Happiness

I love this statement about “happiness” that was on the card my husband gave me for our wedding anniversary.  I think it’s a wonderful perspective.

Wishing you a happy weekend!  We’ll be soaking up some sun and a lot of tennis at the US Open.

Floral Stylings: Craspedia, Hydrangea, & Fuji Mums

Joy Moody Photography

As I’ve said before, it’s thanks to my wedding that I discovered my love of flowers.  I have a soft spot for all of the flowers from our wedding day, but in particular, the yellow craspedia featured in my bouquet (which is still so lovely to me) has remained a favorite.  

Almost one year later, after turning in my dissertation, I decided to treat myself to some flowers.  Channeling our wedding, I ended up purchasing the beautiful hydrangea, fuji mums, and craspedia that you see below.

Love. And also, cake.

Joy Moody Photography

Three years ago today, I married a wonderful man.  This week on the blog, I'm taking a trip down memory lane by revisiting some favorite details from our wedding.

When we lived in Philadelphia, I loved the baked goods made by Tartes Fine Cakes & Pastries (I still think about their plum & ginger brown butter tart).  This one room pink building was just around the corner from our condo, and I was thrilled to ask a “neighbor” to bake our wedding cake.  I absolutely loved (and still do) the elegant, sophisticated cake Teresa (the owner and pastry chef) created for us.  And the cake tasted just as good as it looked! 

Joy Moody Photography

For our one year wedding anniversary, I asked Teresa to make a mini-version of our wedding cake, and she baked the lovely creation that you see below.  I took these photos back in 2010, and I’m so glad to be able to share her talent!

A little extra - yesterday I was at The Eagle's Nest sharing some of my fall fashion wish list items.  Hop on over and take a look!

Snaps: Early Morning from the Roosevelt Island Tram

I’ve had some early mornings these last few weeks.  Once I get past the initial pain of getting myself out of bed, I’m reminded of how much I love the quiet tranquility of dawn in the city.  It’s the only time that New York feels somewhat peaceful to me.  And it’s always nice to start a day with a spectacular tram ride.  Below are some unedited (no special filters) iPhone photos of my favorite August morning skies.

Happy weekend!

Inspiration via Pinterest Feed

Sometimes I find that snapshots of my Pinterest feed are beautiful sources of inspiration.  I love the color combinations and the general mood of the two iPhone captures below.

Traveled: Busan, Seafood Edition

This was my first time to Busan, South Korea and I would love to go back to spend more time in this beautiful city.  You’ll see some pictures of Busan itself and the surrounding area in future posts, but given our amazing first lunch in the city (the first three images below), I just had to dedicate a post to the delicious and fascinating seafood that we experienced in Busan.

(1-3) Delicious, grilled seafood lunch.  The clams in the center of the first image and the amazing shrimp were some of my favorite items. (4-5) Outdoor seafood shops. (6-9) Inside Jagalchi Fish Market.  This place is huge.  The downstairs contains fresh fish/seafood stalls.  The upstairs has both "restaurants" (where you can dine on some incredibly fresh sashimi) and dried fish/squid stalls.  Some of the shrimp/prawns in the 7th image were quite literally the size of my forearm!

In My Home: Elements of Style & Cooking Inspiration

I still remember my first copy of The Elements of Style – small, yellow-ish cover, paperback.  I absolutely couldn’t resist the beautiful illustrated version that you see below. 

(1) Carnations, The Elements of Style illustrated by Maira Kalman, and Casablanca lantern.
(2) A glimpse of my collection of cookbooks.  When I’m feeling creative I really love The Flavor Bible, a great resource that tells you which ingredients/flavors mesh well together.

Splendid Summer...

I’m not generally one to enter contests (partly due to laziness, partly because I never think I’m going to win...), but when Joy Cho of Oh Joy! and Splendid paired to host a “My Splendid Summer” contest, I couldn’t refuse.  Yes, the prospect of winning an iPad didn’t hurt, but I also loved the idea of compiling a series of images that would epitomize what summer means to me.  You can check out my entire board here, but below are a few of my favorite "splendid summer" moments.

Images sources from top: (1), (2), and (3).

Happy weekend!

Wish List: Chambray & Denim

I love that my Pinterest boards track the ebb and flow of whatever captures my design/fashion/food/inspiration fancy.  A review of my more recent Pins made me realize how much I’m currently crushing on chambray and denim.  Below are some of my favorite Pins.

Images sources from top: (1), (2), (3), and (4).

Dogear Press Projects: Birthday Cocktail Cards

For my 30th birthday, Stephen and I threw a “bring your own” cocktail party.  We provided all of the standard liquors and mixers, and asked each of our guests to come prepared with a cocktail recipe (and any extra special ingredients).  It was a fun way to get a taste of many different drinks.  I wanted to make party favors for our guests, and decided on some cocktail recipe cards featuring some of my favorite libations (Caipirinha, French 75, Mojito, & Moscow Mule).  I was inspired by my love of different fonts, black & white, kraft paper, and baker’s twine.  I had some of these cards left over from last year, and ended up recycling them for my 31st birthday party.  A little black marker, a new “31” with a gold marker, and voilà, drink cards at our makeshift bar for a second occasion!

Below are some Instagram snaps of the "reworked" cards.

In My Home: Print + Vases

You have probably realized that I am a bit of an Instagram and iPhone photography junkie.  Some of my favorite Instagram captures are of items from our Roosevelt Island apartment.  I love that feeling of looking at a long familiar object and having the sensation that I’m seeing it for the first time.  I’ve decided to share some of these moments via an “In My Home” series.  Hope you enjoy!

(1) A Josef Albers-esque print
(2) Favorite (and unbroken – the reality of life with cats) vases on our CB2 rug.