Look: at this look

What is it about this I love so much? The super tan and stunningly shiny hair? The blazer and scarf? I feel like you can feel her confidence. I need some of that today.

photo by the Sartorialist

Wednesday = Halfway (puppy edition)

Well we finally brought our little Grizzly home last week and aside from some puppy bites we have been happily playing all week long. Last weekend we pretty much just hung out with the Grizz all weekend. I love it when he rolls on his back and lets us pat his stomach and makes this goofy face (we call it froggy face).

(ps. PB made this delicious Coq Au Vin for some Grizzly visitors)

Chalkboard signs

Ah, signage. So functional and yet an opportunity to get a little creative. There are so many ways to make a sign, but a fun, sturdy DIY option is a good ole' chalkboard sign. I feel like I just discovered chalkboard paint, and I loved seeing M use it in her kitchen.

In terms of signs (see below), they can be playful, with illustrations on the chalkboard itself (upper left, from Wildflower Photos) or simple with an ornamental frame (center right, from 100 Layer Cake). As a menu (lower left and lower right, both from 100 Layer Cake), it communicates a more "casual cafe" atmosphere, as opposed to printed menus, which read more as "fancy restaurant" (which is great too! but different...). This one (top right, from Ruffled) isn't actually a chalkboard, but I loved (and appropriated) the mini-bunting look, using scraps from my oilcloth bunting.

In terms of making chalkboards, it's easy to get spray paint at the hardware store. I recommend using masonite board, which has a super slick side and is usually available at the lumber store for a couple bucks a slab. Know what sized boards you want and have the lumber yard cut the slab down for you on the spot - this will save you a a huge hassle. Also, it's used for really cheap siding in construction, so you may get a question on what you plan to use it for because they may want to advise you to try something sturdier - go ahead and let them know its for a chalkboard sign (not building a house) and they'll probably understand.

Photo Credit: Torry M F

The paint instructions will tell you to prep the board BEFORE writing on them by coating it once, using the side of a white chalk stick. What they don't tell you is that it may be be hard to then dust the whole thing off, so be prepared with more than a box of kleenex to wipe it down.

Photo credit: Julia C

Another tip I got was using chalk PENS to get the bold, crisp look that you see on some restaurant menu chalkboards. As you can see, the color is quite bold. Just remember to plan your sign before starting because these chalk pens do NOT like to erase.

Photo credit: Sara V

Mussels a la Jose Andreas

Living in DC and having a bit of a ham/cheese (aka Spain) obsession, PB and I are big Jose Andreas fans (we went to Cafe Atlantico on our first date). The other day we were watching his tasty Galicia show on Made in Spain and he made this mouthwatering mussels and potatoes dish that I just had to try.

You need: mussels, fingerling potatoes, bay leaves, olive oil, albarino wine, pimenton (Spanish paprika).

Peel and then boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes (stick a fork in them to see if they are ready: if the fork easily pierces the potato they are done). Then use a fork to mash them and season with salt and pepper.

Then heat olive oil in a pan (one that has a lid) and once it's smoking hot toss in the mussels and 3 or 4 bay leaves plus about .75 cup of wine. and then cover. Jose said that you could count to cinco and the mussels would be open and ready to take out but I had to cook them a bit longer.

Once the mussels open, take them out of their shells and place them on top of the mashed potatoes. Then season the dish with plenty of olive oil and pimenton.

PB and I both felt this needed something a little sweet, some garlic or shallots would definitely do the trick. Happy eating!

a word to the wise

PB and I have finally almost finished doing all our thank yous. It definitely takes some time, but is infinitely faster if you don't have to write your return address on every envelope. This stamp I got from Paperwink makes it infinitely faster, really cute, and only costs $22.




ps. if you need a customized stamp for your wedding, go ahead and contact them, they did a really cute one for our favors.

Inspired by the Like

In doing some research for bangs (and yes, I'm calling it reseach) I came across some pictures of the band, the like. I remember hearing them years ago, but I don't remember them having such impecable mod style. I don't even need to say what type of fashion this inspires: false lashes, stripes, opaque tights, flats, bangs, and red lips . But it definitely also inspires some fun retro furnishings. Cleary, any interior decor based on their music is first and foremost: retro. The playful style of the Like's music would definitely be mirrored by this whimsical arrangement of colorful plates. And while their look might read tough and sometimes a little androgenous, their music is overtful feminine and playful, making me crave a little girly pink. The way this room incorporates shag carpeting, and that mad men style headboard definitely makes me feel it would be the perfect place to pop in the like and write my diary. Plus, isn't that hello kitty perfectly suited to the room? And can't you imagine the band getting ready in the bathroom below? I love the seafoam and pink. But I also love the punches of primary colors in their look. So rooms with tons of red, yellow, and blue definitely also seem to go with the music.
Images via 1 & 2 MTV 3 thru 6 My space, 7, 8, 9, 10, Design Sponge, 11 Apartment Therapy

Thursday = Past Halfway

I got a little distracted with the new puppy this week so I'm just getting to Wednesday now. This last weekend the weather was beautiful and I only had to work one day of it (yay?), so I was pretty happy. On Saturday we went to check out the Rally to Restore Sanity, but once we realized we couldn't see or hear a thing we packed it in and headed to a bar for some bloody marys and to watch the rally on tv. Then we went for an early dinner to Russia House and I got some delicious Pelmeni. On Sunday, I grabbed some brunch at Zaytinya. I had this dish with toast, poached eggs, greek yogurt and paprika and pepper. I think I could learn to make that, right? Just need to learn to poach an egg. Sunday night we watched the Living Dead and ate halloween treats but I was so scared I forgot to take pictures....

This weekend we're just going to lay low and play with Grizzly and I can't wait!

Pinwheels, Part 1

Believe it or not, TD and I talked about pinwheel decorations as soon as we found our lovely park site for our wedding. I immediately thought about using origami paper because I love the colors and Japanese floral patterns. As I started doing some wedding inspiration research, I came across two gorgeous weddings on the fabulously funky Green Wedding Shoes. First, this highly stylized wedding with an awesome explosion of pinwheels and color:

Don't you love the texture of all those pinwheels on the wedding arch? Then there's this much more natural and easy-breezy, east coast wedding:

I didn't really need to be sold on pinwheels, but it was fun to see it applied in different ways. In terms of making pinwheels, I turned to the one... the only... Martha Stewart. I modified (err, simplified) her instructions, but they are a great baseline.

I ordered wooden dowels and map pins from Blick art and used artist tape to wrap the dowel "stems", but in retrospect spray-painting probably would have been better, although messier. Martha's two-sided pinwheels look absolutely delicious, but to keep it simple (I was delegating some of the labor), I just used one sheet of origami paper.

After finding the center (easier to see your pencil marks on the plain white side), cut out to the corners, leaving a radius of an inch or so uncut around the center.

Of the eight "corners" fold in every other one to the center until it looks like a pinwheel. Let the points overlap the center dot by half an inch or so. Then pierce the map pin through center and into the dowel. Push that map pin in as far as it will go, but it probably not go in all the way, which is good because that allows the pinwheel to move.

With some help from a couple (champagne and cupcake fueled) worker bee friends, we made a good pile of pinwheels to decorate with!

Photo credit: Beckie W

BONUS: the pinwheels ACTUALLY SPUN! I really wasn't expecting that, but it was so cool to look down the aisle and pathways of pinwheels and seeing every couple spinning furiously in the breeze:

Photo credit: Mike H

I have more to say on pinwheels and some specific projects I did with them, but we'll save that for another post...

Favorite Bangs (yes, I'm talking about hair)

I've had bangs for almost 4 years now. I gave up on them one summer and let me tell you the sight of my forehead for a few weeks was enough to send me right back to my hair dresser to chop off those wisps. I know I look better with bangs, but the question is, now that the wedding is over and I can do anything I like with my hair, what kind of bangs do I want? I love love love the style of Anna Karina. Maybe I should adopt some ultra short bangs? The problem is that while this looks cute with a bob, I'm not so sure how it would look with my longer hair. Also, I always fear I'm going to look more Bettie Page than Anna Karina.

Zooey Deschenel's bangs change frequently, but I'm a huge fan of how they look here. Not quite totally even, a little messed up, great for curly or straight hair.

Okay, I swoon for this hair, I seriously do. But I worry that I'd miss cute little short bangs if I had mine this long.

I would love to have platinum blond hair, but alas it's just not going to happen for me. That said, I die for Erin Fetherston's hair. So chic and cool looking.

What do you think? Whose hair inspires you?

Images via Anastasiac, random, Rockstar Diaries, vanessa jackman

Look: at this fall look!

I'm going to ignore for a second that this girl looks 17 and that she has a cigarette in her hand and concentrate on her perfect layering of the tee, denim shirt, and blue blazer with that more cute than serious briefcase. Plus, how gorgeous is her hair? Definitely a little inspiration not to blow mine out. 17 year old girl, you inspire me.

via Vanessa Jackman