Meadowbrook

Last night we played for the Meadowbrook Jazz in the Garden concert series. Meadowbrook is the old Dodge family estate, built in 1929. It's now open for tours and is treated with the same respect and care as any museum. The grounds are gorgeous and feature exceptional gardens. We had such a great time playing for this event.

Enjoy your weekend!

We plan to spend ours with Sammy lama rama!

iz

Ray's

We just had to take Sammy to one of the best ice cream shops in Detroit, Ray's Ice Cream! The parlor was established in 1958 and is some of the most delicious home made ice cream I've ever had. Their cinnamon is fantastic. Sammy of course wanted Superman. It was fun to hear that Sam's Mom, Kim (my aunt) used to bike ride him up there to get ice cream when he was just 2 years old. They moved to NC later that year. Sam's parents also used to walk to Ray's on summer nights before they even had kids.

ice cream.

bringing people together...

iz

an exploration

My cousin Sammy is in town and is staying with my parents for a week or so. We decided to meet up with Bob's nephews and take them on a little exploration of Crankbrook, one of our favorite places ever! We had such a fun time with the boys (and Ceil) walking around the grounds.

iz

The Wedding- Part I

Well, we survived the Mervak wedding and had fun doing it! Liz and Jimmy's wedding was really fun, the food was great, the band- fantastic and the dancing- epic. I hardly took any photos, but here's a nice one of Bob and I at the reception in our bridal party best.

And here's a nice one of Lizzo getting ready at the salon.

She made a beautiful bride.

Isn't her birdcage veil so cool?! She and my Mom made it!

I will share more photos from the wedding once we get the professional photos from the photographer! It was nice to just enjoy the day and not worry about taking photos (I'm usually that crazy girl taking pictures of everything and everyone).

Congrats Liz and Jimmy!

Lots of love to you.

iz

clever & smart

The type of design that really sets my heart a flutter is clever and smart design. I think that I love that some genius person looked at something normal and gave it personality. I love that it makes you think, it makes you laugh and it makes it so that somehow you have just generated a connection with a piece of art- big or small, expensive or affordable. Most of all, I love that it doesn't take itself too seriously, I really do believe that there needs to be humor in design, it appeals to my most visceral of reactions.

pantone napkins

SO GOOD!

iz

Inspiration

Every now and then I like to share my latest and greatest pinterest finds. Here are some of my favorite pins of late from my design board...

This might be my dream dining room. The grey walls, the big victorian gold mirrior,
chevron floors and eams chairs in an impressive array of colors.
oh ya- and did you notice the amazing modern chandelier!?

It's really quite interesting to look at your latest pins because you realize your own trends. For instance, I did not realize I was so into this rainforest green (yes, that was a crayola reference) or Jade-like color so much right now, but obviously I am. It pairs so well with white, gold and grey.

I'm smitten.

iz

No Room For Doubt

I ran across this video on Perez Hilton (yes- I read Perez...) and I really cannot stop listening. This song is so simple and so beautiful. I cannot wait for Lianne La Havas's record to come out in the US! She is a UK singer songwriter and toured with Bon Iver on his Euro tour. Enjoy :)

I have to say- Perez has great taste in music. He really does have a good ear for up and coming artists. I've discovered a few people through him- believe me- I was just as surprised as you are right now.

iz

Vinsetta Garage

We had a fun family dinner at Vinsetta Garage- the latest Detroit hot spot. I've been wanting to try it for weeks, but have been putting it off due to the horror stories I had heard about the long wait. We finally decided to give it a try and on a Monday night we waited just over an hour for a table. I have to say though- we had fun while we waited, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, and Dad and Ceil went across the street to get some groceries at Trader Joes. It ended up being a really fun night, in a cool restaurant with delicious comfort food at an affordable price and genuine family time- enhanced ironically by the long wait time.

The back of Vinsetta Garage, which was originally a Detroit repair garage.

The restaurant kept most of the original interior which was a brilliant move, incorporating Detroit history, craftsmanship and of course- cars, into the design concept. The ambiance is expertly crafted.

So, go check this place out!

It's worth the wait and if you're lucky, the wait will

unexpectedly be a highlight of your evening.

iz