printing press.

Some of my favorite things to pin on my beloved Pinterest are prints.  For a long time I stayed away from prints, finding them a little too boring and generic, instead favoring thick canvases splattered with even thicker paint.  Things have changed and now I can't get enough of them.  Depending on the quality, originality, and artistry, they can be a fun, youthful, delicate way to bring art into your home.

We're lucky enough to have some very large walls, and a very long hallway, in our new apartment and I've been busy mentally decorating them for the last few weeks.  Etsy has been my biggest source, where do you find your prints?  Is there a hidden gem of a resource lurking somewhere else? 

Print by CONCEPCIONSTUDIOS available here

musical interlude.

I have been listening to the new Avett Brothers album, The Carpenter, non-stop the last few weeks.  Have you heard it?  They are an incredibly talented, fun band and it gives me a twinge of pain knowing that I missed them in concert.

If you haven't given them a listen before stop what you're doing and open Spotify right now. Or watch this:

(P.S. - Have you heard of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series?  It's incredible and quite stunning, so check it out if you can! Adele's is one of my favorites, obviously, and I love seeing a horn section in the Beirut set.)

goodbye summer.

To be totally honest, I'm a little happy summer is over.  Before you give me that look, I had an incredible summer!  Did I mention I got married in July?  A summer can't get much better than that in my book.  Still though, I'm happy the days of heat and humidity are behind me and I can break out the cozy sweaters and boots (boots!).

The end of summer treated me very well.  Here are a few photos of how I wrapped up the warm days of 2012.

 

A weekend on the lake with friends in Minnesota

 A quick five hour stop at the State Fair.

 

 Labor day in DC with my best friend and trusty tour guide.

 The Boss in the friendly confines.

 A trip home to New York to visit my family and a wedding in Kansas City last week.

Follow me on Instagram! @toriehajdu 

busy bees.

Will someone please tell me how exactly it's suddenly October?  I probably say this every year, but 2012 has, by far, been the quickest year of my quarter century plus life. 

And what a year it's been.

You can credit my most recent disappearing act to the fact that my husband and I recently bought an apartment!  Yup, we are home owners -- or we will be in three weeks when we close and (finally!) get the keys to the new place.  I don't want to jinx it and talk too much about it, but now that we're t-minus 21 days, I can't possibly contain the news anymore.  It's a very surreal and extremely adult feeling.  This is our first real home together -- the place where soon a puppy will scamper down the hall, the place where future gingers will play, the place where Thanksgiving dinners will be cooked and devoured. 

Like I said, what a year it's been!

rain on my parade.

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that I knew it was going to rain on my wedding day.  Not in a weird sixth sense sort of way, but because it had to.  It's rained on every "significant" day of my life -- proms, graduations, you name it, it rained.

Andy's dad and the downpour outside

I was a shockingly calm bride.  Even I was surprised by how okay I was with everything.  Except when it started to storm.  My bridesmaids put on a good show by telling me, "We just looked at the radar and it's supposed to pass by 3, we're totally fine!"  Liars. 

My favorite people in the world: my bridesmaids

The rain did let up enough for a few pictures outside (stay turned for more pictures soon!) and it provided us with a nice breeze during the ceremony and a welcome relief from the incredibly high July temperatures we had been experiencing.

I wish I could go back and relive every second of that magical day.  These are just a few of my favorite shots from the hotel (thank you Amalfi, for your wonderful hospitality!). 

Husband-to-be

 

 

A hat pin that belonged to my Nana (my something old)

My mom (and grandma) helping me get ready

Fulfilling the "maid" aspect of their duties by getting me in my shoes

(How amazing is our photographer?!  Thank you, Pam!)

home.

I have been incredibly lonely for home recently.  It's not exactly a feeling of being homesick, it's slightly more than that.  I miss living in New York, waking up in New York, knowing that you have nothing to do and you will do nothing in New York.  Visiting is one thing; stops at John's, The Strand, Fishes Eddy, a quick detour through the park, a street vendor pretzel.  All of those things are well and good, but I miss the feeling of calling Manhattan my home.

My decision to move to Chicago was one of the best I've ever made and I will never, ever, look back on it with regret.  And no offense, Chicago!  I love you, you're great!  We have a beach down our block and your food is delicious, but you're just not New York.  We are committed to living in Chicago and one day growing our brood of gingers here, that has to say a lot about this new city of mine.  I guess all I can really hope is that they have my attitude and love visiting the streets their mama grew up on.

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion...no, make that: he - he romanticized it all out of proportion. Yes. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin.
Er, tsch, no, missed out something.

Chapter 1.
He was too romantic about Manhattan, as he was about everything else. He thrived on the hustle bustle of the crowds and the traffic. To him, New York meant beautiful women and street-smart guys who seemed to know all the angles...
 No, no, corny, too corny for a man of my taste. Can we ... can we try and make it more profound?

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City. To him, it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. The same lack of individual integrity that caused so many people to take the easy way out was rapidly turning the town of his dreams in ...
No, that's a little bit too preachy. I mean, you know, let's face it, I want to sell some books here.

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City, although to him it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. How hard it was to exist in a society desensitized by drugs, loud music, television, crime, garbage...
Too angry, I don't want to be angry.

Chapter 1.
He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat.
I love this.
New York was his town, and it always would be... 

                          - Woody Allen, Manhattan

life lately.

I always love when bloggers do a post simply consisting of a bunch of photos from their lives.  It’s such a nice, quick, glimpse into their world and I feel like it brings the blogger and the reader a little bit closer.

Since we're just getting to know each other, I figured I share a few photos of my life recently (if you care to take a peek).  Enjoy!

 

 Summer weekends spent with my (now) in-laws lounging by the pool

 Weddings that took us to Westchester and Beale Street

 

 Brightly colored outfits (I’ve been very into pinks recently)

 

Lots and lots of time spent gearing up for the big day

Follow me on Instagram! @toriehajdu