Business in the front:

Party in the back:

And bleh all around.

Happy Friday.

(Apologies for the double post and the comments lost in deleting it.  No idea how that happened.)

I promise this will be the last drib drab regarding Christmas.  It’s just–it took us forever to get over to our favorite frame shop on Capitol Hill and another week and a half to get the custom framing back.

Like his gift from last year, the boyfriend chose a print from Thumbtack Press that he knew I loved and had kept meaning to buy.

Presagio di Primavera by the immensely talented Gianluca Foli is now on our living room wall with a double matte of black and muted red fabric.  Finally, the living room is starting to feel like it’s complete.

Now if we could just get a new couch…

A few more necklaces for the (Into) the Fray shop.

I’ve had this moonstone cabochon for ages and simply havent known how to use it.  It was one of two but I really wanted to do something different than it’s partner (and my gosh, has my photography evolved or what?)  I’ve always liked asymmetry and played around with various bits of chain and beads before being satisfied with this final version: Nina Moon.

The Desaccord necklace has a dash of asymmetry as well.

These carved red discs with the look of cinnabar were immensely popular in the shop and I somehow had only one left.  I love the look of it anchoring these delicate seed beads and lengths of coral.

Both are in the shop.

I cried on the way to and from Barcelona back in October.  The first time was because I was knee deep in the final Harry Potter book and couldn’t stop the seepage–I’m sure much to the alarm of the Dutch gentleman seated next to me for the entirety of the flight.

On the way back, we flew Northwest and had those snazzy personal screens where you can select which movie you want to watch.  After sighing over the selection, I finally settled in with La Vie En Rose.  Before I knew it, I was crying all over again.

It’s only recently, as the awards have started to roll in that I’ve started to realize how gorgeous and, of course, stylish, Marion Cotillard is.

She can do simple or ornate and though my friend thought her Oscar gown made her breasts look like targets, I thought she was one of the few women who took a risk with her dress and really pulled it off.

I probably didn’t recognize her sheer beauty partly due to the fact that she spends half of La Vie En Rose wearing prosthetics and make up that drastically age her appearance, and the other half with a wildly frizzy 1920s bob.

She does the formal thing so well but is equally stunning in cocktail gear.

And just last night, I belatedly realized she’s in one of my favorite movies:  A Very Long Engagement.  By the director of Amelie and starring Audrey Tatou, it didn’t seem to receive nearly as much worship–perhaps because of the dark subject matter.

If you have time, definitely check it out, as well as La Vie En Rose.

I actually forgot about one of the Christmas gifts I got for the boyfriend, a subscription to JPG magazine.  Because it comes only every two months and my order was placed in December, the first issue wasn’t set to arrive until February.  It was only after the boyfriend was wondering out loud if he should subscribe that I gasped and told him, “I already got you one!  I just forgot to tell you!”

Photos can be submitted by anyone and are built around a theme.  The three themes for the February issue were Emotions, Fanatics and Aerials.  While the Fanatics section was definitely interesting, including shots of a room filled with skateboards and a body-building competition, the simplicity of the Emotions shots really got to me.

The first made me think of some of my favorite lomo shots.

And this made me think of my favorite Magritte painting.

I’ve been bent on finding a pair of heeled oxfords for some time.  I even bought a pair that so crippled my feet when I wore them that I knew if I ever got another pair, they’d have to be leather and they couldn’t have heels more than 2 inches high.  I didn’t realize how difficult that would be to find and after putting out a call for suggestions, I thought I’d found a pair at Shop Intuition and was ready to kiss Michelle’s feet in thanks.

Then, a week after ordering the shoes, I got an email from Shop Intuition letting me know they had sold out faster than expected and my credit card wouldn’t be charged.  Damn.

While I’d had my heart set on a pair by Frye, I looked up the brand that had been available on Shop Intuition and couldn’t believe my luck when they came up on Nordstrom’s site.

As much as I’d thought I wanted a solid black pair, with the amount of time my gray boots have spent on my feet I knew these would be as versatile as simple black.

Whether adding a 1930s touch to more feminine outfits…

Or with more the more menswear look that perfectly matches an oxford style.  And so amazingly comfortable that it’ll be hard to keep them off my feet.

Now I’m off to Trader Joe’s before watching the Oscars.  Hope you all you had a great weekend.

I’ve been shifting things in the shop about.  Taking apart earrings that have been listed for ages and adding necklaces–when did my inventory in those get so low?!  The result is Liza:

Ready to head to Studio 54, perfect for some Fosse style dance moves.

And Elle:

Icy and gray.  All should be in the shop by the end of the day.

I’ve been told I come off as reserved.  Even a little quiet and possibly even shy.  I usually get told this months after the person has realized I’ve got a sense of humor and a mouth like a sailor.  I try to have a conversational but PG13 tone with (Into) the Fray but sometimes wonder if I come off equally distant on the internets.

Perhaps my thoughts shouldn’t have been so introspective when Laura at Little Orange Kitchen expressed extreme curiosity about what could possibly be childish about me and tagged me to spill the goods.  Maybe if I wasn’t so reserved, that wouldn’t be the case?  Either way, I’m sure that in regards to childish things about me, the boyfriend can vouch that there are lots.

1)  I’m not sure if this qualifies as childish so much as OCD.  I have to sort any colorful candy.  Jelly beans, Skittles, M&Ms.  I don’t eat any of them often, but when I do, they are emptied onto whatever clean level surface is available, sorted by color and eaten from least appealing to most appealing.

2)  I walk heavily to begin with, but when I’m mad it’s downright stomping.  The boyfriend has said he knows when I’m in a frustrated rush because he’ll see a flurry of cats scattering in my path as I stomp around the apartment trying to find whatever is eluding me–or just finish a difficult sewing project.

3)  In a panic, I call my mom.  I didn’t mention it here because it was horrible and frightening and I just wanted to not spoil this place I enjoy so much with something so bad.  But when someone tried to grab me when I was jogging in our supposedly affluent neighborhood last spring, the first thing I did when I got home was not call the police, as you would expect.  I called my mom.

4)  I swing my feet when I’m on a bench or chair with the clearance to do so.  Being 5′1, this happens kind of often.

5)  I will jump up and down on a bed* given half the chance.  Especially a hotel bed.

6)  I will also anthropomorphize any animal given even an eighth of a chance.  In my world, pets might as well talk they’re so human to me.  A good portion of the reason I want to go to Costa Rica is for the sloths.  Watching Animal Precinct will have me sobbing so hard that I pretty much have forbidden myself from even clicking over to Animal Planet.

7)  Hmmm.  This might have to do.

*Discovering the Bed Jumpers pool on flickr has just made my day.  Maybe that’s childish?

While fruit has been widely used in jewelry, I’m finding myself drawn to it as a decorative element in housewares as well.

These sweet apple dishes would be the perfect catch all for hair pins, earrings, or, if you’re me, beads.  Available for a ridiculously reasonable price in Peacock Modern’s shop–she has a truly wonderful selection of pretty things.

I’m equally loving these ceramic pears.  A little more interesting than the white vases I seem to be seeing everywhere but still simple and elegant.

For a little more color, these blown glass pears are available at Viva Terra for twice the price.

In any case, they’re all better than the wax versions your grandmother used.

Falling deeply in love with prints for spring.

Like these adorable canvas shoes from Delias.

Or this sweet top from Tulle.  The pattern totally reminds me of Amy Butler’s fabrics.

Or this equally sweet dress from American Eagle.  Perfect beach cover up and being such a dark color, would easily transition to winter with dark tights and cardis.

Wow.  There are a lot more of you reading than I realized!  Thank you so much for commenting–including those of you who didn’t want to be in the drawing and only wanted to say something nice about having the giveaway in the first place.  Believe me, this was very much a salve to my conscience for taking the things in the first place–I’m more than happy to pass on the goodies.

Which brings us to the drawing.  I know there was probably an easier way to do this with some online random name selector but I liked the idea of scribbling out all of your names and aliases,

…adding them to this little champagne glass…

And picking one from the pile.  It was actually the boyfriend who chose.  He was excited for some reason to participate.

The winner is Rev!  I’ll be in touch to find out what best address to send your new bag to.

Truly adoring this print by Deirdre Hill, ‘The Kite.’

Perfectly captures how I feel about returning to Seattle after 4 days of 78 degree weather in Mexico.

Also, I will soon be sending quite a few pieces from the shop to Lovely Boutique in Colorado.  If there’s anything you’ve had your eye on, your best bet is to grab it now as it may be a while before I have time to create duplicates–and that may only happen if I’m inclined.

Huge thanks to Hallie for contacting me about carrying my pieces.  If you’re in Arvada, be sure to check them out!

Wrestling with my hair is something I’m beyond reconciled to.  It’s just what I do.  Every morning.  Sometimes I win the battle and sometimes it’s frizzed out into a strange halo midway through the day.  This is what you do when you have natural hair, a relatively rare thing among women of my background.

Which is a round about way of mentioning two things.  The first is the awesome contest Zavi is taking part in, all based around women with natural hair.  There are a million things I wish were different about how women perceive and alter their looks based on societal and cultural expectations, up to and including my own never-to-be-pursued lust for bangs and various styles that would and have wrecked my hair to obtain.  I don’t know a ton about the Going Natural web site but I have to dig anything advocating a look that got me mocked as a kid and really needs to see greater acceptance.

The second thing is how funny it is to me to see braids, French, cornrows and otherwise, so widely worn.  The use of the style has fluctuated, being worn by celebrities to big events and hipsters to random parties.

It’s a lot looser and more romantic than my own version of taming the frizz, as seen in quite a few of my Wardrobe Remix photos.  Very appealing to me, but obviously I’m a bit biased.

Maybe if my hair were a little shorter I might be able to rock the face-framing braids with a ‘fro, like Lauryn in Killing Me Softly.  We shall see.

In trying to keep the coffee table from becoming the catch all for mail, coffee mugs, books, and random electronics, I’ve been thinking about some kind of centerpiece–or just any sort of decorative element–that would keep the clutter down.

As simple as these votive holders are, they might be too small to combat the volume of stuff that seems to accumulate.

 This piece is definitely more likely to battle the clutter but also more likely to empty my bank account.  Both are available at Made in Design but I don’t think I’m likely to get either.

What surfaces in your homes tend to be the clutter magnets?  And what do you do to battle that?

I’ve managed to stick with Project 365, having taken a photo a day since January 2nd.  Some of them are rushed, taken towards the end of the day with little sunlight to spare.

This one was not.  The boyfriend and I decided shortly after we got back from Barcelona that we didn’t want to wait until the winter weather had truly driven us batty to get away from the rain, perpetually overcast skies, and lack of daylight.  The cheapest tickets had us en route on Valentines day.  I haven’t been this relaxed in a while.

Posts have been set up to publish in my absence and the drawing for the Jumeau purse will be held as scheduled on Tuesday.  Gosh, aren’t there a lot of you delurking for this one!  Get your name down if you haven’t already!

Other 365 photos can be seen here.

No idea what’s drawing me to the red, white and blue of these two vintage dresses.  I’m not usually particularly patriotic.

The first looks like something Maggie Gyllenhaal would have worn in Secretary–gotta love that tie at the neckline. 

The second I would wear with loafers to play up the preppy factor.

Both are on ebay for less than $15.00.

I realized after completing Amy Butler’s lounge pants that she’s in the same super secret cabal as J.Crew, the cabal that seems to think women don’t have butts.

Because these puppies would fit me perfectly if I didn’t have an ass.

Off to the madre they go (she is much smaller than me.)  Next time, I’ll make them in the medium size.

While I do get the occasional invitation to take a look at a web site or a product, it’s rare that the aesthetic matches my taste to the point that I write about it here.  I do post an email partly for that purpose–I love to be told about cool things people think I’d be interested in.  I never expected to be offered something, at least, not something I’d actually want.

But these bags by Jumeau are really appealing.  It took me about twenty-four hours to agree to take the two I was offered once I came to the realization that the line is something I would have posted about had I stumbled across it on my own.

Each bag came in it’s own protective tote that I think will come in handy for travel (shoes or lingerie perhaps?).  I knew right away that I wanted the corduroy style for myself but felt greedy trying to pick a second from the wide variety of styles they have available.

I really love the slouchy look of the corduroy bag in person even better, especially against my leather trench.  The other style I was tempted by is the acid print canvas of the Green collection–and while being green is becoming far too synonymous with being trendy, these bags actually walk the walk.  They’re made from organic cotton, natural dyes and recycled hardware.

The shape I chose because I hoped it would be universally appealing.  You see, I got it with the intention of giving it to one of my readers.  I figure I’m probably not the only one who will be writing about this line in the coming weeks and it’s the least I can do to make up for the fact that you may get inundated–you can have a chance to see what all the fuss is about for yourself.

Just leave a comment and I will draw a name randomly next Tuesday.  Don’t be afraid to leave a comment if you’re not in the U.S.–I’ll be happy to send this internationally.

My shop is starting to look like an episode of Blue’s Clues.

But that’s okay; I was always partial to the show.  When I was in college, it was perfect for recovering after a late night out while eating bowl after bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

In any case, blue is dominating the shop in every shape and form at the moment.

From brooches in velvet & wool to lapis & copper earrings, I can’t seem to get away from the color.

And perhaps best of all, this nautical purse with oversized buttons and a rope handle.

Now if only the sky would show some blue…

A very good friend of mine has a very pin-up sense of style that is reflected in her love of Vargas prints.  When I had the chance to get a few yards of Vargas style fabric, I knew some of it would be going to a project for her.  Little did I know that with her birthday coming up, this project would happen sooner rather than later.

A sleep mask and square bottomed tote came together this past Saturday, hours prior to meeting up for her party.  Given the Hawaiian style of her bathroom I’m hoping the tote will be a useful catch all there–I threw in a bottle of glittery lotion to get her started.

The tote is loosely based upon the purse here, which looks like it might have been inspired by one of Amy Butler’s patterns.  I ended up hand sewing the cut out handles & am really quite happy with how all of it turned out.

Hopefully, my friend will love it, too.