Cute car & couple

Lurrrvely.

Photo from Rodney Smith.

Cheery breakfast spot

Mary Ruffle posts the most gorgeous photos. I am loving this cheery table setting, with its great floral runner and green tablecloth, beautiful flowers and classic pendant lamp. So bright and fresh against the white-washed wood floor and neutral furniture. I imagine this home to be a lovely cottage on a lake somewhere, or maybe by the beach, and this is the breakfast nook. Super summery and lovely!

Nastia for Azria

Have you seen the Max Azria Spring 2009 ad campaign? It features Nastia Liukin (yes, that Olympic gold medal winning gymnast) in various flowing dresses and duds. She looks incredible. But, there seems to be something missing:





Nastia, where's yo face??

Each of the photos is absolutely breathtaking, but her face seems to be (almost deliberately?) obscured in each one. Is that really the case or do her gymnastic moves just naturally cover her face? Lubov Azria, creative director of Max Azria, was quoted as saying "we wanted someone iconic - someone timeless...[Nastia] was everything we were looking for" -- but perhaps her face wasn't part of the equation?

Either way, though, how insane is this pic from WWD (including her face and all)?

Faux Wes Anderson Film Festival

I am a huge Wes Anderson fan (from Rushmore to Royal Tenenbaums, I love them all), so seeing this hypothetical Wes Anderson Film Festival project cracked me up. Alex Cornell, the designer behind this behemoth all-inclusive (yet imaginary) project, meticulously created each piece for the "festival," including packaging, stationery, essay and promo materials. I think he did an incredible job of developing an identity for these materials that fits in flawlessly with Wes Anderson's film style (include the Futura Bold font, quirky quotes and hazy photos). Genius.


Poster


iPhone/iPod skins


Website - media landing page


Stationery (letterhead, business card, envelope, stamp)


Festival schedule


Soundtrack - record cover


Record - side A


DVD 1 - cover


DVDs 1 and 2


DVD carrying case - fits discs 1 and 2


Bus shelter poster


Taxi ad


Billboard


Presentation box that held all the materials

All photos by Alex Cornell. You can read an actual blog post from Alex about the project here. There is also a pretty hilarious "trailer" here. I think I might just love the Wes Anderson stamp the most. :)

Dreams of flying

Jan Von Holleben's images in his "Dreams of Flying" collection are so clever and so darling. These children must have been absolute saints to be patient enough to get some of these shots! If I had kids of my own, I would definitely want to try out this concept (of them lying on the ground but looking like they're doing things in the air, by sea, etc.) for a holiday card or other crafty project. It looks fun!

J. Crew in Greece (alternately titled "Gingers scare me")

How insanely lovely are these images from J. Crew's Spring 2009 catalog? I know they're old hat now since they've been around for a season or so, but I just happened upon them again and was reminded of how ethereal and pretty they are. I mean, put basically anything by the seaside of the Greek Isles and it's bound to be picturesque, but the pastels and styling here are to die for.

Also, I'm just going to say it - and don't kill me. Wait: before I put it out there, I need to lead off with the information that two of my best friend are natural redheads. So what I'm going to say is that gingers (redheads with pale skin and often freckles) freak me out. Big time. It's possibly because I am somewhat akin to a ginger - I do have my fair share of freckles (though I am in no way a ginger!) - but something about redheads really give me the heebie-jeebies. Maybe I am equating gingers as a whole too closely with the kid from Problem Child:

In an attempt not to sound like a total prig, I can tell you that a recent podcast of How Stuff Works stated that redheads have a lower pain tolerance than others and require more anesthesia. They also went on to say that being a redhead is actually a genetic mutation of the MC1R gene. So I am not just a jerk - I am scientifically backed up here. :) (I keed, I keed, of course I don't really hate gingers, I'm just mildly weirded out.)

However, this is not meant to be a redhead-bashing post (and I'm working on loving my redheaded co-population). And, the (very long-winded) reason I even got on this subject is to say that the redheaded model that J. Crew used in the Greece photo shoot (above in the yellow dress) is so lovely that I may very well change my mind about gingers altogether. Or at least in this one case (and for my two redhead friends of course) for now. I did a bunch of searching and couldn't figure out who this model is, but if anyone knows, let me know. I want to send her an email to thank her for helping me with redhead-aversion therapy. Hopefully I'll come 'round soon enough.

If you are a redhead/ginger, please don't send me hate mail. I am sure you are very beautiful (or handsome). Please feel free to comment, though, and make me feel stupid for being a jerk on this topic.

Happy Monday!

Photo found on Flickr

This vintage photo makes me happy (and who doesn't need a little happiness on a Monday morning?). This dancer's gorgeous airiness makes me want to run through a field and jump and leap. And then take many, many more dance classes to get beautiful legs and feet like this woman.

But I do love her giant yellow bow.

Have a great weekend!

I heard it's supposed to be a typical Maryland summer here this weekend - balmy, sticky and hot! So what better way to spend the weekend than by the water. Hope everyone has a great weekend and stays cool. See you Monday!

Photo from J. Crew's Summer 2008 catalog (an oldie but goodie).

Roadside Projects

How incredible are these Jayme McGowan creations? I can't believe she makes each one from paper that she cuts and layers. The 3-D prints are intricately awesome, but even the 2-D prints (which are available at her Etsy store for very reasonable prices) are completely adorable.

Check out her blog, with more info about her projects and background, here and perhaps think about buying one of her prints as a childrens birthday gift.

Rest in peace

I can't believe we lost two such iconic Americans on one day. I guess this is what it was like for our parents, who very clearly remember the day Kennedy was shot and the day Elvis Presley died. It's sad for me to think back on them - Michael Jackson's Thriller tour was my first real concert and oh, was I obsessed. Despite all the drama of the past decades for these two, this is still such a sad loss: one of dance and music's biggest legends and one of tv and movie's original sex symbols.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.

Glidden giveaway

If you haven't heard about the Glidden National Paint Giveaway, then read this post and then run - I repeat, hoof it - to your nearest Home Depot to check out the paint chips in person, then log in to the Glidden website to cash in. I wasn't even planning on painting anything anytime soon, but thanks to Glidden's generousity (and hopefully remaining stock, since this is "while supplies last" between June 25 and July 2), I am heading out to peruse the paint chips and then back home to (hopefully) claim my free quart.

I think this is pretty amazing, and can't wait to delve into one or two new projects using my quart of gorgeous, creamy paint. A quart obviously isn't enough for a whole room, but I'm thinking it will be perfect to paint a chair (perhaps a soft blue - something beachy and seaside) or perhaps something more dynamic to add as a pop on the back of bookcase shelves. Any thoughts? Regardless, make sure to get in on this, and let the free quart be your inspiration for a new project!

By the way, how funny are these Florida billboards for Glidden?

Wintour-iffic

Style-maker. Diva. Terrifying. Bob and sunglasses. A devil... who wears Prada. Now you know who I'm talking about, right? That's right kids, a behind-the-scenes documentary about the development of the September issue of American Vogue, featuring the inimitable Ms. Anna Wintour. The movie, entitled The September Issue will - I'm sure - be a-mazing. I cannot wait. Check out the preview:



I love the part when one of the senior editors enthusiastically suggests some hideous pink thing, to which Ms. Wintour just stares her down and snarkily snaps "no." The poor woman got shut down so fast she never even saw it coming. I can't wait for this real life Devil Wears Prada! Girls night out, anyone? Mojitos beforehand and then bitchy editrixes to follow. I'm in!

Beach cruiser by CR

Cynthia Rowley is doing bikes now? Adorable! Perhaps I could add the one shown above to my (semi-imaginary) growing fleet of vehicles that I previously mentioned.

I love the story behind these bikes, too, as mentioned on Garden & Gun. It seems Ms. Rowley was inspired by the beach-cruising culture in Charleston, SC and shortly thereafter incorporated custom decorated bikes in her Spring 2009 runway show. She's since released these limited-edition bikes for sale on her website.

I'll take one in the green/blue design, plus a basket to go on the front, just like Blair Waldorf had on Gossip Girl. Sigh.

Porsche Speedster replica

Photos from A Continuous Lean

This car is making me absolutely drool. I never thought I'd say that about a car, but this one is gorgeous. It's a replica of the 1950s-era Porsche 356 Speedster - it's actually built on a VW chassis! I adore the inky blue they've painted it, plus all the amazing details - the leather buckles for the "boot" (which is all old-school and in the front, since the engine's in the back) and even the clever imitation Yale parking permit (backdated to 1962-63).

I "built" my own customized Speedster on the Automotive Legends website (the company where the one above came from) to see how much it would set me back and even my mid-level option totaled $35,993.00. Ouch.

But seriously, since I already have an adorable blue Vespa lookalike, wouldn't a blue Speedster lookalike be the perfect addition to my fleet? I can just see myself driving through downtown now, with a scarf trailing in the wind a la Isadora Duncan (though hopefully minus the tragic death part...). Kind of like this:

No?

Suspenders and mens

Hell to the yes.

Photo by Tec Petaja, as seen on Once Wed.

Row, row, row your boat

How gorgeous are these hand-crafted row boats from Stewart River Boatworks? They kind of remind me of the below image from J. Crew's 2008 holiday catalog, which has basically been burned in my brain ever since I got the catalog in the mail last year (it's so pretty! they don't even seem cold! is that an iceberg behind them??).



I'll take a white one, please. (Do the dapper gentleman and gorg cashmere sweater come included?)

"Miracle on the Patuxent" (ha)

Yes, that's correct. The above is an image from Fox News' broadcast on Friday evening, where they claimed that 32 kayakers (including B and me) were "trapped in the surging Patuxent River." This is true in some ways but the story was mostly untrue in how it was reported, though you can read more about the whole thing through the blog from the Patuxent Riverkeeper (the group that ran this trip) here.

In the end, every single paddler was accounted for, safe and without any major injuries (we all got some scrapes and cuts on our legs, plus a litany of bug bites, but nothing beyond that and the occasional poison ivy), so the story was majorly overblown. The news helicopters, vans, reporters (who hung around for hours) and various fire trucks and ambulances were probably overkill too. :) It should be noted that we all got back on the water the next day and easily paddled for the next four days without any further incident.

Jeesh, it was definitely interesting to see how the media flocks to any situation, as well as the spin they put on things. Email me or comment here if you want more info. Otherwise, don't believe everything you read and happy (safe) paddling!

Gone campin'

Photo from Cookie Mag

B and I are going on a kayak/camping expedition for a few days and won't have access to computers or the like, so there won't be any blog posts while we're gone. But, we'll be back soon and I'll hopefully have some fun things to post about then. In the meantime, have a great rest of the week and an even better weekend!