September 18, 2013

entertaining / farah's first birthday

September 18, 2013/ Brittany Jarman

my aunt angela is a decorator, stylist, model, cook, mom, you name it- she does it all. she is an especially good entertainer. she always sends out the cutest invites, has the most delicious food, the perfect house, will always give a favor, and then writes thank you cards. (favors and thank you's are on my life long to do list, i can't seem to find a way to understand their importance). she also has the most adorable kids in the world. i have tried to steal her baby on multiple occasions. over the next few weeks i am going to share a few of angela's parties that she has thrown (we can count a wedding as a party right?).

first up is farah's first birthday. the theme was 'cutie pie', and the colors were pink red and blue. ang wanted the party to be kid and adult friendly, so she had a playroom for farah's baby friends, and pie for the adults. she made large pom pom decorations, a birthday sign, had some colorful balloons, and made all of the pies and cupcakes. whoever said cute parties had to be expensive was way off.

1. farah on her rocking elephant. 2. the house. 3. the pie area, how much do the roses and balloons add? 4,5,6. close ups of the pies- there were banana creme with carmel sauce, a creamy fruit pie with strawberries, a buttermilk pie, and a chocolate silk pie. 7. farah's cute pink ombre birthday cake. 8. the favor. simple and sweet.

1. the other side of the house. i love the way she made the colors pop, but in a subtle way. 2,3,4,5. the cupcakes. don't you love the dum-dums and gumballs on top? 6. farah loves herself a lollipop. 7. i was dying over her bloomers and sparkle shoes. 8. farah royal throne for the cake destruction. 9,10. close up of the cake and balloons. 11,12. more of farah on her elephant, she wasn't quite sure what she thought of it. why do i love the picture of her crying?

1,2,3,4. farah was supposed to destroy her cake, but like a lady she barely scratched the surface. she started with a lick. then she got scared by everyone's overwhelming gasp to how cute she is. once we cut a slice out she started getting in to it. 5. the aftermath of the cake. notice her outfit change? 6. more bloomers. i can't get enough. 7. farah's older sister joss. 8. all of angela's kids. have you seen a more darling bunch? 8. angela and farah. 9,10. once everyone left farah was much more jovial, she was loving the stairs. 11. inspecting her new pearl bracelet, an addition to her collection.

September 17, 2013

currently obsessed / freaks and geeks

September 17, 2013/ Brittany Jarman

why did no one tell me about this show? have you guys heard of it? it is a high school 'dramedy' about the kids on the periphery trying to figure out their ways. the show is set in 1980. it is also one of the first acting jobs for seth rogen, jason segel, and james franco. yes, young james franco is in the show. if that doesn't make you want to watch it then i don't know what will. for some reason the show only ran for one season in 1999. i am halfway through it and can't get enough, and am anticipating major withdrawals once i finish. (it's sad how addicted to shows i get, i don't usually like to admit it). i love seeing this group of actors who grew up to make the best movies- although they are mostly inappropriate (i have to throw this in for my sisters, do not watch any of their movies, do as i say not as i do). the show is now on netflix for those of you who need something to fill the void until all of the fall shows start again (one more week).

also, vanity fair did a few articles on the show at the beginning of this year. check this one out. i guess i am not the only one who is late to the party.

{all images taken from vanity fair}

September 16, 2013

a perfect day in... / london pt. 2

September 16, 2013/ Brittany Jarman

saturdays in london are the most magical because of portobello road. i'm not going to lie, kira and i spent 8 hours the first saturday we had there. which i admit may be a little excessive, but how could we not look at every antique dress, piece of fabric, book, chandelier, jewelry, fur... etc. so, first things first, you need to go to portobello. and you can stay as long as you want. you'll probably want to eat- so get a crepe and be prepared to have the best time. also, if you see any bands playing, stop and listen. this is where me and kira fell in love with the ryan o'reilly band. they may still play there. and i will be infinitely jealous of you if they do.

since you are in the area you need to go to kensington gardens. (hopefully you read peter pan before your trip, as depressing as it is, it's one of the best books ever). in kensington gardens, walk past the peter pan themed park (sadly you can't go in unless you have children, which i am determined to do someday), and around the circle pond. you can visit the kensington palace which i would highly recommend. it is no longer used by royalty, but you can see all of the rooms that were used by diana! there are rotating exhibits there, luckily, kira and i went when it was an exhibit on debutantes so there were gorgeous dresses on view.

while you are in kensington you also need to go find the peter pan statue. it is kind of on the other end of the park (any of the park maps will tell you were to find it), but it is magical! j.m. barry asked that it be placed there in the middle of the night 'as if by fairies'. to me, this was so much more exciting than platform 9 and 3/4.

next you should probably walk to south kensington for some lunch/dinner (depending on how long you took), and do some shopping. this one was of my favorite areas to shop in in london. many great stores are there. be sure to look for zara and topshop- they are both classic london stores, and i actually regret not spending more money there. you also want to check out harrod's, it is a massive and expensive department store that you could probably live it. it's perfectly british. you might only be able to afford the treats that they have, but who doesn't want more treats?

if you are done early you can stop by the victoria and albert museum, they close at 5:45 on saturdays (or you could go here and then do your shopping). there is a great collection of art and probably the best permanent collection of fashion. the museum is huge, so look online beforehand to find which things you want to see the most.

again, your options for what you want to do at night are limitless but up to you. i would check out time out to see what plays are on, and if there are any special events.

{click images for source}

September 14, 2013

from my camera / timeless washington

September 14, 2013/ Brittany Jarman

we love city life. it is the best. i don't why not having a car is so liberating. i love the metro, but i love walking places more. and i love that we can walk to anything from our apartment. most of what we have done has been just walking and seeing places. d.c. is great because it is such a clean city- the cleanest city i have been to (we don't go far from the center though). however, there are way more crazy people here than other cities i have lived in or visited. like crazy crazy.

on thursday we went to this lecture by three artists on their works that were hanging in the american museum of art. they were/are photographers, and the works that they were talking about were of american roads in the 70's. they were actually really inspiring to me in ways that i did not expect. i was just excited to hear from real artists, not thinking they would affect the type of photography i want to do.

i loved hearing their perspectives on our generation. they kept using the term 'face down', talking about how everyone looks at little screens all day and has little interaction with people or their environments. jarman and i have been trying to change that, trying to use our phones less when we are out. but it's kind of hard? which is so sad.

they also talked about the medium of photography and their inspirations. today i walked for about and hour and photographed everything that inspired me. today i am sharing some black and white images, which i don't normally do, but i feel like it shows the city in such a timeless way. {most, but not all, of these images were taken today}

September 13, 2013

style / wedding week: thank you's!

September 13, 2013/ Brittany Jarman

this post is for the many people who helped with my people. i feel bad if i start naming people, because i am sure to miss someone. i mostly would like to thank my photographer, megan papworth, for doing such an amazing job! she captured my wedding so well. i hope to one day be as good of a photographer as her. i mean, have you seen cooler bridals? also, to the gilberts and the foxes who helped us every step of the way! to doug who built everything we needed! to everyone who helped us test our food and decide the menu! to my awesome mother in law for going above and beyond her duties! to all of the people who drove/flew so far in the middle of february to come to our wedding! to all of the people who helped set up, cook, grill, clean up, put on bridal showers, do the flowers, make movies! to all of our good friends who made our party worth remembering! thank you all so much! it truly was the wedding of my dreams! (and actually still is, i am still dreaming about my wedding a year and half later).

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