Meet Me in St. Louis

With Brian gone to Atlanta, I have the TV all to myself, and have been watching Turner Classic Movies non-stop. I am definitely a lover of old movies, and I just never get sick of this one.

There are just so many wonderful things about it that make me happy. First of all, Judy Garland just looks like the picture of beauty in her lovely turn-of-the-century costumes. She is just radiant. 

Second, the music is amazing. "The Boy Next Door" "Clang, Clang, Clang Goes the Trolley" "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and of course "Meet Me in St. Louis" are all songs that practically every knows the melody to. 

Third, there are just so many moments that I love. The telephone scene between Rose and Warren, after the party when Esther and John Truitt turn down the lights together, the Halloween scenes, and of course the trolley scene! 

But also there's the Christmas dance when Esther goes with Grandpa, and then of course the proposal scenes for both Esther and Rose. And lets face it, everything Margaret O'Brien does in the movie is pure gold. 

This is absolutely one of my favorite movies ever. And the beautiful scene at the end, at the World's Fair, with all those beautiful lights, and the girls in pretty white dresses...it just makes my whole night to watch it. 

Kate Spade for Fall

I am obsessed with these looks for fall. For more, go here and spend the rest of the day dreaming about polka dots, pink cropped jackets and yellow tights. 

Stairway to Heaven

Seriously, who knew staircases could be so beautiful? They just don't make stairs like they used to. I hereby vow to someday live in a house old enough to have architectural details like these. 

Julie & Julia

Give me any movie with 1950's or 1960's fashion done impeccably well and I am sold. But Julie & Julia definitely rose above my easy-to-please expectations. I honestly can say that I enjoyed the movie from the minute the theatre darkened until the end credits rolled. I loved the concept, loved looking at all the delicious food, and especially loved the empowerment of how the characters were able to do things they had never done before and master them. 

I also loved the Julie storyline about her blogging, as I am new to the blogosphere myself. I thought it was funny that her mom wrote her first and only comment for quite some time...when so far, my mother is the only one who has commented on Jenna Sais Quois so far. But at least I know I have four readers! 

But overall, I found it to be a wonderful movie. And I especially loved the Paul Child character played by Stanley Tucci. Is it possible that such a wonderful man exists in modern times? Julie's husband sure wasn't as wonderful as Julia's. But then again, Julie wasn't as wonderful as Julia either...

What happened to the world where everyone was cool as a cucumber, and nobody flew off the hand or had a meltdown over something as trivial as dropping a goose and having the stuffing and other various innards fly across your kitchen? 

I think my favorite part is the toast, "You are the bread to my butter, and the breath to my life." What an awfully beautiful thing to say to someone. The movie was incredible. 

On another note, I have often thought hanging pots and pans on a pegboard a la Julia Child made the kitchen look a bit cluttered. But I love the idea of painting the area where the cooking items hang a slightly different color, rather than outlining them with marker. I want one someday in Martha Stewart Blue to match my mixer. (And recipe card holder, and teapot, and dish towels and...wow I love that color.)

What I've been working on

I am finally finishing up the Media Guide for the Ohio State University Marching Band, and I'm definitely happy with how it turned out. It was a fun project, and will be distributed to all news and sports television and radio networks at each game this fall, so it has a decently large circulation of about 15/20,000. 

Here are the back/front covers as well as an interior spread. The goal was to incorporate more visuals and ease some of the text-heavy pages with more photos than the prior years' guides have had. 

Packaging Design to Die for!

Today I was fortunate enough to find the dieline, "the world's #1 packaging design website." I can predict that I might be blogging more about packaging throughout the day, based on what I find while exploring this site! 

But first, you need to check this out. It is the packaging design for Help Remedies. They basically provide quick fix medicine, and you can buy their accessible packages of certain medications or first-aid items. They are streamline and functional while also providing stress free relief...they would be perfect for a mother's purse!These are all the different types of first-aid/medicines offered. They cover everything from allergies, the common cold, trouble sleeping...they even offer band-aids and healing ointments.

 

The Ohio State University Marching Band

Here I am in Atlanta, and what have I been doing during the day? Freelance work! Deadlines don't wait for vacations, evidently. But I am once again doing a project for the Marching Band here at OSU, and I have some of the coolest photos to work with this time around. I love them so much, I just had to share a few. 

They were taken by Edward and Karen Crockett, a husband and wife team, who have a ton of fantastic photos of the band on their website. If you are looking for any OSU mementos, one of these framed photos would make a great gift for a fan or recent graduate. 

Another Amazing Kitchen

I have been on quite a kitchen kick this week! And when I stumbled on this, I immediately adored it. You can't go wrong with a subway tile backsplash in that beautiful blue, and a pop of yellow. Fantastic. (I just wish they had a bright yellow mixer instead of the white one!)

What I've been up to!

I am using this space to update you on some of the things I've been working on. Here's what has been keeping me busy the last few weeks! 

This is a birthday card designed to both send Ohio Union staff and students a birthday wish, but to also remind them that the new building is opening! Illustrating the new building took hours! 

These tee shirts are for the multicultural sorority, Delta Xi Phi, and celebrate their recruitment theme of "Searching for Diamonds in the Rough." 

Pride & Prejudice

I could watch Pride & Prejudice over and over and never get sick of it. It is just such an amazing film. It always makes me feel better, and with this being Brian's last night living in Columbus, Ohio, I could use the lighthearted and classic tone. 

The Nantucket Collection

I am absolutely in love with the Nantucket Collection from Restoration Hardware. Their outdoor furniture makes me wish I lived on waterfront property with a big wooden deck instead of in the city, with a small wooden fire escape. 

Basic Black & White

In my opinion, you can never go wrong with Black and White. All you need to do is change out your accent color, and you've practically redecorated your room. I have been browsing home tours on the Martha Stewart website, and of course they are to die for. The modernized take on the Chicago row house made me giddy. 

I absolutely die for this kitchen. The stark white look of it, and the subway tiles on the backsplash would go perfectly with my retro white kitchen appliances from Big Chill. I am saving this image when it comes time to decorate my own kitchen. 

Congratulations!

A big congratulations to Nathan! He was just hired as the new music teacher of the Southington School District! He will be absolutely amazing! 

Wedding Inspiration

I have spent a bit of time creating my first wedding inspiration card, thanks to the many photos from The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings. 

It features two of my favorite colors, and I think they go beautifully together. Enjoy the yellow and robins egg blue wedding! 

Dream Come True

I saw this retro kitchen children's playset a year ago at Pottery Barn Kids and I immediately wanted to own it. Although, the fact that I'm 23 and have no baby girls in sight for quite a while stopped me. 

But then, today I found Big Chill and realized sudden

ly that my dreams have come true, because I can have these adorable appliances in adult sizes...and they function! 

These amazingly beautiful appliances can and WILL be mine someday for only slightly more than the cost of new stainless. And my dream of living in the 1950's will come true every time I step into my kitchen! 

And think of how great they will look with my already purchased mixer and other appliances that I am currently saving for!