grin and share it

We've had a bad case of wanderlust lately. Work is stressful, wedding planning is overwhelming and the Minnesota winter is closing in quickly. Kinda makes you want to, I dunno, move to Norway and spend your days drinking tea and blogging. Reed has always claimed a minimalist design aesthetic, and with my major organization skills and adoration of simplicity, Scandinavian design is...everything.

I spent the weekend scouring Scandinavian interior design blogs and, once distilled down to a few must-haves, headed out to Ikea (of course) to pick up a few essentials for a low-budget makeover.

First things first, I am writing this for all you renters, who don't have the freedom to paint every single surface in your home snowy white, floorboards and all. That being said, we had already painted our living room the whitest white we could find, and our bedroom a delicate light grey. If you are really committed to augmenting your apartment living, always check with your landlord, and for the love, spend the extra half hour taping so you don't make a huge mess. Having very light walls (preferably white) will make a huge difference in accomplishing a Scandi feel. Can I say Scandi? Is that a thing?

Step 1. Organize You cannot have simplicity without organization. The quickest way to ruin your clean lines is with socks popping out of drawers, or unorganized stacks of odds and ends on top of your dresser. Full disclosure: I keep a mound of makeup on a vintage cake stand on my otherwise serene vanity. Be realistic. If you can't keep up with it, you'll never do it and it will bug you every day.

Step 2. Black and white. White and black. Maybe a touch of gray. Scandinavian design is overwhelmingly B&W, more specifically: white with black. But make it your own, and add pops of all color that you want.

Step 3. Buy bleach. White stuff gets dirty. Realllll dirty. We bought a whole new container of bleach with our brand new white sheets and duvet.

Step 4. Pick a room. Don't overwhelm yourself by attempting to make every room in your apartment perfect in one day. We picked our bedroom- the place that was already the most adaptable - and what better place to zen out?

A few basics that all Scandinavian bloggers seem to have:

Fine Little Day Black Gran Pillow

Sheepskin Throw

Eames style white rocking chair

Pia Wallen Cross Throw Blanket

Marimekko Mug for cozy bevvies

Ikea Stockholm Rug

You know those vacations where you come back thinking "Man, I need a vacation for that vacation"?

Camp Wandawega is not one of those vacations. It is a true escape - an experience that will refresh and reinvigorate. After four days in the Very Modest Cottage, I walked walked into my corporate job, toward 180 looming emails, and felt like I was still in the clouds...for at least a few hours.

We spent the days wandering, eating, drinking beer, reading books, rope swinging, and above all: smiling. My heart is welling up just thinking about it again. If you're turned off by bugs, being a little dirty or lack of wi-fi, this isn't the trip for you - but maybe, just maybe it is therefore exactly what you need. It was an experience so pure, film was the only way to capture it fully. (OK yes I did instagram a couple of times...but the film photos are still better)
For the full collection, check out my Flickr.

I knew it was happening. Of course I did. I asked way too many questions - but guess what? It was still incredible.

Reed left the house at 10pm the night before- he couldn't tell me where he was going and he didn't know when he'd be back. We agreed that I could still text him, and he would respond in a timely manner, and that he would not get arrested or hurt. Oh, and wherever he was did not involve strippers. Sleeping was impossible - I wondered what would await me the next morning, how would he ask? What had he been working on so long? So I played Candy Crush until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. He got home at 1:30am, and woke me promptly at 7am with a bagel, latte (the only way to wake me at that hour) and a big smile. He told me to wear something colorful.

It was Thursday, July 11, 2013.
As I was getting dressed he picked up his phone, got a startled look on his face and told me we must leave as soon as possible. I tried not to worry and we rushed out. We drove through the streets of Minneapolis to an unknown location until I finally realized where we were going- Lake of the Isles (a long held respite for us during stressful and less happy times). Except we weren't, we were going to Kenwood Park right beside it. We parked at the top of a hill and as we descended into the park I saw a white tunnel stretched across a tennis field and our dear friend Phong standing at the entrance.





I then realized the reason for his panic that morning - there were 25 children having tennis lessons in the next court over. Phong had stood guard since 7, and had asked the coach to use the other court. He kindly obliged. Reed walked me onto the court and explained that, as I had guessed months earlier, he had commissioned our favorite local artist, HOT+TEA (aka Eric Reiger) to help with the big event. 60 emails were exchanged perfecting a thoughtful and meaningful work of art - Eric spent weeks scouting locations and Reed spent the time cleaning out every Walmart and Michaels of their yarn. It was inspired by a special memory we had in Iceland - there were lots of special moments in Iceland.





The rest is a bit of a blur really. I think it is for him too. It was overwhelming and magical and I cried, of course.

And Phong took amazing photos. We went back that afternoon to take another good look at it - people were playing tennis around, commenting that they hoped it'd stay up awhile. We didn't tell them it was for us. Eric named it "Never Forget This Moment" and then took it down that evening - and we never will forget it. For more photos click here

Oh, and did I mention the ring? I picked it out, but it still made me squeal when I saw it again. It was perfect. Raw diamond with a brushed rose gold band - simple, and vintagey (but new) and perfect.