Literary Inpirations - Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

This week's literary inspiration is a bit different. I've been doing classic books, so I thought why not try poems? Not surprisingly poems are a lot harder to make inspiration boards from since so many of them have to do with vague ideas an intangible things. But I decided to try anyway with one of my favorite poems: "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It...sort of worked. It mostly just ended up being a bunch of nautical themed stuff, but I love that look so it works for me!

Ancient Mariner

Blue and white stripes, rope knot bracelets, a helm necklace. Brass telescopes keep you heading in the right direction. Pillows and rings with sailing ships remind you of adventures on the high seas. Side tables made of ship's rope add a nautical theme to any room. Have your own adventures with a light house as your safe beacon and an albatross as your guide.

Sinatra's Guide to Style

I'm a fan of the Rat Pack era music, and especially Frank Sinatra, so when I found The Rules of Sinatra Style I had to pass it along.  While some of the rules are a bit dated, I think it's a great snapshot  of men's fashion during the 50s and 60s. 


The Rules of Sinatra Style

• It takes two hands to put on a hat the right way: Back brim curled up, front tugged down to a couple of inches above the right brow.
• Never wear brown at night. Never. 
• There’s no excuse for brown shoes past sundown.... Or white shoes. Or anything gray, unless it’s deep charcoal. Or blue, unless it’s midnight blue. In fact, let’s keep it simple: after dark, men should wear black. 
• Ties should be silk. And conservative. 
• Cuff links always. But leave the fancy jewelry to Sammy. 
• When dressing formally, a vest is better than a cummerbund.
•  Don’t wear a tuxedo on Sunday. 
• Having messy closets is like putting on clean clothes over dirty underwear.
• The shower is a great place to steam out the wrinkles in your dinner jacket.
• Orange is the happiest color.
• Don’t hide your scars. They make you who you are.
• When it comes to pockets, everything should have its own place.
• A pocket handkerchief is essential, but it needs to be perfectly folded.
• Shine your shoes. 
• Trim. Buff. Clean. 

What do you think? Do any of these rules still apply in today's society? 

Almost crunch time

Sorry posting has been a bit scarce around here, I've been super busy getting everything ready for the boutique. I spent this weekend at Stylemax in Chicago and picked up some great lines that I can't wait to show you! I plan to have a sneak preview or two once the merchandise starts arriving. The rest of this week and next week will be spent placing the remaining orders, finalizing packaging, and attempting to organize a makeshift office until I move into my new apartment next month. Everything is finally coming together, and while I am starting to freak out because there is still SO MUCH to do, I am so excited to see my dream starting to come together. Tentative launch date is April 12th, let's see if I can get everything done in time!

I'll post when I can, thanks for your patience, it'll be worth it!

Literary Inspirations - Victorian Gothic Literature

This week's literary inspiration is a little different. I read a few Victorian era science-y invention-esque books (The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley) and I wanted to make an inspiration board but I thought they all had fairly similar aesthetic (and literary) themes, so I combined them into a general Victorian steampunkish board and I am loving the result.

Victorian Gothic Literature

Gears and goggles, test tubes and bottles all aid in mad science and experimentation, fingerless gloves add glamor while not impeding your ability to mix concoctions. Ornate mirrors show the changes that have come upon you. A Victorian looking blazer and skirt keeps you proper so society doesn't suspect your mad genius. And of course, you need a fantastic hat just because!

Deliciousness!

I made the most amazing tomato sauce for dinner last night. I had bookmarked a recipe from the blog Smitten Kitchen for this amazing tomato sauce a while ago and I hadn't had time to try it with the move and the new job and everything. I finally had some time tonight to make it and oh my was it amazing. And it's the simplest recipe - only 3 ingredients!



Canned tomatoes, butter, and an onion. Simmer for 45 minutes.Discard the onion (or eat it like I did, it's also delicious!)



Scoop onto pasta. Wine is optional (but highly recommended). Stuff your face because it's so amazing that your socks have been completely knocked off and you can't stop eating the goodness.

P.S. Don't laugh at my pathetic attempts at shooting food. I know it's bad.

Drumroll please!

Notice anything different about my blog? I'm unveiling my logo! (Doesn't that just sound important?) The official logo that will be on my storefront will be styled a little different, but I wanted the banner on top of the blog to be landscape than portrait, so I rearranged the design. The actual logo looks like this:

It was made for me by my fabulous friend Tehani Nagata, who is beyond awesome. I then worked with my web designers to coordinate colors so it matches the site. I love it so much!

Also exciting news, the boutique should be ready to launch sometime around the middle of April! Soon it will be time for the fun stuff - picking merchandise to sell! 

Literary Inspirations - Ivanhoe

This week's literary inspiration is Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

Ivanhoe by saeastm featuring Blowfish shoes

I loved this book, but I really struggled with this set. You can only have so much 12th century Norman/Saxon influence before it just looks costumey. So I'm not entirely happy with it, but there you go. Old tapestries, furs and cloaks to keep you warm, slippers make soft noise on a stone floor, goblets to drink from, and a bow and arrow necklace since it's hard to pull off actual weapons these days. And don't forget your chivalrous knight in shining armor!

So little time, so much to do!

I've fallen a bit behind on my posting here. It's been crazy at my day job and other things have been taking up my time so I haven't had time to write. But I'm super excited because I started working with the web designers on the boutique's site! I'm so excited to be working with Lightning Bug Designs and I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Someday...

Anthropologie March 2010 Catalog

Whoops! I meant to post this last week, but a slight typo in the date meant it was never posted. So it's a bit late but better late than never right? It's been out for a while now, but the March Anthropologie catalog came out and as usual it's filled with gorgeous images that I could stare at all day. But my favorite is the picture above. For some reason this picture is perfection to me. I want that dress, I want her hair, I want the belt, I don't know what she's doing (planting something maybe?) but I'm pretty sure I'd want to be doing that as well. The feel of this picture is exactly what I want to be like in a few years when I'm settled down and have a home and a slightly old school nerdy guy (or you know, something like that).  Basically, I want to live in this photograph. Has that been invented yet? No? Someone should really get going on that...

Literary Inspirations - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This week's literary inspiration, in anticipation for the movie (which I am so excited about!), is from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

Do I even need an explanation? Chess pieces and playing cards, a very late rabbit, mushrooms that make you grow or shrink, multiple tea cups for it's always teatime, flamingos for playing croquette, and of course Dinah the kitty.