#121 Friday Fancy Fest

It's Friday! And it feels like Summery-Spring finally! It's the perfect weather- 80 degrees & sunny. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I can't wait to see The Great Gatsby.  Hopefully it does not disappoint. Even if it's a total bomb, at least it inspired some super fabulous deco fashion and design.  I love deco jewelry and it's everywhere right now fits all budgets and occasions.  I did a quick search on Bauble Bar and found a ton of great stuff: Bauble Bar 'Deco' Search Results.  And J.Crew has some investment pieces that are to die for. The tassel necklace is so timeless! I actually found some cute deco jewelry at Kohl's, too, that I've been wearing. Last but not least, there's vintage,which is the best, so run to your local antique store or flea market and check out the displays of costume jewelry. 

Have a great weekend!

classic: Bauble Bar Onyx Shell Necklace,  J.Crew Tassel Necklace
colorful: JCrew Factory Flower Fringe Necklace,  Bauble Bar Melon Strand
fancy!: J.Crew Crystal Compilation Necklace,  Stella & Dot Virginia Bib

#120 Spring Revival!

This is my attempt to bring this blog back to life! Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging and you don't feel like you really have much to contribute to the internet already chock full of inspiration/information.  But then faraway friends are like, "What happened to your blog?! Is it dead? That's how I keep up with your current life happenings."  Well, here goes. A revival. Seems appropriate that it's happening now, at the beginning of spring.
I've been desperate for spring since February, but that's how it goes in nyc.  Everything seems to go on hold until spring finally arrives. Example: "I should start doing yoga, but I'll just wait until spring when it's not freezing cold walking back from the gym." Really anything that involves leaving the apartment gets put off because it's just too darn cold outside. So, I've been doing a lot of indoor activities- knitting, interneting, baking, netflixing, gold leafing, etc.

But now it's spring! And leaving the apartment doesn't feel so much like a chore. I've made a couple of goals for April that aren't necessarily outdoorsy, but are ways to feel refreshed in different areas of my life. Doesn't it seem like new year's resolutions should happen at the start of spring?

1 - spring clean 
2 - bring blog back to life 
3 - knit a sweater
4 - make art
5 - plan summer trips
6 - make goals

Making this list has really helped me to get focused and make progress.  1- I've made a good dent on spring cleaning and have driven a load of stuff to donate already, which feels awesome. This was also my first time driving a car in the city, with a very supportive Dude in the passenger seat helping out with directions. 2 - I've made the first step to bring the blog back to life right here!  3 - I just placed an order for the yarn to make the sweater in the photo above (it was very conveniently on sale). 4 - I pulled out my watercolors last night, inspired by my friends Heather and Susan who have been working on their watercolor skillz, and did some experimenting of my own.  5 - And some of my girlfriends from architecture school proposed a get together at the beginning of the summer which makes me pretty excited. 6 - I find "making goals" to be the hardest, but here's to dreaming big! Do you have any plans for spring?

#119 Off to the West Coast!

via 

It's raining.  It's really really raining!! New York weather might make me go crazy.  First, it's a million degrees and feels like you are inside a dryer when the hot breeze hits you.  Then, it decides to hail, rain, thunder and lighting like we're in Hurricane Irene again!  Not cool.  Thankfully, I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow!  High of 65 degrees and sunny all weekend.  Sounds pretty perfect in comparison!  I can't wait, it will be my first visit to SF and lots of friend reunions!  I've got my bags packed!

via coco+kelley

#118 Black & White Lookalike

I've adored this black & white floral fabric from Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock in Charcoal ever since I saw it in the office space featured in the May/June 2011 issue of Lonny Mag.  But the price tag is steep- $130 a yard, steep.  This type of luxury is so far outside of my price range I could only afford a swatch which doesn't do the pattern justice.  I've been on the lookout for lookalikes...

via Schumacher & Lonny

Saw this lovely print, but who knows where it originates. This can be the downside to pinterest- you see something so lovely, but you can never get to the source.

via Pinterest

Then low and behold, in a Facebook Ikea post, there it is.  It has the same feel of the Schumacher pattern! And at $30 for almost 5 yards of super wide (86") fabric, you can't get a better deal. I got a little excited and immediately imagined ripping the seams out of that duvet and turning it into curtains.

Alvine Kvist duvet

Ikea also carries another similar grayscale floral.

Rosmarie

I've got an Ikea trip in the works already, time to reserve the zipcar!

#117 Heat Wave & Anna Faye

Photographe by Richard Rutledge, 1947

The heat has been dizzying in the past week in New York.  I've been a bit irrational and was tempted to buy more dishes and the Dude had to stop me and threatened to put a moratorium on buying any more kitchenware until a larger kitchen came into being.  At that moment I realized I'm turning into my Grandmother, Anna Faye. She loves dishes. She has more than anyone in their right mind would ever need. She could probably start a service renting out vintage dish sets that serve 20+ guests.   Now that she's getting older she has started pawning off her collection on me, which is kind of awesome! I have no idea when I will ever need a milkglass luncheonette set that serves 18, but if I accidentally break one, it's no biggie.

The dishes in question were at Target and were extra cute striped melamine plates that would go perfectly with this set of flatware feature in this month's Rue! You should get them if you are in the market for summer dishware and I will come over and help you mind the BBQ.

via Target

via Rue June 2012

This weekend I'm going to do some exciting furniture rearranging and try to get rid of things around the apartment I no longer need. If anyone out there need a printer/scanner that has been hanging around since 2004 that only works with Microsoft XP or later, it's yours. 

Stay cool!