midnight black

i fear no fate

2011-12-14T15:17:00.001-06:00

for the past couple years i've been wanting to get a tattoo, but never really pushed myself to set anything up. there is a boy i know who is a tattoo artist and i told him how i wanted one, so he helped me get things moving. he started it for me the begining of december. i was a big baby, though. i almost fainted too because i worked myself up so much, i felt really silly because i said i wouldn't make it a big deal. i got it above my knee. i am only part way through, i still need to do shading on the one side and above the knee on the other leg. it will say "i fear no fate" which is from an ee cumming's poem. this is the rest of the line from which i am using "i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)." also to me it reminds me not to fear what happens to me, i will always be okay.

some of the lines look a little shaky but that is because my leg shook a little a couple times (it will look better when done), haha. i hope to get it finished soon!

090711

2011-09-07T10:52:00.000-05:00

i'm so excited! the renegade craft fair will be in chicago this weekend! my sister is coming in from michigan to go to it with me. i went to it last year and had a blast! there were so many amazing items, i wanted to buy so much, but only went home with a print from berkley illustration (which i love)! i love the free photo booth, the music, and the food! last year i saw elsie at her booth, but was too nervous to say hi.

sweater weather

2011-09-05T11:37:00.001-05:00

i hope everyone is enjoying their extended weekend! saturday night i made a cake to celebrate getting my official photography website up! later that night steve and i decided to start watching star wars episode 3: revenge of the sith. it had been so long since i'd seen that one! sunday night me, steve, and our friend stephen hung out. we walked over to lake michigan and i took pictures of them for the cover of their ebook they are collaborating on. i also took a lot of other photos (as seen above) because the lighting was so beautiful at sunset!

i am very excited because sweater weather is here! this is my favorite time of year. i love the cool crisp fall air; it's getting me excited for everything i love about fall! the cute pumpkins, apple cider, crunchy leaves covering all the sidewalks, corn mazes, and apple pie! i also just love the coziness of it.

what are some of your favorite things about the fall season?

something else

2011-08-30T09:00:00.001-05:00

i always love everything nasty gal has in their shop! here are some of my recent faves!

1. cutout collar dress 2. renee sweetheart dress 3. kate chiffon blouse

picnic + a movie

2011-08-19T19:04:00.001-05:00

last night i went to the ravinia festival. it's the oldest outdoor music festival in the united states! there are a series of outdoors concerts & performances held from june to september. it's in highland park, il.

we arrived early and sat in the grass to enjoy a picnic. then we took our seats in the amphitheater to watch the lord of the rings -- the fellowship of the ring. the chicago symphony orchestra and an adult & children's choir performed as the movie played on a giant screen. it was amazing and i had a great time! i hadn't watched that movie in so long; i forgot how much i liked it. not to mention how good looking the character aragorn is, hehe.

pinata

2011-08-15T18:32:00.002-05:00

i saw this amazing diy project over at the blog oh happy day today! i thought i would share it with everyone that follows my blog. the diy shows how to make a number pinata! this is a great project, easy and fun to do, and i may just do this for an upcoming birthday!

click here for instructions for this project!

here she comes now

2011-07-21T21:08:00.001-05:00

nasty gal

happy birthday

2011-07-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

happy 19th birthday to my sister, becca!

you can stop by her blog and wish her a happy day, too!

click here.

yum yum

2011-07-09T08:30:00.002-05:00

i got this new cookbook about a month ago and i finally took the time to make a recipe out of it! the book is called appetite for reduction. it is written by isa chandra moskowitz. she is also the author of veganomicon, vegan cupcakes take over the world, and vegan brunch. the book features 125 fast & filling low-fat vegan recipes. the book came out earlier this year.

for dinner last night i chose to make the following recipes...

+ red thai tofu

+ bhutanese pineapple rice

+ green beens with thai basil

i couldn't find bhutanese rice, so i just used long grain brown rice. the meal tasted amazing! i was very satisfied and i had leftovers from it today!

beauty and the beast

2011-07-04T21:21:00.001-05:00

this past thursday i went to see the musical, beauty and the beast, at the oriental theatre in chicago. it was my first musical! it was also something on my list of 22 before 23, so now i have another item crossed off the list!

i was given two tickets to this as one of my graduation gifts. i brought steve along with me to the show; we both really enjoyed it! the theatre looked really cool on the inside. the set looked amazing and set changes were really smooth! all of the songs were fun! steve and i especially loved the singing and dancing for the songs "gaston" and "be our guest."

today is july 4th. i've been hearing fireworks going off all weekend! there have also been a lot of nice days weather wise.

happy july!

062611

2011-06-26T13:13:00.001-05:00

last week i had a couple of job interviews. i got a call from the one place i interviewed at and they are having me come in for a second interview! i'm excited! i hope everything works out.

today is the gay pride parade in my neighborhood. i have my windows open letting in the warm air and sunshine. i've been hearing music and people having fun all morning!

last night i lit a few candles in memory of my friend who passed away last week. the candle lighting was an event organized on facebook. i was having a difficult time this week. at first i didn't want to believe that my friend was really gone. a couple days after i heard the news i started to get a lot more emotional, it was the only thing i could think about. the past few days were happier because i thought of all the great memories i had with this person and how i was lucky to have known him. lighting the candles was really comforting. i know they were just candles, but they gave me such a warm happy feeling, to me they symbolized my friend's presence, he lit up the whole room all day!

later this week, i am going to be crossing something off on my 22 before 23 list! i'm very excited!

goodbye, friend

2011-06-25T10:32:00.000-05:00

rest in peace, brian.

you will be deeply missed.

february 14, 1990 - june 18, 2011

m.a.c. style sessions: spot on trend

2011-06-18T15:04:00.001-05:00

last night i attended a m.a.c. cosmetics style session; it was a lot of fun! it was my first time attending one! to reserve my spot at the session, all i had to do was buy a $50 gift card that we could redeem for products at the end of the session. the session i attended was "spot on trend." the m.a.c. artists showed us three looks; they were "the everyday celebrity," "the academy awards," and "the grammy look." i was lucky to be a model for the grammy look (the face chart for this look ca be seen in the image above).

they gave each of us a welcome packet that had a notebook with face charts, the looks for the evening, and lots of space for notes to be jotted down during the session.

after the session i began to shop around! i got myself a pro color palette, studio moisture fix, and sheertone blush in peaches.

studio moisture fix

pro color palette

for the look they had me model, i loved the eyes, but the bright lips were a bit much for me (so i took it off). here is a little snapshot i got of the makeup look on my phone (sorry for the low quality image).

i hope to attend another one of these sometime!

hooray!

2011-06-16T18:50:00.000-05:00

i am all done with school! my last day was last saturday and i graduated this past monday. it feels so wonderful to be done! now i can cross a few things off of my 22 before 23 list! my mom and sister came up to see me graduate; it was nice to see them again.

this week i am taking time to relax and catch up on a lot of things i let go while i was in school. the thing i've been working most on this week is organizing! i'm doing a deep cleaning of every room in my apartment!

iron + wine

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

it's officially my last week of school! i am very excited!

this evening me, steve, brett, stephen, and brittney met up at millennium park for their free evening concert series. tonight iron + wine was performing. there were a ton of people there and it was mega hot out! after the concert steve, brett, brittney, and i went on our first double date (hehe) to the chicago diner for vegan milkshakes. it was a great night.

me oh my

2011-05-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

it's been a while since i've written a post! i've been very busy with school, but thank goodness everything is starting to wind down. i have this week and next week to go (and i still haven't missed a day)! it feels AMAZING to almost be done! i graduate on the 13th of june. i'm so excited! school has really overwhelmed me and has been keeping me busier than ever. the past few weeks i've been looking for internships, submitting my resume to places, and just trying to make a little time for myself.

i also haven't been blogging much just because my days are so similar: i wake up 5 days a week at 6 am and head to school and don't come back home until 6 pm. i'm happy thinking i'll have more to share as graduation rolls around and new stories begin: new job stories, summer fun, friends, events, beach days, date nights, and more!

today steve and i put our air conditioner in the window. last summer we put it in the living room window; this year we're putting it in our bedroom window, since sleeping in the heat is no fun. having a cool room to sleep in is going to be amazing!

does anyone have any fun plans for this summer?

american woman

2011-05-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

nasty gal.

friday etsy favorites

2011-05-06T09:00:00.005-05:00

happy friday, everyone! here are some of my current favorite items i found on etsy!

1. loop necklace - vincavere 2. painterly two piece bather - minnow bathers

3. space cat and milky way print - corduroy 4. quartz stud earrings - alana douvros

5. lunar stranger - promopocket

have a lovely weekend!

happy birthday!

2011-05-01T16:50:00.000-05:00

happy 4th birthday to my dear kitty, mrs. francis picabia!

our story

2011-04-18T13:48:00.001-05:00

this is the story of how i met my boyfriend, steve.

it was june 2005, and i had just finished my sophomore year of high school. i logged onto my myspace page and i had a friend request from a band, scopata di morte. i checked out the band's page and accepted because i saw they were local! i remember looking at the band's pictures, and this one boy, the drummer, caught my eye. i didn't know his name, so i commented on the band's page and asked "which one of you is the short haired one, tee hee." from there i think steve added me from his personal account. we started writing each other back and forth and i found out he lived just three miles away from me; i didn't even know it! our exciting little friendship began. we would write each other e-mails and chat on msn messenger until 5 am. we probably chatted online for about a month until we finally met for the first time.

in our chats i told him about how i liked photography. i was exploring different types of photography. steve and his other bandmate asked if i would be intersted in photographing this concert that they were playing in a few weeks. i was really interested! it was a concert on the beach in harbor beach in mid july. i was nervous to meet steve. on the day, i came there to take pictures of the concert event. there he was up on stage setting up for his band. i don't think we got to say hi at first because he was busy. i took pictures of his set and a lot of the others; it was fun! it was my first concert. i think i felt a bit disappointed because i didn't get to hang out with him for a lot of the show. toward the end of the night he came up behind me and tapped on my sholder and said hi! he asked if i brought any grapes with me like he said i should on msn messenger (i hadn't).

for weeks after the concert, steve, myself, and his friends (also all my new friends) would hang out with each other. i remember a few of his friends liked me actually, and i was overwhelmed with all the new boys. i liked them all; they were all so nice to me. at one point i really liked another boy who was hanging out in our group, too, but then he went off to camp for a few weeks, and while i was waiting for him to come back, steve called my house and asked me if i wanted to go out to the movies with him. i asked my mom, and she said i could! it was the first time a boy ever called me to go out. it was a cute moment, and i remember i was so excited! we went out august 1, 2005, to see the movie the island at a near-by theater. during the middle of the movie, he asked if he could hold my hand! it was so cute! i think i was nervous. i remember riding home after the movie listening to as i lay dying. we hung out a few days after that, too. i don't know if it was him or me, but one of us asked if we were boyfriend and girlfriend now, and we agreed that we were, haha.

i was in my junior year of high school and he was a senior at his high school, and i remember getting in trouble a lot because i wanted to go to concerts and my mom thought it was a bad idea because of all the boys that were going to be there. the next year i thought would probably be our hardest because that fall steve headed off to college in a town about 100 miles away. i was starting my senior year of high school. we would talk on the phone pretty much every night, usually for about an hour. pretty often, he'd be able to come up for the weekend.

in fall 2007, i moved to the same town for college. he lived in the dorms and i had my own apartment. it was exciting being able to spend more time together again! he spent the night at my apartment pretty regularly, and at one point i got in trouble with the landlord because they thought steve should be paying rent for how much he visited and stayed over. in summer 2008 we moved into an apartment together for the first time and we've been living together ever since.

now we've been together for five and a half lovely years! we've grown together and like a lot of the same things, but we also have our separate interests. we became vegetarian and then vegan together. we've both gotten excited about moving to a bigger city and then we did it. we've both become interested in blogging and certain kinds of music neither of us liked in high school. i'm so glad we found each other, and i'm really glad we've been kind and understanding enough with each other to get through the hard times and stay in touch with what we like about each other. i'm really happy with us and i'm so excited for our future together, too!

10 little reminders, part 5

2011-04-04T22:56:00.000-05:00

welcome to part 5 of my series "10 little reminders," the final part of the series! before i get into the final reminders, here is a recap of the first eight:

surround yourself with positive people
it's never too early (or late) to start doing what you love
stay organized and keep up with your home
don't just be kind to others, be kind to yourself
everything will always be okay in the end
not everyone is going to like you, and it's okay
don't hold grudges
don't compare yourself to others

9. focus on today! many times i get caught up in thinking about all the amazing plans i have for my future: where i want to live, the family i will have, the house i'll get to paint and buy furniture for, getting married, and getting my permanent studio! yes, it all sounds so exciting, but what about right now? i know a few years ago this was all i could think about: living on my own with my boyfriend in a big city. and now that it's here, i just keep thinking about what's next. i think it's a good idea to just focus on today, to be in the moment. i am here now, i am living in chicago with my high-school sweetheart. i'm really happy about this, but i rarely focus on it and just appreciate it. time is going to go by so fast, and soon i'll be in my late 20s, married, working for myself, and perhaps with a baby on the way. i think it's good for me to appreciate the now when it's just me and steve and all the adventures the two of us will have. we are young and we are in school, anything can happen! i want to appreciate the days we are having right now.

10. take time to appreciate the ones you love. i don't talk with my dad much; he wasn't really a big part of my life growing up. one day a few years ago when i was just starting college, i decided to write him and get to know him more. since then, i've visited him a few times, and he even got to see my sister graduate from high school. i know he must have been so happy and proud of her. i'm very happy that he has been able to be in our lives again. it makes me happy to see him happy. sometimes i get caught up in my daily life, though, and don't always have time to contact him that much. i keep saying i'll write him a letter later. we can get so caught up everyday with school and work, and then when we get home, surfing the internet, etc. i think it's nice when we can take the time to sit down and call someone, write a loved one a letter, or just talk to your partner. as with the above tip: you will only be in this period of your life, surrounded by these people, for so long. take time to really focus your attention on the ones you love.

10 little reminders, part 4

2011-03-28T23:27:00.001-05:00

welcome to part 4 of my series, 10 little reminders!

7. don't compare yourself to others. everyone is great in their own ways. if you're always comparing yourself to others, you will never be happy. there will always be someone who has more, who has accomplished more, or who looks better. also, when you compare yourself to someone else, you probably focus on their unique gifts. you probably don't have all the same gifts, but you probably have some of your own that you are forgetting about. embrace your own strengths. even with common measures, the only valid comparison can really be with yourself: are you getting better over time? charles bukowski said, "my contest is only with myself."

8. don't hold grudges. if a situation is already bad, it doesn’t get any better when we keep being unkind to each other. holding a grudge never really helps; it just hurts you and people around you. especially when it's over silly things. i've been in a few situations myself where at the moment i felt like i could never forgive a person. usually i've had to give myself about a year to have the courage to forgive the other person, and i think that is okay, although ideally it would be quicker. sometimes it takes a while to realize that what happened between you and another person was silly and not worth ruining a friendship over. forgiving someone feels great both for you and for the other person. when i forgive someone, i feel like a "big weight has been lifted" off my mind/heart/everything!

stay tuned for part 5, the final part of the series, next monday!

elizabeth taylor

2011-03-23T19:40:00.000-05:00

rest in peace, elizabeth taylor.

1932-2011

10 little reminders, part 3

2011-03-21T22:53:00.000-05:00

welcome to part 3 of my series, 10 little reminders!

5. everything will always be okay in the end. i've had days where i have been so sad, all i wanted to do was cry all day. especially over the past few years with money, i have experienced times when i thought "this is it... i can't go on." it sounds ridiculous, but i have really felt that way! yet everything has always turned out okay in the end. everything works out. i want to remind myself that even if i had a tough day or if my situation seems terrible at the moment, everything will work out. "sunshine after the rain" type deal, hehe. i want to remind myself to not get so worked up, thinking things won't get better. they can, they will, they have. in fact, they pretty much always have.

6. not everyone is going to like you, and it's okay. you can be one of the nicest, kindest people and there will still be people who don't like you. why? i have no idea. maybe they don't really know you but are judging a bad first impression. maybe they're jealous of something you have going for you. maybe they're someone who was attached to an old you, and they don't like some ways you've changed. in any case, i want to remind myself to not get upset if someone doesn't like me. i want to focus on just being the best me possible, not letting any haters get to me.

stay tuned for part 4 next monday!

nasty gal

2011-03-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

photos from nasty gal

america's beauty show

2011-03-15T06:49:00.000-05:00

yesterday i attended the america's beauty show here in chicago. it was my first time attending this event, and i had an amazing time!

my morning started out with me taking the train all the way down to chinatown at 7:30 am. we were given a swag bag upon arrival. the student conference started at 8:30 am. ted gibson (ted has styled people such as angelina jolie, mila kunis, and zoe saldana) talked, along with yolly ten koppel (famed educator from the netherlands). there was a little fashion show, in which some students from my campus took part, and they got to walk on stage with the models they did hair on; it was great!

after the conference we were able to start walking around to all the exhibitors! i ventured off on my own. i really enjoyed watching tigi's stage and paul mitchell's stage. i tried out the shellac, no chip manicure in black! i love it! it's so shiny and pretty.

here is some video i captured at the tigi stage. i love the hairstyles!

at the modern salon booth, you could text in to enter a chi flatiron giveaway. i was lucky and won one! before i came to claim my prize i chatted a little with brig van osten, the season 3 winner of bravo's "shear genius." she even autographed my magazine! she was sweet and gave me some good advice.

can't wait for america's beauty show 2012!

10 little reminders, part 2

2011-03-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

welcome to part 2 of my new series, 10 little reminders! here's a link to part 1 from last monday.

3. stay organized and keep up with your home. it makes me feel great when my home smells good and is organized! when my apartment is cluttered, i feel cluttered. one thing i've learned and i'm still trying to do is to maintain my apartment after i clean it. usually after i spend a whole weekend cleaning, i wonder later in the week, "how is it getting this messy again already?" i think it's good when everything has it's own place. it sure makes finding something way easier. it also makes visits from friends more enjoyable because you don't have to spend as much time before they come over frantically cleaning and putting stuff away. it's always worth it to just spend those 10 little minutes each day during the week to maintain everything! also, i've recently cut down on how much stuff i own, and that helps. i used to hang onto everything, but now i only keep what i truly want. when you have less stuff, it's easier to keep it organized.

4. don't just be kind to others, be kind to yourself. a lot of times other people have expectations about what you should do. they may have ideas or ambitions about your career, friends, or relationships. i've gone places with people or done things for them because i wanted to be nice. but after a certain point if fulfilling everyone else's demands on your time is wearing you out or putting you in a bad mood or limiting your progress on your own goals, then i think it's important to remember that you should be nice to yourself too. sometimes i think being kind to yourself means kindly letting others know you can't help them at the moment.

stay tuned for part 3 next monday, march 21st!

don't forget!

2011-03-12T07:06:00.000-06:00

daylight savings time is march 13 (tomorrow), at 2 am! "spring forward" one hour!

i am so excited! i love how the days are becoming longer again. daylight savings time always seems to emphasize that because it stays bright a whole hour later in the evening.

giveaway winner is...

2011-03-08T08:02:00.002-06:00

the winner of the poetry book giveaway is...

dominick

congratulations! please e-mail me (jlkirsch [at] aol.com) your address so i can mail you your prize!

thank you everyone who entered the book giveaway! if you didn't win but you're interested in purchasing the book, you can buy a copy here! the book is also fully available to read online.

10 little reminders, part 1

2011-03-07T13:34:00.000-06:00

welcome to my new feature here at midnight black! this is going to be a 5-part series that will run every monday for the next month. i'm only 22 years old, but there are already things i've noticed over time that i know make me feel a lot happier and better about myself... if i can remember them. the problem is that a lot of these tips are based on cliches and really common phrases, so they're easy to forget or not take seriously. this series is a list of 10 little reminders that help keep me on track. i hope you all enjoy!

1. surround yourself with positive people. i think it's really valuable to have positive people in your life. i've had a lot of people in my life who always seem to be stuck in the negative. even though i am positive most of the time, it starts to wear me down when a friend or family member has nothing good to say. it's sad when you think of a friend and their good qualities are not what sticks out to you; instead you just think of the negativity they carry. i feel i've been steering clear of people that are stuck in the negative and surrounding myself with more positive people, and it makes me a lot happier. in the future i want to remember to surround myself with positivity, and even if it's hard, allow myself to let go of sources of negativity

2. it's never to early (or late) to start doing what you love. if there is something you love to do, i would say don't let ideas like "i'm too young" or "i'm too old" stop you from doing it. when i started doing photography, i had to make a conscious decision that i wasn't going to wait around for some "special moment." i just had to work with what i had and learn along the way. i've loved photography ever since i was a teenager. i used a simple point-and-shoot and would take pictures of anything and everything. later i got my own dslr camera and came along for a friend's modeling photo shoot, which fueled my interest even more. at college, i thought a lot about how i wanted to be a photographer someday. someday... then i thought to myself, why should i wait until someday in the future? why not now? so i set up a photoshoot with a girl from a near-by school who was into modeling. i was nervous to meet her and take her picture, especially because i'm a pretty shy person, but the photoshoot turned out amazing! i got lots of great images and from then on i was so inspired! the next couple of years i took more and more pictures of people for their modeling portfolios. the word spread that i was taking pictures, and last year i did two weddings and lots of senior portraits! i started making a business out of it! i love it, and i'm really glad i just decided to go out there and do it. i didn't have the fanciest camera or the best equipment, but that didn't stop me. if there is something you are passionate about, i really encourage you to just start now!

stay tuned for part 2 next monday!

*don't forget to enter my giveaway! winner will be drawn tomorrow!*

book giveaway!

2011-03-01T08:00:00.004-06:00

today my darling boyfriend released his poetry book! i'm so happy for him. it is a really unusual poetry book because all the lines are from his instant messenger history. some of the lines are even from conversations the two of us had together when i was in high school. also, all the lines are set in bold helvetica, all caps, so it's almost like an art book more than a poetry book. for a taste, you can view some (or all) of the poems on the website. and...he was kind enough to give me a copy to give away!

anyone can enter! all you have to do for your chance to win a copy of the book is just leave a comment below. i will choose a random winner next tuesday!

022311

2011-02-23T20:59:00.003-06:00

nasty gal

22 before 23

2011-02-19T07:23:00.008-06:00

i'm going to be turning 22 years old in a few days! i can't believe it! i really wanted to make one of these lists of things i'd like to accomplish before my next birthday because they seem fun!

1. ~~design photography website~~

2. get passport

3. plan a trip

4. spend one night in a fancy hotel

5. learn a little french

6. ~~graduate from school with perfect attendance~~

7. get a job that i love

8. ~~make vegan red velvet cupcakes from scratch~~
9. do something sweet for my 6 year anniversary w/ steve
10. exercise regularly
11. have a picnic with my love at millenium park
12. ~~see a musical~~
13. get a small tattoo
14. ~~get a new pair of eye glasses~~
15. ~~buy a new piece of art~~
16. take more pictures
17. get chairs for the dinner table, finally
18. do hair for a photo shoot
19. make new business cards
20. make strawberry jam
21. spend a weekend away in california with my sister
22. print a giant photo of poncho peligroso and hang it in living room

on a night like this

2011-02-16T08:00:00.004-06:00

i had a lovely weekend. my mom and sister came to chicago on the train from michigan to see me! they came saturday afternoon. their first stop was to the student salon at my school. they were my first-ever clients that actually requested me, so i felt pretty special that day. after i was done with their services we went downtown to the willis tower (formally known as the sears tower) skydeck. we viewed the entire city from the 103rd floor. the views were amazing and i am so glad we chose to go at night time. all the lights were so beautiful! i was also brave enough to step out on the glass box.

sunday morning we went out for brunch at chicago diner with some of steve's friends. later my cat got to meet poncho peligroso for the first time (they seem to love each other as you can see)! that night the boys (steve, stephen, brett, and poncho) had a live poetry reading online.

our monday morning started off with a tour at the make-up artistry school here in chicago. the tour was set up for my sister; my mom and i went with her. she really enjoyed it and may come back to chicago in april to start the program. we went out for lunch, went to the field museum, went to m.a.c. cosmetics, got our make up done at bare escentuals, had vegan red velvet cupcakes at sprinkles, and then ate a late night dinner at the chicago diner.

my family went back to michigan today. i really enjoyed my weekend with them! come back soon, mom and becca!

snow day

2011-02-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

chicago was hit with a blizzard tuesday afternoon and it finally ended earlier today. we got around 21" of snow. steve and i took a little walk around our neighborhood this afternoon to check everything out. all the cars parked on our street were blocked in, and some on a nearby street were completely covered by snow.

i was also reading online about lake shore drive (an expressway in chicago along the shore). there were hundreds of abandoned vehicles because of terrible driving conditions and accidents. many people were eventually forced to leave their vehicles. (see pictures here)

tonight we're expecting a deep freeze, temperatures expected to get as low as -20° f. i'm happy i don't have class again tomorrow!

book cover contest

2011-01-29T22:10:00.008-06:00

my boyfriend is publishing a poetry book on march 1st called DOWNLOAD HELVETICA FOR FREE.COM. the poems in the book are excerpts from his msn messenger history from high school (many from our conversations) set in 80 pt. helvetica.

right now he is having a project where people take pictures of printed poems for the upcoming book, and then one of the pictures will be used as the cover of the book. the photo below is one that i am submitting for the contest.

anyone can participate, and right now about 40 of 50 possible spots have been filled. you can get more information about the project on his blog. photo submissions are due on february 2nd, so there is still time to sign up and get a poem to photograph!

*contest closed*

here comes the night

2011-01-05T18:25:00.000-06:00

yesterday steve and i went on a little trip to the art institute. we explored the impressionist art, new media and design, and also checked out the thorne "miniature rooms"; it was so cute! they were these little rooms modeled after victorian era homes mostly.

after the museum we walked outside and saw all the buildings were lit up. it was so beautiful, so we decided to stay downtown for a bit longer and enjoy it. we walked around in millenium park, watched people ice skate, and took a short video (which you can enjoy below). later steve asked me if i wanted to go out to chicago diner for some vegan hot chocoate, which i really enjoyed.

it was a fun night! here is the video i took in millennium park:

(all photos taken by me, except photo #2 taken by steve.)

happy new year

2011-01-04T12:13:00.001-06:00

happy new year, everyone! i can't believe it's 2011! i'm really excited for this year. i think that a lot of great things are going to happen!

on new year's eve i went downtown to sprinkles and got a couple vegan red velvet cupcakes for steve and myself. later that evening steve, our friend stephen, and i went out for dinner and drinks at the pick-me-up cafe. i had a falafel wrap with fries; it was so delicious! then we headed over to a little new year's party in logan square. it was a fun time. we chilled, talked, laughed, had a countdown at midnight, discussed if 2011 was a prime number (it is), listened to music, danced, had another countdown for the people of california, and played pictionary, using the wall as our drawing board, haha. the ride home was a bit crazy. there were a lot of crazy drunk girls that could barely walk in their heels; it looked pretty funny. a lot of drunk people on the subway ride home. we made it home safe, though! it was a pretty good night all in all.

here are some of my goals for 2011...

1. keep positive feelings and people in my life.

2. get organized. my goal is for everything to have its own place, so things flow better visually in my apartment and i feel simple and clean.

3. support only companies that don't test on animals. i started doing this a lot more in the last few months of 2010. i've stopped buying animal-tested make up, shampoos, hand soaps, and cleaning supplies. i've already found a lot of great alternatives. i really want to carry this through 2011.

what are your goals for 2011, if any?

goodbye 2010, part 2

2010-12-31T12:24:00.003-06:00

here is a continuation of yesterday's post recapping 2010.

july: i was all settled in at my mom's house. beach trips. my sister turned 18. held my sister's hand while she got her first tattoo. steve and i took a train to chicago again, but this time to find an apartment. reiche family reunion. steve got a macbook in the mail from a friend as a graduation gift (it was very sweet). helped my sister put on her graduation party. moved to chicago at the end of the month.

august: we settled into our new apartment! celebrated my 5 year anniversary with steve. went to the art museum a few times. i hit the 100 follower mark on my blog. my family came to visit me at new home. steve's family also came to visit us! went to the john hancock observatory, which took us 94 stories above michigan avenue! i started school, full-time.

september: i attended my first ever renegade craft fair. it was autumn; i made handmade apple pie to celebrate. i met a wonderful new friend. my sister came out to chicago for a visit.

october: steve released his very first chapbook.

november: completed phase 1 of 4 at school. steve turned 23. steve's family came to chicago, again. we went to the chicago symphony orchestra. i started out on the salon floor.

december: i had my second blog giveaway. went to the renegade holiday craft fair. i experienced my first chicago snow fall. traveled back to michigan to be with my family for a few days over the holiday.

hope you all had a wonderful year as well!

goodbye 2010, part 1

2010-12-30T20:18:00.001-06:00

2010 has been such an amazing year!

here's a little recap...

january: i celebrated the new year with a few of my friends, outside, howling at the moon. i went to a burlesque performance in detroit called wonderland, starring the lovely roxie dlite. i had little lunch and dinner dates with my friends. got a lot of modeling and senior portrait clients for my photography business.

february: i continued doing a ton of photography work with clients. celebrated valentines day with my darling steve (where i also asked him if he would like to be my boyfriend, again). i was able to celebrate my 21st birthday with my closest friends.

march: i reached the 50 follower mark on my blog...which lead to my first blog giveaway! i went on a lot of walks around my neighborhood. felt very inspired and creative. steve received his mfa acceptance letters in the mail. it became spring (one of my most favorite seasons)! also, more photoshoots...

april: i started the sunday spotlight feature on my blog. i bought two kites and flew them a at the park with steve. steve and i officially decided we were moving to chicago! we traveled on a train (for the first time) to chicago. i toured my school. steve read his poetry at columbia.

may: i picked flowers for my mom and made her a lunch for mothers day. photographed my second wedding. had a yard sale. my sister finished high school!

june: i had a picnic at the park. i changed my blog name from o me, o life to midnight black. my sister had her high school graduation. i joined a journal challenge. went to my sister's college orientation with her and my mom. it was summer! steve completed his undergrad study. i went tubing down the river with my friends. packed, packed, and packed. bye bye mount pleasant and back to my hometown for the summer.

i'll be back with part 2 tomorrow!

hand in glove

2010-12-21T22:31:00.003-06:00

i've been busy going to school and preparing for the holidays these past couple of weeks. i still have my perfect attendance record for school and i usually service a client or two a day now. the way things work in the salon are becoming a little more familiar to me. when i was first starting out on the salon floor i was a bit nervous. i also had one bad experience with a client, but since then i've been able to set my fear aside (for the most part). also, i am almost half way done with my program! only 5 more months to go, yay!

i'm so excited to be going home to michigan to see my family very soon. i haven't seen most of my family since i moved here in august. i have all my gifts for them picked out and wrapped. i know everyone will love the presents i picked out for them!

i also got myself a couple little gifts, hehe. one of which was from h&m. they had a 50% off sale on their coats, so i got a new one. it only costed me $35; i love it!

we had our first snowfall here a couple of weeks ago. i love the first snowfall, it's so magical, but then i quickly get tired of it, and steve and i think about how much we should have just moved to san francisco, haha.

hope everyone is enjoying the last weeks of the year!

exactly 2 months from today it will be my birthday, yayyyyyy!

save no prayer

2010-12-13T18:08:00.001-06:00

dimepiece spring 2011

giveaway winner

2010-12-08T18:06:00.002-06:00

i wrote down names of those who entered onto a small strip of paper, had my lovely boyfriend mix them up in a box, and pull a name out.

the winner is...

thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway!

ayden, please e-mail your address to jlkirsch(at)aol(dot)com and i'll send you your prize!

just a reminder...

2010-12-07T18:01:00.007-06:00

only 6 hours left to enter my giveaway.

again, this is what's up for grabs...

+too faced bronzing powder in "pink leopard"
+too faced lipstick in "centerfold"
+too faced eye shadow duo in "teddy bear & heaven"
+too faced shadow insurance eye shadow primer (0.11 oz.)
+bobbi brown makeup remover (1 fl oz.)

(none of which are tested on animals)

click here to enter!

*closed*

renegade holiday craft fair

2010-12-06T22:17:00.001-06:00

this past weekend i went to the renegade holiday craft fair here in chicago. i went with my boyfriend steve and our friend stephen. it was huge! there were so many artists there.

i bought a holiday gift for my sister from species by the thousands and a magnet from the mincing mockingbird. the magnet is so cute! it has a picture of an owl and then below, it says "can i get a who? who?."

we also got our photos taken in the magbooth (as you can see)! i love the magbooth. i totally want to rent one of these when i have my wedding someday.

/////////////////////////////////////

don't forget to enter my 100th follower giveaway!

click here.

little bandits

2010-12-02T22:13:00.004-06:00

lonely hearts winter 2011 lookbook.

via knight cat.

////////////////////

don't forget to enter my 100th follower giveaway!

click here.

100th follower giveaway!

2010-12-01T08:00:00.005-06:00

it's taken me a long time to get this up since i've hit 100 followers back in august, but here it is! thank you to all of you wonderful people who take the time to read my blog. i appreciate your comments! this is for you...

here's what one lucky person will win:

+too faced bronzing powder in "pink leopard"
+too faced lipstick in "centerfold"
+too faced eye shadow duo in "teddy bear & heaven"
+too faced shadow insurance eye shadow primer (0.11 oz.)
+bobbi brown makeup remover (1 fl oz.)
(none of which are tested on animals)

here's what you have to do to enter to win:

+be a follower of my blog and leave your name in a comment below.

for an additional entry to up your chances of winning...

+tweet about the giveaway (@jlkirsch). please include a link to your twitter in an additional comment along with your name.

a winner will be randomly chosen wednesday, december 8th.

good luck!

*closed*

112910

2010-11-29T13:12:00.002-06:00

this past weekend was quite lovely. thursday night steve's family arrived in chicago to visit with us. friday we all got up early and headed over to wicker park. we stopped in a couple of thrift stores, an urban outfitters (where i got a cardigan and a cute little pair of shoes), and a bike shop. after that little bit of shopping we went to have lunch at the handlebar. it was delicious! after lunch we went back to the apartment, relaxed for a few hours, then got dressed to go to the chicago symphony orchestra.

this is what steve had.

this is what i had. yum!

saturday was pretty much a day dedicated to good food. steve, joe, and i spent most of the day together. the rest of steve's family headed downtown to michigan avenue. once steve, joe, and i woke up, we walked on over to the chicago diner for brunch! after brunch joe rode his bike around. he had a lot of fun riding it in the city. steve and i met up with him at whole foods, where we bought vegan pizza ingredients! we came back home and rested up a little bit. joe went out to a bike shoe shop. once he got back we began making the pizzas! while joe finished up the pizzas, i began making two apple pies! like i said, this day was totally dedicated to good food.

it was a nice weekend.

all photos in this post were taken by andy roggenbuck.

visit my facebook fan page or twitter!

i love...

2010-11-20T16:55:00.003-06:00

i played around in imovie for the first time yesterday and this is the result.

i love from jk on Vimeo.

renegade craft fair

2010-11-16T18:16:00.001-06:00

less than a month away...

sunday spotlight v.6

2010-11-14T22:55:00.002-06:00

name/blog name: steve roggenbuck

please tell us a little about yourself:over the past 5 years, i have considered myself mainly a poet. recently, i started making visual poems with large fonts and images. with some of my most recent projects, i realized they were quite a bit more "visual" than "poem," so now i consider myself a poet and a designer. also i have considered myself vegan since 2007 and have worked on different activism projects, including the video at youcanhelpstopthis.com (warning, graphic footage). and i consider myself a buddhist, or very influenced by buddhism. and i am your boyfriend. :) and we live with a dangerous mountain lion in chicago.

please tell us a little about your etsy shop:
right now i am selling minimalist ironic greeting cards, so they are white with black text in bold helvetica, and it says "card," "birthday card," "thank you card," and so on. the cards are letter-sized card stock folded in half, blank on the inside. i have around 10 different card designs and some packs of 3 or 5 cards. i just launched it, but i'll be expanding with more ideas in the upcoming months, including some stickers, wall prints, and t-shirts. http://www.etsy.com/shop/steveroggenbuck.

where do you get your design inspiration?
i like a lot of the minimalist design on aisleone.net. for other visual art, i really like the painters mark rothko and franz kline. i like art, design, and writing that is simple and feels good to me immediately when i see it. i think my art taste has been influenced a lot by zen buddhism and reading shunryu suzuki.

what direction do you hope to move in the future? do you have any big plans?
you know my plans, i think. :) i am in an mfa program for poetry right now. i am using my program as a time to focus very hard on my writing and art, as well as promoting my writing and art. i have a lot of ideas for poetry (e-)books, more etsy items, and touring and other things. i would like to make an income from my writing and design eventually so i can spend even more time on them. in general, i will keep making things i like and trying to share them with as many people as possible.

what is the best perk of being a designer?
my favorite thing is that i think i'm creating culture for like-minded people. as a vegan who grew up in a rural area, i sometimes felt like all the cultural options i had were for mainstream america but not for me. i got annoyed or bored with most movies and tv, and there weren't many stores or restaurants i felt like supporting. when i eventually found some writers and artists that presented alternative ways of doing things, it was very inspiring to me. with my writing and art, i would like to create something fun and sustaining for other young(-at-heart) people who are questioning mainstream values.

thank you very much for interviewing me jess, and thanks to everybody for reading it. you are all wonderful and cool.

we carry on

2010-11-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

i have successfully completed phase 1 of my hair school program!

i am so happy to finally be finished with phase 1, only 6 months to go! my instructor said i have perfect attendance, which i am very proud of and i hope i keep up with it through the whole program. i cannot believe i've already put in 3 months at this program. the time is just flying by! my wellness break starts on sunday. i have a much needed week off from school. over break i want to work on some hair designs to photograph. i'd really like to get a portfolio of my designs built up so i can start working on set at photo shoots for other photographers.

below are pictures of the pixie cut i had to do for finals. we were given a certain amount of time to cut, air form, and style. i really liked how mine tured out!

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

happy birthday

2010-11-11T07:00:00.003-06:00

happy 23rd birthday, steve!

i love you!

november

2010-11-08T17:02:00.000-06:00

the past month has been wild! i've been in school morning to evening--five days a week. it hasn't given me much time to blog, so i do apologize to my readers for my absence.

things are starting to wind down a little, though. this week is my last week of phase 1 at school, after this week is over i get a 1 week wellness break! i'm excited, especially to catch up on sleep! when i return to school i will be starting phase 2 and i will begin working on the salon floor. i'm very excited!

i've also been thinking a lot about my future. i know in my late twenties i want to open up my own photo studio, but i think it would be neat for it to be a photography and hair studio. i think it's an exciting idea!

this week is my darling steve's birthday! he is going to be 23 on thursday! i'm going to be featuring him in the next sunday spotlight, which will be on 11/14.

hope everyone is staying warm and cozy!

(photo from weheartit.com)

i'm with you in rockland

2010-10-13T22:13:00.000-05:00

this past weekend i went to the music box theater with my boyfriend steve and our new chicago friend, stephen. we saw howl. i really liked the movie. james franco (allen ginsberg) and jon hamm (jake ehrlich) looked very handsome. i loved all the outfits and hair. i adored the scene with allen ginsberg and his boyfriend peter orlovsky outside sitting back to back. so cute!

+++

2010-10-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

stockholm fashion week magazine 2011 shoot by emma jonsson dysel

september weekend

2010-09-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

this past weekend my sister, becca, came out to chicago to visit me. she was also my model on saturday for my hair school's practical exam. we had to perform our first cut on an actual person, moving up from those mannequins! becca really liked the way her cut turned out, and i did as well.

after the exam, i took her out to the chicago diner. we both had yummy vegan 'pork' tacos and then shared a platter of chips with salsa and guacamole. after dinner we headed down to the loop for some shopping!

sunday we went out for lunch at the pick-me-up cafe. after lunch, steve, becca, and i went to millenium park. one of becca's suite-mates at college sent her to chicago with a teddy bear. becca was supposed to take pictures of the bear at places in chicago, so we did some picture taking at some popular places here in the city, then chilled until it was time for her train back home.

i'm so happy my sister was able to come and visit me (and be my model)! come back soon, becca!

all photos taken be me (jessica kirsch).

kissing the lipless

2010-09-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

photos taken by me on film.

autumn

2010-09-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

happy autumn!

today is the first day of autumn and i celebrated by making a homemade apple pie and having apple cider alongside it. i love this season so much! i can finally wear the majority of my clothes now, too. i am so happy it's here! i'm so ready for coats, comfy sweaters, tights, boots, scarves, cloudy skies over my head, crunchy leaves beneath my feet, the cool crisp air, and pumpkin patches!

what are your favorite things about autumn?

photo from weheartit.

renegade craft fair

2010-09-13T20:10:00.003-05:00

this past weekend steve and i went to the renegade craft fair here in chicago. it was the first time we had gone to renegade. i loved it! there were so many amazing artists, good music, yummy food, delicious drinks, and fun crafts! one of my favorite things was the magnolia photo booth...

we brought home one new piece of art! a print by berkley illustrations. steve couldn't stop laughing when he saw it, so i knew we had to have it in our home, haha.

it was a good weekend.

september

2010-09-06T18:12:00.002-05:00

it's september! i'm so happy! my most favorite season of all is just around the corner. i can feel hints of it everywhere. the falling leaves, the dark cloudy skies, and the cold crisp air. along with autumn also comes my favorite time for fashion! i am so excited for all of the layers of clothing, the sweaters, the jackets, scarves, and more!

rag and bone, alexander wang, rag and bone, dries van noten, and burberry prorsum.

friday!

2010-08-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

what a week! i started hair school full time this week. i really like it so far!

i have 100+ followers now! which means...giveaway! i'll get my giveaway prize together soon. maybe over the weekend? as soon as i have some free time i will get it!

since i've got a lot of new readers, i'd like to know who you all are, leave a link to your blog in a comment and i'll check it out!

have a great weekend everyone!

>>>>

2010-08-23T22:00:00.001-05:00

in my last post i talked about how my family came to chicago from michigan to see me this past week. wednesday my mom and sister came in on a train. i went to to union station to pick them up. my mom had been to chicago with me before long time ago, but it was my sister's first time here! i was excited for her to see the city for the first time! once they got here, i took them to the chicago diner for lunch, i showed my family millennium park, and we went to water tower place for some shopping. thursday, i took my family to see my school, we had vegan pizza at karyn's cooked, and we went to the art institute! friday, was more of a relax day. steve made my family a big lunch, and then they headed for the union station for their train back home! it was really nice having them here and i am going to miss being able to see them whenever i want.

(these photos were taken on my phone, so sorry if the quality isn't that good).

down low + up high

2010-08-22T13:52:00.001-05:00

this week was full of adventures! steve's mom was in town this week, as well as my mom and sister. on monday steve's mom took us up to the john hancock observatory, which took us 94 stories above michigan avenue! it was a great experience. i loved all the views! i can just imagine how beautiful it would look at night, too.

tuesday i went to my orientation. i was so excited to go and see all the people who were going to be my classmates for the next 10 months. there were about 13 people that were there for the orientation along with me. they told us the dress code and filled us in on some things, and we introduced ourselves to everyone. this week i will go in for my very first day of class!

don't forget: once i hit 100 i am going to be doing a giveaway! only 1 more follower to go.

exploring

2010-08-20T22:25:00.002-05:00

this week my mom and sister came to chicago to visit me. i've been taking them all around the city to see all my favorite places. i will do a post this weekend with more pictures and details of the fun!

4 simple goals

2010-08-14T08:28:00.001-05:00

elsie from a beautiful mess started a project called '4 simple goals' that i have decided to participate in. here are the guidelines of the project:

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward.

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year!

here is a list of my 4 'simple goals':

1. hang art up on my bare walls! having just moved into a new place and getting everything else organized, i haven't had time to hang up all my art on the walls. i want to figure out which should go in what room and how they should be grouped together.

2. do back-strengthening exercises every morning! i've been having trouble with body imbalance and sciatica coming and going for the past couple of years. to help counteract this, you can do exercises to strengthen your back. i want to get in the habit of doing exercises every morning; that way my back can be strong and i hopefully won't experience this again.

3. eat fruit everyday! i know that when i eat fruit, i feel great! i feel healthy, and i feel happy, so why not do it every day?

4. do something fun every weekend! i never knew what to do in michigan because i lived in the middle of nowhere. now i live in a great city, and i want to take advantage of it by going on more dates with my boyfriend and doing fun things every weekend.

exciting news!

2010-08-12T22:18:00.011-05:00

i have a special treat for all my readers... a (future) giveaway! soon after i hit 100 followers, i am going to have a giveaway! i currently have 95 followers: only 5 more until i hit 100!

i appreciate each and every one of you that check out my blog and check out what i have to share. this giveaway is in honor of you!

'stay tuned' for more information!

shakuhachi

2010-08-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

bambi northwood-blyth for shakuhachi s/s '11.

the art institute of chicago

2010-08-06T00:58:00.001-05:00

today was my first time being down in the loop since i moved. steve and i went to the art institute of chicago; they have free admission every thursday evening. the line was so long when we got there, but it moved pretty quickly, and we were inside in about 10 minutes. once we were in, steve and i went to see our favorite type of art, modern art. it took a bit of time looking at the art and we only got through the modern wing today. i hope we can go back sometime soon and see the rest of the art that's at the museum.

ellsworth kelly, black and white (1960-61).

joan miró, portrait of juanita obrador (1918).

earlier in the week, steve took me out to a lovely vegan restaurant to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. it was called karyn's cooked. i had fresh squeezed lemonade and steve had a blueberry flavored izze to drink. for our appetizer, we had thai skewers; for the main course, we had a vegan pizza on thin whole-wheat crust, topped with homemade soy cheese, marinara sauce, seitan, and veggies; and for dessert, we shared a slice of vegan blueberry cheesecake. it was a wonderful evening. i really liked eating at karyn's, the food was delicious, and i loved the vibe of the place. i will definitely be eating there again!

my new apartment!

2010-08-01T18:21:00.000-05:00

i am finally living in chicago! it was a long day yesterday, getting everything moved here from michigan. i'm still really worn out from moving everything into the new place, haha. i am so happy to be here! there are going to be so many new things to do. i am excited!

we started out at about 8 am on saturday. steve's brother joe helped us. it was a long drive! took about 7 hours to get here from where we lived in michigan. we got to chicago in the afternoon, picked up our keys, and headed to our new place!

here is what it looks like. i will post some more photos of it once everything has it's place and i decorate.

this is a lovely built-in closet that's in the bedroom.

this is the bathroom.

this is the hall closet.

these french doors open to the kitchen; so cute!

after we got all our belongings in the new place, we took joe to the chicago diner for dinner. it was so good. i had the chickin' caesar salad, steve had the california reuben, and joe had the bbq"ribs" sandwich. we also all split a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough vegan milkshake, yum!

today is steve's and my 5 year anniversary. i can't believe all the time that has gone by since we met in 2005. i'm so happy to see the way things have turned out with us. tonight we are going out to celebrate!

072610

2010-07-26T21:27:00.002-05:00

this is a picture i took at dusk. the moon was coming up in the southeast; it was so beautiful out!

i saw the movie inception last week with my boyfriend. i really liked it.

i have a lot to do this week, as we are moving to chicago on saturday (the 31st)! we're so excited! i still have to pack yet. i am planning on doing that tomorrow.

5 more days until the big move!

howl

2010-07-23T22:44:00.000-05:00

i'm so excited about the movie howl! james franco stars as allen ginsberg. the release date is september 24, 2010.

here is the trailer for the film...

071310

2010-07-13T17:30:00.003-05:00

yesterday steve and i found out that someone put their apartment application in before us for the place we wanted in chicago, so we can't have that exact place in uptown anymore. today we decided to sign up for our second choice apartment, which looks pretty similar to the one we were going to get. it's in wrigleyville, it's really close to the "l", just a short walk to the chicago diner, and there is a whole foods close by. sounds pretty great to me. i am actually more excited about this place now more than the one we were originally going to go with.

i can't believe the journal challenge is over with. it was a lot of fun! i loved all the prompts janel came up with. she is going to be doing another journaling class, but this time for the cost of $10. she is putting the money toward her and her husband's adoption fund. they plan on adopting a child in the next year or two. you can check out more about it here.''

i've gotten two pen pal letters in mail so far. thank you kellie and kristie! i can't wait to write you girls back!

pictures from my week

2010-07-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

this week we put together all of my sister's things for her graduation party, which is next weekend. in the picture below she is holding the poster she made with pictures from art class. it was fun because we splattered the background.

this week steve and i also visited chicago. mainly to get our apartment (and we did find one; it's so cute!) below are some pictures i took while we were in the city.

here is steve waiting at the L station.

here are some pictures from my sister's 18th birthday! i made her this lovely cake. yayy! happy birthday, becca!

my mom was a little late for her party and wanted to see becca blow her candles out, so we relit what was left of the cake.

she had been talking about getting a tattoo for the past couple of years, so on her birthday we decided to go out and get it done! it was a lot of fun and i was glad i could be there and celebrate her big day with her. i love the way her tattoo turned out. it is italian for "to live without regrets."

steve got a mac book in the mail from his friend as a graduation gift. i was having fun on it and took this picture of myself.

today is my reiche family reunion. looking forward to visiting with my dad there since i haven't seen him in a while.

19 more days until the big move!

saturday

2010-07-10T17:24:00.002-05:00

steve and i took another trip to chicago this past wednesday. the train ride was seven hours. once we got there we had lunch at the chicago diner and then headed to my school. i am officially signed up and good to go!

the next day we set up an appointment with an apartment finding service in chicago. we looked at five different apartments. i was so happy when we found "the one." it's so cute! it's a vintage apartment on a tree lined street in uptown. i can't wait to move in! i didn't take any pictures, but i will share some of the inside of my new place once i move in.

yesterday was my sister's 18th birthday! i had a lot of fun with her. she said that i made it her best birthday ever, which made me feel really happy. we went to a tattoo shop and she got her first tattoo. it looks great! after that we had lunch and then we headed to the casino! she even brought back a little money. once we got home we enjoyed a yummy vegan birthday cake i made her. it was a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting and neon candles.

i look forward to when i move to chicago at the very end of this month...especially because i will be back into blogging more often because i will have internet at my new place. i miss being able to read everyone's posts every day.

i'll be back sometime early next week with some pictures of things that have been going on!

070410

2010-07-04T18:30:00.001-05:00

i am all moved in at my mom's house for the month! it was a lot of work moving all the stuff back, but i did it! today was a pretty fun day. a few of my friends and i went to the beach. it was really fun! we were in the water for a long time and we also ate a lunch at the beach that i packed for us. we buried joe in the sand; it was funny. i took pictures, but they are on a film camera, so i'm going to have to wait a while to see them.

in a few days steve and i are going to take a train to chicago and find an apartment that we can move into in august. i'm excited to see what all the places were going to check out look like.

my sister's birthday is on the 9th, she is going to be turning 18!

i hope everyone is having a great weekend!

bye bye mount pleasant

2010-06-29T08:45:00.000-05:00

steve and i have been packing up all our things and cleaning away for the past two days. tomorrow we move out of our mount pleasant apartment; i'm excited!

also, since i am moving back to my mom's house for the month of july. i will be blogging a little less than usual that month because she doesn't have an internet connection there. i will be able to find a way update once in a while, though.

i've got my train tickets booked for my next trip to chicago. i'm going sometime in the first half of july. steve and i are going to get an apartment picked out! yayy! i can't wait to see what they all look like!

062510

2010-06-25T16:20:00.000-05:00

today has been a pretty great day so far. my sister, her boyfriend, and one of their friends came to my place today. we went tubing down the river; it was so much fun! it was especially fun when we went down the rapids. after tubing we came back to my place and went swimming in the pool. i've been in the water a lot today. such a great way to spend my friday afternoon!

have a great weekend everyone!

photo found at weheartit.

wild fox fall 2010

2010-06-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

Wildfox Couture Fall 2010: It's Witchcraft from WILDFOX PR on Vimeo.

bambi

2010-06-24T19:43:00.001-05:00

i've been seeing these a lot latlely, but i just i love this set so much!

062310

2010-06-23T22:25:00.001-05:00

my laptop has been super crazy lately! i think it's coming to the end of it's usable life. not as reliable as it once was. time to back up all my files! i already have my next one in mind that i'd like to get. i'm excited!

today has been a pretty relaxing day. steve has his last class tomorrow and then he's done with his undergrad! all done!

i'm hoping to update a lot more and use more personal photos in my posts once i am moved and settled in chicago. i'll also have a lot more to talk about i hope. this next month is going to be intersting. i have a lot planned. celebrating my sister's 18th birthday, taking her to get her first tattoo, and helping my mom put on her graduation party. also the reiche reunion, lots of trips to the beach, a short trip to chicago to find an apartment, finalizing my school plans, photo sessions, packing up my belongings, saying my goodbyes, and anything that pops up inbetween!

nasty gal

2010-06-22T20:09:00.000-05:00

i'm really lovin' the newer pieces that are in the nasty gal shop. here are some of my favorites...

1. draped pocket dress 2. irina mesh maxi dress 3. boudoir lace blouse 4. sheldon lace dress

5. ahoy crop tee 6. eva lace button down

all photos from nasty gal.

armor

2010-06-21T15:52:00.000-05:00

check out these beautiful pieces by armor jewelry.

062110

2010-06-21T15:34:00.000-05:00

today is the first day of summer! yayy! i am moving out of my apartment in 10 days because my lease is going to be over. i will be living at my mother's house for the month of july and then sometime in early august i will be moving to chicago! i just can't believe that it's come to this time already. i remember a few years ago when steve and i talking about where we would be moving once he finished his undergrad. it seemed like it was fovever away and now the time is here! only a month and a half until the big move. i'm so excited!