Bon Voyage

These suitcases make me want to go on a fabulous voyage to a far away land.

Inspirational ladies

Kat Macleod is an Australian illustrator/mixed media artist that's done work for Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Real Simple, Collette Dinnigan and Harper's Bazaar to name a few. I remember having some of her ladies hanging by my computer at work for inspiration. They're so playful and wistful. I love how she uses actual fabric in conjunction with the watercolors. So perfectly feminine.


She did the illustrations for a new book, Like I Give a Frock, and desktop backgrounds featuring Kat's illustrations are FREE for download.


She also did the illustrations for this book, The Cocktail: 200 Fabulous Drinks.

An exerpt from the Amazon description, "Awash with recipes and dripping romance, The Cocktail captures the spirit of every spirit. Learn about the warm companionship of vodka, the old-school primness of gin and the tropical abandon of rum. Drink in the geisha chic of sake, and discover why whisky and its white trash cousin bourbon are no longer just a guy's best friend."

Sounds like a new book for my wish list.

(Via Oh Joy!)

Gossip Girl-inspired fashion line

The Gossip Girl-inspired fashion line Anna Sui designed for Target hits stores this September and runs through October. New York Magazine has a slide show of all nineteen looks featuring the four main ladies. Here are my picks for the most "character" inspired outfits.

The Queen B:
Little J:

V:

Miss Van der Woodsen:

All in all I think they're okay, some better than others. I thought Blair's looks were more on par than any of them. I don't understand why the Serena-inspired looks were all black and grey. Remember the canary yellow/floral gown she wore to her mom's wedding?

The King of Pop

I still can't believe that Michael Jackson died yesterday. I immediately started listening to his classics and realized what a tragedy this was. He was one of the greatest artists of our time, truly the King of Pop. How great is "Billy Jean" or "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough?" You can't NOT dance to those, they're such good pop songs.


Elements of Style did a great tribute post to MJ filled with the inspiring fashion trends he set out for us all.

It's weird how you grow up with his songs and don't even realize it. When I started listening to them I started singing along and thought, "I didn't even know I knew the words." He'll truly be missed.

Sleepy Squirrels

Found here via here.

Ahoy

I love a great silhouette.


(Via Kelly + Olive)

Black pants

I really want these pants:



I wanted them last year but they sold out of my size.

The gold zipper in the back is the perfect little detail.

"She looks pregnant."

I blogged on The September Issue a while back but the official trailer just got released and it looks even more amazing than I thought:



"This type is so large and pretentious. It looks like it’s for blind people."

(Via The Cut)

Hermione Granger covers Teen Vogue

How beautiful is Emma Watson in Teen Vogue this August? She's also the new face of Burberry. Little Hermione Granger is all grown up.

(Photos via Teen Vogue)

Steel windows

Ever since I was a little girl I've always loved design. I would spend hours looking through my grandmother's Southern Living's and would study the home plans extensively (as extensively as a 12 year old would at least.) Then I would get really excited when I would get to the issue that had the "Idea House" since that issue had like 3 homes plus photos of the interiors. I got so into it that I would draw out plans on graph paper (pretty sure my dad still has some to this day.) I had pretty much declared myself as a future architect until I realized how much math was involved and how it wasn't just about deciding how the kitchen would be laid out.

Though my dreams of being an architect are long gone, I still have a very strong sense of what my dream home will consist of and one thing is certain, steel windows:


I've always loved the look of steel windows and doors. I think they look strong, chic and sophisticated. They're such a focal point in a room whether it's an entire wall of windows or just one major window in a kitchen.



It seems like a very European thing but I'm not sure. I'd like to do some research on them to know where they came from and if they served a purpose (steel vs. wood kinda thing.) Windows and lighting are so so so important to me when it comes to a home. I have 7 lamps in my living room. Some would call this crazy but I just happen to love lighting. Ambiance is very important and overhead lighting just will not do.

(All photos via Things That Inspire)

Photography

I really, really want a new camera. I got a little digital Canon two years ago but I'm ready for this:
How can I swindle together $689? Maybe I could sell Margot on the cute dog black market...


As my step-dad always says, "Bad joke, bad joke."

I just love looking at Erika and Darby's blogs and Darby always has the greatest photos of her kids. Could her little boy be any cuter?


I'm not a big kid person (I've just never been around a lot of babies and little kids, I've always been the younger kid in the family) but this little boy just makes me weak in the knees! That little grin and his long whispy hair... ohhh soo adorable!

Rachel also has a Canon Rebel and she's been posting a lot of fabulous photos lately. (See here.)

I've got to get me one of these! I feel like it would inspire me to go out and be adventurous with what I see rather than looking past the beauty that surrounds me everyday. Sounds corny but I bet I could find some really great things to shoot around Nashville.

Sea of Shoes

Jane Aldridge (Miss Sea of Shoes) has a shoe line coming out with Urban Outfitters next month. This isn't too much of a surprise seeing as she has tons of followers worldwide and has been getting a lot of press lately.

But I still can't believe she's 17 and has a shoe line coming out. She's in Tokyo right now with her mom and sister. Totally jealous but really happy for her too. Maybe I'll get to go to Tokyo by the time I'm 30 (fingers crossed!)

Ribbons & Romance

I did a post a while ago on photographer Max Wanger. I found him through looking at Jo from A Cup of Jo's engagment photos. Well another lady in Hong Kong, Grace, did the same. She loved the photos so much that she and her fiance Parson flew from Hong Kong to Santa Monica (it was his first time in the States, ever) for a little photo shoot with Max.



Aren't they lovely? Here are more.

(Via This is Glamorous)

Happy Fathers Day

(Via Blog Goggles)

Laugh du jour

(Via i suwannee)

Freedom for Iran

I can't stop watching the news. My heart goes out to all of the Iranians.

Amazing pictures here of some of the protests.

Margot's a swimmer

Margot had her first swim lesson today.


She was timid at first so I did what any good mom would do, I threw her in. She gave me one of those, "What is your problem?!?" looks and trampled off to the grass to roll around. After that she slowly warmed to the water and by the end of the day she was wearing me out to throw more sticks in the water.

You have to be born with haute couture

Last night I went to the Belcourt to see Valentino: The Last Emperor. It was a very touching and inspiring film. The relationship between Valentino and his business partner and companion, Giancarlo Giammetti, was intense and filled with love, they've been in the fashion industry for nearly 50 years! They looked like Italian movie stars gallivanting through Italy and France with their deep tans and perfectly coiffed hair. Oh and the dresses, combien fantastique!


The art of a couture gown is so stunning. The amount of work put into one gown is absolutely unfathomable to me (millions of diamonds.) Towards the end Karl Lagerfeld leaned in to Valentino and said, "Compared to us, the rest are making rags." Ha.

One thing I noticed while Giancarlo was being interviewed was the Cy Twombly painting in the background. Elements of Style did a post on Twombly the other day and had a photo of the same room. Ironic, no?

The film was great even if you're not a huge fashion buff. It was well done and very entertaining. Just seeing Valentino call evening gowns that show ankles "disgusting" and that ending a show with a red dress "boring" was enough for me to want to see it again.

What does your tattoo say about you?

This made me laugh out loud.

I love the belly area noted as "DANGER."

(Via Cracked via Blog Goggles)

More weird things to put on my walls...

An Amazon Women on the Moon-esq print.


I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus.


Keep calm and ride on.


Stephen Colbert hates bears.