Thursday, November 24, 2011

happy thanksgiving!



i hope everyone (in america) has the best thanksgiving ;)

it is truly my favorite holiday since it is solely about food and family. today we are pulling double duty and having meals with both my family and the husband's (so i am thinking loose fitting clothing...)

it has been such a wonderful year and i am so thankful for everyone in my life. this year not only did i get to marry my best friend, but i also got to share in that same happiness for four of my cousins. i also got to see some of the people that mean the most to me do some really amazing things and be a part of their joy. i can't even imagine what the new year holds, but i'm already thankful for it.

so it's time for me to finish up cooking, watch the parade, and then head out for a wonderful day!
i hope you all get to do the same.

all the best, jess

and starting today and running through monday: FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING in the shop!
enter THANKS2011 at checkout ;)

photo source

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

happy birthday to me!

another year another birthday ;)


in honor of myself (?) enjoy 22% OFF your entire order with the code HAPPYDAY today only.
beat the black friday rush ;)

oh and i should clarify, it's 22 in honor of the date, not my actual age ;)

Friday, November 18, 2011

friday finds - early gift ideas



1. patterned hand knitted mittens by Art of Handicrafts
seriously love these pretty knit mittens, they would look so cute with so many different colored winter coats ;)

2. DIY penguin kit by Cythia Treen Studio

great gift idea for the busy person in your life that wishes they had more time for crafts. what an adorable end product!

3. Hand draped cloche cap by Behida Dolic Millinery
i love hats and this one is just beyond gorgeous. would rock that pretty much every winter.

4. reindeer christmas shirt by kay em kay

absolutely love this. for the festive.

5. plaid gadget wallet by rockitbot

sometimes you just need something super functional. great in plaid.

i am trying to get a jump start on holiday shopping... still in denial that thanksgiving is next week though! thank goodness for the internet ;)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

tuesday tunes - on thursday!

ok, so i'm still having posting issues causing my latest installment of Tuesday Tunes to show up now on Thursday.

it's probably my favorite thing i do all week since i love music and i love making a little playlist of new and old stuff that i can obsessively listen to for the next couple of days ;)

so as always, enjoy!

11/17/11 by jess oh on Grooveshark

1. We Are Young - fun.
2. The Bay - Metronomy
3. Midnight City - M83
4. Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
5. Honey Bunny - Girls

on pizza

(ok, so i am stealing this from my husband...
but yesterday he posted the following on his facebook and it's pretty perfect.)


GQ: What can you tell about a man by the type of pizza that he likes?
Herman Cain: [repeats the question aloud, then pauses for a long moment] The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is.
GQ: Why is that?
Herman Cain: Because the more manly man is not afraid of abundance. [laughs]
GQ: Is that purely a meat question?...
Herman Cain: A manly man don't want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza.

Almost as ridiculous as calling pizza a vegetable.

seriously.


(photo source)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

honeymoon part 1 - Positano

i've been trying to get together a post with some photos from our honeymoon for some time, but with 800+ photos it has been a little hard to get a handle on it all! so i'm going to break it into a few posts and try not to be super overwhelming.

we were lucky enough to spend almost two weeks in Italy for our honeymoon and we stayed in Positano on the Amalfi Coast for the first week. we rented an apartment which was pretty amazing (once we were able to find it of course). Positano was a wonderful town to be based in and allowed for day trips to other sights in the area. the weather was great and i think i carb loaded like never before (wine, pasta, and bread oh my!).



our cute little apartment with the most wonderful balcony & view


photo taken from the main Spaggia beach




ate lots of fresh buffalo mozzarella which is made exclusively in the region and always washed it down with locally made limoncello (love the shot of the new wedding ring ;)

We really loved the small town and i can even forgive the hundreds of steps i had to climb every day to get around it. Since we visited at the end of the season it was quiet and easy to explore without crowds being a problem. On the second day in Positano we went on a walking tour led by an Australian ex-pat who has found herself living in the town after marrying a local (the very handsome Vincenzo). She had a great love of the town and its people and it was a really fun way to experience the town, especially when we got to sample lots of local food and drink.





we took a scenic boat trip out to the Emerald Grotto near Amalfi. honestly one of the most hilarious "tour guides" i've ever encountered is the guide that steers the row boat inside the grotto.





Pompeii was amazing and a true nerd's paradise. we had no idea how gigantic the site was and how much had been excavated! we spent over 5 hours here and no doubt didn't see it all. It was easily reached by bus and train even if the schedules didn't match up at all.

I'll be back soon with parts 2 and 3 ;)

Monday, November 14, 2011

art star craft bazaar - this weekend!


so in between the craziness of the wedding, the honeymoon, and getting back into the swing of things at my day job, i've been prepping like crazy for my first holiday show! The Art Star Craft Bazaar is this weekend in Philadelphia and things kick off with a VIP party this friday night. i am both super nervous and extremely excited ;) (clearly this is why i haven't been around these parts as much recently - also Blogger is freaking out and wouldn't let me post anything for the past 4 days...)



if you are in Philly make sure you stop by and say hello! and if you aren't make sure you check in with the shop next week for a massive update ;)

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

tuesday tunes - lady power

it's a girls day over here for this installment of tuesday tunes.



1. Cruel - St. Vincent
2. Shake It Out - Florence + the Machine
3. Crystalline - Bjork
4. Video Games - Lana Del Ray
5. Slow Like Honey - Fiona Apple

i was lucky enough to see St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) again in concert last week here in Philly and she was amazing as always. i must also confess to a total love of Bjork. it's been going on for years and annoying most the people in my life (i know she is not everyone's cup of tea). then this Video Games song by new artist Lana Del Ray has been haunting me all week. i caught it on the radio and then it turned up on Gossip Girl last night (yes, i still watch that show and yes, i still love it).

enjoy enjoy enjoy! and as always, please share any and all music you are currently listening too ;)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

completely unsolicited wedding advice

i feel like at the end of the day getting married is a piece of cake (or at least it should feel like it!) and planning a wedding is the hard part. no matter how big or small you go it is always stressful to throw a party, especially such an important one. at the beginning i wasn't completely sold on the big traditional wedding (i have a very big family, so small was really out of the question) and it was actually Bryan that really wanted the big day. in the end, i am glad that we did it and i'm also really glad it's all over ;)


so even though you didn't ask, i thought i would share a little of what i learned...

there is no right way to get married. aside from ensuring that you become legally married at some point (these rules vary from state to state, country to country), there is no actual script that any wedding has to follow. i remember being given a few etiquette books and wedding guides from well meaning friends and then promptly forgot about them and put them on the shelf. for me it was too stressful, we just wanted to do things our own way and not worry about making sure we were doing it the "right" way. it sounds simple, but it made me feel so much better to not feel constrained by rules or guidelines.

spend money on what matters to you. save on the rest. yeah, weddings can be expensive. if you want a particular venue, have your eye on a designer dress, or need to have a certain band you will probably have to pay, but that's ok. focus on what you can't live without and spend the money there. for us, it was photography and the venue. i could have cared less about flowers and didn't even hire a florist in the end (and they still turned out great in my opinion). i also got my dress at J. Crew, had a family friend do my make-up and a family member bake our wedding cake. so you can make it work. go get those designer shoes of your dreams, i mean you only get married once (unless you are a reality tv star).

something will go wrong. it won't be a big deal.
it seems like no matter how hard you plan and how well organized you think you are, something will happen (ask anyone). a problem will arise, it will be fixed and you will move on. accept this beforehand and be prepared to calmly address the issue and still enjoy your day. of course this happened to us and it was totally fine, no bridezilla moment here.

consider hiring help. the thought of a wedding planner used to sound so bizarre and unnecessary to me. i can assure you it is neither. we had wedding coordinators that helped us the month before and the day of the wedding. after spending so much time making a lot of the decor and focusing on little touches (in between both of us working crazy hours a week), it was great to have people dedicated to making sure everything was in its place and everything happened when it should. they are not a big expense, but i can tell you it was worth every penny.


and that's all i've got (for now at least). weddings are fun, crazy, wonderful days. enjoy the whole process and make sure you keep in mind the bigger picture: you are marrying the best person ever.
(oh and plan a great honeymoon, whoever came up with that idea is a GENIUS)

photos from our great wedding photographers: sanderson images
i'll be sharing more photos and wedding ideas once i get the rest of the photos back ;)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

love.. at IKEA

so i'm a little obsessed with NPR. i commute everyday 45 miles each way, so i have a lot of time to spend with my favorite informative radio station. it is kind of the best.


anyways, this morning there was this great story about IKEA in Shanghai and how it apparently acts as a large gathering site for a sort of elderly "lonely hearts club". apparently people like to convene there for the free coffee and new friends. IKEA might not be super psyched about it, but i just got such a kick out of a retiree confessing:

"We don't tell them we go to IKEA, because IKEA is the place to find boyfriends and girlfriends".

so cute. i met bryan at a college party, not super romantic.
have you ever met a romantic interest somewhere random?

check out the full story here

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

tuesday tunes - welcome november


so there is still a little bit of snow left on the ground here, crazy i know, and it's finally November 1st. this is my absolute favorite month since it has both the best holiday, Thanksgiving, and my birthday (i was actually born on thanksgiving!).

i thought i would celebrate November and the chilly weather with some music perfectly suited to listen to while sitting next to a fireplace ;)

1. Arcade Fire - Wake Up
2. Fleet Foxes - Montezuma
3. Andrew Bird - Armchairs
4. Josh Ritter - The Temptation of Adam
5. Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter

ENJOY!

oh and p.s. i'm closing in on 100 sales in the shop! the 100th sale gets a special extra ;)
thanks for all the support and encouragement, still can't believe it!

current obsession: Austin Kleon


i just love love these little poems/drawings by Austin Kleon. each one is made my redacting a newspaper article.
they are so clever and funny.


prints are available at 20x200 and you can find out more about his book and work over here.

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