derby time!

This weekend is the famed Kentucky Derby!


I've always wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby. I really enjoy horse races and I think it'd be fun to actually get dressed up for one, wear a fancy hat, and sip on a Mint Julep. It's rich, Southern tradition at it's finest! It's officially on my to-do list.

Mint Julep

Ralph Lauren used a day at the (Royal Ascot) races as the inspiration for his Spring '08 Collection. It's fabulous.


What I like most are the fancy hats. I wish women wore hats like these more often these days--they're stylish, classic, and definitely exude confidence and glamor.

Believe me, if I had reasons to dress up like this and wear fancy hats...I would do it every day.

fun with letters

Don't remember where I picked up this design technique, but thought I'd share a fun way to design artwork from letters.


1. Using Illustrator (or any design program really), pick a cool font and type a single letter (the design above uses the letter "P").
2. Make a copy and rotate the second letter 45 degrees.
3. Make a copy of the second letter and rotate that another 45 degrees to make a third letter.
4. Keep making copies and rotating letters until you have as many as you want.
5. Building off of the first letter, pick a central connecting point and arrange the letters to make a design.

The possibilities are endless!


And because I love quotes and fonts...I designed a little quotation artwork.

j.crew addict

Hi. I'm Betsy. And I'm a J.Crew addict.

Looked on the J.Crew site this morning and saw this:

J.Crew Polka-Dot Rosette Dress

I love it. I want it. I NEED it!
(okay, so I don't really need it, but I would really like to have it!)
I have a lot of weddings to attend this summer so it would definitely get some use. Maybe it's time to cash out all that change in my piggy-bank....

J.Crew is offering an additional 20% off their Sale items through May 2nd. It's a good bargain. (sadly, the Rosette dress isn't on sale)

Shamefully, I have already taken advantage of it....and I will be eating nothing but bread and water until my next paycheck... (just kidding...but not really)

the martha effect

For some reason, I've been super domestic lately--cleaning, organizing, buying fresh flowers, planting herbs, actually cooking dinner! I think its from reading all those Martha Stewart Living magazines....

I like it though and I'm actually enjoying cooking a real dinner instead of just going to Chipotle to get a Burrito Bowl (seriously though, cilantro lime rice, steak, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce is the BEST!)

I seem to be choosing the most odd-sounding recipes to try, but Martha never disappoints. I made this the other night and it was super easy and pretty tasty:

Herb Crusted Snapper

A while ago, this one peaked my curiosity (probably because it had peaches in it) and I tried it out:

Ginger Chicken with Peaches and Onion

Sounded like a weird pairing of flavors, but it was actually quite good (at least Hunter, my sister and I all thought so).

And, thanks again to Martha, next up is:

Mint-Marinated Shrimp with Glass Noodles

A. It's got Mint
2. It's got Shrimp
III. It's got those soft Thai noodles that are so fun to eat!

the perfect spring bag

I'm in need of a new Spring handbag; my boring black tote is getting old. I like the tote/top handle style and it needs to be roomy enough to hold all my things on the metro (book, change of shoes, lunch), but still stylish and bright.

I've been saving up for the COACH Carly bag for forever, but now I wonder if I really want it.

It's the perfect size and would go with anything, but the price tag is a little hefty.

Some other options I like:

COACH Madeline Tote

J.Crew Las Palmas Bag

J.Crew Oslo Bag

J.Crew Uptown Tote

Banana Republic Flatiron Shoulder Satchel

Banana Republic Greenwich Shoulder Satchel

Banana Republic Sutton Giraffe-Print Tote

Dooney & Bourke Chiara Bag

And because you can't have cute handbags without cute shoes...

J.Crew Liza Peep-Toe Flats

J.Crew Kingston Suede Driving Mocs

...which are on both on sale right now at J.Crew and I am desperately wanting!

great grapes wine festival

This past Saturday I went to the Great Grapes Wine Festival in Reston, VA with my sis and some friends. We had a great time, tasted a lot of wines, and enjoyed live music, grape stomping, and one very delicious funnel cake.

(We also got dirt kicked up all over us by a dog as we were sitting on a curb, and the owner looks at us and says "oh...sorry" then walks away with her little devil dog. Thanks lady...we were wiping dirt off of our backsides the rest of the day. Keep your dog in check!)

Nonetheless, it was a fun time and I came away with a few fabulous bottles of wine.

My favorite winery by far was Lake Anna Winery. Their staff was friendly and fun, they had a large variety, and their wines were excellent. I think I'm gonna plan a little daytrip out to Lake Anna in the near future...

a little bit of Italy

picturesque Cinque Terre in Italy shot by amazing photographer Marcus Nilsson:

If I could live there, I would.

springtime

Spring is here to stay! It's beautiful outside today, which only makes it harder to sit at my desk and do work when I can look out the window and see sunshine.

A few things that make me excited for the warm weather:

J.Crew Ballerina dress

Crate & Barrel Cold Beverage Jar
(I'd fill mine with peach iced tea!)

Crate & Barrel Valencia Plates

Corn on the Cobb cupcakes from Martha Stewart
(how cute are these!)


Watermelon Limeades from Martha Stewart


spacious front porch via Southern Living

rananculus in bloom

I bought some pink rananculus the other day and brought a few stems to the office. I've gotten into having fresh flowers at my desk. It really does brighten my day.


They bloomed so fast and were so pretty that I had to take some pics:








A few photoshop effects:


The little vase looks so tiny compared to everything else on my desk:

handwriting

Handwriting intrigues me. I've always liked calligraphy and unique typography, which goes hand in hand with my love of writing and quotations. I've been told countless times that I have nice handwriting, but to me, it's just how I write.

A little while ago I decided to learn calligraphy and so have been doing some practicing. But I keep finding that the script just turns into my normal handwriting since I usually write in cursive. It's hard to not just write how I normally write. I still have a lot of practice to do.

I started playing around with different variations of my blog title. Interesting how the handwriting gradually changes with each try until I end up just writing in print. That's the beauty of handwritten fonts--each word is unique.


I got tired of practicing formal calligraphy, so I just started writing different quotes in my own handwriting. I used a quill pen and inkwell (which I love!) so it's a little more shaky than my normal cursive.


My handwriting looks different to me every time I look at it. I'll just keep practicing for now.