.pretty.

beatrix

musette

aren't these two dresses from elizabeth dye just... heavenly? musette is more me, but i love beatrix just because.

let me tell you that musette will be flitting around my mind, in a subtle grey if that were possible, for a while. perhaps even up until the point when i buy a dress.

is this wedding week or something?

hope you don't mind :)

.true love.

this is where we're getting married. isn't it beautiful?

specifically... our ceremony will be in that gorgeous little chapel. henry ford designed it in honor of his mother, martha, and his mother-in-law, mary. hence, it is called the martha mary chapel. it's very simple inside, which is perfect for us. our ceremony will not be a religious one, so we're thankful for the plain interior. plain, but really pretty.

the reception will be in the eagle tavern. this place is so so cool. it's a tavern that was running in michigan in the 1850s. the building still has two working fireplaces, so those will be roaring for the whole night! we're getting an old-timey band to play for a couple hours, with a fiddle and such. it's going to be so great.

it was far too dark on saturday to take any interior pictures of the tavern, and the chapel was locked. but, i have a bunch of photos of both interiors from this summer, if you'd like to see them.

yay or nay?

p.s. that guy in the picture with the tavern? that's eric :)

.stories.

i really like this video and i think that you will, too.
brought to you by the great people at etsy.


i hope you had an awesome thanksgiving! mine was everything i could ever wish it to be. eric came home with me this year, so i really had my entire family all around me. and the food was, of course, so amazing and hearty.




just a little reminder : everything in the home ground collection is on sale now through monday! huzzah!


free shipping on every. single. thing.
10% off of everything in the shop
15% off if you spend $40 or more
20% off if you spend $75 or more. 


there's also a new events page on the hg site, for those of you who are in the metro detroit area.

.ready.

after "leafing through" toast's online catalogue this morning, i think i can finally say that i'm ready for snow.

hand painted ornaments? yes please!

and if only i could still knit, these knit stockings are too funny with all their bulges.

after i was finished hanging said ornaments and working on said stockings, i would definitely feel the need to cook. i haven't decided what i would make with this olive oil, but isn't the container just so pretty?

at the end of the night, after the snow has made it quite difficult to leave the house, i'd just slip on these super cozy slippers and watch "white christmas" with a warm cup of tea.


have you gotten snow yet? i know at least a couple of you have.

we've had rain this week. an absolute deluge! but, snow might be coming later in the week. yay!

.lucky us.

i love knots too bracelet

twisty twisted rope bracelet

custom stamped linen bags

goodness gracious!
do you remember the beautiful knotted bracelet that i featured here a couple of days ago?

well, amy, the lovely lady behind said shop, junghwa, has generously offered a 15% off discount to my mom thinks i'm swell readers through the end of the year!

i know, right? this is exciting!!

run, don't walk, over to her shop and take advantage of this awesome offer!

.of petersite and brass.

petersite

handmade african brass

i'm super excited about these two pieces that will be made into necklaces for the Home Ground winter collection. aren't they both just beautiful??

the amazing stones in the top photo are petersite specimens. what makes them double cool is that petersite is a stone that is found in michigan. home state love! i just love the inclusions, they look like pine trees. so pretty!

my mom buys these african beads from a man who is from africa and travels back and forth buying beads in africa then selling them here in the states. my favorite style is this, the handmade filigree pendants. the variation keeps each piece unique, which i just love.

i asked my fans on facebook what colors and/or materials they would like to see in the winter collection and i would like to ask you here, too.

so, what colors and materials would you like to see in the winter collection?

answers so far : indigo blue, clear crystal and another pair of grey pearl earrings. to be fair, about three people all said they would like to see more navy/indigo blues. must be a good color this season!

.flock.

watching massive flocks of birds is one my absolute favorite things. the constant movement, the coordination. i find it so inspiring that they all seem to know where they are going, even as they change direction. like the knowledge ripples through their feathers.

needless to say, when one of these aforementioned flocks visited my house the other day i ran (literally, i almost tripped in my excitement!) outside to get some photos.

.sunday coffee : not the first time.

today is a natural, neutral kind of day, in the best of ways. hope your sunday was lovely.

twisted rope bracelet from junghwa
turkey feather watercolor from amberalexander
hand knit norwegian socks from xeniahome

.finally.

i don't want the end to begin! waaahhhhhhhh.

we're leaving for the 10 o'clock showing tonight! oh my gosh i can't wait.

.vintage photo friday : collection.

this week's vintage photo is actually several photos. i know that a couple of these have been in past vintage posts, but i just couldn't help myself. while gazing at my big inspiration wall above my desk i realized that i couldn't pick just one photo because they all look so nice together. so, here they are in exactly that fashion.

i think my favorite is the picture of the dog, i particularly love the stack of logs in the background. reminds me of my parents' winter store of firewood.

.facet + feather.

i really love the way these two sets of images play off of one another.

first of all, i'm so into facets right now. as you will see in the home ground winter collection. particularly, i love irregular faceting. the regular, super shiny ones are not so me. so, it's really no surprise that these wooden pendants from studio fludd are just calling to me.

the way the paint has been sanded off of the corners really makes the piece, don't you think. that one detail softens the wood visually and creates a lot of character. (via heysusy)

i found the shop kittens & crumpets several days ago. for the life of me (and i feel really bad) i can't remember the winding path of blog hopping that brought me to her shop, which was on vacation at the time. well, this week she's back! both of these beautiful illustrations are offered as single cards, though i don't know that i could part with one.

i'd definitely be buying them as wall art.

.to quilt.

full disclosure : i love carrie to bits! but really, she's awesome. obviously. between her photography portfolio and her new venture in amazing handsewn textiles, what's not to love? it's all there : craftsmanship, beautiful design, patience. quilts!

the combination of color, texture and stitch in carrie's work is, at times, surprising (see day-glo linen) but always harmonious, always spot on.

quick! go visit her shop!

.a mix of texture.

aren't these tea light holders from texture mix awesome? i love the imperfections in the wood, especially the big crack in the round holder. and those coasters... i can't get over that bark! also, check out the geometric tea light holders in the shop.

.vintage photo friday : scholar.

I found this lovely girl at my favorite antique mall last weekend in Grand Haven. I love that she chose to pose for her portrait with books. not sure what the paper is for, maybe she draws? architectural renderings? this is my favorite thing about collecting vintage photos, guessing who these people were, what they were doing, their favorite things, etc.

also, her dress is fabulous!

.so many.

400 posts! can you even believe it? this brings me mixed feelings, for reasons that you will soon know, most of them happy. it's been such a pleasure getting to know so many of you through my blog, and yours (as well as flickr, twitter, etc!), and I can't even imagine my world without those relationships.

just wanted to say that :)

.daily film : loom.

I love the light that comes in through this window. in fact, it's the reason we put my loom here. the weeping birch just outside the window filters the light in the most beautiful of ways.

.daily film : senior.

ahhhh, to be a senior in high school again... haha, actually i'm much happier now that i'm done with college, or as my friend puts it, a creative professional. but let's be honest, there's really not a single moment of your life that doesn't shape who you are, including all of the awkward and uncertain ones of senior year in high school.

aren't these two so cute?? the top photo is of amy, my sister's friend, and the bottom photo is my sister, erika. actually, that was her in yesterday's daily film image, in the detroit institute of art.

autumn really is a beautiful time of year, is it not? i think the sun is its most butterscotch-y in these transitional months.

.daily film : DIA.

this is my sister and her boyfriend standing in front of (to my knowledge) one of the biggest paintings on display at the detroit institute of art. as those of you who have been following my little blog know, i love this place to pieces. when i was going to ccs, i came here almost every day i had a lunch break. this painting is about death (that's him in the middle), but i can't remember who painted it or what it's called. i'll find out, i promise.

what's your favorite type of museum to go to? i'm torn between art and science (i.e. zoo, aquarium, planetarium....).

.photo essay : grand haven.

one of my favorite places to eat in grand haven is elegance of the seasons. their menu changes each day and is entirely seasonal. and delicious. plus, their cafe is super cute with their mismatched tables and chairs.

always a pleasure, we walked along the grand haven pier. it was incredibly cold and blustery, but we made it all the way to the end and back. i was happy to see that they're using cfls to light the catwalk. the lake was very calm, especially for this time of year.

the pine forest next to my parents' house. the light is so beautiful on the fallen pine needles. i love these pines.

we were lucky enough to visit my parents' friends, mark and kathy. they're both ceramic and glass artists (mark does most of the ceramic, while they collaborate with the glass) and have built their outdoor studio from scratch.

this is the third or fourth year they've fired their handmade kiln, and the time it takes them to get up to temperature keeps getting shorter, which is really great. they use a combination of gas and wood to fire that kiln, which has to be under constant watch and feeding throughout the near-24-hour firing.

they use a combination of soda and wood ash to glaze their pieces, resulting in some really beautiful coloring of both the clay and the glazes. the pieces in the last photo are a couple that i picked out for myself to buy. i haven't taken them home yet, as they like to keep everything for their show/sale, which is the first week of december. i can't wait to get that beautiful coffee pot (a generous graduation present from them) and new mugs/tumbler home! now i'll just need a bunch of people over for breakfast to use the full capacity of the pitcher. the coffee will, of course, be made using the ceramic melitta brewer that i got from them last year.

who wants coffee?