I'm Still Here I Swear

After many months of being overwhelmingly busy and therefore unable to do the things I actually want to do (aka thinking about art and books and fashion and decor and writing about it on here), I finally have a reason to sit back and do only the things I want to do.

I got my wisdom teeth out.

And y'know what I dreamt of in my drugged up, post-anesthesia, face bleeding state? BLUE VELVET SOFAS. A couple weeks ago I saw the single most awesome sofa I have ever seen, while wandering around one of my favorite little stores in town. It was tufted, it was velvet, it was the perfect blend of navy and cobalt, and I NEEDED it. Obviously, I immediately pulled my mom over and started into a speech about how "since we're redecorating the family room and the library couldn't we also do the living room? and if we could, couldn't we also plan that redecoration around this undeniably fabulous sofa?" To my complete and utter surprise my whimsical, but admittedly occasionally traditional, mother agreed with my sentiments and fangirled just as hard over the sofa!

We asked the shop owner what the deal was with the sofa (essentially did it have a loving home to go to because we definitely could be that home) and sadly it wasn't actually on sale yet. Though I don't have it in my clutches, I've been thinking about that sofa ever since and have thus spent countless hours finding inspiration for a room that it could live in. We're hoping to make our old living room into a chic music room for my dad (but that my mom and I can really use show off our cool design skillz) which means we could go any number of directions with the style of the space surrounding the sofa.

Here's what we're working with so far:

Since it's a music room, we could go a little more bohemian, pairing the sofa with warm leathers and tons of vibrant prints, layering in wood and gold accents:

Or, similarly, we could go with a whimsical traditional theme, bright patterns over traditional shapes and classic lines:

Finally, we could do a chic and modern style with fun texture, and colors in icy blues and grays, plus lots of goooooold:

Personally I'm quite partial to the bohemian look because what's a music room without plushy, printed floor pillows to sit on and mournfully play guitar? Either way, I'm just hoping we'll be able to get our hands on this beautiful baby soon and finally revamp this room!

5 Favorites

I know I know, I'm awful at posting during the summer. I'm working on it I absolutely and wholeheartedly swear!

It's been a rough couple of weeks with construction, work, and general life happening all at once so I thought I might start up again with a post about 5 of my favorite things of the moment (in no particular order of course):

1. Maurine by Say Hi

I have no idea what it is about this song, but it just gives me all the feels. Lately I've been listening to it nonstop at work.

2. Giambattista Valli's Fall 2014 Couture Collection

Can't stop won't stop looking at these runway photos. This collection is everything I love about fashion, it's playful, elegant, vintage inspired, and straight up awesome.

3. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

A bit fluffier than my usual book choices, but it's got some heft to it at times. Love, loss, growth, and understanding, I highly suggest it for a quality beach read.

4. Food Instagrams

It's literally the widest known fact that I love food, and even more so than that, that I love beautiful food. In the last couple weeks I've gone on a following binge, adding dozens of new people to follow on Insta and droooooling over their phenomenal cooking/plating/all around coolness.

These are some of my recent favorites:

@semivegan

Gorgeous photos, yummy smoothies, fruits of all sorts

@lifeofavegetarian

Best lunch boxes I have ever seen in my entire life

@roadtoeverywhere

Lovely food styling in every single photo and some seriously inspiring meals

@funkyforestfood

SO MUCH COLOR! So much yum

5. The Happier App

I discovered this app a couple weeks ago and have been trying to use it at least once a day since. It's along the lines of this post in the sense that it's all about noticing and remembering the little things in every day that make you happy. I love it!

Room Tour

I've been meaning to do a post like this since I got home for the summer, but never found a time in which my room was clean and I actually had the right light to take pictures. But! At long last here it is, my bedroom in good old Darien, CT.

It's been through many evolutions since we moved here when I was 8, from the same furniture and linens I had since I moved up to the big girl bed in toddlerhood, to the early tween years of bright neon colors on literally everything, to it's current state of clean white meets spatterings of color plus minor hoarder.

While it's always a bit of a mess (even when it's clean) I seriously adore my bedroom. I find solace and inspiration and energy in this room and the memories that I've saved up here. So, without further ado, here's a peek into my little paradise:

 A recent, but long awaited, addition to hold all my big statement necklaces.

 My absolute PRIDE AND JOY, the biggest and baddest moodboard I've ever made.

Left: The creativity corner, consisting of art supplies, half finished paintings, an old guitar, and all my favorite books from childhood and adolescence.

Right: One of many stacks of books supporting the foundation of the room.

A close up on the mashup of personal photos, handmade items, old jewelry, and magazine tears that is the Wall of Awesome.

Souvenirs and photos from Paris waiting to be scrapbooked and my beloved bag of yarn (note: second stack of books).

 My nightstand and stack 3 of books (these are actually currently in circulation).

My rainbow library/chotchkie collection (and more book stacks that are not being counted).

 My second favorite part of the room, the chalkboard. Updated every few weeks with a new inspiring quote to remind me and all visitors to my abode of the important things in life. (To the left, photos from my high school photography career that I still think are pretty ok).

 A truly excellent 15th birthday gift.

Hoarder evidence... I keep at least one shopping bag from every store I go to.

 Left: The Bed. And yes that is a teddy bear and yes I'm pretty sure I'm cool with the internet knowing about it (pretty sure). PLUS! One of my new favorite magazines, Darling. Check it out. It's fantastic.

Right: Stack 4.

 And finally, atop my dresser, more rainbow books, keepsakes, flowers, and photos.

Dark Room Love

We're in the midst of renovating our house (a much needed bigger kitchen and a new family room yay!) and even though I'm not technically in charge of the renovating, or even the owner of the house for that matter, you better believe I'm giving my two cents on all the design decisions. As a result, I've been thinking about things like paint, furniture, and wall hangings even more than usual. 

 

The current trend on my mind (that I'm almost sure my parents will never OK for any room in our house but that I of course love for any room): dark walls.

 

Rather than making a room feel, well, dark, or small, black, charcoal, or deep navy walls can bring a cozy intimacy into a room. They're also a fantastic backdrop for a gallery wall that really pops and great as accent walls. They're even better if the paint is chalkboard, making a statement wall into something versatile, practical, and creative. While it may sound a little crazy my personal favorite way to use black wall color is in bathrooms. Paired with clean finishes and tasteful touches of color dark walls can make a bathroom modern, unique, and inviting.

 Via Southern Shore Decorating Blog

 via South Shore Decorating Blog

 via Live Breathe Décor

    

via flickr

Journaling

I've always loved journaling. The writing, the notebooks, the gel pens, I love it. Recently, what with the influx of Project Life photos on Pinterest I've started getting even more interested in writing more regularly. I think the concept of documenting your experiences, even the most mundane ones, like you can with something like Project Life is absolutely wonderful.

via flickr

via bloglovin

Another popular journaling form that I've noticed growing online is the calendar journal. Be it in a handmade calendar out of a sketchbook or an index card system, calendar journaling involves writing down your daily life and organizing it in a beautiful way.

via Whit and Whistle

 via Flickr

While I have yet to find the time and/or stamina to start any of these things, I desperately want to. I have a pretty terrible memory and love writing about my day as a way to wind down before bed so it's pretty much ideal for my journaling needs. Before moving up to the expert level of making my own calendars and accumulating a million dollars of Project Life stuff, I'm beginning with the simple act of writing down 5 things from my day at the end of the day. Good, bad, memorable, or boring, I'm writing down 5 things to remember. Eventually I'll hopefully find a store of overwhelming creative juices and turn these little journals into big, colorful, ticket stub and photograph ridden journals.

SortedFood

So it's no secret I'm obsessed with food (cooking it, eating it, looking at pretty pictures of it) but I'm also a pretty big fan of England, and who best combines those two things? The guys at SortedFood. Primarily a YouTube channel with recipe videos, SortedFood is based around bringing easy and delicious recipes to the public. The videos are hilarious, packed with pranks, cooking jokes, and the occasional awesome YouTuber collab, plus the food never fails to look amazing.

Not only do they have a super cool YouTube channel that I may or may not be addicted to, but their website is packed with fantastic recipes and even more videos as well. Recipes are curated by type of food, eating restrictions, meals, and more making it easy to navigate and very helpful for finding a recipe for any occasion. By far my favorite part of SortedFood is how GORGEOUS the food always looks at the end, with some great photography/filming and careful plating these dishes appear simultaneously mouthwatering and attainable for your average inexperienced cook.

Here are some of my recent favorites:

The first in a series of educational chocolate videos from a SortedFood fieldtrip to Ireland:

Multi-colored Pasta!!!:

 Grilled tikka paneer with AMAZING looking butternut squash dip:

Summer in the City

For the last week or so, I've been interning for a very cool jewelry designer in New York (Robin Rotenier, check him out). The studio is located right in the middle of the diamond district in midtown Manhattan, aka between Times Square and Grand Central. PLUS, across the street is the Conde Nast headquarters. What with the jewelry people and the magazine people, there is always very fashionable crowd out and about while I'm working. As an avid people watcher, I'm constantly paying attention to what everyone is wearing in order to find some inspiration for dressing like a fashion person when the temperatures are climbing above 80 in New York City.

Most of these fashion editors look very thrown-together-at-the-last-minute chic. There's usually a solid amount of walking involved in the job, so I spot a ton of flats and comfortable wedges. Also, of course in New York, all black is often a staple with accents of leopard, denim, or gold. SO! Here is my example of how to dress like a New York fashion editor, without giving your feet blisters, sweating in the summer heat, or over-dressing:

I paired a sporty tank top with a very on-trend perforated skirt, all black of course. Leopard flats for comfort and style with a statement choker necklace and stacking rings. And on top we have a distressed denim jacket for those chillier rainy mornings!

1. Theyskens Theory tank from Net-A-Porter, 2. Kaneo laser cut skirt, 3. Jessica Simpson flats from Lord & Taylor, 4. Necklace from Baublebar.com, 5. Stacking rings from Baublebar.com, 6. Denim jacket from Topshop