Category Archives: personal

Jul 01 2014
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collaboration, personal, photography

Portraits in Venice, CA

lalaland

Photos by Anni Compton with some assistance by yours truly :)

About a month ago, Anni had an engagement shoot in LA and she was sweet enough to invite me to tag along. I was only there for 2 and a half days but boy did the West Coast ensnare my heart, we stayed in an airbnb pad a block from Venice Beach and that was pretty much perfection. Also, while waiting to get a table at Gjelina I totally spotted Owen Wilson picking up some take-out and Anni may or may not be a little bitter that I didn’t get her attention when he walked right past us. (Sorry, lady!)

On our first full day there, Anni and I decided to explore the neighborhood and bring her camera with us to capture some portraits of each other and take full advantage of the beautiful California light. It was so fun to play quasi-photographer–Anni prepared the settings on the camera, I pretty much just pointed and shot–and finally get Anni in front of the camera for a change. Don’t we all agree that she should do that more often, she’s pretty damn photogenic!

May 23 2014
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dabble, personal

pinata makin’

dabble-pinata-making-title

I have a thing for pinatas, I always have. A few years back, when my husband and I bought our house and we hosted a housewarming BBQ, he insisted we have burgers and hot dogs and I insisted we have a pinata. My friends didn’t really know what to make of this, but luckily we had some kids in attendance who really enjoyed taking care of that pinata.

Thanks to Dabble and the lovely and super talented ladies of Eriewood Collective, the next time I have a special occasion, I can make my very own pinata in whichever shape I choose! To say I’m stoked with my new found knowledge would be an understatement. Eriewood Collective, you have created a monster. Ha!

dabble-pinata-making

May 19 2014
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fun, personal

over the moon

over-the-moonYesterday, Anni and I moseyed over to an open house hosted by Lillstreet Loft. If you’re in Chicago, you have undoubtedly heard of Lillstreet Art Center, a place where all your aspiring maker dreams can come true. I have taken at least 10 classes there, sewing, pottery and acrylic painting to name a few. The Loft is an extension of Lillstreet where events of all kinds take place and the one we attended was complete with cheese and crackers, mimosas and as evidenced above, some sweet, sweet Henna action. If you are ever in need of a cute space, make sure to check out Lillstreet Loft, you won’t be sorry!

May 08 2014
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fashion, personal, shopping

cravings // 13

cravings-131 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

It’s been quite some time since I put up a cravings post, but right now my wishlist is bursting at the seams, there seem to be so many cute things out right now. I’m slowly transitioning into my spring/summer wardrobe and I’m trying to stick to black and white/cream basics. I’m also trying to incorporate more heels into my rotation, nothing crazy, but being of a tiny stature, the slight boost in height gives me a bit of a confidence boost.

**Thanks again to those who took the time to vote for your favorite frames, I think I’ve made a decision, stay tuned! xo

Apr 22 2014
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personal, shopping

choices / rowley eyewear

Dennise_Cynthia_Rowleyphotos by Anni Compton frames: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

In this second edition of which pair of frames should I get, I tried on my favorite Rowley Eyewear frames. After trying on the Steven Alan frames and seeing the pictures, I thought I was sold on which pair to get, but then these Rowley frames arrived in the mail and I am now more indecisive than ever!

So, once again, I need your help, which frames do you like best from this selection?

A huge thanks to my friend Anni for taking these lovely pictures and managing to make me look halfway decent despite my not feeling my absolute best, what can I say, girl’s got some serious talent.

Apr 10 2014
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personal, photography, shopping

choices / steven alan optical

Dennise_Steven_Alanphotos by Anni Compton frames: 1 | 2 | 3

A few weeks back, I accidentally stepped on my glasses, luckily my husband was able to super glue the broken pieces, however, these frames are about 4 years old so I’m in desperate need of a new pair. Which leads me to this…

Guys, I need your help! I am pretty overwhelmed with all the great frames out there, and though I’ve been able to narrow it down to frames from either Steven Alan Optical or Rowley Eyewear, I still need some feedback on which ones fit my face shape best.

Luckily, my best gal Anni was more than willing to help me out and snap a few pictures of my chosen frames. First up are my Steven Alan optical picks. Which pair do you guys like the most? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated, let’s face it, I’ll probably have these new frames for the next 4 years.

By the way, yes, we are at the Steven Alan store in Wicker Park, they do offer a try on at home option for their frames, but after the brutal winter we had, Anni and I were looking for any excuse to leave the house, plus the employees were sweet enough to accommodate our quick, impromptu photo shoot.

Vote here for your favorite pair:

Apr 02 2014
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dabble, personal

dabble clay play

dabble-clay-play

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to attend a Dabble class so I was really excited that I got to attend a clay play session hosted by Drum Face Chicago. The class is set up so you can make something with clay either by handbuilding (this is what I did) or experimenting with wheel throwing. It was really neat seeing everyone’s vision come to life, one creative gal used her preferred method of holding her coffee mugs to make a pair of really neat mugs. Our creations were then left in the capable hands of our lovely teacher Heather who will fire them up on the kiln and have them ready for us to pick up in a few weeks. I can’t wait to get my hand on my little handmade bowls!

Mar 28 2014
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personal, photography

instax / 2

instax-kauai

A few instax pictures of my recent trip to Kauai, nothing screams tourist like a gal with a dslr camera, an instax camera and her camera phone, trying to use them all simultaneously, naturally.

Feb 21 2014
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personal, vacation

kauai, hawaii

hawaii-1

I just got back from the most amazing vacation in Hawaii, and friends, I cannot express enough how amazing that place is. I fell head over heels in love with Kauai, the mountains, the beaches, the locals, the food, everything was simply incredible and I cannot wait to go back. I’m gonna warn you, this place might start getting inundated with pictures from my trip, I apologize in advance, but as my husband and I kept saying, it is impossible to take a bad picture there.

Feb 03 2014
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exercise, personal, shopping

work it, girl

fitnesstop two images by Refinery29 / workout gear: 1 | 2 | 3

I’ve mentioned my struggles with turning 30 and the slump that followed, but I haven’t really discussed some of the things I did to try to overcome that slump. Top of that list and something I should’ve started years ago, was committing to a steady fitness routine. I joined two different fitness programs and even sneak in some personal training sessions and let me tell you, it has done wonders for me, not even really physically (although, I have to say my arms are starting to look kinda good), but mentally. After a grueling hour of exercise, I honestly feel like I can take on the world and well, I love that feeling.

That being said, I am obsessed with Refinery29’s fitness section, the articles are useful, but most importantly, the photos accompanying these articles make me wanna run out and buy new workout gear every time. So, I came up with a small round up of items I wanna add to my workout arsenal inspired by some R29 posts. I don’t really know if those high tops are necessarily practical workout shoes but I really don’t care because…FLORAL!

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