Life Last Week: April 28, 2014.

This is always a super fun weekend in Chicago for C and me, as it's our annual excuse to get our nerd on at C2E2, Chicago's Comic Con.   

Glimpses.

{A dalek next to a parked TARDIS?  Never a good sign; I would make a GREAT Ironman}

{The show floor from above}

{C is VERY excited!}

{Don't. Blink.}

{I don't even know}

{Lord of the Rings v. Star Wars: you decide!}

 {Our loot}

{Relaxing Sunday}

New & Noteworthy.

Stop Telling Women to Smile.  Powerful.

This week in helpful advice from The Everygirl: 5 Ingredients You Don't Want Near Your Face.

Here is Today.  Well that neatly puts things into perspective, doesn't it?!

We Want Your Job: Kate Spade Designer (yes, we do!) via Design*Sponge

Also from Design*Sponge this week: A Day in the Life of Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.

And from last week, Bro Bible's I Tried Pure Barre and Holy Hell is Being a Woman Hard.  LOL.

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Spring Forward | Behind.

This week is all "I am going to pass at a frantic pace and you will attempt to keep up but you will fail, k?"  So that's where I'm at.  How are you?

The above pictures are from our trip to the Lincoln Park Conservatory on Easter Sunday.  It felt so good to see so much green and so much color after this long winter.  Now I've got to go fall further behind on stuff ;)

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Life Last Week: April 21, 2014.

It is time once again to switch up my Monday posts.  Life Last Week will be a little more free-form.  Self-imposed restrictions are no fun :)

It was 72 degrees on Easter Sunday in Chicago.  I'm still smiling :)

Glimpses.

{Spring flowers}

{Golden details}

{COLOR!}

 {Egg dyieng}

{Live voting on The Voice starts tonight, and C's brother's girlfriend DANI MOZ is in the TOP 12!!  We're so excited}

 {The end of our homemade Easter brunch}

{Sunshine streaming in}

{Springtime decor updates}

{Easter Sunday walk in the park}

New & Noteworthy.

Mad Style is BACK!  via Tom & Lorenzo

Dustjacket easily convinced me that I need an Apartment in an English Manor.

Whoa.  Artist Red Hong Yi's Flower Petal Artwork is stunning.  via Creature Comforts

Along those lines, Rebecca Louise Law's Floral Installations are incredible.  via Design* Sponge

Henry Happened has tips on How to Juice in a Blender.

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Spring Forward | Easter Bonnets.

Easter is always special to me around these parts because 4 (!) years ago on Easter weekend, I hit publish on my first a spot of whimsy post.  But Easter is special in general - obviously from a religious perspective, but also as a bright line in the sand between winter and spring.  I am so looking forward to celebrating it this year with a quiet yet productive weekend in the city formerly-known-as Chiberia (never again!).  

I wish you happy Easter wishes, and have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

A Song of Ice and Costumes.

I have recently discovered that Michele Carragher, the woman behind the incredible and gorgeous embroidery on Game of Thrones, has a website.  I have now died and gone to costume design heaven.  

Just a small sampling for you here.  Behold more of her insanely beautiful work, no, art, for the show right here.

Be sure you see the creations come to life in this short time-lapse video.  And holy moly, Michelle even created her own "dragon scale" technique for Daenerys' costumes.

It's a great week to be a Game of Thrones fan :)

xo. di.

*images via Michele Carragher

Grateful | April 14, 2014.

I am Grateful.  

For wonderful family.

Pictures of the Week.

{Love this type of daffodil!}

{Saturday brunch at home}

{Granola parfaits}

{Saturday night dinner; C's hidden talent}

Links Worth Sharing.

Oh my goodness, 8 Million Flower Petals exploding out of a Costa Rican volcano!  via Poppytalk

There was a bit of a kerfuffle over the release of the American Blogger documentary trailer this week.  I thought Clementine Daily's words on it, and The Importance of Telling Your Story, were well-said.

A Beatrix Potter-inspired Easter Egg Party, how delightful!  via The Food Network

The Glitter Guide has rounded-up some awesome looking Avocado Toast Recipes to try.

This guy knows his way around an accent.  via A Cup of Jo

Have a wonderful week.

xo. di.    

*images property of Diane Crary

Spring Forward | A Special Meeting.

This has been such an intense week of non-stop deadlines, I cannot even believe it's Friday.  Our Save the Dates went out in the mail, our wedding website (courtesy of C's brother's mad skills!) went live, and I'm in the midst of one of those crazy busy periods at work that consume a person.  

Can't slow down yet, though!  We have a big weekend in Michigan ahead - C's parents and my parents are finally all meeting together.  His parents have met my dad, but that's it in the 4 years we've been together, so this is big!  We'll be doing our menu tasting and rehearsal dinner finalization, and I'm sure discussing a million other little things in between :)  Can't wait.

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image property of Diane Crary

Make | With Darby Smart.

I contacted the wonderful and new(ish) company Darby Smart, an online community of craft and DIY projects, a few months ago to learn more about their DIY kits, as I was super interested for myself, but also thought my readers would love to know more about their projects.  I was so pleased with this great start-up's response, and now here I am sharing my first Darby Smart project!

After subscribing to Darby Smart's newsletter for a few months, I finally made a move and purchased my favorite project, the Mini Magnetic Terrariums.  Darby Smart launches new, simple DIY projects (that you can tell have been painstakingly put together) almost daily, based on the latest trends in home design and fashion.   There's nothing better than having all of the materials for a project at your fingertips at once.  

{So true}

My kit did a great job of laying out the supplies included, instructions on how to actually make them, and pictures for inspiration.

 {Finished products!}

{Kindly ignore my ugly apartment-living refrigerator!}

An Update!  Darby Smart has been kind enough to offer my readers $10 off their first purchase of $19 or more with code CRAFTLOVE10.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

*Darby Smart provided me with a 50% off discount for any DIY kit of my choosing.  I held off until I found the right one.  This was so fun and I get to look at the result every time I go to the fridge!