Downtown Perk

Last week I visited a coffee shop in Ashland, Ohio that I instantly fell in love with called Downtown Perk. 

They sell lunch and a huge assortment of coffees and specialty drinks. I of course got a coffee, black — a coffee shop is only as good as its coffee.

Along, with being off a weird back alley in Ashland, it's full of old signs and memorabilia from the Northeast Ohio.

 

 

Everything is so retro and cute, I want to go there every day.

Above, is a picture of the keylime pie I shared with my friend Kell. Good, stuff.

TGIF

Now that my hair feather is long gone I've been looking for other ways to incorporate feathers into my look. While I contemplate having my hair feather put back in, I'm loving these faux leather earrings from Love Sexton . . .

Girl On Fire (your choice of black, gold or white) | $26.80



Neon Aztec in Lilac | $19.80



Bowie in Pink Neon and Silver Glitter | $24.80


You know I can't resist a good Hunger Games reference. But also, these awesome earrings ship for free so check out everything the store has to offer and start your summer off with some color and glitter. Oh, and the smashing lilac Aztec ones are on sale, so don't wait too long!

Rock this Town

I'm really excited about a local event going on in Ashland, Ohio. Just look at how awesome the poster is. It's called Rock this Town and it features some pretty solid bands from Northeast Ohio and all the money goes to charity. So it's great music for a good cause.

For more on the Rock this Town, Ashland addition check out the website, here.

Sucking down the sweet tea

Even though we've only had a hint of summer here in Ohio, I already can't keep sweet tea in the fridge for more than a couple of days at a time. Because I don't want to run to the store three times a week just to buy sweet tea, I'm thinking of making it at home and who better to consult than Paula Deen?



Photo from PaulaDeen.com

Recipe from Paula Deen's website.

What you need:
3 quarts of cold water
4 pitcher-size cold brew tea bags
Sugar mixture (see below)
Lemon slices (optional, for garnish)

For sugar mixture:
1 cup of water
3/4 cup of sugar

How you make it:
- Bring water to a boil.
- Remove water from heat, pour into a pitcher and allow the tea bags to steep for about 5 minutes.
- Mix the sugar mixture into the tea and mix well.
- Add lemon slices to the glasses if you'd like

So simple! I can't wait to try it.

Good Day

Every six months I build into my budget a full-out splurge on the beauty care items. I buy all the essentials I'll need for the next six months like a new tooth brush, mascara and lotion. What makes my trip so exciting is that over the year I hoard coupons for new products I want to try. It usually results in an hour of bliss at Target. 

Probably my best purchase of the day was new shampoo and conditioner from Burt's Bee called Gud.

I tried it this morning and it is awesome, smells great and this week it's on sale at Target. 

Survival guide

Wedding season starts this weekend for me, and one of the biggest things I've learned working at weddings is that you have to be prepared. They're long days and you never really know what situations will pop up. I've started planning my "wedding day beauty survival kit" - here are a few things I'll be including in case you have weddings coming up too . . .



Tinted lip balm | CoverGirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm, $6.50 at Target

 

Ribbon hair ties | $8 at Sephora



Compact mirror | Candy mirror, $7 at Sephora



Goody brunette colour collection bobby pins | $2.79 at Walgreens



Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift | Rollerball, $24.99 on Amazon



Blotting papers | $8 for 100 at Sephora

Anything you think I'm missing?

TGIF — Here Comes the Sun

The weather has been awesome this week in the OH and it reminded me that I absolutely need a new pair of sunglasses. I will say that I have fallen in love with some of the styles at Target. A pair is only $12.99, so for a girl who loses sunglasses like the Cleveland Browns lose games these are perfect.

Jack's love

I know I posted about Jack's Mannequin a couple weeks ago. I finally went to that concert and it was spectacular. So when I found this design contest Talenthouse had run for a Jack's Mannequin poster inspired by their latest album "People and Things," I was pretty excited. Here are a few of my favorites . . .


By Camilo Jaramillo

By Teguh Anggara



By Alex Ab Barrera



Style essential

As I was perusing my options for style this week I thought of one of my closet staples: GAP city flats. Now, if you're anything like me (I hate shoes of all kinds) the city flat is just enough shoe for you.

I also know that the idea for this kind of footwear is for commuters who walk to work but I love these so much that I wear them all day.

Friends and family plea with me that they are just slipper with better soles and while I wish I could argue with that I really can't. They are slippers with better soles, they even fold up for easy travel.

They are certainly something all you lovers should checkout.

This makes me happy

I stumbled across these TOKKETOK happy notes on Pinterest the other day and I was hooked . . .

How great are those?! When I visited the site, I also immediately fell in love with their hello notes and their pink and matte celebration cards.

I want to send these to everyone I know - so simple and so cute. Now the only problem is picking which item to order first . . . what do you think?

Maple Love

Living here in the Amish Country has its downfalls but this could makeup for all of the boredom. I love all things maple, especially maple candy and a week ago I found a spreadable maple candy in a tub. I have eaten it on everything: toast, apples and cinnamon rice cakes.

But it's definitely not for the faint of heart this stuff is pure sugar and wonderful. Maple Grove Farms is my new favorite farm.

TGIF

It's the perfect day for a bike ride - so as soon as you're finished checking out Ohio is 4 Lovers, get to that! And check out these great Ohio bike-themed T-shirts you can get for your next bike trek . . .

$20 from Alison Rose (Etsy)

$16.50 from APE MADE (Etsy)

$25.99 from Skreened

Human Again

I have been really enjoying Ingrid Michaelson, especially her Be OK album that feature some of my favorite covers. Ingrid has a new album this year that I have just started getting into.

Human Again is another beautiful record that brings that homey, quirky, light music that is so good.

Peep peep

I know some of you may be trying to not think about Easter candy ever again after consuming multiple baskets of candy within 48 hours. I feel your pain. But we all know the best time to buy Easter candy is after Easter - it's half off! So if you're already thinking ahead (that may be too far ahead) or you just can't get enough of Easter candy (that'd be me), here's one of my new favorites I found in my Easter basket on Sunday . . .

I can't stop eating these Peepsters! They're little (so you feel better about eating a dozen at a time) chocolates filled with marshmallow-flavored creme - not the chocolate-covered peeps my parents, er the Easter bunny, were expecting but I can't get enough. So if you happen to be in the candy aisle at the grocery store and see these marked down, I'd grab a bag . . . or three.

A pub puzzle

Last night Alissa and I were at the pub we always meet at with our friend Kate. We got some pretty neat coasters for our beers. They ended up being a puzzle (awesome, right?). So I looked it up and found that the Dogfish Head Brewery does cool coasters like this all the time. I'm on the hunt to find them all.

Tangerine tango

Pantone's color of the year for 2012 is Tangerine Tango and for those of you looking to work it in to your spring look, here's your chance. Sephora has launched a partnership with Pantone to create a make-up collection inspired by Tangerine Tango.


Photo from sephora.com


Eye shadow, nail polish, lip gloss - the collection covers all your beauty needs and their website offers a feature to help you find your best way to wear the color of the year.


Photo from sephora.com

I'm definitely a fan of this color for spring and summer, and I'm loving this first-time partnership between Pantone and Sephora. I can't wait to stop by and see everything the collection has to offer. How are you going to incorporate Tangerine Tango into your spring/summer?

Weekly tune-up

In the next two weeks I get to see two artists in concert that I've been dying to see for years now - Girl Talk this weekend and Jack's Mannequin next weekend. So the Jack's Mannequin album released last fall (People and Things) has been on repeat on my iPod all week long along with Girl Talk's All Day. . .

Not horribly new releases, but really great listens. So check them both out - I know I won't be able to stop listening to them for a while.

Record Time

This weekend I noticed a friend of mine had a clock made from an old record. It's something that I've seen a million times but never like this — the numbers were cut out instead of pasted on the record.

I forgot to ask where she found it but I did find this one from Etsy.

Record clock from Etsy

How does your garden grow

During the winter I decided that once spring rolled around I'd plant my own herbs and maybe some flowers. I think having plants helps brighten an apartment - let's just hope I do better with these herbs than the last herb garden someone gifted me. Williams-Sonoma is releasing an "agrarian" line of gardening tools and supplies just in time for my planting . . .

I know I don't need portable chicken coops, but I kinda like them still. The line is yet to be released, but I did sign up for the email notification when it does. I'm excited to see what kinds of plants, seeds, tools and other items the line will offer - and I'm hoping it won't be too out of my price range.

Update: The line is now available, so take a look.

My April Obsession

It's spring and I found my new business casual staple: these so cute perfect length skirts from Target. The best part is they are only $20!!! I just got the one in brown and red and want the others too. Oh, the other best part is they have pockets!