While I was still living in Germany, my favorite clothes were made by the Swedish company Gudrun Sjöden. I love the high quality of the clothes, the material and unique cut. Gudrun Sjöden didn't care what was trendy (still doesn't). Her designs have always been unique, colorful, flowing - simply beautiful in my eyes.
Then I moved to the US and had to say goodbye to my beloved Gudrun style (except for the pieces I still own). However, the last time I went to visit Germany, I stocked up on Gudrun clothes and I also got on their mailing list. Yes, they send their catalog from Germany to California! And only a few weeks ago I found out that the company actually sends their clothes to the US from Sweden if you order them there, and the shipping is FREE. Of course you have to pay in Euro - kind of a shocker, but so worth it.
Their catalogs are pure eye-candy. They often go to other countries for a photo shoot - I still remember a splendid fall collection shot in Morocco back in the 90's. A couple of months ago I received this catalog with a photo shoot in Botswana. The photography is so yummy, I simply have to share it with you.
Yes, I ordered the set on the right (shirt and skirt), I couldn't resist.
Last Thursday my friend Jo and I spent a wonderful day just on our own. We left the kids with Jo's husband and took off. First we went to a huge thrift store of the Salvation Army where we rummaged through piles of stuff for almost three hours. We tried on shoes and hats, looked at furniture, walked through rows of bookshelves, contemplated the purchase of a purple ladder as decoration for the garden (we didn't buy it) and just this and that - dishes, vases, purses, knickknack -; it was delightful.
Of course we were hungry after that. Since it was a gorgeous day we drove to the Jimtown Store in the beautiful Alexander Valley - this old red truck parks right next to the store and you can get a glimpse of the beautiful area in this picture.
We had just parked the car when we saw this barn overgrown with trumpet vine and all the other beautiful details:
The Jimtown Store houses a deli - the sandwiches are delicious. We shared a grilled cheese with eggplant, provolone, prosciutto, basil, arugula and olives - oh yummy! The homemade lemonade was flavored with lavender, what a treat.
Of course we also looked around the store after we were done with our sandwiches. It offers all kinds of stuff - picnic dishes and baskets,
and wonderful cookbooks.
I had to laugh about these tins - my maiden name is Schilling.
And here are the two lovely ladies at large:
At the thrift store I had bought a vase and this decorative head (how do you call those in English?). I cut some branches of my buddleia, I think they fit perfectly into the vase. The head probably will eventually find its home in the garden.
This reusable canvas shopping bag by Riley Noehren on Etsy is totally cute and pretty green. I would totally work it at the farmers market - imagine it filled to the brim with fresh, seasonal local veggies, hanging from my beloved scooter as I zip home - so cute, no? Of course this vision would mean I'd actually have to get out of bed before 11am on a Sunday morning, and I wouldn't hold your breath for that... but the bag is cute nonetheless. ;)
Guess what I found in my mailbox today? A small parcel from Kelly Rae. Oh my! I had thought that the items I had ordered from her shop would ship at a later date. What a lovely surprise! She simply made my day! The datebook is so beautiful with lovely quotes for each month, and she wrote a personal little sentiment on the first page. How lovely is that! The necklace is very cute - I love the mother/daughter theme. You can also see her postcard that she told us about in her Flying Lessons.
The entire day has been so nice so far. In the morning I went to Michaels - because another store that I actually wanted to visit was still closed. I don't shop at Micheals very often, but every now and then I stop by and just wander the aisles. Today rubber stamps were 40% off and they actually had a few very nice ones. Others were on clearance. Plus some nice little brads. I also found the Tim Holtz idea-ology paper pack which I really like.
All in all - some nice little surprises during a good day. I am so grateful.
Let's take a little stroll down memory pop culture lane today, shall we? I've found a few nuggets from the weboverse that I had to share - any and all of which may place me squarely in the "pop culture whore / likes the same stuff as a 13-year-old girl / slowly rotting my brain away" category. But I don't really care. And neither do you realllly, do ya, Judgy McJudgerson? You know you love it. So let's take a look, eh?
First up: trendy nails.
Soooo, everyone (okay, every 16-year-old) knows Lauren Conrad is, like, the coolest. And everyone knows that all the trends come from Asia before they hit America. Well, LC (Lauren Conrad is known as "LC" for any of those of you who live under a rock...Sara) just got back from Hong Kong and look at the fun mani she brought back with her:
I already covered matte nail polish and gray nail polish (both of which are going to be huge again this fall - though gray nails are now being usurped by "greige" - gray/beige), but is leopard the next big trend in nails? It is kind of cute, but I'm not sure it's the best for everyday workwear...
Next up: silly shower caps.
Thank you, Urban Outfitters, for always selling the most entertaining slash ridiculous products on the planet. Case in point: shower caps that look like animals (cat, shark, and so on), as well as other objects (no, no, UO is not about to leave out the possibility of putting an ice cream cone, raspberries or devil horns on your head!).
Here are some of my faves from their offerings:
The Happy Hippo would make for a cheery start to your day. Or how about something furry and gray on your head (and not just hairs that need a dye job?) The duck bill could serve as a visor to keep water out of your face. Convenient!
Last: I can't not mention the VMAs in some capacity (and throw in both a Twilight and a SYTYCD reference all at once!).
So last year I commented on some of the performances from the VMAs(which are more fully known as the MTV Video Music Awards...try to keep up with the references here, folks...ahem, Sara) and this year I was really into the performance by Florence Welch from the English group Florence + the Machine. She gave one of the few live performances of the night and sang among a flurry of blue-painted dancers. She was awesome, as were the dancers...whose movement looked strangely familiar. Turns out they were choreographed by Travis Wall, a So You Think You Can Dance alum.
Oh, and if the Florence song sounds familiar to you, it could be because it's the song from the Eat Pray Love preview (or maybe, if you actually are 13, it's because another Florence song - Cosmic Love - was used in Twilight).
Check out her live performance - and the awesome dancers - here:
And if you can't watch embedded videos, you can see the video here.
Well, I hope this dose of teenager-appropriate pop culture has brightened your Tuesday lunch break. I'm going back to my normal regimen of important and deep topics now (you know, things like Martha Stewart pole dancing, Obama drinking games, beards, and proper TP loading...those sort of deep topics). Cough. :)
As promised, I'm doing my best to banish thoughts of sunny, sunny summertime and focus on fall. It is definitely helping that the weather has cooled down a bit and is even slightly chilly at night.
Fall always makes me think of back to school, a new season, a new start, and therefore...shopping! But, since I'm supposed to be on a shopping hiatus (damn you, recession!), I've cut back my shopping habits from slightly maniacal to none or to strictly budget finds only.
I've scoped out a few great picks for the fall - all on trend and all cheeeeap - so I thought I'd share a few of them with you....But not all, since I've got to have some tricks up my sleeve still, right? (Tricks of the "yes, I got this at Nordstrom" as I hide the $13 F21 tag variety...) ;)
With fall here, I'm just waiting for the rains to start any day. But since we still have quite a few outdoor activities on the books (the MRE Tug of War, concerts at Merriweather, football games, etc.), some sturdy but comfy boots are in order.
I'm kind of obsessed with the Hunter boot / Jimmy Choo collaboration and one of its offspring, the Carnaby Boa Tall in black: I am not obsessed with the $250 price tag.
For the clothes themselves, trends like neutrals, ladylike style and menswear are all huge for fall 2010, so a classic tan trench is a clutch piece (also good for the aforementioned coming rain). I'm not sure I really need a trench, but this one from H&M is very nearly perfect and it's only 35 dollars: I kind of want to go there today and snap this up before everyone else in Annapolis scoops me on this good find!
I would work it like this: Olivia Palermo is a silly, silly biotch, but she can rock an outfit like none other. That look is so yummy I could die.
Another H&M score that falls right in line with the fall trends - animal print being huge again this year - is this cute and cheap cardi for 25 bucks: Screenshot from the Today Show, as found on Full House.
Going back to Payless, I can't tell if these "shooties" by Lela Rose are awesome or kind of crazy:
I think they'd look really good with tights (or maybe even over-the-knee socks) and they're definitely on point with the trends, but I might look like a wacko wearing them...
I'm also tempted to try the faux fur vest layered with other stuff look or over-the-knees socks (with a skirt or shorts, duh), but I couldn't find any good pics to illustrate the look. Maybe that should be a good clue for me not to try them...
Have you scooped up any fun new finds for fall? Any amazing bargains or steals we should all know about?
Folks. I AM BACK. :) I've missed you all! Fo reals. Did you all have nice Labor Day weekends? Ah, the last holiday weekend of the summer. When did it get to be September?? I feel like summer just started and now it will be over - officially - in 19 days! (Though Labor Day weekend really feels like the true end of summer.) Boo.
In the meantime, I'm grasping on to the last semblances of summer, which to me right now is feeling like a nautical tone - for the home, clothes and accoutrement. Here are some of the nautical items inspiring me right now:
The above living room really started off this seafaring feeling for me. I don't like an overly "theme-y" room, but this one is done nicely and without getting too crab shanty. The striped rug, the tufted ottoman and the pseudo-leopard stripe pillows are killing me with goodness. (Also this room kind of looks like a much more chi-chi version of my own living room, so of course I'm in love.) ;)
These sheets are totally nautical with a touch of French provencal - and would be perfect in any crisp guest room. Can't you just picture visiting the coast of Maine, sleeping in a white and blue room, with a lovely ceiling fan overhead and a seabreeze through the window? These would be the sheets I'd imagine gracing that bed. Ahhh....
I would wear a stripey sweater every day if it wouldn't be just plain weird (and slightly dirty, no? or require tons of washing...). Oh yeah, and I'd happily float around all day on a lovely boat in Napoli, too, but that part may be a little less realistic than just rocking a sweater daily...
35 buckaroos for some seaside style in your house isn't half bad. I'd snap this up instantly if we had any doors that needed holding up (I don't think my bathroom door or the front door would work...).
I saw these dishes in person the other day and they are amazing. They're reasonably heavy-weight and the illustrations on them are gorg. They're a little pricey and maybe a bit much for everyday (the octopus tentacle handle on the teacup is both genius and creepy), but I still love 'em.
I mean really. Who doesn't need a pair of gold docksiders in their closet? I know I sure do. (Also please note that I had an identical pair of these when I was in elementary school. They were fresh to death and I wore them allll the time. Such a trendsetter at 10. [haha])
And finally, this fun guy was too cute not to include. We all need a little whimsy, especially when doing nautical, and this guy is pretty good. In fact, I would wear his outfit anytime.
So what do you think? Is this nautical route way too overdone these days? I'm not planning to run out and buy all of these accoutrement anytime soon (or any, likely), but I did love the breezy and clean feeling these pics gave me. Hope it helped you hang on to summer just a wee bit longer!
Kaefer and I went to IKEA today because she wanted to get a certain bookcase. Since we had lots of time we strolled through the showroom and the "Bermuda Triangle" (the market place), had lunch and finally got her bookcase. Here are a few of the things that we liked.
This lamp is just gorgeous - not necessarily a good source of light, but certainly pretty unique.
I just love these bed sheets.
My all time favourite kitchen - only I wouldn't opt for black tiles.
And finally this mirror - wow, I love that one. Perhaps one day I'll get it for my "studio". Reflected in it you can see the reason for our trip to IKEA - the Expedit bookcase.
