: notes to self :

Hello, Spring

Lookbook for Team 5 (wishful thinking...3 months till the ban is over!):



Victoria Ruffle Cami



Meringue-sleeve top



Slub cotton silk Melody dress



Merino Michelle v-neck cardigan



Pearl-cluster elastic hairband



Wellington boots



Silk gala clutch



Mahali dot jubilee short



Fine-stripe 2-button Aldridge suiting



Sutherland trench coat



Heavyweight slub jersey cardigan



Solid repp-silk Cambridge tie




Jack Purcell chino sneakers

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” -- William Morris

When we went to Versailles, I was really thrilled and amazed the grandeur of the palace. I couldn't believe the opulence and scale at which everything was arranged and designed--French Baroque, you had me at bling.





Even the vast expanse and detail of the grounds was extraordinary. I fell in love with the entire place, especially the delicate wall details, and the gorgeous silk covered chairs; the magnificent bronzed statues, and just the over-the-top, flamboyant Rococo spirit of the main rooms. This, along with the large-format French paintings we saw during our trip, made me even more enamoured with the art period.

AJ recently saw Marie Antoinette and it got me thinking about different design aesthetics. Yes, I loved the splendor of Versailles and that sensibility, but I don't know if I could completely commit to it. I am still drawn to Baroque's opposite-the Japanese aesthetic (and just for now, I don't mean Hello Kitty et al. Gomen).

Anthony Bourdain on the Japanese approach to cuisine, from A Cook's Tour:

No cuisine, broadly speaking, makes as much sense: the simplest, cleanest, freshest elements of gustatory pleasure, stripped down and refined to their most essential. Unlike Tokyo's streets-and much of its popular culture-the traditional sectors of food and relaxation are austere, uncompromising, devoid of all distraction and repetition, beautiful in the manner of a single long-stemmed calla lily: unknowable and serene.


The ideals, heavily influenced by Buddhism and Shintoism, portray the beauty of transcience and incompleteness.Though the root of this is supposed to communicate an appreciation for the individual element, I find that modern interpretations emphasize the beauty of the collective, of order.

you got the right stuff, baby


they're kind of grody old men now, especially in the videos, but...


heeheeeeeeeeee!

when NKOTB fever hit in 1989, by default I "got" to like donnie, only bc my best friend at the time had claimed Jordan. I secretly harboured a fondness for Jon, and I think it was my precocious talent for spotting future handsomeness, I knew Joey had potential hahahah. Poor danny always got the short end of the stick, but success is the best revenge--he's the vp of a private jet company now hahaha!


sigh =)





new single: "Single"

just a little longer...

it's 1238 am, and i should have been sleeping over an hour ago...but if i go to bed, this time-travelling dream will really be over, and i'll really have to wake up and face the day, the office, the weight of responsibility and the empty space beside me.

every so often...

i try to be crafty a la Martha.

Today at work, two of the art buyers showcased their work in a gallery on the 5th floor. Can i just say...amazing??

Check it out:

www.thaolam.com
www.joribaldwin.com

Seeing all of their artwork and being totally enthralled by the beauty of it was inspiring and depressing--I was not being very proactive in my attempts to be Martha's heir apparent.

In my depressed state, I went surfing for inspiration, and went to the Style Me Pretty blog. I checked out the DIY section, and saw this post:

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2007/12/18/do-it-yourself-wedding-projects-5/

The most adorable luggage tags ever! I have been on a big luggage tag kick, especially after I saw this one from flight001.com:



cute, eh?

anyways, I was all of a sudden determined and resolute to bang out a craft project this very night. Eeep!

So one trip to Michaels, one walk with the doggy in the gorgeous summer night, and 1.5 hours later...an amateur bunch of luggage tags, but given the circumstances (wrong-sized eyelets, printer wouldn't print on cardstock), I think they're okay for a first attempt. (Look at all of those ribbons askew!) They're backed with cardstock and the Mary and Michael one does have an eyelet in it, but you can't see it clearly.






and no it's not "crazy" that i am pretending to be such good friends with ina that I wrote her name on a luggage tag . I made her lasagna on sunday for the site, and look how she is beaming her approval!



thanks, ina! chat later? awesome.