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: 

what a great little whirlwind weekend.  so much good olympics-watching.  and relaxing family time.  and celebrating with old friends on sunday afternoon. 

pictures worth a thousand words:

{pimm's cups for the olympics!}

 {tickets from the seriously cool titanic exhibit at the henry ford - "my" passenger survived!}

 {my present to sis & andy in a jesslc tote}

 {beautiful decor for the couples' shower}

 {more great decor - each location on the flags means something to the couple; we have creative friends}

{i know this looks staged - but it's not ;)}

 {sundae dishes ready for dessert}

{cheers!}

this week's blog love:

• my obsession with hand-lettering/typography continues courtesy of besotted brand blog.
• wanted: a wrapping cabinet like mrs. lilien's.
• michaela noelle designs shares some great design tips for everyone.
• an adorable guest post from tamra of ever swoon on small shop studio on halston hair pieces; so fun!
• loved learning about revae schneider and femme du coupe on the everygirl.
• his & hers shared some seriously gorgeous images from london.

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

xo. di.
    
*images by diane crary

friday free for all: the calm.

i toyed with unleashing my anglophilia for a second day in a row for today's free for all, but ultimately decided to spread it out a little.  today is just the start of 2 weeks of olympics-mania, after all!  so stay tuned for next friday's post which, if i had to guess right now, will likely be a running list of my favorite moments from week one :)    
 

so what's going on this weekend?  well c and i are actually driving to michigan after work tonight, so we will likely miss - gasp - a good chunk of the opening ceremonies (don't worry, i already dvred it).  a couple's shower is being thrown by family friends in honor of my sis and her fiance on sunday afternoon, so that's the impetus for the trip home, but we also all kinda collectively decided to take a mini-hiatus from the wedding planning to spend saturday visiting the titantic exhibition at the henry ford museum in detroit as a family.  it'll be a nice calm before the storm of the final month of preparation.

and these images?  don't really have to do with anything (that's the beauty of the free for all, right?).  i just think mila looks gorgeous in these new dior fall 2012 ads and wanted to share.

 

have a wonderful weekend.

 

xo. di. 

*image 1,2,3

paper plates.

it's olympics opening ceremony week, people!  so let's defer to vogue uk for an absolutely gorgeous olympic sport-inspired editorial. 

"strength meets beauty as the spirit of olympia is captured in gentle wedgwood pastels and soft dove whites - for the prettiest of sporting tableaux."  yes, indeed.  

xo. di.

*images via tom & lorenzo

blog me (maybe).

like a week before blogger blitz chicago on july 15, i suddenly realized i didn't have a blog calling card to pass out, so i made quick work of making some up.

{i started with ordering a couple of personalized stamps from rubberstamps.net.  it was quick and relatively cheap - and you just upload the images you create.  i downloaded the respective font for free for the script and used alexandria for the blog contact details.}

{the stamps came out beautifully, far better than i was expecting even!}

{i ordered this awesome white chalk ink pad from amazon; it ended up covering so well}

{my supplies: stamps, ink, twine + black cardstock}

{cutting 3.5" x 2.5" tags}

{cut the corners off .5" down}

{hole punch each}

{and start the stamping!  when you stamp, make sure you try several on scrap paper until
you get the hang of your stamp; each has its own quirks}

{waited until the front side dried, then stamped the other}

 {added a little sparkle with olive manna twine}

 {finished product}

very happy with how they turned out!  next time, i'll try not to wait until the very last minute to throw these together ;)

xo. di.

*images by diane crary

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: 

what a whirlwind weekend, but we got so much work done at our cottage and it's really starting to come together (and we're all grateful for that, because sis's wedding is just 33 days away!).  

pictures worth a thousand words:
  

 {could sit and watch the lake for hours from the 2nd floor balcony - and i intend to, when the work is done!}

 {oh the yardwork.  but so much progress made this weekend!}

 {sleepy pup on the porch}

 {pretty little touches in my bedroom}

{testing cocktail recipes for sis's wedding}

 

this week's blog love:

• how amazing does catherine of the lifestyled look in this feathered tutu, paired with menswear no less?! a fabulous combo.  also adored her post on gazebo mornings - i'd like one of those today.
• wit and whistle now makes rubber stamps!  yes, please.
• when it comes to eyewear, hip hip gin gin wants to know: are you a marilyn, an audrey, or a jackie?
• great table decor inspiration from papery & cakery.
• so glad his & hers shared these hilarious and spot-on illustrations of fashion icons created for refinery 29.

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

xo. di.
    
*images by diane crary

friday free for all: in the garden.

c and i are heading to my family lake house in northern michigan this weekend (which we have recently lovingly nicknamed the very apt "the yellow house").  but don't mistake this for a leisurely weekend by the lake: this is another working weekend, with lots of mulching and landscaping and garage-cleaning to be done.  i think i've mentioned before that the yellow house is the site of my sister's wedding in just over a month, so, ya know, the game faces are on.  

i'm pretty sure we won't look as lovely as the gardener above, nor will our wheelbarrows be full of anything that pretty.  but this wouldn't be a blog if i didn't pretty it up a little bit ;)

have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2

market flowers.

last weekend at the green city market, i picked up 3 individual bouquets for a total of $15.  and then i spent a good half hour arranging them all together :)  

 {one for the coffee table}

{one for the dresser}

so much color for so little $ makes me a happy girl.

xo. di.

*images by diane crary

prosecco + sorbet.

inspired by the 100+ degree heat we were expecting on the 4th of july, i ran to the grocery store the night before to pick up a few different flavors of sorbet, while simultaneously nicely requesting/instructing c to pick up a couple bottles of prosecco on his way home from work.  the result was divine.

we slept in late on the morning of the 4th, uninspired to leave the air conditioning, and i put these together in a snap. 

just pick your favorite flavor of sorbet (or even combine a few!) and plop a few spoonfuls in a glass.

add prosecco.

and sip!  

i told you they were easy.  the sorbet keeps the prosecco amazingly ice cold, and it also adds just enough flavor as it starts to melt in the glass (note: they may also be "addicting" and "make" you take an afternoon nap on the couch before finally making it to that pool party you were supposed to be at a lot earlier.  i said may).   but don't you think these would be perfect for a mimosa bar - have a variety of flavors for guests to add to their prosecco/champagne?!  yes, please.

xo. di.

*images by diane crary

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: 

c is back from his week-long beach vacation with his family (i missed him a lot).  also got some fun diy projects done and spent sunday afternoon meeting new bloggers and catching up with old friends. 
 
pictures worth a thousand words:

{a very impressive $10 trader joe's bouquet}

 {bday present for c's lovely mama sent with him to the beach}

{first steps in my calligraphy course - pencil first}

{a very lovely sunday afternoon spent at market for #bloggerblitzchicago - thanks to av of long distance loving for organizing!}

{my new blog calling cards - diy re-cap coming soon!}

this week's blog love:

• if you haven't seen the coveteur's take on clueless yet - click here now, so fabulous.
• a glimpse of glamour shared her night at cirque du soleil's totem.  this looks amazing.
• i just loved reading what erika of small shop studio had to say in her if bloggers ruled the world feature on julip made.
• channeling contessa's series on food photography has been extremely helpful.
• i have so enjoyed hearing about miel et la lune's film bucket list updates.  now that she's completed her list, here's her best and worst of film.

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

xo. di.
    
*images by me