Photoshoot with Dakota Tracht

My old roomie and best friend Dakota left Chicago last fall to go back to her home in Bolivia. She went back to her homelands to spend time working on her clothing designs. She came back this month with an amazingly beautiful alpaca line. Dakota is so incredibly talented. I am so proud of her. Adam and I had a chance to catch up with our dear friend and also put our creative minds together and shoot some great shots. I love that I had the opportunity to show off her bad ass pieces.

Hungry!

So I went to a cycling class this morning and when I came home my body was screaming for some food. Unfortunatly I have not been grocery shopping for over two weeks (I know that is really bad) because we have been out of town so much. We litteraly have just about nothing. I open the capnet and found some whole wheat pasta, a jar of peanut butter, and a bag of peanuts. I thought to myself, "Hey I'll make peanut sauce and noodles."

I grab these basic ingredients from my kitchen for the sauce.

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp of crushed peanut 
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper

I mixed all these ingredients in a pan and cooked it on low for around 5 minutes poured it over 3oz of whole wheat noodles and Bang! It seriously was the best tasting lunch I've had in a really long time. Cheers for being resourceful!

Beach Day!

Today I Finally made it to the beach with Julain. It was sooooooo exciting for us. He was such a good boy all day. He really seemed to enjoy himself. We spent our time there with another family, Papa George, Nena, and baby Kaya. One of Nena's friends came later in the day and had her 5 week old son Rocky with her. Finally, I got a chance to hang out with other mom's and Julian had a ton of fun interacting with Kaya.

Nena is also a very talented mother. While we were chillin on the beach she gave me feather extensions.  I have been wanting to get some for a really long time now but the ones sold in salons are way over priced. She gave me a ton for a very reasonable price. She also used real feathers instead of the fake ones used by hair styliest. Cheers to a wonderful day! :)

Over-sized

I have been obsessing over Free People lately. I mean I look at the website a couple times a week. Unfortunately I don't have the money to spend on fp's amazingly over-prized but absolutely wicked clothes. In the process of lusting after these clothes, I have been inspired to change up my style a little bit. I have always been a girl that wears super super tight clothes but I am really getting into this over-sized look.

It's super bo-ho, which is right up my alley. I do think that to pull off the over-sized clothes you have to be pretty damn skinny, so I better stick to my diet.

I am also a huge fan of rompers, but I have only liked short ones. Although, I came across this adorable long romper that I just must have!

And these boot straps. Ugh! I want one! Hell, maybe I'll just make my own. Can't be that hard right?

Rustic Wedding

 My wonderful parents came to Adam and I this month and gave us a budget for our wedding. We don't have much to work with but  I think I can make it happen with the help of my Mom. I want a bohemian/rustic wedding. This of course is going to be taking up most of my time and energy for the next three months, so I will be posting many ideas and themes as they come to me. So far my entire wedding theme based around my dress...

Isn't she a beauty? The dress is made by Anthropologie and is only $600.00. This dress could not have been more perfect for me. I am in love! I plan to have my very very crafty mother make me a crown of flowers for my head piece. Something close to this...

I want a ton of wild flowers, daisies, and sunflowers. This has helped me chose a color palette...

Indie Japan

Through a friends blog I came across this very unknown Japanese band, Jesse Ruins. I think I have just found my summer soundtrack.

This is the Chandelier Swing

 So... I decided to name my blog after a song by the Chicago Band Braid. Braid is a band I have been listening to since I was around 18 years old. Unfortunately Braid broke up a few years ago but this August they are having a reunion show here in Chicago at the Metro. I am super stoked about that!

Here are the lyrics...

this is the chandelier swing

watch you sleeping
try hard not to walk away
cause i haven't got anything to say
when you wake
with nothing in our heads
but an idea
of what we should be
what we could be

swing closer

catching ourselves
from close up
i think we're the same
and we've met our match

the chandelier swing

so cover yourself with whatever
cover your eyes
cause it's not right
you say "it's not what it should be"
but it could be
you know i think a lot like you

swing away

it's not like you had before
when you were two years younger
my age
i wait for you

I'd assume this song's vague nature is intentional, and any attempt to come to any specific meaning or story is fraught with folly. The fluidity allows it to be applicable to a variety of situations across a multitude of lives. That to me is talented lyricism.

I believe the pairing of the words Chandelier and Swing are very beautiful. It could be used as a metaphor for the constant change that comes with being in any kind of relationship. Sometime you swing high and closer to that person and then sometimes you swing low and further apart. In any case this song is musically divine. A true masterpiece.

Where Do I Begin?

I have never taken the time to start anything like a blog. I suppose I've never thought that I had much to share with others. It is just recently that I have decided I would like to have some kind of a creative outlet. I am by no means a writer. I actually have a very hard time sharing thoughts and ideas in written form. I hope this will give me an opportunity to increase my creative thought process by means of writing. I will initially be posting things that excite and move me in some way. My own little pleasures that make my life worth living. 

The first thing that comes to mind is of course my family. My fiance' Adam and I are proud new parents to a beautiful baby boy. He was born January 8th 2011 and we named him James Julian. He is named James after his father and grandfather. My fiance' goes by his middle name Adam, so we have decided that Julian would do the same. Today Julian turned 5 months and I really can not believe how fast it has flown by. Everyone always tells you that it will but I really had no idea that it could be such a flash before my eyes. Becoming a mother has really opened my eyes to so many life changing experiences. The Chinese writer Lin Yutang said "Of all the rights of a women, the greatest is to be a mother." I really do agree with him. Of all the things I have done in my life, I have never felt a real strong sense of purpose until now.

One of my favorite things is to watch Adam and Jules interact. Adam is such a good father and really has been very involved in helping me with all the new, scary, and exciting things that come with being a new parent. I wake up every morning feeling like I am the luckiest.