FLORIDA

Florida! You are so lush and full of life.  When I look at the polaroids I took of the trees they just remind me of simple southern beauty and of dinosaurs munching on the spanish moss.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that!

It seems like Fall is passing and Winter is quickly approaching.  I dread Winter. Absolutely dread it.  November is usually a strange month for me but this year I'll be gone on tour with Christopher, adventuring, seeing friends, shooting photos.  I can't wait!!

What plans do you have for November?

SPANISH MOSS

It's funny, when I lived in Florida I thought it was so boring and bland.  Now each time I go back I think of it as more and more a romantic and beautiful place.  Look at all that sexy spanish moss draped on old trees and the tall palm trees reaching for the sky.  I probably wouldn't chose to live in Florida again, I love Chicago so much- but I can definitely appreciate it's beauty now.

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // ORANGE

Today has been such an awesome day.  It's absolutely beautiful outside here in Chicago.  I was able to take my abuela who is visiting from Puerto Rico to her very first American diner and we didn't even have to wear a coat! Unbelievable for Chicago in October.

I came home to peruse my favorite blogs and saw that my very first photographic contribution to a blog I love so much was posted!  Words To Shoot By is a blog where a collective of photographers interpret a word in photographs.  The theme for this particular post was orange! It was a lot of fun to brain storm and shoot the color orange.

After I satisfied my blog addiction I cruised on over to Twitter where I found out that I won a The Impossible Project film giveaway that instant film guru - Jake Messenger was hosting.  I can't wait to receive my pack of PX-70 film to paint the town shades of blue and green with! Jakes blog is another that you should add to your queue of awesome blogs!

Speaking of which, I just found out about this Bloglovin thing from Campfire Chics blog.  Does anyone use this?  What are your thoughts?

What a wonderful day! I'll post some new Polaroids I scanned in yesterday here tomorrow so come back!

xo

THE WIITALA BROTHERS

I'm gearing up to see my husband and his brother play a show tonight which should be a fun time to hang out with friends.  It'll be a good practice for them for our upcoming tour which I am so excited about.  I love road tripping and seeing friends all over the place. East coast here we come!

I hope to see the mountains during Autumn, The Impossible Project store in New York, cornfields in the mid west, a museum or two in DC and of course our dearest friends that come out to support us!

I am so proud of my husband and his brother for pursuing their musical dream.  I know a lot of people that have dreams, "one day I'd like to do this". I truly admire their persistence with chasing this dream down that I know won't stop until they've reached their goals.  My husband is the one who encouraged me to start my paper goods shop.  He's always encouraging me to pursue photography and telling me to be bold. Without his support and enthusiasm I would have never started my lil Etsy shop that I am so thrilled about.  I am so stoked to be married to a dude who is imaginative enough to let go of (some) practicalities and go for it.

Tomorrow will be a day of scanning some new Polaroid and Instax photos - what do you have planned for this weekend?

OUR APARTMENT ON UNPLGGD

Hello hello! My trip to Florida has come and gone and I feel like it was way too short this time!  I had so much fun seeing little lizards run across the streets, spanish moss hanging from every tree, feeling the sun kissing my cheeks and seeing so many old friends in love.  Florida is a magical place.  I took some Instax photos and a few Polaroids that I will share just as soon as I get to scanning a little later today.

I am very excited to announce that Unplggd did a little feature on our home!! For those of you who don't know me, my husband our two rabbits and I live in a 12x15 foot teenie tiny studio.  We sleep in a loft bed and have things tucked away in little drawers and secret hideaways all over our room.  Take a peek at the article here.  I love Apartment Therapy and it's affiliated blogs so I am very honored to have our simple little home featured on one of their sites!

What are you excited about this week?!

POLAROID CALENDARS ARE HERE

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Yesterday Christopher, Trevor and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Jim Henson's Muppet exhibit.  I've been looking forward to this for two years.  It was so awesome to see the Muppets I grew up watching in real life! I posted some photos on my Instagram account.   If you haven't heard about this app yet, I'd highly recommend it. It's basically like a Twitter but with images instead of microblogged words.  This is RIGHT up my alley.  I'm not the kind of person that jumps on every new social media trend but this one really grabbed my attention, and it's free!  If you have an account add me to your friends list- xoazuree ! 

If you are a fan of artist interviews (which I am a total sucker for) please take a peek at mine over at Campfire Chic. This is my first ever interview so if you read it, let me know what you think!  While you're clicking links, take a peek at Kam's super cute Etsy shop.  I love her miniature notebooks! 

Speaking of wares- I never announced on here that I have a new item in my shop- a 2011 Polaroid Calendar ! This has to be my very favorite item in my shop.  I am so excited about it.  Head over and take a peek. 

I have The Muppets Movie queued on my tv so I'd better get going, I don't want to keep Fozzie and Kermie waiting. 

I hope you're having a fantastic week!

FEAR OF THE SELF PORTRAIT

I am sooo intimidated by a camera.  It is so hard for me to look right into that mechanical pupil and not feel like bursting into dust and seeping into the ground. Seriously. I had to take this one for something I'll share with you soon (which I am very excited about!) but it wasn't with much hesitation and procrastination that this here photograph got made.

I am so happy about some internet love I've received the past few days.  Yesterday my creative little momma friend, Cara wrote a little ditty about my shop on her blog.  Thank you Cara!! If you want to be inspired by cute videos, amazing online finds, great quotes and general awesomeness do yourself a favor and peep her blog.  Cara is not only a talented and candid writer but also a crafter extraordinaire. Take a look at her affordable and very cute wares!

Today one of my besties fowarded me an email from Etsy that had featured one of my cards.  I was so thrilled!! You can see the email here if you're interested.

There is so much to look forward to right now.

-Helping one of my best friends with her wedding plans.
-My upcoming trip to Florida next week and the prospect of seeing old friends!
-Christopher & Trevor's tour next month.
-The new Impossible Project Film that just came out.
-Enjoying the wonderful weather Chicago is currently entertaining with my camera.

...just to name a few.

What are you looking forward to?

SLEEPY

I am so sleepy. Doesn't it feel good to just sleep a day away every now and then? 

What would be ideal for me right now is to go to bed, wake up tomorrow just whenever I feel done sleeping, go to my favorite thrift shop, drink a Cherry Coca Cola Classic, get a treat with my Mom, take some photos of Autumn happening (I wish I could find acorns in Chicago), hang out with my lil buns for a while and watch an entire movie with my husband without falling asleep.  What a lovely day!

I'll let you know if it happens.  For now I'm off to the land of nod!

xo

BUNS

These are some of the handsomest men in my life, Peter Jennings and my husband Christopher.  We are rabbit sitting Peter for a little while and he's so fun to have.  He's far more cuddly than our rabbits, Franny & Zooey - and his ears flop down so cute!! Christopher is awesome for many reasons but I will hi-light this one awesome thing about him- he's a great web designer and builder.  He's been nice enough to build me a fair share of websites.  More recently we created the one I currently have right now which I am very happy with!! I'm so lucky to have a built in web designer to make little tweaks for me here and there! Thank you Christopher!!

This week has just flown right by.  We've been helping my mom move into an apartment a little bit down the street and it's incredible how much energy it takes to move.  We went by today and already she's half unpacked and making her apartment so cute and cozy.  It's funny to hang out with my mom as a grown up and see where all my little habits and idiosyncrasies come from.   A few examples, the need to feel settled and have our place seem like home, having a place for everything, being a little neat freak, a love for milk glass and trinkets, and an itch to travel.

Tomorrow holds a trip to the good ole Ikea for my mom and I.  I need to pick up a few frames for a project I hope to reveal in my shop Monday evening! I am so excited.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and that it's warm wherever you are.  It just turned into Winter in Chicago today.  Thanks for skipping Autumn Chicago :/

xo