My Famous Garden

Over the past week, my porch container garden from last yeart have been featured on two of my favorite blogs
Not Martha and Chicago-Apartment Therapy

It has been really exciting. Gardening has been a passion for as long as I can remember and last year was the first garden I did all by myself. There was definitely lots of trial and error. My tomato plants grew huge, but never bloomed. My herb plants and jalapeno pepper plants grew huge and were delicious all summer long. The one difficulty with a container garden is the amount of water it requires. I have to go out every day and water my plants and beg my bf to water them when I go out of town. In the end all of work was worth it. My porch became an oasis despite its proximity to several dumpsters.
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Go to my flickr account to see more photos of last years garden and this years garden

Style Found

I am one of those people who has the hardest time deciding what style they like because I like pieces from many different of style. As I get rid of the cheapo college furniture from my apartment, I am finding it harder and harder to figure out what style I want my apartment in. I guess my style is similar to what Domino Mag features (bits and pieces of different styles combined in one conhesive look).

I recently discovered the grail of mixing different styles of furniture-"Found Style" by David and Amy Butler. My favorite part of this book is how they mix mid-century modern/modern with flea market finds to create a conhesive look. All the interiors in this book are beauiful. Every time I browse it, I find something else I missed in it. This book also gives me tons of inspiration for objects to look for when I go to the flea market on Sunday mornings. Over the this week and next I will features some of my ebay/flea market finds.

I'm back...

Wow, time does fly. It seems like just yesterday was march, but now it is almost june and I haven't posted in 2 months. Opps. To make matters worse, I am literally losing my mind. Along with crazy work, I am attempting to get my portfolio/resume updated and online, finish up the freelance design work I'm doing for my cousin, spring/summer clean my clothes, etc...



Anyways, enough of that. I am totally excited about the Rotring 600 Old Style Pen/Pencil Set I just bought off ebay. I have never spent so much money on a pen and pencil, but they are sooo cool and I love the weight of them. I discovered them through a freelance designer at my work. After a quick web search, I discover that one of my favorite bloggers loves Rotring pens/pencils too! Hopefully I will get them soon and the creativity will flow.

Pretty Pink

Last night when I couldn't sleep and was channel surfing, I came across the movie Pretty Persuasion and was instantly sucked in. I managed to completely miss it when it first came out. Evan Rachel Wood was awesome in this (I managed to miss Thirteen also). I especially loved her makeup in this. It was very springy/fresh/pink in contrast to the black comedy feel of the movie. This is a look I am definently going to go for this spring.

Lets Dance!

The past couple of weeks has been hellish. Too much work, too much stress, super cold weather... This video makes me smile and forget about stress for a minute. I have a feel Mika will be the next big thing.

Winter/Work Escapist

The weather in Chicago has gone from cold to worse over the past weekend and to make matters worse, I have been working crazy hours at work. To escape from thoughts of work and attempt to relax, I headed to the Schaumburg on Saturday to window shop at Ikea and Woodfield Mall. While at Woodfield I got to check out American Eagle's new spin-off store "Martin+Osa".



I absolutely loved the visual merchandising, color pallet and the quality of the clothes. It reminds me of a marriage between J.Crew and Patagonia. I love the different shades of gray sweaters and the thick sweatshirts. It seems like so many retailers are skimping on the quality of the fabrics they use in their lines, which was not the case here. The jeans and wool sweaters were thick and sturdy. The price point is very similar to Banana Republic and J.Crew, but since their Spring 2007 line is coming into the store this week, practically everything in the store was 60%. I definitely took advantage and invested in some gray sweaters, jeans, etc...



Be sure to check out their website. It has a beautiful clean, crisp design. Unfortunately a majority of the line is not online and you cannot purchase anything online. I love the "worth a look" section. It is a great resource for interesting books and music.

Images from www.martinandosa.com

Run Baby Run

After stuff myself with too many xmas cookies and sitting in front of the tv too much, I decided to get back to the gym. Nothing makes the miles go by on the threadmill than listing to musci with my trust red iPod nano. However the standard white ear buds keep falling out of my ears when I workout which can be annoying when you are gasping for breath. The solution? The Sennheiser MX 75 Sport Buds. Not only are they a super cool neon green color, they use a new "twist-to-turn" design to hold them in your ear. Basically the top portion slips into the space above your ear. I will admit it took me 20-30 mins to figure out how to use them, but know that I know... simple. Sennheiser also has 5 other types of sport headphones, check them out. Now all I need is my Nike+ kit and new running shoes and I will be set.

I WANT IT

I don't think that I have been so excited about a phone. After watching Steve Job's Keynote speech at MacWorld this morning via the internet, I was amazed. Th capabilities, interface, design of the iPhone are amazing. It will change all future cell phones and MP3 players. I will anxiously be waiting for June to come when it is available.

Spring comes early

I totally regretting not purchasing the now infamous Bobbi Brown Chocolate Palette. When I got the email announcement of the Violet Palette, I went straight to Nordstrom to check it out. I was pretty certain that the violet colors would work with my skin, because I have very similar coloring to the model on Bobbi's website. After trying it out, I had to buy it. It is the perfect introduction to spring. The violet blush and eye shadows are fresh, light and youthful. After putting the colors on, I was in the mood to go to Charleston, SC or some warm. I did not purchase the Limited Edition Ultra Violet Shimmer Eye Shadow, but I am planning on going back. I am surprised the lack of press this palette has gotten, however when I was in Nordstrom women were purchasing it left and right.

I also purchase Bobbi's new Concealer to Go that day. As a concealer newbie, this is a great way to try three concealer products for a low price. I am planning on getting the full sizes of the corrector and concealer.

My Top 10 Favs for 2006

Since a large majority of the blogs I read have been listing their favs for 2006, I thought I would join the band wagon.

1. Red 4GB iPod Nano
The best bday present ever. The beautiful metallic red color is much better in life than over the web.

2. Black Riding Boots
After seeing skinny jeans hit the fashion scene and searching for the perfect boots to wear with them, I discovered these via Lucky Mag. They are definently a buget way to look fashionable and unique.

3. Smashbox Lip Stain
See my post below extolling the virtues of this lip stain

4. MINI Cooper
I have been lusting after MINI Coopers for the past 2 years, when my car finally died, I bit the bullet and bought it. I love it, it's the perfect city car and is a great value purchase. I have also meet a bunch of cool people from the Chicago MINI Motoring Club and done some cool events.

5. White Ralph Lauren Sunglasses
I found these at Nordstrom Rack for the lovely price of $20 (originally $120)

6. Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm
I didn't discover this till the Xmas Eve after dieing of chapped lips. The minty rosey taste is refreshing and fun.

7. Lucky's XLong Jeans
Finding long jeans/pants has been difficult my whole life. Lucky is one of the few stores to stock long jeans in store and to have xlongs. These are the perfect length with heels (a most for every tall girl).

8. J.Crew Summer Skirts
I LOVE J.Crew's summer skirts. Every summer I buy at least 4 or 5 of them. I try to wait till they go on sale, but sometimes they just call me. Usually the price doesn't break the budget too much... Nothing says summer like an elegant, pintucked/pleated knee length skirt.

9. Bobbi Brown Makeover
This makeover started my current love affair with makeup. I wasn't the type of girl to wear anything other than lip gloss, but after this makeover that inhanced my "natural" beauty. Now I am more adventurous, but I will never forget looking in the mirror after the makeover and being shocked...

10. 2 Louis Ghost Chairs by Starck
As a lover of modern furniture and Domino Mag, I was so excited to see these chairs on sale at the DWR Outlet Sale. They bring the right touch of modern and tradition to my apartment