Play time at MAM.

It's the first Thursday in December, so that meant that we went to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum again today! We went for the first time last month and loved it, and since it's free (every first Thursday!), we went back to wander around some more tonight. Isn't the above installation lovely? It's supposed to represent the Cliffs of Dover. I think it's gorgeous. 

We went to see the Rembrandt exhibit, which was alright; they only had one Rembrandt. We then ran upstairs to go back to the Disney animators exhibit. 

This remains one of the coolest exhibits I've been to. And, to make it even better, I was able to make this: 

I think I can safely say that if this legal thing doesn't work out, I'll rely on my animation skills as my source of livelihood. Oscar worthy? Probably (DEFINITELY) not, but it was so much fun to do! 

After we came back from the museum, we made dinner and baked sugar cookies - stay tuned for the recipe, because they are seriously the some of the best and easiest cookies to make!

And now, some Parks and Recreation, Christmas lights, wine, and blankets. Sounds just about perfect. 

At the museum.

Yesterday, we spent part of our late afternoon at the Milwaukee Art Museum, one of the most beautifully designed museums I've ever seen. It's so modern and contrasts starkly yet perfectly with the lake on one side and the downtown buildings on the other. 

We could have spent hours there (best part: every first Thursday is free!); the rooms' collections flowed seamlessly from 16th century tapestries to Picasso's roosters, from Rodin's sculptures to 1960s pop art. This piece below: it's made entirely out of buttons and glue! 

One of my favorite exhibits was one showing how closely connected Disney movies are to more formal artworks. The exhibit compared familiar (and to us 90s kids, iconic) images of Disney characters next to their animators' original inspirations, found in ancient Greek art, Impressionism, and Japanese silk screens. How great is this?!? They also had easels and art stations for little ones to create their own masterpieces and then display them on a wall along with other "future artists'" work.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Thursday; we'll definitely be back.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! 

The art of hanging art.

So far, most of our walls in the living room are completely blank, except for my goddaughter's drawing that she gave us before we moved. It's called Ferris Wheel, and I absolutely adore it. But because we have lots of wall space throughout the apartment, there definitely need to be more pictures hung up. Hanging art helps any space feel more inviting and complete, but I find that I'll often leave frames on the floor for weeks, trying to figure out where they'd look best. 

Hanging art is something I've never, ever liked. Frankly I'm surprised that we have anything up on our walls, considering it's only been about four weeks since we've moved. Commiserating with friends who have also recently moved, I discovered that hanging anything seems to be a common enemy for us. Not only do you have to make sure every piece is even, angled correctly, and fills up the appropriate amount of space on the wall, you must also hammer in that nail in exactly the right spot or risk everything looking lopsided and mismatched (and not the cool, fun mismatched in these photos, but the really messy, not-at-all-meant-to-go-together mismatched).  Plus, we haven't had the greatest record when it comes to hanging pictures in the past; plenty of holes in rented apartment spaces aren't likely to make landlords happy. 

While browsing for inspiration (and help), I found these lovely shots from Domino. I could get lost on that site, there are so many beautiful ideas for the home. Also, this one from Apartment Therapy. 

But one of the best hints I found was this, also from Apartment Therapy, which just might help me get over my aversion to hanging pictures. I will be trying this out in the next few days (or, let's not pretend, weeks...), it's genius!

What do your walls look like? Are they filled with favorite photos and family memories? Do you have one giant frame, or do you hang eclectic art pieces that mix style, color, subject matter, but match just enough? Pass along any ideas, I'm curious to know!