new favorite pinterest board

If I had a mini-me it would so be along these lines:

Because imaginary Quinoa and friends are both patriotic and pretentious.

Created by Aussie blogger Tiffany Beveridge, Quinoa  is more aware about fashion does & don'ts than I was at 5... months ago.

Who honestly doesn't want a divinely dressed munchkin named Quinoa who had friends such as Chevon, Ridley and Booker?  I know I wouldn't.

Not following My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter yet? Time to update your Pinterest "follow" board and cease being bored out your mind during work breaks. I think Buzzfeed sums it up all quite nicely.

PS- happy 4th of July +1

house o' rama (pt 2)

When figuring out what to do with space, the upstairs has been a bit of a challenge usability-wise.  It's very "custom" in that there are great built-ins (rare for a German rental) as well as an absolutely fantastic bathroom (more about that later on in the post).  However, the sloping roof makes a good amount of square footage un-usable, including our third floor bonus room, which has pretty much NO usable space for anyone over 5' tall.  Our old house had the sloping ceiling/walls also, but there were wall dormers that allowed more space to be usable.  No wall dormers with this house, so I had to be creative in the placement of things like desks, our bed and shelving.  Also, the fact that our bedroom has built-ins on the only full-sized wall made it so our bedroom furniture has been banished to the guest room in the basement.

Enough of my rambling, onto pictorial goodness!

We have a landing at the top of the stairs which I kind of designated as Mr. Bama's reading area.  It's sunny and bright, so it's perfect for just relaxing.  I really am not a fan of the overstuffed leather chair (I'd prefer something like this if leather is a must for Mr. Bama).  I love love LOVE our scratch map though.

To the right of the sitting room is the super steep staircase to the upstairs bonus room and the hallway to the bedroom.

My office is also off this hallway, but is in NO condition to be photographed.  Ugh it's a mess, I get a headache just thinking about it.
Here's the master bedroom.  See what I mean with the windows!?  There's about 2 feet behind the head of the bed that is totally unusable.  It's really awkward and yes, we have hit our heads on the ceiling once or twice.  However, it is really neat to be able to sit in bed and look through the skylight at the stars as you fall asleep every night.

Across from the bed are the built-ins. This is what I meant about the previous tenants "loving" orange and green.  Shame I'm not head over heels in love with it like they were. Correction: If the green was less teal-y and the orange a grey or natural wood then I'd be a happy camper, but that's not the case with their funky aqua green and peachy orange combo.  

None of my dresses fit in the built-ins (the tall hanging closets are divided in half and every dress I own is too long.  But not to worry - stay tuned to find out where the dresses have been stored).  This is pretty much entirely Mr. Bama's closet. And yes, his wardrobe takes up all but about 5% of the whole closet.  Lots of clothing for a man who wears a uniform to work everyday.

Now, the 360 degree of the master bath:

Far and away the BIGGEST bathroom I've ever had in my life, and marked improvement over the single sink/no storage or counter in the last house.  And yeah, that shower and the tub are pretty awesome.  PS - the floors are HEATED!

But the best part is on the 3rd floor.  Remember the bonus room I mentioned?  Well due to the sloped ceilings, only about a 4ft by 10 ft area is usable in the room, making it impractical for anything other than as this:

Yeah, it's a designated closet, home of my TD dresses (and some skirts, shirts, but mainly TD). 

Across the hall from this is another small hall closet, where my shoes and purses live. 

Sure, it's gluttonous, but I don't care.  After the past year of living super far away from base in a larger house with no yard by myself, this house has been a big blessing, and will probably be the nicest place we live over the next few years.  So we're going to enjoy it as much as we can and be thankful everyday that we were able to find this gem! This still doesn't knock the NOLA house out of first place for "best house ever" but it takes a strong second.

Bear says "Thanks for all the staircases Mom,
they keep me in shape." Same here pup, same here.

Next up? The yard (already mentioned here) and the BBQ festivities!   

Beautiful Cooking

Forget the floral, kitschy rick-rack trimmed aprons of yore.  I am lusting over COOKie's apron collection -

carla

julietta

lukrecja

All aprons are 100% cotton (made from the same fabric used to make chef jackets) and made in Poland.  Truly for the chef who still wants to feel pretty - or for the dinner party hostess who wants to look fabulous in both her kitchen and her dining room.

all images court of looklikecookie.  (all prices are in Polish Ziotych [zt].  As of today, 1zt = $0.30 USD)

Awesome + Awesome = Awesomer

If you haven't seen this blog then you really should.

These are some of my faves:

one bakes a cake, the other is often baked.

Salvidor Dali and Coco Chanel

Chick Norris and Bruce Lee... how can a picture
contain this much awesomeness!

MJ and Paul McCartney.  Washing dishes of course

and last but not least... but perhaps the most beautiful

Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.  The two most beautiful
women in the world at the time

all pics are courtesy of awesomepeoplehangingouttogether

(many thanks to Misa for exposing me to this link... as always, you rock)

Drive-by Clothing Eye Candy

I have a really quick post today -- Been busing wrapping up a bunch of stuff and prepping for our house hold goods to get moved on the 25(so.not.ready.).  But I still have time for pretty clothes!

pretty clothes like the spring 2011 Trashy Diva prints

Olivine:

the 1940's dress.
source

  Slap and Tickle (hehe)

The Doll Dress.
source

I tried both of the prints in their respective styles over the past few weeks and the Olivine is amazing.  I WANTED the Slap and Tickle to work soooo badly, but it just looked blah with my skin tone.  I'm waiting until after the move to pick up my dress, just because moving is proving to be SO expensive (an understatement)

So heres hoping i get a leg up on the moving to do list and that you have a great Monday!

When in the Scottish Highlands...

It's all about being comfortable and practical without sacrificing gorgeousness.

Let me introduce you to my old friend ANTA- who I fell in love with during my post college Scotland preservation field school.

A product of the husband & wife team Lachland and Annie Stewart, two designers (he- architecture, her - interior & fashion design) who deeply love everything unique about their country.  Everything, from their gorgeously simple corsets, to amazing pottery to the ANTA house, is completely influenced by Scotland and its history.  

There is no shortage of Tartan's

or St. Andrew's crosses 

here

All of their products are designed and made in Scotland, hitting home TRUE sustainable design and the preservation of trades such as wool-working and furniture making.

And the stewarts not only talk the talk, they truly walk the walk... enter  Ballone Castle.  Ballone Castle is a 3-story, late 16th century, Z-plan tower house castle that is right on the edge of Moray Firth in Tarbet Ness in the highlands of Scotland.  It fell into ruin and by the 1990s looked like this:

this photo of Ballone dates from the 1980s

Lachie and Annie Stewart would picnic next the ruins and in the 1990s, decided to buy the property and restore it fully.  After a long battle with Historic Scotland (their preservation philosophy is "if its falling apart, just don't let it fall apart any more."  The Stewart philosophy: "a building isn't any good unless it's being used."  I find myself siding with the Stewarts on this argument.  This the renovation of Ballone began and when i visited in 2005 it looked like this:

Ballone castle when I visited in 2005.  Thats me in the lower
left side of the pic in a purple shirt.

The drive up to Ballone is absolutely breathtaking.   

My much adored professor, who was our guide during the trip (and lives part of the year in Scotland) is friends with the Stewarts and was able to get us access to the house.  No pictures were allowed, since it is a private residence, but I can tell you that it really was spectacular - simple, cozy and classic.  The Stewarts have 3 children, so there were skateboards and hockey sticks strewn across the hall ways, with each child living in their own "tower" of the house.  It breathed life into what one would think would be a cold, drafty and archaic building.  Annie Stewart told us a story about how her son was on a trip with a number of international students when one child from France was bragging to the others about how he lived in a Chateau outside Paris,  to which the young Stewart replied "I live in Castle, so what?"

So please enjoy the eye candy that ANTA has to offer.  I was able to snatch up a latte mug during my visit.  It suffered a chip on the shipment back to the states and since they don't ship to the states, it's my lone ANTA piece.  However, some day......

I Spy

Super quick blog post today - but something came to my attention that I thought I should share.

Who here is a fan of  the Vampire cheesiness that is True Blood?  If you tuned in this past Sunday for the Season Finale, you would have caught this part, near the end where Vampire Queen Sophie Anne visits Bill's home.

Dark, broding vampire goodiness.  pic courtesy of perezhilton.com

What is that lovely ensemble that the Queen (Evan Rachel Wood) is wearing?  Well non other than Trashy Diva's own Courtney Coat Dress in Black.  I posted about the cobalt one I scored for my birthday in a previous post.

The Courtney Coat Dress - it doubles as a coat, a dress and best of all?  It's cotton. 

 So whether you plan on being your favorite True Blood character for halloween or just want to look like an absolute knock out this fall & winter, check out www.trashydiva.com.  The coat comes in classic solids such as Black, cobalt & red, or for those who want to spice things up, black & green mid-century and leopard.

now back to being swamped with invitations. Is it Saturday yet?

Can't (Please Don't) Touch This

Does anyone see what I see?

Page 70 of the brand spankin new J Crew Catalogue.  Collection item or not, this is just fugly

I cannot believe my old school fashion crush, JCrew, has gone so far down this "lets revive bad fashion from the early 90s" route.  This silhouette - which the catalog calls "slouchy" - never has been and never will be attractive, even if you did throw a ton of sequins at it.  And is it bad that when I first read the description of the "Sequin Harem Pant"  I thought it said "Sequin Hammer Pant."  Oye Vay.

Thoughts anyone?

(Ps - also, Wedge Desert boots? *shakes head in sadness*)  Wow I really miss my preppy J Crew of yesteryear....

UPDATE!!!  So actually flipped through to the back of the catalog and found this

oh no she didnt

Dear Lord NO!! Katie Holmes has fallen victim to the heinous Hammer pants.  ughhhhh I think I just threw up a little in my mouth

uh oh...

Yesterday Anthropologie opened their first New Orleans store, so today my friend Leslie & I made the trek downtown to scope it out.  I managed to restrain myself and only purchase a cute pair of tiny earrings:

Because I need another pair of pearl-ish
earrings like I need a hole in my head

To sum up our visit to a little slice of paradise, I can only say that my pocketbook is going to be in a state of shock until I leave this city (or until they actually start having a sale section.  No such luck right now).  oh anthro, how can you be so bad yet so good.

(ps- I DID check out the Fleur de Lys tumblers mentioned in this prior post: they are $36 for a set of 4, but NOT bright red like shown in the picture.  They're actually a magenta pink-ish color.  Sad panda and tsk tsk toward Anthro.)

Grey skies --- make for a sunny day

Odd title, I know, but lately I have been so inspired by the color Grey.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have seen scores of grey shoes roll into the store, but the thing that really gets me is when customers ask "I love these grey shoes, but what on earth would I put it with?"  That's when the gears in my mind start turning and I come up with all these possibilities - especially the combo of Grey & mustard (accented by blue).

1.  I LOVE barn doors and i think a romantic part of me wants to stick one in a house someday just for the heck of it.  We have awesome Victorian pocket doors now, but they're not as elegantly utilitarian or unexpected as a rolling barn door.

2. Anthro, you never fail to step up when i need an awesome color combo.  I love the form of this dress: utilitarian "1950s house dress" look with a pretty full skirt.  Also, you can't go wrong with a big cinching sash.

3.  I've been staring at this cute little flying fish for months now at the store -- created by Delux, a design company out of Amsterdam who mixes vintage gem stones w/ modern ones. Sadly, they don't have a website, but there's a ton of their stuff online at trashydiva.com.  Grey and blue just look so stunning together.

4. I do think there is a point where you can have too much of bold yellow in your decor that makes it go from chic to blink-and-you-could-miss-it trendy.  A wallpaper like this jumps right over to classic - I could see it having just enough color to keep it from being boring yet still being something my grandmother would have had adorning her dining room walls.

5. Um, colored driftwood and eggs NEVER looked so gorgeous.  one man's firewood is another's wall art.

6. almost a year later and I'm still obsessed w/ weddings, so how could I not include a wedding combo?  This bouquet of daffodils, roses and tulips makes me smile and wish it was next spring.

7. Elegant in a sort of block-y way and very Scandinavian -  I'm kind of fantasizing about having the unexpected yellow wood chair sitting at my kitchen table. Yet, w/ the luck our furniture has, it would be "yellow streaked with black" in no time.

8. as I'm sitting here, there is currently a heat index of 115 degrees outside.  I would LOVE snow right about now.  On that note, I think nature honestly provides a the absolute best color palates.  Next time you're trying to figure out a color scheme for a design project, simply step outside and look at the colors you have around you.  You cannot go wrong.

9. I saw the "keep calm and carry on" poster in mustard and knew I had to include this.  The slant of the roof you can see through the doorway on the right makes me think of some chic and simple attic bedroom - a hideaway of sorts.  I can also seeing this being in a beach cottage where you can hear the ocean from the bathroom.  

10. Dear JCrew  - bring back your satin pumps.  Every girl needs a pair of pretty grey shoes, me being one. Thank you in advance.  

11. I love me a good geometric pattern.  If it is curvy lattice, awesome.  Grey and white curvy lattice?  even better

On that note, happy Monday everyone!

oh you naughty blogger, you

yes yes, I know I've been shamelessly MIA since Easter.  Yet I have a wonderful excuse: I am finally gainfully employed.  I think two Aggie "Whoop"s and a kind of lame Jersey Shore fist pump are in order with this news.  I had applied for a position at a local clothing boutique a few weeks ago and then was offered a job last week.  I've been absent from blog-world because its been a 6 1/2 hour-a-day job that's been non-stop on your feet, but I'm surrounded by some absolutely wonderful and creative people (did I mention the owner designs all of the vintage -inspired dresses?)

(picture, with our beloved St. Charles street cars, via Amelie G magazine)

(picture via Amelie G magazine)

You can check some designs of my new employer on the mainpage of the Amelie G website where they feature some beautiful photos of our dresses that were taken in my neck of the woods in New Orleans (the photo above was taken outside of La Crepe Nanou, featured in a previous post)!

and a tiny ps - I'm still designing stationery!  No worries everyone that was concerned -- I'm designing when I'm not working, so still be on the lookout in a few weeks for an update in the etsy store designs!!!

J'adore, Mon Amie

Please pardon my French.  Oh New Orleans -- you provide such amazing cultural experiences: great music, unique creole cuisine, humidity that rivals a sauna, a slow, easy pace of life.  You also provide something that isn't quite as easy to find --  gorgeous fashion and the best French food this side of the pond.  Mr Bama and I went to dinner with a couple he knows through work.  Since they live up in Jefferson Parish and are new to the area, they mentioned they would like to eat somewhere near us, in Uptown.  My task of hunting down an affordable, yet tasty and unique place began -- and quickly ended.  Enter one of New Orleans best kept secrets: 

La Crepe Nanou

photo court. of lacrepenanou.com

I orginally dined with Mr Bama and a few local friends there back in July when we were still engaged and RIGHT after I returned from my visit to Paris.  Is it bad that I thought their beef bourguignon crepes rivaled those of the little sidewalk crepe cafes that I dined at in France?  Their retro art nouveau decor is heaven to this little early 20th century architecture lover.  And their strawberry dessert crepe, Crepe Lucie, is easily one of my favorite desserts anywhere -- hands down.  Mr Bama talks about how much he loves their escargot -- I am still a little too much of a coward to try them, but even I can admit that sitting on their little plate swimming in butter and garlic they did look like they had the possibility of being very tasty.

I think though, what I was a tad bit more excited about for our dinner out was an opportunity to wear my newest purchase: an Audrey Mini Dress in the Mid-Century Print from Trashy Diva.

(photo court of Trashy Diva)

Trashy Diva is a NOLA based clothing company/store established in 1996 by designer Candince Gwinn.  All designs are inspired by retro patterns and then tweaked in one way or another to make it a tad bit more modern.  I like to think of their Stretch cotton line as the "Mad Men" clothing line for women (even though Candice was designing and selling her clothing WAYYY before the series even began), while their Rayon and silk dresses have a much more late 30's early 40s inspiration.  Its a gorgeous store, where wonderful people work and is really uniquely New Orleans.  The best part, if you cannot make it to NOLA to check it out, is that their line is carried at stores across the country AND you can even order online directly from the Uptown store. 

The best part about both of these NOLA treasures is that they are affordable -- a definite plus in this economy.  People in this day and age still have a taste that they aquired during the 90s but do not have the budget to match.  Both Trashy Diva and La Crepe Nanou are exceptional establishments where you can buy a gorgeous, well-made dress for a little over $100 or a dinner for two (minus alcohol) around $30.  THIS is how you survive the economy without feeling like you're denying yourself absolutely everything.

reception visual candy

Ta da! Pictures from the reception. For fear of wedding overkill (it has been over a month!) I've posted some of the best photos that our wedding photog and some guests took. enjoy!

The Currituck Club in Corolla, where we had our Reception

cocktail hour!

if you have a reception at a golf club - you must have the driving range open!