Friday, January 31, 2014

Winter Beauty | Healing.


Every single one of the girlfriends I was with last weekend has either a cold or the flu right now (except the bride, thank goodness!).  I felt fine until Wednesday morning, when I woke up knowing my number was up.  I'm just one of the cold people, I'll carry on, with a little help from some of the above remedies.  Feel free to share your home-grown illness fighters in the comments.  Needless to say, it'll be a quiet few days around here. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

P.S. Good riddance, January!  Here's hoping February weather treats us a little kinder.

*images as noted above 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Fandom Valentines.


In a fandom?  Etsy has you covered for Valentine's Day.  

xo. di.

*images as noted above

Monday, January 27, 2014

Grateful | January 27, 2014.

I am Grateful.  

Despite less than fun road conditions to get us all there, we celebrated the happy couple to the fullest.  It was a fantastic wedding weekend.

Pictures of the Week.


Links Worth Sharing.

Adore this updo by Oh Joy!, and the flowers just add extra whimsy ;)

The Art of Presence: how to be of help to someone who is suffering or grieving.  via A Cup of Jo

The Chandelier of Lost Earrings via Women You Should Know

Style Me Pretty asks: You're Engaged, Now What?  Great Question.

I have never been so inspired by a home tour!  Katie is an inspiration as well as an inspirational interior decorator.  via The Everygirl

Nursing Home Made a Calendar of its Residents Posing as Classic Movie Characters.  It is pretty adorable.  via Filmdrunk

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Friday, January 24, 2014

Winter Beauty | Let It Go.

{A few of my favorite Frozen concept & fan art pieces}

I've been humming the soundtrack to Frozen all week (It's SAH good, you guys.  And it's not just about a snowman!).  Not difficult to picture myself in the iced-over land of Arendelle after this week's return to arctic temps and relentless wind.  #sooverit.  But this weekend, winter beauty will be put to good use at one of my best friend's weddings in my hometown :) Can't wait to see all my girls tomorrow and work with my family on some of my own wedding plans on Sunday (it's florist meeting time!).  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2-5,6

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Don't Forget the Whimsy.


This letter (and things like it) are pretty much the reason I started this blog.  My "elevator pitch" for a spot of whimsy has always included the tag, "I like life with a spot of whimsy.  I blog to create and to share."  This letter from a young girl to Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has taken on a life of its own.  

That this team of scientists decided to respond to Sophie like this (a dragon R&D department!) makes me so happy that there are adults out there who believe in fostering imagination for as long as possible. 


And here is Sophie's "dragon," created by CSIRO (full story on its creation here):


"Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."  -Walt Disney

xo. di.

*images and story via here and here

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Price of Gold.


Notwithstanding an old 30 Rock joke about the alleged "superiority" of the Summer Olympics, I happen to find the Winter Olympics equally fascinating.  I was also born during the 1984 winter games, so that may be a factor, but the main reason is easily women's figure skating.  Fostered by my mom's love of Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill and Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi became my favorite person who was not a Disney princess in 1992, and I was all about Nancy Kerrigan's balletic skating (queen of the arabesque!) two years later.  I also had a very intense obsession with big curly hair when I was in elementary school, so she was pretty much my definition of beauty!


You know where this is going: January 1994, the national championships in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan, a "hit" on Nancy orchestrated by Tonya Harding's husband, possibly involving Tonya herself, and "why, why, why?!" on repeat across the country.  We were all equally captivated and horrified by the story, as evidenced by the 1994 women's figure skating competitions still holding the title for highest-rated Olympic telecast in American history.  


Attempting to capture some of that nostalgia (and clearly it's working on me), ESPN released its latest 30 for 30 documentary last Thursday: The Price of Gold, which revisits the Kerrigan-Harding rivalry, how (and a bit of why) it all occurred, and what perspective twenty years can have on the event.  While Tonya was interviewed and features prominently in the documentary, Nancy declined to participate, as did Tonya's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly (now Jeff Stone), but if this tale sends you into childhood reminiscing, I've cobbled together some other interesting pieces to give a more complete picture.

- 30 for 30: The Price of Gold premiered last Thursday, January 17.  ESPN will be rerunning it quite frequently over the next several weeks, including this coming Friday, January 24 at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

- NBC's Documentary on the 1994 events, to air some time during the Sochi Olympics (yet to be announced), will feature interviews with Nancy Kerrigan as well as Tonya Harding.  Nancy is serving as a contributor and analyst for NBC in Sochi, so she will likely have to discuss what happened more than once this winter.

- Deadspin has an eye-opening interview with Tonya's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, who served jail time for his role in the attack on Nancy.  While he's not exactly a credible source, the interview serves as an interesting companion to Tonya's version of the facts.  His casualness and joking manner about the whole thing is, to put it mildly, off-putting.

- Slate details why Tonya Harding couldn't land the endorsements Nancy Kerrigan did.  This behind-the-scenes stuff was fascinating, and I admit to understanding Tonya's years of frustration a little more after reading.

- The Hang Up and Listen podcast discusses "The Kneecapping on Ice."

{Tonya Harding, today}

It kind of blew me away that it has been twenty years.  And looking at it through the lens of an adult instead of that of a ten-year-old girl, how insane that this even happened?!  A man hired another man to take a police baton to a 24-year-old figure skater's knee cap so that his wife had a better shot at winning a gold medal at the Olympics.  Wow.  I'll leave you to your own opinion as to what Tonya knew or didn't know and at what time, but it is certainly the one question - despite Tonya's adamant denials - these documentaries and articles cannot answer with certainty. 

While it is natural to feel some sympathy toward Tonya for her abusive upbringing and the disparity between having to sew her own costumes and Nancy's Vera Wang-designed creations for gratis, not to mention the way the media portrayed Nancy as the "ice princess" ready to inherit the gold from Kristi, and Tonya as the rough and tumble athlete (here the word was almost used disparagingly), that hard edge has not left her.  A sampling from The Price of Gold:

{Searching for images of the 2 yield hundreds of side-by-side comparisons like the above, Nancy as the regal princess, 
and Tonya as the crumbling mess}

"Nancy's a princess," Tonya says in the film.  "That's how everybody's seen her.  She's a princess and I'm a pile of crap."  

Later, when discussing Nancy's mildly tarnished post-Olympics image (she was caught on camera making some less than charitable remarks a few times), Tonya says, "She was the crybaby who didn't win the gold.  I'm sorry, I've never said this before, but just shut up!  Nobody wants to hear your whining, ok?  You got a silver medal in the Olympics and all you can do is pooh-pooh them away?  I just don't think it's right."

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion.

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3,4,5

Monday, January 20, 2014

Grateful | January 20, 2014.

I am Grateful.  

UGH why doesn't my office have MLK day off?!  Wait, no, start again...grateful...yes... I had such a lovely weekend.  I saw friends, I saw Frozen (eee so good!), I worked out, and I worked on some fun projects.   

Pictures of the Week.

{My amaryllis has bloomed!}
{This little plant of ours reminds me of Under the Umbrella Tree}
{We had SO much fun at dry bar!}
{Reorganized some shelves/vignettes in the house; this is one of my favorites}
{I see that DALEK hiding behind the pineapple plant :) EXTERMINATE!}

Links Worth Sharing.

In my opinion, this is the very best The Everygirl article to date: 4 Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves.  Read it.  Bookmark it.  Reread it in six months.  Repeat.

Design*Sponge hit it out of the park with this one: Practicing Mindfulness At Home.  Great read for starting fresh this year.

City Friends: here's 15 Genius Tips for Living in a Small Space from A Cup of Jo.

4 Ways to Speak with Kindness via Clementine Daily.  This is also a good one to bookmark and refer back to periodically.

Verily Magazine has some awesome Food Photography Tips.

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Friday, January 17, 2014

Winter Beauty | 2014 GG Favorites

 {Julianna Margulies in Andrew Gn; Olivia Wilde in Gucci}
 {Lupita Nyong'o in Ralph Lauren; Michelle Dockery in Oscar de la Renta}

{My lady crushes: they've never looked better or been more clever in a live setting!  That Clooney joke!}

I can never let one of the big award shows go by without posting my favorite Red Carpet looks.  Julianna's black & gold gown is my run-away favorite.  When she appeared half-way through the Red Carpet coverage, I knew nothing could top this look for me.  That silhouette is my everything.  

Runners-Up: Amy Adams in Valentino; Cate Blanchett in Armani Prive.  See you all back here after The Oscars, unless someone does something interesting at this Saturday's SAG Awards!

Fun things on the calendar for this weekend: a restorative reiki yoga class (relaxing!); my first trip to drybar with some girlfriends (pretty hair!); and finally seeing Frozen (Disney obsession continues!).  I've had "Let it Go" on repeat for the better part of a week, and I haven't even seen it in context yet (Idina!  Singing a song inspired by "Defying Gravity" from Wicked!  How could I go wrong?!).  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*Red Carpet images via Style.com; Amy and Tina image via PopSugar

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Netflix Gems | Sherlock.

Notwithstanding the constantly growing catalog of available content on Netflix Instant, I know there are a lot of people out there who feel like they can’t find anything to watch.   With this periodic series – Netflix Gems – I aim to introduce you to movies, tv shows and documentaries you may not know are hiding in there.  While Netflix is still lagging behind where I think it should be on new releases and current seasons of television, there’s a whole bunch of awesome there as well, so let's talk about it right here.


The BBC's Sherlock is our current obsession.  We'd been meaning to catch-up on the series for about a year now, and finally hit play on New Year's Day.  Netflix has seasons 1 & 2 available instantly, and here's the easy part: each season is only three 90-minute episodes long.  We blazed through them all in less than a week, and are now ready for its third season premiere this coming Sunday, January 19, on PBS.





{How could you not love this face?!}

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, King of Everything with the Coolest Voice Ever (my opinion)) as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, U.K's The Office, Love Actually) as his put-upon partner, Dr. John Watson, this version takes place in present day London and updates many of the classic stories with modern twists and explanations; Watson even writes a blog as an extension of their detective business.  

I know my explanation of the series cannot do the show justice (the tumblr fandom surrounding this show is insane btw; jump in at your own risk!).  It's incredibly clever, tightly-scripted, well-acted (seriously though, Cumberbatch is le best), equal parts funny and suspenseful, and, frankly, easy to catch-up on.  So get to it!  And then watch the season 3 premiere this Sunday on PBS (right after Downton!).

xo. di.

*U.K. readers: I know you've had the new episodes since January 1, no need to rub it in ;) 

*image 1,2,3,4,5,6

Monday, January 13, 2014

Grateful | January 13, 2014.

I am Grateful.  

For time spent catching up with friends.

Pictures of the Week.

 {Clockwise from top left: keeping warm; gorgeous sunrise over the snow; uber-healthy smoothies; so much snow}
{Clockwise from top left: delicious endive appetizer; the flooding of Lincoln Park; Wine Tasting Party; Sips with some lovely ladies}  

Links Worth Sharing.

Doesn't this Green Goddess Kale Power Salad from Clara Persis sound both delicious AND healthy?!  Reminds me of this salad I made last weekend, which was also YUM.

So nice to get to know a little bit about the immensely talented Katie Rogers of Paper Fashion.

Jess Lively talks Balancing Old and New Habits.

And finally, there has been much talk around the blogs this week about purpose, motivation and negativity on the Internet.  The most interesting/poignant (my opinion, of course) are below:

     Toast Talk via A Piece of Toast                                                
     Flawless via Peppermint Bliss
     Anxiety & Insecurity via DesignLoveFest 

Hope they strike you as much as they did me.  Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Friday, January 10, 2014

Winter Beauty | Hibernation.


I'm cold.  We're all cold.  The polar vortex has frozen my motivation and my inspiration.  I go to work.  I go to the gym.  I walk home.  I watch a little TV and I go to bed.  Repeat, all week.  Not the most exciting way to start a new year :P  Here's hoping the warm-up this weekend brings some much needed energy along with it.  Who's with me?!   

Have a wonderful and warm weekend.

xo. di.

*images via This is Colossal (which has a bunch of awesome polar vortex pics!)

Monday, January 6, 2014

Grateful | January 6, 2014.

I am Grateful.  

For a heated apartment, for being one day closer to the end of winter, and for my office allowing us to work from home today.  Stay safe and warm, all! 

Pictures of the Week.

{NYE at one of our favorite (and prettiest!) restaurants in the city}
{Threw a bunch of veggies and fruit into the blender to kickstart a healthy new year}
{So. much. snow.}
{Made these turkey quinoa meatballs during Sunday's snowstorm}
{C and I took an early morning trip to IKEA and spent Saturday night putting this together (wine was involved!)}

Links Worth Sharing.

I know we're all through over-indulging, but how delicious does The Effortless Chic's Blackberry Thyme Sparkler look?!

Good Life has some product tips for Winter Beauty.

Here are 10 Fresh Recipes to help you kick start 2014 via The Sweetest Occasion. 


Style Me Pretty put together a great retrospective on their favorite wedding pieces and their favorite homes, parties and more.  If you want all of their best content for 2013 in one place, these links are for you!


Some New Year's Wisdom from Hip Hip Gin Gin.


Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary
Related Posts with Thumbnails
 

design + development by fabulous k