vintage wallpaper

I was reading an article about Rachel Bilson and her latest "obsessions". Sounds cheesy I know, but I love her taste in clothes so much, I was curious what else she was into.
I am so happy I kept reading, because I discovered such a great little site - secondhandrose .
This website is so great, as it has actual vintage wallpaper for sale starting at $70.00 per roll and going up to $1200.00 (for Frank Lloyd Wright designs!!). Not cheap, I know, but the prints are so great that it might work as an investment for your home. The prints are beautiful, I had a hard time deciding on which ones to show. The site is worth going through just to see all the prints. Here are a few:

It's Wednesday!!!

And you know what that means?? Modern Family is on!!!
I ABSOLUTELY love this show, and have watched every episode since the beginning! It faithfully provides at least a few laughs every week! This would be the point in this post when I say it made me laugh so hard when" (insert funny moment here), oh yeah and the episode before that when (insert funny moment here)". But every time I try to re-tell a funny moment from Modern Family, I end up sounding like Chris Farley interviewing Paul McCartney on SNL - it just goes nowhere. So Watch for yourself!!
Here's a little tidbit to entice you to watch tonight!!

bebe names

now...this is one of those things that many people have such a hard time with. And as I was over at Cup of Jo this morning, I read some posts about baby names. Has there ever been anything harder? Maybe for someone as indecisive as me...but when I was thinking of baby names, I kept thinking that this defines who you are, you don't want something that is too easily made fun of, you do want something that represents strength of character, etc., etc.
My friend and coworker - also known as a little birdie who keeps me on the up and up had a funny thing happen to us just as we were starting to get to know each other.
When I told her and the group at work I was pregnant, the convo immediately went to names. She asked me what mine were and then said "wait, wait - lets all write down the ones we like on a piece of paper and then reveal". When everyone one had finished, I revealed what I was thinking for both boys and girls. The girl name happened to be Ruby. I heard a shriek and then an exaggerated fall out of her chair, only to look over at said little birdie, someone I was just getting to know, who then proceeded to flip over her piece of paper and reveal Ruby. It made me laugh so hard.
Then I ended up having a boy...
The posting over at Cup of Jo asked what names you like. For a long time I didn't want to reveal, I really didn't want to hear peoples reactions or see any blah faces. But I am putting it out there - what names do you like???
Cup of Jo also posted this A-dorable video - maybe it will inspire you to reveal your names???

Denmark

Over at You Are My Fave, Melanie read my mind!!!
Please jump over to her great little blog and read about the happiest place on Earth!!!

I started thinking about all of this because...drum roll please..I am not going back to work.
It was the hardest, yet easiest decision I have ever made. I cannot really explain how much my job meant to me; how I finally felt that I was doing what I was supposed to do and I was who I was supposed to be (this may sound shallow since I worked in the fashion industry, but nevertheless the way I felt). I knew that once that door shut, I wouldn't get that opportunity again. That is why the decision was hard.
It was easy because having a child is everything you hear people say about it. It is by far the hardest "job" I have ever had - but believe me when I tell you that I can't even remember my life or what I was before I had my son. This is why I know I couldn't go back.
So after watching this episode on Oprah (yes oprah) I realized that having to move into a smaller place in order to be able to stay home, or not buying the shirt I wanted, are small, and that I need to not even worry about this kind of thing. Ahhh Denmark~

And in other fashion news...

I just saw on Perez Hilton (yes I looovee this site so shush) that he has a site called Coco Perez - where celebrity meets fashion (who knew?? Have I been that out of the loop with my bebe??) and I saw an interesting tidbit of news..Cynthia Rowley has teamed up with Roxy and designed a 40 piece collection for the surf label. Hmmm - the pics provided look pretty cute, but I am not sold yet. Apparently Cynthia Rowley is a surfer. And while I do like her quirky style, I am curious about the rest of the line. Here is all the info from Perez's site:

Designer and avid surfer Cynthia Rowley has joined women's surf label Roxy, sister label of Quiksilver to create Cynthia Rowley for Roxy.

The collaboration came about when Rowley, who most recently designed a collection of baby clothes for Babies "R" Us, met Randy Hild the Executive Vice Pres of Marketing at the surf label, which Cynthia says "it was like meeting my idol. We started talking and pretty much came up with ideas right there on the beach."

Hild says of the collaboration that Roxy's mission "has always been to have one foot in the surf world and another foot in the fashion world. It’s important for us to be relevant to what’s happening in New York fashion, and I have to say, it’s been nice to see that there are a great number of people in the fashion community who are getting involved in surfing.”

The 40 piece collection of sportswear has pretty much anything and everything a beach chic girl could need including t-shirts, dresses and shoes. And while the line isn't strictly for surfers the line does include fashionable wet suits and swimwear. And the pricing is actually reasonable ranging from $18-$89.

The line will launch at Barney's NY in the states and Colette in Paris in March as well as Roxy and Cynthia Rowley stores.


But will surfers actually flock to a higher end store like Barney's to snag her designs?

Barney's thinks so saying they "love the idea of taking a fashion designer’s aesthetic and applying it to what one needs for a fashionable surf lifestyle. Cynthia Rowley, herself a surfer, understands both the practical needs as well as the stylish ones.”

Read more on CocoPerez: CocoPerez

Stella does Gap!!!

A little birdie (okay, my friend and co worker Sarah) told me about this exciting piece of news - Stella Mcartney has designed a line for GapKids and BabyGap, launching Nov 5th. I am so excited about this, as now I will be able to afford to buy something of Stella McCartney's!! From the photos below, it loos really cute, and the prices range from $14.00 - $128.00, not bad, right? Get those Gap gift cards coming!

Stella McCartney is yet again expanding her brand’s reach — and her latest target audience is the grade-school set.

McCartney’s first full children’s wear collections, done in collaboration with GapKids and babyGap, will be launched Nov. 2 at select Gap stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France and Japan. The 70-piece line, which McCartney said she designed to “find a kind of balance between Stella as in what I do for adults…and how I see kids, really,” takes inspiration from both the design signature McCartney has developed in her own collections and her practical experience as a mother of three.

“I guess I tackled it in the same way I would one of my own ready-to-wear collections, but then the challenge was, ‘OK, I’ve got to get into the same mind-set of a kid and what they might like,’” said McCartney as she stood on the sidelines of the campaign shoot for the collection — which stars a host of children posing with baby animals — at a London studio in late summer. “It’s quite a good thing to have kids when you’re designing a kids’ collection, to be aware that they actually have their own point of view.”

To wit, McCartney made sure the fabrics she’s used in the collection — such as organic cotton, cashmere and wool — aren’t “scratchy,” and has incorporated fun elements to entice children as much as their parents. A T-shirt printed with a superhero design — which McCartney’s four-year-old son Miller approved — and a pair of white high-top sneakers can both be customized with a set of colored markers sold alongside the garments. There are also pajamas that come in a dinosaur-print bag for boys, along with tulle tutu skirts in caramel and pistachio and a faded mint silk party dress embroidered with silk flowers for girls. (The collection’s sizes run from newborn to children up to age 12).

But practical pieces feature in the collection, too, such as a navy wool peacoat and organic denim jeans for boys and silk collarless shirts and organic cotton T-shirts for girls. “I think in kids’ wear a lot of the time they give one point of view…and that’s not how kids are,” said McCartney. “You want to mix and match, otherwise kids look too twee or too streety.”

And in keeping with McCartney’s vegetarian principles, the shoes she’s designed, which include sneakers and shiny gray rain boots, are all made without leather. “A big part of the excitement for me was not just the clothes but the shoes,” said McCartney. “Because so many people had said to me, ‘I can’t get shoes for my kids that aren’t leather.’”

Meanwhile, some of the pieces are mini-me versions of designs from McCartney’s rtw collections. There’s a gray sweater dress knit with an intarsia leopard design — which appeared full-size in the designer’s fall 2009 collection — along with skinny gray jeans with ankle zippers and a snug gray cable-knit cardigan dress.

Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, described McCartney’s aesthetic as “a really natural fit,” for the company, adding that the designer’s insight into children’s likes and dislikes was a plus. “[McCartney] has hands-on experience as a mother, so she understands what kids want to wear and the practical considerations that parents have when dressing their children,” Hansen said.

And McCartney was just as eager to partner with Gap on the collection, since she was determined that her children’s collection be affordable. “I think [Gap] makes a great product for the price point, and I think that it’s really important for kids to deliver really high quality and have it accessible to people,” said McCartney. “I felt that I could get the right quality of product with them.” Prices for the collection run from $14 for wool tights through to $128 for a military-style jacket.

Though the designer has created a collection for price points far lower than those of her own line, McCartney has still managed to work in plenty of details. A girl’s taupe trenchcoat, for example, is lined with cotton printed with the words “I Love You,” while the military jacket is sewn with intricate gold brocade and a tailored jacket in brushed cotton has silk lapels. “My job is to push for the best that I can do [for the price point], and [Gap’s] job is to control the cost and also give the best they can do for the price they know is realistic for their customers,” said McCartney.

And the designer took an equally democratic approach to the ad campaign. Instead of casting children from modeling agencies, McCartney put a call out on Facebook for regular kids. The images, shot by Ryan McGinley, feature 20 children ranging in age from one to eight years, who share the spotlight with fluffy baby chicks, iguanas, rabbits, a miniature donkey and even a fox. “I wanted to get real kids, and also give real parents the opportunity of having their kids in an ad campaign of this scale,” said McCartney. “We cast in Notting Hill and there were, like, queues of kids and parents around the block.”

After the runaway success of McCartney’s 2005 collection for H&M, when customers fought to grab her designs, McCartney declined to predict if the collection with Gap would create a similar frenzy. “It’s a totally different kettle of fish,” said McCartney. “It’s talking about kids, and I don’t know if the parents are going to have a frenzy buying something for their kids.”

McCartney did allow she’s looking forward to the response. “It’s kind of nerve-racking and also really exciting,” she said.

blog round up

This week, I have a few more blogs to mention that might just be worth your reading. They will at least make you laugh if you need a moment at work (as in, a moment to escape). Read: I am not advocating reading blogs at work and not doing what you are supposed to be doing. I am just saying.

First up is I suwannee. Again, this is another interior designer, and this is her blog. I don't mean to sound like I am complaining when I say that, but I think most of the blogs I follow are interior designers, which is odd because my design aesthetic these days includes plastic baby items, even when I swore it would never be. Anyway, this blog is soo funny, written by Jamie - definitely worth the read! Another thing I like about it is that it is not strictly about the interiors world, she talks a little bit about everything. Just the other day she had a few vintage images she had found on Life.com, and I especially loved this one with the surfers...



Next up is regretsy.com. Now, I know this is not your typical blog, but it is so funny. And yes, I am a fan of Etsy.com. I first heard of this site on another of my fave blogs the cut (ha - did you see how I am really talking about 3 blogs???). Warning: you must have a sense of humor to enjoy this. I just had to include their disclaimer, because it is HI-larious:

Don’t get us wrong. We like crafts.

We just don’t like these crafts.

Yes, we know these people put their hearts into it. We know it took hours and hours. We know how mean it is to laugh at their creations. And we regret being the only web site on the internet that makes fun of things.

But what can we do? We’re immature.

Besides, art is totally subjective. Who cares what we think? I barely care and I’m writing this.

Listen, if you like something you see here, don’t argue with us, go and buy it. Seriously. Click on any photo and you’ll be taken to the seller’s store*. We’re only too glad to have made the introduction.

Otherwise, we’re just going to sit here and look at the amputee kitten paintings and vulva earrings and laugh so hard that we pee in our reusable Pokemon pads.

- The Regretsy team

Enjoy!!!

Additional jewels

You are my fave was kind enough to point me in the direction of other cool ways to display/organize your costume jewelry (this girl is on it!) - and I wanted to pass them on, as an update to my post from Monday. See pics below, courtesy of the house of Milk, via you are my fave.

jewels

I love when people come up with very creative yet practical ways to organize things. I think I love this so much, because if anyone knows me at all, they will know that a) I am not good at editing down anything..but especially clothes and b) I am not very organized with certain elements of my home. Furthermore, where I am organized, it is like your most generic thought-less form, in some overpriced container store files or clear plastic bins. So you can see why I have so much appreciation for a well edited, organized home, or closet, or office, or...life.
For that reason I wanted to post some of the most stylish "storage" I have seen lately. We all have jewelry boxes - for the nice stuff. But what about your fun costume jewelry? It usually takes up much more space than your fine jewels, correct? This is where my dear friend Ahsue comes in. She came up with the most ingenious way of storing her fun jewelry. First she found a cool frame and inside of it attached a painted piece of wood. On the wood she attached several different and pretty knobs she found and...voila! The perfect solution.



Then lo, and behold, my good friend meme (more on her later) also did the same thing for her costume jewels. Very different, but equally as cool!



If you have any pretty and practical storage solutions, send them my way!!!

Happy Friday!!

One of my favorites...Island in the Sun by Weezer directed by Spike Jonze...If this doesn't put you in a good weekend mood, then I don't know what will!

Weezer - Island In The Sun
Uploaded by Sumfortyan. - Explore more music videos.

anthropologie strikes again!

This has been circulating the blog world for about a week now, and I have been meaning to post about it. I first read about it over at Elements of Style, but then lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised to find the write about it in my other email inbox - you know, the one that you have just so you can sign up for stuff that seems like a good idea at the time? You know, the one where you get every email blast from any store you are vaguely interested in? Yeah, that one.
Although you feel like a total loser when you write about something that is already out there, I still wanted to talk about this, because, as you know I LOVE anthropologie. And I am totally jealous of this man's job. The show is described as one that follows Keith Johnson, a buyer for anthroplogie, as he travels the world (think flea markets, hidden boutiques, and antiques stores) looking for his latest finds. I am pretty sure I do not get Sundance - which is a TOTAL bummer, as this is where the show airs, I wonder if I could find it on Hulu?
So for the rest of you that do not get Sundance either, here are a just a few photos to help you get through this crises.

letterpress fun

yup, it's that time again, time to start thinking about your calendars for next year (well I know there are a few more important things to be thinking about), since a fresh new calendar always signifies a new beginning. Growing up, and now still, it became a tradition that my dad always gave each of us kids a calendar for Christmas. They were always representative of something we were into that year - an artist, a trip we had taken, etc., etc. I remember one year when we were older, we did not get them. All 4 of us kids were shocked and made such a big deal about it that I think my dad went out and got them for us a few days later!!
I started to write a posting about desk calendars specifically back on the 5th, but in my search for cute little letterpress calendars to spice up your desk at work, I have come across some of the most beautiful letterpress anything- including stationary, invitations, thank you cards, birth announcements, and anything else you can imagine. I am so amazed at the talent out there, and what an awesome skill to have to be able to design and then work the "old fashioned" letterpress machine! Also, if you remember this post, you can see where my letterpress obsession started. And as always, there are AMAZING things going on over at The Mandate Press.

If you google letterpress, you can imagine all the fun sites that come up..so I tried to narrow it down to only a few, in order to better direct all 3 of my readers there:


Over at Sweetbeats on Etsy, there are some adorable calendars, art for nurseries, thank you notes and more. This is where I saw a birth announcement I loved:





Smock (I especially love the change of address cards and the beetle stationary!!):








Bird and Banner:






And finally, the original reason I started this post, desk calendars!

From Yeehaw on Etsy:



From Delphine Sudio on Etsy:



And last but not least, I am OBSESSED with this folksy calendar from Dutch Door Press on Etsy....okay, okay, it is not a desk calendar, but I loved it too much not to show it!

Blog Roundup

Since it had become part of my job as a Fashion and Trend assistant, I still love reading blogs and searching all of the latest online while being at home on maternity leave. I will try to make a regular commitment to telling you about new blogs I have stumbled upon (like the cool mom picks from yesterday).

Half of the time I could never even trace back to how I happened across this new blog, but nevertheless I wanted to pass them on in the hopes that you would enjoy as much I do!

First up is Two Brunettes. This has to be one of the most charming sites/blogs I have come across recently (of course, when I come across one that I want to share with you, it is because I am in love with it at that moment and think they are all charming!!). i love how sweet their blog looks, including those little birds! Two Brunettes is, as they put it, a "design and illustration studio specializing in invitations and custom branding for any kind of event! We also specialize in creating custom blog designs". I couldn't sum it up as nicely as they did so I took it right from the source, editing has never been my strong point!
As vintage anything is something I love, I can't say how great I think many of their vintage inspired creations are. I especially love these notecards that are inspired by vintage fabrics:



and also these wedding invitations:



Be sure to check out their Etsy site here.

Next up is Vintage Simple. Obviously, the name alone caught my attention, but I was thrilled that it loved up to my expectations! The funny thing about this blog is that I have to be all the way in CA to discover this blog authored by girl back in South Carolina! The journey Maria lets you into as she describes their adventures in remodeling their home in Greenville is great. She includes the before and after photos and describes how she came across the items. I always like when people tell where or how they found things for their home! When you are her site, you must read the backstory of the house and how the woman who grew up there came back to see it - it will melt your heart!!!

mom stuff - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

If you are not a new mom like myself, you might just want to skip this post.

Baby Hawk

With Oliver being just over 3 months now, I figured I was kinda into a groove. I have the items I need and I think (?) I have him figured out. But alas, this is far from the truth - on both fronts.

I love love love these Baby Hawk carriers! I am thinking I need to get one, even though I have a couple different carriers already. I at least need to go try one on. I like the fabric options, and there is even an area where you can design your own!!

some of the fabrics:









mom sites

I also found a great resource for mom stuff yesterday. This blog is not only funny and irreverent, but it is organized by category for easy searching. Check out cool mom picks for everything from holiday ideas to organic items, to baby carriers, maternity clothes and more. There is even a "back to school guide" and "baby shower guide, and a links we like area to take you to even more sites.