my new ride

before the move from san francisco, i sold my cute little red toyota prius (sad!). good news is that because of fuel prices and the economy AND my california HOV sticker (allows solo drivers to drive in the carpool lane during commute hours), my car sold at a premium. i sold it for the same price that i bought it for in 2006. very cool and nice on the pocketbook, especially because i'm now a grad student.

it's been weird not having a car around, but so far so good. today we went to a local bike shop and found this cute little town cruiser so i can get to school a little quicker and to run errands. see how cute it is!! and the shop was having their end of the season sale, so i got 25% off. i love a good deal.

i learned a few fun facts about bike riding in the chicago area - helmets are not required (but I will always wear one!) and riding on the sideway is not allowed. strange but i guess they don't want bikers running into pedestrians. makes total sense.

anyways, here she is! what should I name her? (is it weird to name a bicycle?)

inspiration from bianchi

handgrown pottery

leesa brinkley is a fabulous etsy seller who sells adorable handcrafted gifts. i got this one for us. these would make great shower or wedding gifts.

inspiration from leesa brinkley

cupcake toppers?

we are considering getting a cake topper, but my girlfriend is baking us cupcakes. is there such a thing as a cupcake topper? maybe it's best to find a teeny tiny little cake topper?

looking around etsy has some beautiful handmade cake toppers. here is an adorable bird cake topper from lauren alene.

And she even makes my favorite - owls! perhaps we need an owl cupcake topper in brown and pink.

inspiration from lauren alene

Hmm, my next step is to investigate what our cake stand will look like and measure the diameter of a cupcake. then it would be wise to enjoy the cupcake and not let it go to waste :)

new obsession

i have a new obsession with fresh's soy face cleanser. it is natural, gentle, scented-lightly, and makes my skin feel clean.

fresh also has these beautifully packaged soaps, in yummy scents such as freesia, mangosteen, sugar, and waterlily. perhaps a perfect bridesmaids gift?

inspiration from fresh

unusual but fabulous registries

we have already registered at some of the usual suspects - williams sonoma, crate & barrel, macys, and rei. but check out these gorgeous handcrafted pieces from whitney smith and dovetail shop and studio. i saw that both have "registries" on etsy, and whitney smith has one on her website. is 6 registries too many? :-)

Whitney Smith Pottery

inspiration from whitney smith pottery

whitney smith etsy shop

Dovetail Shop & Studio

inspiration from dovetail shop and studio

dovetail etsy shop

i heart farmerjulie

i was inspired by perfect bound's posting of farmerjulie's pottery. her work is simple, rustic, and gorgeous. now all i need is a garden...

inspired by farmerjulie

birthday wish list

my bday is coming up and it's never to early to think about what I want

Check out this fabulous A.Jaron Daisy ring that Tara posted on her blog, In This Instance. Could this be my wedding band? Or maybe something I can wear on my right hand.

inspiration from aJaron

look at these delicious gems from my favorite etsy jeweler, kerri hale!

inspiration from kerri hale's etsy shop

or this fabulous watch from coach. all i have today are these sporty timex and nike watches, might be time for an classy upgrade.

inspiration from coach

owls on etsy

cute. enough said.

inspiration by thecraftpantry

inspiration by moonteaartwork

inspiration by jessicacurties

inspiration by pinkbathtub