a year worth blogging about

so guess what?! february marks the one-year anniversary of consistent (and frequent) blogging! i am so excited and so proud that it happened so naturally. i love blogging - it makes my world go 'round and i am so happy that i could share things with you. this next year, i have a feeling, is going to be even more exciting!

but before we're onto this bigger and brighter year - i would like to send off last year with a bang. well, by bang i mean more of a recap of what i thought were some of the most special moments i shared here on wanderlustings ;) so here we go!

in february i took my first metal class and posted lovely pictures of the workshop i was in. the one class that i took helped me understand a lot more than i originally knew about metalwork. it was wonderful.

i visited the most amazing antique mart that i had ever stepped foot in. i am still kicking myself for passing up that vintage botanical kimono. nuts!

and even did my first fashion week critique - rodarte being my absolute favorite.

oh! and i attended my first cupcakes and champagne bash with christina and calli thrown by the marvelous jen and joanna. it was so much fun and i met so many wonderful ladies.

let's just call march the month of concerts, shall we?
i got to watch my cousin play at the house of blues. for an encore, he ran to the back of the auditorium, jumped up on the sound booth with his guitar and serenaded the crowd.

i got to see crystal castles - which was the first of two times i saw them this year. alice, the lead singer had apparently broken///sprained her ankle the night before at a show. so a burly security guard carried her out in his arms and she hopped around the stage like it was nothing waving her one crutch in the air - i've never seen anything quite like it and it made me love them even more. that giant backdrop of that little goth girl and the weird strobe lights made it all the more spectacular.

this show was insane. before i saw steve aoki's set at the congress i was a bit apprehensive because he has always seemed a bit too mainstream for my liking. partying with lindsay lohan and all that jazz. but holy cow is he amazing. at one point - maybe when this picture was taken - he ran off the stage climbed up to the balconies (which is really high!!) from backstage and dove off of the balcony into a yellow water raft that people had been crowd surfing in the entire night. when he landed in the raft confetti poured from the ceiling (as you can see in the second shot) - wow. what a moment in time. it was insane. steve aoki is insane. that video of him doing that stunt went viral the very next day.

i was able to do my first feature on a local chicago store that i was passionate about called brimfield in the andersonville neighborhood. it was wonderful getting to talk with the owner and her new puppy.

this awesome picture is from my favorite visual inspiration post to date :: mad world.

i rekindled a long lost love affair with thoroughly modern millie that included carol channing at her best of course as muzzy.

bought this amazing diy zodiac embroidery kit from miniature rhino and made it for andrew's housewarming. it was so much fun and so pretty!

harry potter to the extreme!

saw lord huron for the first time when andrew and i went to schuba's on a random date night. i don't think i've ever been so mesmerized and inspired by a single band before.

i started making items in bulk (from what i could). this was the best decision yet and made me waaay more business-minded in terms of my jewelry line.

i also learned how to take nicer pictures - thank goodness!

did a 'what's in your bag?' post. probably one of the most fun posts i've done creatively speaking.

got to devour amazing food from jam, check out street art and see health at pitchfork all in one weekend!

i dressed as hermione (complete with time-turner and all) to the midnight showing of harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2. i was so sad. but it made me happy to see all the other fans dressed up as characters and also i got to keep my harry potter 3D glasses - they were the same style as harry's - such a cute touch!

i did my first polyvore curation and i have been hooked ever since!

i was featured on refinery 29 for the first time thanks to this trending report on navajo prints.

did my first 'pseudo' style post.

my sister got to come with me to lollapalooza for the first time this year. needless to say, it was one epic lolla. which included !!!death from above 1979 reuniting!!! beautiful days and nights, skrillex, feed me, bloody beetroots, deadmau5 performed during a thunderstorm, mud baths from the storms -- just utterly blissful and surreal as usual. (see rest of the pictures here)

totally stepped up my jewelry creativity right before renegade handmade with the help of my dad and some long nights of gem polishing and soldering.

had an unbelievable time at renegade preparing and being at the actual show with my boothmate lydia of pierogi picnic. during this show, i sold wholesale to a company that has stores all over california - i was so excited. i also got to meet some amazingly stylish people there as well!

visited san diego for the first time for work and didn't want to leave. i'd move there in a heartbeat. (see more pictures here!)

threw my first surprise party for the honey's big 3-0. it was fun but it sure was stressful - won't be doing that again for a while...

another renegade under our belt, lydia and i had a lot more fun at the holiday renegade. i think because we weren't stuck in sweltering heat nor were we being baked alive in a tent ;)

i almost needed a polyvore intervention during the holiday break.

had some of my new pieces featured in INK magazine.

wow, what a fabulous year this has been! so glad you could join me and i hope you'll stick around for more :D

top image from marc by marc jacobs via fancy fine. edited by moi.