Minnesota

Dave and I went to Minnesota this weekend. Unfortunately, we went up there for a funeral -- sad day -- but we also tried to make the best of it while we were there.

We managed to drive up and back in one day (15 hours of driving... it was intense). Since it was my first time in Minnesota and so that we would be able to spend a little more time there before driving home again, we tried Sebastian Joe's, which will heretofore be known as THE-best-ice-cream-ever. My friend recommended this place and I insist that you try it when you're in Minneapolis. (Thanks for the recommendation, Lauren!)

I had salted caramel and oreo. Dave tried cinnamon honeysuckle and oreo. Seriously, it was amazing. I love salty sweet desserts and the salted caramel blew my mind.


I also spotted some interesting signs at a rest stop. Looks like the DIY trend is spreading. Calling all country singles!


This is my "I'm-excited-to-be-in-a-new-state" face.

Pug in an Eames chair

This picture made my day last week. I'm seriously contemplating printing and hanging it above my desk at work.

(I'm not exactly sure where it's from originally, but somebody linked it to cute overload.)

Places on Earth

I love maps. This one in particular. It's called "Places on Earth" and is created by You, Me, and the Royal We. It even comes with pins to show where you've been and where you want to go. I would love to put it up in my living room.

This is awesome

Watch this video. Isn't it SO COOL?!

Loop, Ligature, and Stem

My boss pointed me to this amazing "Lesson Plan Print" by Loop, Ligature, and Stem. It was letterpressed in a 100 print edition and is, seriously, so gorgeous.

I looked at their website and found some other beautiful creations. I like these Ampersand Buttons, as well as everything else. Check it out.

48 degrees in February?

What's going on Chicago?

I'm confused, but I'll take it for sure.

V-Day post script

I'm kind of addicted to NPR. I love them. These valentines that they put on their website are one of the many reasons why.

See them all here.

Valentine's Day 2011

This year for Valentine's Day... Dave cooked up some delicious lamb with garlic apple glaze (it was my first time trying lamb!) and an apple walnut salad. (Do notice the meticulously laid apple slices in the photo - that was the work of yours truly.) He also surprised me with some beautiful irises, which are now living happily on my dresser.

My contribution to the night besides my salad display skills? I picked out a movie for us. A romantic one. Okay, so it was actually an action/thriller, but those are my favorite kind! (I remember Dave was really excited about that when he found this out.)



I had to include two photos of the table because while one displays the romantic candlelight dinner, it just doesn't show off the details. Thank you blurry hands.

Me and my valentine.

P.S. Here is the Valentine's post from last year. I feel like we look a lot different? Maybe not?

Rocking the 90s

My friend Mike l o v e s the 90s. For his thirtieth birthday a few weeks ago he had a 90s themed party that was fully executed. We ate fruit roll-ups and ring pops, combos and hot pockets; we all wore period clothing. And we danced for four hours to the songs of of 90s. It was one of the best dance parties I've ever partooken of (partooken? not a word?).

Things I found on the internet...

...that I think are pretty. Ready? Begin.

Simple mugs with awesome color. Teal, blue, green. Love it.
{Crate & Barrel, via Incredible Things}

Grey striped towels. I love this color. (And yet somehow I don't love endless grey winter days. That doesn't add up...)
{West Elm via d*s}

Fluffy grey zig-zag rugs. I could decorate my whole bathroom in grey and white, apparently.
{West Elm via d*s}


P.S. Did I tell you that my nails are silver? I love grey! (Just not a grey sky all the time.)

Blizzard of 2011

Hey folks, Ashley here on my SECOND snow day! I can't even believe it myself. Yesterday I did a little jig because it was my first ever EVER snow day. Now I have another one. I am so lucky!

So we got this huge snow and these high winds and everything went white here. Yesterday at the tail end of the snow, my roommates and I ventured out to explore the winter wonderland. It was pretty epic and the whole time I was saying, "This is so much fun! This is so much fun!" (Hard to believe, right?)


We got 20.2 inches of snow, but because of the high winds, HUGE piles had formed all over. Right outside our apartment there was snow up to my knees!


On the normally busy street cars were swallowed up by snow. The street still had a good layer accumulated on it and only big cars were out. And lots of people walking around. It was really fun to see all the people out because everyone was friendly and smiling and waving to each other. It was like new years day all over again!


We decided to go see what the beach and the lake looked like, so we headed east with many of our neighbors. We found Chiberia! I've never seen something quite so ominous as the lakeshore yesterday. Large snow-dunes were piled up and the wind was whipping flurries all over the place. Everything was grey, grey, grey.


On our way back home we ventured onto Lake Shore Drive! It was closed for 36 hours (or something like that), so there was no traffic. While we were up there we saw a few snow plows and police cars. Besides that, it was all people taking advantage of the chance to walk on the Drive. There were even some sledders!

So it was a pretty epic adventure. I ended up with melting snow in my boots so I immediately got into bed to warm myself up. Then there was some hot chocolate. It was the best snow day!