Letterpress at Fifteen Eleven

Good morning! Another weekend behind me in 2012 and another busy week at work. I hope your weekend was lovely. The weather here in DC was a DELIGHT! On Saturday, I went to Alexandria for my letterpress class at Fifteen Eleven. I must say, I left even more in love with letterpress.The process was amazing to see, not least because the printing presses are so visually striking. Suann was lovely and such a nice teacher, going over not just the basics of the printing press, but also the history and her own story about getting into it. Pearl, the giant printing press above, was cool to see in action.  I was sort of terrified that I would trip and break it, but upon further reflection, 4,000 pounds of cast iron would have done more damage to me most likely! We each printed our own blind impression(?) cards, sans ink, on a smaller tabletop press. I didn't want to fiddle with my digital while trying to focus on the class, so hopefully these instaxes give you a good impression of how pretty the space was.  If you live in the DC area, I fully recommend taking one of their courses.

Friday at Five

                                                                        Source: google.com via quindome on Pinterest

So long suckahs! I'm leaving work early today because lately this is all I've done. I need some extra time, dang it.  This weekend I'm going to take my letterpress class at 1511. I'm hoping to do some adventuring in Alexandria and maybe will go check out this new place for some fun food type browsing. Though we've been enjoying Sunday brunches at our apartment to save money and reduce our muffin tops, I'm going to try to convince R. that we should go to have dinner at Lyon Hall. It is supposed to be warm here in D.C. and though I'm usually a winter-lover, a good weather weekend means I can break out of my not-getting-out funk. What are your plans? Whatever they are, I hope you have a lovely weekend. Eat a donut and drink some coffee. Why? Because they are both glorious.

The World's Prettiest Polaroids

Images via Amanda Marsalis

 Have you seen this Tumblr by Amanda Marsalis? So, so beautiful. Like, really, woah.

Orange For All

                                                                                                

                                                                 Source: convoy.tumblr.com via quindome on Pinterest

Sometimes do you see a color and get it stuck in your head? After seeing this image, I've been thinking on and looking for orange objects all around. Look out weekend shopping, you've got some orange coming your way!

P.S. This new love of orange could also be caused by the massive consumption of citrus at my house after a Costco induced impulse buy of 5 lbs of oranges. 

Instaxy Delight

This is one of my two busiest months at work, so going out and about has been limited as of late. Here are a few Instax shots I've taken here and there since December. Enjoy!

1.Christmas Colored Flowers 2. Birthday Cupcake from Red Velvet 3.A quiet cup of coffee 4. Cheap, but pretty carnations 5. Donuts at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill 6. Thrifting Scene 7.More Cupcakes! 8.Giant Birthday Balloon 9.Easter Market main building 10. Practicing with my Holga Lens 11.My nephew Nugget celebrating his first Christmas 12. A wee bit of snow 13. Nugget loves his cereal 14. My niece A. being enthralled with her Christmas loot

Geronimo!

Image via Geronimo Balloons

If you read enough blogs, I'm sure you've run across Geronimo Balloons. I care not! Look how cute their Valentine's idea is, not to mention that their styling is always so spot on adorable. I love that even if you don't live in LA, they will deliver a big box of balloons to you. How fun would it be to open up a big box of these balloons?
 (Spotted on DesignLoveFest)

Swap-O-Matic

Image via  Fast Company via here

We're probably all  familiar with Artomat machines, but I just spotted these new Swap-O-Matic machines online. All items are donated by different users. Each user who donates then gets credits to start swapping, with new users automatically getting 3 credits. I love their mission statement: "The goal of this project is to promote a shift in culture away from an emphasis on unconscious consumption towards a more sustainable way of life through reusing and trading." What an awesome idea!

Couples Crush

Sometimes do you have friend crushes on celebrity couples*? Like, when you have these crushes you imagine how fun it would be to hang out and ask them to come over for Taco Night!(Yeah, you have to have the exclamation point for that type of fun) Anyway, maybe I've been watching Parks and Rec and Up All Night too much lately, but lately my couples crush is Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. They named their kid Archie, which I think takes moxie, so they must be fun.

* Gross, please don't say Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Stop. Gross.

Colored Denim

Image via Kendi Everyday

Lately I've been seeing colored denim everywhere. I'm looking at you J. Crew. Can I really pull that off? I'm mostly a dark jeans type of gal, I thought. Then I saw how Kendi from Kendi Everyday was wearing them and thought, "Maybe, Just Maybe". I think if I'm going to try them though, I'll have to go H&M type cheap, because I don't know how frequently I'd really wear them. Would you and if so, how? Got any other good looks?

Immersive Ideal

Image via Artisphere

Good Morning! Another weekend came and went here in our nation's capital city. Blustery winds and light snow made us all panic and buy bread, in that order. I was, against my will, forced to work late on Friday night, which made my weekend seem shorter than usual. Saturday morning, R. and I braved the not-so-bad weather to go check out Beauty Pill's Immersive Ideal exhibit at Artisphere. You can read all about the gist of the exhibit here at the Washington Post. We were lucky and got to sit through most of the tracks alone with no one else around. Basically you sat alone in a giant darkened theatre, with the best surround sound you've ever heard, playing a pretty awesome and impressive set of tracks. See how that would have been creepy with strangers around? Anyway... As the music played,  three separate screens showed photos from the recording of the album that had happened in that same theatre months before. It made me feel more in touch with what I was listening to in a weird way. I can't imagine how weird it must have been for the folks who came and watched them record it. I kicked myself for having missed out on that.
More Thoughts on Beauty Pill after the jump

Friday at Five

Image via Matthew Kavan Brooks on Society Six

So this past week, in an act of "I don't want to do all this work" rebellion, I watched a movie instead of working late. (R.-This is my public confession. The shame) I watched I Don't Know How She Does It. The movie was very "Meh", but one of the things I thought was hilarious was a scene in which she's making lists in her head. As a compulsive list maker, I could totally relate. In honor of my list making I thought I'd mix it up and tell you a few things I won't be doing:

• Jazzercise- What is this? Has anyone ever actually seen anyone else doing it? Either way, won't be me. 
• Eating ranch dressing- Gross. I think it is the worst condiment/salad dressing ever. Once some got on my hand while loading the dishwasher and I gagged from the smell. That's dramatic and lame, but totally true.
• Making a collage with my celebrity boyfriends on it- I have only one celebrity boyfriend, George Clooney, and he doesn't inspire this type of fandom.
• Watching re-runs of Magnum PI- I prefer Golden Girls or Newhart. 
• Petting puppies- Lame. I should be. This sounds awesome, but alas I have no friends with dogs. 

Now you know. I hope you have a fun weekend. What won't you be doing? 

(Image found via Miss Moss)

Always Late to the Party

Images via Our Paper Shop Blog

Boo! I've been soooo busy for the past two weeks, I feel like I've missed out on some internet awesomeness. (Suck it SOPA!)While I'm loving my new Rifle calendar for my office, at home I've been looking for something that is less Quindome and more Quindome and R. I like for our house to reflect both of our tastes and while I'm sure he thinks flowers are pretty, I don't think they are particularly his style. I wish I'd seen these awesome calendars from Our Paper Shop in time to order one, but this is my busy, busy time at work. How rad are those? As a lover of fine paper goods, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this shop.

P.S. How cute is the styling in their LookBook?

12 Bottle Basics

Image via The Elegant Abode via The Kitchn

Today is Busy. (Notice the capital letter B) I'm working from 8:30 AM to well past 9:00 PM and when I get home, I may need to have a little cocktail. In honor of my sweet home bar cart, I thought I'd share this article I found on the 12 essential bottles needed for a proper home bar. I don't know about you, but when I go into a liquor store I usually just feel confused about what I would need to buy to make a particular drink. Maybe this weekend I'll try out a new cocktail recipe, which would surely be easier if I had a few of these. 

(Found Via Design Crush)

Knock Knock Grocery Lists

Image via Knock Knock

I know I'm always talking about super sexy stuff, like cameras, cupcakes, and art, but let's talk about something super sensual this morning....grocery lists. Don't guffaw so hard, chum. Grocery lists are serious business at my house. I usually kept a running list anyway, but when R. spotted these pre-printed Knock Knock lists at Anthropologie during my birthday shopping a few weeks ago, we knew we had to try them. Good news? They work! There are magnets on the back that actually keep it stuck to your fridge and the items listed are pretty much things we buy. My only concern is if I needed a specific amount of an ingredient for cooking, but lately I've been so busy I haven't had the chance to try any new recipes I didn't already have ingredients for. Anyway, so far so good. Not revolutionizing grocery list making, but definitely making it easier!

Music To Your Ears/Fridays At Five

I thought I'd combine these two normal features to make one ROCKIN' feature. Go ahead embrace your inner 90's riot grrrl and dance on this Friday afternoon.Work has been a bummer this week as it was my first five day week since mid December and somehow, though that's my usual schedule, it was rough. One day I really did think of banging my head on my desk, but then realized I couldn't work up the courage to actually knock myself out, thus ending the pain of work, and so I just gave up and went back to work. I know... Quitter. This long weekend has not yet been planned at all and truthfully that sounds pretty grand. I didn't make the grilled cheese from last weekend, but that's about as far as my plans go.
Anyway, got any fun plans? Happy Weekend!

P.S. Gosh I love That Dog! The comments on this YouTube video are hilarious. Who gets all lathered up over a 90's girl-band? Those guys, I guess.

Spin-Off Necklaces

 

Images via Emily Rothschild

While I'm not normally a gold gal, I love these necklaces by Emily Rothschild for their old-fashioned charm.With one image on one side and one on another, when you spin them fast enough the two images seem to interact. Cool! Plus? You can get the dancers on Fab.com for a super sale, which is where I originally spotted this. Wouldn't you obsess over spinning it all day?

Quindome Reviews: DODOcase

Image via DODOcase

My family was AWESOME and got me a new Kindle Fire for Christmas! I'm pretty much in love with it. Since I didn't buy the actual Kindle, I figured I could justify getting a snazzy case for it. After some research, I found DODOcase. I just got mine yesterday and thought I'd tell you what I think in a new feature for products called "Quindome Reviews". This will be a feature for items I actually own, rather than items I'm longing for.

Now let's talk DODOcase!

American Masters

I finally got around to watching the PBS American Masters special on Ray and Charles Eames that had been sitting on  my DVR since early December. Wow! I was blown away by all of the amazing projects they had their hands in, like the giant IBM display in the early 1970's. As someone who has only in the past few years begun to get interested in Mid-Century design, it was incredible to see just how much these two people had such a big part in shaping post-war American design. I fully recommend it if this is something your interested in. You can try to catch it again on tv or watch it here for free online.

P.S. Funny truth? I felt incredibly nerdy for being so into a PBS special. Does this mean I'm officially a grown-up?

Natural Art

 

Images via doubleyou_em on Flickr

Artist Walter Mason creates these temporary images of land art through found items in nature. He put them together then lets nature take them apart. I thought these were lovely and imagined how nice it would be to stumble upon one without knowing where it came from.

(Found via Photojojo)

See As the Droid Does

Happy Monday! Here's a glimpse into the past few weeks...