Bits & Pieces

1. I got turned on to A Peace Treaty via Designlovefest, and man oh MAN. Aren't these scarves incredible? The shop is a collaboration between Farah Malik and Dana Arbib, two women putting aside their personal religious differences to create an amazing handwoven collection by "employing artisans with above fair trade wages and...creating income generation opportunities for out-of-work artisans, disabled and widowed women". What is not to love about that?! This girl is SOLD. 

2. Weakness for knitted bows...if I don't make one soon I might cave and buy this beauty from Lumistyle. Perfect for a messy bun kinda day! 

3. I'm a huge supporter/sporter of legwarmers when the cold weather sets in, and these Adknit boot cuffs are perfect for wearing with taller boots so you don't have to cram said legwarmers into your fancy kicks! Bonus: they come in tons of colors to match your style. 

4. Going crazy over these adorable prints. I'm not usually not one to scope one out to decorate my space, but these cuties by of life and lemons are soooo tempting! 

5. Pretty great read about being friends with people radically different than you, and why everyone should do it. 

6. I fall in to this trap more often than I should. 

7. This amazing letter from Charles Bukowski to the publisher that pushed him out of the work force and in front of a typewriter just gets me. It was recommended to me by a dear friend and will definitely give you something to think about. Might have to print this out and hang it on my wall. Just sayin'. 

Hope you've had an amazing Thursday friends! My day had a rough start but things improved significantly after work (surprise, surprise, haha), and I'm happy as a clam. 

Bits & Pieces

1. This tutorial from Cotton & Curls has me scramblin' for a men's tee and my sewing machine. YOU GUYS. 

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2. These map prints from My Roots are absolutely ADORABLE. Perfect reminder of where you've come from, where you've been, where your heart lies. And they have one for almost EVERY COUNTRY on the globe! I can't even. 

3. It hasn't been too cool as of late but the chill is coming! This amazing vintage duvet is perfect for movie night snuggling. Also, I just said snuggling. And speaking as an adult woman I might have just thrown up in my mouth a little bit because I cannot and do not "snuggle" or "cuddle". But really, the duvet is gorgeous and might convince me otherwise.

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4. Scarves, scarves, scarves. They're like cardigans. I have way too many but somehow my collection always seems lacking. And by lacking I mean see the above creations of absolute BEAUTY by St. Anderswo! She also happens to be a featured seller on Etsy this week; definitely recommend checking out the interview. I love hearing about artists' creative process. LOVE. I want to wear her whole shop. On my body. At the same time. 

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5. Gingiber never fails to please...don't care that I don't have kids, don't care don't care because these stuffed pals are CUTE with a capital Q. Haha. And I feel like her line of bear stamps need to mosey their way on over to my craft stash...

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6. I definitely stumbled upon some increeedible Etsy shops this week, if this lengthy list isn't proof enough! So many loveable, inspiring things per shop I couldn't even narrow it down to one thing to share for each! The folks at GusAndLula offer quite a variety of cute prints for your life. These are my top four faves, but don't take my word for it. Go check it fo' yo'self. 

7. I've been saying this since The Velvet Bird opened her online shop, but I reallyREALLY am so in love with the original Lola dress and need to buck up and hmmm buy it. I've been ogling it since the shop opened almost a year ago. Hello, Earth to myself. ALSO. SO EXCITED for Vanessa because she did a limited run of these forest print dresses for a brick and mortar shop in Portland! So go there and buy one and make me so jealous of your fancy fall woodland skirt twirls. Or something (: 

Happy Thursday guys. What're you lovin' this week? Also, sorrynotsorry for the lack of "fall" oriented craftiness around here. It's not really my thing. But I love carving pumpkins and I hope to do that soon! Which reminds me, have you entered the Beautiful Mess pumpkin carving contest?! xo

Sometimes.

Friends, Romans, countrymen! I don't have a Bits & Pieces post for ya today. I could say life is busy and school and work are driving me into the ground, which is actually true, but it's also just a big ol' bag of excuses. The truth is I'm reframing my perspective on a lot of things, blog included. And I've already anticipated some of your questions, like OH NO! Does this mean you're breaking up with blogland forever?! Are you going on hiatus?! WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING AAHHHH....! The answer to the first two is a definite NO. And what's happening? Well...I'm not quite sure yet. Contemplating direction, thinking about where I delegate my time and effort, prioritizing, etc. What do I really value, what's worth posting, and what's just not worth the stress? Also, something along the lines of that Sunday clothes adage "if you don't have anything nice to say blog about, don't say blog about anything at all". It's not that I don't have nice things to say, I'm just using up all my words for term papers lately.

What's Really Happening Part II is that life happens. Dreaming up a lot of fun things for the future, but I'm not exactly sure when that will all come together. 

PS YOU GUYS ARE MY FAVORITE! I hope you're havin' a baller Thursday (since Thurs is the new Friday AND tomorrow = actually Friday and then on to the WEEKEND YAAAAY) !!!

Bits & Pieces

 1. Last week Vanilla & Lace launched some new products to her ever-growing inventory of AMAZING. It's times like this when I wish the money tree I planted would hurry up and bloom already...I wish she could tailor my entire WARDROBE. Some of these pieces are limited edition, so you'd better scoop em up while you can! My favorites: Army green leather clutch / Tribal blouse / Explorer dress / Polka dot blouse / Ella skirt / Triangle tote 

 2. This bear bracelet by Sea of Bees is just about the best fall accessory a girl could ask for. 

3. Totally heart-melting over this ephemera paper pack from Ginger Creations. Perfect springboard for your fall art journal, perhaps inspired by Kara Haupt's class? She's offering the class for $10 with the code fallvibes. Get crafty, folks. 

4. HELLO Melancholia-inspired (in my mind, at least) lunar prints by The Dopeler Effect! The embroidery hoop frames just seal the deal for me. Imaging my dream craft room with these beauties hung strategically on a giant mood board wall. Swooon. Moon print / Face of Phoebe print

5. Dying over these fancy victorian-inspired kicks by GoodbyeFolk. Downton Abbey, much? 

6. If you didn't grab a disposable camera for The 100 Week, you still have time!  Four more days y'all! Get in on the action. I'm having so much fun! Can't wait to see how they come out. 

7. Cinderella's fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage. Apartment Therapy turned a pumpkin into a keg. I don't think I need to point out which one is OBVIOUSLY more genius/season-friendly/practical. And pretty dang cool, I might add. 

8. Calling all art lovers and supporters of local talent! My friend Lauren is a contestant in the RAWards indie art competition...it's kind of a big deal. OVER THE MOON excited for this girl. If she gets enough votes, she's headed to the semi-finals that could land her a ticket to Cali for a Visual Artist award! All you have to do is register, and you're allowed to vote every day until October 15th. I'll love you forever if you help her out; every little bit counts! Thankyouthankyouthankyou (: 

9. Personal loves: this breezy sunshiny weather, art journaling with my little sister, the sweet whir of my sewing machine, late night walks+talks with The Boyfriend, beautiful new music

Happy Thursday lovelies! What're you lovin' this week? 

Bits & Pieces

1. The new Polaroid z2300 is kind of amazing. Printable sticky prints? My heart melted...until I saw the price. But still, a girl can dream. 

2. So excited for the peoplewebs shop to open up again on Sept. 22nd! I can't wait to see the new designs Lindsi's been working on! 

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3. Style crushin' on the lovely Tieka of Selective Potential. I mean. This girl's got it. 

4. Look, I don't know when I got so girly, but it's happening. I don't really wear makeup, like at all, ever. I'm happy with a set of tweezers and an eyelash curler (I'm not a complete jungle woman, ok) but lately I've found myself in the cosmetic aisle of wherever I happen to be...staring at lipstick. I can count the number of times I've worn it in my life on one hand (two of which were recent; read: when I tried wearing it to work). THAT SAID...I want to experiment and build my collection. Which currently consists of a dark red I wore to prom, and a neon pink the jury's still out on. Long ramble short, this post from Cotton & Curls is really cute. 

5. Leninka's product photos are amazing. I can't even. You can find the crochet triangle jabot here and the crochet collar jabot here. 

6. MYHEART.

7. This is happening TOMORROW. I have been waiting impatiently for The Perks of Being a Wallflower to come out, and now it's almost here! Screenings are limited and there aren't any in my area so that's a bummer...looks like I'll be waiting a bit longer, but oh well. Still exciting. Edited to add: the movie website says that it'll be released in Houston on the 28th...where, I don't know, but I hope they're not kidding. 

8. Have you heard about The 100? Aside from being the coolest thing ever, the project is giving everyone who didn't get selected or just plain wants to be part of it a chance to join the partaaay! Grab a disposable; October 1-7 is go time! Click here for details. 

9. I mentioned this last week, but don't forget to check out Christine's fall playlist! She's added some new songs, and it just keeps getting better! 

Bits & Pieces

1. Barring what I said last week about this fashion industry, this woman, Iris Apfel, is an exception. I mean. You can't help but fall in love. With her, it's all a matter of perspective; not being necessarily being on-trend or going with the flow. She is her own personality, and that, I think, is the root of everything. This is just a sneak peek at the documentary currently being made about her, but you can read more about the self-proclaimed "geriatric starlet" here. 

2. Really loving the photo-a-day handkerchief journal DIY Kara did for A Beautiful Mess. That girl can make a journal out of ANYTHING. 

Open publication - Free publishing

3. The Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2012 lookbook is out! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. I want to snuggle up in some of those fancy knits, especially the Wellwood Henley (p.27) and the Breton Shirt (p.56). Plus, the photography is amazing. They couldn't have picked a better location! 

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4. Maybe I'm the only person who DIDN'T know about this, but Wendy MacNaughton is an AMAZING artist. I'm completely in love with her style. That Susan Sontag print was featured (and a limited print edition of them sold out before I could snag one!) on Brainpickings, and from there I followed the trail to her website...If you want to see some incredible, thought-provoking watercolor and ink work, she's you're gal. My favorites are her Commuters sketches, the SF Public Library (part of her "Meanwhile" documentary series), The Winemaker of Bolinas (also part of her "Meanwhile" series), AND her collaborative Pen&Ink tumblr series with Isaac Fitzgerald. PS getting lost in her blog might be the best thing that happens to you today. 

5. I get chills every time I listen to the grad speech David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon College in 2005. Mentioning this because yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of his untimely death and heartwrenching as that may be, the speech is something that everyone should hear it at least once in their lifetime. 

6. ALSO you should check out the fall playlist Christine posted this week...it's basically everything a fall playlist should be and then some. JUSTsayin. 

What're you loving today?