I heart boobies

I just ordered one of these bad boys to show my support for the Keep-A-Breast foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to increase breast cancer awareness among young people by spreading the word about early prevention and detection methods. If you heart boobies too, you can help the cause by visiting Keep-A-Breast.org.

On an unrelated note, I totally want a ping pong table at my wedding reception!

(Via Loserkids.com, Style Me Pretty)

I'd rather be swimming

These snapshots by the ultra-talented Elizabeth Weinberg make me miss Florida. It's 100 degrees outside right now and I could sure go for a swim. Alas, given the dearth of recreational water facilities here in landlocked Colorado, I guess I'll just have to make do with a romp through the sprinklers when they come on at 5 o'clock.

(Via Elizabeth Weinberg)

Have a nice weekend!

What is everyone up to this weekend? I know Sean and I will be making the most of the last few weekends of summer here in Denver. We will ride bikes, play volleyball, perhaps go for a swim. We may check out this movie, too. Until Monday, my friends, I leave you with some tasty morsels from around the web:

Make perfect blueberry muffins.

I want to live in a wee house.

What Americans really spend on food.

My go-to t-shirt and jeans fragrance.

Lovely love poster (I want!).

A fun camping engagement session via Green Wedding Shoes.

This is why we don't have nice things.

Sweet retro kitchen appliances.

Design inspirations via The Inspired Room. You know I'm a sucker for a chalkboard wall.

Now go outside and have a happy weekend!

(Photo via My Parents Were Awesome)

Love love Emersonmade

I have been secretly obsessed with the delightful hand-stitched blooms over at Emersonmade for some time and now that the Emersonmade clothing line has officially launched I feel it is my duty as a blogger to share my secret with you all. I'm hard-pressed to think of an occasion that wouldn't be appropriate for one of these darlings.

You can be sure I will be sporting Emersonmade at my upcoming nuptials. My only dilemma: which beautiful bloom is right for me? To have to choose just one is nearly impossible. Go ahead and try, but don't say I didn't warn you.

As for the clothing line, I would like one of everything, but I especially love this feminine tweed jacket, the little grey dot ribbons dress (love the pockets!), and the supersoft stripe shirt.

Enjoy!

(Photos via Emersonmade)

Best friends

As part of their coverage of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the miracle workers at Best Friends Animal Society have shared this video highlighting some of the reunions they were able to facilitate between people and their pets displaced by the storm. On behalf of animal lovers everywhere, I'd like to thank Best Friends for their ongoing efforts to make this world a better place for all creatures, great and small.

Hurricane Katrina 5th Anniversary (Reunions) - Best Friends Video

What's your story?

When I stumbled upon this site, I squealed with joy. Out of Print takes iconic book covers (like The Catcher in the Rye) and prints them on super soft t-shirts (mimicking the feel of a well-read book). How exciting to find one product that appeals to two of my fancies: books and vintage (read: expensive) t-shirts!

Speaking of classics, I just finished Fahrenheit 451 (also available on Out of Print's site), Ray Bradbury's cautionary tale of censorship and the dangers of willful submission. Part sci-fi (think mechanical dogs and giant televisions that interact with you), part social commentary, the novel predicts the potential consequences of emerging technologies and the tendencies of people exposed to these technologies to abandon questioning and imaginative thought for an anti-intellectual lifestyle in which "facts" are fed to you (via Seashell radios small enough to fit in your ear and voyeuristic television) and books are outlawed, a message that resonates today even some 50+ years after its inception.

In closing, my favorite quote from the book: "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man's mind. Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?"

Green houses

This green roof reminds me of a Swedish restaurant called Al Johnson's my sister and I visited in Door County, Wisconsin. The restaurant's roof was covered in grass and there were real, live goats atop it grazing, lounging, and posing for the occasional picture.

Check out Obvious magazine's article on green roofs: an environmentally-sound (and aesthetically pleasing) solution for decreasing energy consumption and improving air quality in urban cities (goats optional, of course).

(Via Obvious)

Cats let nothing darken their roar

I am head-over-heels in love with this calendar by Helsinki-based designer Noa Bembibre. I missed out on 2010's edition, but I hope to snag the 2011 edition when it is released.

So simple, so witty, so awesome. If you're as excited as I am, you can sign up to receive an email notification when the 2011 calendar is released here.

(Via Noa Bembibre)

Mid-century love

How adorable is this patchwork chest from Schonbuch? One day, when I'm rich and famous, I hope to have an entire house full of mid-century modern pieces like this one. Also, these:

I will sit around in my citrine his & her armchairs quoting Isak Dinesen and sipping iced tea. I will collect argyle sweaters and keep them tucked away in this sideboard:

One day.

(Via Schonbuch, via 1st Dibs, via Great Dane)

Go Topless Day

It was just brought to my attention that yesterday, August 22, was national Go Topless Day. Throngs of women in various cities around the country (including Denver) went sans shirts in protest of the fact that men are legally permitted to walk around in public bare-chested (even though I'm sure we've all seen some men whose breasts rival those of even the most buxom of women) while us gals are required to cover up lest we incite a riot. I personally think this country could use a good topless riot or two. Supporters of the movement hope to draw attention to the difference between nudity and sexuality and to ultimately render the topless female as normal as her male counterpart. I whole-heartedly support their efforts, and while I myself probably won't be going shirtless in public any time soon, I know a few girls who would welcome the opportunity. Have you/would you ever go topless in public?

For more information on the Go Topless movement, visit GoTopless.org.

Do you have soul?

Happy weekend, friends! This morning, Sean and I rode our bikes up to a local breakfast cafe called Devil's Food. We gorged ourselves on challah french toast, eggs benedict, and scrambled eggs with melted brie on cornbread (as delicious as it sounds). For dessert, I had to try a homemade "hedgehog": red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting center covered in chocolate ganache. Whoever the culinary genius is that came up with this magical combination should be given some sort of medal.

Later on, we had some friends over for dinner and a backyard movie. Sean was able to get his hands on a projector (we won't say how) and we fashioned a screen out of an old twin bed sheet which we then hung on the back wall of our garage. We gathered around the screen in camp chairs and watched High Fidelity, one of my all time, top five favorite films. If there is anyone out there who hasn't seen it yet (gasp!), stop whatever you are doing right now and go watch it. You won't be disappointed. While you're at it, pick up the book by Nick Hornby. It's equally as praiseworthy.

Apropos of our day, here it is, my desert (dessert?) island, all-time, top five most favorite sweet treats:

1. The Pie Man's 7-Up cake

2. Red velvet cake

3. Coconut macaroons (a plus if they're dipped in chocolate)

4. Peanut butter ice cream pie from Shady Grove in Austin

5. Black & white cookies

Have a great weekend, everyone. For now, I'll leave you with this:

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery, and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

Love free music

Check out, download, and share this summer playlist courtesy of Family Records and ModCloth!

Chickadees

Last week I had the pleasure of caring for these lovely ladies. Tina, Gilda, Laraine, and Jane (get it?) are a friend's backyard chickens. Who knew chickens had so much personality? I swear those chickens know the cure for cancer and would share it with us if only they could speak. Then again, I may be projecting. Another perk to chicken-sitting:

Free eggs! What fresh eggs lack in size (they were surprisingly smaller than the store-bought varieties) they more than make up for in taste. There really is a discernable difference in flavor and texture and I encourage you to try one should the opportunity present itself. We made scrambled eggs for breakfast over the weekend and, call me sappy, but as I cracked open the first egg I was filled with a sense of gratitude towards the chickens for providing us with a truly incredible food that is both nutritious and delicious!

Scrambled eggs, done right.

(Recipe via smitten kitchen)

Cutting the mustard

So I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now, but was thwarted by my aesthetic demands, the majority of which I was unable to make come to fruition due to a serious deficiency in Photoshop skills. Thankfully, after several hissy fits and a fair share of whining, my dear, dear soon-to-be husband, Sean, got things up and running for me. Off we go!