NYC Part One

Hello, friends! Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days in New York City and attend a freehand lettering workshop with Ken Barber! I haven't been to NYC since I was in elementary school so I was especially excited to explore the city. Here are a few photos from our first day which was free for shopping, market research, and we really made the most of it!

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC

Our flight got in late Thursday afternoon and that night I went to Frozen on Broadway with a family friend. Beforehand we had a delicious dinner (pesto pasta!) at Trattoria Dell'Arte and walked through Times Square. Friday Livy, Meredith and I were up early and started our day with breakfast from Eataly, a few photos by the Flatiron Building, and some shopping. Our favorite shops were Fishs Eddy, Flying Tiger, and ABC Carpet & Home. For lunch we ate at ABC Kitchen, which ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! After lunch we headed to the Whitney and then took a walk on the High Line. We had dinner reservations as Blossom, a vegan restaurant. After dinner I was able to catch up with my college friend Katie at her apartment. Later this week I will recap the rest of our time in NYC!

Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
Letters Are Lovely | NYC
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Dallas Favorites

This past weekend I took a quick trip to Dallas to celebrate my friend Ashley's bachelorette party! This was my first time in Dallas and we had the best time. I loved catching up with my college friends who live out of town, and trying so many wonderful new restaurants and bars! Following bloggers is one of my favorite ways to discover the best places to try in a new city, and the atmosphere and coffee at Magnolias Sous Le Pont (recommended by Amy from Fashion Jackson) did not disappoint. Here are all the places we tried:

Cane Rosso

  • We started our trip with pizza at Cane Rosso Friday night. We ordered a few to share, but my favorite was the Prosciutto e Rucola. I also tried a local beer, the Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower, which I'm hoping I can find at home, too!

Soul Cycle

  • I have been to Soul Cycle once before (during my work trip to Chicago last year), but this time going with a group of friends made it an even better experience! 

Mercat Bistro

  • Mercat Bistro was one of my favorite parts of our trip! We sat in their beautiful metal pavilion and loved every second of our meal. I started with the Ricotta & Honeycomb and had the Egg's Benedict for my meal. Both were amazing, this would be on the top of my list of places to go back to! 

Magnolias Sous Le Pont

  • After brunch we headed to Magnolias to grab coffees and chat. It was a rainy morning so relaxing and drinking our coffee in this beautiful location was the perfect way to pass the time before the KU game!

Katy Trail Ice House

  • Most of the girls on the trip were KU fans so finding a fun place to watch the game was a top priority. We ended up at Katy Trail Ice House and found a table right by the TVs inside. If we hadn't been so intent on watching the game it would have been a great place to sit outside, there were so many people who brought their dogs! And in a little better weather I'm sure this place would have been even more crowded. 

Mesero

  • After KU's win we spend some time relaxing at our Airbnb before dinner at Mesero, an upscale Mexcian restaurant. Most of us got enchiladas and enjoyed guac and queso to start! 

Louie Louie's Dallas

  • Finally, our night ended at Louie Louie's Piano Bar! This was the perfect spot for a bachelorette party, I think there were three other groups there as well. The music was great, and the performers were really entertaining. 

Hopefully these recommendations will be helpful if you find yourself in Dallas, I love being able to look back at all the places I tried on trips and recommend them to friends. Happy travels!

February Around The Web

While this month is not quite over yet, it has been full of exciting and nerve-wracking times/decisions, all building up to BIG things happening next month. I can't wait to go into more details, but let's just say I have packed way too many things into the last few weeks. There were also a lot of happy highlights as well like spending time with our friends in STL, celebrating Galentine's Day with my dear work friends, eating at Lidia's in KC with my family for my birthday, recruiting for Hallmark at KU, having a weekend at home over my actual birthday, and finally I will be heading to Dallas this weekend for a bachelorette party! And between Valentine's Day and Spring on its way the finds around the web did not dissapoint this month:

By Tessa Forrest @subliming.jpg

By Tessa Forrest @subliming.jpg

Ready or not, it's almost March!

2017 Best Nine

Today I'm looking back on 2017, and thought my #2017BestNine from Instagram would be the perfect place to start. I'm always curious if the posts chosen will really reflect my year, but in this case they did! This year I was lucky to spend quite a bit of time traveling, Dale and I celebrated two years of marriage, and this year was full of wonderful new opportunities at work. I love that these three huge areas of my life are reflected: travel, work, and family. These photos show our anniversary celebration, a work trip to Chicago, my family's trip to Chile, time with family at our lake house (Turkey Hill), my trip to LA with Laura, a portrait taken at Hallmark, and a sister picture from New Orleans. 

Letters Are Lovely | 2017 Best Nine

But of course there are lots of things not captured as well. This year I have spent countless hours with friends both in Kansas City and St. Louis, I've committed at least one hour each week working out at Fusion Fitness, Dale and I spent a lot of time cooking in our tiny kitchen, I've driven what feels like a million miles back and forth between STL and KC, and dealt with all the general ups and downs and the uncertainty of what the next year will bring. I'm grateful for all I have experienced and learned this past year — 2018 will be a big year for us. I hope you have some time to reflect on your past year too, happy new year!

December Around The Web

2018 is upon us and I am currently in Nashville with friends to ring in the New Year! This month I fully embraced the holiday spirit and spent time baking cookies, decorating our tree(s), I hosted a holiday ornament exchange, and spent lots of time with family for our traditional Christmas events. I hope you were able to spend time with those you love this season as well. Around the web there was endless holiday inspiration, and I am hoping to try this champagne cocktail on New Year's: 

So long 2017, Happy New Year!