Style aspirations.

The website I’m showing you today sort of reminds me of “What I saw today,” the website I discussed yesterday…  only a girl version.

I want to be heris a blog that highlights a different women and their style each day. Sometimes the women are sketched, sometimes they’re photos. Sometimes they’re women the blogger knows, sometimes they’re women she simply saw in the supermarket & etc.

The main author of the blog, Andrea Linett, used to be a creative director for Lucky Magazine and is the current director of eBay Fashion. I felt a bond with her immediately when I read in the “About Us” section:

“…I want to be a different woman every day. Sometimes I see her on the street, sometimes I see her in a magazine, but I always want to try her clothes on even if it’s just for one day.”

Love that. That’s totally me. I often get bored with myself and feel inspired by other peoples’ style – even if it isn’t something I would ever consider (slash have the guts to wear). The other blogger, Anne Johnston Albert, is the illustrator and fashion designer. She takes Andrea’s self-described “notebook scratchings” and turns them into visions.

Each of the women featured on the blog get some kind of background painted about them and then different aspects of their style are highlighted. I don’t know about you, but I’m totally inspired. If only I had the funds to revamp my tired wardrobe!

Here are a few of my favorite looks:

Check out “I want to be her!” You may get some new style ideas! Which styles are your favorite?

Observational.

I love art. I love seeing other people’s art and inspiration. The site I’d like to show you today shows you glimpses into an artist’s sketchbook and the high fashion world.

What I Saw Today displays men’s fashions through the eyes of the artist Richard Haines. In fact, his sketches have become pretty famous and he’s been featured in lots of fashion magazines, brands, etc.

I seriously love the way he sketches. I don’t know what it is. I think I really appreciate the confident, dark pencil strokes- (vs. those bullshit noncommittal sketch lines that most people/artists (including myself) find themselves doing). He definitely seems to capture not only the clothing but the overall vibe of each of his models.

Although Haines’ niche – or at least what he’s known for – is men’s fashion, he does do other subjects as well (including women and nakies (my “back to childhood” term for naked people)).

If I were one of those models I would for SURE want a copy of myself that he’s done… hell, if I was MYSELF I’d want a copy of his work – even if it WASN’T  me. Too bad he doesn’t do poster-size (and poor-girl budgets). I could totally see some of his stuff being potential “soulmate art” for my place.

What do you think? Do you love this as much as I do?!

So… uh.. wanna go to Iceland?

When I was younger it used to always confuse me that Iceland was a way more pleasant place than Greenland (okay maybe it still does a little).

I recently ran across this video via Loobylu and now… I want to go to Iceland. Who’s with me?!?

Aren’t the people in the video fun?! I want to be their friend.The song is by an adorable artist named Emiliana Torrini - see real music video here. 

Ps… “Inspired by Iceland” is a whole series marketing Iceland – brilliant.

Ohemgee these were good.

So I want to share a great recipe I recently discovered from Picky Palete via Oh Joy!

Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls!

These obviously aren’t the ones I made… but they actually came out looking pretty much the same (surprisingly enough)!

Ohemgee these guys were good! I found this recipe a few weeks ago and obsessed over them every day for an entire week until I made them. They were totally worth obsessing over. The recipe makes 10 – but I dropped one on the floor so BF and I ate all 9 the day I made them. They were AWESOME and really easy- no weird ingredients or anything!

Need a recipe idea for an upcoming party? Try these.  Or other recipes by Picky Palate. You’ll be the most popular person there!

***click on the image above for the full recipe.***

Uncork it.

Hey! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

So a few weeks ago, BF informed me that we had plans “from 1-3 on April 24^th” but it was a surprise. This obviously led me to immediately be overwhelmed with curiosity – for 2 hours? On Easter!? I bet he’s taking me to church (—just kidding…).  I had no idea.

Finally, Easter morning rolls around and, after a breakfast consisting mostly of Starburst jelly beans (my fave!), he informed me that we would be sipping wine, eating dessert, and painting that afternoon! He had (via LivingSocial – love it!) discovered Uncork’d and planned a surprise date!

Uncork’d, based in the DC Design Center, is such a cool concept! They invite local artists to come and be a guest “instructor” of sorts. Each “instructor”/artist comes with their own style – creating the “theme” of the session – and a unique experience everytime (as I can only imagine, at least – I’ve only been once.)

Our “theme” was abstract art (our session was “Just for fun”) and the artist who was our “instructor” was Lisa Jones. Lisa is a pretty well-known artist and has done some work for some famous athletes.

There are other themes offered by Uncork’d including: Couples Retreat, Alter Ego, Ladies Night, and Stress Reliever Saturdays. Check them out!

BF & I had so much fun sipping wine and being surrounded by creativity! It was fun to see the different paintings that resulted from Lisa’s painting (which was displayed to be everyone’s ‘insipration’). Here are some photos of our day:

The Uncork’d session we did (again, it was called “Just For Fun”) makes for a great date! I can imagine it being an especially good spot for newish daters because a) it’s during the day (or can be…), b) you’re not forced to sit across the tables, staring at each other as you awkwardly make small talk and c) it’s fun and you walk away with new art or at least a souvenir!

Crazy easy.

In my search for a “Soulmate [insert item here]“ and other good deals, I often scour Craigslist. For hours.  Craigslist is an infamous time sucker.  Sometimes it’s fun but most of the time it’s down right frustrating, clicking on things that you hope may be that “diamond” just to find that they’re simply rough.

But I have good news!!! I have discovered a solution and I’m totally stoked!

CraigsEasy is a website that, with the risk of sounding like a cheesy infomertial, makes searching Craigslist fun again.

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to their website and add their “Easy” button (remind you of Staples?)  to your “favorites” tool bar.
2. Go to Craigslist, search what you want (ex: chair under $100 – see image below) and as soon as the page pulls up, hit the “easy” button. CraigsEasy will then do its magic – changing the mindnumbing gray and blue plain-ass website (no offense CL, it does the job…ish)  into an eye-pleasing, easy to search website that simply lists images, cost, and location of each post. It makes searching Craigslist so much faster and allows you to kiss way less frogs to find your prince – or “Soulmate [insert item here].”

If you’re not as stoked as I am about this, then there’s something seriously wrong with you. Just kidding…

… kinda.

Happy hump day! Happy Craigslist hunting!

Its thrilling.

In general, I try to keep my blog topics gender neutral… or at least balanced. I want the men out there to maunder a little, too! I know I sometimes struggle with the neutrality so… to make up for some girly fashion and interior design posts of the past and future, this one goes out to you, boys.

Thrillist is a website that I discovered from… actually I have no idea how I discovered it. But I love it.

Thrillist is basically a giant resource website designed for dudes. The topics range from alcohol and bars, to food, girls, fashion, alcohol and bars, and did I mention food? Just kidding… sorta. Their topics on the website are: Bars, Food, Sex + Dating, Home + Gadgets, Money, Sports, Style, Cars, Travel, Music, and Entertainment — I was close, right?

I like this site because it’s a great resource to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the social world… but I especially like that they send out daily newsletters highlighting the latest and greatest in your area and recommending places to go, eat, and see. (I think I can honestly say that their newsletter is the only email I at least skim every time I receive it – well, besides my mom’s chain emails, of course (hi mom!)). I’ve even converted BF to a Thrillist fan – and that says a lot. He’s a hard sell.

They currently have Thrillists custom to Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hamptons, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and, finally, Washington DC.

Bored at work? Want to find a new restaurant, a cool art show, or some new clothes? Check out Thrillist, sign up for their newsletter, and maybe even get their (free) app (iphone and droid)! Just as a warning… this, most likely, wont be the last you hear me talk about them. With the risk of sounding stalkerish… I’m kind of a fan.

7Side inspiration.

Oh hey, Wednesday! Hurry up and be over so I can be closer to the weekend, k? Thanks.

So today’s post might be kinda familiar to some of you but… I just wanted to share with you, once again, my brother’s blog/talents and update you a little.  Below is a shortened version of a post I wrote a while back. With an update at the end.

…

Good morning!

Today’s blog is actually belongs to my (older) brother, Matt. He went to Virginia Tech and majored in Industrial Design. In other words, he may actually like art and design even more than ME! Matt is really into making things…

7Side Design …. allows you to peek into his artsy brain; from his hands-on projects and hobbies to his unique inspirations and experiences. This guy, who designs BOATS by day, leads a seriously awesomely art-infused life (in FLORIDA no less!)!

I think my favorite thing that Matt has created is one of his first 7Side projects, the Sanguine Dresser. I mean… it’s a dresser AND a shoe rack AND a headboard… how cool is that?! Another one of my favorite projects that Matt… made me my very own “e.” I seriously love it. (see below. )

Honestly, I think that 7Side Design is a great up-and-coming blog/company (and I’m not just saying that because he’s my brother). I seriously can’t wait to not only SEE more but hopefully one day OWN more of Matt’s creations!

…

Since that posting, a little over a year ago, Matt has done more work, like his wooden wall installations. Originally, I was thinking about having him come, and/or send me the supplies, to install our very own wooden wall up in our loft. Then I realized that the only real wall the loft has continues into a stairwell, and down the stairs, into the “entryway” – way too much wooden wall (especially for a rental..) – so we may have to make it more of an accent PIECE instead of accent WALL.

His walls look so cool though! I love all the different shades (which are totally natural!) The walls are seriously something straight out of Anthropologie (only one of my favorite stores of all time). Below are pictures taken from the 7side Design Blog:

Visit 7side Design’s blog and check out all his awesome creations! Happy Hump Day!

Before.

Hope you had a good Valentines Day! BF sent me flowers yesterday at work- Sunflowers to be exact. My favorite

So I may see a glimmer of hope at the end of our apartment decorating tunnel…. the glimmer of hope meaning… we finally bought a couch!!!! It’s a big deal. but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Here’s a pic of it I took on my phone at the store – don’t mind the ugly pillows.

The reason this couch is such a big deal is because… well… I’m waiting on it to pick the wall color, to choose the rug, and the chairs, and hang the art – none of which I have yet. I think the couch will get the ball rolling. And I’m stoked. In the meantime, I finally took some “before” pics of our place this weekend!!

Please don’t judge I took most of these with my cell phone. Plus… We’ve only been here a month tomorrow.

Living room - taken from kitchen

Living room- taken from sliding glass doors (you can see our loft from here!)

Bathroom - the counter is made for a basketball player!

 

Loft!

I was going to take pics of our bedroom, too… but it’s looking extremely messy. That will have to be another day.

Have a good one!

Love makes the world go around… or is it music?

Happy LOVER DAY! <3

Did you know that Pandora (my favorite) has pre-made Valentines Day stations? They include stations for those who like Country, R&B, Pop, Classic Rock, and much more. They even have a station for people who hate Valentines Day!

Right now I’m listening to “Alternative Indie Love Songs” on Pandora: Check it.

BF and I celebrated VDay over the weekend… here’s a pic of the cupcakes I made him! He loves Red Velvet. I love Cream Cheese Frosting. It works out.

(The beautiful mixer BF got me a little while ago. It even comes with a stand! so fancy)

(What’s better than red velvet cupcakes? DOUBLE red velvet cupcakes – my own invention – Okay. I know they’re not that pretty… but they tasted good!)

Oh yeah! And we’ve had Mr. Buble (our Love Fish – named after Michael Buble) for a year today! He’s been a trooper.

Have a good one! If you don’t have a lover, remember you have a mother. or a sister/brother. or a dad. or a pet. or a stranger. Share the love.