Summer Fridays | "End" of Summer?!

It feels completely impossible for it to be Labor Day Weekend already.  Yet here we are, at one of the most bittersweet weekends of the year: a long weekend, usually consistently hot (though the last few haven't held up to that standard, I'm afraid!), but signaling the end of the lazy days of summer.  

Even with fall being my favorite season, it's so hard to say goodbye to summer.  Plenty of distractions this weekend though: a wedding tomorrow in Michigan, then up north we go on Sunday early morning (hopefully hangover free!) to squeeze in a couple of days at the Yellow House, before it's back to Chicago and the month of September on Monday night.  It will be a whirlwind! 

What are you up to this holiday weekend?  Wherever you are, have a wonderful one.

xo. di.

*image via Cape Cod Collegiate

King's Cross Station.

Have you been to Diagon Alley yet to pick up this year's school supplies?  Only a few more days until we'll meet back at Platform 9 3/4!  Le sigh.  Not real life.  But I have been SO enjoying artist Jeca Martinez's countdown to September 1 (the day the Hogwarts Express leaves each year, of course!) with one original animated gif from each book per day.  Follow along with all of them right here.  

So here's a question for my readers - I'd just love to know: what's your favorite Harry Potter book...and why?  Mine: Prisoner of Azkaban.  Why?  The way the mystery unravels in the last third of this book is so fantastic, I am actually jealous of those who have not had a chance to read it yet (who are these people?  I don't know, babies?  I even convinced my sister and her husband to finally ready them!).  Plus, Hermione (my most most favoritest character in the series) is on fire all book: The Time-Turner!  Storming out of Divination!  And you didn't forget the Malfoy punch, did you? 

xo. di.

*image via The Artventures of Jeca Martinez

Gifts | Projecteo.

Projecteo: it's a miniature projector for your instagram pictures!  And it's as easy as anything to order: just connect your instagram account, pick the pictures you want on your wheel, and give them your moola!

I bought my first one for my sister's birthday earlier this month, of pictures from our time at Disney back in January, running our first half marathon together.

I love the idea that it can just be a trinket that sits on your coffee table, and whenever you want to flip through the pics, just aim it at a wall and turn on the light.  Voila, vacation memories!  Your instagram account come to life.

Now my one issue with Projecteo: I think the light inside needs to be a little stronger to make for better focus as you get farther away from a wall.  It still makes for an adorable gift (a perfect stocking stuffer perhaps, early Christmas shoppers!), but it's not going to replace full-size projectors any time soon.  

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Grateful | August 26, 2013.

I am Grateful.  

To have enjoyed Chicago all weekend: a farmers' market, pilates, rooftop bbqing and sunbathing with girlfriends, an afternoon movie, lots of sleep and home-cooked meals.

Pictures of the Week.

{Farmers' market bouquet}

{Fresh, in-season peaches!}

{I have embraced color!  and pattern! and maxis!  Thanks to Lilly Pulitzer's end of summer sale}

{Cucumber water}

{More farmers' market flowers}

Links Worth Sharing.

• The Beauty Department's lessons on applying day and eye cream are well-taken.
• 10 years since The O.C. began?  Stop reminding me, Design*Sponge!  They're living in it.
• Oh this lake house!  So crisp, so stream-lined, so inviting. - via Dustjacket. 
• Great, different London recommendations from Second City Soiree.
• Take a cold, hard look at what one second on the internet looks like.  Wow.

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Summer Fridays | Chicago Time.

I took the above picture on Monday morning out our window (and through our "dino garden").  The sunrises have recently been quite phenomenal, and it were so fun to catch this one as if it was morning in Jurassic Park ;)

So this weekend...I am actually home!  Whoo hoo!  I've also made no plans so far, in the interest of spontaneity and to enjoy this fair city. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image property of Diane Crary

Dancing Through Life.

Photographer Jordan Matter's Dancers Among Us project is inspired.

The entire collection of images is simply fabulous.  Go look through it, and/or buy the book!

xo. di.

*images via, found via

Yoga + Travel.

I am quite excited to share something with you today: my yoga teacher, Allison English, has launched a yoga app for iPhone and Windows phones, called Yoga+Travel, with the goal of helping yoga lovers fit in their practice when traveling or just too busy to make it to a class.  

The app actually launched a few months ago, but I just had occasion to use it last week, so I can now confidently say just how awesome it is.  The Upper Back and Hip Unwind sequence is FREE and 40 minutes long.  Allison talks you through each pose, as the images slowly change with the clock.  It is so well done.  

 {The clock counts down how long you remain in each pose}

{Allison has even programmed in transition times}

{Of course she didn't leave out savasana!}

2 new sequences were recently made available on the app: Help for Your Hamstrings and Shoulder and Spine Re-Align, both priced at $1.99, with more on the way!

I am obviously biased, as I have been practicing weekly with Allison at Equinox for the past 4 years (like, I plan my exercise for the week around when she teaches!), but I think the ability to practice with her anywhere, on the go, is simply phenomenal.     

xo. di.

*images are screenshots via Yoga+Travel app
*Note: I received absolutely nothing for this post!  How could I resist sharing the awesomeness?!

Grateful | August 19, 2013.

I am Grateful.  

Had the best time celebrating the future Mrs. Nicol at the beach with a fantastic group of ladies (thanks in no small part to her awesome sister/maid-of-honor who planned the s*** out of it!).   

Pictures of the Week.

 {Beach shadows; Hibiscus}

{Beachside drinks/shenanigans}

{The Bride & Me with my contribution to the weekend}

{Sunday brunch!}

Links Worth Sharing.

• Want to get a little crafty but don't know where to start?  The Sweetest Occasion has you covered with her DIY Essentials.
• I'm kind of obsessed with Besotted Blog's Pin-it-Forward idea.  I've actually used Pinterest (and I know others have done this for me!) to come up with gift ideas for friends and family members from what they've pinned, but this is taking it to a fun new level!
• What do you think about the marriage "name game?"  It's a very hard decision that I am personally still not sure on.  Weigh in on Across the Pond's post on the matter.
• Ashley Nicole Catherine's post on her experience Walking in the BlogHer Fashion Show was really uplifting and left me smiling.

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Summer Fridays | To the Sea.

I have another fun, celebratory weekend in store for me: this time, it's my college roommate's bachelorette party, at the beach in Sea Isle, NJ!  I cannot believe how quickly this week went; it's just been a whirlwind of packing and repacking these last few weeks, making August fly by.  Unacceptable!  :) 

Have a wonderful weekend.     

xo. di. 

*image property of Diane Crary, edited in VSCOcam & Over apps

Fairy in Tale.

Oh you know I cannot resist a beautiful fairy tale editorial!

xo. di.

*images from "Cleaning Fairy in Tale," by photographer Kim Bo Ha for My Wedding, February 2011, found via,  originally via

Gift | The 30th Birthday.

I am one day shy of my half-birthday today, meaning I have 6 months and 1 day until I am 30 years old (the horror!).  The first of my childhood friends hit that very adult-feeling milestone a few weeks ago, and though we don't exchange birthday presents regularly, I wanted to come up with a little something to mark the occasion. 

I searched through Pinterest for good 30th birthday ideas, and there were quite a few, but I was looking for something a little more understated, but intimate, so she could reflect on what it means to be 3 decades old!  Was I over-thinking it?  Yea, sure.  Nothing new there.  I kept coming back to the idea that 30 is a reflective age, meaning it's natural for us to assess our lives and say where have I been?  where am I at?  where am I going?  So here's where that led me:     

{a little sappy, but that's kinda the point!}

{light a sparkler for each piece of your life: past, present, future}

Have you come across any brilliant birthday ideas?  I would love to hear more!  

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Grateful | August 12, 2013.

I am Grateful.  

My dearest Elle has married her German beau!  Alles Gute zur Hochzeit!  And on a very different note: how 'bout that Breaking Bad premiere?!  The next 7 Sunday nights will be something else ;)    

Pictures of the Week.

Links Worth Sharing.

• A Cup of Jo brought my attention to George Saunders' Syracuse University graduation speech from earlier this summer, On Kindness.  Well worth the read.  
• Stop what you're doing and go through Jamie Beck's posts from her safari honeymoon on Ann Street Studio (seriously, do it!):  The Adventure / The Dreams / The Mornings / The Afternoons / The Nights
• Speaking of gorgeous travel photography, Fig and Honey will have you swooning over Lake Como.
• "Incredible" is the word to describe this gorgeous wedding at the Biltmore Estate - via Dustjacket Attic

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Summer Fridays | Dog Days.

{Quote from Tuck Everlasting}

I have been looking forward to this weekend for way too long: one of my very best friends in the world is getting married on Saturday!  I can't wait to get out of the office (and then out of the city) today and on the road to my hometown for the festivities.  All of my high school girls in one place for a weekend is all too rare in our busy lives.

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2

Where We've Been.

A few months ago, I got this idea for a U.S.A. travel challenge: visit each of the 50 states in turn, and while there, buy a t-shirt with the state's name on it, take a picture wearing the shirt in said state, amass an awesome 50-picture collage of our adventure.  

Now do I need 50 more t-shirts?  Of course not, but I say it's a small price to pay to fully embrace this great nation of ours.  I don't plan to put a time limit on it, at least not yet, as I think a lot of the fun of the final product (beyond the memories of course) will be seeing us through the years.  

I came across the above print from This Paper Shop (a lovely little online stationery store) this week, and it gave me the motivation to accept in writing the challenge I had dreamed up back in the spring: it's on!  Lucky C, he gets to go along for the ride ;)

Have you ever done something similar?  Or thought about it?  Tell me!

xo. di.

*image via This Paper Shop

Wedding | Fairy Tale Forest.

Say you gave me $10 million [reportedly] and told me I could only use it for my wedding.  I have a feeling the end result would look a lot like Sean Parker's recent nuptials to Alexandra Lenas: in a forest transformed into something the Lord of the Ring elves would call home (seriously, they probably looked at Peter Jackson's set designs), with all guests clad in custom-fitted costumes designed by Ngila Dickson, the Oscar-winning costume designer from Lord of the Rings, they made a fairy tale come to life.  And did I mention Sting serenaded them during the reception?

In case Sean Parker's name isn't ringing a bell, he was infamously (and inaccurately, according to the real deal) portrayed by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network.  For the co-creator of Napster, one of Facebook's first big supporters (after those Winklevoss twins and the kid who is now Spiderman), and the guy who told Zuckerberg to drop "the" from "The Facebook," as you might imagine, "lavish" is an inadequate term :)  

See the rest of Vanity Fair's coverage of the wedding here, and read about the details here.

xo. di.

*images via Vanity Fair