May update

 

I really really really wish I could be one of those bloggers who writes a post every day (or at least several times a week), shares funny/interesting anecdotes about their lives, makes up weekly themes, and cultivates a community on their site. But blogging on a regular basis is just something I really struggle with!

Despite all my spurts of inspiration and good intentions, whenever life gets intense or busy I tend to ignore this space, probably because I'm an introvert and when I'm expending all my energy into the real world, I end up with nothing left to share with the internet.

Plus, blogging takes time and WORK! And thanks to my awesome new full time job, I'm still trying to work out a daily routine and figure out how to be most productive in the few hours of free time I get.

In the meantime, the days keep flying by! So far in May I have:

• Taken a quick trip home to visit my family and attend my best friend's Med School graduation open house
• Cooked lots of new recipes (just made this steak salad for dinner)
• Tried really hard to keep the Etsy shop alive
• Been pretty good with working out first thing in the morning
• Watched Gatsby (so good!!)
• Finished reading The Interestings for book club (kind of disappointing with annoying characters)
• Joined the rest of the Millennial generation by finally getting my first smartphone!!! (And instantly becoming obsessed with Instagram--I'm @annikalikes)
• Aaaand I don't even know what else. Is anyone else really bad at remembering things like what you did last weekend, or what you ate last night?

This was the view from Lincoln Park today. Gorgeous! We're finally starting to get some warmer weather, and the flowering trees are in full bloom. This is the time of year I'm super grateful that I don't have allergies!! 

And here are a few of the scarves I've added to my shop this month! My fabric stash is getting out of control (Ben calls it the pile of shame...yeah...) so I'm really trying to keep listing new styles as often as I can!

Time to relax. I hope you're having a great week so far!

how nice of you to show up, spring

And just like that, we've gone straight from winter to summer, Midwest-style. From the 40's to the 80's, although we're not out of the woods yet (according to Ben who refuses to take the plastic off our windows).

I get super excited when all the flowering trees burst into their cotton candy colors. When we have a yard someday I am going to plant it full of magnolia trees. Did you know that all trees have flowers? It's true.

Here's proof. Those lime green puffs you see everywhere? They probably aren't leaves yet. These are maple flowers!

 I love when nature busts out the neon!

I had a great birthday weekend thanks to the warm weather. On Friday night Ben and I had a delicious mussels-and-frites dindin at The Bluebird and then wandered back to The Violet Hour for cocktails, which I'm now obsessed with despite its hipster pretentiousness. Pimm's Cup is my new fave drink mmmm. 

All weekend I felt extra blessed with lots of gifts and Etsy orders! Speaking of Etsy, I am all out of my most popular lace and won't be able to re-stock for 2 weeks or so. I'm going to take this opportunity to sew up all the new fabric I've been collecting, so stay tuned!  

I also can't wait to bust out this awesome vintage cake pan that my mom in law sent me. The pans are shaped like bulls-eyes so when you use different flavors/colors of batter and stack the layers it turns into a checkerboard pattern. I mean, who doesn't need a Magic Cake Pan?? I'm thinking that a rainbow cake needs to happen, every ring a different color.

Speaking of retro housewife accessories, here's a great article by Rachel on feminism, food, and the "new" domesticity.

And if you're thinking of buying your first home in this HGTV-crazed culture of ours, here's a don't-miss piece on what to do and what NOT to do, learned from Shay's heartbreaking experience.

And now it's time for ice cream and brownies. I made a pan of brownies for my birthday and Ben and I have been eating them every single night. It's a hard life...

oh hey it's my birthday

This has been a crazy week! I've hit the ground running with my new job at the zoo, and have traveled to a different CPS school every day this week to visit junior high classes who have been involved with a collaborative research program all year. They've been visiting the zoo to collect animal behavior data and now I have to teach them how to analyze the data and share it in chart/graph form. Let's just say that if you are a junior high teacher I THOROUGHLY admire your dedication...it is definitely the toughest age to handle! 

It's been eye opening to see so many of the Chicago Public Schools. Most of the buildings are gorgeous old citadels with tall ceilings and wood floors, some are classic "prison cell" concrete block construction, some are newly built with modern architecture. Some are situated in a grassy block in the middle of old classic neighborhoods, some are squeezed into the middle of a gritty urban neighborhood. Some of the kids are bright and well behaved, and some seem kind of hopeless. The atmosphere in each school is similar though--a positive space that tries its desperately to be a nurturing influence on the students, even if the teachers have to adopt a strict tough love facade.

So yeah, I'm relieved it's Friday, and can't believe that my birthday has snuck up on me! It's my golden birthday, 26 on the 26th. Last year I was freaking out about turning 25, but now I am definitely ready for this new year. 2013 has been great so far, and I'm excited to see what else happens!

To celebrate, I'm holding a flash sale in the shop! Use coupon code 26on26 to get 26% off your total order (including winter clearance items)! This would be an excellent opportunity to get that Mother's Day gift, just sayin...The offer is good all day today!