link love

Hi friends! It's the last link love of 2013, and it's unfortunately going to be a short (but good!) one. But that just gives you more time to enjoy family and friends for the holidays, right? Yeah, I'm pretty much just making excuses now. But it's definitely been a busy week, and I'm loving it. I got this awesome glass fish statue thing during white elephant last night, I've got a friend visiting from out of state, and I'm hosting a s'mores party tonight. It should be a blast.

Hope you end the year with a bang!

food:
- cranberry hand pies

fun finds:
- trees cut from paper shopping bags
- this list of notable instagrams
- these minimalist nature photos
- the best of SNL 2013
- essential kitchen skills no one taught (but everyone should know)

merry christmas

No Christmas tree for us this year, since my cat loves climbing it and knocking down all the ornaments and the fake branches, so I made these DIY marquee lights out of cardboard and a string of Christmas lights to hang up instead. 

Hope you're having a relaxing day with family, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I'm making brunch for the family with my mom's new waffle maker, and then we're heading to my aunt's for dinner. Should be a good time.

I'll be back in a few days with pictures from the s'mores party I'm throwing on Friday, and a DIY s'mores kit. Here's to ending the year on a sweet note!

madison, wi

Hi friends! No link love today, because I haven't had the time to pull one together. It's definitely been a busy week. Instead, have some iPhone pics from my two-day trip to Madison, WI for a job interview. This company really spends a lot of time and effort into their recruiting process, and it was a blast. And if it all works out (and that's a HUGE if), I'll be within driving distance of Chicago and my beloved Blackhawks, which makes all this goshdarned winter cold worth it. I really hope it works out. I'm beginning to fall in love with Madison.

waiting for my flight. i swear that dude knew i was taking a picture and deliberately walked into my shot. also this picture is really green for some reason.

somewhere over minnesota. maybe wisconson. who knows. 

the wisconson state capitol. absolutely stunning.

it's not *that* cold. but really, it's not, considering that it gets below zero at its coldest. but it is the first time i've heard of freezing rain. the weather ended up turning a 7-hour trip home into a 12+ hour ordeal with tons of delays, missed connections, luckily grabbing a seat on standby to a nearby airport, and an extra stop in Salt Lake City for some emergency medical care. ay carumba. at least i made it home safely. props to all the customer service representatives that have to deal with rude customers. i can't even bear to stand next to one of those conversations, much less be on the unhappy end of it.

Well that ended up pretty rambling there at the end. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and if you're flying anywhere for the holidays, safe travels and fingers crossed for no delays!

two for today

a couple recent snaps from my instagram. happy hump day!

Ottolenghi's green pancakes with lime butter and avocado. recipe from Plenty

super awesome care package from allison. sloe gin, peach shrub, letterpress card, BNTO, apple jalapeño jam, and a bow tie for ruby. a girl could get used to this.

link love

Labels Against Women | #WhipIt #ShineStrong Pantene

This short ad by Pantene Phillipines does a great job breaking down the double standards. You wouldn't really expect it from a shampoo ad, but it works.

So much has happened this week, and next week is going to be just as busy. I've got two DIY projects in the works that I might finish this weekend (though probably not), I've figured out my mom's christmas present, and I'm still working on my brother's (and everyone else's). Thank goodness practically every blog is doing a gift guide so I can get some ideas.

Hope your holiday shopping is going better than mine! or if all else fails, just give people food. You can't go wrong with food.

articles:
- gene therapy keeps "bubble boy" disease at bay
- gay rights and putin's olympics
- who says math has to be boring?

food:
- blood orange caramels
- italian jam shortbread tart
- cut-out cookies with champagne glaze
- quick and easy bread bowls

fun finds:
- beautiful typographic book covers
- the oregon coast
- npr's planet money makes a t-shirt, and follows how it's made
- this instagram feed
- the year in photos (tw: some graphic content)

link love + happy friday

image via tumblr

Happy December! I say this every time, but it's crazy how quickly this year has gone by, and I feel like I've still got so much to accomplish before 2014. It's going to be a super-productive couple of weeks, that's for sure.

We can't have a christmas tree this year because my crazy cat climbs up the middle and makes a huge mess.  So instead we're decorating the mantle and the staircase; i.e. places she has no access. Maybe the front windows too. It'll be a first without a tree, but I think we'll be fine. Have a wonderful weekend!

food:
- gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting and sugared cranberries
- candy cane chocolate cookies
- gingerbread spiced marshmallows

diy:
- holiday gift toppers round-up
- printable holiday gift packaging (from paper crave)
- more printable holiday gift tags (from oh so glam)
- even more printable holiday gift tags (from creative index)

fun finds:
- this gorgeous hand-forged brass coffee scoop
- how a former set from "the wire" became a new public design school
- this wedding in provence (but mostly the provence part)
- i want to go there: hokkaido, japan

birthday box

I saw this birthday jar from anthropologie a little while ago, decided to make my own version for my good friend Allison's birthday. Anthro's version is cute and all, but the contents are a little underwhelming. Here's a homemade version that's simple to make but festive enough to brighten anyone's special day!

I started with a USPS small flat-rate box, and lined the inside with a gold H&M bag. I think some scrap fabric or scrapbook paper would also look swell. The box was then filled with homemade caramels, kraft paper confetti strips, a star sparkler, and a "happy birthday" garland printed on to kraft paper and strung on to baker's twine. 

I also threw together a quick card to stick on top. Now that I think about it, a balloon would totally be a great addition, too. You can also add in whatever store-bought goodies you want to send along, and scale this up to humongous sizes, if you'd like. I'll probably be returning to this "birthday box" idea over and over again in the future for all my friends! You should try it out, too.