friday free for all: last weekend of summer.

last sunday, the day after sister's wedding, we had 2 crazy storms move through burt lake, and we all praised the lord for the good weather we'd had the day before.  as the sun began to set, however, it also broke through the clouds, so c and i went down to the dock for some sitting, and we were inspired to hop onto the kayaks we keep down there.  i happened to have my phone on me, and the beautiful colors were too great to not share here.

which brings me to this weekend, the unofficial end to summer.  where has the time gone?!  fall might be my favorite season, but i'm not really ready for summer to be over either.  this labor day weekend i'm lucky enough to be visiting with c's family at their beach house on long beach island, nj (yes, more traveling!  no rest for the weary, but i wouldn't have it any other way), so i'll get some good beach days in before the boots and scarves come out to play!

what are you up to on this holiday weekend?  whatever it may be, have a wonderful one.

xo. di.

p.s. congratulations to the winner of the $50 shabby apple giveaway, # 20: april g!  i will be in touch with you shortly!

*images property of diane crary

a wedding gift.

i know just yesterday i said i'd spread out the wedding talk, and i will, but i'm antsy to share what c and i gave the happy couple cause i'm kinda in love with it: a custom piece of art from alexander & co. that looks like this:

working with alexander & co. on this was seamless, quick, easy and kinda perfect.  i found them through a run of the mill "unique wedding gifts" google search (seriously!) and when an image for a "grand hotel" poster came up - which also happens to be in northern michigan - i immediately clicked through to see more.

you provide the names, location, and date.  they do the rest.  mine arrived in a little over a week (!), but i think the norm is more like 2-3.
  

{wedding catalog}

their children's artwork is just as adorable.

{children's catalog}

i am just so happy with the final product.  definitely recommend for a different, personal wedding present. 

xo. di.

*images of tracy & andy's gift property of diane crary; all other images as noted above

p.s. my shabby apple giveaway ends tonight at 5 p.m. - have you entered yet?!

highlights & happiness.

i appreciate you all putting up with my absence these last couple of days after my sister's wedding.  we traveled back to chicago late on monday and i'm still in big time catch-up mode.  

today i'm sharing some highlights from my week in northern michigan, which almost exclusively consisted of non-stop wedding projects.  it was exhausting, exhilarating, a little insane, and definitely gratifying, as saturday was just about perfect.  it all came together, the weather cooperated beautifully, and there was so much love, as there should be! 

and finally, perhaps some of my favorite photo moments of the night: the "royal wedding" balcony kiss(es).

 

{my thanks again to k & k for sharing these with us so quickly!} 

as you might imagine, i have plenty i could still share, including some diy tutorials and gift ideas that i think (hope) my readers will like to see, whether you're planning a wedding, standing up in one or just attending!  but i don't want to inundate and overwhelm, so i'll spread it out, maybe even keeping some things until next spring, when everyone is gearing up for the 2013 wedding season; we'll see!

in the meantime, i want to say THANK YOU again to everyone who helped us Crarys pull this off.  diy weddings are a lot of work, but one at home is close to impossible without everyone who offered their time, ideas and muscles.  we are a little overwhelmed by the incredible support we received.   

xo. di. 

*all images property of diane crary

friday free for all: she.

she toasts her little sister as she begins

 her happily ever after.

the wedding festivities are underway!  have a wonderful weekend!

xo. di.

*image via

this.

i love.

a favorite author.  a favorite commencement speech.  and pitch-perfect graphic design.

how's your hump day going?  the wedding festivities are humming along up here on the lake for us.  follow along on my instagram (aspotofwhimsy) for up-to-the-moment details ;) 

xo. di.

*image via modcloth blog

shabby apple: a giveaway!

exciting news for your tuesday morning: shabby apple is offering one of my readers a $50 giftcard!  scroll down for how to enter.  but first, i've compiled my favorite looks from their current collections.  take a peek at all the pretty:

 {academia, roamin' holiday, classics, mad hatter}

 {tinsel town, the berkshires, set sail, zoology}

{twin palms, oh la la, 1943, lighthouse}

to enter the shabby apple $50 giftcard giveaway:

1. "like" shabby apple's facebook page

2.  become a google friend connect follower of a spot of whimsy  

and tell me your favorite item on shabby apple's site.
 (include your email address or make sure it's in your profile so i can notify the winner)
  if you are already a follower, then just leave your comment!

 

*both are requirements for entry!*

  for extra entries:

1.  tweet about the giveaway
include my twitter - @aspotofwhimsy- and @shabbyapple's- in the tweet!
then leave another comment right here telling me you did.

2.  follow me on twitter then comment again to tell me that.

 

3.  follow me on instagram (user: aspotofwhimsy) and comment one more time to tell me that. 

entries close on thursday, august 30 at 5 p.m. central time.  winner will be selected through a random number generator and will be notified on friday, august 31!  good luck! 

and for ALL my readers, shabby apple is offering 10% off with code whimsy10off for the next month.  enjoy!

xo. di.

*all images as denoted 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 crazy busy but productive week, and i'm now up north so things are pretty great!
 
pictures worth a thousand words:

 {sometimes chicago doesn't look (or feel) like a big city at all}

 {enjoying chicago's air & water show}

 {one of these years, i WILL be out there for the show!}

 {sweet details spotted on a walk through lincoln park}

{made it north in time for a beautiful sunday night sunset}

this week's blog love: 

• perhaps my favorite everygirl feature to date: meet lindsay avner of the inspiring bright pink.
• what a great little diy: learn to cover matchboxes in pretty paper over on in the fun lane.
• anna-bird shared a very touching story about a homeless man in her neighborhood.

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

xo. di.
    
*images by diane crary

friday free for all: on the dock.

sitting on the end of a dock might be one of the best feelings like, ever.  

i am a very happy camper today - i'm taking all of next week off and heading up to northern michigan on sunday for the final week of sis's wedding preparations.  see ya later, work!  more importantly, hello family and wedding-hoopla and, if i'm very lucky, some end-of-the-dock time. 

have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

joey potter.

don't worry, this post has nothing to do with tomkat's "shocking" divorce (though: thank god); this is all about the girl from the other side of the creek.  i've been rewatching dawson's this summer on netflix instant (just hit season 3), and i am loving it.  i thought a rewatch would make the show seem silly, and sure it has a bit, but it has also transported me back to a very specific time in my life with very specific angsty/melodramatic tendencies (dawson's forte).  i realize now how influenced i was by this show and how much i expected my high school experience to be just like it.  and when it wasn't?  well i'd put on the patented joey potter pout/scowl face (spot it below!) and pretended it was.   

other observations:  pacey was the best from minute one.  joshua jackson has too much charisma; it's unnatural.  kruger is a lucky lady.  and since i finished the series (spoiler alert!) very satisfied with the pacey-joey ending, i was surprised to remember just how much i loved him with andie in season 2.  and ya know who was le worst?  dawson.  has there ever been a more annoying and sanctimonious protagonist on a tv show?  gees, he was tedious.  but i can't totally hate on him, because i see pieces of high school diane in there (back to that whole when expectations didn't meet reality thing, ugh).   

but back to joey.  i used to try to copy her varying hairstyles, all of which seemed to include little tendrils/flyaways pulled down around her ears.  this summer, i've been revisiting that well to perfect late 90s results.       

if you also decide on a rewatch, let me warn you right here: paula cole's i don't want to wait has been replaced in the opening credits. something about music licensing rights (lawyers, amirite?!).  the show and the song are so intertwined that it bums me out at the beginning of every episode.  i'll get over it eventually ;) 

i also appreciate this dawson's vs. vampire diaries analysis - if you've watched both shows, you'll really enjoy it. 

were you a dawson's fan? 

xo. di.

*images via: from l to r, 1st row 1,2,3; 2nd row 1,2,3; 3rd row 1,2,3

of guest posts and contests.

today i am guest-posting over on inspiration and rough drafts as part of melissa's share your story series.

hope you'll join me over there!

i'm also participating in jess's (of the newly rebranded jesslively.com!) latest design your look contest.  if you like my submission (see it below), repin it from jess's pinterest here to show your love.  definitely check out everyone's entries though - some really cute looks (what?  i play fair ;)).

  

xo. di.

*image via

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:

after a weekend full of progress on projects, i am now just one week away from being in northern michigan with the family for the final week of sis's wedding preparations, which is also doubling as my summer vacation so i am. so. pumped.  just have to get through 5 pretty stressful work days as i try to get things done there too. 

pictures worth a thousand words:
 

{farmers' market flowers}

{painted wood slab projects (for sis's wedding) in progress via my instragram}

 {purchased this last week for my growing stamp collection}

 {speaking of stamps: making little details for rehearsal dinner}

this week's blog love:  

• like design*sponge, i'd also like to live in the talented mr. ripley - minus the whole creepiness factor of course. 
• creature comforts introduced me to the beautiful images of photographer leela cyd.
•  since my sister is an august birthday, i loved mrs. lilien's tribute to mrs. peridot: the mistress of august.
• love getting this peep into wit & whistle's sketches for her forthcoming halloween designs.
• besotted brand sets out the easiest way to center your rubber stamps.
• fan of paper and books?  how about shakespeare?  go see what casee marie of literary inklings shared here.

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

xo. di.
    
*images by diane crary 

friday free for all: more anglo love.

well i'm really going to miss the olympics when they finish up this sunday, but my sleep schedule is begging me to go back to normal.  i am a tired girl this friday.

more projects for sis's wedding this weekend, and c and i are trying to squeeze in a date night.  need to enjoy summer in chicago while we still can!

have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

i still love calligraphy.

 

my obsession with jessica hische's moonrise kingdom font gave me the push to sign up for melissa esplin's online calligraphy course titled i still love calligraphy (which i heard about through miss b of besotted - thanks miss b!).  i finished the course up over last weekend. 

i've wanted to learn calligraphy for years, and i still love calligraphy fell into my lap at the exact right time.  i knew i'd need to do some hand-lettering and hand-painting for sis's wedding (will be in the midst of that this coming weekend!), and wanted to learn some new techniques and understand the way of the calligraphy pen first.

i've been posting some of my progress on my instagram (@aspotofwhimsy), but i've compiled them all here, along with the above quote from pushing daisies - a favorite of mine - that i wrote out while hopelessly failing at practicing "flourishes." 

i am so far from legit.  and my left-handedness keeps messing up what i do get right, boo!  but whenever a letter comes out all pretty, smooth and swirly, the constant presence of ink on my hands is worth it.  practice makes perfect. 

xo. di.

p.s. i received absolutely nothing for this post - melissa doesn't even know i'm writing about her course today!  i just enjoyed it and wanted to share my progress. 

*images by diane crary

typography crush.

i have quickly morphed into a typography obsessive in these last few months, and jessica hische and her beautiful work is my new gold standard.  i discovered her while searching for the font used in wes anderson's latest, moonrise kingdom.  and lo and behold, jessica, working with wes directly (!), created it herself.

below, i've included some of my favorites of her designs, and i encourage you to dive further into her portfolio.  be prepared to say wow to yourself several times over.   

{trailer shots}

 {jessica & her fiance russ's amazing wedding website - if you haven't come across this yet, 

scroll all the way through it, it's really incredible}

 {dansko anniversary; florence + the machine}

 {50 and 50, the state mottos project}

{jessica's daily drop cap project}

i am so in love with her work.  it elevates my idea of what good design means. 

xo. di.

*jessica hische images as noted above