It has been winter long enough in Chicago and all I want is someplace warm, and maybe a nice sandy beach…. okay and some People magazines and perhaps a nice cold drink.

Um yeah, so all of this thinking about places that unfortunately I won’t be visiting anytime soon reminded me of some places I have been. Here are some perfect beach destinations. I am only going to post some tantalizing pictures for now but get excited for more warmth when I feature …

For this week’s adventures in traveling I picked something a little bit closer than Istanbul.  Right now when most of us are suffering through the pains of winter there are parts of the country that are at a balmy 70 degrees.  For your next vacation why not visit Tucson, Arizona?  The Sonora Desert provides a stunning backdrops, endless hiking trails and breath-taking sunsets, and that is in the winter!

Photo courtesy of wildnatureimages.com

If spending your time hiking through the great out-of-doors …

Are you planning your summer vacation and looking for somewhere just a little different? Over the next several weeks I am going to do a series of posts about places that are just a little bit off the beaten path.

Istanbul is just a little east of the west.  Comfortable in Western Europe? Istanbul is just different enough that you will still feel like you are in a major city like London or Rome but instead of cathedrals dotting the skyline, some of …

Show your love this Valentine’s Day with these homemade treats from Bakerella. You can even add a customized valentine’s day message for your loved ones!

(via dominomag.com)

It’s January which means that citrus is in season! Check out your local produce market for deals that you can’t find the rest of the year on oranges, lemons and grapefruits. Just yesterday I purchased 20 limes, 14 oranges and 5 grapefruits all for $3.00! Once you have taken your bounty home and realize you have no idea what to do with all of it try this new twist on homemade orange juice courtesy of Domino Magazine. It’s delicious …

(Paper Source)

As part of the EAD series on organization I have thought a lot about organizing the part of me that always seems the biggest mess, my thoughts!  Here are some ideas I have gathered for organizing my own thoughts that you might find come in handy:

- When you keep a personal journal write more than just the date on the top, write the day of the week and the time too.  I have to laugh when I look back at what I wrote in college and all …

(via Simplesong Design)

The creator behind the lovely image above as well as these fantastic holiday cards fills me with all kinds of envy.  Not only does she create beautiful things as her full-time job, but those beautiful things are all created using letterpress!  On her website, Simplesong Design, Susann Song talks about her first experience working with letterpress in a letterpress class, sign me up!  I did a little research and found upcoming classes/open studios in some of the bigger cities …

Its that time of year… now that you have received the lovely chunky striped sweater from great aunt sally and the matching reindeer socks from your 2nd cousins you need to write some thank you notes.  Why not add some style to the outside of those envelopes AND save your hands from some of that inevitable cramping that will result from all of those notes!

Use one of these darling custom return address stamps from red stamp to return stamp your thank you note …

I am very much about the seasons, especially the Christmas season (yes, I do consider Christmas a season all its own).  Every Christmas I try to be judicious about my decoration purchases and only buy things I would actually want to pull out and use again the following year.  This year I fell in love with the twig reindeer from Pottery Barn.  My family picked up on my adoration and were kind enough to pick me up a family. Aren’t they adorable?

My step-mom Michelle has had a tradition of making caramels for Christmas since she was a little girl.  For me growing up, the caramels were part of the magic of Christmas.

Now that I am all grown up (just a little sigh), I get to be a part of creating that magic. Over Thanksgiving this year Michelle showed me exactly what to do.  We took some pictures this time to document the process, but it still doesn’t compare to actually tasting the sweet, sticky deliciousness.  To experience it …