Sarah and Cody

My grand tour of weddings continues, but this one is different from all the others. This is the wedding of two of my dearest friends in the world, Sarah Marie Paczak and Russell Cody Chappell.

They have quite a story, actually. He bought her a ring in 2nd grade, and she has always said she would marry him someday. Her mom kept that little ruby ring, and as it turns out Sarah was right! They finally tie the knot Saturday, July 31st, and I am so honored to be one of Sarah's bridesmaids. I wish them both all the happiness in the world, because true love could not possibly be bestowed to two more deserving people with more beautiful and open hearts. I love you both! 

Photo from Snap! Photography

Yikes, Stripes

There is nothing that says Summer like stripes. Red & white, blue & white...really you can guarantee that any color striped with white will look crisp, clean, nautical and quintessentially Summer. From drinking straws to deck chairs to Thank You notes, here are some fabulous Summer stripes for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Photo from Santa Barbara Chic

Dress from Audrey and Grace on Etsy

Home Office image from Casa Sugar

Photo of Bakers Twine from Moa Maria's Flikrstream

Thank You notes from Katie Wyper Designs on Etsy

French Messenger Bag from Ika on Etsy

Photograph by The Daily Foto on Etsy

Car of my Dreams

I am not usually someone who gets too excited about cars. They are really all the same to me! In fact, I quite often make fun of boys I know who are obsessed with them...but when I saw this 1991 Nissan Figaro, it really had me at hello. Now if only I could manage to drive on the passenger side of the car...

Images from here

Circus Birth Announcements

Who saw this today on Twig & Thistle?? I pretty much just died of happiness. These are my two favorite colors, and the retro feel of these "circus themed" illustrated birth announcements is so fantastic. Obsessed with these. It's easily the best project I've seen this month...maybe this year?

{Photos from Twig & Thistle}

Happy Birthday: Jenna Sais Quois

This blog is one year old today!
It has been an incredible creative outlet throughout my final year of college, and one I hope to continue working on this for many years to come. In the past 12 months, my life has completely changed. Mostly for the better, but it hasn't always been easy! Here are some things that have happened in the past year that are noteworthy:

1. I graduated from The Ohio State University!
I really never thought this day would come, but I did it!

2. I wrote and illustrated a children's nutrition book!
I did this as part of my senior thesis project for OSU's Department of Design.

3. The Martha Stewart Blue line of KitchenAid Appliances was discontinued...
This almost rocked my world more than #4...Seriously.

4. I ended a nearly 2-year relationship at the end of October
Though breakups are never easy, this one truly changed my life for the better.

5. I saw the grand opening of The New Ohio Union. And I worked there too!
This building, which has been under construction for most of my college days, opened this Spring and is truly magnificent.

6. I lost 40 pounds, and started training for a 1/2 marathon
This was something I always wanted to do, and I finally had the motivation to do it!

7. I attended 8 weddings, and blogged about even more...
Birds do it, bees, do it...and apparently all my friends do it too! Falling in love is the thing to do in your 20's, didn't you know?

8. I traveled to New York City, Atlanta, Phoenix, and probably more!
Vacations are a necessity to keep you sane. I love traveling, even if it's just for a week or even a weekend!

9. I discovered a love of Letterpress, Packaging Design, Party Planning...
Blogging doesn't just mean writing, it also means a lot of reading! I can honestly say browsing the other great blogs every day has helped me discover passions I never knew I had.

10. I got inspiration!
Piggybacking off of #9, gleaning inspiration from blogs and collecting it here has been the key to what helped me grow leaps and bounds as a designer this year. So thank you to those reading, but especially those writing!


This post has been a little bit self-indulgent, but thanks for bearing with me! Knowing it's been a year since I started this lil' ole blog has made me terribly nostalgic.
Thank you very much to those who navigate to this page from time to time to read about what has inspired me, and hopefully inspires you a little bit too! I appreciate you stopping by!

What's Cookin?

As I may have posted, it's been a busy year. I have completed a thesis, graduated, and am now job searching and moving! My last day in my apartment will be September 9th...the only hitch is that I do not know where I will actually be moving! But a girl can dream, and I have been giving a lot of thought to what my kitchen will look like when I get there. Thanks to a lot of Martha by Macy's products, some of which I have managed to buy before they were discontinued, I have a pretty clear direction.

Anthropologie magnetic kitchen timer

6-piece Multicolored prep bowl set {Mixer discontinued}

Cuisinart Classic Toaster

Yellow kitchen towels Red 5 quart collander

Utensil Print pot mit

6-piece Melamine mixing bowl set {blender discontinued}

{recipe card holder discontinued}

Thank goodness I have managed to collect all of the discontinued items. The rest are on my wish list at this point...My mother and I managed to find the blender in the right color at 3:00 in the morning during an existential kitchen crisis. Whew!

For Kids: Nutrition Education

You all may remember me talking about my thesis project, which I completed before graduation! I am excited to share with you all that it is currently featured on the web at The Living Principles, and you can view my project here! Thanks very much to my thesis advisor, Paul Nini, for posting it.

{Images by Jenna Brucoli}

Goodbyn is Back!

Back in September, I posted about how much I adore the Goodbyn Lunchbox, which is a compartmentalized waste-free lunchbox for kids. I can't believe I missed it, but they actually updated in February with 4 new colors and a more mature shape (i.e. no ears!) with the same features and price of 24.95! Buy it in Charcoal, Slate, Plum and Ghost or the original colors here!

{Photos from Goodbyn Website}

Clarissa and Dan

My grand tour of weddings kicks off this weekend with the wedding of Clarissa Lawlis, a dear friend from my days in The Ohio State University Marching Band. She is marrying Dan Bey, who was also in the marching band with us, tomorrow and I wish both of them all of the happiness in the world!

{Photography of Eden Lang}

Greeting Card Series

I am well aware that it is incredibly out of season, but I wanted to give you all a preview of the newest project I've been working on for The Ohio Union: A greeting card series. So far the Halloween card is the only finished piece, but there will be a Thanksgiving, Birthday, Wedding, etc. Stay tuned for more!

{Image by Jenna Brucoli}

Forage for Mr. Fancy

I love bow ties. I mean, I think we can all agree they are vastly underutilized in this world. It could be because I attended and worked for The Ohio State University and this is our beloved University President, or it could be that they make a fellow look just plain dapper. This line of bow ties in particular, featured yesterday on Once Wed, are divine. They are called Forage, and use the most lovely fabrics. Those patterns and colors are just retro enough for me to be obsessing over them. And now, without further ado...

{Photos from Something's Hiding In Here, via Once Wed}

Photography Spotlight: Clayton Austin

I don't know how I've missed him until this morning on Ruffled, but Clayton Austin has apparently been one of the top photographers featured around the blogosphere for some time now. I completely understand why! He has the uncanny ability to transform the person opposite his lens into a glamorous mid-century movie star who is glowing so brightly with love that you can see her (or him) from outer space. I've spent most the morning browsing his blog, and wanted to post some of my favorite shots so you can see what I mean.

{All photos from Clayton Austin. Love. Stories}

I could honestly hire this photographer to shoot me sitting on the floor, cleaning out the refrigerator and he would still make me look beautiful and glamorous, and like a 1950's housewife. Hope he's still working in 10 years when I actually decide to tie the knot...

Teal, Vintage Kitchen

I know it's ridiculously late to be blogging at all, let alone looking at more vintage kitchens on flikr. But honestly, dear readers, I simply can't go to bed until I share this with you. It's just that good. Trust me. In fact, dare I say it may be the kitchen of my mid-century modern fantasies?

{Photos from 50sPam's photostream}

I honestly love looking at retro kitchen redesigns so much that it feels like I'm doing something dirty. Especially at 3:00 am.

Mint, Vintage Kitchen

I fell in love with this incredibly quaint kitchen while browsing through flikr this morning. It is featured in the owner's gallery. There are no words to describe how much I love their stove and the mint green wall color, but then they went and added a pristine white subway tile backsplash and vintage green and white decorative elements to their shelves and wall-mounted curio. A girl could just die!

{Photos from flikr}