break time

any dc residents know anything about this?

at the park

playing with my new wide-angle lens attachment

buy trader joe's chocolate croissants. do it.

testing out the new roasting pan

sweet carolina

touring magnolia plantation

what a view! 

photo op!

downtown

fancy downtown house numbers

lucky shot at the battery

mini fried-to-order cinnamon and sugar donuts @ the market

friday smile

via the doctor's closet

the weekend's here. . .

tops + bottoms

by couldawouldapica via polyvore

it's been a mild late fall/early winter here in dc.

but i feel like the cold will hit us soon enough.

_ _ _

chilly weather calls for chunky cable knits. 

and those sweaters can be dressed up, down or fall somewhere in the middle, depending on your choice of bottoms, tights and footwear.

in my mind (almost) all of these sweaters can be paired with (almost) all of these bottoms. 

and i love that.

there's something fun about pairing a chunky sweater with an airy knife-pleated skirt or gold sequins.


i also love wool shorts in the winter. and dc's mild enough that you can pull it off usually.

_ _ _

bring it old man winter.

i'm ready.

charleston

gotta have boiled peanuts

at the market

breakfast

awesomely spicy bloody mary, also from hominy grill

had a great time seeing the fam. sad to leave but we made some good memories.

more pics to come

kern me

screenshots via http://type.method.ac

here's a fun little activity - and something i've never seen before.

'kern me' challenges the user to 'set' the typeface in a pleasing-to-the-eye format. using your mouse or arrow keys, start dragging away until it looks good. 


the letters turn cyan while being adjusted (see below)

the fun part?

it shows you how accurate your adjustments were on a 100-point scale.

here's some of my results:

proud of myself for this one!

_ _ _ 

enjoy testing your typographic eye + happy kerning!

potw: wish you were here

postcards are fun.

postcards printed on kraft paper cardstock are awesome.

_ _ _

this is designed beautifully. 

i love the map + the pop of color.

it's by pepper press, a letterpress design studio based out of brooklyn that's cranking out all kinds of pretty paper goodies on their vintage vandercook/chandler & price machines.  

_ _ _

it's always fun to get a postcard + this is one i really wouldn't mind getting in the mail.

 

outta here

via silverbox creative

i'm off to charleston, sc to visit the fam.


can't wait to feast on southern food.

see you suckers next week.

six months

i'm not a fan of countdowns.

it might sound lame, but i think that while countdowns can be exciting and ramp up anticipation, they also prevent you from enjoying the present. 

want to hear something even more lame?

as a college freshman, i was in a long-distance relationship with my high school boyfriend (that's not even the lame part yet), and we were going to finally see each other over christmas breakzomg. i made a daily countdown for myself and every morning, i'd rip off a number with great gusto, knowing that i was one day closer to reuniting. 

yeah. we broke up in january.

but my point is, by focusing SO much energy on that stupid countdown, i kinda forgot about enjoying my first semester of college. sure, i had fun, but i wasn't fully there.

so when i realized that today is six months from me turning into a mrs., i got excited. then i remembered my countdown theory and quickly tried to put it out of my mind.

but i'm also a planner and organizer. and reaching the six month mark was sort of a wake up call that it's really happening. and it's gonna be here sooner than i think.

_ _ _

it also got me pumped to know that, as much as i've sorta enjoyed planning the day and collecting decorations for the space, there's also an end. and it's now within my sights. 

and that means summer.

[my favorite]

and summer clothes.

[also my favorite]

with that in mind, here are some pieces i'm excited about for the warmer weather months.

by couldawouldapica on polyvore

i realize it's only december 16. and i know my stance on countdowns. 

but i'll make a slight exception just this once.

because it's never too early to start dreaming of summer nights.

totally sure

via lunchbreath | here too

saw this poster on mstetson's awesome blog, and i really like it. 

the walls of our home are still pretty bare and i enjoy this little guy.

plus i adore illustrators.

this poster is by tony ruth of lunchbreath. 

[there's a whole bunch of other cool stuff on the site, too.]

as soon as i get my paycheck, this beautiful design is mine.

can't wait

ranch style

i'm a big fan of ranch. but i'm also insanely annoying picky about my ranch.

i don't want dill.

it better not taste like mayo.

or buttermilk.

i got sick of being disappointed, so i started looking for one i could make at home.

_ _ _

i found this recipe on the parsley thief over the summer and made it for a bbq.

there's always some kinks to work out when trying a new recipe, and on my first attempt, i made the slight mistake of not letting the flavors marry long enough. 

it wasn't bad. but it wasn't good either. just sort of bland.

i was bummed.

why wasn't it better?

i decided i'd taste it again the next day.

you know, just give it one last go before looking for a new recipe.

omg.

letting it sit overnight in the fridge made the biggest difference. it was like a completely different dip. and it was perfect.

my spread!

_ _ _

semi-fun fact: even though the original post on the parsley thief is two-plus years old, i was excited to see the recipe make a recent appearance on the blog.

gotta love a tried and true recipe.

i had a work event yesterday, and this has become my go-to for an easy + generally crowd-pleasing appetizer. 

dig in.   

in other news

tyra announced the 'winner'

lucy sports a festive collar

my interests are all over the map

a rarity

engagement photos by erin lassahn

'it's a rarity to find someone who forces you to [be] better. even rarer when they make you want to be better all on your own.'

-via katie's pencil box | thankful thursday

_ _ _

boy, i know i am a handful at times.

but your patience and kind heart always amaze me.

i'm too lucky + i can't wait officially do this thing called the wedding.*

_ _ _

*i try to keep it light on here, to not bitch about personal haps and whatnot, but between the crazyholidaymadness plus holiday travel and the wedding and still trying to get settled in the new house with the dog, i've been more than a little on edge lately and wanted to give a shout out to the boy who i love with all of my little heart.

potw: right this way

via paper lovely

via my personal artist


letterpressed escort cards.

not for the faint of budget.

but hey, if you're gonna go all out with a wedding paper suite, do it up big time and letterpress all the things.

_ _ _


i wish i could letterpress all the things, but for our festivities, we'll only be full-out letterpressing the invites. everything else will be flat printed (on beautifully thick paper of course!)

_ _ _


these little designs are both adorable though.

tangerine dream

yesterday pantone announced its color of the year

via pantone.com

according to their press release, tangerine tango 'marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy'

who couldn't use some emanating heat in december?

_ _ _

i'm excited about their selection this year (better than honeysuckle!)

one of the first posts i did was all about orange, and since i don't want to repeat what's been done here, i put together this ode to tangerine with a focus on a few cold weather items instead of all summer stuff.

by couldawouldapica on polyvore

these beautiful pieces are all well outside my price range (and admittedly, some are a bit more orange than i wanted), but it's still fun to look.

_ _ _

know what else?

as luck would have it, tangerines and other small citrus items are in season right now.*

how delightfully serendipitous of nature + pantone to coordinate like that.

whole foods has a great post (including recipes) about the different types of citrus in season now (satsumas, tangelos, clementines)

if you're feeling more ambitious, you could try this recipe for clementine macarons from creature comforts

clementine macarons image via creature comforts

or what about a clementine cosmo made with fresh squeezed juice?

or a tangelo tonic?

via kelly oshiro events

there's a lot of possibilities to please the palate and punch up your wardrobe.

have fun with it

_ _ _

*not in dc, but in regions where these fruits grow.

unique new york

you like that sweater? different, right? i'm super into it. 

been feeling graphic patterns lately (in both home and body decor) and this hood-less sweatshirt fits my mood perfectly.

i found it via of a kind, a company and website dedicated to supporting up-and-coming artists and designers. that sweatshirt? made by jesse kamm. 

it's a cool idea since the artists get exposure and if you purchase something, you'll have a special piece that probably very few others will. read more about the company and how it got started here (i dig a good 'about' section) and find other work by the designers featured on their site here.

there's so much cool stuff, it's kinda crazy.

via reytan.de

this non-functioning (but fashionable) watch bracelet caught my eye too. it's by denise julia reytan. 

i mean, idk about you, but if i want to know what time it is, i reach for my cell. adding this bracelet to your stack of bangles or rockin it as a solo piece is a fun way to hop on the timepiece train without making the full commitment to wearing a watch. 

(is it really a huge commitment to wear a watch? no. i just have never been a watch-wearing woman.)

have fun poking around of a kind. 

i know i will 

quick recap

at a local hardware store

cutting plywood to size for the table project

teeny tiny wedding suite preview (!)