Well my birthday is this week so I thought I'd put together a birthday wishlist of sorts, though I have no expectations of anyone getting me these things. haha. These are just some things I've been eyeing for a little while that I'll probably save for. I don't ever ask for gifts and if people even ask what I'd like, I have no idea what to say. I can't imagine people spending money on my birthday. I'm more into sharing experiences, like going to my favorite restaurant with my friends. That's good enough for me! But for all you libras out there, you might want to keep this for your list too!
If you've been paying attention to some of the outfit roundups I've been doing in the last few months, you'll know that I've been lusting over Palomarie's rings for some time now. I love rings, and I'd wear more if only my fingers weren't on the chubby side. Even when I was super thin in high school I still had little log fingers - you know, short and stubby! So finding beautiful rings is only the first part - I need to find my size.
When I came across Palomarie, I knew I couldn't just pass them over. The rings were just my taste. So I emailed them and they said they would make my size - just for me! I love my ring to pieces. Besides being a custom made ring (for $50!), the quality and style in person is fantastic. They also have bracelets and necklaces that are to die for. Definitely check them out and let me know if you're a Palomarie owner too!
1. Filly Designs has a beautiful Spring 2012 line, including a delectable lookbook.
2. You can always count on Obama's design team to have stunning work for his campaign. They never disappoint. The Life of Julia is not only an example of fine design craftsmanship, but it explains the differences a woman's life will experience with Obama in office vs. Mitt Romney.
3. En Pointe is a short film documenting ballerinas and their process to break in their pointe shoes. I never knew how much actually went into breaking in their shoes. I also learned later that their shoes can only be worn once after all the tear and breaking of the shoe just so they can wear it. Can you imagine wearing a new pair of shoes everyday?
4. There has been a new wind sweeping the blogger prairies called "Things I'm Afraid To Tell You". It was originally started by Jess Constable as a way to be more honest with her readers. Then Ez turned it into a viral campaign, challenging herself and others to address the transparency, fear, and anxiety that sometimes comes with being the blogger behind the curtain. Several bloggers have participated and it is really wonderful to see the honestly floating around. I have to agree, it is easy to be concealed behind beautiful images. It's so much easier to put up something attractive than talk about a bad day. I don't always want to talk about it - this space is my happy place, and also, I don't like being overly personal here. But I will say this: I don't live as glamorously as some of the photos I post. But I do live an exciting life in a beautiful, charming city. I am not always cheerful, but I am happy and I am grateful for what I do have.
I'm in love with this store, Present & Correct. They have a large quantity of simple and beautifully designed products, ranging from stationary and paper products to home decor and vintage European trinkets. Their styling is perfection and the site itself is pure eye candy. And trust me, I'm eyeing that molecule kit. I just had to share this love of mine.
Also, I just wanted to thank everyone who poured out their love on me. This new calender project will be fun. I'm so excited.
So I'm looking for a tote bag these days. It's concert season and it's also almost summer - which means I'm going to be outdoors walking and standing a lot more than I did in the winter. That also means I need something a little bit different and possibly BRIGHT! to add to my wardrobe. My dream tote bag is actually #4, but sadly, I just can't spend that much, realistically. So the other top contesters are #2 and #8. I'm really looking for a rounded bottom tote with leather handles for durability. Which one do you like?
As a side note, the more I blog these little roundups of things that have been on my mind, the more I realize that I shop in a compartmentalized way. Let me explain that. I often see other bloggers doing roundups based on an idea or a mood. I love that! But honestly, I hunt the internet for certain things - not by color, but by specifically. Hense the reason I am posting all on tote bags with leather handles. And it also reflects the way I use Pinterest. One week it is ceramic pots, another it is tropical plants, and this week it could be tote bags. Is anyone else out there like that? ha.
I'm working on a new project for BURNAWAY the online arts publication that I work for. They're are wanting to brand their membership campaign and I've been throwing some ideas around. Right now their membership page looks like this and I think that's a bit of overkill - not to mention eyekill. I liked the idea of using "burn" without actually showing flames, since flames are over done (I think). So taking some inspiration from vintage matchbooks, I came up with this little design draft. I know it still looks flat, but I'm not quite done. I have another idea in my back pocket, but I haven't pumped it out just yet. Do you like it so far?
Also, I'm not sure how many of you read my blog using a RSS feed or whatnot, but the site is getting a little makeover. New logo, sidebar, etc. Yay! Let me know what you think!
Pitchfork put up their favorite photos of the year today. Go check them out - they're all gorgeous. And this one of Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes made me smile.
I spend the majority of last weekend with Tim's family for Thanksgiving. Tim's sister, Katie, and her boyfriend, Andrew, live in New Jersey and work in New York City. She is a Creative Merchandiser for Urban Outfitters and has amazing style. I guess it helps when you work for Urban, right? So naturally, every time I saw her in a new outfit my jaw was on the floor. So I thought I'd share with all of you some Katie highlights. Besides all the clothes, she wore MAC Rich Ground Fluidline which is to die for. It was interesting seeing her pairings, as I found I was loving them all, but might not have paired them for myself. I love new ideas. Also, that picture doesn't give the poncho justice. It was a real looker in person.
Found the portfolio of Sasha Prood. She's an extremely talented illustrator and designer. I know from experience - typography with watercolors is HARD. Props to you, girl!
If these photos don't look familiar, head on over to OLD BRAND NEW and get familiar with Dabito! He lives in LA in the most beautiful home, right? Every time he posts new pictures, I kinda freak out. So much inspiration. AND SO MUCH YELLOW!
Did you know about Drinkify? Plug in what you're listening to, and it will suggest what delicious boozy drink you should have with it. This makes me happy.
Here's some lovelies that have been on my mind for quite some time now. You can probably tell I'm working hard on getting some decorations for my walls. Well those poor walls need some sprucing up. These all come from my favorites on Etsy and some of them I've already purchased. The rest will come with time!! ♥
This weekend was a lot of fun. It was just what I needed - a little bit of fun, a lot of rest and relaxation. The video above is a collection of scenes taken from Flux, the art event/public art happening that I mentioned in the last post. The majority of the stuff in the video I witnessed first hand, and it was all amazing.
The opening and closing scenes show the dance, "Livers" by gloATL. The smoke and music made the whole experience just bewildering. You felt as if you were in another realm seeing something you weren't supposed to.
One of my favorite art demonstrations of the night wasn't shown in the video. It was an iron pour - which I had never seen before. It was commenting on the similarities in the way that humans and bees work. They heated the iron, pour the molten metal into molds, and out came a still glowing, very hot, bee. The molds were quickly reset and more bees were made. Poles were inserted into the bees and they were paraded around in a bee dance. Beautiful and fascinating to see molten iron in a modern and very removed society.
In other highlights, Tim & I tried a new restaurant, HD1 (Haute Dog One) that just opened up. When in doubt, pinkies out for gourmet haute dogs. (and maple glazed waffles fries, OMG, I KNOW!) Delishhhhh. And for brunch on Sunday we went to the Flying Biscuit where I got a salmon and cream cheese egg scramble with creamy dreamy grits. My fav. There was also a in-store show at Criminal Records, where Young Rapscallions played. AKA the drummer is McLovin' from Super Bad. (But don't call him that!) I didn't want to pester him for a picture or anything, but I did stare at him for a while. haha. We also stopped by our favorite vintage shop, Highland Row antiques. They were having their monthly market sale, so we got to see a bunch of new stuff. yay!
We also watched another episode of Pan Am, which I might dedicate a whole post to. It's just that bad. SNL with Melissa McCarthy was better than I hoped. Goodness, she is just hilarious. Side splittingly hilarious. And I watched another Woody Allen film, Zelig, which I'll talk about later also. My mother told me that she had seen the first episode of Terra Nova and loved it, so we gave it a shot. Honestly, it wasn't so bad. The dinosaurs could look a whole lot more realistic, but hey, it was the pilot. Hopefully it will get better.
Here's some homework: Go watch the Melissa McCarthy SNL Hidden Valley Ranch clip and get back with me. You will never see ranch the same way again - and it's a good thing. :)
I am in a Wayne White mood today. Grabbing some inspiration for an upcoming art show that I plan on submitting to. There is something so neat about making something new out of something that has been old and discarded and updating it.
I am in a 
