Category Archive for ‘inspiration’

I’m having coffee with a friend of mine this morning & I’m thinking that any of these outfits would be the perfect choice.

Photos & clothing by Garance Dore, Emersonmade, Frye, Calypso, Madewell

We’ve all heard of Daily Candy, right?  That creative lifestyle e-mail that pops up in your inbox every morning bringing you the insider’s scoop to everything ‘you.just.can’t.live.without.’  The other day, I was browsing through an article about a fabo. new textile line & I noticed the sweetest bulldog line drawing right on the front page…the simplicity & personality drew me in closer & I got to searchin’.  Oh, say about and hour later,  I learned about the illustrator that draws all the images on the Daily Candy website, Miss Capricho.  Love her chic & colorful images.

CHeck out her flickr photostream here.

This morning, give someone a hug & kiss and tell them that you love them…

Click on image for source…

The day Domino & Blueprint magazine went out of print was a very sad day for me. *tear*  However, I’ve enjoyed keeping my design dreams on a high by clicking through the virtual pages of Lonny Magazine.  Lonny is an online magazine full of design yummy-ness…here are a few images that caught my eye.

What do you get when you mix creativity, beauty, organization, patience, and style together?  Simple answer: the face behind I Do Details Event Planning, Kate Fitzgerald.   Three words: Kate is fabulous. From the moment you say, “yes” she’ll be with you every step of the way to plan your dream wedding…not only does she take the time to develop personal relationships to help to plan your dream wedding, but she also manages  the 10,000 details of  your big day.   Kate &  I became fast friends when I moved to Charlotte & I have had the opportunity to see her plan several events first hand.  From New Year’s Eve Extravaganzas to girls’ nights, this is one girl that never ceases to amaze me.   If you’re already hitched or you don’t see a wedding in your near future, call on Kate to help plan a birthday, shower, or a dinner party….you’ll be happy that you did.

Check out her blog here.

Looking for a gift to give (and give back?)  These bracelets are made from recycled rubber by women in Djenné, Mali & provide women with a means of support.  The bracelets  are sold to raise funds for L’Empire des Enfants, a school for homeless children in Dakar, Senegal.  Mary Jane is the creator of “Made with Love” & she hires women in Brazil, Africa, and Haiti, to create accessories.  Pure goodness.

Nothing excites me more than to walk in to a room and to see a creative display of jewelry….multi-strand necklaces hanging from a frame, oversized cocktail rings sitting beautifully in a vintage china dish, long necklaces dangling from colorful spools of thread, and delicate chains displayed on a marble bust.   The idea of displaying jewelry as art is the perfect solution for that empty space in the corner of your bedroom.  Not to mention, you’ll actually wear the jewelry when you see it displayed instead of shuffling through a shoebox full of tangle-prone necklaces and lonely earrings missing their significant other.

The Jane-Garnet earrings are flying off the website & we had to add another pair of “lookers”- The Laurel Earrings.  Similar to the Jane-Garnet earrings, but designed with pink freshwater pearls.   Looking to spend a pretty penny…. pair the Laurel Earrings with these Chanel Sunglasses and Christian Louboutin heels.

A little inspiration to start your week.

They shot 60,000 pictures, developed 9,600 prints and then again shot over 1,800 pictures.  By SwissMiss & found by Betsy Moats…

click here to watch

“It’s one thing to dream, but when the moment is right, you’ve got to be willing to leave what’s familiar and go out to find your own sound.” -Howard Schultz

This quote from Mr. Starbucks automatically makes me think of Kate Barton.  I met Kate when I lived in Charlottesville & we instantly bonded over the book, The Artist’s Way & music by Cat Power, Amos Lee, and Bon Iver. We would talk on her porch until long hours of the evening with endless bowls of popcorn and red wine.  At the time, Kate was working as a nurse in the NICU unit at UVA hospital & whenever she had a free moment, you could find her in front of her easel.  She always had a dream of opening her own art studio & when the moment was right, she took a leap of faith and opened Skylight Studios. Skylight studios is located on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.  If you haven’t been, grab your afternoon coffee & RUN (don’t walk), but run & check Kate’s artwork!

p.s. Talk about a thoughtful wedding gift…Kate surprised us with this painting of our bulldog, Sukie!

Another yearly ritual Lauren looks forward to diving into full speed is “magazine sorting.”   Lauren subscribes to dozens of magazines & throughout the year, she has little time to read them.  She arrives in Aruba with approximately a small boat-load of unread magazines & each day, she tears out articles and tid-bits from each one.  Afterward, she divides all the articles, recipes, work-out tips, “must have” items, and organizing tips into several different groups and transfers all this info into separate mole-skin books (this moleskin series is particularly nice.)  It doesn’t stop there…she then adds the lists to a downloaded i-phone app like the moleskine i-phone app or notifyme. If this girl wasn’t an attorney in Dallas, she’d be the most fantastic personal organizer that ever stepped foot on this planet.

Remember when I mentioned that my sister gave us all a gift when she saw us at the airport?  When she arrived,  she whipped out these small, colorful, nylon balls that unfold into a bag (they kind of reminded me of  Popples, the fun & bright colored stuffed animals with long tails with a  pouch on their backs, which when you flipped inside out would roll the Popples into balls – total kickback to the 80′s.)  Lauren’s gift unfolds into the perfect “24-7 bag”….The Flip & Tumble!  The bag is perfect for traveling, groceries, shopping, beach, pool, storage, kids, lunches, etc…and, the best part is that it takes .2 seconds to roll back into a ball!

Every summer, my aunt, sister, mom and I take a “girls trip” to Aruba.  One of my favorite parts of this trip is sharing a room with my sister.  Not only is she incredibly organized (i.e. she is currently sitting next to me organizing her photos and previous law school documents), but she always has the latest and greatest of everything…and when I say everything, I mean it. When we met her at the Charlotte airport yesterday morning, she bounced up carrying her muli-pocketed Lululemon bag with a present for each of us.  She couldn’t watit to unpack her bags when we arrived in Aruba and I just sat on my bed in awe as she unpacked everything.  Throughout the week, I’m going to share with you my favorite “latest and greatest” goodies that she brought with her & that I’m taking home with me…well, hoping to convince her to let me take home.  The first fabulous thing that she brought is the ltd. edition acai damage-protecting toning mist from Kiehls. I also love the fact that 100% of proceeds up to $200,000 from the sale of this product will be donated to support the Rainforest Alliance & Julianne Moore (among other artists) designed the label.

Lovin’ the cool colors from these light cotton button-downs from Aubin & Wills.

Perfect to throw on over a swimsuit for a day at the beach…

Here’s a little something to finish up the day…

Just thrilled to introduce the latest member to my closet…the light green calypso canvas wedge by TOMS.  Not only are these little cutie-pies incredibly comfortable & the perfect height of 3  1/4 in, but for every pair that is bought, a child in need gets a pair, too.  I wore them last night with a pair of white jeans & I gotta say, they just might be my new summer staple.

Yesterday afternoon, I was at the grocery store picking up the ingredients for a “perfect evening in” & this wine isle this label caught my eye.  Decision made…this malbec was coming home with me.  I kept looking at the label and it reminded me of a page from the June issue of the Anthropologie catalog & funny enough, Hatch Show Prints is the ridiculously cool company that designed both the wine label and collaborated with Anthro. to design the summer catalog.   I think I failed to mention that Hatch is the oldest working letterpress print shop in America & i’m sure most of you know about my intense love for letterpress.  Hatch also has used vintage wood block type and hand cut linoleum to make some pretty fabulous posters for some hug names in music.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I really enjoyed designing these disc bracelets for graduation gifts. The word on the bracelet is, “Revez,” which means “dream” in French. The gifts will be given by a French teacher to her senior students. The teacher loves the book, The Little Prince (one of my favorites too). The book is full of life lessons and I often re-read it at different times of my life. I just love how her students will always have a token to carry with them throughout the years & to remind them to dream…and, dream big.

The Dakota Earrings are flirty & classic and are perfect for day or night. They have that sophisticated beauty of gold and pearl and look great with a suit, but they also have that edgy twist to keep you dancing all night long. Tiny freshwater pearls are hand woven in 14K gold-filled teardrops. Pair them up with one of these great dresses from Thread Social – I just love the off-the-shoulder dresses!

Want to add a little color to that white t-shirt &  jeans with a pair of spice, ecru or berry colored shoes? Lovin’ the playful hand-distressed leather on Frye’s new line of kicks.