I love summer

books + sun + friends + 3 day weekend
doesn't get much better, does it??

A sight for sore eyes...

My new cube deco thanks to a man who retired from the Press a few years (?) ago. Every spring he comes in to give all the women a peony he cut from his yard. Isn't it pretty??


Yay lunch outside!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Friends. Guess what. The Press is closing early today. In 15 minutes. To start our three day weekend off right. This is my favorite.

This weekend will include: friends, sunshine, cook outs, the beach (or "beach" - however you tend to look at Lake Michigan's sandy shore), and other fun things yet to be determined. I can't wait.

Have a good one!

P.S. I have pictures to show that are not yet loaded on my computer... including the glorious smelling peony sitting on my desk. :)

Pretty Swell Garlands

I think this fabric flower garland is pretty gorgeous. (I couldn't decide if I should use "pretty" or "gorgeous" to describe it, so I went with both. Ha.) Also, it's made in Hawaii. SWEET.

(You can see all of Pretty Swell's garlands and other goods here.) [via you are my fave]

Umbrella & Coffee

I think this "Umbrella With Coffee Handle" by designer Jung-Woo Lee is awesome!! I have had the juggling-bag-umbrella-coffee problem myself a few times and I think this concept is just fabulous. The end.

[via incredible things]

Yellow & Gray

I love this yellow & gray secretary Design*Sponge posted today. (Click on that link to see the before shot and details on how it was done.)

South Carolina

This weekend...

Mmmm... an espresso milkshake!


We take a photo on this bridge every time we're in Greenville. Cute, right?

Right now...
Construction crews are working on a new building next door to my office and are currently slamming the old foundations of a building from the Chicago Columbian Exposition. Annoying noise/vibration, but interesting historical tidbit!

Monday is...

Dear friends, it is HOT here today. Around 1 it was suddenly 91 degrees! I don't very often see thermostats hit in the 90s so this is breaking (sort of) new ground for me. I ate outside at lunch and I think I may have turned a little pink. My delightful farmer's tan will probably surface throughout the summer. (Good thing I'll have NINE DAYS in Hawaii to even everything out at the real beach! Today my boss approved me to take those vacation days so we are GOOD TO GO.)

This weekend was another one to compete for 10 best weekends ever. I have a few pictures I'll put it up later this week but none that will fully express sleeping in (SO LATE), relaxing, lazy wanderings of downtown Greenville, or the glory of the awesome shoes I got at Goodwill. In any event, I am exhausted today since we got up at a time that starts with a 4 (I avoid doing this like the plague). Furthermore, I'd like to say that I might have to quit Top 40 because my four hours of sleep were shaved to only three last night when RIDICULOUS SONG HOOKS repeated incessantly in my head. (Yes, Mom, I think I AM your daughter.)

Ok, I think that's all for now. Pictures later. Happy Monday to all of you. Here's to hoping I make bed time minus 1 hour tonight...

Happy Friday!

Hip-happy Friday! I wish you all a wonderful weekend. It's going to be beach weather here in Chicago (88 degrees on Sunday?!), however I'll be down south hanging out with Dave's family, so the beach will have to wait - for me at least. So far the tentative South Carolina plans involve good 'ole barbecue. Sounds pretty great, right?

[Side tidbit: Dave has informed me that you'll know a good barbecue place by noticing whether the chairs match. If they don't, it's a good place!]

Also, I cannot believe that we're at the tail end of May. What's happening to 2010? It's FLYING by!

Finally, I would like to say that my feet LOVE not being constrained by shoes. Wearing sandals is just their natural element. I'm traipsing around in them right now and my feet couldn't be happier!

The Bachelor Pad

I designed this for my friend Adam as a logo for his new place!

Andrea Nordstrom Design

My dear friend Andrea just launched her official portfolio website! She's so talented and will be starting her graduate design studies at Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall! Impressive, right?? Check out her website and her awesome work at andreanordstrom.com

Reminders

Important reminders by Erin Hanson. (See more in the photography section of her site.)

[via swissmiss]

We've got our tickets!

6 weeks til sun and sand and SO MUCH FUN!

A weekend in Leland

This weekend was truly a treat. It was a college friend reunion of sorts in honor of our dear friend Austin's wedding to Sierra. We convened from all over... Costa Rica, Chicago, California, Massachusetts, and other far-flung places. I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to be with this group of people again, for the first time in a year. The weather was great, the location beautiful, the food delicious, the wedding perfect, and the company - the company was sweet. I didn't take many pictures (by my standard), I don't even have any of the actual ceremony, nor the bride and groom (I'm short!), but I do have a few photos to share...

Keiko and me on a group trip to lunch. I'm obviously very excited. Boys in the background, probably causing mayhem, as usual. (Sorry your eyes are closed Keiko, you're still looking cute. See picture below with your eyes open...)


Leland, Michigan.
A welcome sight after months of city-living.


Dave and me at the wedding. Pre-insane dance party.


Austin, the groom, and Dave. Former roommates. (Now Austin has a new roommate!)


The dance floor at the wedding. We went for 2.5+ hours strong. It might have been the best dance party of my life. A friend, Jeff, was the DJ and he did an AMAZING job. We were impressed, as always, with his creative genius.


Justine and Dave requested that this picture be posted on my blog. Here you go guys. You're both pretty cute. (As in very.)


Because we couldn't bear to part so soon (or quickly), we caravaned (not a real verb?) through Michigan. We were five cars strong and the scenery for the first part of our drive was picturesque.

Fish condos

Have I told you about our new apartment pets? Two beta fish named Enrique & Clark currently reside in our home. Do you think they would like to live in these fish condos?

Dear last weekend,

You were wonderful. Amazing. Awesome. Just what I needed.
Love,
Ashley

(More photos and stories to come.)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Dear Friends,
I am SO SO excited about today. One, it's Friday. Two, I had coffee. Three, it's gorgeous outside (after a really rainy week). Four, I'm leaving work early today so that... Five, I can drive up to Northern Michigan for a wedding! A good friend from college is getting married and it's bound to be a splendid two-day long reunion/festivity/celebration. I can't wait. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I will be back with photos next week!
Love,
Ashley

P.S. The photo above is kind of how I feel right now. Minus the beach. It's from a vacation to Lanai with the fam... My wonderful sister-in-law Holly is featured. :)

Shortcake

Mmmm... look what I made from scratch this week! I feel so domestic.

Did you know?

Check out this AMAZING video sent to me by my Grammy. It's all about the progression of information technology as told through kinetic type and graphics. For some reason I can't get the code to embed, so you'll just have to click on this link here.

Today...

Today it is... rainy & cold. And I am sleepy, excited to watch Glee tonight, & looking forward to a wedding with friends this weekend!!

Right now... a co-worker's children are visiting the office and the four year-old's voice is BOOMING all around. Kind of like her father when he talks on the phone... Funny how that works!

Gorgeous shelves!

I love this "Hold on Tight" bookshelf by Colleen & Eric. You can adjust the built in bookend according to what you've got on the shelf. And it's GORGEOUS.
[via swissmiss]

A year ago...

A year ago today we were the ones in the funny caps and loose gowns. The ones with big grins and sweet-smelling lei.* We were the ones with tired feet and aching smile muscles. We were the ones with pomp and some circumstance. We were the ones surrounded by family and friends. We were the ones with fancy degrees and no job prospects!

And now, a year later, we've still got those smiles and those fancy degrees - and jobs now, too - and are still surrounded by family and friends. We've survived what people warned would be "the worst year of your life" and I think we've thrived instead of survived. So here's to the first year out!

*Alll the way from Hawaii. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Belong to Me

I made a trip to the library today and felt compelled to check out this book. Can you tell why? (I also started it this afternoon and it's very good.) It's "Belong to Me"by Marisa de los Santos.

Happy Saturday!!

Happy Friday!

In honor of dear Christa's masters degree and Paige's first year of her masters degree (we say she has her 'M' and next year she'll get her 'A'). Happy Friday!!

Ampersands are pretty.

So pretty! And for sale here. Designed and embroidered by Laura Belle.

[via HOW]

'Staches

Dave sent me this photo and I think it's hilarious. I happen to love [brackets] and {braces}. Oh, and fonts, too. (Click to see it larger and read all the words.)

It reminds me of 'Stache Days I used to organize. I'd get whoever I could to draw little mustaches on the side of their index finger and walk around saying "Happy 'Stache Day!" and holding their finger up underneath their nose. Insta-stache! This is Erin and me on 'Stache Day 07.


One summer the ladies at the hardware store held a 'Stache Day in honor of my last day as cashier. (Apparently I had told them the story of this special day at some quiet point of the hardware-selling day.) Nelly, the grandmotherly phone-answerer pictured at left, even made little mustaches out of yarn for us to use instead of permanent marker 'staches. My favorite supervisor, Nicole, is on the right.

Afternoon pick me up

Every now and then, it's one of those afternoons. One of those can't-keep-your-eyes-open-to-save-your-life afternoons. And sometimes drastic measures are required. Like a trip down to the vending machine for a Coke. Today was one of those days.

Side note: When I looked for photos of Coke bottles I found this photo of the history of Coke bottles and thought it was pretty cool. Check out that square-ish one from way back when! [photo from here]

Weekend + Bat Ecology

This weekend was fantastic. I spent some time out in Wheaton and look who I found there...

I also got to see the new "BP" (aka bachelor pad aka chez Caciano) as well as celebrate with an old young friend at her bridal shower.

Oh AND, I have always wondered how the stock market worked. Not the market exactly, but all the traders and the floor and such. I think this is spawned from that great Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places" that's always on TV. There's this scene where all the traders are standing on the floor yelling and running amuck and I've always wondered, "Is that what it's really like?" So this weekend Dave and I went to see a documentary called Floored about the Chicago trading floor. It was so interesting. And pretty much answered all my life-long questions. So that was exciting.

And, on a publishing note, every month we start up another round of reprints. This month I had to giggle when I started working on the list. "Why?" you might ask? Because of big, fat books titled "Bat Ecology." I know, I know, some people really do study that (apparently, because we publish a book about it). But it does seem a little... crazy that you can dedicate a whole book to it, no?

Ok, fine. I'm easily amused.

P.S. It's GORGEOUS outside and it has been for like four days. That means I've been wearing slippers (aka sandals aka flip-flops). That means that Ashley is a very happy camper.