tape. I didn't have the heart to move them.

{Source: Tyler Core Shoots People}

Each guest was greeted with a chocolate. I wrapped them in tissue paper and a slim piece of paper with a "thank you" message and the instructions for the couple's flickr page.

The bride found these great images of old Chicago posters. We used them as table markers for the place cards.

Orange You Glad You Didn't Move?

2011-11-17T16:41:00.001-06:00

My friend recently redecorated her apartment in an attempt to talk herself out of moving. Her renovations could be published. Think orange and blue paint, reclaimed wood wall units/workstations, and closet doors re-purposed as magnetic chalkboard walls.

I wanted to give her a small "house re-warming" gift that wouldn't take up space in her newly detoxed apartment. She also loves the color orange, so I wrapped up some Halloween hot chocolate that turns orange from Crate & Barrel, some orange marshmallow Peeps, and a monogram mug from Anthropologie. I used some scraps from around the house to bestow some orange bliss on the outside too.

More circles from the Circle Surplus

My Mail Order Winter Coat Boutique

2011-11-12T07:59:00.001-06:00

Winter arrived in Chicago with medium-ish force this week! We had a pretty first snow and our first frigid temps. I had promised myself last season that I would buy new winter coats and boots this year - no matter what size I was. I stretched my last two coats waaaaay too long. I was cursing myself this week for not doing it sooner.

I have no doubt that one of these would have been Slender Tina's Winter Coat '11:

{Source: j. crew.com}

Believe me, it is *tough* to find plain, tailored ANYTHING for plus size women. Everything is bejeweled, shiny, and patterned. Which makes sense given that my biggest challenge since packing on the pounds is finding clothes that draw attention to my girth AND MAKE ME LOOK BIGGER.

But I digress. I have no idea why I went to the Talbot's site, as I've never set foot in a Talbot's because I'm not 60. But they had me at these two pictures:

{Source}

Orange! Green! Jewel tones! Now *this* is back in my comfort zone. And even better, they were offering 50 percent off and free shipping on outerwear. I ordered four coats and vest.

{Source}

So many options! Two of the long ones have to go back, but the short black will hopefully be a keeper for weekends and when I travel to slightly climates for work in the winter. Unfortunately, I'll be gone this week when they arrive. Booo!

I also ordered this puffy Calvin Klein coat from Macy's, as down coats aren't even negotiable for Chicago winters.

{Source}

Next I'll be ordering new boots. We're supposed to have a wet one, so I think that I'll buy some big guns.

{Source}

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:30:00.000-05:00

October has been packed to the gills with all of my favorite things...apple picking, a wedding, Purdue football, antiquing, a dinner party, great restaurants, trick-or-treating with little ones, pumpkin carving, and all things spooky. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get to take our annual haunted hay ride or don costumes this year, but really, our schedule was already scary enough. (And every free moment has gone to processing our vacation photos...only 313 to go!)

Our apartment was filled to the brim with the Halloween spirit this year. These pictures are just a *few* of our decorations. Can you believe it? Subtlety really isn't my strong suit.

I moved my cupcake wrapper garland from the fireplace to the mirror this year. I like it much more.

I think that Andy is ready to welcome Thanksgiving!

Annual Halloween Dinner

2011-10-27T22:54:00.001-05:00

Andy and I hosted our parents and Aunt Ruth for our annual Halloween dinner on Sunday.

This year's place cards were a jack-o-lantern theme. (You can see 2009's ghosts here and bats and 2010's bats here.)

I picked up these small jack-o-lanterns and colorful bouquets at Dominick's on the morning of the party. It was a random, but happy coincidence.

The bat straws are from Home Goods. They were a straw fail, as everyone felt they bat was too high up on the straw.

Look at all of the orange decorations floating in the background. I may be partial, but I love how our Halloweeny apartment looks this year.

I have so many ideas floating in my head for Halloween place cards. I wish that we could have a party a weekend so that I could use them all.

I have a ton of projects to share from the month of October. I've been too busy project-ing to blog. And I'm halfway through processing my Paris photos. They're taking forevs. I'm on the road a lot in November, so I hope to have some hotel downtime to get 'em done.

Ha!

2011-09-28T10:08:00.001-05:00

I am mentally building a little art wall for the living room. I'm thinking this should be a definite "Yes."

Kitty Wells Art Print by Hammerpress

I am getting the itch to do some painting, too. Poor Andyman. Painting usually = Tired Tina = Tiptoeing Andy

Circle Surplus

2011-09-27T14:04:00.001-05:00

Whenever I finish a project, I salvage the scraps by punching them into shapes. My stash is getting huge, so I've been trying to use them whenever possible. It's so easy to make a last minute package look a little more thought out by dressing it up a few mix-n-match papers.

Today I used them to dress up a bottle of champ for a coworker's 60th birthday gift.

She wanted a very big-deal-less birthday, but you can't let one's entrance into their seventh decade slip by without at least a little pomp and circumstance. They earned it! My packaging gave me a giggle.

On the Zig Zag Bandwagon

2011-09-21T09:12:00.002-05:00

A small part of me hates myself when I like popular things...like Missoni and Target. But, really, who hasn't loved both of those forever? I mean, one of my most favorite memories from my wild and crazy twenties is when my friend and I stopped drinking at the Sheffield Garden Walk so we could sober up and escape the heat with a Target run...only to arrive at a powerless Target that let us shop in the dark. But Missoni and Anthro? Now that's B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

{Source}

They're even orange! I'd wear the sh*t out of that bottom one. It would be my winter staple. If it only it weren't Missoni for Target and eBay prices!

BTW, I was out of the country for the big Target Missoni launch, so I felt sheepish when I ran to my local Target a few hours after the plane landed to find out that I was about 60 hours too late to score any sold-out-in-an-hour-booty. I got some solid Halloween treats as a consolation prize, though. Only 10 more days until October 1!

Walking Shoe FAIL

2011-09-19T05:28:00.001-05:00

I've been back from France for 2.5 days and my tootsies are still recovering. I thought that I had some solid walking shoe selections going into the trip, but not so much.

I bought these ECCO Goya flats back in March.

They were like stepping on clouds. I excitedly saved them for my trip. On the first day of our trip, we visited the town of Beynac, France, which is basically a 45-degree angle made out of very old cobblestones. Then it drizzled and the town became a 45-degree angle made out of very old, SLIPPERY cobblestones. I did baby steps the whole way down while holding onto buildings for support and Andy occasionally backtracked to make sure I wasn't dead. I pulled these out of my suitcase again in Paris. Only one day of walking through the city of lights and I had blisters on the bottom of my toes and burning soles. These just aren't made for cobblestones.

I picked up these OTBT Springfield shoes a few months ago because I had a Groupon to burn.

The soles are kind of like Birkenstocks, so I thought they'd be great for traversing cobblestone streets. For the first few hours that I wore them in Paris, they were a DREAM. I commented aloud that I couldn't believe that my feet didn't hurt after that morning's hike. A few hours later, I could barely walk. In fact, I "held it" for an hour at the Musee d'Orsay because the bathroom was downstairs and I couldn't face walking down and back up again. We ended up taking our only cab of the week that night because the thought of walking across town to our hotel was too much. The hard soles bruised my arches pretty badly. I wore these on Tuesday and my feet were still tender when I get a pedicure on Saturday night.

Thankfully, I impulsively tossed my dusty old PUMAS into my suitcase a few minutes before I zipped it up.

I ended up wearing these for 7 of our 10 days of travel. I was a little embarrassed by their condition and the fact that they didn't match any of my outfits, but I am pretty sure that my giant camera bag and the camera hanging around my neck already gave me away as a big, unstylish American! The shoes just sealed the deal. Incidentally, PUMAS also aren't made for walking on cobblestones. Your foot basically just bends around them like a bird.

So...

2011-09-17T06:57:00.002-05:00

I have 1,650 photos to process.

So far, I've edited the first batch of 317 down to 241.

Best. Costume. Jewelry. Ever.

2011-09-08T03:00:00.000-05:00

If I ever have a little girl, she is so having a designer imposter of this painting in her nursery.

The necklace is made out of knobs from Anthropologie.

Spotted at the Anthropologie Southport location in Chicago.

L-O-V-E, I tell you. Love. If I could hang this in my living room without emasculating Andy, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Spooky is Just Around the Corner...

2011-09-07T03:00:00.000-05:00

I have so much excitement coming up in the next month, but I can't stop thinking about Halloween, despite myself.

These candelabras from CB2 will look great on the Halloween table—especially when laced with some scaaaaaaaaaaaaaary webs. They'd be excellent for a modern dinner party or wedding too.

{Source}

Am I a bad blogger because I took the time to save this picture and write the post, but am choosing to go to sleep instead of create an "inspiration board" around these? I am pretty sure that I am. Sorry, dear friends/readers.

Travel Journals

2011-09-06T03:00:00.001-05:00

I’m not a big journal person, but Ido try to make an effort to be when I go on big trips.

Our upcoming trip inspired me topull my Italy journal out of storage last week. I’ve had so much fun readingabout the trip and laughing at the odd occurrences that I had forgotten since2007. Such as, the little boy in Florence who asked my friend and me to posewith scary faces for his travel journal or the video message that we made on astranger’s video camera for his friend’s wedding. The entry that made me laughthe most was the note about the American we met on the train who told us peoplewould recognize us as Americans because of our “layered haircuts.”

I’m so glad that I took the time towrite in such detail. But I’m also glad that I saved so many mementos. Iremember thinking that I’d put together a formal scrapbook someday (yeah,right!), so I have business cards, train tickets, museum tickets, etc. sort ofrandomly taped in the middle of entries. LOVE IT!

I also kept copies of the postcardsthat I sent from each city.

Paper Source unfortunatelydiscontinued these wonderful leather journals a few years ago. Thankfully, I had a clean one instorage that I had picked up on clearance.

I already have a few entries in ourFrance journal – pictures of the “Avoir” gifts and cards we’ve received.

Farewell, Summer...

2011-09-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Fall's been rearing its head in Chicago for a few weeks now, save for a few late August days in the 90s. Although I love the fall, I feel a little sad, as I feel as if I've wasted this summer. My beach bestie and I only made it to the beach once and Andy and I didn't do a single thing that I had on our Summer Fun list.

But I feel hopeful for the adventures that fall always brings. I just wish that fall didn't have to be followed by Chicago winters. Yuck.

Happy Labor Day! I hope that your labor is minimal and your fun is MAXIMUM.

Photography Class

2011-09-03T22:33:00.001-05:00

I took a "Digital Fundamentals in a Day" class at the Chicago Photography Academy today.

I still feel overwhelmed, but much, much better than I did yesterday. Just having a professional admit that it's tough after hanging in Blog Land, where so many novices are good, made me feel better. And these really are the best photos I've ever taken. I should note that it took me 170 photos to get these. Not kidding.

I really liked the Chicago Photography Academy. I highly recommend it.

The Automatic American in France

2011-09-02T09:26:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned I few times, I bought a DSLR camera in March. Manual photography is so much more difficult than I ever would have imagined. I know that I'll have my light bulb moment, but I'm ready for it to frickin' come already.

In anticipation of our trip to France, I've been taking pictures of everything and anything in an attempt to master my camera. I got a new haircut last night and thought I'd try some self-portraits to see how it looked (instead of taking another 50 photos of my "art" and tree).

I was SO EXCITED when I looked at them on the camera. I thought, "Finally! A few photos that look like they were taken on a nice camera." Then I loaded them onto my laptop. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. These are the best of my "great" photos. So dark, so light, and so blurry.

Oh well, I guess that there are worse problems to have than having to shoot automatic or AV/TV in France, right?

BTW, I normally only wear my glasses for computer work, but find myself reaching for my glasses more and more these days to relieve eye strain. I took these pictures with my glasses to see what grandma looks like in her cheaters. I'm so happy that they still work, as I bought them for a much more slender face and they weren't cheap.

Have a happy weekend, friends!

Think Big

2011-09-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

A lovely, artful tribute to my sweet home.

Found via the Second City Facebook page.

How Do You Say...?

2011-08-31T03:00:00.000-05:00

I've realized one of the biggest dreams of my life this year and booked a trip to France!

After lots of hemming, hawing, and Interweb searching, we finally decided to reign ourselves (i.e. me) in and split our 12 days among Sarlat and Paris.

Everyone keeps asking me what I'm most excited to do and my answer is...everything!

Postcards from Italia

2011-08-30T03:00:00.000-05:00

I am most definitely a "live in the moment" person. This is demonstrated no better than in the postcards that I sent Andy during my 2007 tour of Italy, which I recently stumbled upon. I don't know if they're weird or charming. Either way, I guarantee that I was feeling every single exaggerated line that I wrote in these cards. Please enjoy at my expense!

VENICE

Ciao, Zuccherino (sugar pie)!

As you know from my e-mails, I <3 VENICE! What an amazing, magical place. With each turn, I see a different version of the scene on the front of this postcard - only with people's bras and underpants hanging outside of the window to dry. I am adding Venice to our "Travel To Do!"

Tons of Amore,

Tina

FLORENCE

Ciao, Dolce Come il Miele (honey bunch)!

I have a girl crush and her name is "Florence." Oh, Love, I love Florence almost as much as I love you! We must come here. The Duomo took my breathe away and a statue in Palazzo San Vecchio moved me to tears. They city is so colorful and full of life - the old and new co-exist perfectly.

Miss and Love you,

Tina

CINQUE TERRE

Ciao, Amore!

This is my favorite stop so far. The water is so gorgeous and they sell Moretti in vending machines. We rented an umbrella and chairs for 20E and have been planted here all afternoon. We did a tret-ning (Note: Chicago-speak for "threatening") hike through two towns this morning. I can't wait to try some seafood and pesto for dinner - if Piehole ever gets me off of this beach chair!

Ciao, Love!

Hs & Ks,

Tina

ROME

Ciao, Dolce Come Il Miele (Honey Bunch. Again? Did Rick Steves have limited love phrases in his phrase book?)!

So, do I love Rome? Put it this way...I am rescinding (mispelled, of course) my girl crush on Florence. She is nothing more than a notch on my mental bed post. From now on, when I see Wrigley Field from the el, I'm going to be all, "PISH, PISH, Wrigley Field! You may be IN RUINS, but are A RUIN? I don't think so." I am so over new construction. Old is where it's at!

Ciao,

Tina

P.S. I think that I am a Lutheran. Catholics are historically too violent.

You Can Never Have Enough Blue Eye Shadow

2011-08-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

I am allergic to the red and violet dyes used in eye shadows. I *always* tell make-up artists this, but, somehow, managed to bring home a bunch of eye shadows with both dyes last fall. Long story short, I haven't worn eye shadow since October. And I *love* eye shadow.

I was feeling beyond bored with my thick eyeliner and heavy mascara look, so I decided to give it another go with some new, bright colors that I've never had before. I picked up the following colors by Bobbi Brown.

Eyeliner

Eye Shadows

So far, so good! It's been a week and save for a few bumps that went away overnight, I haven't had any problems. I'm so excited to brighten up my tired eyes going into fall.

{Paper + Parties} Whimsical, P*nis-Free Bachelorette Party Decorations

2011-08-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

I recently helped a friend, JK, with the paper projects for her best friend's bachelorette party at Mercadito restaurant.

JK ordered invitations from Wedding Paper Divas.

Then she picked out an assortment of scrapbook papers that we used to make personalized drink parasols.

We used the scraps from the parasols to decorate some whimsical menus that we designed in Adobe Illustrator.

JK said that many of the girls wore their parasols in their hair.

I had so much fun on this project, JK! T Lou + J Lou + Paper + Parties + Wine + WW Recipes/Chinese Food = TL4Eva

Art Nouveau Garden Wedding Invitations

2011-08-24T03:00:00.000-05:00

I recently designed some invitations for a friend who is printing her own wedding invitations for her and her fiance's upcoming wedding. The Art Nouveau garden graphic was purchased from iStock and manipulated in Adobe Illustrator.

I used an earlier draft of the design to print a fast invitation for another engaged friend who needed an invitation sent to a family member quickly for visa purposes.

{Gifts} Chicago-Themed Kids Gifts

2011-08-23T03:00:00.000-05:00

One of my best friends from college got in touch with me via LinkedIn back in January. I am so excited as he is one of my most favorite people in the world.

I had a chance to see my old friend and meet his wife and incredibly smart daughters last month, when Andy and I met him at the Shedd Aquarium. I'm always excited when guests come to Chicago, so I welcomed them with some Chicago treats in hopes of wooing them back with awesomeness.

The only thing that I knew about his daughters is that they love dinosaurs and fish. I used some photocopied scrapbook paper to dress some some plain gift backs with designs cut with my Silhouette SD.

I filled the bags with a Chicago coloring book and crayons, a chocolate sucker from Fannie May, and little snack size bags of Garrett's popcorn.

I can't find the Chicago coloring book online to show you the inside, but it's pretty cute. You can find coloring books for Chicago and other cities on Amazon. My friend said his daughters really liked them.

We're counting our vacation pennies, so I cut myself off there. I would have liked to include the Count to Sleep Chicago book for his younger daughter and this wonderful Larry Gets Lost in Chicago book for his oldest daughter.

I usually use stickers to mark our office location. Please don't kill us.

{Source}

For more ideas on assembling Chicago-style treats, see the Out-of-Town bags from our October 2008 wedding.

Sorry, Ladies, He's Taken

2011-08-22T22:32:00.001-05:00

Other ladies get flowers or the clap from their men when they return from trips. I get a hooded sweatshirt from Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty, fudge, two pounds of cheese curds, and a loaf of English Muffin bread from the local grocery store.

I think it's most definitely love.

{Gifts} Chicago-Themed Baby Gifts

2011-08-22T03:00:00.000-05:00

In most of my social interactions, I am the only true-blue Chicagoan in the group. Actually, in all of my extended, post-college and work social groups, I have only one friend that I can think of who grew up with a 606XX zip code. Given this, I like to recruit some fresh blood to the city whenever I attend a baby shower. Here are some of my Go-To Chicago-Style baby gifts. Notice that none of them mention the phrase "Chi-Town." That's because nooneshouldeverusethephraseChi-TownasitmakesyousoundlikeadouchebagoraDJorworseaDoucheyDJ.

Good Night Chicago

{Source}

1-2-3 Chicago

{Source}

Count to Sleep Chicago

{Source}

There are a few other books on the market, but I like to save a few of those for when they get older.

Chicago Onesie

Depending on the gifting scenario, I also try to include a little Chicago t-shirt or onesie or two. My all-time favorite go-to, which was recently discontinued, is this hot dog and mustard onesie, modeled by a throw-back Eddie.

I have a matching t-shirt because I like to be THAT aunt. I know it's technically not a "Chicago" onesie, but any real Chicagoan would get it and love it.

{Paper} Customized Gift Bags

2011-08-19T05:01:00.000-05:00

As you know, I am v popular with the Under 2 set these days. I've been trying to uphold my status as a Favorite Mom Friend and encourage a discerning party eye in them by using my Silhouette SD to design custom gift bags to match their party themes.

Genevieve received a caterpillar bag made from some project remnants and a shopping bag that I had laying around the house.

For Lucas' car themed party, I used the patterned paper that we designed for the flags to create some bag decorations, which Andy deemed "not very masculine."

Lucas can pretty much count on me cashing in my 401K for his college fund as a result of his reaction to my flag envelope.

Photo blogged with permission from Lucas' mom

{Paper + Parties} Car Birthday Party

2011-08-18T09:42:00.001-05:00

My friends were very Fertile Myrtles last summer, so I've been going to a lot of first birthday parties this summer. I helped my friend, Piehole, with some paper projects for her son, Lucas', first birthday party. Piehole designed and assembled everything. I only printed and cut things.

Piehole asked me to make some special cupcake flags for our recently engaged friend and her fiance.

My favorite detail was the big trucks full of treats.

{Paper} Urban Picnic Party Details

2011-08-17T07:58:00.005-05:00

I was going through project withdrawal after sending out the Urban Picnic invitations, so I begged my friend to let me make a few more things.

Banner

Food Cards

Party Straws

My friend bought picnic blankets from Land of Nod to use as tablecloths. The guests were invited to take them home after the party. They're really thick and nice.

Look how happy the birthday girl was!

I just love this little Genevieve.

{Paper} Urban Picnic Birthday Party

2011-08-16T09:47:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite little things on the planet celebrated her first birthday in July. Her parents asked me to make the invitations for her birthday party. The only requirement was that it included a photo. We went with an "Urban Picnic" theme.

Check back tomorrow for more party details.

The First Ravinia of the Season

2011-08-15T05:00:00.005-05:00

Our group had our first trip to the Ravinia Outdoor Festival on Friday to hear Steely Dan. I don't like Steely Dan, but I sure love that place.

Here are some pictures of our fun spread. The people sitting around us totally made fun of me...but I don't mess around when it comes to Ravinia.

Birthday Donuts from Dinkel's for our friend, Beth. Their donuts are like old school crack.

The last few Ravinia trips, I've signed up to bring sandwiches. Deli meat, cheese, bread, and condiments can get kind of expensive. For this trip, I picked up some sandwiches at Jimmy John's and had them cut into three segments. I then wrapped up the individual segments using twine and stickers in colors inspired by our napkins. This is the WAY TO GO! I got 18 "mini sandwiches" for under $40.00! Rock on.

(Please don't judge my red twine on my orange and green labels.)

Personalized Party Cups inspired by Sticky Cake Inspirations via Design*Sponge.

We had quite the motley crue of people in our group. It started out small and kept growing as we found out about others going to the show.

We had three tables in a bag on Friday. We're trying to convince our friend, VP, to buy one so we can go for a record-breaking four. Out "Ravining" people has been a long running joke.

My friend was worried about finding his way back to our spot on the very crowded lawn. His wife was a sport and wore the blinking bracelet he bought her to wear while guiding him back.

{Where Have I Been?} @ the Paul McCartney Concert!

2011-08-11T05:00:00.008-05:00

It was the hottest ticket in town and I had one thanks to my good buddy from college. And it only cost me $85 and a bottle of water for my friend (vs. $1800) - what a steal!

This concert was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Seeing a Beatle broadcast on the screen was more emotional than I would have expected. Hearing Paul McCartney rock out in person was INSANE! It felt like I was hearing these songs for the first time. He is such a talented musician. I mean, obvi, he's a BEATLE, but there is an energy to his playing that I've just never picked up on while listening to my mom's old albums and cassette tapes that were in constant rotation while we were kids. And his little stories were so charming.

I wasn't sure if you could bring cameras into a concert, so I only had my crappy iPhone camera with me. Oh well. I will work hard to always remember what Paul looked like as he sang, "Maybe I'm Amazed" at Wrigley Field.

{Where Have I Been?} Texas!

2011-08-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

I was in Texas twice last month. Here are some pix from my last visit.

I stand by my declaration that the sky just feels BIGGER in Texas.

This stick-um was a polite attempt by the cab driver, but no dice, sir. This cab smelled like curry cigarettes..curry cigarettes that baked in 107 degree heat, that is.

Trashy reading at a Texas nail spa.

The recession has driven the price of Texas Toast from 35 cents to 36 cents. Perhaps their OUP sales aren't going well?

Irving, Texas isn't my favorite place in the world. But Ft. Worth is so cute!

This man was very drunk on free beer from tourists, so he offered me a free shot to "make my Billy jealous." My Billy was more concerned about me showering after touching him than jealous.

I am the only person who found it funny that Texans would honor a Gay cowboy named "Neal."

"Upcycled" Wedding Card

2011-07-21T05:00:00.011-05:00

Andy's cousin was married back in September. When I grabbed the invitations to check the directions, I realized that it was still in pristine shape. I created a "custom" invitation card inspired by the card my friends gave us for our wedding.

I added an ellipses to the front cover and continued the message inside. I printed a new message on card stock and pasted it over their details.

I used the slot that held the RSVP and Direction cards to insert an A2 card with our message of love and luck.

I am proud to say that our package definitely stuck out on the gift table! I found these other cute photos from the wedding day:

Their Church:

The site outside of their reception:

Andy and his family have *zero* tolerance for me when I hold up the party to take photos like this. They don't get it.

{Weight Watchers} July 20, 2011 Weigh-In

2011-07-20T14:26:00.001-05:00

This is a huge victory! Not because I'm at my lowest, but because I lost the three pounds I gained while in Texas.

The worst part about gaining weight in Dallas is that I didn't even enjoy the meals. The one place that, according to Yelp, is the "Best Tex Mex in Dallas," was HORRIFYING. The nacho cheese was Velveeta mixed with cream of chicken soup. Not kidding. I wanted to leave a Yelp review, but I thought that I'd come off as a b*tchy Yankee. Which, I am what I am and I ain't no more.

A Get Well Mailing

2011-07-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

One of my godsons needed some stitches a while back. I made sure that his "Get Well" card was well-protected. Writing on bandages is really, really hard, as you can tell from my manic signature. I'm surprised it wasn't swabbed for anthrax.

He thought that I was the whip for these skeleton bandages. I sent him the rest for Christmas because that's how I roll as a Catholic godmother.

An Early Birthday Celebration

2011-07-19T18:57:00.002-05:00

I'm heading back to the Big D next week, so I celebrated my coworker's birthday a week early with streamers, balloons, and cupcakes.

Her birthday sign looked like it was cut out by a serial killer. I was locked out of the printer room and too tired to doing anything more than haphazard, drunk-looking cut outs.

I L-O-V-E Fridays

2011-07-08T16:45:00.002-05:00

I just picked up these super cute L-O-V-E stamps for use on the birthday party invitations of one of my favorite little girls in the entire universe. These stamps would have looked great on all of our 2008 New Leaf invitations.

It's been a looooong week in Tina Town. I'm excitedly off to the White Sox game to enjoy a hot pretzel and some post-game fireworks.

The Fireworks in 2010

Have a happy weekend everyone!

{Weight Watchers} July 6, 2011 Weigh-In

2011-07-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

I'm not upset about this week's weight. Since I'm in the eternal plateau, I took a mental health break and enjoyed myself the entire weekend. I had a few glasses of wine while crafting with a friend last Wednesday, enjoyed some movie popcorn, a burger, and a beer with Andy, sipped a lemonade while talking my friend's daughter for a walk, caught up with a girlfriend over a rooftop pretzel and beer, enjoyed a couple of plastic cups full of homemade sangria at a barbecue, and cooled down with an Arnold Palmer and a few sips of wine on the 4th. And I didn't think twice about it. Unfortunately, I stretched my stomach and I'm starving now. Mmmmm...bananas.

{Spring Detox} Cheap Living Room Art

2011-07-05T05:00:00.001-05:00

A while back, I mentioned the boring corner of our living room that needed some sprucing up. I found these wonderful Sanna Annukka greeting cards from 1973 at a sample sale for only 20 cents a piece.


{Source: 1973}

I framed them in gallery frames from west elm.

It's still a little bland, but better than nothing.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T23:46:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone had a happy, safe holiday. We hit my parents' pool for the first time this season, popped over to Andy's parents' cabana for a little cool-down, and then drove into the city as everyone exploded their fireworks. (We also had his-n-her heart attacks when some douche bag blew off an M-80 a stone's throw from our car while we waited at a drive-thru.)

In the spirit of the 4th, here's a blast from the past from one of my favorite '80s movies, Shag.

Miss Sun Queen Phoebe Cates, Derek Gibson
{Source}

I wonder if I still have the entire script memorized?

Anniversary Party Scrapbook

2011-06-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

I had an extra scrapbook lying around the house and idle hands on Memorial Day weekend, so I whipped up this scrapbook of my in-laws' anniversary party. I wasn't wild about the outcome, but Andy's family has a saying, "We eat our mistakes." In their world, it applies to deflated cakes and dishes with a forgotten ingredient*. In my world, it applies to paper.

*In December, I made green bean casserole without the green beans. Not kidding.

{Weight Watchers} June 29, 2011 Weigh-In

2011-06-29T23:11:00.000-05:00

Don't congratulate me yet! This is the same weight that I've been bouncing around for over a month. You can congratulate me next week.

I'm trying to decide if I want to set a goal weight at which I'll admit my weight. I don't think that's really necessary, though. Right?

Journal

2011-06-29T10:35:00.000-05:00

I bought a line-a-day journal as a graduation gift, but decided it was lame and gave cash instead. Since I couldn't return it, I kept it for myself. Maybe a desire for exciting journal entries will lift me out of my funk.

Retro-ish Anniversary Party for My In-Laws

2011-06-28T05:00:00.007-05:00

My in-laws celebrated their 40^th Wedding Anniversary in May. The family celebrated with a dinner at one of my and Andy’s favorite restaurants, Chicago Cut.

Andy’s family tends to tell me “Don’t go crazy” on pretty much everything, so I kept almost everything a secret until the week before the party so I wouldn’t have any naysayers. Luckily, Aunt Ruth and my sister-in-law, April , unearthed some excellent photos for me. The night was a success and one of the most fun times I’ve ever enjoyed with my in-laws.

I dropped the goods and directions off at Chicago Cut early in the day:

Can you tell that I am an instructional designer and technical writer? When we arrived, the hostess whispered, “I hope that everything is set up to your liking.” She seemed frightened. And she should have been, as they messed up the napkins assignments. The night was ruined! (Kidding.)

The cake was from Sarah’s Candies and Pastries. I was a little hesitant to use them, but I give them a resounding two thumbs up. The cake stand is Martha Stewart from Macy's.

Each guest was greeted by a photo place card highlighting a “moment” from the past 40 years. I blew the scanned photos up to about 4” X 4”, so they were all grainy and old-school looking. Very Hisptamatic.

I hand-cut the photos, mounted them on circle cards from Paper Source, and then applied a brown border made with my Silhouette SD machine. I also used the Silhouette SD to cut everyone’s names. To get the photos to stand, I mounted them onto place cards and pasted little accordions inside the place cards for stability.

They were a hit! Everyone seemed to enjoy them.

The décor and color scheme were inspired by Alexander Henry fabric that I found on etsy in two complimentary patterns, which I used to make napkins.

I had no idea what size table we’d have, so I couldn’t plan for floral arrangements. I was planning to not have flowers, and then panicked the morning of the party. I ran over to the flower shop in my office building that morning and grabbed these ruby red peonies. They provided great contrast from the teals and grays and were the perfect accent for a Ruby Anniversary Celebration.

I almost forgot! We also brought in two bottles of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, which is the champ they enjoyed on their wedding day.

Cheers!

(Look at my brother-in-law making eye contact through the wine glass in this photo.)

And, of course, Chicago Cut provided the perfect backdrop. Love that place!

Why You Call Me Greasball? I Bring You Free Pizzas!

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

I was scrolling through my iPhone and happened upon a little project that I never blogged.

Every year, we celebrate Gnocchi Night for Andy and his sister's birthdays. We all gather at Aunt Ruth's house and destroy her kitchen by making homemade pasta, meatballs, and sauce. I volunteered to make place cards this year.

Making 13 of these took much, much longer than expected. My first attempt at stitching the streamers didn't go very well. So, I taped the folds with double-sided tape (my glue stick ran out a few in) and then stitched the three colors together on the sewing machine. I was bored by the end, thus the lame circle names. I wish that had a Silhouette SD back then. I would have made some bold black names to float across the flag.

Andy and his sister's place cards received party hat embellishments, of course!

Sweet Words from Sweet e-Friends

2011-06-24T08:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all of your kind words yesterday. I wasn’t phishing for compliments, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate them! Especially on days like yesterday.

For the record, I think that you’re all funny and beautiful too.

WW posts will start Monday.

Have a good weekend,

-t

Choosing My Own Attitude

2011-06-23T15:17:00.003-05:00

I don’t usually write about my personal life, but I just need to vent and get some words off my chest and on “paper” to see if it helps. So please excuse this wordy, curse-filled swan song if you must. Who knows? I may end up deleting it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am feeling like crap lately. Not physically like crap. More emotionally like crap. And it’s daunting. When I consider my “problems” from an outsider’s perspective, I feel whiny and narcissistic. While the logical portion of my mind knows that these aren’t “real” problems, the emotional part of my mind is a hot, hot mess. And I'm exhausted.

I was going through some pictures the other day looking for something and stumbled upon this photo of myself from 2006.

I was well on the path to gaining weight back then, but was probably about 20 pounds above my “healthy” weight and about 45 pounds lighter than my current weight. And I thought I was fat. Now, by NYC and Hollywood standards, I probably was fat. But by Chicago standards, I was not that fat. (Well, at least by Chicago standards in 2006. Things seemed to have changed a lot in five years.)

The whole point of this is that I see my old photos and wonder “Why?” Why did I do that to myself? What did I talk badly to myself? That is awful. If ANYONE insulted me as frequently or as badly as I insult myself, I’d lose my sh*t on them or, at the very least, eliminate them from my life. Why do any of us do this to ourselves as women? It is so anti-feminist. Besides, if I was criticizing anything, it should have been that God-awful perm.

I can’t change how I treated myself in the past, but I can improve my internal dialogue moving forward. But what do I do to get the weight off? I’ve been on WeightWatchers since April 11 and haven’t lost squat. I have been bouncing around the same 2-3 pound weight range since then. I’m counting points, cooking recipes from the cookbook, and bringing the leftovers for lunch. On the days that I don’t have leftovers for lunch, I’ve gotten a salad. Andy, on the other hand, has lost 30 pounds. He works out much more than me, as I have some restrictions, but WTF? (I don’t compare myself to him, incidentally, I’m just mentioning it. ) The point is, I could be eating McDonald’s and Wendy’s every day of the week and weigh what I do now.

If I post my daily WW journals, would you guys pretend to scan them in your Readers? I tried starting a dedicated WW blog in 2010, but it was too much effort to update it given that no one was reading it. I really have been watching, so I don’t know how it would help. But it’s worth a try, right?

All I know is that something’s got to give. I’m ready for my attitude to switch from “Oh f*ck. Brunch is this weekend. I need to put on pants and talk to people.” to “Yeah! Brunch is this weekend!” I may never have this PHAT a*s again:

This picture is soooo '00s in the 60614, but it makes me laugh and remember FUN times.

But I’d be happy as hell to have this “fat” a*s again:

P.S. If anyone comments that “It’s harder as you get older,” I will scream. I’ve been on WW enough times that I know that’s crap. I’ve been in countless meetings with old people that simply cut two potato pancakes from their dinner and then walk the mall a few times and they drop 30 pounds. It can be done. And I’m only 36 for F’s sake.

Last-Minute Father's Day Packaging

2011-06-20T05:00:00.004-05:00

I think that Father's Day is a million times easier to shop for than Mother's Day:

Card? Check!
Lottery Ticket? (Ooops. Forgot this one.)
Dunkin' Donuts Gift Card? Check!
Meat? Check!

I only had a few minutes to wrap my dad's gift yesterday morning. I did a quick scan of my desk for ideas and noticed the black-and-white rubber band ball. Done!

I am pretty sure that my dad has NEVER noticed packaging. He picked up his gift yesterday and said to my sister, jokingly, I think, "Look at this, Bay-e. Your sister couldn't even wrap my present! She cut up a paper bag and put rubberbands on it." As he said this, my mother walked out and said, "Did you notice the packaging? Isn't that clever?"

I made more paint chip confetti to fill his box.

{Spring Detox} Cheap Bedroom Art

2011-06-16T05:00:00.004-05:00

After dropping a few hundo on frames at west elm, I couldn't afford any "real" art to fill them. Hopefully, I'll be filling them up with photos and street art from gay Paris. Until then, I've improvised some "art" for our "headboard" by photocopying the pillow covers from my Jonathan Adler Bargello Waves pillows.

The small frames are filled with plain text paper from Paper Source. I might switch those up with some fancier paper. Or not.

Around the rest of the room...

I have a framed print that I purchased from a guy in Venice, Italy.

I had the chalk drawing we received as a wedding present framed in the same frame and size as the Italy pix.

And to fill in the rest of the blanks, I hung some framed some etsy art, wedding photos, and wedding mementos.

I am disappointed in the quality of the photos in this week's posts. I used my new DSLR camera, but the pictures don't really look DSLR-worthy. :( I can't believe how long it's taking me to get the swing of manual photography. I know it will just "click" one day, but I'm getting antsy for my "A ha!" moment.

Previously in {Spring Detox}:
New "Headboard"
Our Granny Chic Bedroom

{Spring Detox} New "Headboard"

2011-06-15T05:00:00.005-05:00

When Andy and I upgraded to a king-sized bed, I had to sacrifice the headboard that matches my bedroom set. Once again, I am back to melding my modern tastes with my early American furnishings.

I have my heart set on the Hoffman Bed from Room & Board:

{Source}

Unfortunately, in the Food/Paris vs. $1499 Bed argument, Food/Paris win every time. BUT, I couldn't live with my blank slate any longer. I felt disjointed and sad to be living like a student at age 36.

I assembled some silver gallery frames from west elm into a makeshift headboard.

Not mind-blowing, I know, but I can't believe the difference that it makes.

Even Andy agrees, which is a total win since his idea of an inspiration board is this:

I also added a cheap-cheap-cheap tailored bed skirt from Target to hide all of the bins, crap, and dust bunnies stored under the bed.

Our building's had a few break-ins, so we started sleeping with a bat under the bed, as you can see.

Up Next: Cheap Bedroom Art

{Spring Detox} Our Granny Chic*** Bedroom

2011-06-14T05:00:00.018-05:00

This post doesn't really have anything to do with my Spring Detox series, but I wanted to mention my bedroom suite to set up the posts that I have planned for later this week.

-------------------------------

When I graduated from college and was penniless and furniture-less, I inherited a very, very, very old bedroom set from my great aunt.

While I'm very lucky and grateful, I sometimes struggle with it, as it's not my normal style (whatever that may be at any given moment). Over the years, I've paired it with a various linens:

Simple yellow linens in my first apartment:

I can't believe that I *ever* had a teddy bear on my bed.
I think that my little sister gave it to me when I was in the hospital.
It's the only remotely feasible guess I have.

Modern Calvin Klein linens in my second and third apartments:

This apartment was infested with thousand leggers, which I am terrified of. I actually took down my closet doors and installed these curtains so that my bed would not touch any walls and, hopefully, not be conduit for thousand leggers to crawl on me in my sleep. Guess what? Thousand leggers crawl on curtains.

Homey modern paisleys from Crate&Barrel when I moved in with Andy.

{I have no pictures of this, as I've mentally blocked living there.}

When we moved into our current place, we wanted a modern, clean, and airy bedroom in which to spread out and recover from living in a glorified box for two years. But how do you achieve that look with an OLD, OLD, OLD bedroom set?

I fell hard for the bargello waves pillows by Jonathan Adler.

{Source}

Crochet AND mod? Yes, please! They cost me a small fortune, but were worth every penny. Tossed on simple beige linens, they really helped me bridge the gap between the centuries.

BTW, last Saturday would have my great aunt's 100th birthday. This is a picture of her and my dad back in the day.

I wonder if he is smiling so big because she told him she'd give his future daughter a bedroom set one day?

***"Granny Chic" as seen on Making It Lovely.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-06-13T05:00:00.002-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday. I'm taking the afternoon off to meet her for lunch. Andy and I went to dinner and a movie with her on Saturday and presented her gifts.

My mom's been unemployed for a few years now, so all she ever wants is Visa gift cards that she can use to treat herself to the occasional T.J. Maxx trip or haircut. (Well, she also wants hardwood floors, as she is tired of sitting in the house and staring at her carpets. But I think her odds are better for Visa gift cards.)

I can never give myself to give just cash as gifts, so I try to mix it up with fun, inexpensive gifts when I can.

Earrings and Necklace Set from Macy's

I had some extra Macy's boxes, so I snuck in some extra treats:

"Custom-Wrapped" Fannie May Candy

BTW, I was 2 out of 3 on the candy.
My mother likes chocolate-covered ALMONDS, not peanuts.

Cold, Hard Cash

wrapped in orange twine and confetti made from the 4,000 paint swatches
that I seem to always have around the house.

You know that she probably saw these boxes and thought, "Oh great. A bunch of costume jewelry that I don't need." Surprise!

{Spring Detox} About that Dining Room Wall...

2011-06-09T20:08:00.004-05:00

The wallpaper that I had my heart set on was discontinued. Boo! Searching for wallpaper has to be one of the most frustrating tasks on the the Internet. (Seriously, if they gave Razzies for Web design, I'd bet my insurance copay that a wallpaper company would at the very least place.) So, after blowing about $60 in wallpaper samples, I gave up on wallpaper.

The wall sat like this until New Year's Day, while I obsessed on paint colors and wallpaper options.

Thirty dollars in orange paint samples later, all of which Andy nixed, we ended up painting it with the brown paint that I had picked up last October. I was getting worried about how naturally dark the area is and being overwhelmed with brown, so I decided to paint a rectangle to lighten it up a bit.

I'm not wild about the brown, but am forcing myself to live with it and move on. Andy loves it. I've gotten a lot of compliments from friends, which has me feeling more reassured.

The brown rectangle posed some problems that I hadn't foreseen:

Our table and light aren't centered on the wall 99 percent of the time. (Thanks, developer!)
We needed art* that worked when the table is "tucked in" daily and "pulled out" for guests and parties.

We decided to use the light as an anchor point and staggered CB2 Perspective mirrors across the rectangle.

I love, love, love these mirrors. I was slightly hesitant to hang mirrors across from the kitchen, but they were just what we needed! Our condo is pretty vanilla (as are our decorating and DIY talents). These mirrors give us just the smidgen of personality that we need and widen and brighten the space in the process.

(*As a total aside and much to Andy's chagrin, I refuse to hang a giant Chicago skyline picture in any home in which I hang my proverbial hat, including this space.

Impulse "Gardening"

2011-06-08T09:29:00.002-05:00

I wasn't planning on putting flowers on our balcony this year. This is VERY uncharacteristic of me, but planting on this balcony just isn't as much fun as I would have expected. By the time I haul home whatever half-dead flowers Home Depot offers, lay down a tarp to avoid dropping dirt to the neighbor's balcony below, kneel on the sweaty tarp, and cut the sh*t out of my feet on the screen door as I take my shoes off to run inside for something, I'm always, "eh." And then we keep the blinds closed to keep the house cool, so I barely get to see them anyway.

But on the way home form my morning walk yesterday, a hanging basket caught my eye at the Lincoln Square Farmer's Market. So I nabbed it.

And while I was waiting to pay for it, this potted arrangement caught my eye, so I nabbed it too.

As I carried my treasures home, I decided that their window boxes were a total steal at $20-$24/ea. Since I was working from home to focus on a big deadline, I totally had time to grab the car and run back down there. Which I did. And then did again to pick up a third box when my selections didn't fill in our built-ins. Those adorable teens working the gardening stall were very patient. Love them.

The view from the street:

I realize that this goes against the blog grain given that everyone is so hip to urban and window gardening this season, but this has to be one of the most brilliant (albeit lazy) decisions I've made in my 14 years of apartment and balcony living.

I'm totally going back next week for a basil plant.

P.S. I have so much blogging to do, but have just been too lazy to gather all of the photos together. Editing photos on my slow-a*s laptop is lame.

P.S. I need to Impulse Redesign my blog. My header graphic makes me puke.

Pretty Curtains

2011-06-02T05:00:00.003-05:00

I wish that I could find a way to hang some pretty curtains in our living room. I bet that it would change the whole look of the place.

{Source}

If I had a little girl, these curtains would hands down be in her room. No questions asked. The color is perfectly divine to me.

{Source}

{February} Hitched ‘n Hatched Tea

2011-06-01T05:00:00.001-05:00

Back in February, my friends and I enjoyed an afternoon tea in celebration of our engaged friend and pregnant friend. I know that it seems like I go to tea a lot, but in my defense, this one wasn’t my idea. I just styled the event. (Ha! Ha!)

The “engagement party” was a surprise, so I made neutral, Valentine-themed invitations inspired by a set of persimmon heart cards and peacock envelopes from Paper Source.

As always, I was on a huge work deadline (and office move) in the middle of this project, so they turned out to be a "lazy man's invite," as my Grandma Ona would say.

At the tea, everyone was greeted with a customized menu, cloth napkins (from Paper Source - no longer online), and a box containing a party favor.

Napkins and Menus

I repeated the pattern from the envelope liners inside the menu.

Party Favors

For party favors, each guest received a monogrammed mug, a tea bag with a crepe paper heart attached with baker's twine, a red or blue “tea bag holder,” and some heart-shaped chocolates from Macy’s.

The complete package:

The boxes were wrapped in pool wrapping paper, the peacock hearts and lined hearts (printed on plain text) were free-handed and cut out by hand, the persimmon heart was traced from a left over heart card.

The Best Part about Engaged Friends is that You Can Justify Browsing for Wedding Dresses without Seeming too Weird

2011-05-31T05:00:00.004-05:00

If I were engaged today and panicking about my tiny dress budget, I'd probably be putting down the McDonald's Breakfast sandwiches and rushing to David's Bridal to try on this dress.

{Source}

Then I'd starve myself to fit into it.

And although I hate to jump on the BHLDN bandwagon, I may or may not be mentally planning a fictional wedding re-do (and the requisite breast reduction) around this dress:

{Source}

Then again, if we're playing the "If I knew then what I knew know" game, I'd probably follow the little voice in my head that was telling me to go balls out in a non-weddingy, jewel-toned dress. I still can't believe how much pressure I allowed myself to feel when I was getting married at age 34 (vs. age 24). So lame of me. If you're engaged, don't do that.

{Catching Up} Nursing Cap Place Cards

2011-05-26T05:00:00.002-05:00

Back in December, Andy and I ended up hosting an impromptu cake-and-coffee party at our house in honor of my sister’s graduation from nursing school. And by impromptu, I mean, I was texting him from the graduation ceremony on noon Saturday to start cleaning the house and get dinner reservations for Sunday.

Since I was off the hook for cooking, I whipped up some quick place cards that looked like nursing caps for the restaurant.

I googled “origami nursing caps” and kind of crammed (not kidding) these together based on multiple sets of directions. I ran the ribbon and printed text through my miniature xyron to make stickers for the decorations.

The place cards and this wannabe floral arrangement greeted everyone at the restaurant.

I also hung a “congratulations, nurse bay-e banner!” in our “dining room.”

I cannot tell you how much my surplus ‘Source stash saved my a*s in the month of December. That banner and the circle labels were both in my stash. I never would have had time to make decorations.

Even Google is Donning a Hat Today

2011-04-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

Royal Wedding Banter Amongst the {Real} Commoners

2011-04-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

Here's one of my favorite things about this typical Facebook banter:

Jenni is my classmate from grammar school. I don't recall us being super close in school, but we're practically Facebook Besties.
Brian left our grammar school in second or third grade, so I don't know him at all. But he's so funny and smart on Facebook, that I wish we were better friends.
Susan is our best man's sister who I've met twice. She's very nice.
Shari is my cousin's former teacher who liked our invites. We've talked on the phone and get along swimmingly, but I've never actually met her.

with this ring, i thee obsess

A Pretty Crate & Barrel Box

A Sparkly Brunch

366: Week 3

Sparkly Baubles

366: Week 2

The Calm During the Storm

365: Week 1

My Dad is 60!

Saving my Christmas Money

New Project + Pretty Christmas Packages

The CTA Holiday Train

Christmas Fun

2011 Holiday Cards

A Photo a Day Album

Handmade Holiday Cards

Christmas Potluck Invitations

Christmas Time is Here!

Our First Thanksgiving

The 40/50/70 Party Details

Art Nouveau Garden Wedding Projects

Orange You Glad You Didn't Move?

My Mail Order Winter Coat Boutique

Happy Halloween!

Annual Halloween Dinner

Ha!

Circle Surplus

On the Zig Zag Bandwagon

Walking Shoe FAIL

So...

Best. Costume. Jewelry. Ever.

Spooky is Just Around the Corner...

Travel Journals

Farewell, Summer...

Photography Class

The Automatic American in France

Think Big

How Do You Say...?

Postcards from Italia

You Can Never Have Enough Blue Eye Shadow

{Paper + Parties} Whimsical, P*nis-Free Bachelorette Party Decorations

Art Nouveau Garden Wedding Invitations

{Gifts} Chicago-Themed Kids Gifts

Sorry, Ladies, He's Taken

{Gifts} Chicago-Themed Baby Gifts

{Paper} Customized Gift Bags

{Paper + Parties} Car Birthday Party

{Paper} Urban Picnic Party Details

{Paper} Urban Picnic Birthday Party

The First Ravinia of the Season

{Where Have I Been?} @ the Paul McCartney Concert!

{Where Have I Been?} Texas!

"Upcycled" Wedding Card

{Weight Watchers} July 20, 2011 Weigh-In

A Get Well Mailing

An Early Birthday Celebration

I L-O-V-E Fridays

{Weight Watchers} July 6, 2011 Weigh-In

{Spring Detox} Cheap Living Room Art

Happy 4th of July!

Anniversary Party Scrapbook

{Weight Watchers} June 29, 2011 Weigh-In

Journal

Retro-ish Anniversary Party for My In-Laws

Why You Call Me Greasball? I Bring You Free Pizzas!

Sweet Words from Sweet e-Friends

Choosing My Own Attitude

Last-Minute Father's Day Packaging

{Spring Detox} Cheap Bedroom Art

{Spring Detox} New "Headboard"

{Spring Detox} Our Granny Chic*** Bedroom

Happy Birthday, Mom!

{Spring Detox} About that Dining Room Wall...

Impulse "Gardening"

Pretty Curtains

{February} Hitched ‘n Hatched Tea

The Best Part about Engaged Friends is that You Can Justify Browsing for Wedding Dresses without Seeming *too* Weird

{Catching Up} Nursing Cap Place Cards

Even Google is Donning a Hat Today

Royal Wedding Banter Amongst the {Real} Commoners

The Best Part about Engaged Friends is that You Can Justify Browsing for Wedding Dresses without Seeming too Weird