link love :: st. augustine

a little link love on this friday from three of my favorite places/stores in st. augustine, florida.

:: outre oeuvre

{image: outre oeuvre}

outre oeuvre is all about upcycling. have a stack of old t-shirts? send them down to st. augustine and the women at outre oeuvre will turn them into a fabulous skirt, tank, or hoodie. it's your choice and made with your materials! and the best part, it's one of a kind! 

when asked what the name of their store means the owner told me it's latin - outre, meaning out of the ordinary and oeuvre, meaning a work of art. 

you can follow them here on facebook. pics of my one of kind skirt will be posted soon. i've been wearing it to the beach every day so it needs a washing.  

:: blue planet co-op

{image: blue planet co-op}

i stumbled upon this place at the st. augustine farmer's market. they sell the most delicious organic foods. i was sold on the "garlic sunnies," which are dehydrated and seasoned sunflower seeds with a big kick of garlic. just my kind of snack. i also bought a pack of their kale chips, which i attempted to make on my own a few months back. theirs were way better. and to add a little something to thanksgiving dinner, i bought some of their organic cranberry orange relish. d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!!! 

if you're skeptical about buying organic or just want to learn more about why you should be buying organic, check out their website: blueplanetco-op.com

:: 8 limbs yoga

{image: 8 limbs yoga}

located on anastastia island in st. augustine, florida, 8 limbs yoga is a gem of a yoga studio. i try to make a stop there each time i'm down visiting my parents. they offer an ashtanga style of yoga, which is a different than what i normally practice, but i love it! it's challenging, sweaty, and the people at 8 limbs are all so welcoming and nice. check out their website: 8limbsyogastaug.com 

ode to the olympics.

tonight i'll be watching the opening ceremonies of the 2010 winter olympics that are taking place in vancouver, and i can't help but be reminded of my time there with my father...just about ten years ago. he flew out to seattle, washington to greet me (and the ship!) that i studied on during my junior year of college, which was through the semester at sea program.

it was his idea to spend a few days driving up the coast to vancouver, bc before heading back home. and what an amazing drive and experience it was! my time in vancouver was brief, but it was long enough to realize that it's a pretty fabulous city in canada to visit.

so let the games begin!

 photo credit :: emshim's flickr photostream

photo credit :: emshim's flickr photostream

photo credit :: emshim's flickr photostream

snow :: skiing :: sisters

three of my very favorite things! fresh snow, skiing up in vermont and being with my big sister. a weekend with her was exactly what i needed...

2009.

some of my favorite photos from this past year...looking forward to all that lies ahead in 2010.

:: my sister looking out over lake champlain ::

:: picking the most delicious organic berries in vt ::

:: going to the beach with my besties ::

:: catching a game with my love at wrigley field ::

:: eating deep dish pizza at lou malnati's in chi-town ::

:: appreciating subway directions in other cities ::

:: making loads of decoupage bracelets ::

:: celebrating thanksgiving down south ::

:: celebrating in nyc during a snow storm ::

chicago :: four

the last night we were in chicago, we met some friends of mine from college for dinner at shaw's crab house - yum!! who would think you could find good seafood in chicago??

to digest our meals and end our evening right with a night cap, we headed just a few doors down from shaw's to andy's jazz club where we sat right up front at a quaint little table and listened to a great jazz band!!

chicago :: three

chicago is just oozing with some of the most amazing art and architecture that i have ever seen.

just walk around the city and one can see some of the most beautiful and world reknown sculptures without having to enter a museum.

i saw the flamingo sculpture by alexander calder, located in federal plaza on s. dearborn street, which you may remember seeing in ferris bueller's day off.

and then the pablo picasso sculpture (untitled), located in daley plaza in the chicago loop. visitors to the sculpture can often be found sliding down the sculpture (eh em...as my boyfriend did so gracefully with a few children - see video below).

in addition to the art that exists throughout the streets of chicago, there is also the art institute of chicago that is must-see for anyone visiting the windy city.

unfortunately, we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend at the institute, just a few hours. i could have spent the week there admiring all of the different periods of artwork throughout the building, which i might add is one of the most beautiful art museums that i have ever been to.

another ferris bueller's day off reference. remember the scene when they are admiring the seurat? well, i did the same! that's me below marveling at all of those tiny little dots that make up this gorgeous masterpiece!

chicago :: two

wrigley field!!!!

we got off the subway at addison with no tickets in hand. my boyfriend schmoozed with a few scalpers (shhh!) to get us some pretty fabulous tickets.

we made friends with the people around us (all of whom were chicagoans and major cub fans) and indulged in some ballpark beers and snacks!

i was so intrigued by the bleacher seats on top of the private businesses outside of the stadium that literally had amazing views of the game!

we were lucky enough to have front row seats to the cubs band! for a bit of history about wrigley field, check out this description on flickr.

this is the original scoreboard, which is largely still in tact - built in 1937.

you can't experience a true american baseball game without hearing, "take me out to the ball game!" during the stretch of the 7th inning.

a little lovin' in front of wrigley field...and in front of the statue of ernie banks, the first cub to retire his number. all in all it was a great day at wrigley.

counting the days until i can get back there...

chicago :: one

this was the first picture i took once we got off the subway and into the heart of the city. a few days later we would be on that same boat (pictured below) taking in all of the amazing architecture of the windy city.

but our first stop, after dropping off our luggage at the condo we rented on n. dearborn street, was to lou malnati's to indulge in some chicago-style deep dish pizza. according to the urban spoon and a few chicagoans, lou's is one of the top pizza places in the city.

i'll admit, however, that i wasn't too impressed with the thick crust. in my mind, nothing can top a pizza from modern or pepe's in new haven, connecticut.


chicago at our feet!

next we headed over to the willis tower, formerly the sears tower, to check out the view from 103 stories up in the sky! those are our feet on "The Ledge" a 4.3 foot glass box that extends beyond the skydeck.


look at that beautiful skyline!! we were blessed with gorgeous weather throughout our entire stay.

next stop...wrigley field!

i love chicago!

a recent trip to chicago with my boyfriend is what made me fall in love with this city. we went for a few days in july. neither one of us had ever been there before so it was so fun to explore the city together. we took more than 500 pictures and several hours of video footage, some of which i will share here over the next few days.

so check back for a series of posts about the art, the music, the food, and all of the sites that we saw in my new favorite city, chicago!

:: this collage was my boyfriend's creation ::

bangles. berries. beer.

:: more decoupage bracelet making with my lady friends. ::


:: the one with the peace sign was made for a very dear friend of mine. ::


:: then off to burlington, vermont to visit the sister for some beer tastin' and berry pickin'. ::


:: burlington brew fest 2009 ::

:: organic raspberries and blueberries are what i was pickin' at adam's berry farm. ::