Oddities

My friend Melina and I went to see the movie 500 Days of Summer the other day. My thoughts: it was FABULOUS. I loved it!!!The best thing about the movie? How real the writing was. It wasn't just another chick-flick; it wasn't a happily-ever-after movie. It was real. I highly recommend seeing it! :)

Inspired Design

Hello all! I know I haven't blogged in about two weeks, but I haven't had my laptop. It had to be repaired....but I'm ba-ack! :) Here's some great stuff from Better Homes and Gardens.

If you're anything like me, office and school supplies tend to get lost easily, so here are some great solutions. Better Homes and Gardens suggested using vintage or decorative cupcake and muffin baking pans for seperating the "little" things like paper clips and stamps.

Nailing mismatched forks to the wall is a fun and economical way to post those important papers that you can never seem to keep up with.

Ever open a cabinet, only to be faced with dozens of odd cups that don't go with anything, but are too pretty or sentimental to get rid of? Use them for other things, like storing loose pens or jewelry.

Oddities

My younger sister, Loren, and I were shopping at Target (one of my top five favorite stores of all time) when we happened to stumble upon this fantastic line of beauty care. The line is called Soap & Glory and they feature every beauty and skin care item you could think of (although I didn't see any foundation or powder...) whilst luring you in with their 1940's-50's style advertisements.

After a few minutes of begging (on my part) Loren agreed to pose with this fabulous make-up bag. The model on the bag is sporting a fantastic 1960's style bob.

This is a close up of one of Soap & Glory's fine products. The box contains three separate shades of lip color in the form of a plumping lip gloss. I thought the name was rather clever and scandalous, all at the same time....

Inspired Design

I love Earthy tones and organic design, similar to these images that I found on the Adelto site. The below designs artfully combine modern furniture and natural elements to make this a fabuous living space.

Inspired Design

I found this fabulous chair at IKEA. It's the Agen Rattan Chair for $29.99. Cheap and chic, all at the same time! :) I've been toying with the idea of colored wicker and rattan. This is a really cool example that I found online.

Another great example of painted wicker that I found online.

Fashion Sense

The following are some amazing photos that I got off of The Sartorialist. I really love the girl in the first photo; her outfit is so chic and fashionable!

This is a fine example of how EVERY guy should dress. Why are guys so scared of casual suits? This guy looks fabulous, and very "manly" all at the same time.

I love the emerald tone of this dress!

Now, this guy does have an interesting look, but I actually posted this pic because of the awesome couch behind him! I love the rattan look in the back, and the white cushions look very comfortable.

Oddities

This is an exact (to scale) replica of the home of Homer and Marge Simpson from the tv show The Simpsons. In a way, this is very neat. However, it might be taking an obsession a bit far, no?

Fashion Sense

ELLE Magazine's Creative Director, Joe Zee, recently used an unconventional tool to inspire design: Barbie doll! Who is more of a fashionista than Barbie?
The first is Fashion Editor Barbie:
This is Supermodel Sporty Barbie:

This is Nightlife Barbie:

And this is Boho Barbie:

All of these lovely photos can be found at ELLE.

Oddities

I found the cutest dish at Marshall's today for only $3!

Here's a close-up of the print.

I used the tray for some of my favorite, everyday jewelry.

Oddities

I LOVE old alarm clocks, and recently won this one off of eBay. It's a Westclox Big Ben wind-up alarm clock. How cool is this?!

Inspired Design

I set out to find some design with character and this is what I've come up with! The following pics are from Better Homes and Garden. I especially like the blue tile in the second photo and the neat doorknobs in the third.

Song of the Moment

My newest SOM (song of the moment) is I Gotta Feelin' by Black Eyed Peas. I can't stop listening to it, over and over and over again, and it never gets old. AND it's such a great workout song. This morning I cranked it up and did some freestyle dancing around the living room and truely felt like I had just gotten back from an intense workout and the gym. Ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Art Wishlist

Yay! I'm really excited about finding awesome new art. I found the following pieces at Biltmore.com. They're pieces from the Biltmore Art collection.

This first piece is called Dining Chair Snow Sky.

And this second piece is called Lion du Senegal.

Good Reads

Dearest Readers, I haven't posted in two whole days (!!) and for that I do apologize. However, I promise to make it up to you by posting several times today.

Today I would like to recommend a few good books. The first is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The book is about a guy named Jacob Jankowski who is now an old man living in a Elderly home. He spends his time reminiscing about his days as a veterinarian for a major circus. It artfully combines the not-so-pleasant, behind-the-scenes side of a circus with the empathy that the reader feels for the aging hero and his life, which has gone from training elephants to worrying about the solidarity of his dinner.

The second book that I would like to recommend, and one that I am currently reading, is Miss Invisible by Laura Jensen Walker. The main character, Freddi (short for Fredrika) is a slightly overweight girl who works in a bakery and feels invisible to the world. She has always been a bit self-conscious due to her size, and feels as if she will never find love or get to experience life the way the size two girl's around her do. Then she makes a new friend, a larger-than-life (in more ways than one) black woman who seems to love life and color and (dare she say it?!) food! Her new friend helps her come out of her shell and begin to love herself just the way she is. It's a great read that makes you feel good about life and people and every insecurity you've ever had, no matter what size you are! :)

Inspired Design

I went to a local flea market a while back and found this great wooden Coca-Cola carton with metal brackets for only $5.

You can even see the faint print on the inside of the carton that says Property of Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Kinda cool, huh

I love decorating with unexpected elements and finding new uses for old items. I used this particular crate to display some of my jewelry.