In keeping with the bunny theme, how irresistible are these vases?

By Perch!, I love how the circles of color could double as tails.  There’s tons of other ceramics on the exclamatory site, but none as adorable as these.

Our trip to Portland this weekend was wonderful for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, I got to meet Susan of sulu design and Winona of Daddy Likey–all in the span of a few hours.

Not only is Susan even lovelier than I could have possibly imagined her (as is her home), it was simply wonderful to talk to someone about writing a blog and everything wrapped up in that.  Despite living in a very tech driven city, only one of my close friends has a blog and the subject matter is far different from mine.  Of course we talked about a lot more than that–it felt like the two hours sped by.

Also, when I opened her gift to me, I wondered if she didn’t have a bit of a Lloyd Dobler moment–she gave me a necklace.  I gave her coffee.

I met Winona directly after.  This is the two of us attempting to act like divas; she succeeds spectacularly while I just look a little tired.  Winona is just as funny as I knew she would be–witty, smart,  and so clever–I’m sure I’ll be saying ‘I knew her when…’ at some point in the near future.  Once we got going on the blogs we read, there was no stopping the conversation.  I don’t know what kind of damage we could do if she ever meets me to do some shopping here in Seattle but I’m pretty sure it’d be phenomenal.

The third thing that made this the best Portland trip ever was the place we chose to stay.  After reading about the Ace Hotel on Wiksten Made and Notes by Naive, I was determined to stay there for our next trip.  Susan assured me I wouldn’t regret it and boy was she right.

After having a bath in this claw foot tub, I’ve now added to my list of 100 things to do before I go owning a home with one of these puppies.  Better pictures than mine are available online but after checking out, the boyfriend and I agreed that we will only be staying at the Ace from now on.

Oh!  And to anyone who’s never heard my name before, it’s Am-BEE-kuh.  And the definition is pretty fun, too.

I know we’re a bit past St. Patrick’s Day but wearing green shouldn’t be restricted to March 17th.

It’s been some time since I’ve converted a vintage brooch into a pendant but this pretty piece is too perfect hanging from a chain.

One more wrist cuff from various ethnic prints joins the others in the shop.  The theme?  Green.

Given my hatred of crewnecks and how squat they make me look, it wasn’t a hard decision to pick up this cute Kozyndan tee with the plan of changing around the neckline.

The perfect fabric, nabbed from Susan’s stash, provides the trim.  If you look closely, you can see there’s a theme here…

I also received the fabric I need to make the final version of the McCall’s 9784.  Given that we’ll be in Portland this weekend, it’ll have to wait until next week to get made.

Happy Friday all.

I managed to get up to 60 things to do before I go and am boggling at the idea of thinking of 40 more.  But I’m going to try.  (1-15 are here, 16-30 here and the list that started it all is at Mighty Girl.)

31) Meet a fellow blogger.

32) See Yosemite.

33) And Yellowstone.

34) Visit Elise in London (or Wausau, or wherever she’s living.)

35) & go to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

36) Run a 10K.

37) Restore a piece of furniture.

38) Take the Clipper to Victoria.

39) Camp at Hurricane Ridge.

40) Complete a quilt.

41) Guerilla knitting.

42) Set up my own web domain for (Into) the Fray.

43) See fjords.

44) Take a metalworking class.

45) Really commit to the slow food movement.

46) Really figure out Photoshop.

47) Wire a lamp.

48) Make my own bread.

49) Have a live Christmas tree & plant it after the holidays.

50) Visit Cuba.

51) See a tea plantation.

52) Eat conch.

53) Go to the top of Coit Tower.

54) Have a back yard with a hammock.

55) Bike the Burke Gilman.

56) Get the madre & sister to talk to each other as much as they do to me.

57) Take a self-defense/fight class.

58) Get specifics on my genealogy.

59) Take a dance class (preferably salsa/rumba/etc.)

60) Learn to meditate (stolen from Liz.)

I’m really planning on some of these being crossed off by this time next year.  It’s very possible #31 will be crossed off after this weekend.

I really love these oversize ear wires, an order of which I got in the mail not too long ago.

Given how dramatic the length is, my instinct is to keep the beadwork simple when using these.

Which I suppose might be kind of limiting from a creative standpoint.  But I really can’t be anything but happy with how they turned out.

Resla and Lara, all at (Into) the Fray.

I only managed a quick visit to Nordstrom Rack last Saturday as I had to meet a friend who had some serious, pre-trip shopping to do.  Most of what I grabbed came from the sales-final designer rack so it’s probably no surprise that I didn’t actually buy anything.

Here are the two dresses I really loved on the hanger but not so much on me.  The first is by Narciso Rodriguez; the neckline somewhat reminded me of Wiksten’s wonderful dresses.  The second was just to long and drapey for my 5′1 frame.

I grabbed this (designer forgotten) cropped tuxedo jacket and was actually slightly tempted to get it–only I can’t think of one place where I would actually wear it.

And can I just say that the stuffed rack of Tory Burch goods wedged in among the mixed racks of designer goods looked appalling?  Terrible crazy prints in fabric that felt like the cheapest polyester available.  I know designer items are often priced far above their actual cost but the three items I tried on were beautifully made in wonderful fabrics with a great deal of detail–her stuff was barely above Forever 21.

Whimsical & charming:

The original work by Heather Future is bright, colorful and impossible not to smile in response to.

And I feel like, between Kate’s work at Little Doodles and all of the other recent artwork with animals as its subject…

I will never get tired of seeing animals in improbable, sometimes anthropomorphic situations.

The answers the movie quotes quiz are below:

Quote 1:

-He has misbehaved from the first. In fact, he has behaved abominably.
-Not abominably. He only tried when he should not have tried.

One of the first movies I ever bought (in VHS, I believe.)  I blame A Room with a View for my obsession with Edwardian costume.

Quote 2:

-Tell me, Jill, with Ralph, is it like the Fourth of July and like Christmas?
-Not exactly. He has a kind of… strength. With him it’s more like Labor Day.

For some reason, Encore was included in a cable package my family had when I was a teenager and this got played endlessly (along with Hope & Glory.)  Butterflies are Free is like a fly in amber in that it’s so completely of it’s time.

Quote 3:

-Actually, it’s my weekly evil-conspiracy and needlepoint group. You wanna come?
-I left my thimbles and socialist reading material at home.

One of the few movies I’ve seen recently that I loved to pieces.

Quote 4:

-How old were you when you made your first hit?
-Nineteen.
-Beat you!

A classic regardless of what you want to call it.

Quote 5:

I wish I had stayed too. Now I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things. I wish I had… I wish I had stayed. I do.

I was surprised how many of you got this one.  I thought the quote was pretty vague but obviously Eternal Sunshine is a big fave.

Quote 6:

Say, uh, Cousin Wash, I suppose it’d be the acme of foolishness to inquire if you had a hair net?

This was my quote to death movie of 2001.  Loved the soundtrack, too.

Quote 7:

We’re gonna bring this party up to a nice respectable level. Don’t
worry, we’re not gonna hurt anyone. We’re not even gonna touch ‘em.
We’re just gonna make ‘em cry a little, just by lookin’ at ‘em.

I know that Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink are probably better known, but my sister and I somehow identified with this John Hughes movie a lot more.

Quote 8:

For a second I thought I was dead. But when I heard all the noise, I
knew they were cops. Only cops talk that way. If they’d been wiseguys,
I wouldn’t have heard a thing. I would’ve been dead.

I agreed with Sue when I picked the quote for this movie–that it was way too easy.  But Goodfellas wasn’t nearly as guessed as I thought it would be.

Quote 9:

"Vámonos, amigos," he whispered, and threw the busted leather
flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in
the friscalating dusklight.

My sister and I saw The Royal Tenenbaums in the theater and immediately went to the now defunct Tower Records afterwards to buy the soundtrack.  It’s still one of my top faves.

Quote 10:

-Whatever his past actions, whatever his present course… at least you may be certain that he loved you.
-But not enough. Not enough.

I was surprised how many of you got the quote from this adaptation but glad that it’s obviously a fave for others as well.

Congrats to Lise who got an impressive 7 out of 10.  I’ll be in touch.

While I work out how to do ruffles to my satisfaction, I slid in a few small projects for myself.

After repeatedly hearing about the wonder of Fat Daddy’s cake in a jar in the Etsy forums, I finally ordered one for myself.  I was reluctant to recycle the jar as I knew it’d be perfect as a pin cushion/notions holder and just got around the other week to putting it together.

I really dislike logos on my clothes but was in desperate need of some plain cotton pants since my sleep and work out wear are pretty much one and the same (and therefore constantly dirty.)  However, I’m reluctant to pay more than 20 bucks for something that is seen only at the gym or by the boyfriend so I picked up these the other day with the vague plan of sewing a simple appliqué over the logo.

I’m off to the Punk Rock Flea Market.  Enjoy your weekend.

There is a movie theater in Bellingham where nearly all of my current friends worked at one point or another.  This was partly due to the fact that it was managed by one of them, who had the courage to hire us all at varying times.  Inbetween selling tickets, dishing out popcorn, and studying for tests, we’d argue about movies–which we all adored, of course.  So when I saw what came out of the email exchange Katy and I had about memes, I was pretty excited to make guesses about her quotes and try to think of a few of my own.

I also figured, since it’s been a while since the last give away, this would be a great way to incorporate that.  So here we go–10 quotes from 10 movies.  You can’t use IMDB or Google to figure these out.  The person who’s able to guess the most (or the first person to guess them all) will get a custom piece of jewelry from the (Into) the Fray shop. 

Quote 1:

-He has misbehaved from the first. In fact, he has behaved abominably.
-Not abominably. He only tried when he should not have tried.

Quote 2:

-Tell me, Jill, with Ralph, is it like the Fourth of July and like Christmas?
-Not exactly. He has a kind of… strength. With him it’s more like Labor Day.

Quote 3:

-Actually, it’s my weekly evil-conspiracy and needlepoint group. You wanna come?
-I left my thimbles and socialist reading material at home.

Quote 4:

-How old were you when you made your first hit?
-Nineteen.
-Beat you!

Quote 5:

I wish I had stayed too. Now I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things. I wish I had… I wish I had stayed. I do.

Quote 6:

Say, uh, Cousin Wash, I suppose it’d be the acme of foolishness to inquire if you had a hair net?

Quote 7:

We’re gonna bring this party up to a nice respectable level. Don’t worry, we’re not gonna hurt anyone. We’re not even gonna touch ‘em. We’re just gonna make ‘em cry a little, just by lookin’ at ‘em.

Quote 8:

For a second I thought I was dead. But when I heard all the noise, I knew they were cops. Only cops talk that way. If they’d been wiseguys, I wouldn’t have heard a thing. I would’ve been dead.

Quote 9:

"Vámonos, amigos," he whispered, and threw the busted leather flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight.

Quote 10:

-Whatever his past actions, whatever his present course… at least you may be certain that he loved you.
-But not enough. Not enough.

I’m going to turn on comment moderation through Sunday evening (or until someone guesses them all) just so you can’t poach each other’s answers.  The minute someone wins, I’ll put up the answers for everyone to see.

I suppose it’s just impossible for me to do anything once.

Like it’s counterpart, the Min Soon Necklace is made up of Korean satin received in a swap and, unlike my earlier versions of this fabric-as-jewelry, is accented by beads.

Enc of Observation Mode asked how big the pendant is and I never got a chance to respond on the post–you’re absolutely right–it’s 3 inches across.

Only at (Into) the Fray.

I think I might have first stumbled upon Kozyndan through Preshrunk or flickr–I can’t remember which.  I kept meaning to buy this tee, and even had it saved to my bookmarks for quite some time.

Perfectly captures a couple of my obsessions: bunnies & music.  Plus, the design is placed in such a way that I can hack the neckline into something pretty.

I stumbled upon okzoo after she added one of my photos to her favorites on flickr.  A gorgeously bright web site introduces Melanie Casavant, an artist in Montreal whose work is all about recycling.

This can sometimes mean cheesy objects made out of ties or funky patchwork that doesn’t quite go, but in the case of Melanie’s jewelry it’s all about being sleek & modern.

The fabrication page explains how these bangles are made from plastic bags.  Granted, they might not be as appealing if they said ‘Macy’s’ or ‘Safeway’ instead of these French phrases but it’s obvious Melanie is quite selective in creating these truly one of a kind pieces.

There’s earrings and rings, too.  Available online at Green is Black.

Thinking of 100 things to do before I go is so much harder than I expected.  I’m really trying to exclude things I’ve done before while staying true to what I actually want to accomplish.  Sure, if you gave me a ticket to travel to the French Riviera I’d go–but it’s not really a place I’m longing to see.  And yes, I’d love to watch the sun set over Haystack Rock but I’ve done that twice.  So with that disclaimer, here are 16-30 (1-15 are here and the post that inspired this list is over at Mighty Girl.)

16. Volunteer at an animal shelter.

17. Ask a stylish stranger if I can take their photo.

18. Finish a writing project.

19. Learn local species and go bird watching.

20. Visit Japan.

21. Read something by Dostoevsky.

22. Sky dive.

23. Road trip down 101.

24. Show Ben Prague.

25. Camp at Lake Quinault.

26. Make my own granola.

27. Learn basic sign language.

28. Visit Morocco.

29. Take a photography class.

30. Attempt lucid dreaming.

Let me know if you’re making a similar list and if it’s posted anywhere.  I’d love to see it.

Apparently this was a weekend to wear out the nautical theme that I never seem to get tired of.

Saturday I wore the same vintage dress I picked up for the Captain’s Ball Christmas costume party this past December.  One of the day’s errands was hitting up Anthropologie with a friend who had a gift certificate burning a hole in her pocket.  Of course I couldn’t leave without picking up the top in Sunday’s photo.  The photo has me thinking it gives a more top heavy appearance than I usually go for but I still love it.

We won’t get into the sailor pants I picked up as well.

I finally used some of the metallic fabric I heedlessly grabbed from Susan’s stash the very first time she invited us to have a go at her fabric room.  I didn’t have anything much in mind besides, ‘Shiny!’ with a vision of something ruffled and uber-feminine dancing in my head.

The ruffled idea is still germinating and is likely to be the next sewn accessory project, but since I only had a fat quarter of this spotted gold, a clutch quickly came together over the course of this past week.

Like the Liza necklace, I instantly thought of Studio 54 and Bob Fosse as I pinned and ironed the creases.  Because I used the whole quarter, this is very generously sized–even big enough to throw a pair of flats in for when your feet get tired of dancing.

Only at (Into) the Fray.

Now that I’ve hurdled the mental block of completing my first muslin from a pattern, I couldn’t stop myself from drooling over more patterns.

The auction has actually ended on this pattern but I’m saving it to remember the pattern number in case it comes up again in my size.  Between the buttons going up the skirt & down the bodice and the flattering neckline, I know this is something I’d wear all the time.

These are both also pretty adorable.  Love the tab button closure on the first and the keyhole neckline of the second–though it looks like it might be bias tape around the edge which I’ve yet to master.  Regardless, it’s a 41 bust, which is simply not going to work.

Besides the fact that I don’t want to buy any more patterns until I make up my first dress in some fabric that’s on it’s way to me now.  Once that’s done, skies the limit.

Me dispensing fashion advice is kind of like asking a cat to do math problems–or, me to do math problems since I’m able to screw up the easiest equations.  I hate to be all ‘The More You Know’ about it, but I really think people look the best when they do what they like the most. 

So when someone asked me what I thought about cowboy boots, especially cowboy boots with skirts or dresses, my first response was, ‘Of course!  Why not?  Power to the people!’  Well, maybe not the last part.

I will fully admit that there is a caveat to this arms open approach to fashion that makes me a lot less tolerant in practice.  I do get fashion overload at times and can definitely be found to sigh when I encounter the same item again and again.  While cowboy boots might have experienced a saturated moment like that a year or two ago, I think Uggs have definitely taken their place.  And unlike Uggs, cowboy boots have a firm foothold (no pun intended) as a somewhat iconic accessory in American fashion.  And they’re not ugly.

I think softspoken of Wardrobe Remix proves that not only can cowboy boots work with jeans, as you’d generally expect, but also with much more feminine outfits.

I have two very good friends who have also rocked this look, skirts with cowboy boots.  While I don’t have pictures, you can take my word for it that they both looked adorable.

Now, had they been wearing Uggs, this would be a whole other story…

When you need four adjectives, including the words ‘halter’ and ‘gaucho,’ to describe an item:

It’s probably a safe bet it’s not something anyone is looking for.