I alluded to the bad news regarding my camera lens in yesterday’s post, but here’s a little bit more information for those who were curious about exactly what happened.
RIP 18-55mm kit lens.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hopefully you’re all out spending time with your loved ones and not stalking the cybersphere today. But, if you’re like me and stuck at work or at home, I put together a pretty compilation of floral arrangement shots for you to gaze at.
As part of a work assignment (I know, my job is so rough sometimes) I went to my local flower shop – Norm’s Flower Petal – to chat with the owners about floral arrangements and holiday preparation. I took a few photos while I was there.
Last Valentine’s Day look!
Let’s recap:
Look one was a champagne-and-roses inspired outfit perfect for a brunch date or a casual museum stroll.
Look two was a red lace look for a classy dinner date…
And look three is a simple mauve dress perfect for my actual plans, which include a movie date with my roommate.
Are you getting sick of my lovey dovey mushy Valentine’s Day themed posts yet?
They’re almost over.
Promise.
I found this recipe for white chocolate conversation heart popcorn on Pinterest a few weeks ago when I was trying to help a guy friend come up with gift suggestions for his girlfriend. He didn’t like the idea but I loved it. This Valentine’s themed popcorn is really colorful and festive, and – even better – it’s simple and inexpensive.
So, of course, I gave it a try!
Disclaimer: No, I am not engaged. And no, I will not be anytime soon.
With that being said, I had a chance to write a pretty fun story for today’s paper. Last Friday, I got to head into Ace of Diamonds downtown and talk to the owners about what current trends are in engagement rings. With Valentine’s Day coming up, the local jeweler has seen a huge spike in engagement ring sales (duh!). Mike and Kriss Roethlisberger took time out of their busy sales season to tell me what they’re keeping on stock because of recent customer interest.
Right now, engagement ring trends include:
- Halo settings, often with a split shank
- Cluster center settings
- Contemporary styles (asymmetrical and uneven designs)
- Rose gold
- Pink diamonds
- Chocolate diamonds
Even though I’m nowhere close to being engaged, I love being able to rock trends in whatever capacity I can. Here are some fun ways of wearing some of those engagement ring trends, but without the cost of a ring or the commitment of that whole marriage thing that accompanies it.
Click the arrow to scroll through and see all of my picks.
Whoever decided that we need to work for five days and have fun for two, instead of the other way around, was kind of a jerk.
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Unless you’re living in a cave, you likely heard the story (and updates) about Detroiter James Robertson, who walks 21 miles to work day in and day out. Amazing. $300,000 has been raised to get him a new car.
This is an awesome post about what happened when an online author confronted her troll. As an online author that deals with her fair share of trolls, I really enjoyed reading it.
The trailer for Ryan Gosling’s Lost River was released and it looks amazing. PS: It was shot in Detroit which makes me love it that much more.
Aaaaand Magic Mike XXL’s trailer was released. To quote a friend: “much excite very muscles such yum.”
The Kitchn put together a list of healthy snack boxes. I’ve been debating getting on the snack box train because I love my snacks, so I might have to look into some of these.
Refinery29 posted a story about the struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder, which really hit home with me.
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And me this week? I…
- Heard an excerpt of The Marriage of Figaro as performed by CMU opera students.
- Stopped in Lansing on Monday morning and picked up some new items at Ann Taylor during the half-off clearance sale, like this 100 percent silk blouse and a new henley to lounge in.
- Checked out my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and picked up an old sewing machine table that I’m planning on repurposing into a vanity this summer.
- Finally got around to watching The Interview. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t good.
- Started Fahrenheit 451.
- Had my B12 shot (screw you Seasonal Affective Disorder).
- Tried this face mask with Elise. It used honey, lemon and coconut oil and made my skin suuuuper soft.
- Saw Flint Eastwood perform at Hunter’s Ale House.
- Had a date night with Seth including bd’s Mongolian Grill and Cold Stone.
You can see all this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.
How was your week? Did you do anything fun? Let me know in the comments!
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The logic of fashion is something that has always intrigued me. When you think about it, clothing that is “suddenly” trendy didn’t pop up overnight. I learned this in my “Introduction to the Fashion Industry” class I enrolled in last semester. The whole process — sourcing materials, creating a design, putting the design together, marketing it to buyers and offering it to consumers — takes a lot of time. This means that trends don’t just happen overnight! Years of planning goes into fashion, so when you think about it, the super trendy stuff you’re wearing now was conceptualized between a year and two years ago!
For my job, I was tasked with writing a lifestyles story about upcoming fashion trends and how they will translate into prom dresses. I called up my fashion class instructor today and talked with him a little bit about upcoming spring trends and how they’ll relate to prom. Obviously, many of the themes we’ll be seeing this coming spring have nothing to do with prom. But, fashion is inspirational and malleable, meaning anything from the spring 2015 runway is easily adaptable for any occasion, whether it’s for formal occasions, like prom, or everyday ready-to-wear, like street style or workwear.
(As an aside, when I took my Introduction to the Fashion Industry class, we had a project revolving around trend forecasting. You can read about it here!)
Now that retailers are starting to bring in their spring lines (even though it seems like winter is never going to end here in Michigan), we can start to see some of these trends making their way into stores.
So what trends did my instructor predict we’d be seeing a lot of?
- Colors: dusty roses, dusty blues, champagnes and bright yellows
- Longer hemlines (maxis are still around!)
- Statement gems and rhinestones
- Embroidery, beading and lace detailing
- Oriental-inspired garments (think kimonos and silks)
- 70’s-inspired garments (fringe and flares)
Here are some of my favorite ready-to-wear ways of rocking these upcoming trends this spring.
I cannot believe that it’s already February! And I’m not ready to return to work this week. My trip to Chicago was not long enough and I’m definitely not ready to return to reality!
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Alex Ovechkin is basically the nicest guy ever. He tried really hard to get drafted last so he could win a car during the NHL All-Star Weekend, but not because he himself wanted yet another car.
Tess Holliday is a size 22 model who was just awarded a major modeling contract. Commenters are on completely opposite sides of the spectrum here. Hooray for breaking traditional beauty standards, but boo for encouraging unhealthy obesity? I can understand why each side has its opinion. What’s yours?
Strong magnets breaking things. #science
This meteorologist kept his cool when things heated up. I always love technical malfunctions during broadcasts. It’s probably because I’m one of those print people, but you can always tell the excellent broadcasters from the mediocre ones when it’s improv time.
Justin Timberlake is going to be a dad. Girls everywhere wish they could be the mother.
Piperlime is shutting down. Nooooooo!
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And me this week?
- Well, I went to Chicago!
- I finally saw 22 Jump Street … twice. My brother lent me his girlfriend’s copy and then my roommate rented it the next day, so we had a movie night with caramel corn and Coke.
- My coworker Lisa brought gourmet cupcakes to work – I had Oreo and cookie dough.
- I made a super cute new print for my apartment’s gallery wall.
- I tried this amazing basil lime tofu recipe from Through the Thicket! My food definitely did not look as pretty as Kathryn’s plate, but it was still absolutely delicious.
You can see all this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.
This coming week, I anticipate spending a lot of time hiding from the snow and getting some plans squared away for Valentine’s Day.
How was your week? Let me know in the comments!
My Chicago trip could not have gone by any quicker!
Earlier this week I mentioned I was in dire need of a trip to Indiana to visit my really good college friend Emily. We had originally intended to take a trip to Chicago last weekend, but some car problems had us push that trip back to this weekend. I’m also a little bummed that this weekend’s huge Midwest blizzard caused me to leave Indiana on Saturday night rather than Sunday afternoon, meaning I missed an extra few hours gossiping with Emily and Amanda over brunch and chick flicks. Bummer. Small price to pay for personal safety, I suppose.
Every Chicago trip Emily and I plan somehow ends up centering itself around shopping. I’m not complaining!
I’m beyond excited for this weekend! I’ve been trying to take advantage of the unusually-low gas prices to reconnect with friends across the Midwest. I asked my college friend Emily if I could visit her in northern Indiana for a weekend since I’m about two years overdue, and her answer was a resounding “Yes. Brunch?! Day trip to Chicago?!”
How can you say no to college friends, brunch and Chicago?
Following the “I’m so pumped to pretend we’re still in college for a weekend and OMGBrunch” elation, I got to thinking about the technicalities, of course. We’ll be taking the train into the city Saturday morning and out of the city at night, which means it’ll just be a day trip. Which means I’ll be responsible for carrying all of my belongings on me – throughout the entire day.
So… what to pack?
