this & that: november

my "this and that"  monthly series is a place for me to share all of those miscellaneous pictures i've collected over the past month, both mine and others i've found around the interwebs.

discovered.

 {via dustjacket attic}

 {via aesthetic outburst}

{clockwise from top left, via: love, jenna, marta writes, poppytalk, poppytalk}

 {via from me to you}

  
taken.

 

 {thanksgiving at home}

 {first snow for me this winter - northern michigan}

 

{enjoying the day in petoskey} 

 {playing in the snow}

 {a toast to our new cottage on the lake}

 {anyone need any firewood?!}

xo. di. 

*images from my personal collection unless otherwise credited above

 

grateful: week 32

inspired by my reading of the happiness project by gretchen rubin, i am instituting monday "gratitude" posts (read here for more detail), where i will list "3 things i'm grateful for" from the previous week.

the 3 things i'm grateful for this week are:

1) we as a family got to sneak in time at home and in northern michigan over the holiday weekend.

2) after owning the piece of property for over a decade, my parents (finally!) broke ground on our soon-to-be new cottage in northern michigan last week. 

3) a most wonderful 5 days with the family for thanksgiving!

 {greeted with homemade mac n cheese upon my arrival home}

 {thanksgiving dinner table}

{thanksgiving night tradition: watching holiday inn as a family}

 {up north, michigan - dinner at vivio's - sister & fiance}

 {pizza + wine yum!}

 {trip into petoskey - sister & fiance in front of their wedding venue!}

{champagne toast at the house site}

this week's blog love:

• lana of lanalou style had the prettiest pictures from a gift fair.  lots of handmade christmas inspiration!
• dustjacket attic's sweet escape post had me wishing for ... a sweet escape!
• jamie of from me to you had the coolest farm photo shoot this week.  i don't think we're in kansas anymore...

here's to another grateful week.

xo. di.

*images from my personal collection

thanks.

today, along with many other blessings, i give thanks for you, dear reader.

happy thanksgiving!

xo. di.

*images clockwise from top: caitlin wilson design,  coco +kelley, from me to you, simple song design

my thanksgiving tradition.

i think i already mentioned that i'm one of those crazies who can not only recite almost every line of every friends episode, but i can also relate it to pretty much everything in life.  i know, crazy.  luckily, my sister and my best friend from college are the same (i wouldn't want to feel alone in this)!  

so even if you were just a casual friends viewer, you might know that each season's thanksgiving episode was a really big deal in the friends-universe.  sure there were christmas and halloween and wedding (so many weddings!  oh, ross...) episodes, but you always knew that thanksgiving was going to be one of the best of the year.  no wonder that 3 of my favorite episodes of all time are - you guessed it - thanksgiving ones.  
   

my tradition?  i rewatch all 10 thanksgiving-themed episodes throughout thanksgiving week.  need a little refresher on them?  i'd be delighted to share!

{"the one where underdog got away," season 1, nov. 17, 1994}

{"the one with the list," season 2, nov. 16, 1995} 

{"the one with the football," season 3, nov. 21, 1996}

{"the one with chandler in a box," season 4, nov. 20, 1997}

{"the one with all the thanksgivings," season 5, nov. 15, 1998}

{"the one where ross got high," season 6, nov. 25, 1999}

{"the one where chandler doesn't like dogs," season 7, nov. 23, 2000}

{"the one with the rumor," season 8, nov. 1, 2001}

{"the one with rachel's other sister," season 9, nov. 22, 2002}

{"the one with the late thanksgiving," season 10, nov. 20, 2003}

so which land on my overall "favorites" list?  that'd be seasons 3, 6, and 8.  season 8's "the one with the rumor" would be the famous brad pitt episode, which i admit now makes me a little sad (team jen!).  enjoy it below: 

 

does anyone else have this same tradition?!  or just me again? ;)

xo. di.

*all images via ew

holiday guide: online mags

leading up to that most special of days - christmas, of course! - i thought i'd share ideas i find for gifts, wrapping, decorations, and all of the little details involved in making a wonderful holiday season. 

 

2 of my most favorite online magazines - RUE and Sweet Paul - have recently released new issues, and since both of them are chock-full of holiday inspiration, they have officially been added to my holiday guide.

rue magazine's second issue is a delight.

 

  

and if you're looking for holiday recipes, sweet paul's third issue is the place to go:

i also want to include gifted magazine in the guide, which i featured a couple of weeks ago.

hope these help inspire!

xo. di.

*rue images, sweet paul images

grateful: week 31

inspired by my reading of the happiness project by gretchen rubin, i am instituting monday "gratitude" posts (read here for more detail), where i will list "3 things i'm grateful for" from the previous week.

the 3 things i'm grateful for this week are:

1) crossed off everything on my to-do list from the past week (it's sad how rarely that happens).

2) less than a week until turkey day!

3) harry potter 7.1 was great, and we had a lot of fun with it.  before the movie, we rewatched half-blood prince (movie 6) and i experimented with alcoholic butterbeer recipes, a classic harry potter drink.  they came out far better than expected!

{diane's butterbeer}

cream soda

shot of brandy

splash of butterscotch snapps

whipped cream on top 

this week's blog love:

• isn't this new york garden wedding featured on style me pretty just lovely?  cute little touches everywhere.
• oh hello, friend's studio tour of valdirose.  quite an adorable little space.
• jen of made by girl featured toronto interior designer jacquelyn clark last week.  really made me want to redecorate!  

here's to another grateful week.

xo. di.

*image from my personal collection

things i heart: emma's style.

"things i heart" is my friday series on the blog.  hope you enjoy!

with part 1 of the 7th harry potter (hp7.1 for short!  hehe) movie coming out today (i'm going tonight!), i thought it was fitting to focus on the fabulous emma watson, who plays one of my favorite literary characters, hermione granger.  all of 20 years old, emma has rapidly become a style icon.  i adore her. 

{from her first publicity still all the way to the met costume gala, may 2010}

 {top row: the tale of despereaux premiere, 2008; bottow row: london fashion week, 2009}

{outtakes from emma's burberry campaign}

 {teen vogue}

{harry potter and the half-blood prince premiere, 2009.  she even looks good in the rain!}

 {vogue italia}

 {through the years}

{marie claire, november 2010}

 {marie claire, november 2010}

 {the lovely ladies of harry potter, top to bottom: 

emma watson (hermione granger), evanna lynch (luna lovegood), bonnie wright (ginny weasley)}

xo. di.

*images: marie claire november 2010, all other images via bewitchthemind's flickr stream

artists.

i've mentioned in passing before that i'm involved with the joffrey ballet here in chicago.  i love having dance in my life, and the joffrey's young professionals group - the joffrey auxiliary board - is an amazing mix of young people who love art and love helping an extraordinary ballet company.  

before i gush too much, let me get to the point: today i'm letting my readers know about an opportunity we have right now for artists.  if you or someone you know would be interested in being a part of our upcoming art exhibit, see the announcement below (and feel free to ask me questions!).  

 

pass it along to anyone you like.  but hurry...the deadline for submissions is this coming monday, november 22!

xo. di.

*image 1 via pretty things, image 2 via dress, design & decor

girls.

"you don't have to lose the girl to be a woman."

- eleanor waldorf, gossip girl, november 1, 2010

gossip girl is so not a show known for its sound advice, but eleanor's mom-daughter talk with blair was a welcome exception.  i fully believe in and have unwittingly been trying to live my life by the above quote.  life can be so much for fun that way!

xo. di.

*image 1 & 2 via wolf and willow, image 3 via a beautiful mess