a few days off

i'll be taking thursday & friday off for the holidays. ok - it has little to do with the holidays & more with the growing list of things to do (that does not involve any early friday morning excursions). i'm doing my own holiday cards again this year & prepping for i heart rummage on dec 21. other than that, i'm hoping to get in some nice fall walks, bike rides & relaxation.

until next week lovelies. in the meantime, take a minute & let these slick tunes put you in the mood.

etsy wednesday

bungalow has the cutest collection of vintage inspired ribbon & silk necklaces & hair pieces. i can't get enough of these feminine details. most of her products fall in the $18 - $24 range.

patrick leger

i love these nice limited color illustrations by patrick leger. you can check out the north carolinian's blog too.

via booooom!

add it to the blogroll

party perfect is a great resource for all of you who love hosting & entertaining. sara hicks malone finds the best ideas & inspiration for table settings, food, decorations, themes & party details. i love love it.

found space

bart & i headed to the international district on saturday afternoon to do some exploring; wing luke asian museum, kobo shop & gallery, momo & the kinokuniya book store. wing luke was a gorgeous space, the relfection rooms/stairwells especially. the george tsukawa exhibit was interesting as well as the photographs of 1920s cannery workers; some of the others seemed unfinished or thrown together without a lot of heart. i recommend going, but i say it's an experience about the space & the architectural & design details.

i also recommend visiting neighboring stores kobo & momo, both have fun inventory. i picked up a cute egg press card & some soaps, a great place for a pretty gift.

if you still have some energy (you'll need a lot), stop by kinokuniya book store for a sheet of puffy stickers, japanese crafting books or some of chronicle books latest artist collections.

flower cluster - a broach, belt & hair piece tutorial

they are everywhere from j. crew to new york fashion week, the applique flower. remember this girl; she's the one that started it for me. remember this little belt at urban; it gave me the latest idea. this is going to teach you how to make linen flower clusters that can then be made into a hair piece, broach or belt.

for a picture led tutorial - click here. the beginning is for a flower & feather headband; after step 6, move to 7a for the clusters

what you need:
pearls or small beads
linen or other lightweight fabric
1-2 yards 3/8" velvet ribbon
pin back
clip or barrett
needle
thread
glue (craft or bookbinding glue will work fine)

instructions:
1. cut linen into 17 circles of various sizes
2. stack the circles from small to large - two groups of 6, one of 5
3. thread your needle with a similar color thread & come up through the center of the stack. bring back dow & repeat one more time.
4. fold the stack in half & thread through close to the fold. this will create some gathering. fold in the opposite direction & repeat.
5. from the bottom, come up straight through the stack & thread the cluster of beads, one at a time.
6. after beading the center you may find that the flower is laying flat again. you will want to bring the needle through various sections & numbers of the circles to gather them together (avoid the top one so that you don't see the stitches). this will create some random scrunching & volume.
7. repeat steps 3-6, to create 3 flowers total.
8. assemble the three flowers in a pattern that you want them clustered. connecting two at a time, tack them together through the bottom two layers of the flowers. make sure that your tacking doesn't appear on the top of them.
9. cut a piece of matching fabric that will cover the tacking & stitched centers of each flower.
10. position pin backing on fabric backing. stitch & secure.
11. dab glue on each flower center & in the middle of the cluster. place fabric backing over the back of the flower cluster, let the glue dry (1 hour)
12. position the clip below the pin backing & begin sewing the narrow end through the first couple layers of the flower cluster. maybe 5 loops for each side of the clip.
13. staying under the fabric backing, pull the thread to the opposite side of the clip.
14. secure the back of the clip by stitching underneath the top piece & under the full clip. loop around 6 times.
15. tie off the loop & knot your thread.
16. tack the fabric backing & the bottom layers of your cluster, i'd say about every 1/2". tie off your tacking in a place hidden by other flower layers.
17. glue the back portion of your clip to the fabric backing.

this lovely cluster has multiple uses: pull back one side of your hair for a dramatic look, attach to your favorite cardigan or blazer, or find a pretty piece of velvet ribbon & create a belt to go over your favorite simple tank or dress.

music to listen to

kexp never lets me down. this week they introduce me to school of seven bells, a brooklyn based group that met in 2004 while on tour with their own bands, on!air!libraries! & secret machine. i highly recommend picking up alpinisms, i'm not quite sure why i like it so much, but i think it has something to do with the airy vocals & dancey beats. it's the kind of music you play when you are driving up to the mountains early in the morning; it allows you to wake up & get pumped at the same time. it feels like a sunny, winter day.

it's worth noting that they are playing at neumo's on tuesday, nov 25.

this is ridiculous

i can hardly breath, i feel so superficial & materialistic, i'm distracted, there is money burning holes in more than my pockets. i've been suckered into thinking that i need to buy more clothes, from gorgeous blog posts at creature comforts, street style fashion blogs, wardrobe remix on flickr, the girl above, gossip girl episodes & my always well-dressed girlfriends, i can't avoid feeling that i have nothing to wear. i need to spend a day in my closet figuring out what i really need (i use this term lightly, as in "i don't have to have anything, i simply want a lot.) to make my wardrobe complete for this seattle winter.

i've been working on the staples for a year or two: black pumps, riding boots, flats, city sneaks, pea coat, empire waste evening jacket, velvet blazer, pencil skirt, black trousers, wide leg jeans, skinny jeans & day to night dresses. hell, i've even done pretty well with trendy accessories: skinny belts, wide belts, bell shaped sweater, bright cardigans, long cardigans, scarves, bright color clutches, linen tuxedo tops & printed dresses. although, i do have to blame the last year's 10 lbs for the disappearance of (or uncomfortable wearing of) certain items: pulling buttons of my favorite menswear tops, too-skinny jeans, muffin-top designer jeans & a bag full of too small trousers.

i decided to attempt a process that would make this mindful, careful & effective. first, i made a list of times when i feel like i have nothing to wear. it turns out it's every situation, every event, every day; maybe this makes my feeling invalid. second, i made a list of outfits i would want to wear to these events. third, i made a list of those items (independent of outfit). i found that a lot of these items overlapped. finally, i took a look at that list & crossed out items that i already own & highlighted items i don't own or need to replace (fit or wear). i came up with the following list, now i just need to prioritize:

plaid button up (maybe vintage menswear)
casual fall/spring jacket
mid length, black cardigan (thin)
short frilly/accented cardigan
silky floral tops
solid warm dress
dark work jeans
fun/accent pumps
rain boots

i'm all about questions today, so - what is one piece of clothing that you can't live without, how do you wear it?

craigslist finds

a few accent pieces for you today. danish bar, $195 & the roost pebble felted rug, $300.

the rug sells at velocity & area 51 for around $500. it's a great deal on my dream rug, but here is the question - is buying a used rug gross or smart?

let the right one in

i went down to see let the right one in last night (it'll will be a short stint at the varsity theater here in seattle). this swedish film is a story about coming of age, first loves & vampires - to put it simply. paul constant has a perfect review over at the stranger saying, "(it) can become a film about all kinds of things: the weird sexuality of burgeoning adolescents, how anger and violence can sometimes be a perfectly reasonable response in the proper situation, and how love is always completely, seriously fucked-up."

i thought it could have been scarier, but the subtlety was perfect & it seems to have led to late night conversations about humanity for some.