Pictures of My Family Vol. 1

I'm obsessed with the new blog pictures of my mother, a site that each day has a single picture to tell a story of how wonderful and strong our mommas are. Mine is the strongest of them all. In fact, my family is so beautiful and wonderful, I thought I'd share my own favorite pictures of them.

They are my everything.


It doesn't matter how long or how short I knew my grandparents. I am the person I am because of their love.

I'm such a daddy's girl.

My mother is my hero. She is as beautiful as she is strong. Our likeness is almost uncanny.

 

My parents are perfect for each other. End of story.

Huzzah for Septemberfest!

Ah, the first crisp, cool day of the fall has arrived, and my mom and I decided to go to the craft show at Schaumburg's Septemberfest to celebrate. I love craft shows. Absolutely love them. It's one thing my mom and I really bond over, and she always spoils me a little bit. This was the first outdoor craft show I've been to, but it was the perfect day for it. I got to wear the scarf I made with my bright yellow jacket and oxfords, how chic!

This show had everything: pillow with beer bottle holder? Got it. Wood sculpture of Obama? Done.

It was a huge show, but was a lot of artsy fartsy decoration stuff, normal craft show fodder, but I did find a few diamonds in the rough. One thing I did like but didn't buy is the new trend of utensil jewelry. Spoons bent into rings--who'da thunk it?

There was a pianist playing in the center and I bought two of his solo piano CDs. They are incredibly relaxing and I think they're available on iTunes, but you can check out Michael Strening's website HERE. He's incredibly talented.

I also got a bracelet from MakeShift Accessories. Devin Johnson makes amazing pieces of jewelry from reclaimed parts from cars, fire extinguishers, serving platters, gears, just about anywhere. They are truly a sight to behold. I think it took me literally 20 minutes to decide which one to buy. Each of his pieces tells a story. I was tempted to buy his bangle made from an art deco keyhole with a 1920s coin on it, but I picked this one instead.

The base comes from a 1960s anniversairy platter, there's a 1 kurus coin from Turkey, and the tag is from a car factory in [what else?] Kalamazoo for checking out tools. I absolutely love the history behind each piece.

I love craft shows.

Always and forever.

Red Like Regina

So basically, my orthodontist is a jerk. He never stands behind his work.

So I stopped at CVS on the way home to calm down, and I bought two of these:

These are Revlon Just Bitten lip stains. Mine are in "Flame" and "Twilight"...they're totally playing up the vampire mania, but hey, that seems to be working. I had a Covergirl lip stain in some pinkish shade...It was awesome how non goopey it was, but it wasn't that great of a shade and it does dry out your lips. These do too, but come with a lip balm on the other end. They're quite useful.

When this says stain, it means stain. The colors are incredibly pigmented, very dark, but if they're anything like my other one, the colors will be a little more subdued after a few uses. I really like them though. I think this one was "Flame." It's bright red, almost pink.

They make my green eyes pop with just a little bit of mascara, and it makes me look more like Regina Spektor. My cousin says I look like her anyway...what do you think?

What I'm Loving: Peter Pan Collars

How can a collar be so versatile? It's school girl, vintage, modern, sweet, playful, and just about a zillion other things that cannot be found in any of my wardrobe pieces. You know what that means--it means I've been mildly obsessing over this little scrap of fabric around one's neck that I must have/draft/buy so I can make millions of peter pan collared-goodness. Here's some inspiration for my compulsions:

I watched Gertie's vlog on how to draft such a pattern...I think this was the reason we've become smitten, that darn collar and I. But now you, too can draft your very own sewing ambrosia [I'm really liking that word] and be as adorable (well, maybe close) as me! I'm definitely gonna be doing the sailorish colors--possibly a removable bow? Velvet, I'd guess. Mmm. My mouth is watering.

What I'm loving:Toms and Sanuks

Maybe it's just the inclimate feeling of Spring I felt walking home, but I realized how much I was craving not-sandal-sandal-eco-friendly-shoes.

These are Toms Shoes: buy one and he sends a pair to a kid who needs 'em. How amazing is that?

Not to mention that some of them are vegan, and all of these shoes are absolutely adorable!

And these are Sanuks!

As the sandal-shoe hybrid, they breathe and bend but are perfect for people like moi who have abnormally long toes and would prefer to wear shoes anyway. Plus, they're made of natural and recycled materials. I. Must. Have. Seriously: being a universal do-gooder and chic footwear never made such a perfect match.

Yep, I'm definitely getting married in Toms.