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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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Birthday Geekness

October 10, 2011

I celebrated a little birthday on Saturday. Not a big deal throw-me-a-fiesta kind of year, but fun and well-celebrated nonetheless (colorful candles!). #27, baby. Pete and I observed the occasion a week early with a day trip to Boston, where we explored Cambridge, Harvard U, and a perfectly timed Oktoberfest festival with two of my cousins.

Coolest Harvard chairs ever, or coolest. chairs. ever. 

Coolest Harvard chairs.

Side note: Same exact outfit as that photo in my sidebar. Wheeeee.

Harvard vs. Headshot.

I geeked out like Rory Gilmore while we explored the university. We stayed at the Irving House just off campus (a 40+ room inn with the cutest website I’ve seen in a long time). The location allowed us reason to walk through the architecture and gawk like all other tourists as we ventured to Oktoberfest.

With the same level of excitement as I dove into that pack of multi-colored chairs, Pete beelined for the NPR’s Car Talk Plaza. I don’t know about you other ladies, but the weekly show was also a staple in my youth so I appreciated it almost as much. Dewey, Cheetham & Howe marked on the window.

That’s pure, unfiltered, man excitement right there.

Car Talk man happiness.

I’m lucky to have people in my life who give kick ass gifts. A few that topped the list included my first-ever laser level, the premiere issue of HGTV magazine, and this beautiful bowl. The bowl, from my parents, was handmade by Rochester-based artist Richard Aerni and is a cool, one-of-a-kind pottery that I probably never would have splurged on myself. Something fitting my style, a little eclectic, but an item I would never buy in my frugal ways is the perfect type of gift.

My Richard Aerni birthday bowl.

Speaking of great gifts that I never would have bought myself, Pete surprised me earlier in the week with a new Canon EF 50mm lens for my Rebel that perfectly suits my penchant for macro photography and dramatic depth of field focus. He also threw on a UV filter which is a nice to have, and in addition to blocking out those rays, should really help to protect the lens. Stoked.

Canon EF lens. And UV filter.

I spent quality time with my new lens before this past weekend, which is why you saw a little sneak peek of it’s capabilities (in total testing mode – I’m no pro!) already in this photo (which was posted here):

Pegboard hooks... these, I think, are for non-office tools. One other especially ultra-cool gift (in my geeked out opinion) is a green Silva/Bradshaw ring that’s – wait for it – made of nylon and produced via 3D printing. Technology blows my mind. And the ring is exactly what they say it is; durable, strong, and still has a little bit of give to it so I don’t think it’ll ever become misshapen as easily as metal rings.

Silva/Bradshaw

Silva/Bradshaw makes some amazing pieces beyond just jewelry; in fact, while you’re thinking of it, you should just go check out their amazing tables.

Thanks to all for making it a great day, and thanks to global warming for making my birthday weekend 70+ degrees, allowing me to get a lot of yard work done. More to come on that soon.

 

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Casual Celebrations

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

6 Comments


Heather
October 10, 2011 at 9:33 am
Reply

Happy Birthday, Emily! I am glad you enjoyed it. That lens is one of my favorites, although it’s been living in my camera bag (instead of on my camera) a little too often these days. And you will love your laser level… I’m shocked you didn’t have one already! :)



    Emily
    October 10, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    Thanks Heather! I played with the new lens a lot this morning; it’s amazing. I’m mostly just not totally used to not having the zooming option, but it is taking consistently great images. If you have any tips, fill me in!

rach-dawgg
October 10, 2011 at 9:42 am
Reply

Sounds like you had a great birthday! Awesome new lens- I’ve been wondering about that lens myself- I watched a bit on street photography and the dude actually used that lens for his shots! (He did just portraits against a white piece of paper taped on to the side of a building.) -Love that pic of the “man excitement”! haha! And I’m glad to see you got my mom’s package!



    Emily
    October 10, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    1) Awesome magazine. 2) I’ll have to look up that street photography bit. The lens feels really powerful compared to the one that came with the camera. Fun!

Matt
October 10, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Reply

Happy B-day. Looks like a great road trip…you’ll love the new lens. The 50 is my favorite lens..what you lose in zoom function you make up with your feet. The 1.8 aperture is great for low light situations & the Bokeh shots you can create are just awesome. Have Fun



    Emily
    October 10, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    Love hearing it! Thanks Matt!

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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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