mine!

new chairs: shaker simplicity and a compact footprint for my cozy kitchen.  i have been admiring these elsewhere for a while, so imagine how happy i was to finally identify them and find them on sale.  click and purchase, thank you very much!

petit déjeuner

one of the things i like best about the weekend is having the time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a cup (or two!) of milky french press coffee.  i am not a morning person, and during the week it's always a rush to get out the door.  even if my weekend mornings sometimes technically don't begin until early afternoon, i always make the most of my weekend breakfast ritual.

it may not be croissants, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and café crème in the jardin des tuileries, but it makes me happy nonetheless.

happy monday!

off the cuff

these cuff bracelets have a real wonder woman vibe that i love.  now that it's october (how did that happen?) and halloween is just around the corner, i did a little hunting for the costume-y cuff and found some more i'd happily wear year round.

this one is named the wonder woman cuff.

as is this one.

not all of my choices are so literal.  this dolce & gabbana crystal star cuff is both super heroine-friendly and witchy woman glam.

 























should you be feeling a little bit rock-and-roll, this dannijo option is all hard edges and texture.

image credits via links, above

let there be light

after months of deliberating, style-number confusion, online research, a major haircut (bangs forced me to reconsider when i'd all but made up my mind), and a subsequent wave of indecisiveness, i finally decided on these, my desperately-needed new pair of sunglasses.  and i couldn't be happier!  they're a modern take on the iconic originals and remind me of the pair i 'borrowed' from my father when i was in high school.

let's play dress up

image courtesy kate spade

image courtesy diane von furstenberg

image courtesy kate spade

image courtesy bloomingdale's

i'm feeling frivolous today, inspired by the ever delightful kate spade.  perhaps i have new york fashion week on my mind.  or, maybe i'm just a night owl who loves a good read.

 

(incidentally, as beautiful as that lamé ferretti dress is, i'd really like to see the night owl bag paired with this little bit of genius.)

highest happiness

there is something so calming about manual labor.  i was reminded of this on sunday when i helped my cousin and her fiance paint their new place and scrub the remnants of wallpaper adhesive from the walls.  perhaps it's simply exhaustion or a contact high from all of the industrial solvents, but it was nonetheless satisfying.  when it was suggested that the former owner might have thought she was living in a doll house, based on the intense pink, purple, and blue paint choices (i won't even mention the hideous floral wallpaper), and that perhaps she dressed her cats up in doll clothes and threw tea parties for them, i also remembered that, no matter what work you're doing, it helps to be surrounded by fun and funny people.

snapshots

what an incredibly restful long weekend this was!  and, just what i needed.  i think things at work are finally settling down and the busyness is becoming manageable.  in fact, my office closed early on friday and, for the first time in weeks, i didn't stay late!  better yet, i left on time, fit in a little stop at the mall with a friend, and was home, purchases in tow, by 4:30.  

for the most part, the rest of my weekend was spent quietly at home, sleeping in, creating pretty vignettes around the house, playing with my camera (i hadn't done that in ages!), Skyping with family, snacking on fresh peaches, finishing one book, beginning another, and watching movies from the comfort of my couch.  in fact, a friend visited yesterday and upon sitting down declared, "no wonder you didn't want to go out this weekend."  i'm telling you, it was perfect.

by the way, in case it's not obvious from the photo above, the book i finished is Mao's Last Dancer, the inspiring autobiography of Li Cunxin who, though born into utter poverty in communist china, became one of the best ballet dancers in the world.  to say he endured hardships along the way is to understate the harsh realities of mao's cultural revolution, to say nothing of the discipline required of anyone who seriously undertakes a career in the ballet.  if you need to be uplifted, if you need encouragement along your way to a goal, if you're struggling with your sense of commitment, read this book.  it will remind you what determination, resilience, passion, and the human heart can achieve. then, see the movie.  Li Cunxin was involved in its development, so it's true to the story, beautifully acted, and the dancing...ah, the dancing.  the pirouettes alone make it worth watching, but i assure you, there's so much more to the story of this incredible man. 

on that note, i promise not to grumble too much at the gym tomorrow and to appreciate that i have enough food to eat.  

bananas...

that's what my life has been lately.  bananas.  well, my work life, anyway.  it was tiring me out!   that is the main reason i decided to give up sugar for a while and i must admit that, two weeks in, i feel better.  significantly less bone tired, less...spent.  i expected i would be cranky for a week or so as i adjusted to life without regular doses of mini Hershey® bars, but i am beginning to suspect that being a little miss crankypants is just an unfortunate aspect of my personality.  then again, in my own defense, i'm not entirely convinced that i'm not surrounded by these:

so.  tgif.  i hope your weekend is lovely.

fresh start

happy monday!

i've decided to go sugar free for the next few weeks, so this weekend i made sure to stock my kitchen with lots of fresh veggies and fruit.  i am already one week in, actually...so far, so good!

i also got a new orchid because my other two are sans fleurs right now.  isn't it beautiful?  sometimes i just can't believe the colors that nature comes up with.

blank canvas

some pretty interior inspiration.  i love how the bright whites act as a canvas for the deep blue, hot pink, and warm wood tones.  it's somehow cozy and stark at the same time.

images courtesy: 1, 2. ©jessica comingore 3. absolutely beautiful things

beauty in the everyday

last night as i walked to my car while, i admit, texting, a man caught my eye, smiled, and said, "isn't it funny how we're all so busy doing that that we miss what's right in front of us?"  even though it clearly was not his intention to call me out -- he went on to say something charming about noticing when other people are "checking us out" -- i felt completely guilty.  i'd been caught in the act of doing the very thing i am trying to avoid!  

because i feel so rushed lately, like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing, i have been trying to pay attention to the small, ordinary bits of beauty all around me.
here are a few bits, from recent days:

1. dew sparkling on cobwebs right outside my door

2. purple zinnias help to render manageable a stack of unopened mail

3. fresh farmers market strawberries, for their color and flavor

4. the swoopy skyline created by LACMA's Pavilion for Japanese Art 

yesterday, i really needed that reminder to look up, to pay attention.  so...what have you noticed lately?

summer days driftin' away

happy august!  it may sound crazy, but i'm already beginning to feel a bit nostalgic for summer 2011.  i know, i know, it's the heart of summer, but i fear autumn will be here sooner than i would like -- really, where did july go? -- so i am already plotting ways to prolong the season and bring that summertime feeling right into my home.

no matter the date on the calendar i think any of the following lovely items would do the trick, don't you?

image courtesy anthropologie

image via overstock

walking around the house barefoot in cooler weather would be no problem with either the spiny lobster rug from anthropologie or this coral branch beauty from thomas paul to keep my tootsies warm.  aren't the creamsicle® colors wonderful?

image via the container store 

how about this rugby stripe bin with nautical rope handles to store sandals and sunscreen now, mittens and mufflers later.  or, use it for your collection of these.  (c'mon, admit it, you have one or two or twenty of them, don't you?)

image via votivo

for an aromatic touch, a candle the color of beach sand that smells like the sea!

 image via outer banks trading group

and, finally, i'd really like this sailfish to hang over my bed.  an art canvas as headboard that would surely inspire sweet dreams of summer.

tgif: orange

hey, it's friday already!  and, paradoxically, it's friday at long last.  this week was both tedious and fleeting and, ultimately, just plain exhausting.

so, in the spirit of the summer weekend, this week's tgif color is orange.  it's warm and happy and, among other things, orange represents enthusiasm, creativity, and attraction.  it also stimulates the appetite.  yeah, that would explain the po' boy, side of hushpuppies, and the spicy espresso chocolate bar that a couple of these photographs recall.

whether you toss the sunblock and a blanket into your favorite blue-striped, crab-adorned tote and head to the beach or visit a local museum to see an incredible collection of prehistoric wolf skulls, i hope you make the most of your weekend. (i plan to.)  may it energize and delight you and leave you hungry for more!

it's all a blur

this week is going by so fast...it's been a blur!  not only is work really busy right now, i seem to be feeling the dog days of summer more than usual this year.  it isn't particularly hot here, despite the sudden and appalling appearance of men wearing shorts and flip flops in the workplace, but that's another post for another day.  (by the way, did anyone else catch this?)

perhaps it's the busy pace during the day that makes me so ineffectual and unmotivated when i get home in the evenings.  there are things to do, of course.  some of them nag at me.  worse, some pop into my head at random moments: while driving, just as i'm about to drift off to sleep, while pouring my morning coffee...  never does one occur, though, at a time or in a place where i'm in any position to do anything about said nagging task, which will, inevitably, leave my addled brain shortly thereafter. 

i strive for a balance between work and life, but this week work is definitely winning.  so, life, next week it's gonna be you and me.  just you wait!

signs

look who helped himself to the "dog's bar" at happy hour!

happy monday, bunnies!

bees, please

seen tonight last night on my way to meet a friend for dinner, bees gathering above the entrance to l'occitane.  well, who can blame them?  l'occitane products smell incredible.

more importantly, by the time i got to dinner i was all abuzz (forgive me), which led to an interesting discussion about the honey bee shortage and colony collapse disorder.  nerdy conversation, perhaps, but interesting.  and, in typical fashion, i had to do a little additional research when i got home.  for more information about what you can do to help save the honey bee, click here.  or here.

i am sure this little guy, and his friends, will thank you!