What I already miss about the weekend

Even though there is zero space left on my apartment walls to cover, I can't help but pine away for this adorable print. It's part of the new Kate Spade Saturday home collaboration with West Elm and I love it! It's such a pretty reminder of my favorite weekend activity: sleeping in. 

Everyone ready for Monday?! ;)

Check out the full Saturday and West Elm collection here.

PS: More apartment wall art here and here.

(Images via West Elm) 

Everything By My Side

Over the weekend, Matt "surprised" me and his sister and brother-in-law with an only-in-New York experience: Performance art. The installation is called "Everything By My Side"—or as the New York Times' referred to it, pillow-talk theater, courtesy of acclaimed Buenes Aires artist Fernando Rubio. 

Here's how it works: You arrive over at Pier 45 on the Hudson River at your ticketed time slot, walk past all the New Yorkers sunbathing on the pier and then climb into bed with an actress spouting dream-like sequences for 15 minutes or less. To be honest, it was rather calming. You check your bag and phone with the "host," take your shoes off and kick back. After I got over the initial awkwardness, it was easy to let my mind wander.

The part that threw me was remembering the instructions for when you're supposed to exit the bed (the dream whisperer will let you know with a few soft-spoken words). I began to feel nervous I missed it when I suddenly heard my cue: "I'll see you soon."

As I mentioned before, only in New York!

Calligraphy practice

My grandmother Jane on my dad's side was always incredibly artistic. She did a lot of oil paintings—mostly of the pretty beaches in Maine—but she was also a calligraphy pro. Her illustrated, hand-written poems hang on so many walls in my home. I've always had an interest in it, but had never really pursued it. When I saw that Paper Source was offering a class for beginners, I immediately signed up.

It was so fun! There were only eight of us in the class, which made it easy to get lots of one on one time with the teacher and really learn. It was also really cool to see the other students' calligraphy styles—everyone had their own take on the practice strokes. I like that calligraphy requires you to piece each letter together. For example, did you know that to write an R, you use four separate strokes?

I was also impressed at what a difference the type of pen you use makes—and how quickly my hand would start to cramp up from writing. It's harder than you think!

I'm practicing with these pens for now before I graduate to pen and ink, which is apparently much more challenging. (My teacher recommended this pen as a middle ground.)

What do you think? Have you ever tried to learn this writing style?

The weekend is here!

Happy Friday, my darling readers! What do you have planned for this weekend? I'm taking a calligraphy class! My grandmother always used to practice this art form, making beautiful prints that still hang on my parents walls today. I'm excited to give it a try. :) Wishing you a lovely and relaxing weekend ahead. Here, to get it started right, a few happy posts from around the web:

Saturday-inspired nails.

Revisiting the South of France.

Pretty Kate Spade swimsuits. With bows!

How to properly pack your toiletries. (Bonus: What to bring for two weeks of travel!)

A DIY project I can't wait to try. (Thanks, Joy!)

Before the website re-launch, a few New Yorker favorites like this one and this one and this one.

Origami picnic boxes.

Summer hair.

Royal families on vacation.

Kristen Bell as Mary Poppins. Love.

(Image via The Daily Muse)

Snowy, snowy New York

I stumbled across Clare Caulfield's work last year, thanks to Hip Hip Gin Gin, and have admired her gorgeous mixed media artwork ever since. Now, I'm thrilled to report that she just launched her own Etsy shop, stocked with tons of gorgeous New York City prints. I love the way she captures ice skating in Central Park, and the hubbub of shopping near Macy's in the snow. Her work reminds me what a special place this city is to live in—and how bright and alive it feels during this time of year. 

Take a peek at her Etsy shop to discover more of her work. Beyond New York, she covers Venice, London, Prague—and my personal favorite—Paris!

(Images via Etsy) 

City maps by Archie's Press

A couple of weekends ago, Matt and I stopped by the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn on a whim. Three hours later, we emerged, carrying the three letterpress maps above, beautifully designed and handmade by Archie's Press, out of Portland, Oregon. I've always loved the idea of hanging up maps that represent the cities I've lived in—and love. Boston, San Francisco, and Brooklyn are a blend of the locations Matt and I have lived and still consider home. 

Now, we were immediately sold on the look of these maps, but the deal was sealed when Archie himself explained: "My maps are made to fit Ikea frames." Done and done. :)

Do you have any maps hanging in your home?

Visit Archie's Etsy shop here.

PS—How cool is his Solar System print?

(Images via Archie's Press)

Wall of art

As we continue to make updates to our Brooklyn apartment, Matt and I recently picked up a rather large frame for the living room wall. Now, the fun part: deciding what to put in it! We've been emailing links back and forth to each other with ideas, but it's a tough decision. Whatever we choose will be so huge, and the focal point of the room. The three options above are a few ideas we're considering. What do you think? Do we go black and white and keep it New York-y? Or bright and bold?

Would love to hear your opinion on this!

(Image 1, 2, and 3)

TV sitcom floor plans

How cool are these designs from Etsy artist Inaki Aliste Lizarralde? He goes inside the homes of our most beloved sitcom characters—like Monica and Rachel on Friends—to provide detailed layouts of their fictional apartments. I love how New York-sized most of these places actually look (especially Seinfeld). Plus, according to Lizarralde, the famous Friends' roommates were quite short on closet space. :)

Check out more images from different shows here, and visit Lizarralde's Etsy shop here.

So clever!

(Floor plans via Business Insider; Image 1, 2 and 3)

Kitchen essentials

I keep playing around with different ideas for wall art in our new Brooklyn kitchen. Something about these Etsy prints caught my eye. I love that they feature ingredients that can change and enhance the flavor of any dish. Basil, lemon, garlic—they're all favorites of mine. I think it would be great to hang these in a group in our kitchen near the stove.

What do you have hanging on your kitchen walls?

PS—Paris postcards.

(Images via Etsy) 

Paris postcards

Je t'aime Paris—that's how I feel anytime I see anything to do with this gorgeous city across the pond. I've always been a fan of Nichole Robertson's work (have you read Paris in Color?), but was thrilled to recently discover her Etsy store. The images above are beautiful. I can totally picture them framed and on the wall in my new place in BK. :)

(Images via TheParisPrintShop) 

Print your Instagrams

Are you on Instagram? (If you are, follow me here!) I'm obsessed with Stickygram, the quickest, most simple way to print your digital pics and turn them into magnets. Matt gave this to me as part of a gift for my birthday, and I can't get over how fun it is. All you need to do is go to the site, log into your Instagram account, select which images you want to print, and you're done. The magnets are sent to you in the mail (and fast). I can't think of a better way to display all my favorite on-the-go pics (like this one and this one and this one).

(Images via Pinterest and Instagram)

Mapping Manhattan

What if New York were a blank slate, and you could map it out the way you imagined it to be? That's what author Becky Cooper attempts to do with her new book Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers. I first heard about the book when I saw postcards for it in Ted and Honey—my new, go-to neighborhood spot, and where Becky apparently works.

The book is an inspired idea. In 2009, Becky passed out hundreds of hand-drawn maps of NYC and asked the strangers she gave them to for one thing: To fill out the map with whatever best captures your experience in New York. A month later—and flooded with mail—Becky got exactly what she wanted: Beautiful self-portraits of New Yorkers providing their own artful definitions of the city they call home.

This past weekend, the New York Times' Sunday Magazine wrote about the book and reprinted a few of the maps featured in the book. I love this one, called "Met My Wife", and this one, which captures the geography of significant moments in one man's life.

Have you ever thought about how you would define the place you live? How would you do it?

(Images via The New York Times) 

Romantic words

How sweet is this Valentine's-inspired idea from Jordan over at Oh Happy Day? What a hilarious way to let someone know how you feel. Especially if you're someone who tends to get tongue-tied when it comes to professing your love. :) 

Download more giant Valentine's Day posters here. The best part? If you go to your local Kinkos, they cost just about $5 to print.

Do you make your own Valentine's card for your sweetie or buy something at the store? I'd love to hear your creative ideas!  

(Images via Oh Happy Day!)

Starry starry night

Can you imagine what New York City would look like underneath a sky full of stars? French photographer Thierry Cohen attempts to show exactly that by editing city scenes together with night skies that fall on the same latitudes. It's magical, right? As a former country girl, I wouldn't mind having the best of both worlds—the city skyline accompanied by billions of stars to look up at each night. Cohen's work is on display at the Danziger Gallery in NYC in March, but come spring, there's another option if you want to see the real deal: Star gazing on the High Line!

(Images via the New York Times)

Swinging in the city

For the kid in all of us, is there anything better than time spent on a swing? Visual artist Ann Hamilton quickly proves the answer is no with her exhibit at the Park Avenue Armory, on display now through January 6. It's as simple as walking through the front door and hopping on a swing—Matt and I spent a couple of hours there over the weekend seeing who could pump the highest. What's cool is the scale of this art installation, and the fact that the higher you pump, the more the curtain moves up and down. Watch the video here to learn more about this exhibit. Next step? Go there now!

(Image via Princeton)

Paris rooftops

A couple of months ago, I discovered this gorgeous photograph of Paris at the Affordable Art Fair in New York. Ever since, I can't get it out of my head! The image was shot by photographer Irene Suchocki as part of her Rooftop Soliloquy series. It's stunning, right? I'm considering buying it as an early Christmas splurge—just looking at it instantly takes me back to my trip and reminds me at a glance of how wonderfully moody and beautiful Paris can be. :)
 
Do you have a piece of art in your home that you love? What inspired you to buy it?

(Images via Art Star) 

Stand under my umbrella

I'm in awe of this art installation in Bulgaria: 400 umbrellas strung up in the sky to help raise breast cancer awareness. Such a beautiful (hot pink) sight, all for such an important cause.

Speaking of umbrellas, looks like we might need one with Hurricane Sandy due to hit New York today. To everyone affected on the east coast, stay safe! 

Also, a flashback to Hurricane Irene. :)

(Images via BuzzFeed)

Color Me Good: Ryan Gosling

Thanks to Say Yes to Hoboken, I stumbled upon this brilliant idea: a Ryan Gosling coloring book. I mean, could he be any dreamier? I love how most pages capture his various movie roles, but there's also pages and pages to color of Ryan just being Ryan. For example, Ryan the humanitarian; or Ryan the dog lover. 

Flip through the rest of the book here, and tell me — which pen and ink version of Ryan do you love the most? :)

More Ryan Gosling here and here.

(Images via I Love Mel) 

Fireflies on the water

This weekend, I finally scored a reservation to see Yayoi Kusama's Fireflies on the Water installation at the Whitney Museum. It was totally worth the wait! A reservation gets you 60 seconds to take in the piece — a small, dark room that's filled with lights, mirrors and water. It's absolutely breathtaking, and a spectacular feeling to have a full minute alone to take in the entire space. If you haven't gone, go now. As luck would have it, they've extended the exhibition, now on display through October 28!

(Image 1, Image 2)

Clare Caulfield's New York

Finding an artist that can truly do justice to the movement, and energy of New York is rare. That's why when I stumbled across Clare Caulfield's work, I had to share. Her work to capture the Flat Iron Building and Times Square is remarkable — I love the detail and the scope. Can't you picture one of these prints hanging as the focal point in your living room, hallway or den? She gets New York City exactly right.

(Images via HipHip GinGin)