DIY: Studded Purse

One snowy afternoon when PB was engrossed in playing a video game and I'd read all my new books, and the lack of snow clearing equipment in the DC area had made actual outside travel all but impossible, I came across studsandspikes.com. For some reason, I was really attracted to the 1-inch pyramid spikes, and something told me they would look awesome on this old purple purse I bought thrifting awhile back. So I did a little googling to see how this whole studding process worked and discovered it's ridiculously easy.

You need a bag, or really any piece of clothing that can support the studs, scissors, studs, pliers (not pictured) and a needle and thread.

First, cut the lining on the side of the bag where it attaches to the zipper. If you have an exacto-knife you can probably do a much neater job than I did. After you come up with the way you want to arrange your spikes, you simple poke the sharp tabs into the leather and fold them under with pliers. I found that the studs stayed in place better when you poked the tabs through the felt lining and not just the leather.


I went ahead and put the four corner studs in first and then spaced out the remaining studs.


Once you've finished putting the studs in place you have to sew the lining back up. I have really poor sewing skills, but even a rough job will do the trick.

Then you just stud the other side and sew it up and you're done!

I'm going to admit that I probably could have done a better job spacing out the studs. Given, however, that the bag is ruched along the bottom it was incredibly difficult to do. I think if I were going to do it again, I would use a ruler and a sharpie to mark where the tabs on the studs would go. Given how time consuming the spacing can be, you might consider using a more random pattern.

Wanderlust

The other day PB remarked that he was experiencing some nostalgia towards our transiberian summer journey. I have to admit, long hours spent inside the office have also lately had me craving some dramatic countryside and colorful characters. I know lots of people crave laying on the beach, but I've been craving...
What locations have you been lusting after?

(I wrote this post before yesterday's events. I have met some really wonderful people during my travels in Russia, and I was really saddened by yesterday's events.)

If Money Was No Object

I'd definitely buy this Laurel Satchel from Fred Perry

Available at Asos, seen at Refinery 29

Denim Shirts

I know that denim shirts have been officially "back" for some time, but I have thus far been pretty skeptical. I still associate them with the 8th grade stretchy ones from the limited I used to wear with snaps. Still, some of my favorite blogs and magazines have been making a compelling arguement.

From the Sartorialist. I love the mix of the denim with tweed.

Sandra from niotillfem. I shouldn't be surprised, she makes everything work.

Even the Russians have already embraced the trend. By the way, what do you think about mixing denims? Canadian tuxedo, or super chic? (via Fashion Girl).

It wouldn't take any convincing to get me into this shirt. It might take me some money I don't have....but I'll worry about that later. Vogue, via Coco + Kelley

Sichuan Pavilion

A very trusted Californian highly recommended Sichuan Pavilion because of its huge Tahitian drinks and delicious, more authentic than usual cuisine. So it did not take too much convincing to get PB and I down there a couple weeks ago with a bunch of friends. There is a lack of pictures....because once I started eating, I stopped documenting. Just go. Get the dan dan noodles and dumplings in sichuan sauce and the suffering bastard to drink. Oh and they have pandas on their menu (I heart pandas).

Sichuan Pavilion
1814 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006
http://sites.google.com/site/sichuanpavilion/

What do we think of these?

Yay for spring! I am almost too late to take advantage of sales on boots......

Okay, my perfect riding boots would have a little gold loop on the top, but not bad for $60. Buy?

Big Branches

Okay, clearly I like cherry blossoms, but I have seen a few arrangements with other big branched flowers that have caught my eye. I don't know, there's something about them. It's beautiful without being too cheesy or cliche.

Do you like more traditional flower arrangments better?

Images from Perfect Bound, Coco + Kelley (sorry, I downloaded it awhile ago, I don't have the link), and Design Sponge

Atomic Billiards

Not surprisingly, sometimes I enjoy getting overdressed and going to shmancy hotel bars and laughing at people who take themselves too seriously. But I also really enjoy bars that have actual activities and cheap drinks. Enter, atomic billiards. I suck at pool, and apparently battleship and shuffleboard too, but I don't really care so much when I have a $4 drink and am surrounded by fun people in a sort of 1950's/early 60's retro lounge atomosphere. I just wish I wasn't quite so bad at pool.......

Atomic Billiards

3427 Connecticut Ave. NW

Washington DC

http://atomicbilliards.com/atomicbilliards.html

Inspiration from Sunday Suppers

As much as I have come to love looking at weddings (and I really have totally given into the "dark" side on this one) I have to say....sometimes, I'm just not that inspired by the table set-ups. I'm getting to that stage where I'm trying to figure out the smaller stuff....and I haven't found anything that really seems reflective of what we're trying to achieve. Something that looks sort of old and vintage, but also whimsical, and fits in with our Latin theme. But I did some perusing through the Sunday Suppers blog and found a few tables that I really loved.

I love the vintage look of this one, but I'm not sure how easy it is to find that style of tableware.
This is probably a bit too french country for us, but I do like the wood table runner

The above design is definitely a bit more modern look, but I really like the little fruits (what are those, btw?), very playful. I would probably change it to a lighter blue and have red berries to reflect our own colors. This might be overly simplistic, but I do really love the sort of linen-ey table runners.

Then I saw this Morroccan themed table.....Okay, Morrocco is not exactly the theme of the my wedding, but tiles are tiles and the colors are really close. It's definitely given me lots of ideas....

If you haven't looked at Sunday Suppers, I definitely recommend. They have some really great photos and recipes.

photos from Sunday Suppers

The Gold Standard

PB and I are way into Caesar salads. We could (and have) eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner if they're available. As such, we have been searching for the best Caesar salad for some time. Unfortunately, we started off with the goat cheese Caesar salad at Central (Michel Richard). It's unfortunate because so far no other Caesar salad has been able to beat it. While ordinarily I tend to think that the more traditional a Caesar salad is (lemon, anchovie, parmesan, crunch crouton), the better it is; in this case the replacement of Parmesan cheese with goat cheese just made it incredibly rich and therefore tasty. Plus, I love the giant crouton and overall presentation.

So now...we're just looking for one that can beat it....

Menus

One of the little things that I've been thinking about, as an opportunity for a little DIY (or maybe even with some professional help) is menus. There are so many really inventive ways of doing personalized menus for your guests. Some of my favorites are below.

Little tags....

paper bags....

Just awesomeness....

Check up this round-up on 100 layer cake of their favorites. What cool menu ideas have you seen?

images from 100 layer cake, snippet and ink, and 100 layer cake.

Girl Crush

I don't even know this woman, but I WANT her taste!

Image from Vanessa Jackman

Spring is Coming

There is a beautiful collection of cherry blossom pictures over on SFgirlbythebay today. I'm getting so excited about spring....less excited about a DC summer....

photo from little starling photography

The Hills are Alive

Like everyone else, I'm a huge fan of Marc Jacobs' fall 2010 Louis Vuitton collection. It's been getting rave reviews from practically everyone. But when I saw it....it reminded me of something. Something that I love....something with awesome singing and costumes that emphasize a woman's waist.....

Like this little flowered number....

Perfect for dancing with Christopher Plummer!

Or this daytime suit, it's the perfect thing to wear to your job interview as a governess of 8 unruly children.
Okay enough with the side by side comparisons. The show and the music are lovely, and I'll watch both anytime.




Did you grow up on the Sound of Music?

photos courtesy of Style.com