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steve and i had chickpea cutlets for dinner tonight, and they were so good! later tonight i'm thinking about making vegan banana nut muffins, yum!

i'm so excited for chicago. i know i am going to go crazy with all the vegan resturants they have there. do any of you on here have a twitter? here is my twitter. you can follow me if you'd like. i will be posting updates from my trip on there.

i also would like to just note that i will not be having a sunday spotlight this week. i didn't have time to interview someone because of my preparation for my trip and such.

i hope everyone is having a beautiful day!

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(all photos found at design*sponge)

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i love all these outfits that these lovely ladies wore to coachella. photos found at whowhatwear.

have a great weekend everyone! i'll be back tomorrow with my sunday spotlight (v.4) feature.

postcrossing

i have these postcards on my wall in my room. two of them are from my mom when she went to arizona on vacation. the other four are from when i was involved with postcrossing. have you ever heard of postcrossing? well, if you haven't, it is a project that allows anyone to receive postcards from random places throughout the world. i had a lot of fun with it. you never really know when you have one coming, so it's exciting to find in your mailbox!

relax

today has been a pretty relaxing day for me. i slept in, and it was great!

our amtrak tickets came in the mail today! i'm glad everything we ordered to transport us to and around chicago and back came. otherwise i would have been really anxious waiting for it to show up on time. everything is on track, and i like that.

some of you may have noticed that i added a second side bar to my blog layout. i used to just have a left side bar, but now i also have a right side bar! i also added a "pages" section on the left, which contains links to different areas (about me, etsy store, contact, etc).

i went on a walk this afternoon with steve; i really enjoyed it. the weather was great! i love hearing the sounds of birds singing, kids playing, and dogs barking when i go on walks. i also love the smell of all the fresh cut lawns. i really want to have a picnic! perhaps...this weekend?

what have you been enjoying most about the spring weather?

organization

another beautiful sunny day; i love it! yesterday steve and i got our cta 3 day passes in the mail! i'm so excited for chicago. we are going next week. while we are there steve is going to be doing a poetry reading because he got into the columbia poetry review. we are also going to check out apartments, vegan resturants, millenium park, and i am going to tour a cosmetology school that i'm interested in.

i organized my closet the other day. i love the way my closet looks when it is all organized, so i thought i would take pictures and show you all...

the first section is the top shelf. i have two baskets on it! the basket on the left holds all of my hats. if i want to wear a hat, i know exactly where they are. the basket on the right holds all my jeans, shorts, and skirts (and a bathing suit).

the next section is where my tops, dresses, and coats hang.

lastly is the bottom of the closet...where i keep all of my shoes.

well, i hope you enjoyed the little tour of my organized closet (i know it looks a little bare, but that is because i have laundry to do). now i just have to keep up with this clean/organized look!

 

tuesday tuesday

today is such a beautiful day! i can't wait to get outside. i've been keeping more busy than usual lately (which i really love). next week steve and i are going to chicago, so i've been gathering information, setting up appointments, and ordering tickets. i'm excited and i hope we can find an apartment for august that we like. today i need to mail my happy mail package! which also makes me think...wow, i can't believe it's the 20th of april already!

i really think the people in my apartment building are strange. whenever they use the washing machine, they leave their clothes in there for pretty much a full day. there is only one washing machine and dryer in my building, so it's really a bummer when i decide to do a few loads and there are clothes just sitting there in the machine. it's also a bigger bummer when i go back 4 hours later and that same load of clothes is still sitting in the machine. i really hope that my chicago apartment has an in unit washer/dryer. that would be very happy!

late last week steve and i went to the park to fly kites! it was a lot of fun. he had a unicorn one...which he pretty much broke a minute after this first picture was taken. he got it up in the air and then it came crashing down and it broke. i had a flying pig one. which we got up very nicely and we managed to use the whole role of string on it. it was a fun time.

also, don't forget about my giveaway! you have until saturday, april 24th at 12:00 pm eastern to enter.

sunday spotlight v.3

name/blog name: julia http://juliaxblake.blogspot.com/

how long have you been blogging? i started my blog in early 2009, but really started blogging around december 2009.


what was your reason for starting your blog? i wanted a place where i could write about what music i'm currently into, fashion, and what's going on with my life. i don't get very personal in my blog, but it's nice to keep notes of important things that happen in life.

how would you describe your style? oh geez. my everyday style consists of usually: black tights, mod fitted dresses/knit dresses, cardigans or amazing coats, black skinnies, and flats. i stay away from color usually so most of my wardrobe is black or navy and i have a slight obsession with fred perry so my whole wardrobe is surrounded around that brand.

what are a few of your favorite places to shop at? posers in hollywood, barneys, henri bendel (i work there!), the hub in scottsdale, fred perry in england/nyc.

do you collect anything? i collect fred perry clothing and coffee table books about fashion and music.

i love the tattoos you have on your feet, what was the inspiration behind them? i really love traditional tattoo! since i was younger and my older friends got tattooed i was always drawn to that style. my tattoo artist cory does awesome traditional girls so i decided to get a gypsy pirate girl and then followed with the idea of a scruffy pirate guy on my other foot.

what are your top 5 blogs you like to read or that inspire you? the top five blogs that inspire me would be:

tavi (i'm obsessed with her)- http://www.thestylerookie.com/
leigh lezark of the misshapes (i'm obsessed with her too!)- http://www.misshapes.com/blog/misshapes/
jane- http://seaofshoes.com/
danielle- http://sometimessweet.blogspot.com/
rhian (she's my best friend)- http://rhiankatie.blogspot.com/

if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? london, london, london. it is my favorite city in the world, and i'm always crossing my fingers that i will live there for a lengthy part of my life. the culture, mannerisms, music, and fashion are out of this world and it's a place that i feel i can relate to.

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thank you so much, julia, for letting me put you in the spotlight this week!

proenza schouler

fall 2010 collection.

i will be back tomorrow with my sunday spotlight feature and then a giveaway on monday. hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!   

(all images found at style)

daniel balda

this is an image from balda's deep blue series. to see more from this series, click here.

exciting news!

today has been a pretty great day. i have had all the windows open all day because it is so warm, i'm working on making a wreath for my mom (for mother's day), flew kites with steve this afternoon at the park, made some yummy food, edited some pictures for a client, and found out that we (steve and i) are officially moving to chicago later this year! i'm so excited about that last one. i've been waiting so long to find out where we were going to be moving and now i finally know.

also, i have a special treat for all my readers...a future giveaway!

yes, i am going to be doing another giveaway soon! the giveaway will be posted monday, april 19th at 12:00 pm eastern time.

sunday spotlight v.2

name/blog name: ayden millar from little blog of horrors.

how long have you been blogging? i have been a member of blogger since october 2008, but only started properly blogging in 2009. so about a year!

what was your reason for starting your blog? my reason was actually uni related, they encouraged us to start a blog as a way of reflecting about the course and our experiences at the rsamd. but when i discovered a whole community online that discussed life, fashion, makeup, and everything else in between... i was hooked! so i do try and speak about uni related stuff now and again, but i'd say now its 80% a personal journal about me and my life.

do you collect anything? when i was little i used to collect ty beanie babies frantically, and when i was in my teens i collected paul frank t-shirts. my love for julius and friends became a bit of an obsession! but nowadays i wouldn't say that i collect anything deliberately. i have almost all of the studio ghibli films on dvd and 8 cameras (manual/lomo/digital) so i guess that makes me a bit of a magpie?

what is your favorite craft? my favourite craft has to be scenic painting. it's what i've been studying for 3 years and hopefully what i'll do for a living when i graduate. people don't realise how many aspects of a theatre or film set are painted. i love making environments that are convincing illusions, and being a part of the 'behind the scenes' magic.

what are your top 5 blogs you like to read or that inspire you? i have stumbled across so many inspiring blogs over the past year, and they have given me so much more than what i could read in any magazine or book (dont shoot me, please!) being dyslexic i find it hard reading huge amounts of writing over a long period of time, so blog posts are a perfect edible size for me and my brain! here are my fave 5 at the moment:

little chief honeybee

kaelahs blog is always so fascinating to read. she's a very down to earth girl, leads a busy life, and always posts great pictures! her blog is more like a journal, rather than being makeup/fashion orientated.

little bird crafts

silje is a tattoo artist and crafter extrordinare! she has amazing style, does the most beautiful paintings, and makes her own clothes. a very cool gal.

a little bird told me

jen is one of the first blogs i ever followed. she posts her outfits every day, but with a twist and different themes and some gorgeous jewellery and thrifting thrown in here and there too. she shows how to make fashion affordable but also stresses how you can be unique at the same time. i have picked up so many tips from her, shes awesome!

the world according to miss*h

miss*h tells so many funny, heartwarming and interesting tales from her book of life! haha as cheesy as that sounds, her blog is the most honest and open one i've came across in terms of personal stories and life experience. a constant reminder that we are all human, and we all go through the same shit at some point. but we can all smile together about it. very inspiring lady.

the notebook dodles

possibly my biggest inspiration indulgance. this girl has the most amazing handwriting, and she doodles beautiful quotes over equally as beautiful photographs. her thoughts and creations are so honest and artistic, they never fail to make me smile.

if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? if i could go somewhere tomorow, then i would go to the south island of new zeland or yosemite national park. being a small town girl who travels into the city almost every day of her life can get pretty tedious. nothing beats the smell of fresh air and open spaces. i cant wait to grow old and travel and visit some of the beautiful places this world has to offer.

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thank you so much, ayden, for letting me put you in the spotlight this week!

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have a lovely weekend! i'll be back on sunday with v.2 of my new series "sunday spotlight."

(photo found at weheartit)

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i saw this over at who what wear the other day. i've been rockin' this side braid look for the past couple of weeks. i think it's such a cute hair style for this time of year.

 do you like braiding your hair?

handmade card swap

missy over at crafty carnival is having a handmade card swap! send in 10 different handmade cards and you'll get 10 handmade cards (each made by a different person) in return! sounds like fun, right? click here to sign up.

missy also has a kickstarter project. she is trying to get some of her drawings made into rubber stamps. you can check out her project by clicking here.

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it's raining and thundering today. i really enjoy when the weather is like this; there is something about it that i just find very relaxing. i love having my windows cracked open so i can hear the rain hit the ground and the sound of cars drving through the puddles on the road.

what are your favorite kinds of days?

(photo found at weheartit)

sunday spotlight v.1

i decided to start a new series on sundays that highlights another bloggers work. i hope you all enjoy this new feature!

name/blog name: caitlin from home sweet home

how long have you been blogging? since october of '09. so close to 6 months i think.

what was your reason for starting your blog? i have had a live journal before and really liked having a quick place to jot down thoughts. i also like the idea of sharing something i know and the sort of community that comes with that.

what is your favorite craft? knitting. i really love the feeling of accomplishment when you are finished with a project, even if its a scarf in plain ol' english stitch. knitting has really taught me to relax and keep my attachments in check. if you screw up, no biggie, just start over.

do you have an etsy store or plans of one in the future? i don't have a store now. however, i have entertained having one in the future. i don't know if i have the time to sell knitted things (takes too long) but i plan on learning to sew.

what are your top 5 blogs you like to read or that inspire you? i started out reading danielle's sometimes sweet, rockstar diaries, sean ♥ chloe is adorable!, i am an age old tree (fellow sacramenten as well) and the little things we do, lauren, she is so nice!

what is your all time favorite color? baby blue. i have loved that color for years!

if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? right now i have a craving for france. but in all actuality i need to go to croatia.

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thank you so much, caitlin, for letting me put you in the spotlight this week!

custom bikes

i think these custom bikes are so cute! i have a bike. it's a mountain bike from when i was nine. that was the last bike i ever got. i remember it being too big for me when my dad first gave it to me, so he taped wooden blocks to the pedals, haha.

you can customize a bike, like the ones pictured above, at republic bike & the urban outfitters bike shop.