coffee / eating / living / style

I had {as predicted} an amazing weekend! Dugan surprised me with tickets to Wicked for my birthday, and it was incredible!! I love, love, loved it! We started the weekend off by watching the original Wizard of Oz on Saturday night, and then Sunday drove into Chicago to catch the afternoon matinee of Wicked. Before the play, we stopped in and had a cocktail at 312 Chicago, and then off to the play next door! I think my mouth hung open for the entire 3 or whatever hours. {Unless I was munching on my Junior Mints}. Spectacular! Absolutely spectacular!!! Being me, of course, I was just as infatuated with the colors and costumes as I was the music. I laid in my {beautiful} bed at the W that night, with visions of glittery shoes dancing in my head. Ever since I saw this little clip of love from 2 of my favorites, The Girls With Glasses, I’ve had my eye out for an affordable pair.

Not that those beautiful shoes from Kate Spade aren’t awesome… I just, you know, don’t really have the budget for a couple hundred dollars worth of glitter pumps. So, I began the search. My favorite ones I’ve found are these from Madden Girl. Pro: less than $50. Con: 4.75″ inch heel. On most days, I’m a little too mobile for that. So my verdict is still out…

{p.s. Not much of a heels girl? TOMs makes awesome glitter flats. I also mention them in this post}. Need a little more Oz in your life? Don’t we all!…

1. Wicked screensaver, downloadable here // 2. Witch Wizard of Oz poster is available at All Posters // 3. Sweet little rugby knee highs are just a click away at Kate Spade // 4. One of my favorite girly things to look at are the gorgeous flowers & so much more from EmersonMade! Check out her pretty poppy and all her other beautiful creations!

We had an awesome rest of the weekend! Great food from Pick Me Up Cafe on Clark {I had a chicken & goat cheese sandwich with fries–such yummy comfort food!} and then probably the best latte I’ve ever had right around the corner at Kickstand Espresso Bar. If you haven’t been to either of these places, you MUST. Then–the cherry on my birthday sundae–a trip to Paper Source! D was so patient as I spent a lot of time tediously debating which new ribbons I wanted to splurge on for lindsay letters packaging. For all of my visual friends out there, below is my weekend in photos… I didn’t bring my camera this trip, so the only photo I can take credit for is the latte picture I took on my phone ;o). Enjoy! xo, linds


decor & style / living / shoot styling / wedding

Our team has been super busy shooting for Christmas–lots of long hours, lots of hauling stuff, lots of patience, and lots of coffee. But, if I do say so myself, I think it’s going to be really beautiful. {You’ll have to wait and see!} Through this whole process, my mind keeps going back to last year’s Christmas shoots, and the primary thought in my mind is “wow, I’m so much warmer this year!” Here’s a look at a few videos from last year. Corbyn Tyson wrote & art directed, I styled the shoots {with the help of Miss Sarah, all her Grandpa’s vintage awesomeness, thrift stores, and Anthropologie}, Colin Gregory directed, shot, & edited, and Scott Zibell, & Matt Youngblood also braved the cold and shot the beautiful footage. {Thanks to Williams Tree Farm for letting us use their place to shoot!} {–also where we had our wedding!}

I love, love, love styling for shoots. My favorite part is to see everything after the guys work their movie magic. There is truly a behind-the-scenes intense art of color correcting and editing. Of course, they make it look so easy! But don’t be fooled. Hours and hours go into getting the tone and color jussssst right. You can watch the videos below. {The talented Nathan Eiesland of ScatteredTrees scored the short films}.

http://www.vimeo.com/9292735

http://www.vimeo.com/9292952

http://www.vimeo.com/9293131

After all this everygreeny-snowy-wintery action, are you feeling like a brisk walk through a snowy tree farm is in order? Obviously. Well, if you can’t get to your local tree farm {or maybe you’re a million miles from snow and Knotty Pines}, here’s my recipe for bringing the outdoors in:

Mix one part PINE: After honeymooning in Estes Park, Colorado, I absolutely cannot get enough of the smell of pine. Not the awful, air-freshener-y pine, but the crisp clean smell of pine. Like you’re really there. These are 2 of my favorites:

On the left is Thymes Frasier Fur. It’s absolutely indulgent. For those of you in my area, I buy mine at Poska. {I’m burning one now!} For my long-distance friends, you can find them online at places like this. The other one I love is the Balsam from C.O. Bigelow. YUM!

…With 1 part SNOW: For some snow-like delight in your place {without the melty mess}, try making a cost-effective white decoration! I discovered this foof {the top photo below} at my most favorite blog, jones design company. If you click here, Emily gives a full tutorial about how to make it. The second photo is from The Nesting Place, where Emily became inspired to create the foof. The Nester, ever-helpful, posted the wreath tutorial here. I made the wreath version for a $10 & under girls gift exchange last night and it was a hit! It was definitely a labor of love, but well worth it.

So, I’m in for an amazing weekend… I’m off to sushi tonight with some of the best company I can imagine, then D and I are headed into Chicago to celebrate my birthday {which is on Christmas Eve} early! Have a great weekend… I’ll see you back on Monday. In the meantime, and happy watching/smelling/hot gluing! xo, linds

eating / lettering / living / style

{… actually, I want to wash my hair in my new Redken shampoo and conditioner. I’m seriously so excited to shower. But that’s beside the point….} ANYWAY, I’m sorry I have been missing. Have you been looking for me? I have been a busy bee!! A Christmas-card-designing-video-shoot-styling-present-getting-party-attending-stuffed-animal-creating-soup-making fool of a bee. {I’d love to share any of these projects with you, but I don’t want to spoil any Christmas surprises!} But for now, as I sit at my beloved breakfast bar and look out my window at the beautiful white world, I’ve decided I’m going to take a break in between my many projects and share a bit of my snowy-weather bliss with you. {Mind you: “bliss” doesn’t mean that I’m not entirely stressed out–I AM. Believe me. But there’s something to be said for nature. It’s my anti-drug. Right up there with coffee.}

S   *   N   *   O   *   W

My sister-in-law Breeze sang the most beautiful song at our Heartland Christmas services last year. It was by-far my favorite moment of the entire program. Maybe I’m a little bias, but it was beautiful. The song, “Winter Snow,” has been so on my mind this December–trying to keep perspective about why we celebrate this month anyway. If you’re feeling like you could use a little peace for your spirit, you can buy the song on iTunes, but if you’d like to listen to the whole song before you commit, you can do that here. {p.s. I had absolutely nothing do to with the video}. Here’s a little sketch I made of the lyrics. {You can pull the image off and use it as a desktop on your computer if you’d like!}

If you’re not lucky enough to have a winter wonderland out your window, here’s some snowy sparkle to get you into the holiday spirit…

1-4 are beautiful necklaces from Anthropologie. {And they are all under $50! Not bad for a huge statement piece!} 1. Love Me, Love Me Not Necklace // 2. Winter Sparks Necklace // 3. Antiqued Epoch Necklace //  4. Iced Eaves Necklace // 5. Vintage Mica Snow {for all my Rockford friends, you can also purchase this at Poska! {A trick I learned from Louise is to lightly spray the bow on a wrapped present with spray adhesive and sprinkle on the pretty mica flakes. Voilà!} // 6. Make your own glitter letters like Miss Mustard Seed! D and I have some fun ones of our own that I purchased from Anthology in Madison, WI. They’re pretty awesome because they’re burnished around the edges. // 7. M•A•C Amplified lipstick in Full Fuchsia from their holiday line, A Tartan Tale. I have this color and I just love wearing it. {Especially with checkered & flannel tops!} // 8. The prettiest cocktail glasses designed by Mrs. Lilien! I just might have purchased some for a special Mr. in my life {shh!}. You can purchase them here. // 9. Champagne cord. {I got this to wrap up the holiday cards I designed for my clients this year!}. 10. Ban.do heart, sure to add that special holiday sparkle to any outfit! I wore the headband version to a Christmas party last weekend. LOVE! // 11. So, I’m a sucker for antlers. I found this caribou antler necklace on sfgirlbybay. This piece is made by Leslie Shershow and you can purchase it here at her etsy store here: missmouse.

Come back later on as the winter fun continues! xo, linds

design / style / wedding

The truth is, sometimes I think I can be pretty cool. On the days when I actually put myself together, or remember to listen to music, or shut my laptop and go exploring, I think “yea, I’m kind of cool.” But then I hang out with my friends Steven & Caitlin and I come to realize, I have not even begun to enter through the gates of coolness. This couple is really, one of the coolest couples I know. I was lucky enough to inherit some amazing friends through marriage, and my life is richer for it. Steve & Cait’s wedding was at the Wilder Mansion, which used to be a library. They decorated the mansion with a subtle library theme and mixed it with fresh winter greenery and arrangements made by Cait’s {adorable} mom. When the couple asked me to design their “book-meets-playbill” program, I was honored. Steve’s a writer, so I can’t take any credit for the clever idea or the wording. I was just happy to get to be a part of their vision. {I think the stitched binding adds a little extra somethin’, don’t you?}. After the wedding, all of the guests brunched and laughed and munched on super yummy cupcakes. It was relaxed and magical all at the same time.

So, in honor of the snow gently falling and the first day of December, here are some photos from one of my most favorite December weddings. Enjoy! xo, linds {p.s. I did Cait’s hair, and she’s wearing the same crown her mother wore for her own wedding… awesome, yes?}

{I had to include that last image because my husband is in it!} {I guess I should mention that he officiated the wedding, or else that’s pretty creepy}… Oh, of course! You want to know who’s responsible for the amazing photos!: Paul Carlson, assisted by Jill Devries. They were lovely people with exceptional eyes for detail. Stop by their blogs and check out more of their work!

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