I'M SO EXCITED...I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT...
DATE NIGHT
Dress | Necklace | Cuff | Shoes
Ever look at the clothes in your closet and say, "Who is this person? There is nay a thing in here I would wear." This moment happens mostly for me on date nights, when I am really looking to take it beyond my usual jeans and shirt comfort zone. Maybe I shop too much for the "everyday" scenario versus the "going out scenario" but I really need to step it up. I think I fall somewhere between eclectic and feminine, with an unconventional twist, when I go out. The look above captures this and I want to be wearing it now.
MY RIFLE, MY PONY, & ME
Lullabies are a given in our family, even now as our kids close in on 2 and 3 ½, they are an ingrained part of our nightly ritual. Our favorites cover everything from Velvet Underground’s After Hours to Mama Cass’s Dream a Little Dream to the Beatle’s Rocky Raccoon…maybe not your typical fair. The one we continue to come back to is the western classic, My Rifle, My Pony, and Me. Classic you ask? Yes, this gem can be found in the 1959 Howard Hawk’s western Rio Bravo. With old-school crooner Dean Martin playing the town’s “Borachon”, and newly minted heartthrob Ricky Nelson playing quick drawing Colorado Ryan, Hawk’s just had to put a sing-a-long somewhere in the film, and this is it. As John Wayne looks on, the duo start in on a soulfully slow, jailhouse ballad about the wayward cowboy making his way back home. It tickles me to no end to hear our 2 year-old chim in about "riding through to Amarillo". Take a listen, and definitely watch this great western.
JOHN WATERS ON LIFE
Issue 58 of Frankie Magazine had a great advice-style column with the director John Waters, accompanied by the fantastic illustration shown above by Sara Hingle. Known for his flamboyant persona, and pencil thin mustache, Waters is also “divine” (complete pun intended) at dishing advice. I wanted to share some of his gems, paraphrased here, as they had me laughing out loud…
A YU FAMILY PORTRAIT
I was hired recently on a project that captured both my heart, my paint brushes, and my creativity (a personal triple hitter). The adorably talented Yu family, both parents are game designers for Mattel and their beautiful baby girl Natasha and corgi Rigby only add to the package, asked me to make a family portrait for Father’s Day. I knew I wanted to use mixed media, gouache, pens and ink, and that I wanted my style to come through, versus a completely realistic rendering. As the theme song for Family Ties played in my head, I went to work (who from our generation could forget that iconic family portrait opening?). I’m happy to say the result is one both the family and myself (the hardest critic) are pleased with, and I do have to say I think I nailed Rigby…“sha-la-la-la”.
MAKING A LIFE
"I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life." - Maya Angelou
I was told this Maya Angelou poem not too long ago and it has stayed with me, basically playing on repeat in my brain, ever since (as all good quotes do). The impact of it is both in it's simplicity, and it's application to my exact place in life right now. I love designing (a living) and I love my family (the life), and sometimes (most of the time) the two are competing for my time and attention. As with most women I know these days, we are really trying to do it all, and possibly faulting ourselves the entire time for not doing any one thing to the best of our ability. But something came to me after thinking on this quote...
COFFEE OR GIN...
When I first saw this picture of Marilyn Monroe I thought, there's a girl after my own heart. She's in bed, in a robe, with a fresh cup o' joe, perfect morning. Then I took a closer look and noticed, nope that's not a mug, that there's a tumbler. Then I thought, well she looks just as fresh-faced and ready for a new day (maybe even more so) than anyone else, so whose to judge. Coffee or gin, the point is to just take that extra lingering minute in the morning to relax. Happy Friday!
BEST DAMN COOKIE...EVER!
Pictures & recipe found at the Ambitious Kitchen.
Here's what I know...these are the BEST cookies I have ever made, eaten, and subsequently dreamt about. I saw them first posted on Cup of Jo awhile back, so you may have already experienced them. If you haven't, do yourself, your friends, your family, and co-workers a favor and carve out some time to bake these. I shared them with everyone aforementioned, because honestly I did not want to be left alone with these cookies, and everyone became my best friend. That is the magic of these cookies.
ET POURQUOI PAS COLINE?
Do you speak or read French semi-fluently? Yea, me neither, not a lick. But, somehow this very large oversight has not stopped me from becoming obsessed with a french blog called Et Pourquoi pas Coline, which I can roughly make out to mean "and why not Coline". (Actually, I'm not gonna lie, I had to translate that, that's how weak my french is). It really speaks to the universality of great style though, that I have no idea what the content is but I come back daily to see pictures of an adorable, Amelie-esque french woman, who has ridiculously cool fashion sense, rocks turbans like nobodies business, and offers great make-up recommendations. I look at the pics, proceed to click on her links, try to deduce what the products names are in English and voila. Yeah, I suppose it's more effort than I put forth for other blogs, but it's worth it cause lets be serious, french women have the best fashion and style sense hands down than anyone else. Fact. Period. End of discussion. I'll stop typing now.
STAY COOL, MY BABIES.
Working hard for the money these days is limiting my blog time. That being said, I still want to leave you with a little cool for the weekend. Enjoy!