Ombre heart cake

This would make such a beautiful wedding cake. Or birthday cake. Or any day cake. Love it.

Roger loves Chaz

How can I begin to tell you about Chaz? She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone, which is where I seemed to be heading.

Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz celebrate 20 years of marriage today. This article is so beautiful and perfectly written. What a love story.

 I sensed from the first that Chaz was the woman I would marry, and I know after 20 years that my feelings were true. She has been with me in sickness and in health, certainly far more sickness than we could have anticipated. I will be with her, strengthened by her example. She continues to make my life possible, and her presence fills me with love and a deep security. That's what a marriage is for. Now I know.

Bob and I were out for our anniversary dinner last night and we talked about how much we've grown in our first two years of marriage. It's amazing how we know each other so much better than we did on our wedding day. Marriage really does make you grow in a way you can't anticipate. It's so wonderful.

A belly grows

This video makes my heart swell.  It's perfect in every way.  Will any of you, my dear, sweet creative friends, volunteer for this project when I'm pregnant?  Please say, "I do."

Magic- A Belly Grows

Snow angels

Isn't this a great idea for a winter engagement photo session?  I'm looking forward to doing my first snowy engagement photo session today. The weather is perfect: not too cold and just cloudy enough.  Wish me luck!

photo from here

Engagement photo inspiration

Jagger Photography

 

I have been commissioned to take engagement photos for a couple that's very near and dear to me and I couldn't be more thrilled (and a little nervous...).  There is so much inspiration out there.  I'll be lucky if I can create images half as good as these.  I can't wait to try!

Dana Grant Photography

Fresh in Love

My intention for the week.

via here

Move, Eat, Learn

How incredibly creative, beautiful, inspiring and amazing this video is.  Wanderlust-ers beware - it is guaranteed to be travelbug inducing.  Also, Eat (love!) and Learn.

by Rick Mereki via Black*Eiffel

Memory #17: My Lost Backpack

Going along with my backpacking trip to Europe... Another favorite memory is when the airline I was traveling with lost my backpack.  Sounds funny, right?  I was en route to Athens from Milan and had been in southern Germany where the temperature was a little chilly.  I was dressed in pants, a sweatshirt and sneakers and I had only my camera, passport and money with me.  I confidently boarded the plane dreaming of hot weather and a summer dress.  When I arrived in Athens and learned that my backpack had not made the trip with me I was beside myself.  I didn't speak a lick of the language, nor did I have my hostel reservation or any maps with me.  I was terrified.  To make the long story shorter, after hours of roaming through the city dripping with sweat, I ended up stumbling on my hostel after a few hours.  And, I made some new friends who helped me out with soap, contact solution and a towel.
The next day I went out in search of cooler clothing (it was scorching hot!) and found a small shop where the store owner was heaven sent.  Little did he know that polite conversation would lead into my travel nightmare.  He immediately called the airline and gave them a piece of his mind (and translated their response for me).  He promised I'd get my backpack back within the week.  I decided to purchase a dress there and then, god bless his heart, the man gave me some underclothes (yep, didn't have those either), a small knapsack to carry my things in, a pair of sandals and a beautiful blue scarf.  He was so kind and compassionate that I left the store with renewed faith in the universe.  I went on my way to explore the Greek islands.  And wouldn't you know it - a few days later I got a call (on the island pay phone) that my backpack would be arriving via ferry at 3am the next morning.  I went out to the dock to meet the boat and while I couldn't have been more happy to see my belongings, I was dreading the heavy load.  I definitely learned the value of traveling lightly those few days.  And, the sense of accomplishment, empowerment and perseverance in a bad situation did wonders for my outlook.  It was a really tremendous experience.

I saw this photo outside a cafe on the first island I went to after my backpack was lost. 

Must Keep Running

I am in the second week of training for a half marathon race and my body is feeling it.  It usually takes a couple of weeks to get into a groove, but today my legs are especially sore.  So, I decided to seek out some inspirational quotes to get me energized and keep myself motivated.  Here are a few of my faves:

Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts. - Steve Prefontaine

 

This is not about instant gratification. You have to work hard for it, sweat for it, give up sleeping in on Sunday mornings. - Lauren Fessenden

 

The truth is that running hurts. - Unknown

 

 

Photo from here.

 

 

House Numbers

I'm in the market for new house numbers.  Husband and I have done so much updating to our house, both inside and out, and I've been craving a fun new change to our house numbers.  There are so many cool options.  Love this pretty tile and these tiles.  And, wouldn't these numbers be awesome on a cleverly stained piece of wood (like yellow!)?  I may take inspiration from these for a fun backyard project...

Vintage Vacation

I love this photo of a young newlywed couple at the sea.  What a great shot of these two lovely things enjoying the salty European air.  Husband and I have a lot of trips planned over the next year and this one is inspiring me to make them as stylish as possible.  What travel plans are you making?

via the sartorialist

Gratitude

I woke up this morning feeling extremely grateful.  Grateful for my wonderful husband whom I'm head over heels for.  Grateful for my puppy who makes me laugh every day.  Grateful for my family who are always thinking of me.  Grateful for my friends who indulge me with fun lunchtime chats.  Grateful for the rain last night that gave me a delightful night's rest.  Grateful for the delicious raspberry jam that was the perfect compliment to the crunch peanut butter on my PBJ.  Grateful for my yellow flats that made my feet feel so stylish as I headed out to face the day.  

Baby belly + fruit

The first one of my really close childhood friends is pregnant and I'm super excited for her.  The other day we were talking about the baby's growth week by week and how its size corresponds to a piece of fruit.  That made me hungry so we headed out for lunch.

I love how this woman documents her pregnancy by photographing her belly and a piece of fruit.  Too cute.  I believe I'll be following her lead with my own project when the time comes.

Capital 'L'

Isn't this beautiful?!  Next weekend is the Boneyard Arts Festival and I'm excited to have a piece of my artwork on display for the first time.  I will be designing the capital letter 'L' as part of a fundraiser for CUDO.  As a typeface junkie, I'm very excited to be a part of this!

I've been searching for inspiration on the web and these two make me smile.

Grover makes everything cuter. :)

Check out the display at Cakes on Walnut in Downtown Champaign!