Go Mighty & Oh Happy Day

Just a few more images (my own) that I found while cleaning up the desktop this weekend...god this was a fun party and way more colour than i'm used to.

simon johnson pop up shop

Normally after work lately the only thing I can fathom doing is to drag myself home on the train and collapse onto the coach - if I'm lucky, The Bachelor will be on. While I admit this isn't exactly the picture of health, things have been pretty busy lately and after work most nights I look forward to just coming home and putting my feet up.  I was persuaded, however, to switch up this routine when the promise of cheese (and a gin & tonic) was placed in front of me.  A friend was launching a new pop up shop and let me tell you the amount of cheese available was well worth the detour...

The Kinfolk Table

Yes more photos from Melbourne...I wasn't kidding when I said it feels like every weekend has been spent flying back and forth. So anyway, these photos are from the Kinfolk dinner I co-hosted with Kylie from Of Kin, my creative partner in crime.  It was the kind of dinner party that came together perfectly and I couldn't have imagined it going any better than I did. In a strange way having a large group around the table made me homesick and reminded me of thanksgiving dinner back home but since the theme of the night was sharing recipes, I shared my mother's macaroni salad recipe which instantly made me think of her which I suppose was the next best thing to having her there.  As with all of the Kinfolk stuff that I've been involved with this year I felt really lucky to be able to host another dinner - this time down in Melbourne - and you can see from the photos it turned out pretty damn well.

Images: Threadslike

Oh Happy Day & West Elm Blog Party

I’m late to the game in posting these photos but better late than never because they represent a moment for me that was a bit special. 

I suppose we all have dreams and when it comes to my plans for Blog Society, they're constantly growing, changing and moving at the speed of light. Not to bore you with all these recent events but truth be told they have been taking up most of my time so for my family who has been wondering what the hell I've been doing - now you know. Anyways I digress, for me I have a list of people that I'd love to someday collaborate with, people that inspire me or motivate me and Jordan Ferney from Oh Happy Day and Sarah Bryden-Brown from Go Mighty are two of those ladies on the 'wish list'.  So when the chance came along to work with both - i had to pinch myself.  

When I first saw that Go Mighty was heading down under I reached out to Sarah (who interviewed me here last year) and when she ever wrote back asking if I'd help organise Jordan's blog party at West Elm I almost jumped off the couch. To make a long story short I set out making invite lists, event pages, catering miracles, wine sponsors and even finding a typewriter poet in record time. Jordan and I brainstormed over the phone and talked about her vision for the cake, which I admittedly doubted would ever happen but luckily enough, thanks to Sweet Tiers and Helena's magic, we pulled off a 6 foot long, skinny rainbow cake that was the hit of the party. It involved a whirlwind trip to Melbourne but I got to meet so many great bloggers and Jordan and her husband Paul are just as friendly, creative and wonderful as you'd expect, I can't thank her enough for letting me be part of her trip to Australia and for the wonderful write up on her blog - a pinch me moment for sure.

Images: Tamara Erbacher

the albany

I’ve been Melbourne-bound a lot lately, jetting here and there for different classes (the perks of staff travel!) but normally these are day trips.  This past trip was an overnighter and I realised it had been ages since I’d gone away by myself.  Granted I didn't have much time to relax but there was something really fun about having an adventure all to myself – yes, traveling with the man is always more fun, but I’m big believer in being able to comfortably be by yourself.  I ended up staying in a cheap and cheerful motel that had seen better days but strangely reminded me of being in New York and despite the peeling wallpaper and tiny room, I loved having my little escape where I slept in, read magazines, drank instant coffee in bed, walk around the neighborhood and just enjoyed the silence - and the pink sink in the bathroom.

the weekend update

When Friday finally rolled around this week it couldn't have come soon enough. After recent busy, packed weekends I was so looking forward to a low key 2 days that at 5pm I practically sprinted out of the office.  Friday night turned into impromptu drinks with friends and a welcome chance to catch up with everyone which is something that I've missed recently - life, busy schedules and different priorities always seem to get in the way so seeing these familiar faces and having a laugh (and far too many wines) was just what I needed.  Saturday morning I enjoyed the simple luxury of coffee in bed and a few hours to myself to try and make some headway on my growing to do list before heading off to a birthday party and then coffee with Jimmy's parents. Later that night I watched movies and enjoyed take out and old episodes of Sex and the City - the simple things right?

Sunday I managed to let myself sleep in again, was able to Skype with my sisters and two adorable nieces before heading back to the couch, armed with more caffeine for an afternoon of blogging, website building and other necessary evils.  I'm slowly trying to manage this overwhelming workload and balance the ideas that are coming in with the need to slow down every now and then and make time for the important things, which looking at the big picture, are the only things that matter anyway.