she, eight.

i wonder what she was doing last sunday. 

she takes a deep breath and a sip of champagne

as she waits for the red carpet to begin.

xo. di.

*image via

the oscars: red carpet 2012.

by now you've seen 8 bazillion (accurate) best and worst dressed lists from this year's academy awards, yes? so let me boil it down to a few favorites by color. 

stunning whites

{l to r: giuliana rancic in tony ward via, milla jovovich in elie saab via, gwyneth paltrow 

in tom ford via, octavia spencer in tadashi shoji via}

how'd you all feel about gwyneth's cape?!  i am on record as not a fan of hers, and that hair is sad, but the rest of this look is to die.  she knocked it out of the park, i cannot deny her that.  all of these ladies in white are workin' it.  as someone who dragged her mom to every prom-dress-selling-shop in metro detroit throughout the spring of 2002 (10 year reunion, what up?!) for a white prom dress, i consider myself an authority on white non-bridal gowns (not really), and these ladies are divine. 

striking metallics

{l to r: jessica chastain in alexander mcqueen via, stacy keibler in marchesa via, ellie kemper in armani prive via}

i would not reject any of the above :)

you might not know it from this post, but i do love me some red carpet color.  emphasis on red.  red dress, red hair.  yes, my favorite of the night was emma stone in giambattista valli.  emma was also the best part of the ceremony outside of this (which i can't stop laughing at.  i love you, jim rash aka dean pelton of community).

{1&2,3}

and yes, i do know about this, but i do not care.  so there.  ;)  who were your favorites (and not so favorites) this year?!

xo. di. 

*images as noted above

much love monday.

i like to use monday as a way to reflect on the previous week, to start anew, and to send a little love into the world.  won't you join me?    

today i am grateful for:

a good mixture of rest, work and fun.  if only every week had such balance.  

pictures worth a thousand words:

 {my valentine's flowers from c died in less than 48 hrs; a new leaf sent me an entirely new bouquet this week - i LOVE this store}

 {sort of as a joke, but also sort of serious (!), i bought these tervis tumblers for c and me}

 {midweek performance of the joffrey - and i totally impulse-purchased that beautiful book at the theatre}

 {brought these hyacinths (also from a new leaf!) to a bff as a hostess gift for a lovely sunday brunch}

 {live-tweeting oscar sunday with c.  yes i made him drink one of those lol}

this week's blog love:

• obsessed with sequins & stripes colorful fashion to interiors post. 
• jess of makeunder my life shared an important post on imperfections.
• some pretty garden eye candy from lanalou style.
• a cup of jo wrote a beautifully honest post about her life this past week.  
• some great small office space inspiration from centsational girl.
• how pretty is red valentino's spring 2012 collection over on dustjacket?!

and finally, my 2 chicago blogger friends alaina + danielle launched the amazing website/blog/lifestyle guide the everygirl this past week.  it's fabulous, and you should definitely check it out :)   

here's to another grateful and love-filled week.  

xo. di.
    
*images by me

winter beauty: february 24, 2012.

the winter beauty series: a picture or two to remind us there's some pretty to be found in these gray, cold days.

the photographer of these beautiful shots, ray atkeson, is perhaps best known for these vintage images of out west ski country in its early years, namely the 1930s-1950s.

xo. di.

*images via

best performances.

w magazine put together its annual "best performances" in movies of 2011, and the pictures are striking. 

 {viola davis in the help}

 {brad pitt in moneyball and the tree of life}

{melissa mccarthy in bridesmaids}

{jean dujardin in the artist}

 {george clooney in the descendants and the ides of march}

 

 {rooney mara in the girl with the dragon tattoo}

 {octavia spencer in the help}

 {leonardo dicaprio in j. edgar}

 {michelle williams in my week with marilyn}

what do we think about michelle williams with long red hair?!  more interesting than i would have imagined.  and any movies or performances you're really rooting for this year?  hugo was by far my favorite movie of 2011, but the buzz seems to be around the descendants, the artist and the help (that's a lot of "the" movies, huh?), but you never know!

xo. di.

*images via tom & lorenzo

warby parker.

let's talk men's fashion today, shall we?  an oft-ignored topic in the lady blogging world, as alaina pointed out recently.  when c decided he needed new glasses about a month ago, i remembered seeing this great company on a few blogs in the past few months, but the name escaped me.  things i remembered about it: had the same buy a pair, give a pair policy as the fabulous toms, the glasses were way cheaper than most stores, and you could try on a bunch of pairs at home.  after a little searching, i rediscovered warby parker. 

c chose 5 pairs online that he thought he'd like, and they arrived at our door in this cute little box:

after a few days of trying them on and mulling it over (you have to send back within 5), he made his choice.

pretty snazzy! 

after shipping the samples all back, c had his new glasses in just about a week.  for $95 no less!  you could say we're fans.

xo. di.

*images by me
*definitely received nothing for this post.  just want to share the fabulousness!

an outfit post.

whatttt?  yes, my first official outfit post here on a spot of whimsy.  the inspiration for the outfit and thus the post came a few weeks ago when i tweeted that i was debating a cropped leather jacket at h&m and feared i couldn't pull it off.  with a little encouragement from jill and sarah and a bit of a whim, i bought the jacket, knowing i'd have to go home and put outfits together i actually felt comfortable wearing out of the house before i could justify it.

the problem is that i generally run pretty preppy/classic in the style department, i'm cautious in picking up trends and when i buy something the goal is always to have it for years.  i still have some pieces from high school, for crying out loud.  so a cropped leather jacket is a major departure from the norm, as silly as that might sound.  but i was still drawn to it, and i really liked sarah's idea to pair it with a girly dress to balance out the look.

of course, i turned to pinterest for inspiration, and it offered up the goods: 

 {1,2,3,4,5,6}

side note: am in love with that oscar de la renta sjp is wearing above.  i just want to twirl around and around in that skirt. 

anyway, last saturday, i had plans to attend the chicago premiere of the joffrey ballet's new documentary, joffrey: mavericks of dance, followed by some wine at bin 36 with 2 besties.  a great night out in a great city, and a great opportunity for the debut of the jacket (now i'm just being melodramatic).  so, here's what i put together (and try to ignore the camera - c was out of town for the weekend so i had to get creative, as well as the mess behind me from the explosion that is c's closet as he gave himself about 15 minutes to pack for his trip):   

jacket: h&m (similar); dress: h&m winter 2011; necklaces: ann taylor & ann taylor loft, years ago; shoes: toms; tights: commando.

xo. di.

*all images belong to me except as sourced above

much love monday.

i like to use monday as a way to reflect on the previous week, to start anew, and to send a little love into the world.  won't you join me?    

today i am grateful for:

an absolute whirlwind week followed by a far quieter and restful weekend.

pictures worth a thousand words:

 

 {am officially in love with white poppies}

 {a present for c}

 {a valentine's cocktail: prosecco, st. germain, splash of cherry juice}

 {souvenir from last weekend's trip to the wizarding world of harry potter}

 {writing birthday thank yous}

this week's blog love:

• maybe my favorite post on ny fashion week (although that's hard to pick!): from me to you's backstage look at prabal gurung.
• lots of love for casee marie's posts at the girl who stole the eiffel tower this week: 5 lessons in style i learned from adele adkins and on cultivating a signature style.
• had belly laughs from these children's letters to God on from under the willow tree.
  

here's to another grateful and love-filled week.  

xo. di.
    
*images by me

winter beauty: february 17, 2012.

the winter beauty series: a picture or two to remind us there's some pretty to be found in these gray, cold days.

a valentine's day holdover, i suppose ;)

xo. di. 

*images via

just (about) one month.

we've almost made it: we are now in the month before the month in which mad men returns. 

so i read something interesting about mad men recently that i thought i'd share.  matthew weiner, the show's creator, cited the apartment as one of his major inspirations of the show.  written and directed by billy wilder, starring jack lemon and shirley maclaine, the movie is dark and funny and then dark again.  just like mad men - go figure. 

i didn't see the apartment until my girl crush kristin chenoweth was cast in 2009 as fran kubelik, shirley maclaine's character, in the broadway revival of promises, promises, the musical adaptation of the apartment.  my mom, sister and i literally planned a trip to ny in the spring of 2010 just to see the show while it was in previews, and it was one of the best nights of my life.  for reals.  now we were 4 rows back and we got to meet kristin and sean hayes after the performance, and that's all hard to top. 

{twins?!}

but the point is, the idea that mad men is influenced by the apartment really gets me thinking. 

like this thought from mr. weiner: "i saw it and realized that it was the apex of a period that i had already been fascinated with.  i loved the characters, and just writing-wise i always try and emulate that kind of storytelling, where the payoffs are visual and there's a lot of misunderstanding, but they're believable.  and the bad guys have a reason for what they do."

can this show be back on the air already?!

xo. di.

*image 1 via , 2 via my personal collection
 *story via

a perfect day.

or perfect birthday, more specifically, would be to do whatever clemence poésy is doing in these pictures!

guess i'll contend myself with a typical wednesday workday this year.  but that's alright, i did my celebrating last weekend :)  

you know i don't think i've ever seen clemence quite as cheerful.  she's usually in parisian chic mode, which doesn't allow a lot of smiling, but this works just as well for her, i'd say.

:)

xo. di.

*images via

heart.

dearest readers,

on this day full of love, i would like to virtually bring you some sparkly hearts (from ban.do) and a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons (from geronimo)...

and blow some confetti kisses your way.

whether it's a valentine/palentine/galentine day, i wish you a happy heart day! 

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3

much love monday.

i like to use monday as a way to reflect on the previous week, to start anew, and to send a little love into the world.  won't you join me?    

today i am grateful for:

a birthday celebration weekend with c in a decidedly cold orlando (45 degrees yesterday!) to visit/continue our obsession with the wizarding world of harry potter.  short and sweet, but it was pretty much a perfect weekend. 

pictures worth a thousand words:

{rifle paper co. valentine postcards sent to some besties + family}

{some red velvet treats sent to my sis from this recipe+ cream cheese frosting}

{loving the red pops of color in the apt right now} 

 {a favorite flower}

 {relaxing in the hog's head pub}

{stayed til they kicked us out so we could see this view} 

 

this week's blog love:

• the glitter guide put together one heck of a galentine's day (to use the words of leslie knope)!
• of course i loved mixtapes & cupcakes what would audrey do? post, using the recent matchbook mag feature on her.
• beautiful stories shared by six twelve place about forever love.
• capitol hill style has some fab ideas for how to tie belt-tails creatively. 
• i adore this oxfordshire cottage on a diary of lovely.

here's to another grateful and love-filled week.  

xo. di.
    
*images by me 

winter beauty: february 10, 2012.

the winter beauty series: a picture or two to remind us there's some pretty to be found in these gray, cold days.

i definitely heart snow.  except not today, because i'm flying to florida tonight with c for a whirlwind weekend in the sun to celebrate my bday (coming up next week!  28?  yikes).  may the good weather gods cooperate...  

xo. di.

*image 1, 2

LV animals.

is it even possible to resist loving these little louis vuitton animals?!  commissioned to celebrate lv's 100th anniversary in the leather accessories world, british artist billie achilleos put together a series of animals titled maroquinaris zoologicae.

frickin adorable.  

xo. di.

*images via here & here

it's better backstage.

as i become more entrenched in the cycle of fashion weeks, i realize more and more that the backstage shots are by far my favorite.  you see the collections in a far more interesting, real and personal way.   take dior couture, for example.

just stunning.  that is all.

xo. di.

*image via dustjacket