grand rapids bound...

here i am! longer break than i anticipated but short story is: we moved, we bought a car, i'm job-searching.  being jobless is pretty terrible, but the upside is i am free to drive up to grand rapids, mi this weekend and see one of my best girls: kate! I cannot wait to see kate and hang in a super cool little city.  zach and i will be spending st. patricks day in GR.  Normally, i'm not into st. patrick's day but this year is a total exception. we're staying at the gorgeous JW Marriott in downtown GR - it's a great place, then heading down to Irish on Ionia, the annual St Patricks Day party where they close down the street.  It's been mid-seventies here and looks to stay that way through the weekend.  hooootie hoo, we're ready to go!

oh, this is our new whip ;)

ps i want to take z to san chez. it's a silly, fun tapas restaurant with good food and better sangria.  see:

heart felt.

Valentine's day is only a week away! I'm looking forward to it simply because it's another day I get to spend with z.  Our plans are pretty simple: dinner at home, romantic movie trivia at the Savoy and perhaps catching a showing of The Artist which comes to town this weekend!  I've talked about movie trivia a bunch here but next week's will be special: all romance movies.  With Zach's infinite movie knowledge and my love of all things romantic, we're going to KILL it.  I just know it. 

Montpelier also does something else very special for Valentine's Day and since I still lived in boston last year, I didn’t get to see it.   The Montpelier Valentine Phantom spends the wee hours of February 14th decorating every surface of downtown Montpelier in hearts.  everywhere.  I can't wait to wake up on Tuesday and walk to town and see it covered in my favorite shape for one of my favorite days of the year!

NYE party.

the handmade photobooth turned out pretty great.  looking back, our apartment is just too small for it to be perfect but we had fun with it.  and that's all i wanted. 

the above shot is the backdrop which i LOVE.  since you all know i do everything on a tiny budget, i staked out some 50% off fringe at rite-aid and bought all they had in gold, silver and white.  this came to about $12.  i chopped it up and added sparkly gold ribbon i had on hand.  free!  then i made the props by printing images out, cutting them, adhering them to cardboard backing and added sticks. free! so for $12, we had a fun little addition to our party.  here are my favorite shots:

ps. i have another DIY coming up for you later.  inspired by maggie (z's sis), i gave myself ombre hair.  i LOVE how it came out:

incredible gifts!

wanted to give proper respect to my insanely awesome christmas gifts from zach's family.  they know me so well.  new leather bag, lots & lots of nail polish, crate & barrel gift card, camera, film, sweater, dress, and kitten slippers!

deborah lippman/lady gaga 3D holographic nail polish.  i have it on now.  amazeballs.

glitter.

new earrings i've been wearing daily.

this is a men's bag and sweater from banana that i picked out with my gift card.  in love with the men stuff for me.

photobooth backdrop inspiration

we're back from our trip to scottsdale.  we had a great time, we really did.   in all honesty, it was gift enough to see zach's family and spend time with them so i was especially taken aback by their incredibly generous gifts.  zach's sister maggie absolutely hit it out of the park with the christmas gifts she gave me.  tomorrow i'll show you photos of the gifts but my favorite of all my gifts was the polaroid camera maggie gave me.  it was her grandfather's so it came right from her personal collection.  i cried when i unwrapped it because it is so special. 

so now that we're back and looking forward to new year's eve, i have the perfect plan for putting the camera to good use.  my plan is to invite some friends to our apartment for champagne cocktails before heading to the bar but when they walk in, they'll be subjected to polaroid photos in front of a killer backdrop i plan on making between now and then.  below are some photos of the look i'm going for:

 this shiny fringe is actually my favorite.  simple. tacky. pretty and sparkly for nye.

gotta get to work!

holidaze.

Is everyone else feeling a little nuts with holiday stuff right now? I feel like I’ve been going non-stop which is making my impending vacation that much more sweet.  Yup, vacation.  Since my family has gotten zach for the past many holidays, this year we’re heading west for a warm Christmas with his family.  The last time I had a sunny, warm Christmas was {nine!} years ago when I was in Fiji dancing with fire dancers, sleeping with lizards crawling all over me and floating in clear blue water with nothing but islands surrounding me. Ah, I am totally lost in that memory.

the camelback inn!!

So on Friday morning we’re hopping on a plane and heading to Scottsdale, AZ for a few days to see zach’s family.  We’re staying at the BEAUTIFUL Camelback Inn in Scottsdale and I am so looking forward to the trip.  Zach has told me many times about the really great Xmas Eve traditions he has with his family (tamales, torta, tacos!) and how excited he is to be able to go this year.  I’m looking forward to a champagne brunch on Christmas and some SERIOUS lounging around. I’m also hoping to get in some thrifting, some swimming, going to the Saguaro (fingers crossed!) Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West and also the SMoCA.

taliesin west

 SMoCA

 the Saguaro.  featured in one of my favorite magazines, this is the new Saguaro.  if i designed a boutique hotel, it would be just like this: modern and poppy. and if i'm ever to get married, this would be my PERFECT venue. Oh, and the chef here? Jose Garces.  oh yes.

more wrapped presents!

love the plaid look of these.  

diy wrapping paper

tree and zach's gifts.

this year i decided to forgo tacky christmas paper and make my own!  i bought brown craft paper, broke out my paint, stamps, ribbon and washi tape and made persoalized paper.  i'll be wrapping more late so more photos to come.  i love this new tradition.

holiday wish list: what a girl wants.

or, more specifically, what this girl wants. For real though, i'm not picky or greedy but this may make life easier on the dudes in my life buying me gifts.

lodge moccasins, j crew. buy here.

pullover, etsy. buy here.

a pretty bow from my favorite vintage shop. red velvet.  (which just so happens to be in my brother's new town.  i see a visit in my near future.) buy here.

books by my favorite ladies: mindy kaling and tina fey.

blue velvet loafers.  because they are awesome.  in fact, anything blue velvet.  buy here.

season 1 of one of my favorite shows, felicity.

See?? i'm simple!