i love thinking of new year resolutions - it's the fresh start and sense of accomplishment. this year, i'm keeping the list and setting goals for myself. these aren't in stone, but here's what i'm thinking so far:

1. Graduate.

2. Take a cooking class (specifically knife skills, and meat).

3. Get into an exercise routine (again).

4. Organize Photos.

5. Learn Dreamweaver and web design.

6. Begin to start a client base for freelance projects.

As the semester comes to a close I thought I would post my personal favorite assignment of the semester. We were given the task to create our own font. It was first time doing this, and although a bit challenging I love the way the end package turned out.

fa la la la la. i love christmas. consta's family trimmed their house this weekend. everything from a beautiful tree, to garland and stockings on the railings and wreaths on the door. i know it's not even thanksgiving yet. but, it's nice, it really gives you a chance to enjoy the holiday.

these paper cuts are from re-found objects. i'm adding these to my "hope they're not sold out after christmas" list. :)

consta laughs at me because i tend to gravitate towards random things while shopping. mostly books, hats, jewelery, cookies...anything that's sparkley, tasty or puts me in a good state of mind. so of course i was "online browsing" and found this necklace and pretty cocktail ring from fuss jewelery. at least i was just browsing. :)

I've never been huge into wearing hats. Maybe because I can't seem to find one that fits quite right. I am pretty in love with the newsboy hats. I found some adorable ones in Laila Rowe not too long ago that actually looked good on. I might leave this as a NY purchase next week. :)

When I'm lucky to get a seat next to Sam in class typography suddenly gets twice as interesting. Probably because I'm too busy looking over his shoulder than paying attention. He's a really fabulous illustrator. Worth checking out here and here.

There is just something about a guy in wash jeans and a black sweater. It makes my heart go pitter-pat. Of course, that's what consta was wearing yesterday. *sigh* i love him.

how fancy. i need one of these adorable helmets to go with my scooter. they have in other styles/colors at YAKKAY. :) whenever i get a scooter, of course.

I had a super fabulous birthday week. Seriously, a week.

It started the Sunday before when Consta's mom cooked me up a really yummy greek meal. Wednesday my friend Wendy took me to lunch at Chili's. Friday my parents took me to Sakura's and then followed by one of my favorites: pineapple upside dow cake. mmm, mmm.

Saturday mom took me to tea in Ellicott City. It was great. I've never been to a tea before. We had a large list of tea's to choose from. I got a vanilla chai latte. They call it "Latte da" there. :) It was great for a cool day. They brought out little tea sandwhiches, crackers, scones and desserts.

Saturday evening Alex, Consta's nephew, had his birthday party at Pump It Up. Despite the small battle wounds we suffered from skidding down the plastic moon slides it was tons of fun.

We finished the evening with drinks at Brewer's Art with some of our great friends.

Thanks to everyone for celebrating with me!

i saw this little gadget in real simple a few months back. if i took more photos i would feel the need to buy it right away. unfortunately i rarely remember to bring my camera anywhere so i'm thinking this little guy would be completely useless to me.

it's a wireless memory card, Eye-Fi, that fits right into your camera. if your house has wireless internet (which i think most would by this point) you would just walk into the front door after a day of shooting fabulous photos and they would automatically copy your pictures to your computer. or better yet, you can set the device to upload to whatever photo-sharing website you use.

buy it here.

Dr. Suess' Venetian Cat Singing "Oh Solo Meow"

Someday i'll find a print of this. *sigh* but for now, this small web image will do to make it a happy night. :)

i hate putting outfits together. actually, i love it, but i can never find things that go. i googled "fall clothes" and i found polyvore. you can put together your own finds or you can look through others. the site is filled with really talented people. the best part is every piece of the outfit is linked to the website it's from so it's purchase on demand. :) above are some examples of what you can find.

mmm these look scrumptious. i'd really love to learn to make them. from what i read, macarons are testy little cookies. i'll keep on the hunt for a good recipe. or..maybe i'll order some from paulette.

i ran across this rug tonight at the world market. it reminds me of fall..i love the colors. from what i imagine my future house to be i'd like to combine clean lines with comforting warm organic shapes. it would be perfect pretty much anywhere in my future house, haha. I'm not sure where'd i put it now though, and i'm thinking consta might think it's a little to feminine too. ;0)

i really can't get this baby off my mind. i want one so bad. you can check others out at genuine scooter.

Flowers make me smile. I've been in love with peonies for only a short while. I saw this sweet card created by Paper Garden Boutique. It was made using a stamp from Impress.

This may be the sweetest Save the Date I've ever seen. Great idea! :) Traced back to My Aim is True.

these bags are really cute. it's a laptop bag that doubles as a tote. and it doesn't scream, "i have a laptop, steal me!" plus it's big enough to stash a bunch of stuff in. it's from nanda.

i saw this gift idea in real simple. it's a cookbook kit from give simple that comes with software to type up your own recipes, paper to print it on, and a pretty little binder to keep it in. i bet i could create my own template. it would make a really great gift for someone. :)

i was browsing etsy because it's one of my favorite pass times and i found this little beauty. i wouldn't mind adding one of these to my collections.

wow! what a busy weekend.

Consta and I went shopping today for his mom's birthday. We bought her a griddle from Williams and Sonoma. While I was there I saw these pretty little canisters for Sugar, Flour and Tea.

I saw this lamp in the Better Homes and Gardens July 08 issue and absolutley fell in love with it. It's just really pretty. It's called Ceramic Rise and Fall Lamp from marston-and-langinger.com.

Photo borrowed from Flickr

i've been trying to make new foods that incorporate veggies. tonight i tried brownies with a combo of carrots and spinach. it doesn't sound great, but i figured i could try anything once. and they were quite tasty.

i believe this is one of jessica seinfeld's recipes.

ingredients
3 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. i didn't measure this exactly...but i used a little more than a 1/4 of a bag.
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. trans-fat-free butter
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Coat 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.

Melt the butter and chocolate over a low flame.

In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees (make sure these are really, really puree'd), sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. whisk until smooth and creamy.

Whisk in egg whites. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Bake 35 minutes and let cool.

i'm completely in love with this photograph. it was taken of the baltimore inner harbor in 1955 by Aubrey Bodine. He really took some beautiful photographs of what to me seem to be a great documentation of baltimore at the time.

my heart is won in several areas of the photograph..the first, of course, the water. the domino sugar sign a landmark of baltimore is shown in the distance. the big industrial ship pushing against the beauty of the waves.

this one is called journey's end. i'd love to purchase a large print. but for now it's on my wish list.

i'm really loving this vintage wire desk tray. too bad i don't have an office. :/ you can buy it from see jane work.

i'd really like to go to the summer jazz concert series at the baltimore museum of art. it includes a three course dinner on the terrace. with live jazz in the sculpture garden. it's a little pricey...but it seems very nice.

one of my favorite part about Sunday is getting brunch. I love trying new yummy places in the city..and finding some really great spots that we just can't get enough of. today we were jonsin' for some crepes..sophie's crepes are the best we've found in the city. I've tried looking for a website for them but I'm not finding one. they have two locations on charles st. although the one near the everyman theatre is the only location open on the weekend.

they make they crepes right in front of you. they make it look so easy... i got a kevin bacon, created of course by kevin bacon himself. it was turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and 1000 island dressing. yummy. :)

i'm working on my final project for my summer class. besides being so time consuming it's kind of fun. i'm rhetorically comparing/contrasting Volkswagen ads from post ww2 until today. i want to show the evolution of the ad with the changing market and vast cultural differences.

i got a promotion at work today! hooray! i've decided to put half of the extra money each pay towards my retirement and the other half into the house savings. man am i exciting, or what?

i'm going to splurge a little on myself first. I've decided to buy a bag of vanilla chai tea from vaccaro's in Little Italy and a pretty bunch of peonies.

i'm adding this to my christmas list. i know, i know..it's getting too be a pretty long list. i just found this company i break plates in the last issue of urbanite. i can't wait to see them at artscape in july. now if i could only decide which one i like the best. i think this one is coming in a high first place.

pretty cakes. (michelle - hope this helps. she can do anything that you dream up. some of these cakes aren't hers but, are like the ones she's done. i don't have all of her photos on the internet yet. you can get some more cake ideas here.)

oh my miracle. i think i might be able to finally stomach brussel sprouts...or any kind of sprouts. after eating this tiny little "miracle berry" your mouth will turn into an oasis of sweet. that's right, everything you eat after the berry will be sweet, at least for a few hours anyway. i'm seriously considering going to one of the miracle fruit parties. anyone up for a road trip? i've also emailed mad flavor science to find out how much it would cost to ship to maryland.

i'm adding table topics to my birthday/christmas/just 'cause you love me wish list. they have several additions but i'm thinking i'd probably like the original addition the best. the questions are open-ended and are really great conversation starters. i think it'd be a great game...especially with a few drinks. :)

i've been looking for a reusable bag that can fold up and fit in my purse. i planned on starting a sewing adventure this summer when my class is over. (the last time i sewed was in 7th grade. i successful stitched my puppy pillow to the sleeve of my shirt.) if i fall into the same fate later this summer i've found my second choice. these envirosax bags are pretty and colorful and waterproof. how can you beat it for $8 bucks!

Photo from Flicker

I've been in love with the Canton Brick Project since I've heard about it over a year ago. I love the idea of walking in Canton Square in 50 years and finding a brick with my name scrolled on it. I guess I feel like it'll make me part of history.

Any suggestions on what I should write on it?

i don't recall what the previous mens wearhouse logo was..but i'm thinking it's been updated since the last time i've been to the mall. kudo's to them because i actually remembered what this one looked like and the main point of logo design is brand identity. clever designers.

i'm usually really good at organizing. i've been overwhelmed with school work and just realized that i'm missing pay stubs etc. from the spring semester. ack! if i had room, i'd buy this pretty file cabinet from west elm.

i have a small hidden addiction to dish towels. i realize this is crazy. i barely cook..although i blame that on my mom monopolizing the kitchen (she makes delicious wedding cakes). i put them in a storage bin labeled "kitchen" - for my future house, that for some reason always feels like it's part of the future. i validate my buying needs because i'm convinced that the more dish towels i have, the better at "going green" i'll be, right?

here are some of my favorites:


Rose and Radish



Rare Bird Finds


This Next

i got a steal from half.com. i bought david sedaris', naked. only 3.95!

it's the last day of may. time sure does fly. relax with a refreshing glass of lemonade (with vodka, or course).

ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water, plus 8 cups
4 lemons, juiced
Vodka

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cook the sugar until dissolved but the syrup is still clear. Do not cook the sugar until it starts to turn color. Remove from heat and cool.

In a pitcher, combine the syrup, 8 cups water, the lemon juice, vodka and ice and stir to combine. Pour into tall glasses and enjoy!

worth checking out:

The make-up line E.L.F. ( Eyes, Lips, and Face) has been bought out by Nordstrom and will be re-packaged with the Nordstrom name on it. They are getting rid of all the make-up in ELF packaging. They are selling everything for $1. Check it out here.

You do have to pay shipping, even with that charge it's cheaper than buying make-up anywhere else and it is fun to try things when you don't have to worry about the cost! They have powder, mascara, brushes, nail polish, you name it. They also offer a mineral line, on sale for $3-5.

Use the coupon code: CAROLINA you will get $7.50 off your first $15 of your purchase.

i'm pretty crushed. i ordered this beautiful duvet cover from west elm about 2 years ago. mine is completely white with white stitching. although it doesn't hold it's shape well..and it wrinkles rather easily i still adore it. i washed it as usual on Thursday. Thursday is my clean sheet night. i discovered a small tear. ugh. it's so depressing.

it does give me a good reason to shop though.