Pretty Ingrid Has a New Home!

Hooray!

For the past several months I have been designing the new website for Pretty Ingrid. My boy has been working really hard writing the code for the site (from scratch!), bringing to life my vision for Pretty Ingrid's new home.

We finally launched the site last Thursday, and I'm so thrilled with the result! There are still some unfinished details here and there, but I'm just too excited not to share :)

 

From the site you can now access my shop, blog, gallery, Facebook page, Pinterest boards and Flickr account. I do want to mention that this blog will soon have a new home at Pretty Ingrid. Right now you can access A Random Walk from Pretty Ingrid, but soon I will be making the switch to a new blog that has a more seamless look with the new site. Stay tuned!

So, here is Pretty Ingrid's new home! Please, have a look around; I would love to hear what you think.

P.S. A HUGE thank you to my boy for working so hard to create a creative space where I can share my work with others. This would not be possible without your endless support! xoxo

New Work and Making Plans

This past weekend I was quite the busy bee. I finished a new piece (above), which I will have in the shop this evening. I might list a few versions of this print; the oval one, above, and a few different sizes of the original rectangular piece. I can really envision this light, feminine painting hanging above a makeup table or dresser. That was really my inspiration for the image.

The boy and I also spent a lot of time on a larger project that, *fingers crossed*, I will be able to share with you by the end of the week. I'm REALLY excited about how the whole thing is coming together..

On Sunday we sat down to do a bit of planning for this weekend's trip to Boston. It's so funny; we have been together for more than seven years and we have only ever taken day trips! We thought we would start small with a weekend getaway to the city. We are staying at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, which looks like such a fun place. 

A. surprised me by setting up a hair appointment at Shag, a salon I have wanted to go to for years. I'm going to let them work their magic - no restrictions :) I have an appointment with a cutter who specializes in short hair, so I couldn't be more excited!

We also plan to stroll around Harvard Square, do a bit of shopping and eat some fantastic food. If  you are familiar with the Boston area and have suggestions for great places to eat, shop, etc. please share!

I hope your week is getting off to a wonderful start :)

Twenty-Five

Today marks the beginning of my twenty-fifth year. It's pouring outside, but that's OK. I had a giant piece of birthday cake for breakfast*, so I'm feeling full and happy this morning :)

If this rain doesn't freeze into a sheet of ice by tonight, the boy and I are going to celebrate with a nice dinner out and perhaps a trip to the book store.

Twenty-five definitely feels like a milestone. I'm in my mid-twenties now - crazy! There are some big changes coming for me this year that I'm really excited about, so I'm welcoming this birthday with open arms :)

P.S. This hand painted doily is a new card design that I hope to have up in the shop within the next few days. Hope you like it! 

*Thank you, hun, for making me a cake! xoxo

Saturday Style File: Week Seven (On Sunday)

Happy Sunday :)

So, I slipped a bit for week seven of Saturday Style File. It's Sunday evening, but better late than never, right?

The highlight of this week's outfit is my new haircut! I decided that I'm going to rock a blunt bang again for a bit. That is, until I get bored and cut it again ;)

This week's look is more of the same from previous weeks. My standard winter uniform applies here (black turtleneck, skirt, warm opaque tights and boots). However, I did mix it up a bit with a summer top I love and some metallic booties.

Favorite outfit this week:

- Black turtleneck from H&M.

- Black skirt from Old Navy, many seasons ago.

- Blue summer blouse from Gap, five-ish years ago.

- Belt from Kohl's.

- Booties from Born.

Tonight A and I had a homemade pizza topped with sun dried tomatoes and basil. What a fantastic combination! If you haven't tried this, I would highly recommend it. 

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Happy Love Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A. and I celebrated the holiday over the weekend, so tonight was very low key. It was a busy, hectic day for us both so we ended up scrapping our plans to make dinner and just ordered pizza in. Being the sweetie he is, my boy did surprise me with some beautiful orchids and a single orange rose when I came home this afternoon :)

Later this week I just might have to try making these amazing looking cupcakes . I can't resist the wonderfully light texture of angel food cake, and who wouldn't enjoy eating a sweet little cupcake topped in the prettiest pink icing?

If you are attached, I hope you had a wonderful day sharing the love with your significant other. If you are single, today is the perfect opportunity to pamper yourself, because you are fabulous and you deserve it!

Saturday Style File: Week Six

Happy Saturday!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far. A and I went out for a lovely early Valentine's day dinner last night, which was wonderful. We hit a small local restaurant for some chicken picatta, haddock, cheese cake (for me) and Guinness (for him). Tonight we are celebrating a friend's birthday at an Italian restaurant we really enjoy, so I'm looking forward to that..

The outfit I chose for this week's installment of Saturday Style File is what I wore on Friday. The dress is one of the quirkier items in my closet, and I absolutely love it! I purchased the piece a couple of years ago from a local boutique, Bella Luna. I really like this particular store because the owner only carries one of each item in a few different sizes; you are sure to get a unique piece that few others will have. 

Because the dress is quite short, I paired with with skinny jeans and boots. Since I wear the same pants and boots almost every day in the winter, I chose not to include them this time :) I also wore a black turtleneck for added warmth. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What Dreams are Made of

The lovely Nina had a sweet post yesterday about daydreaming. Like her, I am a big believer in the power of daydreams; they are the stuff of a life we wish for ourselves. I think it's important to pay close attention to the thoughts that creep in while going through the motions of the every day. We can learn so much about ourselves through our daydreams; perhaps even discover hopes that we haven't yet acknowledged.

Like Nina, I think we each have the ability to create the life we want. The first step is listening to that inner voice. Allow yourself to daydream a bit.

Sometimes a daydream is all you have, when life gets in the way. Taxes, bills, work, errands and my sick boy are priorities this week. Busy as I may be with the everyday, I'm still daydreaming about travel, painting, the beach, romantic dinners and warm cookies.

Perhaps a warm batch of cookies will become a reality tonight. The romantic dinner will have to wait until the boy is feeling better :)

What are you dreaming about today? If the big snow storm is coming your way, stay safe!

Dreams Past and Present

As a child, one of my favorite games to play was "boutique". I would carefully display all the toys and knickknacks in my bedroom, as if it were a retail space. My parents bought me a sweet little adding machine, complete with the receipt tape, so that I could to ring up the goods my "customers" purchased. I could play this game for hours; it never seemed to get old.

As an adult, I'm still really excited by the thought of owning my own boutique. It's a romantic idea to me, so full of creativity and possibility. I hope that someday this childhood dream of mine will take shape, in one manner or another. In the meantime, it's fun to fantasize about!

This latest little painting of mine is directly inspired by my hope to one day own a retail space. On Saturdays, after yoga my boy and I sometimes share breakfast at a cafe in the downtown area near where we live. Across the street is a beautiful, yet neglected, old building with sweet little awnings on all of the windows. The space is currently vacant. I can see so much potential in that little building. This is the vision I have for the space, as seen through my mind's eye..

Saturday Style File: Week Three

Happy Saturday!

I was lucky enough to have an extra day off this weekend, because yet another blizzard rolled through the Northeast on Friday. Since I didn't get out of my pajamas yesterday, I had one less day to choose my outfit from this week :) 

I wore this somewhat casual, monochromatic outfit to work on Wednesday. It was lucky I was comfortable, because the work day itself was dreadfully stressful! 

Favorite outfit this week:

- The blue bird print blouse is from H&M. I am completely in love with the sweet print, and it makes a great layering piece over turtlenecks. 

- The blue turtleneck is also from H&M.

- Blue skinny jeans are from Gap.

- Black boots are by BareTraps.

What are you up to this weekend? The boy and I are planning to get Chinese food at our favorite local spot, browse the bookstore and catch a film (most likely The Fighter). 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend :)

Finding Joy

Today was a lovely day. Not because work was remarkable (it wasn't), the weather was beautiful (it was bitter outside), or because I was feeling great (I'm still dealing with some lingering cold symptoms).

I'm smiling today because of the little moments. The short, quiet ride to work this morning. A warm cup of berry tea this afternoon. Catching up with the boy while making a pie crust this evening. Sharing a simple dinner at the table after a long day.

Where did you find joy today?

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that New Year's Eve is already here! I've been ill for the past two days, so I'm grateful to be feeling better in time to celebrate a bit with my boy.

We are planning to have brunch at a delicious local bagel shop, do a bit of shopping, make a nice dinner (glazed pork loin with apples, onions and potatoes), and ring in the New Year together. 

I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful experiences that 2010 has given me, and I'm ready to see what 2011 has in store!

I will be taking a few days off from blogging to spend time with family. We are taking a little trip to Boston for a wedding on New Year's Day, which I'm excited about. Since A and I chose to do Christmas together at home, this is my opportunity visit with extended family. 

Have a safe, happy New Year! Thank you again for visiting me here on my little blog. Your wonderful comments truly mean a lot to me :)

{Image is a new piece, Soft Silence, that I will be adding to the shop soon}

The Remedy

It's a very cold, blustery day today. I've caught a cold bug, which has made for a mildly unpleasant day at work sniffling and sipping tea. But, in the spirit of the impending New Year, I'm trying to keep things positive :)

On New Year's Day I'll be driving to Boston for a family wedding, and a red nose just won't look cute with my party outfit. Since A is away visiting family for a few days, I'm nursing myself back to health with pajamas, won ton soup, dark hot cocoa, blankets, kitty cuddles and television.

How do you cure what ails you?

{image from a little tune}

Hideminy Ceramics & Snowed In

I am absolutely loving these beautiful, handmade ceramic pieces by Hideminy. The snow white color, combined with the feminine lace details - gorgeous. I would love a set of bowls, but I don't know if I could bring myself to use them!

Perhaps it's all of the snow we've had that is drawing me to simple, lovely white pieces like these. We had a blizzard in the Northeast last night. I woke up to find a very thick, fresh blanket of snow outside. I just love how clean the landscape looks covered in snow. Snow storms bring with them a quiet stillness that is indescribable if you haven't experienced it yourself. 

I'm just enjoying this lovely Snow Day, bundled inside drinking coffee and doing a bit of painting. What a wonderful way to extend the Christmas holiday a bit longer!

Little Family Christmas

Christmas day is special to A and I for two reasons. Firstly, it's just a wonderful holiday filled with love, giving, old traditions and new. Secondly, it happens to be our anniversary. This year, we celebrated our seventh year (and Christmas) together in our little apartment with our two lovely kitties. 

Every year we find that we spend Christmas day running between parties hosted by my family and his, with little time to breathe and just "be". It can be stressful trying to plan the day, splitting our time between families so as not to hurt feelings.

This year we decided to keep it simple, celebrating in the home we have made together over the past few years. We love our families very much, but it was important for us to spend this year with each other.

On Christmas Eve, we made little origami wreath ornaments while watching The Holiday. These are really sweet and simple to make; fun to do while watching a festive film! We also munched on dark chocolate espresso cookies, coffee cake and lots party mix..

Christmas day began with coffee, followed by a big, traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. We exchanged gifts and took a wonderful afternoon nap - simply perfect.

As a gift, A tracked down my favorite Christmas special, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas! It was such a thoughtful gift, I may have cried a bit when I opened it. If you haven't seen this special, I highly recommend it. We watched Emmet Otter Christmas night, while munching on Christmas Eve leftovers 

and Chinese takeout.

{Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas}

All-in-all, we had an absolutely fantastic holiday. It was a wonderfully simple, low-key Christmas; Just what we were looking for.

I hope you had a nice holiday! How did you celebrate this year?

{The top image is a small piece from a new listing in the shop}

Brown Paper Packages

Last night A decided he was going to see a movie, so I took the opportunity to wrap up his Christmas goodies.

For those with cats, you know how hard it can be to complete any task that involves paper, ribbons, use of the floor and boxes of any kind. Things like this happen...

... often.

It took Princeton about one second to jump in this box after I emptied it. I didn't even have time to take out the inflatable packing material (which he deflated with his claws). He proceeded to sleep there for the rest of the night. I can't be mad at him, even though I was planning to use the box; just look at that face!

How is your holiday to-do list coming? I still have some baking to do, and a few more odds and ends to pick up for holiday meals..

2010, You've Been Good to Me

I'm not a big list-maker, which is probably one of the big reasons I'm not particularly organized. Even so, I thought I would throw together a little personal list of 2010 events if for no other reason than to convince myself I accomplished a few things this year! Here goes..

This year I:

Started this blog!

Took a course on differential equations - just for fun

Watched in horror as the hard drive on my computer died, losing LOTS of information

Received my Master's degree, despite previous event :)

Became an avid coffee/tea drinker

Re-discovered crafting, drawing and otherwise creating during the month I was unemployed post-graduation

Learned I could be both an analytical AND creative person

Landed my first "real" job

Went to New York City for the first time. Saw three Broadway shows

Opened my Etsy shop, Pretty Ingrid

Invested in a dutch oven (a major event if you love bread as much as I do)

Took my first yoga and Zumba classes (loved them both)

Hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time

Used Photoshop for the first time (Yikes!)

**Endlessly pondered future career path, discovering that what I really WANT to be doing has little to do with what I'm "trained" to do (see "Master's degree"). A scary but pretty freeing realization; this is the most important item on the list.

Yes, I think 2010 has been pretty good to me. I will be a bit sad to see it go, but I think 2011 is going to bring with it even more exciting times.

The image above is a small peak at a little project I am working on. I'm hoping to share more in the next month or so. Stay tuned!

Bubble Umbrellas

It can get really windy where I live. I notice it especially on rainy days, during the winter season and when I have to do a lot of walking around campus. In the past seven years, since moving to the area, the wind has broken every SINGLE umbrella I have owned. I have averaged about one per year, allowing myself to experience the embarrassing moment when my umbrella flipped inside out (always with people around) only once before swearing them off again for many months.

I really want to try one of these cute bubble umbrellas. I think the shape makes for a sturdier design, and I'm all for protecting my short hair, which can end up looking particularly terrible on windy, wet days. I love that these are clear so you can pull the canopy down over your head, protecting your face while still being able to see where you are going :) The neon version is just so darn cute, too.

{found here and here}

Little Moment

I snapped this picture of little Stella with my phone last night. She wedged herself between A and I while we were snacking and watching Bones on the couch. A said to me, "This is the good stuff. Sometimes I think it doesn't even matter what happens in the future, as long as I have my family, and moments like these". Best part of my day, right here.

Monday Snow Day

Happy Monday! I am a very excited girl this morning, since today is the first official Snow Day of the winter season where I live. I work at a University, and class cancellations mean no work for me!

I started this fun wreath project over the weekend, which is turning out to be quite a bit of work! I'm really excited about the results so far, though, and I can't wait to share. Hopefully I will be able to finish it up today, since my schedule just opened up :)

I also finished this new print for the shop. I'm calling the piece "Patience", the style of which is heavily inspired by the fashion and photographic style of Anthropologie. I had a lot of fun working on this print, which is available in both 5x7 and 8x10 sizes.

It looks like I have another day of cooking and creative fun ahead of me today on this snowy Monday. I'm going to turn on the Christmas tree, put on something cozy and enjoy the wintry weather from the warmth of my apartment. Thank you, snow!

Holiday Cheer!

The tree is decorated, which means I am one happy girl! On a whim I picked up some silver ribbon for the tree, thinking I would replace the red ribbon we used last year for a more "winter wonderland" feel. I ended using both strands of ribbon, and I'm really loving the sweet candy cane effect!

I have been meaning to make a tree skirt, but just haven't gotten around to it. I used the white under-side of a yard sale find from a couple years ago. It's a bit country for my taste, but overall I'm happy with the result and excited to have the delicious pine scent in our home. Nothing is better than enjoying the light of the tree with a mug of coffee before work, mmm.. Puts a smile on my face just thinking about it!

This weekend I'm hoping to pick up a few more decorations, bake a pot of beans, mail out our holiday cards and enjoy some creative time. I have so many new ideas floating around in my head, but this week has been so hectic I haven't had a chance to start any new projects. I'm really looking forward to it!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!