Madison places I love: Anthology

There are so many great, local places in Madison that I need to start spreading the word. My latest favorite: Anthology located near the Orpheum Theatre on State Street. The whole store is indie eye-candy, from hand-made necklaces, frames to printed t-shirts, books, and vintage finds. They play host to craft parties where you can make your own Christmas card, bracelet, and of course the "make a button for a buck." I wandered in last weekend with a purpose: get inspired for Christmas presents and pick up fun paper to rehab my IKEA coffee tables. The owners are so warm and friendly and offered great advice for my future refurbishing adventure (soon to come!).

[a peek at the beautiful paper I purchased - some for the coffee tables, some for artwork]




[pictures courtesy of the anthology website, check it out!]

Fresh from the farm.

It's finally getting cold in Wisconsin. Wait, start over.

Let's not think about the fact that cold weather has actually hit Wisconsin and take a look back at summer. While in Ohio, our family gathered at the gorgeous (and historic!) Baughman house and farm. I have very fond memories of that place as a child and I still love it to this day. My cousin Kristen, started the farm and runs the whole operation selling flowers, veggies, fruits, garlic..etc to local grocers, buyers, and farmer's markets. I admire this green way of life and wish I could be local enough to buy from her.

Here's my advice...buy local. Do it whenever you can; the impact is greater than you think.

[half chicken coop, half food cleaning/drying/canning shack. the old coop got a face lift. check out the doors and windows which were re-used from a neighbors house. i'm not a huge fan of tomatoes but these were irresistible and delicious. some old door and window frames next to the largest compost pile I've ever seen!]



[before saturday market, we helped kristin picked some flowers to sell and a few beautiful butterflys who graced our presence. simply gorgeous.]

City Chic

Hotel find number 2 from my Minneapolis weekend (almost a month ago now!). Graves 601 is refined, stylish, fashionable, modern and simply beautiful. Everything about it screams luxury and you can't walk a step without seeing something eye-catching. I went to the hotel's restaurant, Cosmos, for brunch with some family members in the area who took us there because they new I would love it; they were right. I couldn't stop staring at everything to see how it was put together or designed. You'll often find me trying to examine the ceiling or touching different materials...just habit! Check out the pictures above, courtesy of the Graves website, I was too busy enjoying my breakfast to be a photographer.

[Grave 601 Hotel | Wyndham Grand Collection]

I'm at the W, you can meet me in the lobby

This is one of my top design finds from Minneapolis from the wedding weekend. Someday I would love to design a space like this. ALoft is a trendy new hotel chain from the famous W hotels and I loved every second I got to hang out in the lobby and drink swanky wine from the w xyz bar. From the multicolored rainbow designs to the sleek and bright modern furniture (check out my candid pics above), I felt like some Minneapolis socialite. Design was by ESG Architects with a "loft inspired" vision for the hotel. I wonder if they are hiring...

bret & shannon...get married!

A huge congratulations to my brother, Bret, and my fantastic new sis-in-law, Shannon, on their wedding this past weekend up in the Twin Cities. Simply beautiful and fun. I can't help but share a little.....

[the official wedding invite: love the creativity!]


[breathtaking como conservatory. st paul, mn]


[wedding ceremony at the japanese gardens]


*be sure to check out Shannon's fashion blog, Dirty Hair Halo, too! She puts together the most perfect and unique fashion combinations, not to mention, she gave me great tips for Green & Indie.*

Hardwood Flooring and Hotel Breakers

I love a beautiful hardwood flooring. Really, I love a beautiful OLD hardwood floor. On a recent family vacation to Ohio, it is tradition that we visit Cedar Point. It is also tradition that we stay at the park's historic Hotel Breakers, built in 1905. I will admit that my family and I love the hotel because of its early pass into the amusement park, however, I'm a sucker for its history. My absolute favorite spot of the hotel is the Rotunda. It's design style reminds me something I would hope to see on board of the Titanic: a place to socialize, drink tea, or coffee (in my case). While I doubt this was the original floor, I still love the striping of the floor boards; the effect that it gives is timeless. Sadly, this place was once an Ohio historical landmark. But, because of all the remodels, the building no longer has the historic integrity it once had and the recognition has been taken away. If it were up to me, the place would look a lot different and lot more true to the original design *sigh*

Midwest Modern

One name: Amy Butler. My boss introduced me to the world of Midwest Modern over a year ago and I've been obsessed ever since. You can't be a girl from the Midwest and not fall in love with her designs. She draws inspiration from the everyday life and it's colorful surroundings and combines them into beautiful fabrics. (Check out her book too!) My favorite of the Midwest Modern collection is Ohio Sky. I can never get enough of blues, greens, yellows. Never. Ever.

I am also loving her new Soul Blossoms collection inspired by a trip to India...the color palette is brilliant. Go check it out. Now.

Go put your record on.

Some of the best pieces of furniture I have ever gotten have been from my Nana. I appreciate design from different decades and I love finding new ways to make them work in my designs today. When I left for college, both my parents and my Nana moved and built houses next to each other near Milwaukee. This meant two things: I still got to have/design my own room and I also helped my Nana sort through all of the things that had been in her basement at her old house. And so, her old records surfaced and I practically took them all. Now I can't say that I ended up using all of them or that I didn't go rummaging at the local St. Vinnie's for more, but I found the design inspiration for my new (now old) room.

[This is a great way to show-off your favorite rock bands from the 80's, your vinyl Beatle's collection or, in my case, musicals! The frames I purchased on sale from Michael's and I mounted them above my bed to imitate a headboard.]

And so it begins....

Welcome to my very first blog.
Being a post-grad interior design major, I of course finally have time to do fun things...like crafting a blog to get my name out there or just simply because I love design and I love writing. Thus, a design blog seemed wildly appropriate! Since I was a freshman at UW-Madison, my design style changed almost every semester. From Pottery Barn, East Coast, Martha's Vineyard to sleek and modern Le Corbusier to timeless Frank Lloyd Wright to, well, you get the picture. It wasn't until I added the sustainability factor to my design that everything started coming together. Which leads me to where I am now: a design consultant on a post-grad income celebrating my new found passion of indie design while embracing a new sustainable culture. AKA, what can I do in my own design that re-uses furniture and vintage finds to create amazing spaces...on a budget. Of course that doesn't mean that you won't find posts from me about really blog-worthy products I fall in love with from Interior Design magazine (that is kind of a given with any design nut). Or no doubt there will be posts about delicious food I have tasted (I'm a Top Chef at heart), or places that I have visited, or random things I find, but I hope you stick around...or at least get a kick out of me trying to write a cool blog.