SCOTLAND: A LAND OF GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

I haven't had a chance to process my photos or videos from our trip thus far—hard to believe we are almost halfway done!—but I can say we have some great adventures and, despite some unseasonably cool and cloudy weather, have basked in the great and vast landscape that is Scotland. We spent several days in the Scottish Highlands this week and truly enjoyed its splendor. I think this short film by Josh Brine on Vimeo captures much of the magic here; I hope you like it!

(Thanks to swissmiss for the conveniently timed tip!)

A BONNIE WEE ROMANCE! WE'RE OFF TO SCOTLAND!

Well folks, I am excited to say that today the hubby and I are headed off on a little adventure. We are going to the United Kingdom for two weeks, mainly driving around Scotland, seeing the islands, and then headed down for a couple of days in London and a dear friend's wedding. Though I am sad to report that I will have to squeeze some school work in on the trip, I am head over heels happy about spending some quality time together given our crazy schedules of late. With new jobs for both of us coming up (more on that in the future!), this may be the last overseas adventure we have in a while. So we will make it count!I will do my best to post an update here and there, but you can plan on seeing me for sure after the Fourth of July when we get back. Until then, I hope you are able to enjoy some lovely summer weather!
(All photos snagged from Pinterest and saved on this board here.) 

SAVINGS AND LOANS: LAY OFF MY BLUE SUEDE SHOES

Several years ago I splurged and bought this adorable pair of stripey and bow-topped heels from JCrew. At the time I thought, hmm, how often can I really wear blue shoes? Turns out quite often! I get compliments on them all the time, which has basically rewarded my splurge time and time again.

So now I have my eyes on a new set of likely impractical but beautiful shoes: the Mira Heel from Madewell (on sale for $135) and the Adelia d'Orsay Pump from Banana Republic ($158). What do you think? Should I treat myself to some blue suede shoes?

COLOR HEAVEN: THE RAINBOW CHAPEL IN SHANGHAI

So, nearly three years ago, I had the honor and joy of marrying my husband in a gorgeous historic church in Massachusetts. And while I loved every minute of my wedding day, I have to say that if I got a chance to have a second one (to my same husband, of course!) I think I might go modern all the way. Though it wouldn't be in Shanghai, China, this Rainbow Chapel designed by Coordination Asia for the G+Park museum park is spectacular. Pretty much my dream venue. Now if we could just ship it to New England . . . 

Learn more about the Chapel here.

(Thanks to Design Milk for the tip.)

MAKERS AND BROTHERS

There are some beautiful things in the Makers and Brothers shop. There are also some perfectly styled shots of those pretty things. Color me impressed.

Get the full effect on their website here.

RANDOM THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, VOLUME TWO

As I near the home stretch with my dissertation, my brain increasingly feels like swiss cheese—completely full of holes. It is perhaps only fitting that I give you another 'Random Things' post, if only to accurately represent my chaotic state of mind. . . 

ONE > How fabulous are these colorful playing cards? Who knew poker could be so pretty . . . 

TWO > I rotate my desktop background regularly and am always looking for new (and free!) patterns to upload. DesignLoveFest's regular column is the best source for these and I totally fell in love with her recent post featuring this palm print by Kate Worsum.

THREE > Candy on a stick? Yes, please!

FOUR > I can't decide if one piece bathing suits are all purposefully designed to be unflattering or if they don't just work on me, but the raving reviews and pretty colors of this JCrew number have me tempted to try again . . . 

FIVE > These brightly colored beauties in Naples have me dreaming of revisiting my trip to Italy and heading down south instead. 

SIX > I collect typewriters. Have I told you that? Well I do. It's a hard hobby to keep up in my cramped NYC apartment, but oh baby this yellow number is calling my name!

AN IDEA FOR FATHER'S DAY: LEGACYBOX

For years my Mom and I have been racking our brains about what to get my Dad on holidays, birthdays and other gift giving occasions. Boys are so hard to shop for, we say to one another. A book, a shirt, a cd? Once you have covered the standards I find it hard to come up with something original, particularly at a time in my family's life when everyone is conscious of trying to live a more clutter-free life.So I was intrigued to stumble across LegacyBox recently. It's a full-service scanning business that takes all your family media—everything from 18mm films to slides—and digitally scans them, sending them back to you as DVDs. The prices look fairly reasonable (anywhere from $75 to $500, depending on the number of items scanned) and will definitely provide the closest thing out there to a trip back in time. I am putting this on the gift idea, for sure!Learn more about LegacyBox here.

FOLLOW UP: TOMMY PEREZ'S INSTAGRAM

Whoa! Yesterday, after posting about the inspiring series A to Zöe created by adorable dad Tommy Perez, I fell down a Googling black hole and go lost in the magic and colorful wonder of Perez's instagram account. Seriously, this guy is incredible! Turns out Perez not only has major typography skills, but also is a master at logo design, paper cutting and illustration. If I had taken a different fork in the road and had decided to become a graphic designer instead of an art historian, I would want to become this guy's best friend, stat. As is, I kind of want to anyway!Check out Perez's instagram account and personal website here for a look into his beautiful, vivid work.

ONE DAD'S EDIBLE TYPOGRAPHY LESSONS

Oh man, I am pretty sure Tommy Perez just won the cool dad of the year award. Turns out he is teaching his two year old daughter, Zöe, about the alphabet (and design! and food!) by shaping her snacks into letters in various beautiful styles—script, sans serif, capitalized, lowercase and more—and then photographing her adorable little hand as she samples the results.The series is called from A to Zöeand shows off Perez's impressive styling and graphic design skills. He posts his images on Instagram and I highly recommend you follow along. In the meantime, you can learn more about Perez, his daughter, and the whole series at Fast Co. here.