Look At This: Tweed Run

Happy New Year my dear! I hope it's off to an amazing start! I also hope one of your new years resolutions is to wear more tweed and ride vintage bikes through the streets of New York. Because apparently everyone who does this is fabulous. The Tweed Run is a sponsored event by the king of prep himself, Mr. Ralph Lauren (or at least his brand sponsors it) and the gorgeous Jamie Beck was a featured blogger who captured the day beautifully. Just take a peek at these images.



So beautiful. Speaking of, our talented photographer friend, Ms. Jamie Beck is the first pretty lady on the bike in the top left. Isn't she adorable. Yes, yes she is.
(all images are from her delightful blog, From Me To You)

Look At This: 365 Lucky Days

So, remember when we used to have time to "create" things? Oh, me either really but I do remember a time when I was less busy and can imagine I may have filled that time creating. Until we get to that point again, let's live vicariously through the incredibly talented Lucky who's decided to make something every day for a whole year: hence the "365 lucky days" project. Her hand-embroidered portraits on top of vintage fabrics make me super happy. Especially because she themes them around topics like "blog crush" and "take this job and shove it". The ladies I'm sharing are from her "bombshell" week and the fellas are from "I think I love you but I'm a preteen and my mom says it's just hormones" week. Hilarious.


These are so many more are from the 365 Lucky Days blog. Check it.

Look At This: Christmas Dioramas

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Mine was really delicious and relaxing—everything you hope it will be! Did you all go out on Friday? Well, I did. And I don't want to talk about it really. It was a disaster. But, I got myself a super great electric toothbrush for a super great price so it was all worth it. Hmmmmm... Let's move on.
Dioramas are so magical aren't they? I kind of forgot how much I love them until I was spending way too much time on pinterest yesterday and ran across a handful of pins from a friend of mine. I'm inspired to make one of my own (or at least seek out a fun one on etsy). Do you have any?


images (from top left): winter scenes under domes (both) // tree under bell // japanese paper scene // octopus // house // reindeer

Look At This: Miss Eve

Normally when I see a "look-at-my-style" blog I have one of three reactions: eye roll (oops, did I say that outloud?), overwhelming knowledge of how I'll never be that cool or I'm inspired to rock a huge flower and mix some patterns. When Bri (of designlovefest) introduced me to this teensy fashionista I was incredibly inspired.  Eve is the daughter of the amazing photographer Jen Altman and is only five years old! The little "about Eve" section declares that she puts her outfits together entirely on her own and then, when she feels like it, has her mama take her picture. Then it gets blogged to inspire us all. Adorable.

I am sincerely on the lookout for a pair of cowboy boots. Amazing.
(all images from Eve's blog)

Look At This: Swedish Playground Design

Oh my goodness. As if I needed yet another reason to wish I lived in Sweden. How sweet and awesome are these playgrounds? I follow the blog of Elisabeth Dunker called Fine Little Day which chronicles her gorgeous life and her design inspiration. She recently posted about an amazing playground near to her home that has characters fashioned after a popular (in Sweden anyway) children's book. They got me interested in other playgrounds in Sweden and, of course, they're fabulous. Here are some of my finds. Happy Monday my dear! Get out and play!


image sources from top left and across: little blue houses // caterpillar // watermelon // dog // dog's behind // capped character // reclining man // egg // teeter totter

Look At This: Handwritten Letter Project

I went to a flea market this past weekend (as an aside, it's a good thing I don't have a million and a half dollars and a huge house because I'd fill it with every awesome vintage thing I loved - which is pretty much all of them - and no one needs that many salt and pepper shakers). Among the couple of things I did come home with was this gorgeous, illustrated souvenir book of the Chicago World's Fair in the 1930s. The watercolor illustrations and few sentences about each exhibit were incentive enough to buy it; but it didn't stop there. On the exterior flap of the book, in traditional "old person" handwriting, the worlds "old" and "save" were written. Looking at that script made me miss every single elderly person I've lost and I felt like (a) any of them would've written that because they knew a cool thing when they saw it and (b) since they all seem to have exactly the same penmanship any of them actually could've written it. Now they probably didn't, but that's the thing about that era of students learning cursive: for some reason, no matter where they were in the US and even abroad from what I can see, they all learned the same style. I don't have the energy to talk about whether or not this was a good thing and what social implications this conveys, but I do have the energy to say that at the very least, that generation knew how to write. They could put pen to the paper without it turning into a giant scribbly mess (well most of them anyway) and they were forced to communicate with each other in a physical as opposed to digital fashion. I'm not going to tell you to write more letters but I will say that your great great grandchildren (or just some random child in the future) will probably be way more excited to find a handwritten note than an email.
This is not the first time you're hearing this. This is also probably not the first time you've told yourself "self, pen more letters to the people you love". However, this may be the first time you're seeing this "Handwritten Letter Project" in which Craig Oldham invited designers and artist to write him a letter on their own stationery. Some were simply that and others had a little note and a lot of illustration or a note with beautifully hand-rendered type. I'd like to get my hands on a copy of this book to read what people thought worthy of writing and also to see the vast differences in modern penmanship. It's very fascinating to me. Take a peek.



images from the HLP site

Look At This: Thao + Mirah On Tour

Hello my dear! Did you have a nice long weekend? I always have such a great Labor Day weekend but it makes me a little sad knowing that ice and snow is just around the corner. Since I didn't get to experience any of that last year (and I honestly do enjoy it up until after the first of the year when it just keeps on being freezing and there's no Christmas cheer to warm you) I was able to enjoy the weekend without any of that forlorn. Oh and I spent Sunday with some amazing friends celebrating a marriage so it was even sweeter. The wedding forced me to do a bit of driving—over an hour each way—so I got to spend some time with my ipod. The drive back today was especially fun since I knew where I was going and I didn't have to get back at any particular time, I was able to relax and think about what I wanted to listen to. This got me in the mood to go see a show and when I got home I decided to see who's planning a fall tour near me. Well, The Tallest Man on Earth isn't (although he IS going to be in Brisbane in October) but Thao Nguyen is playing with The Get Down Stay Down in Madison Wisconsin and Chicago Illinois and I'd love to go see them. This leads me to today's share. On Thao's blog she shared this great story that Wendy Macnaughton illustrated showing bits and pieces from a tour that Thao did with Mirah. Wendy's watercolor sketches really tickled me, I think you'll love them too.


here's the whole story

Look At This: Ms. Sadie North

Sometimes I feel exhausted immediately after I get up in the morning. Sometimes I don't have the energy to take my lunch dishes to the sink. Occasionally I don't get dressed and watch Law and Order SVU all freakin' day. The days when I start complaining about getting old/not having any motivation/not getting enough sleep — those are the days I come across someone like Sadie. This sweet lady is 77 years old (or was in September 1952) and is as inspiring as they come. She mows her lawn, sings in the church choir, earns her money by babysitting and as a practical nurse, teaches young women swimming, learned to ride a bike when she was 67 and now rides it everywhere, taught herself to type (and wears a visor like a newspaper editor while she composes her letters - adorable)... geez. I should stop complaining and actually go do something with my life! Sadie, you're forever an inspiration.

Does she remind you of anyone you knew/know?
(sadie images are from LIFE magazine [via Miss Moss] and the print is from natalie candlish)

Look At This: Lovely Lemons

While I'm here in California unfortunately my design work does not stop. Well fortunately because I really enjoy it and because my coffee addiction warrants me making money, but you know what I mean. So this afternoon I did a little design work in my friend's backyard surrounded by citrus trees - the most prominent one being a gorgeous lemon tree directly in front of me. Which obviously inspired this post.



images from top left: menu // lemons + branches // botanic print // special sale // above the bed print // lemon + rosemary cake recipe (click here to see the recipe more easily. Then send me a piece. Please + thank you.) // bedding // grater // pucker up // marmalade // gin + tonic (also send me one of these if you please) // dress // lemon curd

Look At This: Food Trucks

Well. It had to come to an end I suppose. This week (actually in four days) I leave Australia and my brother and sister-in-law and all of my friends and family here. It sounds awful (and it kind of is) but it's also really exciting. After I leave here I'm going to spend a week and a half in Ventura, California with some dear friends soaking up some sun and enjoying some of the American things I've missed (Target!). That said, I have no idea what this week is going to look like on the blog. I really need to leave some space for good-byes and packing and then jet lag on the other side (on top of continuing to do some design work). So, when I post this week they'll probably be much shorter than normal. Thanks for your encouragement and understanding these past few weeks! Once I'm settled back in the states things'll be back to normal. Promise!
Now, for today's post!
Have you familiarized yourself with this food trend: food trucks? Well, from what I can gather they're making quite a stir in the foodie world. Not only are they fun and summery and unique, but apparently they're also delicious offering everything from all-beef hot dogs to mexican to korean bbq. Inspired Mag recently presented an infographic from Mashable that put together chronicling the rise of the social food truck. Very interesting (and pretty).

And just to give you a glimpse into what some of these beasts look like, here are a few images featuring some of the "favorites" listed above.

images from top left: spencer on the go // border grill // kogi bbq (both)