autumn apartment a-go-go!

i've been on an unintentional hiatus from drawing and writing for the past month, which to be honest, has been really frustrating. but, i've been trying to curb my frustration, because i know that's how i work. the creative stuff flows in waves, and it's my job to look for signs of these waves and be ready when they finally arrive.

it's strange, yearning to create things, but not being able to locate those things in the psyche. it makes my hands itchy, this yearning business. and i guess it's that itchiness that led me to build color and pattern without pen & paper. i've been busying myself with a bit of an apartment makeover.

i love to nest. i love making a space my own. dan & i moved into our place last august, and slowly but surely we've been making it home.

in the spirit of design*sponge's sneak peeks, which i adore, i thought i'd start this next batch of posts with a little spread of our apartment in autumn.

{welcome to our home! this little set of hooks says it all! i love that this is last thing i see when i walk out the door in the morning, and the first thing i'm greeted with when i return home. i picked up the hooks at urban outfitters. the red 3/4-sleeve coat is one of my all-time favorite coats. i bought it at una mae's in my neighborhood (i need to go back there for some long gloves). the lululemon tweed raincoat came into my life courtesy of dan, who - when he presented it to me - threw a glass of water on it to demonstrate its waterproof powers. the green vintage dress has been waiting patiently to be dry cleaned for, like, a year. and the little painting is a relic from my undergrad painting days. oh, and the tiny present on the ground is one of Mr. Deuce's toys.}

{the little bird hooks hold a bunch of hats & scarves - just about all of them were made by my mom! she's an avid birdwatcher, so i thought it was fitting a bird hook show them off... these are my super awesome boots. the Pajar's are indestructible in chicago winters, and my Hunter's special edition Royal Horticultural Society wellies are perfect puddle jumpers when i take Mr. Deuce out for walks. i want to hug them.}


{for my 31st birthday, dan's mom gave me this vintage desk from findables across the street, which sadly went out of business. the paintings are more watercolors from undergrad times. my little sister, Sarah, gave me the photograph of Fiona Apple. she's my favorite singer/songwriter of all time. i took the tiny photograph of Fiona on the shelf when Sarah & i saw her tour many years ago. my Sakura Micron pens and watercolor brushes are quite happy in their magnetic boxes. the beloved Bust subscription renewal is from my dear friend, Genie.}

{my Grandpa Beckwith, a wonderful woodworker, made this shelf for me when i was a girl. pictured: Mr. Deuce giving us the old one-eyed look, our first family photo, special cards we've given each other.}


{our cute succulent plant, atop a prettily painted box my mom gave me. these set upon a round Hekman table, which Dan's mom bought for his birthday (again, from findables). and, you can see our fun zebra chair hanging out in the background. we bought that in iowa city, before we moved to chicago. and, a little view of our kitchen windowsill. my friends Kimi, Mia and Naomi gave me this array of sake cups as a going-away gift when i moved from San Francisco. oh, how i miss those SF days!}

{this is my favorite part of our apartment this autumn. always, you hear people warn against neglecting the aesthetics of your closet - that you spend so much time there, you should treat it with care! we don't have a fancy elfa or california closet system, but that's no excuse for boringness. i love color. i love pattern. i love the way these can partner up to change moods and usher in cheer. i relish getting dressed in the morning - i love bringing unlikely pieces together to form a little sweep of harmony. and, now that my closet's clean & organized, and full of life, getting dressed is even more fun.
{there was a lot of wasted space in my closet because there's only one shelf, and tons of height from shelf to ceiling. so i hung a variety of hooks for clothes, bags and hats. this not only helped me organize, but also gave the white-walled closet some color, at long last! i have a love affair with the color mustard, and now, every time i step into the closet, i get an awesome dose of it. the flower dress on the right is one of my favorites. i bought it from silver spider in iowa city. the pattern is so pretty, and the hem is bubbled ever so...}


{now my bags and purses have a home! they used to be all squooshed in a precarious pile on the shelf. the little green and red bag top left is one i made several years ago. it features an iron-on of one of my drawings.

the bags bleed into a magazine collage. i horde magazines. i love fashion ads, catalogs and magazines so much that i used to paint from the fashion photographs, just so i could stare at them for hours on end. these images are so sumptuous - i thought, why not enjoy them everyday? so i ripped out some of my faves, and voila! instant texture on the wall! the framed photo is one i took while on a trip to cinque terra in italy when i was in my early 20s. far left, there's a photo of Betty Okino, one of the most beautiful gymnasts to rise to the top in the 90s.}

{sigh. karen O. she's pretty much the coolest. dan & i saw the yeah yeah yeahs at the aragon in chicago this past summer. hands down, the best, most exhilarating performance i have ever seen. on the mirror, friends Mia and MCB adorn the welcome sign i taped to the door when they visited from San Francisco earlier this year. the postcard is David Shrigley, a 50-some year old artist who hails from the UK - and who i'm convinced is my fraternal twin. in pink, a post-it love note from dan.}

{long dresses hanging out next to my shoes. and now, the stars of the closet. i wish they were smaller (blame the giant feet), but still, my shoes make me happy. my mustard heels, which i grabbed from akira, are taking a beating since i wear them so often (i love them to pieces, literally). my "polks" are solid tennies made by simple. the sexy blue girls are (cough, cough) of the jessica simpson variety. ok, so i still haven't gotten a chance to wear them, but they're so mouth-watering that sometimes i take them out just to look at them. and yes, i will hurt myself if i ever do try to wear them. my silver "space" heels are super comfy and cute. i like to wear them with mustard or red tights. they're made by jump (i want to buy all of jump's shoes).

i think i'll sign off with a relevant blast from the past! my mom made this bird dress for me, and i was SO tickled pink with it. i wish i still had this dress. isn't it cute? i think she also made the dress i'm wearing in this picture, but i think it's a hand-me-down. i guess i liked patterns back then, too! on that note, it's time for bed! pop by tomorrow, and hopefully i'll have uploaded some newer photos of our living room and bedroom.