don't let our youth go to waste

Spring keeps threatening to come to town in full force and then, sadly, retreating.  Still...I can't complain considering for the first time in four years, I can wear whatever shoes I want in January without the fear of them being destroyed by gray slush. Freedom!

Luckily, though, while I wait for Austin to go into full bloom for two perfect months before sweltering heat takes over, bits of spring can be found indoors.

A mini springtime shrine:  My roommate's copy of one of my very favorite records, a snake plant, a lamp gifted to me by my mother, and Stella by Stella McCartney from my sister.

More on Galaxie 500...because there's always more to say about Galaxie 500!  Despite having a pretty good run this past week of suspiciously good moods, I've been listening almost exclusively to music on the gloomier side.  I keep coming back to these songs, in particular, and getting nostalgic for the magical night I saw Dean Wareham open for Belle & Sebastian and ended up in a P.F. Chang's until close because none of the bars in downtown Boston were letting our underage friend in.

There is also always more room for Stella McCartney! Her Spring 2012 campaign by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott is pretty perfect.  If I weren't already super set in the sunglasses department, I would probably spend a lot of time thinking about this particular pair of shades. 

This chandelier by Pani Jurek has been making the rounds on the internet lately, but I never tire of seeing it and can't help but think I'd be able to make my own mini version for my bedroom.  Now I just have to work a constant supply of fresh flowers into my budget...which really, I should have done ages ago.

My dream blouse by Equipment. 

This tea towel from The House That Lars Built is way too pretty for drying dishes.  I want to snatch one up for myself to hang on my wall. 

paint it gold

Excitement is the word. Excitement!

I purchased some fancy gold leather paint & I'm now offering a few shiny pieces in the Cut Path shop and will soon have even more designs available.

I think I'm definitely inching a bit closer to the aesthetic I'm super into - twee occult: for girls who wanna spin Beat Happening records while they play with Ouija boards.  Derivative as fuck! But I love derivative. I mean, I'm not down with outright plagiarism, but references piled up on each other to the point of being practically meaningless are cool with me.  Enthusiasm is the new apathy! 

boo & boo factory leather jewelry

How fantastic are these laser-cut leather pieces from Boo and Boo Factory based out of Los Angeles? Even though personally I'm not the biggest fan of color, I wouldn't mind owning a few items from this Etsy shop for spring to wear with some colorful striped tops. 

geometric necklace

geometric leather earrings

geometric leather earrings

leather earrings

leather brooch

score+solder

While Tricia and I were doing some internet research at our internship today, I came across this lookbook from score+solder and immediately had to stop what I was doing to share them. One day when I'm a real adult with a real job, I'll have more thoughtfully placed greenery around the house. 

all images from http://scoreandsolder.com/

what's the bizness, yeah?

I've wanted business cards for some time now. Not because I have particularly serious business to arrange or because I'm constantly weaving in and out of social settings where I leave people wondering how can I get more of what you have to offer? I just like them.

I finally got around to making some today with the lasercutter, and I quite like how they turned out!  Are they terribly informative? No, not at all...but hey, do I really have that much information to give? No, not really.  

Since it's the internet, here is a shot of what they look like next to kitten paws so you can fully understand them.  

I don't know if you can really tell from these photos, but the text is etched into the paper.  It's really, really cool if you happen to get excited about things like indentations in paper.  

Probably my favorite thing about the whole thing is now I have hand confetti! A new lease on life, for sure.

While I'm blabbering a bit about personal branding, here's the current packaging for my jewelry.  Nothing too fancy yet - definitely by no means final, but it'll do for now! 

P.S. the fabric in the background of these photos is some cotton I dyed peach. I'm gonna make a stamp and do a floral pattern on it one of these days and make a fine lookin' pillow cover.  

dreamy shoes

Some super dreamy spring shoes from Dieppa Restrepo via Totokaelo. 

Camilla Boot in Grey Leopard 

Luca Oxford in Rose Gold Metallic

introducing CUT PATH

If you follow me on other corners of the internet, you might already know this, but I'm making and selling jewelry now!  I had initially hoped to launch my Etsy shop, Cut Path, in a more organized fashion...but I don't anyone who knows me will be surprised in the least to find that it didn't quite go down that way.  

The cool thing is that at this point, my shop has only been open for a couple days and I've already sold most of what I have in stock & have a couple custom orders in the works....and for that, I want to extend a gigantic thank you to everyone who has bought something or simply mentioned it to a friend.  That was way cool of you! I'm sure your radness will be rewarded when the universe decides to distribute the next wave of good vibes or something.  Or maybe you'll just really like your jewelry!  

Thanks to the sales I've made, I will be able to make more & I will have a shop update Wednesday and can show you a more complete selection of my current range of products.  Until then, here are some photos of my beautiful friend Joyce wearing my wares and Caroline's flawless wardrobe.   Thanks, ladies!

dusen dusen spring 2012

lookbook images from the upcoming spring 2012 dusen dusen collection - flawless as usual! all images are via the dusen dusen facebook page.

january favorites

Over the course of the past few months, I've noticed my slow withdrawal from the internet both in reading blogs and posting blog entries which I apologize for. Frankly, I haven't had much to comment about that hasn't already been featured in what seems to be a million other places (now with Tumblr, Pinterest, blogs, Facebook, etc), thus losing its original luster. Perhaps some of you feel this way, but overexposure to "inspiration" websites / social media often leaves me feeling completely jaded to it, or at least, I have a hard time finding things that I feel are "special" when I'm constantly being stimulated. One can handle only so much whimsy.

Limiting my time spent scrolling through hundreds on pages of Tumblr and pins on Pinterest has helped me significantly and I've been able to come across a few new favorites for January. 

First Rite Spring '12 Collection - Simple shapes, muted color scheme, crop tops and high-waisted bottoms aka everything I love. A coworker actually told me yesterday that I always am wearing the sample outfit (usually involving grey and black) and that I need to "spice up my wardrobe." I had to disagree - I know what I like and works for me, it's hard for me to stray from what's comfortable AND flattering. For spring I'd like to incorporate some more blousy tops and perhaps some printed bottoms, but again, nothing too dramatic.

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Super dreamy winter outfit. 

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The adult in me has emerged - all I want to do with my extra income is decorate my house. I never paid more attention than necessary to interior design before I moved in my current house (my first non-apartment dwelling without my parents!), but I cannot get enough of design "inspiration." My favorite places to look for it have been through Apartment Therapy and Freund Von Freunden. Something about knowing the spaces were decorated by actual human beings and not interior decorators (most of the time), makes the inspiration seem much more attainable. 

P.S. Does anyone now where I can get a cat hanger? I desperately need one.

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poolside

As much as I love my oversized marled-gray sweaters and scarves, the past few days of surprisingly warm weather in Austin has me longing for spring and even more warm days - mostly because I'm ready to get a little sunshine and prance around in my swimsuit. Opening Ceremony's newest collection of swimsuits has me coveting a floral vintage-inspired one-piece to wear while basking on the side of the pool (also need to work on the pool situation...).

All images from openingceremony.us

home inspiration: erin templeton

Ever since the late night decision to turn the rarely-used dining room into a studio, I've, once again, become obsessed with the infinite opportunities on the internet to glean inspiration from afar with the hope of successfully crafting my ideal home and workspace.

One of my favorites by far is the cozy space of Erin Templeton captured by Jennilee Marigomen for 01 Magazine - bursting with plant life, textures, and white walls walls adorned with the kind of details I'm sure visitors get lost for hours in...it's definitely the kind of place that would make me feel at home.  Plus, the fuzzy cat ain't hurtin'.  

See more photos here.