• My obsession with ankle boots is as strong as ever.  With that said, I’ll take these…and these.
• Pinterest is still my favorite hobby.  Come check out my latest outfit obsessions.
• This art print is on my wishlist.  Love the bursts of color.
• I’m smitten with Sarah Yates blog lately.  Her photography is beyond amazing, plus she has a sweet pup.
• This weekend I want to see “Like Crazy,” go to brunch (typical), and find the perfect crew neck sweater.  Maybe some laziness in between!  What are your plans?

Thanks so much for the sweet comments on my hair tutorial!  I heart you.  Here are three things I’m particularly smitten with in this very moment:

// This wintery gray outfit on the cutest darn little Dutch girl I’ve ever seen!  Oh and can I have some of those autumn leaves? Aaaand the Isabel Marants?

// This mid-century modern living room found in the pages of Dwell.  I guess I’m not the only one who loves it – I see a comment from my lover boy, Kyle, on that link!  We like what we like.

// This roasted carrot and avocado salad with lemon and orange dressing.  That Jamie Oliver is one talented chef.  Plus, I will eat anything that has carrots in it.  And avocados.  And lemon.  And orange.  I guess it’s a match made in heaven.

[Photos: 1 / 2 / 3]

Happy Friday!!  This week has seen a drastic change in Los Angeles weather.  LOVING.  IT.  Cooler temps mean warmer clothes and layers, pumpkin-flavored desserts, scarves and oversized sweaters, seasonal soup recipes…I could go on and on!  It’s my favorite time of the year so I’m enjoying every minute of it.  Also, today is one of my best friends’ birthdays!  Happy birthday Sarah Jayne, sending so much love all the way across the United States.  In addition to Sarita’s birthday, here are a few things I’m loving this week:

• Can you believe the J. Crew discount right now??  25% off orders of $150+ through Sunday.  These kind of discounts come around once in a lifetime.  I couldn’t be more excited!
• The newly launched Besotted Brand paper goods and stamps are as beautiful as they are chic.  Can’t wait to add a few sweet things to my ever growing stationary collection.
• This chocolate chip cookie recipe (found on Cup of Jo) looks BEYOND delicious.  Need to test drive them immediately.
• My love for delicate rings is as strong as ever and these Gabriela Artigas rings could not possibly be more gorgeous.
• This weekend, my cousin Kayla is teaching me how to knit.  I’ve been dying to learn, but is knitting really hard??  I’ve literally never done it before so this will be a very new experience for me.  Excited!

Have a wonderful & relaxing weekend, lovelies.

Do you guys watch NBC’s Parks & Recreation?  It’s one of my absolute favorites!  Leslie Knope and crew can do no wrong in my eyes.  In last week’s episode, Tom (Aziz Ansari) and Donna had their annual “Treat Yo Self” day, where they spent the entire day spoiling themselves with goodies, clothes, and massages (ex. head-to-toe cashmere for Tom).

So today, I thought I would treat myself (virtually, of course…I’m poor right now) with a few things that I’m loving as of late.  From Alexander Wang to Rag & Bone,  Madewell to Bauble Bar, these are a few items on Janelle’s TREAT YO SELF 2011:

sweater // bra // hat // boots // skirt
blanket // necklace // salt & pepper cellars
napkin // satchel // print // wall hooks

[photo taken by me outside of the Portland Union Station]

This week has been an unproductive one.  Do you ever have those?  Where the number of TV shows you watch outweigh the number of blogs you do or pins you pin, or meals you eat, etc.  Yeah, that happened.  I officially need to cut a few TV shows from the team.  I’m really excited for the weekend though, and next week, I’ll be back on my game.  Here are a few things that tickled my fancy this week:

• I would really love an entire wall of painted chalkboard in my kitchen.  Since those are lofty dreams when you live in an apartment, I think I will settle for these super neat chalkboard panels.
• I recently picked up the Super Natural Every Day cookbook by Heidi Swanson and I CAN’T WAIT to try out some of her recipes!
• I’m head over heels in love with Coco Draws etsy, so I’m ordering this vintage typewriter illustration for my gallery wall (yep, still working on that thing).  I feel like the print perfectly describes me.
• I’ve started making homemade chai tea lattes every night and they are delicious!  I just mix warmed soy milk or almond milk with boiled water steeped with a chai tea bag (super easy, yeah?) and it turns out like a dream!  I’m not exactly sure if that’s proper latte etiquette but it works for moi.

There are times when I love an over-the-top outfit or a rich, hearty meal (i.e. fried chicken and biscuits in Portland…twice).  Other times, I only think about the simplest of pleasures.  Avocado toast.  A basic, yet effortless LBD.  An oversized denim shirt.  Fluffy white sheets.

Especially on this rainy day in Los Angeles, all I need are simple things.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Lovelies, this week has been a quick one.  I love when that happens!  Thank you so much for saying such nice things about my Portland photos!!  You’re making me feel real special/ less weird for posting so many of them.  On Monday, I’ll do a little (aka really big because I don’t know how to edit down photos) part 2.  In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been loving lately:

• On Wednesday night, I went to the design*sponge book party and signing at Anthropologie Beverly Hills.  Grace Bonney is so sweet and awesome – love her!  I had a wonderful time and kinda want to move into Anthro BH.  Can I please?
• I’ve been in love with Studiopatro tea towels (yes, I fall in love with things like tea towels) for a long time now and was so excited to pick some up (the “cook” one and the striped copper one) at Alder & Co in Portland.
• I don’t know if you know this but I really like pancakes so when I saw this post about Une Deux Senses sharing a weeks-worth of pancake recipes, like spiced peach pancakes, I about died.
• Joanna Goddard of  A Cup of Jo has been sharing NYC city guides on her blog, from her favorite restaurants to favorite shops and hotels (plus much more).  Gosh, she is the best.
• Right now, every West Elm location is having a floor sample sale, with floor models up to 60% off, so you know where I’ll be the minute I get off work today!

Hi!

I’m Ann-Marie and I am so excited to be guest-blogging here at The Style Eater. I’ve known Janelle since our freshman year of high school, when I totally bought the same pair of DVS skater shoes that she had (lord help us understand why those were ever considered stylish?!). Let’s just say, she has always been a fashion idol of mine!  :) So while she is rubbing elbows with Fred Armisen in Portlandia, I will tell you a little about my slight obsession with thrifting.

California will always hold the number one spot in my heart in virtually every other way, but I have to say it: Utah has the best thrifting. When I moved here last year to take on an awesome job in the crafts industry, I quickly discovered Deseret Industries. Okay, so it’s totally owned by the Mormons, but it is AWESOME! There are a bunch of stores within a thirty mile radius of where I live, and you better believe I hit up each and every one of them as often as possible. Here are a some of my favorite items to look for:

Bowls, bowls, and more bowls. I use them to hold just about everything, from craft supplies to food to keys.

Frames in all different shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter what color they come in because you can spray paint the heck out of them to match your decor. For less than two dollars a pop, creating gallery walls in your space has never been more affordable!

Trays + other types of decorative holders. In this case, I bought a glass cabinet window for three bucks and turned it into a tray for my coffee table. Easy peasy.

Typewriters. Currently I am the owner of two typewriters that are both fully-functioning and as awesome as ever. I love using them for all my paper projects and labeling needs.

And the one area I have not had much luck in…clothes. It doesn’t help matters when most of the clothing section has lovely(?) pieces like the one above, but I have faith that the right items will come my way one day!

A few key things to remember when thrifting…

• There are very few things that a good scrubbing and a few coats of spray paint can’t fix. Look beyond the current state of the object and think about it’s potential.
•  Don’t be afraid to dig in and move things around. There are bargains to be had, so get in there!
• Sometimes it’s fun to go hunting when you have a few desired items in mind, but I always score my best finds when I simply keep my eyes open to whatever may be there that day.
• Always have a bottle of hand sanitizer on you at all times!

Happy thrifting!

Ann-Marie: Ann-Marie Loves Paper // ETSY STORE // Pinterest [editor note: she's the pinning QUEEN!!]

For the first 2 months we lived in our apartment, that tiny little corner held nothing but a few boxes.  For the next 3 months, we brought in that gargantuan wood table (it’s from World Market) and regretted its existence every single day.  I mean, who buys an 8-person table when a) there’s only 2 of you, b) the space fits maybe a 2- to 4-person table, and c) it’s meant for a large farmhouse in Kansas?

Well, we did.  But, you guys, World Market was having this crazy dining table sale and that sale was about to expire.  So of course we had to buy it!  But enough about that gigantic hunk of wood.

In the middle of August, we bought 4 Herman Miller Eames chairs, and since they’re made to order and take several weeks to deliver, we just got them this weekend.  I can’t tell you how long we’ve been wanting these chairs.  I also can’t tell you how many Eames chairs I’ve pinned on pinterest in the last several months (a whole lot).  Moral of the story: we wanted them real bad.

And yes, we probably could’ve found some on eBay or settled for some fakies, but, full disclosure, my dad’s an interior architect and was able to get us a sweet deal.  You know how much I love sweet deals.

I can’t wait for dinnertime now!

*if you’re wondering why the table is smushed up against the wall, it’s because the entire frame of the first photo is how big the space is. yeah, we’re not the best table-pickers.

Yay for Friday!  I wanted to give you a little sneak peak of what our living room gallery wall is shaping up to be.  It’s definitely not done (yes, that’s brown paper taped to the wall) and we still have a few more prints to hang, but once it’s all finished, I will take real photos of it!  This is just the sneak peak teaser photo!

Anyway, seeing as it’s Friday, Friday, and we got get down on Friday, I thought I would share all the things I’m loving this week:

• One of my favorite people, Ann-Marie, just relaunched her etsy: Ann-Marie Loves Paper etsy.  It has the CUTEST die cut prints I’ve ever seen.  You must check them out.  I can’t wait to add a few to my collection.
• This video on My New Roots about how to make nut milk (i.e. almond milk) is driving me wild!  It’s such a simple recipe and I can’t wait to try it.  Plus, the video is super cute.
• I’m new to the world of Fab.com but holy heck, it’s one of my new favorites.  Just bought this United States print yesterday for my office.  Click here for an invitation.
• The new fall collection of Alexa Chung for Madewell graces the pages of InStyle‘s September issue.  What a beauty!  Click here to see.  I was hyperventilating the first time I saw.
• Watermelon pizza?  Yes please.