Favorites of week no. 30

Here are a few favorite things that caught my eye around the web this week. Do you have any fun end of July plans? Can you believe next week we are in AUGUST! Have a fantastic weekend dear readers. What have been your favorite things you've seen or done this week?

1: Love the line Brochu Walker (via Mrs. French + Unruly Things)
2: Amy shared this limited edition polka-dot bike by Gorman Industries... so cool, along with this very pretty post - swoon.
3: Icelandic photos by Peter Baker (Bonnie Tsang shared)
4: Chance line -- if you haven't already, check it out.
5: A bit pricey, but the Impossible Project is rolling out polaroid film shipments

David Zimmerman

I've always been a fan of aerial photos, I think they are very interesting and often change my thinking perspective. These photos by David Zimmerman spotted over at A Pattern a Day just scream Summer.

hide those wires - prettily!

A sneaky tipster also alerted me to a very cool blog, on which I found an article that is VERY relevant to me right now as I move into my new house! It's about ways to hide your ugly computer/tv/electronic wires; OR, at the least, make them prettier. Oh, I have fallen deeply in love with these leaf ties. And the birdy ties. How awesome! I am SO ordering these as soon as I'm done blogging. Actually wait no, I'm doing it right now because I can't wait! There. Ordered. Anyway, I wanna turn my wires into vines like these and I shall, you just wait and see. I love the round routers too, but can't figure out how to order them as the site is all in Japanese...hmph. Alas, Bloomers, you would not believe how happy all this cord-hiding makes me feel.


{pic 1 from shop.gessoto.com via unpluggd; pic 2 from iida via unpluggd; pic 3 from PA Design via unpluggd; pic 4 is Shunsuke Umiyama's Midori AC Adaptor from iida via unpluggd}

Friday flowers

Peachy dahlias, which lasted all of two days but looked lovely.

{dahlias, milk glass}

We were walking home from the market and I was carrying my loot in my hands, sans bag, when I realized I had purchased these dahlias and one (heavenly) mango and I was wearing a peach dress. My produce coordinated with my outfit exactly. An amazing feat for someone who has never been able to properly identify complementary/matching clothes and who was pretty relieved when it seemed like the whole concept of matching was being pitched out the window.*

*It has been, right? I mean, people starting wearing black and brown together and then it just sort of spiraled from there, as far as I can tell. I won't say it was a huge relief, because I'd already given up hope of ever figuring out the matching rules, but it was a nice validation.

Free People

Enjoying the sneak peek of the Free People catalog shot in Marrakesh. It reminds me of the week I spent in Egypt back in the day the heat, sand, and camels -- oh my. Gorgeous.

A Love Letter to Running

I started to reminisce yesterday as I did my daily run.

Good morning, it's Sara Celi.

I was on the treadmill, trying to work in a quick two mile run when I started thinking about how far my feet have carried me.

Four years ago, I couldn't even run one mile. It was a real struggle. I lived in the deep South then, and had a job at KSLA in Shreveport. I remember seeing runners all around the town making their daily journeys, and looking at them with a tinge of envy. How could they do it?

Part of me doubted I ever could. I'd never been an athlete.

Then I met Sean (my husband now) and he encouraged me to try. We started running--just a little a first, and tried to work up to one mile, then three, then five. Sometimes it felt like I couldn't breathe, but we pressed on. We did a 5K, then a 10K, and I found myself wanting more.

Four years later, I've run hundreds of miles. I've already run 15 this week, and I'm in the middle of training for my second half-marathon.

Even my mother believes I'm an athlete now (*said with a smile).

So here's to my feet. They've carried me on this journey, they've endured the hours of punishing runs and dripping sweat. I owe them a lot.

Simon Filip

Check out this whimsical photography by Simon Filip. They all make me want to go someplace magical, and can you believe that Simon is only a teenager?! I can't wait to see what his future will bring.

(All photos by Simon Filip)

Thinking about aqua...

(Beautiful Jessica Hische letterpress prints now available // Ceramic Aqua Vase // Pie Charts // Map Tote - San Francisco )

Jim Denevan

I came across the work of Jim Denevan a few weeks ago.... not only does he do these breathtaking amazing drawings in the sand but is also the founder and organizer of a worldwide moveable feast called Outstanding in the Field. You should check to see if they are coming to a town near you. So inspiring!



(images from Jim Denevan)

Summer sangria

This might be the perfect weeknight summer drink - I hope you won't get the wrong idea when I tell you it reminds me of a wine cooler, except a million times classier.

{peach + mint}

It's fairly light, especially if you cut it with a bit of sparkling water. Perfect for sipping on the balcony on a warm evening (which we would have done, if the weather were willing to cooperate and warm up a bit).

{summer sangria}

Summer sangria (makes about 8 drinks - slightly modified from here)

1 cup loosely packed basil and mint leaves
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cups good quality peach juice (TJs has a nice one)
1 (750 ml) bottle dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
1 liter of sparkling water, if desired

:: Place herbs in a small saucepan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Smash the leaves with the back of a spoon, until they're a bit bruised.

:: Add about half of the peach juice and heat the mixture over medium heat. Bring just to a simmer and then turn off the heat. Allow the mixture to stand for five minutes or so.

:: Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve and into a heatproof pitcher. Add the remaining peach juice and the wine.

:: Chill at least one hour or overnight. Serve with sparkling water to taste (we filled each glass 1/4 full with sparkling water and then added sangria) and garnish with herb sprigs or peach slices, as desired.

Kindness of Strangers

As I posted in an earlier blog, I'm training for the Columbus Marathon.

Hey everyone. Rob here. Back from a few days off.

I don't want to jinx myself, but training is going better than expected. I'm surprised. Why? Because it has been so hot this summer. Figures show that last month was the hottest on record.

This month hasn't been much better.

This past Sunday I started my 11 to 12 mile run early at about 8:20.

The plan to beat the heat didn't work. It was already 82 degrees at the start of the run.

I started at my gym in Bellevue, ran across the Purple People Bridge, down Eastern Avenue to Delta and back. The run was hot, humid and hard. As I crossed back over the bridge, I read 90 degrees on the spinning Western Southern sign above Fort Washington Way. I only had about a mile left but I was struggling. That's until I saw something welcome but unexpected at the end of the bridge.

I saw Tommy and Lashawanda. They are members of the New Beginning Community Church in Newport. They were handing out ice cold water. About 1,000 of them. A lot of people were asking, "Why are you doing this?" They replied, "We thought it would be nice." And it was. I finished the rest of the run with smile on my face.

Meg Ruth Photography + Giveaway

(*The giveaway is now closed and winner has been announced)

Last spring I won a photo shoot giveaway by Meg Ruth Photography, so I decided to have some photos of our daughter taken, and above are a few of my favorites.

Cool part? Megan is kind enough to offer a photo shoot for one of you readers also! This would be a great opportunity for one of you lucky ducks to get some fabulous shots. The giveaway includes a free session with a disc of 15 of the winner's favorite images and 15% off any prints purchased for 1 month after they go live on the proofing site. Megan was a joy to work with, and it was a lot of fun to watch her do the shoot -- she is really great with kiddos. Check out her website here.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below -- it is open until Sunday evening, and the winner will be randomly selected and announced on this post on Monday! **The winner can be located in Utah, Vegas, or the Los Angeles area or make arrangements to get to one of those areas for the session. You will coordinate with Megan, of course.

Good luck everyone and thanks Megan!

* The winner randomly selected through random.org is Mo from Pink Argyle. Congrats Mo!

papery details

Lately I've been noticing an awful lot of papery details making a big impact in event decor. My mom used to be the queen of making giant crepe paper flowers and helped pay her way through university by making them for store front displays! It seems like the 1960's paper flowers are making their way back but in a more modern way...like a modern version of the bell bottom! These kinds of details make for a heck of a lot of DIY craft time but it sure would cut down on floral costs and it looks pretty marvy!

This "teal and yellow circus wedding" {AHEM!!!} found via Style Me Pretty has some yummy paper features including an entire bouquet!


Oh my word the gorgeousness! LOVE LOVE LOVE this design! Found via Green Wedding Shoes

These are fakes! I think in this case it might have been cheaper to buy the real flowers!!! Found via Kenzie Kate

Really like the look of this table! Combined with simple florals it gives a really interesting look...would be perfect for a baby shower or bridal shower. Found via Ritzy Bee

I think I posted this once before but these vellum paper mobiles are a simple and modern visual that would be great for a casual get together! Found via Coco + Kelley

Organizing

Saturday morning started out as perfectly as a morning can. I slept in (until 7:30 am, which is about as much as I can handle), made tea and went back to bed and actually managed to read some poetry, an elusive pleasure lately. Mysteries and novels, yes. I fit those in on the bus and at the gym and while the Tour de France plays in the background and often while I stir something on the stove. Novels are great for multitasking. Poetry requires a bit more of you, more presence, more thought, more quiet.

But this isn't about poetry. Because after I read some poetry I realized that breakfast would be a logical next step and while I was trying to decide what to make (we were lacking milk and bread and many other breakfast things) I got distracted by the glass jars I'd purchased ages ago at the thrift store. Shouldn't they be filled already? So I filled them.

{organizing}

And the cupboard immediately looked so much better, cleared of a few boxes and bags. I had to keep going. At this point D came home from his bike ride and asked if I wanted to get lunch and I realized hours had passed and that I hadn't had breakfast yet.

{cupboards}

Sadly, I don't have a beautiful cupboard full of glass jars (yet) but I labeled all my plastic Ikea bins with a Sharpie. I'm sure it would have been more elegant to print out beautiful little labels for them, but the pen was handier. And if you're worrying that I've now irreversibly committed my containers to their contents, I'll let you in on a little secret - Sharpie is not totally permanent. On glass or plastic, a bit of isopropanol will wipe it right off. Isopropanol is the most common form of rubbing alcohol, so you might have some in your cupboard (but check and make sure - some rubbing alcohol is ethanol, which has no effect on marker). Obviously, if you have something you really love, check to make sure the alcohol will take the marker off before you start scribbling all over it.

In my dream life, everything is stored neatly in these Anchor Hocking Emma jars. I can't tell you how many times I've considered purchasing them, but I can't quite bring myself to do it because I already have something that works. So I just stare at them sometimes.

{anchor hocking emma jars - image from manufacturer}

I've almost talked myself into it. I mean, they're pretty great, right? Square bottoms, glass lids, come in different sizes (10 oz, 20 oz, 32 oz). I just hate buying something new to replace a system that is already functional. I'll report back on whether my willpower continues to hold out.

Brandi Strickland

Brandi Strickland is an incredible mixed media / collage artist and her work is colorful, moving and feels like summer to me. Have a peek at her shop and website.

Flying Through The Air With The Greatest of Ease

There's just something unnatural about jumping out of a tree when you're several stories up. I did it anyway.

Sheila here. You don't have to go far to have an amazing adventure. Just an hour from downtown Cincinnati, you can fly through the trees at Dagaz Acres. Patrick and Lori Noonan opened their scenic zipline course about a year an a half ago in Rising Sun, Indiana. They wanted to give families a way to spend time together and get out into nature. This is one fantastic way of doing that.

You may remember, Rob, Frank, Meghan, Dan Carroll, and I tried it out not long after it opened, and I finally got back out there with my daughter Katie, and our friends Sara and Lisa.

I felt a little more confident when I started running for the first zipline, since I'd been there before. The first time I was terrified! You can't help but get a little scared when you catch your first glimpse at what looks like a pretty thin wire stretching over valleys which get bigger and bigger.

My 16-year-old daughter Katie and her friend Sara screamed on their first zipline, but I'd say they were a lot more daring than their moms. I think it's because there's something in my brain which is screaming, do not jump out of this tree! It was screaming especially loud on that very last zip, which is in the background in our group photo.

Patrick and his son Joe run Dagaz Acres, and they've done a great job of clearing out older trees on their many acres to make way for new growth. They get some help from local Boy Scout troops, and in exchange, the boys get a place to earn their badges and commune with nature. They spend a lot of days and nights there.

Every summer I try to find a few special ways to

spend time with Katie, and our day at Dagaz

Acres was perfect. We laughed together (sweated together too!), and the girls had fun trying to knock us moms off of the Burma bridge. Lisa and I were tough! We stayed right on there, no matter how much they jumped on the wire. One thing that really stuck with me, outside of the time spent with Katie, was how fresh and clean everything looks and smells when you get out in the woods. We don't do it often enough.

I was surprised when Patrick Noonan told me he gets a lot more visitors from Indianapolis than from Cincinnati, especially since we are a lot closer. Dagaz Acres may be in Indiana, but it's an

easy drive from the city, and I hope more people will take advantage of it.

Patrick has a discount coupon on his website along with more information. http://www.dagazacres.com/

And if you have a little time to kill, you can watch the Fox 19 Morning News Team taking on Dagaz Acres here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDRErJW3xNE

ryan + tahlia: a super awesome barn wedding

you can't tell from this pic, but the wine was propped on birch disks. might be one of my fav parts of the wedding design!

Carrie Underwood, no?



... using a white mailbox for the "incoming mail"!


table numbers made out of pieces of birch wood!

cuppppieessss....my weakness

the bridesmaids looked lovely, especially against all the green lush foliage outside the barn

the groom and groomsmen all wore these cute bowties!

Ryan's mom found these cute candles as the personal favours. Note the placecards, written on river stones.

the guest book was two wooden oars that guests signed!

Last weekend, the Bloomers were back at Massey Barn to set up another wedding, this one with a totally different theme than Candice's also-beautiful wedding! Ryan and Tahlia are both creative and really uber-thoughtful people, with a strong penchant for nature and the woods! But Tahlia also wanted a bit of modern-ness stuck in there as well! So, with that, the handsome groom and the gorgeous bride (who bore a STRONG resemblance to Carrie Underwood, might I add) entrusted the Bloomers to create an atmosphere fitting to both their personalities. Ryan, an artist /carpenter/biologist (um, yah!), made the table signage himself by finding pieces of birch in the forest. He also built the lovely canopy for their ceremony, which I will post pictures of shortly, when we get them from the photographer. To boot, the two of them stuck to their "natural" guns and insisted the ceremony be held outside even though it was raining! And I have to say...there was something so cozy, so lovely and so touching about watching them get married under the birch canopy amidst the light, misty rain. The bridesmaids green dresses and the groomsmen's matching bowties just popped against the lush willow trees in the background. Breathtaking! Congratulations guys.

{All of these awesome photos taken by Craig Morrison.}