book cover contest

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

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

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

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 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

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

dimepiece spring 2011

giveaway winner

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!