Have a Relaxing Weekend

via Dustjacket Attic

Secret Beds

This is my second look at some ideas on how to arrange small spaces for my friend, Angela's possible new Hong Kong digs. It seems to me that a big part of living in cramped quarters is trying to carve out a little space for yourself, so that when your guests come over you don't feel like they have the whole run of the place but so that they're also not so cramped.

Curtains clearly seem to be one of the easiest ways to hide your bed. And if you have an architectural detail that helps with that, so much the better.

A little less obvious, but possibly more time consuming (and probably requiring a hammer, some wire, and some of those screw with little hooks on them) is hanging art as a little improptu wall. Doesn't this look super modern and fresh?

Shelving is also a commonly used solution to break up two walls. The woman in the apartment below, made a custom thin shelf to turn the little dining area into a bedroom. I know that a murphy bed is a little beyond your basic DIY, but I just thought the beautiful wood (fake) on the example below was proof that murphy beds can actually be hidden and can even look classy. Okay this last one is probably also beyond the reach of a lot of basic DIY-ers but it was so clever, I had to include it. Basically the bed is set off from the rest of the room by a large screen on which he can project films to watch either from his bed or from the couch. Despite how sophisticated this is, it got me thinking that actually an old projection screen could make a great room divide. via. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Girl Crush, what is it with bikes?

Seriously, the last time I was like, agh girl crush, was another Vanessa Jackman photo and a bike was involved. But seriously, why don't I own a dress like that? Also...I have a real post coming, it's just being super finicking and no matter what I do it looks bad.

via Vanessa Jackman

Wednesday = Halfway

I had such a great weekend. My sister had to go to New York so I got to spend Saturday with her, eating brunch at Cafe Atlantico, checking out the Lincoln Memorial and going through the holocaust museum. But most of the weekend was devoted to preparing for out Vietnamese dinner party on Sunday. We made mini bahn mi (that were so good, I didn't get pictures), pork belly lettuce wraps, shaking beef, and vietnamese coffee ice cream. I'm actually pretty proud of how my center piece turned out. I have absolutely no plans for this weekend and I'm so happy about it. I plan on getting back on my half-marathon training, introducing Grizz to puppy daycare, and hopefully meeting up with my lady friends for some drinks or some other such merriment. What are your plans?

Sign me up!

For some reason I have not yet ordered anything from ASOS (despite knowing for months that you could order it in the U.S. now. And then, I came across this, All American-girl collection.... If that's American, then count me in.

Wedding "Logo"

There's a reason marketing departments in companies everywhere spend millions on branding - in the mind of consumers and customers, it's VERY closely associated with who and what you're about. Logos are critical visual components of a brand. They are carefully designed and then used in as many places as possible to reinforce the brand.

So what does that have to do with a wedding? Well, not much really. But it DOES have to do with creating a memorable experience. It's also another excuse to make something beautiful and creative. Yay!

This bride, featured on Green Wedding Shoes, talks about having a friend that designed their "logo" that they used on everything from bags to flags, and I even noticed they recreated it on their chalkboard sign :)

This one on 100 Layer Cake is adorable and you can definitely see how they reused their "icons" in lots of creative ways. It was clear from their photos that he is the beaker and she is the cupcake - so cute!:

This other one on 100 Layer Cake uses a familiar image (on the left), but tweaked for the couple. It basically leverages the Toulouse-Lautrec image already in your memory bank, which is very clever:

This one from Ruffled is a sweetly simple logo stamp. Thanks to M's tip from her wedding, you could look into having a custom stamp made at Paperwink:

Almost as soon as we set a date, I sat down and designed a small, 2"x2" linocut that I could use on various decorations. I didn't really occur to me until later that I had just created the logo for our wedding:

Filling up a box with seed favors featuring our "logo" print

What symbols or creatures could represent you or the style of wedding you are having? What kind of aesthetic communicates your style: modern and graphic, cute and cartoon-y, ornately vintage?

Also, if there's anything you want to see "crafted", leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

Look at this bedroom!

I love the different blues (even in the carpet). I used to make fun of a friend who always dressed all in various shades of one color at a time, but I am increasingly loving it both for fashion and home.

via Ashe + Leandro

Can I justify spending $112 on leggings?

Probably not, but these are so so awesome!

Happy Friday!

Ugh, first week back after a holiday is always tough! Here'a little pretty EPA for you (I like the post office there). What do I wear out dancing with the ladies? I haven't done it in a while?

Let it All Hang Out

My friend Angela recently moved to Hong Kong to persue an amazing job opportunity. Unfortuantely, however, HK real estate is ridiculously expensive and she will inevitably be living in cramped quarters. She asked for a few tips on how she might maximize her space, and I naturally turned to Apartment Therapy to see what sorts of solutions are out there. But there was just so much there that I wanted to break it down into a couple of posts. So in this late Friday hour I just wanted to showcase some clothing storage options, well one, and that is not stornig your clothing at all.

I think most Americans are pretty spoiled when it comes to closet size, but a lot of countries with more historic buildings just don't have built in closets. No problem though, if you have beautiful clothing (and I know Angela does) why not display it for everyone to admire. Or even better, display your shoes.

And then of course, there's this.

Via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.