Friday Finds and Favorites 03.30.12

Yes, that is my dog in a graduation cap, and yes, it is the cutest thing ever. Even if he does look slightly terrified.

Happy Friday! Any big plans for the weekend? I've had a strong desire to bake for the past few weeks, so I'm thinking of finding something fun to make. Between my billions of cookbooks and my Sweet Tooth Pinterest board, I'm sure I'll find something.

Last weekend was all about The Hunger Games, so this weekend I'm thinking about seeing 21 Jump Street. It looks funny enough, but I've heard it's better than expected. Speaking of funny, did you hear about the Anchorman sequel?

Take some fonts on a date to see if they pair well.

100 of the greatest cooking tips of all time at Food Network.

An interesting perspective on the difference between top and average achievers.

Washi tape for you walls!

I'm not even this agile at 27, let alone 86!

With a massive to-do list that isn't going away anytime soon, I've been eating up any info I can find about productivity. The technique of creating a story from you to-do list is intriguing. In general, Lifehacker features great articles on productivity and efficiency. Perhaps I'd be more efficient if I stopped reading articles about getting stuff done....

Life Lately, According to My Phone

See that massive to-do list up at the top? That's what's keeping me busy lately. Other than that, there has been a lot of junk food consumed (Doritos Locos Tacos, anyone?) and a little bit of shopping for fun things to brighten up my spring (new sunglasses!).

Currently #1

Our collection of Chucks

Apologies for the radio silence recently, things are getting crazy over here (in a good way!) and I'll be able to share more next week. In the meantime, I thought I'd do a "Currently" post inspired by Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet.

Currently I'm...

Loving more sunlight in the evenings and the brief peeks of sunshine I see (almost) daily.

Thinking about where to travel next (still). I definitely want to visit Chase's sister in Utah this summer (I'm dying to see Zion National Park!) and our one year anniversary is in October and lines up nicely with some time I'll get off from work. I've never been anywhere tropical and I'm desperate to see some white sand and palm trees!

Anticipating a semi-big life change that will unfold over the next month and a half.

Listening to the new Punch Brothers album, First Aid Kit and Pandora during the workday. I like the randomness of the radio, and Pandora is the perfect fix because it has a lot less commercials than the real radio. Chase always makes fun of me for choosing to listen to the radio in the car instead of our iPod or CDs. Do you have any favorite Pandora stations? I'm looking to mix it up!

Watching Mad Men! I'm really late on the bandwagon, and I just started season one on Netflix last night. So far I really like it and can't wait to watch more.

Eating waaaay to much sugar. Seriously. I need to perform some sort of intervention on myself. I'm thinking of eating only the "natural" sugars of fruit and honey for the next week. Oh, man. I love honey.

Wishing that time would slow down. Things happen so fast the older you get. When I was 17 time seemed like it wasn't moving fast enough, but now I feel that each week speeds by and I'm not taking time to enjoy it all.

Well, off to watch some more Mad Men! If you do a "Currently" post, let me know, I'd love to know what you are up to!

Friday Finds & Favorites 03.23.12

Happy Friday! If you can't tell from the picture above, I'm in full vacation fantasy mode. My travel board on Pinterest will be getting a workout this weekend. I'd love to get away with Chase, even if just for the weekend, to somewhere pretty. We have a busy few months ahead so I don't think it's in the cards for us, but a girl can dream! What about you? Any big vacation plans (real or pretend!)?

My only pre-planned activity for this weekend is to see The Hunger Games on Sunday. Are you going to see it?

// Dreaming of vacation and loving these cabins (via Elise)

// As someone who has always fantasized about owning some sort of food-related business, this is refreshing. Especially after reading this negative article a while ago.

// This Tumblr had me laughing for hours.

// Thinking of making your own curtains? Check this out first. Very helpful tips that I hope to use in my next curtain adventure. P.S. Last time I sewed curtains I finished ONE and it hung solo for longer than I'd like to admit. I've made quilts before, why is a long rectangle be so hard?

// Do you buy a lot of cheap-o jewelry? I'm guilty! Apparently it's terrible for you. Good thing one of my 28 before 28 is to buy quality jewelry.

image via

Weekend in Review

We had a low-key St. Patty's day weekend - my socks were as festive as it got over here. Although, I can honestly say I've only had one year where I truly could not function the next day celebrated. Saturday we had some friends over to watch a soccer game and cooked up some brats on the grill. Later, we headed to a bar which was with full of bag-pipes and kilts, but we weren't feeling it and ducked out early to spend the rest of the night at home.

Sunday, I woke up to Zander taking up 1/2 the bed (leaving 1/2 for Chase and I to share) and got ready for my first Ultimate Frisbee game. We lost, but it was a lot of fun and I can still feel the burn today (note to self: get on a regular running schedule ASAP!). We ended the day with puppy class, grocery shopping and watching Frozen Planet. Did you catch it? I love any high-quality nature documentary with a celebrity voiceover and this one does not disappoint. I mean, come on, Alec Baldwin narrates!

Overall, a nice and relaxing weekend, just as they should be!

Friday Finds & Favorites 03.16.2012

This past week  at SXSW was amazing! I absolutely adore Austin and would move there in a heartbeat if it wasn't so far from my family. There was awesome music (we accidentally walked into the Ghostland Observatory show at Austin City Limits!) and great food (actually, it was harder to find free food than free alcohol!). It rained the first three days I was there, but that just made sunny Sunday and Monday that much sweeter.

The next few days I'd be happy to relax at home with no set plans except maybe to celebrate St. Patty's with yummy food and beer!

// How am I just discovering Red Band Trailer with Diabo Cody? This one with Mindy Kaling is my favorite.

// Prettypegs! via Design*Sponge

// This pretty much sums up SXSW Interactive in the best way possible.

// Has anyone used Foodily? I've been craving some really good homemade pizza and it's been a great resource.

// Major blast from the past. I used to looove Delias!

// One of each please!

On Repeat

Today I head back home from Austin. It's been an absolutely amazing trip, but I miss my husband and dog dearly. I have a long day of travel ahead of me due to everyone and their mother travelling to/from Austin, so please accept some Black Keys in my absence.

Friday Finds & Favorites 03.09.12

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a great week - enjoy the links below as you gear up for the weekend!

// The picture of Audrey above is part of a fun, new-to-me series, Jumpology by Phillipe Halsman. 

// "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Fashion I Learned From Project Runway." Yep.

// Figure out the ideal amount of taxes that should come from you paycheck. Especially helpful for anyone who has recently been married or received a pay increase/decrease.

// Joanna is offering 20% off ALL of ASOS through Sunday!

// I found two great articles that were left in the comments of this great post at Pink of Perfection about downtime.

// This doesn't surprise me, but it does make me want to go out and buy some cookbooks and food magazines.

// I've made jame, but now I want to make pink grapefruit marmalade.

// I'm a sucker for pasta sauce recipes.

Art to Inspiration: Dark & Stormy

I'm excited to be a part of Art to Inspiration again this month! You can learn more about the series over at Supal's blog, Chevrons & Eclairs. She's selected a piece of art by HENSE called Moonlight and everyone participating is free to interpret as they wish, whether it be a collage, music, cooking a dish, a DIY project...anything!

For some reason this painting reminded me of the early spring storms we've been seeing around here lately, so I created a collage based on the classic drink, the Dark & Stormy.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

If you'd like to see all of the Art to Inspiration projects or want to get involved (yes, you!), head over to the Chevron's & Eclairs Facebook page.

Weekend in Review

This weekend was gloriously beautiful and busy. First thing Saturday I hopped on to Blog Brunch and it was fabulous as always! Chase rolled out of bed shortly after and we headed off to a yummy lunch with friends and then caught a matinee of Wanderlust (better than I expected!). I felt a bit lame going inside a dark theater on what was probably one of the nicest days this year, but oh well.

Sunday was packed with shopping, a quick lunch, ultimate frisbee team practice (#16 off the list!) and puppy class. Lately, Sundays have been incredibly busy even though I set out for them to be my most uneventful day.  Although, sometimes I think I subconsciously make the day full to distract myself from the Sunday routine of dreading Monday. As long as the night is free, I guess. I actually get fiercely protective of my Sunday nights and start to feel anxious if they aren't free. Weird? Maybe.

I hope you all have a great week! Thursday I'm off to SXSW on a work trip, but I'll try to have some fun posts scheduled!

Friday Finds & Favorites 03.02.12

by Gregory Colbert

Happy Friday! Can you believe it is March already? We're almost a 1/4 through 2012 (wha?)! There has been a ton of slushy rain here this week, so I'm hoping it clears up for a few hours so we can have some fun outside.

Other plans include attending BlogBrunch tomorrow! It's all about projects and since I've just started a mini-one, I'm especially eager to see what all those smart ladies have to say. The rest of my weekend will be spent running errands and prepping for my trip to SXSW. I've never been to Texas, so I'd love to hear any recommendations you might have! I'm a pasty-white Northwesterner so I'm off to go work on my (spray) tan, but here are a few links from around the internets this week:

// This will save my legs from the burning (via Jezebel)!

// Going to spend some quality time with a few online magazines: Rue, Matchbook and a new fav, Wayfare.

// Bread shaped cookies! I love food shaped as other food.

// Purdy, purdy fonts.

// I made and LOVED the kiwi mango quinoa salad from Iowa Girl Eats. It was cheap, easy, went a long way and was very filling!

// These are on their way to me!