i do love dishtowels. a weird obsession i know.

it's been a very long time since i've post anything. no fear. i'm still here. i promise i'll get to it in a few weeks. for now though - flowers.

house shopping again :) too bad i can't find anything that looks like this in the US - it is called the Manhattan afterall. I can't imagine how much the shipping would cost.

i think this wallpaper from ballard designs is so pretty and subtle. it would add a ton of texture to an accent wall.

i'm in love with this tile from ann sacks.

i've started day dreaming about the furniture we'll buy for our future house. i want something cozy but still clean-looking. i've always favored blue but, for some reason lately i've really wanted yellow and clay colors. maybe it's influence from the wedding.

here are some of things i've been looking at:


pottery barn


crate and barrel

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i miss my lovey.

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i think that i eat pretty healthy. in fact, people at work say i'm "different" because i eat yogurt, fruit, lean meats and fiber crackers on a daily basis. the truth is i'm not a big green veggie fan. sure, give me sweet potatoes anytime (esp. loaded with marshmallows, haha) but greens, no thanks.

recently i've decided to go to a nutritionist. he suggested that i give "green smoothies" a try. it sounds gross but i broke down and had one. i'm so delighted that it turned out sooo good.

there are a ton of recipes online but i did this one:

2 cups of spinach
1 banana
1/2 cup of low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tsp flaxseed
dash of cinnamon
1 packet of truvia

you seriously can't taste the spinach. i think next time i'll try to include some ice so it's extra frothy. i'm not sure my blender can handle it though.

next on the list to make:
apple and cinnamon
mint and cocoa
pineapple and banana

wow. these bags from eclu are gorgeous. in fact, i hear them saying "birthday present" :)

on the agenda this month - designing and sending out save the dates. i made progress tonight and found stamps :)

i can't wait to make these grilled chicken and avocado napoleons. giada seriously made my mouth water and it seems simple enough to make.

a friend of mine invited me to join her book club, tits and titles (haha). anyway, our first book is Pride and Prejudice. i wish that could have been a November read so i would have been able to buy Coralie Bickford-Smith's version of the jacket. these classic book covers are so graphic and inspiring.

look at this charming little house in pikesville. consta and i are going to look at it tomorrow. it needs a little tlc but, think of the possibilities. i hope it won't be too late for us to make a move - if that's what we decide to do. we have a long way to go to be on our way to buying a house. ugh, like we need a real estate agent and pre approval first, haha.

harvesting rainwater is one of the easiest ways to cut back on the stress of the environment. it's completely effortless and saves you lots of money in lawn maintenance.

i'm pretty impressed with the selection of rain barrels that are offered here.

i'm really in love with this dress from shabby apple. i'm only a little worried about the length being a bit too long for my legs.

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sometimes i read about the love between other people and my heart swells. consta and i are so much in love - we just perceive it different ways sometimes. different "love languages" if you will.

still, i want my breath taken away.

i have no idea how to d/l this video to my site. but wow. really...yikes.

Hair Troubles

i'm a bit crazy about my body image sometimes. i've worked really hard my entire life to maintain a slightly chubby, but still reasonably fit body. i know that i'll never be thin and i'm ok with that. there are still parts of my body that make me pout. i almost never wear tank tops because i hate my flabby upper arms.

i'm pretty determined to lose this and i found this onehundredpushups site. i'll track my progess and let you know how it turns out.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - Another fabulous book found this year. Man, I am on a roll.

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row, row, row the boat
gently down the stream
merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
life is but, a dream.

i'm the third from the back in this photo - in green.

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i've been a little stressted the last few days trying to think of some wedding colors. i'm usually pretty good with coming up with color schemes but for some reason i feel all non committed to any of the ones i've tried so far. i think to make the wedding more summery i'd like to use some yellow. i'm really loving the arrangement above.

*sigh* all of a sudden - a little less stress. :)

ha! a mark weber comic as a save the date? how fun!

i've been sucked into the twilight craze. i realize, about a year too late. my new years resolution was to read 1 new non-school book per month. i've been doing great so far. i started twilight last week - i finished the 4 book saga tonight. yikes!

it was great. the whole thing - cover to cover - couldn't put it down. i plan to move onto midnight sun. the manuscript that was leaked. basically the first book but written from another characters perspective. It's only available as .pdf online through stephanie meyer's website.

after midnight sun, i'll move onto the host, meyer's next series.

really, i know it seems crazy to love a book about love between a teenage vampire and a human. if you do nothing else this summer - read it. you won't regret it.

Balance Photography

I'm back from vacation and took Monday off to handle some of the business (sleep) that I've missed since I've been gone. I'll do my best to post some photos today or tomorrow.

We just received the contract from the photographers!! Woohoo! Another thing to scratch off the list. I'm so happy to be going with Balance Photography. They really produce some beautiful photos. They capture some very private moments, i love it!

Consta and I are off to meet my parents in sunny California tomorrow. Seriously, check out this amazing (I know your jealous soggy Maryland) forecast!

holy smokes cs4!

i went to a mini cs4 seminar at work today. they showed us a lot of the great new features involved with the software including this sweet little feature:

say I want to make the image above a bit smaller in width, but I liked the length of the photo. I don't want to get rid of anything, so I want to keep the boat, sunset and birds. How do I do this? Hmm...I could Transform the photo (below) but, then I end up with an anorexic sun and a really short boat.



Instead, I use Edit > Content Aware Scale. I end up with the image below where everything stays in proportion.



Of course I could not wait to test this out at home. The first image I chose was a random photo with a little boy I know. I realized that photoshop needs to be able to tell the background from the "main" parts of the image. It ended up making poor Luke look like a wrinkled old man.

It's still a really great new tool. Probably my favorite from the day. I'll try to remember to post more of these as I test them out.

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this dog is mostly how i feel today.

i'm drained and tired. home buying is being put on hold - again. it's all because of a pretty big financial problem that should have been taken care of a year ago. i'm annoyed and completely tired of waiting - i'm even more tired of waiting for parents to grow up and stop relying on their kids.

this is suppose to be a time when consta and i come together and get giddy about getting our first place together. i'm excited about moving in with him and packing his lunch everyday. maybe not the most glamourous of things but, i'm looking forward to it.

unfortunately all it seems to do is annoy him when i talk about it.

i seriously don't know why i get excited about this anymore.

some serious great deals at banana republic. i made out like bandit!

Consta and I decided that we're finally going to start looking for a place of our own. I expect it to be a long, draining process. I know, I'm so optimistic. Despite that house prices and interest rates have dropped, property taxes are up.


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consta and i have been color disputing. as much as i love the navy, khaki, yellow and white for a summer wedding near the water - i can't have him feeling uncomfortable wearing something he hates. it's crazy to think i can't find anything that would go with black, but HOORAY! i found a gorgeous bridesmaid dress tonight from watters - at least i think so. i have no idea if the girls will like it, or how much it costs. there is a place near my house that carries it so i plan on calling tomorrow for the price. it comes in this pretty mocha color and a lovely jewel tone blueish-green.

ahhhh!!!! i saw some of these really cool bouts made out of objects in a magazine. i can't remember where i saw them, but i was visiting 100 layer cake and saw her post for fritts rosenow bouts. i'm so excited that they have ones made out of playing cards!

yes, i know. it's the small things in life that make me happy.

i can't wait to try tyler's ultimate upside-down french toast. it sounds really really delicious, and looks even better. i wish we had smell-o-vision capabilities.

i think i'm going to treat myself to a new ipod. i need something to motivate me to get back into the gym and start running. this might be just the ticket.

I'm calling today to book The Easton Club for our wedding next year. We're hoping for June 26th. The place is doing a ton of reservations - hopefully, they'll be as beautiful as they sound. We're still going to keep looking because this place is a bit far but, it really is exactly what we want.

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hooray!! i joined the baltimore rowing club!

i plan on starting my own herb garden when i move. my mom never cooked with fresh herbs and now that i've started to cook with them, i can't do without. these little markers are pretty darling.

i had a really relaxing weekend. i saw beauty in the beast with my parents for mother's day. consta brought me breakfast in bed. and i got these pretty little red flowers (poppy's maybe?) from the florist for free! :) so many happy in so little time.

Here is another portfolio piece. I'm finally counting down my last days as a graduate student. I loved my time at UB but i'm getting this antsy feeling of freedom. FREEDOM from homework, and late classes and stressing to be creative - instead of just being creative.

I've decided that home smells like newspaper and espresso. The ultimate relaxation.

The story Phillip Toledano tells about his father is beautiful. Even more beautiful to me because it reminds me of my friend Mark and his wife, Kathy. Both who nurtured their parents for the last years of their life. What a precious gift to be able to savor the last few years, months, hours of a persons life.

another portfolio piece: Nancy Drew book cover series

the left side is the front cover. the right side is the white labeled jacket on the portfolio removed.

i'm weighing if i should get a subscription to the New Yorker... (think i'll ask for this for a birthday gift) anyway, i was browsing the cover art and think these would be perfect for a game room. get them here.