Winter Beauty | Spring Light.

Hello, above-freezing temps and the beginning of daylight savings time.  You are very welcome here, especially for this weekend of double-festivities for a best friend who is both turning 30 and celebrating her dwindling bachelorette-hood here in Chicago!  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

P.S. I chose this gorgeous crown picture because of my continued obsession with the TV show Reign.  Last night's episode was so bat-shit crazy/awesome, ugh, just so much fun.  Also, crowns are always a good idea, especially for bachelorettes :) 

*image via Man Repeller by way of Harper's Bazaar UK

Winter Beauty | Friday Flowers.

For the second Friday in a row,  I'm leaving you with pictures of flowers I purchased to help me ignore winter.  This time I actually arranged them myself; I was pretty proud.  And now I'm looking for a flower-arranging class in the city to develop my "skills," so if anyone has a recommendation, let me know :)

So...it's Oscars Weekend!  Cosmopolitan UK has an awesome infographic of Every Best Actress Oscars Dress from 1929 that you should check out.  C and I have a stay-at-home date night planned (crutch boy isn't going anywhere for awhile!) to watch Dallas Buyer's Club tonight so we can fully evaluate the McConaissance.  And don't forget to sip on The Oscar on Sunday.

Have a wonderful weekend. 

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Winter Beauty | Living Color.

I bought these flowers from a newly-discovered florist here in Chicago (Field & Florist!), when I decided on February 13 (aka Valentine's Day EVE) that I wanted some flowers for my birthday dinner 2 days later to make it extra festive.  Heidi (the owner!) emailed me back within 2 hours, said no problem, and the next day I had these lovely, colorful arrangements at my door.  They've made me smile every time I've looked at them in the middle of this snowy, rainy, windy, foggy week.   

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary

Winter Beauty | Love.

To My Valentine,

It took 24 years for me to meet you, and 2 more years after that to realize I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.  Now, 1 day before my 30th birthday, my heart overflows.  Without you by my side, turning 3 decades old would seem a lot scarier.  But all you ever do is make me feel better about the person I am.  I am in awe of your ability to always offer unwavering support, seemingly effortlessly.  Though I know I could never match it, you inspire me to try every day.  In just under 8 months, we will become man and wife, and every February, I get to call you my Valentine.  Always.

"You know when I said I knew little about love?  That wasn't true.  I know a lot about love.  I've seen it, centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable.  All those wars.  Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again.  But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful.  So yes, I know that love is unconditional.  But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Tristan is... I think I love you.  Is this love, Tristan?  I never imagined I'd know it for myself.  My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it.  Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me anymore.  It belongs to you.  And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts.  No goods.  No demonstrations of devotion.  Nothing but knowing you loved me too.  Just your heart, in exchange for mine."  - Stardust, Neil Gaiman 

Happy Valentine's Day to All.  May you have love in your life - in whatever form you desire - every day.  Thanks for letting me get sappy today :)

xo. di.

*image part of our e-session by Luna Dulce Photography

Winter Beauty | Florida Sunshine.

I can already feel the Vitamin-D being replenished...the whole family is heading south to Florida to celebrate my 30th birthday at the happiest place on earth, where it's ok to never want to grow up :) 

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

P.S. No post on Monday!  I should pop back in on Tuesday if flights cooperate, if not - photo recap of the festivities on Wednesday!  In the meantime, there will be many instagrams.

*images property of Diane Crary

Winter Beauty | Healing.

{Immunity Soup}

{Kale Power Salad; Sleep Salve}

{Lavender & Lemon Sugar Scrub}

{Tea with Honey & Lemon; Eucalyptus Candle}

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 

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

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

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!)

winter beauty: reading & writing.

From Nora Ephron's son, Jacob Bernstein, in his beautiful tribute to her, to be published in this Sunday's New York Magazine: 

"All her life, she subscribed to the belief that 'everything is copy,' a phrase her mother, Phoebe, used to say.  In fact, when Phoebe was on her deathbed, she told my mother, 'Take notes.'  She did.  What both of them believed was that writing has the power to turn the bad things that happen to you into art (although 'art' was a word she hated).  'When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you; but when you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it's your laugh,' she wrote in her anthology 'I Feel Bad About My Neck.'  'So you become the hero rather than the victim of the joke.'"

Read the full article here.  It's heartbreaking and lovely and makes me wish so much that she was still here, contributing more of her words to our world.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image via

winter beauty: home.

Happy March!  I'm headed home for a last-minute weekend visit in Michigan (not to worry, nothing's wrong, just want some family time and this was the first weekend that worked!).  

This image brings up memories of so many afternoons and nights during my high school and college years with my mom, who always seemed to sense when she needed to put on water for tea and pull out whatever baked goods we had in the house so we could have a long chat about [fill-in-the-blank-teenage-angst-issue].  Cherished memories, these.     

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image via design*sponge

winter beauty: dancing shoes.

We went to see the Joffrey Ballet's winter performance last night (now thru Sunday!), which has reignited my mini-obsession for all things dance.  I haven't taken a class in about 2 years now, and that needs to be fixed.  After training for the half marathon for 3+ months, I have felt super unmotivated about working out.  I've run once in the last month, and find any razor-thin excuse to get out of strength training (my most hated activity).  To counter that, I recently signed up for a package of pilates sessions (surprisingly fun!), and dance classes are now back on my radar.  What do you do to combat exercise fatigue and disinterest?  

And as I mentioned yesterday, I'll be having some friends over on Sunday for the Oscars.  If you'll be hosting or attending a viewing party, here's a few pieces of inspiration:

- Oscar Bingo and Ballot via How About Orange
- Oscar Ballot via DIY Studio
- Oscar Viewing Party Inspiration via The Glitter Guide

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image via Clever Nettle

winter beauty: another year.

So.  Today is my 29th birthday.  Mixed emotions about that age.  One year til 30.  All that good stuff.  But I am heading to northern Michigan this evening with C and get to spend the weekend with my family, so I'm pretty darn happy today.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image via

winter beauty: snowed in.

The photos of February's New York Fashion Week are starting to trickle in, which means that I am once again jealous I'm not there.  I shall just have to root through the beautiful images from my laptop, as the snow falls off and on outside here in Chicagp.  I will also finally be seeing Les Mis this week (still can't believe it's taken this long!) after a brunch with some very lovely ladies in my life.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image via

winter beauty: february!

So long, January.  I will not miss your weather.  Hello, February!  The month of lovvvvve.    jk... ;)  So this will be a bit of a hibernating weekend for me, about which I'm pretty excited, with the exception of a Saturday night with my high school best loves and Superbowl festivities on Sunday.  Sounds good to me!

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*images via ruffled blog

winter beauty: ski bum.

C and I are headed to the SUNSHINE STATE (actually, Denver.  Note: is this still a viable pop culture reference?) for the weekend to visit my college roommate and her fiancé = :)  We're even headed to the mountains for my first time skiing out west since high school and C's first time out there ever, so we are pretty darn excited for this whirlwind winter getaway.  If we've gotta deal with winter, better to do it flying down a mountain (what a mantra!). 

have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3

winter beauty: some fun.

honestly, after 5 days in 80+ degree weather, it's been a rough transition back to january in chicago these last few days.  i don't normally turn on winter this intensely until mid-february, but here we are.  and what am i going to do about it?  desperately attempt to resist the urge to hibernate until april.  that starts with spending lots of time out and about with friends this weekend, laughing, gossiping and generally ignoring the outdoor temperature.  

have a wonderful weekend.

xo. di.

*images via classy girls wear pearls

winter beauty: the most magical place on earth.

You're currently finding me in the place where dreams come true with c, my sis and her husband for the Disney World Half Marathon (tomorrow morning!  getting nervous!).  I unabashedly love this place and everything Disney, the forecast for the next 4 days is perfect, and of course we're spending a day or two at Universal to get in our Harry Potter fix ;)  Here's hoping we survive the race to get there!  My apologies in advance for my absence here early next week until I'm back in Chicago.  In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend.

"They can't order me to stop dreaming." -Cinderella

xo. di.

*image 1,2

winter beauty: white.

the winter beauty series returns: a picture or two to remind us there's some pretty to be found in these gray, cold days.

{images via the beautiful and new fiore magazine}

how's everyone doing with the first week back from the holidays?  iiiiii could be better (putting it mildly!). work has just been owning me with late nights and early mornings and lots o' stress and deadlines in between, and that will continue into this weekend.  but i'll still sneak in some me time to jump start my resolutions, namely the organizing and the ridding my world of stuff.  i will also no doubt be catching up on sleep!  sounds super duper fun, no?  :)

have a wonderful weekend, and i hope your plans are more exciting than mine!

xo. di.

winter beauty: march 2, 2012.

the winter beauty series: a picture or two to remind us there's some pretty to be found in these gray, cold days.

isn't this the most impossibly chic outdoor skating party ever?!  although after seeing the hunting party scene in last week's downton abbey season 2 finale, there's nothing those downstairs inhabitants couldn't make fabulous! 

xo. di.

*images via