Favorites: Instagrammers to Follow

Hello from a very snowy NYC! I'm writing this while snuggled up in bed…the subways are still out, so today is officially a snow day! We only ended up with about 14-16", but it's safe to say it's the biggest storm I've seen in quite a while, although a little reminiscent of my first night ever in NYC back in January of 2011. A friend & I had just caught the last bus leaving DC up to New York, trying to outrun a snowstorm. We got to our hotel, cleaned up, and headed out to get some food—by the time we traipsed the few blocks back we were all but soaking wet from the snowfall and woke the next morning to a solid 12+ inches on the ground. Funnily enough, nothing shut down that day and we ended up wandering the Met Museum for several hours—it's funny, because in Iowa we pretty much just call this "winter" (a friend shared this map of blizzard history with me; I grew up on the edge of "21-40").

Anyway, on to a new installment. I've found myself recommending instagram accounts to follow more and more often as of late, to both friends & fellow bloggers, and I decided to start sharing some of my favorites here in what I hope becomes a least a semi-regular series! I tend to be pretty picky about what makes me hit the "follow" button, and the number of photographers and designers skews a lot higher than bloggers or even friends of mine. I like knowing my feed will be full of beautiful images when I open it and can easily get lost in a rabbit hole of some of the amazing photographers out there. So, here we go—four accounts I discovered & am frequenting as of late! If you have some favorites, leave them in the comments.

@_sarahnguyen_ // scrolling through Sarah's feed makes me feel calmer almost immediately—she's a designer based in NYC and clearly has an eye for a beautifully framed shot both indoors and out (indoors, always with great lighting, outdoors, frequently on a cliff or similar bit of nature!). Palette: white, gray, black, hint of blue, red and green.

@figandtable // Rebekah's instagram is a really recent recommendation that I can't even entirely remember how I stumbled across. Regardless, I'm happy I did, if not always a little hungry—her feed is full of beautiful shots of food. I'm particularly impressed because most things tend to be snacks or little meals she made for herself while working on other things, yet they always look both delicious and beautiful. Lots of pretty healthy things, plus she eats local & seasonal often, all things I can get behind. Palette: white, green, yellow, red, blue, occasional pops of color.

@jannikobenhoff // I'd just like to take a second and point out that Jannik, the photographer behind this feed, is only 14 years old. You know, in case you didn't feel bad about your grainy, poorly lit shots of coffee and brunch yet *raises hand*. He's based in Munich, Germany, and shares some of the most beautifully framed shots of nature; he's also got an eye for capturing a subject when he shoots portraits. Palette: green, brown, black, blue, white, yellow, gray.

@taylahnilsson // Because I'm always daydreaming that summer is just around the corner (even when it's clearly not), I had to share Taylah's feed. It's another recent discovery and one I really, really would like to be living in. She's based in Australia, so think LOTS of beach-y, beautiful water shots, sunshine and general warmth emanating from her gallery. Palette: blue, turquoise, gray, green, white, orange, red.

Link Love

Hello, weekend! Is it just me or did this one creep up faster than usual? I was sitting at the table early Thursday morning, thinking it was Tuesday or Wednesday, until one of my roommates mentioned it being nearly the weekend. Last week flew by, and it wasn't even as jam-packed as the rest of this summer has been! In less than a month I'll be spending some Q.T. back home before my sister's wedding, and because I didn't look at a calendar when I booked my ticket, I'll be getting back about 36 hours before the *official* start of fashion week. Between work and the blog, it's going to be a busy one!

I'll stop getting ahead of myself, though...let's live in the moment as long as we can, especially with the (mostly) beautiful days we've been having. This weekend's fun-time agenda is shortened as I'm spending most of today in studio for work, but I'm looking forward to sunset rooftop drinks and a chill Sunday before I dive back into the week. 

Now, for the fun part…what's been catching my eye! (and sometimes distracting me from work, shh)

The beautiful image at the start of this post is from photographer Kara Rosenlund, whose work I discovered after coming across her home tour on Design Sponge. A few of her amazing prints are available for purchase here.

I'm so not ready for fall, but I am eyeing these Joie boots for when I just can't cut it in sandals any longer.

Hallie nailed it with her summer guide to the city—some of her picks are favorites of mine and some are new to me (hopefully not for long!).

I nearly pre-ordered this Heidi Merrick top, but forgot to do it in time…now it's 50% off!

Victoria's post about the site Medium took me down the rabbit hole—she highlights several of the must-reads here.

Managing my stress levels while learning the benefits of aromatherapy with these roll-ons.

I loved Jessica's look with the Stace Face Alice & Olivia top (cardigan version on sale here!)

Getting into the backpack trend with this leather one from The Sak in ochre.

Making plans to get to the Jazz Age Lawn Party before summer's over! FYI, the second weekend is in August. 

Thinking about stepping up my watch game with this all-black option from Michael Kors (+ it's on sale at Nordstrom for another week!).

ICYMI...

My favorite silk dress & ankle boots

What to wear to a day of museums

My remainder-of-summer to do list

Image via Kara Rosenlund

Surreal Flora from Isabelle Menin

When I spotted one of these images on Pinterest earlier this week, I immediately knew I had to track down the artist and was delighted to discover artist Isabelle Menin had numerous other works in her incredible series of flower imagery. Before I tell you a little more about her, go ahead and get lost looking at the amazing detail 

and surreal texture in her work. 

What's even more astounding to discover is that all of her images are digital photography. Yes, you read that right...she creates layers and layers of texture and flowers and light and then subtly manipulates each image in post-production until you get what you see before you now. Ms. Menin is also a vocal proponent of color, admitting a fascination with the sensual possibilities in color that are not conveyed in black and white. 

There's subtle messaging to be found throughout her work, too, and one interviewer even made a connection with fairy tales. Ms. Menin agreed, saying to her fairy tales are the transition from smoothness to crookedness, the swing from light to darkness, the revelation of a different reality through gloom. I don't know about you, but I could easily spend an afternoon entranced by her work.

All images via Isabelle Menin's website. To read a little more on her processes and philosophy, click here!

Make Portraits

Back in September, I had the honor of connecting with a photographer in the new era of portraits through Instagram (remember this shoot? #RIP5Pointz). When Jorge reached out to see if I was up for another shoot a few weeks back, I jumped at the opportunity—and am thrilled to share some of his photos with you! Make sure you check out all his work on his website and flickr accounts, and for a daily dose of beautiful photos in your feed, follow him on Instagram! (I'm particular partial to this shot he snapped of me while I was photographing the sunset.)

A quick aside—one of my favorite ways to discover some of the amazing artists out there on Instagram these days is to search the hashtag #makeportraits. It'll take you down the rabbit hole, for sure, but I guarantee you'll find a lot of new accounts to love!

*All images courtesy of Jorge Quinteros

In The Rain

 It's pretty easy to be jaded about photography these days, with anyone and everyone thinking they're a photographer with their iPhone and cheap dSLR cameras and photos of food/coffee and flowers and sunsets (don't get me wrong, I'm guilty of coffee & flower & sunset snaps, too). Add in all the filters and apps and things get seriously skewed—don't even get me started on "desaturating" images in Photoshop and calling it black and white! Thankfully, there are still some gems hidden out there on the web, even on Instagram. 

But, OK, rant over...and on to some images from a photographer recently shared with me by a friend. I'm not sure much about the photographer other than that he posts as "Yodamandu," shoots with a Leica M series and is based in Strasbourg. Oh, and his photos are STUNNING. These are from his series simply called Rain, but make sure you check out his entire feed if you have time.

All images via Yodamandu

Ya Gotta Be Original: Long Island City

I follow a mix of bloggers, brands and photographers on Instagram, and a few weeks ago one of the photographers reached out to me to see if I'd be interested in a photoshoot! I'm a pretty big fan of Jorge's portraits and how he uses them to tell a story, so I of course said yes. We met up in Long Island City (for those not familiar with NYC, it's just across the river from Manhattan in Queens-NOT out on Long Island!) late one afternoon, and Jorge was kind enough to send me some of his favorites. 

You can check out the full spread, story and other work on his website, and don't forget to follow him on Instagram!

Wearing: H&M Pants || Zara Top || Nine West Sandals || Muz Designs Iowa Pendant

P.S. Want a peek at the crazy-cool look I wore for NYFW on Tuesday? I got snapped by NastyGal-check it out on their blog, and also on their Pinterest!

*all photos courtesy of Jorge Q.

Birthday Dreaming

I've never been one to make a fuss about my birthday with big celebrations, parties or much of a plan at all. I have been lucky enough to spend some birthdays in amazing locations like Chicago, Italy and Las Vegas (twice!), but this year it'll be a low-key day with my mom, showing her my favorite non-tourist places like the botanical gardens and flea markets. With everything that happened in my family at the beginning of year, followed by some incredibly hectic weeks of work, I kind of almost forgot about my birthday or what I'd even want! I know I'm lucky enough to be getting one thing on this list & hopefully a great day at the beach soon, but I also included a few *dream* things I want (like a new camera, a gorgeous yellow 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli bag and the not-pictured things like getting my dog to NYC & a trip to Paris). As you get older, your wish list gets considerably shorter & a lot more adult-like some new tupperware & dishes, someone to pay your cell phone bill for a month & a maid service for a day to thoroughly clean your apartment. Dream big, right? :)

(clockwise) Vince Camuto Sandals | Bodum French Press | Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Lens

Chanel Le Vernis in Azure | Skull Candle | Beach Image | Nikon D3X dSLR 

3.1 Phillip Lim Medium Pashli | Hermès Jour d'Hermès perfume

Oh, and for good measure, if anyone can somehow get me THIS for my birthday we'll become the best of friends, and I'll return the favor with something equally amazing on yours. Happy almost weekend!