Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Quarterly update



I just attended a very sweet baby shower this past weekend and brought along my new favorite ever go-to shower gift, elum quarterly baby updates, that I bought at Greer (I know, I shop there alot). They are cute, clever and letterpressed so you really can't go wrong. If you are really nice, get them the whole set that covers an entire year of growth. One of my friends recently mailed me her 3 month update and it was so fun to receive!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Love letters



I finally watched Bright Star, Jane Campion's film about the poet John Keats's secret love affair with his neighbor Fanny Brawn. The pretty calligraphed letter above is a prop from the movie, posted on the anthropologist.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Fall fashion roundup

J. Mendel

Elie Tahari

Adam

Tracy Reese

Ralph Lauren

Philip Lim

Jason Wu for TSE

Lela Rose

Brian Reyes

I know its hard to think about next fall's wardrobe when all you are wishing for is sundress weather, but I've been seeing some great photos from the shows in new york this week. It looks like fall 2010 is going to be big on little skirts, giant scarves, long fingerless gloves, fuzzy/furry anything, metallic threads and even legwarmers. Belts are still back and layers are a must. Something to think about over the weekend!
*images via New york magazine

Friday flowers

*via Martha

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Love the clean design of this kitchen wall, especially the fresh herbs in cache pots. Everything is out and handy, but very neat and uncluttered. via simplygrove. These rails are slightly different, but similar system available at Ikea.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Our lovely valentine's day yesterday finished up with an amazing chocolate inspired tasting menu at Graham Elliot. We had some really delicious food/drink pairings like the wagyu beef with a sri lanken chocolate stout. Yum. We especially love this restaurant for the flavor infused popcorn they serve before the meal. Last night was ancho chili and cocoa butter. Yum. Still thinking about it. Yum.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Heart warmer hot water bottle

Cute sweater covered hot water bottle, perfect antidote for all of the snow outside. $14, Annies General Store.

Parisian love commercial


This sweet google commercial was one of my favorites from Sunday's game (and appropriate with Valentine's day coming up).

The other two ads I liked just made me laugh:
The weird but creative Kia Sorrento commerical.
The fiddling beaver who used Monster.com to achieve his dream of becoming a violinist.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Southport cupcake truffle


How have I not eaten one of these yet? Love brunch at Southport Grocery and have even had a cupcake pancake there, but no cupcake truffle yet. Will have to go this weekend and remedy the situation.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Up in the air




Little boys who love planes would LOVE this party by event planner Amy Atlas (for her own son). How smart is the runway as a runner down the middle of the table? I am also a fan of the use of blue and orange, unexpected but still very boy oriented and a nice fresh color combo. More pics here.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

West elm lincoln park grand opening

I stopped by the brand new West Elm store at North and Sheffield at the old Whole Foods location this morning to check it out. The store is huge, 20,000+ square feet, with a design center where associates can help you plan the layout of your space. I was warmly greeted by Parker Ray, the general manager, who showed me the School of the Art Institute of Chicago student works that were being displayed for sale in the store. There were various types of media, all merchandised on the walls of "living room" display set ups. The store was also offering a SAIC collaborative gift with purchase (no minimum) of a framed letterpress image of a Chicago landmark drawn by a SAIC student. I bought some cute blue and white napkins and got one of the Buckingham fountain.
Overall, I was impressed with this store, the product offering looked comprehensive (and included lots of organic bed and bath products) and the visual merchandising was creative and inspiring. I especially liked the strands of white origami paper cranes coming from the ceiling in the "bedroom" display and the piles of tree cross sections in the "dining room".

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Seeing stripes



Eva Franco at Anthropologie

Nannette Lapore at Shopbop

French Connection at Bloomingdales


Am seeing a multitude of stripes out there as spring hits the stores. Even with the snow today, I think these dresses by Nannette Lapore and French Connection are easily wear now and transitional to warm weather. Add leggings and a jacket for the still chilly days and then wear layer-free when it heats up!