Friday, April 30, 2010

my exciting life

my "study break" yesterday consisted of driving my roommate to a bar (yes, in the middle of the day) and then going to the home depot to pick up some moving boxes. thrilling. before completing my errand and returning to the confines of my dining room table, i walked about the garden section a bit to give myself (and my iphone photo album) the illusion that i'd spent a great deal of time outdoors, not staring at my books.
ranunculus flowers i was absolutely obsessed with - wouldn't a huge carpet of these look beautiful in a back yard?
and orchids, of course. aren't all of the different varieties so cool?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

how do you say "feed me" in 6 languages?

oh, i know, like this:
france
japan

aren't these fantastic? nicole over at juicy clouds found these incredible images of flags made of food and i just want to gobble up every single one. aside from the fact that the rectangular white plates make just about anything look delicious, these are styled so uniquely and beautifully that i might have to pass up my exciting lunchtime plans of a turkey sandwich for something more exotic.

images via juicy clouds; see more images at trendland

minolta memories: the stragglers

these all took place during mardi gras 2010 (as if the boas didn't give it away). the pink palace, pictured above, is where marty calls home and where i'll be spending my summer studying for the bar.

speaking of studying...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

minolta memories: still life

some more salvaged photos off of my less-than-successful roll:
the top photographs are from an antique store in sandwich, il (yes, it exists).

on that same trip my parents and i stopped at a roadside antique mall and i amused myself by taking the photos of the cornfield - i remember it was the absolute perfect summer day with a tiny breeze, and the sunlight was beautiful (you can see another picture from that day and of my parents here).

the tulips are right outside my soon-t0-be-former law school.

minolta memories: the over-exposed series

do you remember that feeling you got after a night out when you would dutifully march over to walgreens the next morning (aka afternoon) to develop the disposable camera you'd used? the waiting, the wondering... oh those days before digital cameras, when you had literally one chance to record the moment and you wouldn't see the outcome until you developed the roll, be it the next day or months later after that disposable camera got lost the shuffle of purses and clutches designated for nights out.

anyways, true to my promise to take more pictures with my old minolta, i dusted off the camera and discovered a roll that'd been in it for at least a few months. as i ran to the photo counter at walgreens with the roll, all that giddy anticipation from the days of disposables came rushing back. some of the images weren't quite what i expected, but like i said, expired film and a screwy old camera will do that to ya. here are some of the images from what i've dubbed the "over-exposed series":
here's the back of marty's house in new orleans
marty, his roommates, becky and ivy during mardi gras!
there's more where these came from and don't worry, they're not all blinding.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

a toni-centric photo spread

we have toni again! this is now our third time having her and toni is finally starting to not have to go on anti-depressants and lose her will to live when she leaves missy's brother. the fact that these visits are becoming increasingly more frequent leads me to believe/hope that we may be inheriting this little pup very soon (ahem, hint hint, rob). rob, like any male technophile, has the tendency to pass down his no-longer-wanted or outdated purchases to his grateful younger sister (ipod, digital camera... i'm sure there's been a cell phone here or there). while little tony is by no means unwanted or outdated - considering since she's a mere 6 months old - his schedule is demanding and we are extraordinary pet-sitters. i rest my case. now enjoy!
belly rub whore
sigh...

Monday, April 26, 2010

i may have been living under a rock, but...

i had no idea urban sold furniture. as if the conglomerate's takeover of the world wasn't already complete. i spent an unnecessarily long time on the website today, trying to fall in love with the designs (okay, and wishing i could afford the ones i did fall in love with). is it me, or is urban's furniture just really all over the place? i guess i'd be more okay with it if it weren't for the purple velvet "fainting sofa" - and there's lot more where that came from (like, a vinyl sparkly storage bench? i don't know what to make of it).
ok this tweed storage bench i am TOTALLY on board with (more on that later). just one more thing...

wtf is urban doing selling BIKES? i'm at a loss. stick to what you're good at, urban!
images via apartment therapy

just about the sweetest thing ever

marty informed me today that some of his classmates are offering a free "intro to bhangra" class on friday night and he WON'T be attending. he figures that i need to be there to temper his embarrassment as he tries his hand at this traditional punjabi folk dance. i suppose his logic is sound. i also suppose that part of the reason i want him to go so bad is (1) i just ate hema's kitchen and am therefore in a very indian mood and (2) because i'm guessing marty'd get to wear an outfit as fabulous as this little boy's and he'd rock it.

image via the bhangra wiki page

Sunday, April 25, 2010

cafe bernard

sorry for the serious lapse in posting - finals are here (well, almost) and i am in study mode - at least to the extent of not letting myself live the fabulous, exciting life i'm accustomed to.* in any case, i just thought i'd share this adorable french bistro down the street from my apartment. cafe bernard is intimate and cozy, the food is delicious and affordable (they have a great price fixe menu, and it doesn't have to be restaurant week to enjoy it), and it has an adjoining wine bar, the red rooster! i went there once with my parents and we were all very impressed. once i'm back to my old tricks following finals and before the big move, i'll definitely be taking one of many victory laps there!

how are you spending your weekend? buried by books or having fun? if it's having fun, spare me.

*ya, okay.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

my minolta

as i was perusing we heart it this morning i came across this great image:
find the image here
i have the exact same camera! it's a minolta xg-1, released in 1978. my dad bought it in the early 80s and i bring it out for special, sunny occasions (because it has no flash and the metering is on the fritz). because it is sunny in chicago approximately 47 days out of the year, i haven't used it yet this season, so i wanted to share some of my past minolta favorites.
my friends, miriam and moritz, from germany
see? told ya i like boat tours
an old camera + expired film makes everything look like it was shot in another era
this is at the chicago air and water show, on north avenue beach
of course mark and mary have to make an appearance