The best things come with time

The move is done and I'm in officially in Chicago. I get to wake up every morning to a beautiful sunrise against the city skyline. My classes have begun and I'm a becoming a pro at city transit. Though I'll admit I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for Wisconsin. I'm watching the first Packer game of the season and drinking Goose Island 312 because I can't find Spotted Cow anywhere. I've also realized I still have yet to post my final Madison apartment DIY's. And I lied a little last time, I'm not going to show you those IKEA hack tables quite yet. They are the perfect pieces in my new apartment so you'll just have to wait a bit more.The best things come with time.

Here's a look in my old bedroom....

[Bright, floral and comfortable was the goal for my bedroom here. I found this wonderful and inspiring duvet on clearance at BB&B that set the whole tone for the room. I love Audrey Hepburn so she comes with me wherever I go. The picture was a gift from my parents. The floral stool in the bottom left was a gift my boss at Eco-Friendly and it happened to blend beautifully in my bedroom. The textile you see on the wall behind my bed is my great DIY idea for any apartment. If you can't paint, add textiles! Since I don't have a headboard and wanted some more drama in the room, this fabric I found at IKEA was the perfect solution. For temporary attachment - use push pins or nails. For a more permanent fix, I hear that you can use cornstarch paste like this blogger here.)

[When you're designing on a budget like myself, it's also cost effective and FUN to make your own artwork. Since I was so inspired by the prints at Anthology, I used this green paper from here for this piece of art. The canvas I got on sale from Michael's and wrapped the canvas like a present using Glossy Mod Podge as the glue/finishing texture. Mod Podge is an indie girls best friend, if you didn't know that already!]

[For my desk space, I re-invented the conventional bulletin board. Four years ago, I had bought 12" cork squares and places them in a grid pattern. In my last apartment, I just used three in row. It's time for something new. Cork is a very bendable/breakable material by itself and was starting to fall apart after so many years of use. Instead of going to waste, I wanted to use them. All it took was 3 pieces of basswood and super-glued. For the simple look, I offset the boards and nailed them to the wall. The indie birdhouse lamp was another gift my boss from Confectionique.]

[My design style consists of mixing the old and new. It's what makes great design possible. I love antiques and browsing antiques stores. While, I don't always love the price of items at the antique store, if it's a piece that I love, I can't pass it up. I found this old drafting stool at Odana Antiques in Madison for under $30 and knew I had to have it for my night table. It's vintage chic.

We've Been on the Run. Driving in the Sun.

It's the perfect, beautiful summer Saturday and I have no plans. This is very unusual for me not to have plans (I've been busting my butt to get my graduate admissions packet together) so, today is all for me. I met some friends at the farmer's market on the square (well, Wilson st. because of the art fair) and it was a fantastic morning. Nothing beats buying fresh produce from local farmers, catching up with friends, chugging ice coffee and snatching some of Stella's Bakery cheese-spinach Empanadas. Yum. Top it off with a stroll around the art fair and gawk at the all the awesome artwork...someday I can afford to buy something cool. On the way home I stopped at the Regent Street Co-Op to pick up some groceries. Love that place, everyone is super friendly.

Here's everything I could fit into my farmer's market cloth bag. Enjoy and Happy Saturday!

Ode to the Kitchen.

I was waiting on doing a post about Madison's Underground Kitchen until I had eaten there once more, but now seems like a good time as any. I was extremely sad to find out Thursday morning that the Kitchen and the apartments in it's building were up in fire for about five hours. Police were still closings roads as I left work yesterday. Such a tragic thing to have happened and I only hope that everyone is okay and the restaurant can still be saved once the smoke is cleared. On a brighter note, Underground Kitchen is one of my favorite restaurants in Madison. Maybe I'm biased because the Underground Food Collective has a space in my work building and I see them catering and food prepping almost every day, but the restaurant itself had excellent food and a fun vibe. When I first walked in, it was like Green & Indie had made a restaurant. They completely remodeled the space after Cafe Montmartre closed and it looked fantastic. When they do reopen the restaurant, or relocate, please go check them out. Their food/meat/bread etc is from local Wisconsin farms, bakeries or produced at the Food Collective. They craft their own (very delicious) cocktails and their menu changes with the seasons. I recommend the cheese platter. Can you tell I'm from WI?

[pictures courtesy of the Underground Kitchen or WI State Journal]

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!]