20.2.13

Burberry ♥s

See you guys? Its not just me, and its not just February. Theres plenty of pink, red-and-pink, and red-on-red in the fall ready-to-wear lines. The most valentines-y of them all is the always romantic Burberry Prorsum, whose collection not only featured burgundies, reds, and blush tones, but also incorporated actual, literal hearts as a motif: 




Though I support them conceptually, I dont particularly care for the white-on-red pieces... but I love how the black looks on tan, especially in that most lovely mac. Fashion seasons are funny because, when the collections debut they have to feel right, right now--but theyre shown half a year before their prescribed season, and designed, presumably, well before that. Its hard to imagine what state of mind the designers are in, seasonally, at any given moment; what they like now becomes whats popular in six months, but they probably imagined the collection a full calendar year(?) before the shows. And Ill never wrap my head around how these design houses come out with I guess theyre used to it though, and its how these sweet little hearts can feel so perfect for the moment. But will we all feel like valentimes come September? Its hard to say right now but at the moment I can tell you, yes I will. 

19.2.13

like buttah

When working at a bakery, on a regular basis one is forced to accept seasonal changes in color-way for which one may not be quite prepared, emotionally. Its sad, taking away the pink and purple heart-shaped pastries and little cakes, and replacing them with brightest kelly green shamrock and leprechaun sugar cookies. When it finally is March, Im sure Ill be ready for a fresh new palette, but for now, as you may be aware, Im still in the mood for pink! I need it to warm my heart in the depths of my wintry despair. You know? To provide yet another example, Im loving this almost exclusively pink, cream and black fall collection from Simone Rocha, which debuted in London just today! Its all so pretty, and so good! Or, most of it... Ive chosen to omit the fraggle-ier pieces because, even after all this time, I still dont get it. Nor do I understand the choice of footwear... a black patent clog is probably the least flattering thing I can think of, especially for spring--though technically, this is fall ready to wear. But those minor issues aside, this collection is filled with the sweetest, chicest little dresses and suits. How about that glossy, plastic-looking tortoise-shell skirt? I love it with that snowy jumper. Its clever how Ms Rocha has taken The Peplum--a shape everyone seems to like but which has started to feel a little stale--and sort of played with it: dropped to knee-level in a pleated pink dress, as an opaque layer over a sheer shift, or turned it into a flounce, most notably in the sheer white polka dot pencil skirt, below. Oh, all those polka dots! I want to talk more about polka dots but I wont right now. Anyway what I love most of all is that she got the pink just right: sort of a blush, peachy, candy shade that has, significantly, a warm base; cool pinks look terrible on me!



images via style.com

sweatpants?!


Have you guys ever worn sweatpants? My loungewear consists mainly of leggings, which are comfier than jeans, so it never really occurred to me to go a step beyond and see how much cozier I could get. I dont own pajama pants you see, because theyre all so incredibly ugly, and I cannot stand all that extra fabric flapping around my ankles. But I got chase this pair of sweatpants for christmas, because his old ones were falling apart and I saw them and they looked cool. And then the other day, when he was at work, I borrowed them to do the laundry.  Omg they are so comfy. Like, crazy comfy. Ive never worn anything so cozy. Why didnt I just buy them for myself?! Though truth be told they are a little baggy... but its in a princess-jasmine way that Im sort of in to. The elastic cuffs make all the difference.

image via here

17.2.13

its a valentines day miracle!


Sure I got chocolate and roses, and even a brand new subscription to Vogue, which will save me literally dollars a year off the newsstand price. But the best belated valentines day present of all are the two fluffy funny kittens we are getting tomorrow! Actually, theyre not kittens, theyre full-grown cats... but they are fluffy and, from what I understand, funny. And Im so excited! We are just fostering them temporarily for a friend of a friend who moved recently, so Ill try not to get too attached, but all this time Ive been unpacking and settling and decorating, Ive known that something was missing, beyond not enough wall art and a lack of proper lighting. Sometimes Ill look over at our easy chair and think, a cat belongs there. You know?

They are coming over tomorrow you guys! And I dont even know their names yet! 

This is the best!

painting by Dr Vogelmeisje via here

16.2.13

we ♥ spak bros!


It was a weird weather day today, pretty cold and windy with lots of foreboding clouds rolling around--but Ive learned that its important to get Felix outside at least once a day so that we all dont go crazy at each other. Rather than traipse all over Bloomfield, Felix and I decided to go for a short walk up the street to our favorite new mother-and-son hang out, Spak Bros. Its this totes punk little pizza place on the corner, and Ive recently realized its the best place to take beebeeboy of an afternoon if I dont want to make a big production out of things. The walk really is short (about five minutes for me, about fifteen for Felix) so we dont even need a stroller, which he pretty much refuses to ride in these days anyway...


Felix loves the decor (pictures of Spider Anne, Super Anne and some different ladies) and all of the buttons and knobs on the AC/DC and Batman pinball machines keep him entertained while I eat my delicious, cartoon pizza, $2 a slice! (you can get any topping you want for 50¢ but I ran out of quarters!) 


They also have a decent variety of small-batch sodas (the ginger beer is nice and spicy!) and local apple juice, which I let felix drink straight out of the carton, much to his delight. He barely spilled any!


The boys that work there (there were only boys there today) are nice, if sometimes a little goofy, and dont seem to mind a toddler hanging around, so I can just sit there and snack while Felix runs all around pretending to play pinball. So relaxing!

apres street style


Ive been thinking a lot about Apres Ski as the logical winter alternative to a nautical look. Think about it: both are preppy, sporty, and are implicitly associated with wealth and privilege. Ive more to say about this but somehow cant quite get it into words. But for now, on the subject of Apres Ski and in the name of seeking encouragement to tough out the rest of the season, (the weather took another turn for the worse today) I was happy to see plenty of shearling, down, stocking caps, chunky knitwear--and even goggles!--in both Stockholm Street Styles recent collection of pictures from Copenhagen Fashion Week, and Tomy Tons street-style coverage of the Fall 2013 fashion weeks, both featured on Style.com


This is the first year style.com has covered the Danish fashion week, and it feels so fresh and wintry to me. Ive always wanted to go to Denmark... I read somewhere that its the cleanest country in the whole world! Or at least one of them... Plus, its so little! Or as felix would say, loodle.


images via style.com

still thinking pink


Well valentines has come and gone, but Im still in the mood for all things pink, a passion Ive chosen to channel in my decorative exploits (see these cool new lamps I bought as a valentines gift to myself? five dollars only!) From a design perspective, pink, more than any other color, is difficult to treat as just a color, so strong is its association with girliness. But it doesnt have to be feminine... in fact, it used to be the more masculine hue in the pink-blue dichotomy (you can read this post I wrote a year ago if you want to know a little more about it, and see some pictures of adorable korean children while youre at it) As an accent against clean neutral tones, look how its used to pleasing, fairly gender-neutral (ever so slightly twee) effect in this Danish (Norweigan? Swedish? Scandinavian anyway) ladys apartment:


 Not surprisingly, when I was little, I loooooved the color pink. Then I turned eight and realized what a childish favorite color it was, and promptly transferred my allegiance to a beautiful shade of ocean swimming-pool blue I couldnt seem to stop thinking about. But looking back, I feel I may have abandoned my love of pink too hastily. Because while cerulean inspires me, pink, more than any other color, really does cheer me up. Only, I read once, during a unit on color theory in my high school interior design class, that if you paint a room pink, like in a prison or something, at first it improves everyones mood, ameliorating violent tendencies... but then eventually it makes them go insane. I wish I had a citation for that, but I swear I did read it.But the aforementioned maddening effect the pink room had was on people who presumably couldnt leave it, and thankfully, that doesnt describe me. And presumably the kind of pink one chose would make a difference. If it were me, Id go with a pastel. In the kitchen (I hate pink for a bedroom) pale, peachy shell-pink can take the place of all-white china without seriously interfering with the aesthetic presentation of a meal. And how about that powder pink Smeg?!


Or what about a pink Aga, even? I dont think theyre really the best for cooking having used one over the summer, but they sure do look great. Could you have a pink fridge and a pink stove? Or would that be too much? I suspect its better to have a black stove...


Its such a nice soft look. Conversely, I also love this modern and compelling hot pink, offset by speckly tile flooring, bright green succulents, and all that white (successful pink interiors seem to incorporate plenty of white):



Youd have to choose one or the other, pastel or neon (a paler scheme works better in a smaller space) and no matter what it would be important to keep it modern. Then youd have to convince your husband it was a good idea. But wouldnt it just make you feel like baking, all the time!?


images via here, here, here herehere