Bonjour!

Hi!  I’m Stephanie, and I live in Chicago.  This is me:

And this is how I feel most all the time:

I am unabashedly candid and sillier than I should probably be for my age…  as a result of which, my kids will probably end up looking something like this: I have an insatiable appetite for interior design, travel, and all things time-worn and beautiful.  These, for instance, are perfection on a stick:

(via Better Homes & Gardens, I think…  pardon the handwritten notes, svp)

   (via Domino)

   (via House Beautiful)

…And things like this make me really, really happy:

(photo I snapped in San Gimignano, Italy last fall)

  (via Amanda Wilcher Photography.  My darling friend Vani at her wedding.  Jai ho!)

I grew up in a small, blue-collar town in Indiana, played kickball with the neighborhood kids every night till after dark, caught lightning bugs, and ate dinner at my grandparents’ house on a regular basis.

(via flikr)

Our hometown looks about like this:

(Ball Jars via flikr.  Country Road via flikr.  Ice cream stand via Kristen Gray Photography)

In the summertime, this was my favorite place to be. 

Later on, I spent a short lifetime leading a cushy existence in Charleston, South Carolina, an idyllic southern town that smells like sweet tea and salt water, and sounds like water lapping on the side of a boat.  Thanks to my 10 years there, “y’all” is forever woven into my vocabulary, and I think EVERYTHING tastes better deep fried.

(Hominy Grill via flikr.  Charleston marsh via flikr.  Sunset via Robert Donovan.)

Last year, I traded up for the Big (but still down-to-earth) City life in Chicago.  In my bones, it just felt like the right thing.  It still does; I love it here.

Being in Chicago puts me much closer to my family.  This is my Mom and Dad.  Not sure how I lucked out and ended up as their kid, but they’re both pretty awesome.

I firmly believe in things like always being kind and smiling at strangers, and calling the check-out ladies at the grocery store by name.  For instance, I bet this lady’s name is Fran.  Or Gladys.  Wassup gurl.

                     (via Getty Images)

Drinking out of Ball jars…

 (via abryanphoto)

Napping when it’s storming…

…and dunking my heavily buttered, crusty baguette into my coffee.

(via flikr)

I wake up every day truly devastated that the 80’s are really over.

I love my golden retriever, Gus, so much it hurts.

  (via Amy Bane Studio C)

I think the lemon cupcakes from Sweet Mandy B’s are like a big hug from Jesus.

                  (via flikr)

And if it wouldn’t mean weighing 957 pounds, I would eat this for every meal….

I am never, ever, on time.  I’m eternally searching for the perfect pair of jeans and the perfect white t-shirt.  And that, in a nutshell, is me. 

                    (via Amanda Wilcher Photography)

I think I am the luckiest person I know and think my life is perfect, even when it’s not.