Obsessions | Downsizing

Now that “winter” (quotation marks necessary after this bizarre season) is rounding to a close I’m ready to skip all the rest of it and move straight into spring. Along with this desire comes a madness – one of spring cleaning, organizing, and downsizing. OUT WITH THE OLD…! And that applies to everything – my closet, my furniture, my kitchen… Here’s a few life-simplifiers I’m particularly eyeing right now… JCrew’s The Tillary purse, $148. A little hefty in price, for me at least, but the perfectly sized (in buttery leather no less) petite cross-body purse in the poppy red I am currently obsessed with. This purse fits all the necessaries, but not the rest of the kitchen sink like my other one, which is very cute but makes my back hurt. I’d be paying for my health and well-being, how’s that for an argument? (By the way, they’ve restocked Poppy King! Go get it! It’s awesome!) Oh, to live near a Container Store… I’m ready to get my  bathroom in shape with the Large Acrylic Makeup Organizer, $34.99, and the 4-Section Acrylic Swivel Organizer, $9.99. The only items out on the counters would be encased in these handy organizers, easy to rotate products but keeping clutter to a minimum. I love the idea of doing something like this: I feel calmer already! Speaking of calm, I am itching to paint. I’m drawn to pale soothing rooms because they feel so open and clean and breezy. I love the kind of not-minimalistic but not-cluttered feel of these rooms… And while I’m at it, I’d love to get my closet more organized and paired down to something more like this… That’s my goal. I really don’t wear all that many items of clothing, so if I could get it down to the bare essentials and just have, say 20 quality pieces… I know I can do it.

What’s on your to-do list while we wait for the good weather…?

Obsessions | Queen Elizabeth II

Doesn’t she just look really pleasant and fun?! The impetus for my obsession here is a little cyclical… After seeing Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady, a really remarkable film about the first and only female prime minister of the UK, I started thinking about how amazing it is that Queen Elizabeth is so powerful in the midst of all those men in government… and then I got a little obsessed. 

She just seems so lovely and gracious…! It seems like they made such a big deal about Kate needing to cover her arms for the wedding last year and here’s Elizabeth 50 years or more before looking all fabulous and bare-armed… I also didn’t know that she became queen at 25… Around a time that women weren’t taken seriously much at all. Wow.

Women like these are the ones I’m interested in being inspired and influenced by, not the Kardashians, the Hiltons, or the Lohans.

Here’s her wikiograpy…

 

Obsession | Thinking Pink

I was pinning pink like crazy yesterday and kept coming up on images that wouldn’t pin for some reason… so they’re going in mah blog instead.

So, yeah… pink! Not the first color that comes to my mind when I’m thinking favorite colors, but I get mildly-wildly obsessed with it at least three times a year… As my younger sister would put it, “Esther, aren’t you always having a pink moment?” Yes, yes I am.

I like pink in a fresh, modern (do not read hot pink and zebra), and relaxing way. I think I mostly stay away from pink (or use coral) in fear of turning my living spaces too girly or dressing like a princess. But a pop of pink… oh yeah baby. And right now, a pop of neon pink just feels so right… 

Do you find yourself having regular “color moments” with colors you don’t quite know what to do with…? Do you love, say, orange but your significant other can’t stand it; maybe they hate the University of Tennessee and have banned the color from your home entirely? (Hypothetically.) 

When it comes down to it, if a certain color makes you feel good I say go for it. Even a pop here and there, just a flower pot or a spatula, is going to be a visual reminder of how that color makes you feel. Which is a brilliant argument for why you should rid yourself of all ugly kitchen utensils and replace them with a much cuter version asap!!! To TJ Maxx, I say!!!

Ahhh Friday.

Ah Friday, a day to look back on my weekly frenzies and contemplate how swiftly my focus shifts from day to day… Here’s what I’ve been obsessing over this week:

Terrariums I’m getting ready to blow it out, terrarium style, here shortly. (I ordered air plants! And bought moss and rocks etc!) I love this chick’s visual interpretations of them on Etsy…

Instagram PhotosI just love the way Instagram gives everyone the chance to become a decent photographer. I know people who can’t find an angle to save their lives who somehow get great shots with great lighting and saturation with their phone, of all things. None of these photos are mine, mind you, because I (*gasp*) don’t have an iphone yet… But as soon as I can bear the thought of adding another $30 charge to my monthly phone bill I’ll be swapping up for one of these purty-photo-makin’ machines.

French Pastries This mania’s pretty obvious, since I’m in the smack-dab middle of an 8-week sugar detox. I think I’ll have to plan a trip somewhere with a macaron shop when it’s all over. And just plan to spend a day sitting there and eating pretty things.

Going Somewhere FunI’m ready for a road trip.

What have you been obsessed with this week?

Obsessions | The Whale of the Matter

Whale Tissue Holder, $39.99. Sperm Whale TShirt, $20. Cosmetic Case, $20. Burlap and Calico Pillow, $25. Vintage Education Chart, $45. Hand-printed Toms, $73. Art Print, $12.50. Wood Art Sign, $89. Large Whale Cutting Board, $40. Embroidery Hoop Wall Art, $19. Made-to-Order Lidded Bowl, $32. Whale-Stripe Bar Towels, $11.

Obsession | Pinterest

I’ve decided to spend the next few hours pinning, which for you non-Pinterest users means that I’ll be amassing and archiving photo “pins” if you will of any and everything that interests me visually on the internet. You can follow my boards here and I’ve got a few I like to follow myself… like Cici Absolutely White, Brij McEnaney, Jane Wang, and Courtney Spencer… I’ve actually been pretty lax in following boards etc so I’ll be spending the morning getting up to speed!

So the way Pinterest works is that you install (easy peasy) a button on your toolbar that you click every time you see an image on the interwebs that you want to save – whether it’s a photo of a beautiful day, a delicious recipe, skincare products – whatever. It’s like having image bookmarks that you can look at like a slideshow. #Awesome#

So I’m going to get to pinning some recipes and of course, beautiful things… If you need an invite just let me know!

Design Obsession | Inspiration Walls

I’m obsessed with Pinterest, and I have a home project in mind that’s like Pinterest… only much, much larger and more tangible. With lots of cute pins, of course. I love the crazy large scale and the idea of an inspiration room, as opposed to an inspiration board… Not that smaller boards aren’t awesome (more so when neatly organized, I think).But let’s not forget the awesomeness of a blackboard wall either. I wish they made navy chalkboard paint. Or other various colors. I should inquire into that. Wait, THEY DO!As far as Cork v.s. Blackboard, what do you think? I think navy blackboard paint would be awesome. At a mere $75/gallon why not do the whole house? Ha.

Featured Blogs | …And the holidays are upon us!

Yeah, two weeks since my last post but what can I say? This time of year gets busy and all our creative energy must go towards thinking of what everybody we love could possibly desire most of all… in the $30-and-under category! Hours and hours and hours looking for inspiration on design blogs and Etsy and cute online zines… And then devising a design/wrapping plan, and then actually WRAPPING… And 27 batches of too-hard lavender caramels later… Well, here we are.

But because you’re awesome and still bothering to read my little blog, I’m going to give you a bunch of links to take over YOUR free time. You’re welcome.

Without further ado, here’s the pages I’ve been obsessed with for the past few weeks… If you need a break from Christmas stuff, just one little clicky-click and you’re in a world of cute-and-awesome. May they bring you as much joy etc etc…

1. Into The Gloss If you’re weird like me and capable of becoming product-obsessed, you’ve been warned. I read one post… and then I went through the archives and read them ALL. Really. Now I can converse with style and beauty editors at ease about such things as La Roche Posay and NARS and Cle de Peau…

2. Anthology Magazine Oh man, this zine is awesome. Their webpage is also addictive. Cute and easy DIY Projects! Interesting baking endeavors! Gorgeous design inspirations! Neon Christmas color schemes! Augh!

3. She Lets Her Hair Down Just… wow. Hairstyles, products, techniques, tips, stories from the pros… You will get lost in the glamorous world of HAIR and don’t be surprised if you end your session by googling Bumble and Bumble Hair School at the end of it all. Just sayin’. (I also googled “French immersion classes” and “Dede Barrymore Bob” for like a million hours.)

4. Tiger in a Jar The coolest little indie videos _ever_ . The one about beet cake – genius.

5. Making It Lovely Just some cool chick with a cute blog… that I’m totally obsessed with. She owns a stationery business, her blog was named one of 50 World’s Best Design Blogs by the London Times Online,  her work’s been featured in a million publications… You get the idea. She’s cool. We want to be her.

6. A Beautiful Mess Oh, Elsie Larson. Your blog is the cutest and I love your little shop and all the little cute projects. Also, your hair will be mine one day.

7. The Dainty Squid Another cute chick, but with blue hair, who just posts a bajillion awesome photos all the time. No blahblahblah I’m awesomer than you, just pics. This site is a pinner’s dream.

So there’s a little holiday season distraction for you… Happy Yuletide!

Obsessions | Sailor Knots

I’ve been neck-deep in getting Christmas boxes in the mail for the past few days so forgive my absence. This month will be a little touch-and-go with all the traveling and projecting I’ve got going on but I imagine I’ll be pinning wildly all the way through the holidays!

If this particular obsession tells you anything, it is that I have been trying desperately to get my Christmas shopping done! Ha! My current method is to troll the Etsy Treasury until I see an item I like and then search the site for similar items. In this case, I found a necklace I liked and then went from there… Sailor’s Knot Necklace, $15 in a ton of colors… but ships from Turkey. *Sighs.* Nautical Doorstop/Bookend, $18.  Red Nautical Mitts, $25. Cute Little Ring, $16. Knotty Headband, $20. This, my friends, is a Knot T. Wocka Wocka. $36. Knotical Belt, $60.

Happy Holiday shopping/crafting/abstaining everyone! Now come over here and tell me if you’ve been Knotty or Nice this year… 😉

Obsessions | Robin’s Egg Blue

I’m feeling a bit anxious today because I am going on (and have spent the past three days getting ready for) a tour/interview for UK’s Interior Design program. Forgive my absence, and settle into your zen place alongside me with this soothing, beautiful, oceany robin’s egg blue, one of my very favorite colors…            So wish me luck and I’ll try not to panic!