Weekend Fun: Dinner, Dessert, and a Miniature War

My parents had a Mexican-themed party tonight. Steak tacos, rice, beans, and then blueberry sauce on vanilla ice cream for dessert. Yum! A friend's little boy likes to play with my sister and my old toys. Tonight's game was "war". He had it set up pretty well I thought, which was kind of sad seeing as he's 6 and can imagine war so well, but also a little humorous.

Only Slightly Tacky...

...but how funny would this piece be above the bed, since I'm on the topic of art as a headboard. I just love the colors!From the David Lusk Gallery, by Alan Duckworth.

Autumn Wedding

Not sure why I'm thinking about this exactly, I don't even think of myself as they type who plans her wedding years in advance.....but then again, maybe I am just that type. I think I want a wedding in autumn, or possibly in the rain if that could be planned. Something cozy feeling.

From flickr, 1, 2,3 and 4

Art as Headboard

I have been so super busy lately with school that I have had no time to finish up decorating my room. The one main thing missing is a headboard, or something resembling one. I'm still on to this art as headboard idea. Here are some new pictures I found on Domino that are giving me some new ideas. They are before and afters, which I am a big fan of.

Where can I find a huge piece of artwork that could work as a headboard? Pretty much everything on Etsy is 10" long or wide. Other than Ikea I'm kind of out of ideas.

Stockholm and Artquirk

Just something funny I noticed. This photo from Lena Corwin's trip to Stockholm looks so much like Etsy artist Artiquirk's prints. Makes me want to go to some place in Europe and wind around all sorts of narrow streets. I could use a big vacation...

Holiday Leftovers

It's not the norm to have leftovers to take home from a Yom Kippur break the fast family dinner, but my Aunt makes the BEST kugle (koogle?). It's a Jewish noodle, egg, cheese, cinnamon, buttery, casserole with crunchy flakes and noodles on top. The best for brunch the next day.Also, I've been practicing my "food photography" and really trying to see what other people do with their dishes in magazines, blogs etc. It's an interesting aspect of photography that no one really talks about.

Black and Blue

I've been searching for a huge bag to bring to campus that fits my sneakers for the gym, my packed lunch, my coffee mug from the morning, my notebooks...I'm like a nomad. This one could fit Nerms too if I needed to bring her somewhere :) Black and blue is my new favorite color combination, especially going into fall. I got it for $50 from a store called Francesca's on Halsted (if you're in Chicago). It's that store's specific brand.

Tiled Headboard

If these were less expensive I'd think about tiling a headboard for my bed. I figure I'd need like 50 or so of them and at $18 that's just not practical. But wouldn't that look so cool and unique?

Found on Apartmenttherapy but from Urban Outiftters.

Desktop Wallpaper from Frankie

I am such a loser, I skipped out on my gradschool orientation to go to the gym, and then sit around catching up on blogs. I've got 2 years to get to know these people though right??

Reading Black Eiffel today I saw Frankie Magazine, which is a whole lot like Nylon but exists in the Australia. They have a whole section for pretty computer wallpapers which I always think are fun. I find myself switching in and out of wallpaper for my screen quite a bit with my mood.
Ps: thanks for all the good luck on the test!! I needed it badly. I will know by next week how I did.

Stuffed Peppers

The first thing I ever really cooked were these stuffed peppers and I think I've got it down now. Ground beef, onions, cooked and then combined with white rice and enchilada sauce. Then you boil the peppers with their tops cut off, stuff, cheese em' and bake for 5 minutes. Voila!

Please wish me luck on my calculus/algebra placement exam which will last me from 9am-12pm tomorrow :( My brain is so tired and sick of numbers! Have a good Monday everyone.

Burberry Rain Coat

I had the best afternoon shopping with my parents. We went to the farmer's market, and then my Mom and I went to the mall. She was so sweet and bought me some cute new shoes, and blue corduroy pants. But the highlight of my shopping trip was this Burberry rain coat which I made the mistake of trying on. I am now starting a fund to raise $695 for a jacket that protects me from the rain...from Burberry.

Happy Friday

Today REALLY felt like fall. I know I keep saying that. Nerms was feeling the chill when I took my air conditioner out of the window and put the screen in. She's never felt the wind before, being from nyc and all. The sunset looked really pretty off of my back porch too. Have a good weekend!

Rabeanco Ellie Bag

Ahhhh I just fell in love with this bag from Rabeanco, a bag design company from Hong Kong that I can't seem to really find anywhere! It is sold out on Custarddesigns website, the only place I could actually find legitimate Rabeanco bags. The straps have sequins!

BB Dakota

I am really getting into this colder weather. It makes for some wonderful hair days, frizz free. I really like BB Dakota's fall stuff. It's part punk, part lumber jack, and part 60s mod. Nice combo I'd say.

Domino Gets me Ready for Fall

It seems that when the temperature drops, so does my ability to hold myself back from purchasing all sorts of sweaters and boots. As I've been doing calculus for 3 weeks now, I'm tempted to come up with a formula that represents this function of temperature rates as relating to my bank account...

I have picked some semi-affordable things from Domino's October issue that I'm considering.

Can I get a 2nd opinion on these boots from Revolve clothing? They are cool because they have a hidden wedge, but I'm not sure that wedge is really attractive. I am only 5' so this feature would be beneficial!This red "groupie" bag from shopintuition is pretty cute, and large! Only $70.Ok, this one's not really "affordable" but I am in love with it. I NEED to find a green coat that fits like this. From new designer yigal azrouel.

Simpson Chair at EQ3

I had to check out EQ3 which Holly from Decor8 posted on today. I was slightly disappointed with the prices having geared up for them to be within my range. But I did get a new idea while browsing their site. I have this corner in my room that I'd like to use for "dressing" (aka throwing clothes onto when I'm too lazy to store them). How cute is this little guy?

Curry Chicken

So the one good thing about being new to a town and single is my cooking has certainly improved. I made a Thai curry chicken, sort of like panang curry tonight, and it was really good. It was so easy to make, with a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, curry paste, and curry powder. And voila! (or poof! I should say) I added a little saffron to white rice for color too.Can you tell I'm enjoying having my camera back? :)

Bridesmaid Dressing

I'm trying to help my sister with colors and bridesmaid dresses for her wedding. I have a question for those of you who are color-inclined :) She wants orange flowers, and her dress is...well, I'm not allowed to say anything about it. But it's classic, and pretty. We were thinking along the lines of navy bridesmaid dresses. I came up with this drawing. Does navy work for a June wedding if the flowers are bright and contrasting?

Weekend Fun: Chicago's Rooftops Rival NY's...sort of

This weekend I went to a fun party at a friend of a friend's new condo. Besides there being about 35 sorority sisters, and maybe 10 (frat) guys, the rooftop view was amazing. The Chicago skyline is so different than New York's, and so glittery!

Site Design

While I was in New York, I finally got a chance to visit Site Design. I actually get a lot of people on my blog through an old post I did about shops in Astoria Queens, so I am happy to do a little review of this store.

It was a lot smaller than I expected but crammed with some really great stuff. They even had some of my favorite Dkim prints on the wall. I would have loved to be able to bring back this orange chair to Chicago for my desk. The woman working there was extremely helpful and put me in touch with the owner about possibly finding this chair in Chicago. It didn't quite work out, turns out the chair is just a really cool vintage school chair, and she recommended Ebay. So, overall there are a few pieces of well-priced (under $100 range) vintage furniture, beautiful cards and prints, some fun coasters and other kitchen items, a good variety of pillows covered in scarf material, and beautiful display windows.

Fixer Uppers

Awhile ago I got some great stuff to spruce up my room from all over the place: Ikea, Anthropologie and my parent's house. I'm feeling pretty good about the state of things and am happy to finally have my camera back from New York so I can share.

Office/Closet with new Ikea Snille Chair. I hung up some vintage Puerto Rico postcards, and a Chicago map for some color.My antique dresser with some drawer pulls from Anthropologie. Makes for a good dressing station, though it's kind of cramped at the foot of my bed.This fake velvet lampshade added some plushness (is that a word?) to the room. I also got a fluffy white rug that makes things softer.Oh, and I finally brought back the vintage stepstool from my parent's house. It is too cute. It looks good with our turquoisey pitcher.

Lucky Magazine's Handbag Guide

How perfect! I'm in the market for a new, large, leather bag, and Lucky has a new fall bag guide online. The front flap bags remind me of grown-up schoolbags which is precisely what I'm in the market for.

Dresser Addiction

This feels strange to say but I am a dresser addict. I ended up buying new drawer pulls for my antique dresser which made it look more modern. (pictures when my camera is returned from New York) But I can't stop perusing Craigslist for vintage dressers! The one above is $50 and comes with legs. If you're in Chicago, it's located in Carol Stream. Maybe I should start some sort of online site specifically for posting my favorite finds after searching for things I don't really need...The one below is only $75.

Charlotte Ronson Sale

I wish I had seen this designer somewhere before the weather was about to get cold. But it's nice that these are now on sale at Pink Mascara.Oh, and how cute are these teal shoes?? Also Charlotte Ronson, but not on sale from Revolve Clothing.

Customizable Shoes

I just realized that Steve Madden has customizable shoes! Everything from their ballet flats, to espadrille pumps can be made to your liking. I made these navy flats with a red stripe in the back. I went with the no bow because I'm kind of over my ballet flats actually looking like little girl ballet shoes. These are much more mature, and only $100.

New blog and Cute Cards

Found Now Home is a newly started blog from a card and party hat (yes party hats!) maker named Leigh. She just finished a batch of cards for Anthropologie which is so cool, and I imagine would make her pretty big in the card world! I just investigated her online shop Notes Ink Dot Com and found some really nice things.