A Tale of Extremes & Perspective

In all it's odd glory. [Still ugly, mom]

Parker, my 2001 Chevy Tracker and longtime companion, got tired of me calling him ugly and violently & quite suddenly had a seizure. RIP. [Please observe a moment of silence]

On Saturday night, his engine seized - though no one can tell me why - and that concludes the last 9 years of our lives together. He, obviously freshly cleaned (oh the irony), has chosen to be donated to a charity of my choosing later this week or when I figure out what in the hell I'm going to do now.

I received that call around 11am this morning and thought the day was ruined. But then, unexpectedly and with absolutely nothing to do with the above situation, I received beautiful 'just because' flowers accompanied by the best 5 word note a girl has ever received.

...And just like that, the day turned back around. Just a reminder it will work out in the end. Flowers fix everything.

Bam Bam Holla. Beauties.

Let's Chat Advertising, Shall We?

Ok, Full Disclosure: Like every red-blooded woman, I love J.Crew. Seriously, I don't know any one who isn't at least partially smitten by their dreamy catalogs and hot damn the male models.

J. Crew is a staple for many things, like soft tees and flippy-floppys. And also, I understand that presentation is critical to the success of merchandise.

But, for once, can we just be honest? Women do NOT load up on accessories as they hit the beach. There is a rare, rare occasion where this is a possibility; but by and large, we take as little as possible to the beach because it will get...wait for it...covered by sand. Who wants their beautiful baubles as a personal sand dispenser, depositing irritating itchiness the next time you are at work?!!

Let's just sell the swimwear and leave the high-heels, fedoras, and CARDIGANS out of swimwear, shall we?


*All pictures from the J.Crew Catalog

Stripe-tacular!

It was a busy weekend over here at the Berkeley Penthouse. My roommates are both relaxing at their respective homes, so I enlisted some friends for a bit of DIY fun.

The challenge? Tackle an accent wall in the kitchen and paint on a headboard in my room. Not an insignificant undertaking...made even more complicated when the Tracker got sick and had to be towed away for a new battery and starter (minimum).

Also, we squeezed in the 2.5 hour finale to a show we have been watching for 6 years and one 5 person feast whipped together in an overheated fury. Of all of these endeavors, I'm probably most proud of the dinner (pasta with scallops, siwss chard and muscles in a white wine/garlic/shallot/clam sauce), but I digress.

Some before and afters to feast your eyes on:

My headboard, inspired by Jamie at isuwanee's post. We turned down the level of Shrek-ears that occurs on this bad boy and rounded it out. Obviously, we ditched the bird.

Inspiration:
Execution:

Before


After

La Piece de Resistance:
Planning
All taped up. It was about this time that we realized we were going to need another color. No worries though. I did some ninja maneuvers in the back stairwell (really scary stuff) and scrounged up the blue we are so jealous of in apt 1. It's ours now bitches.

LOOK: It's A-Mario. Just kidding. It's Nick.

The big reveal, are you ready?

New roommate approved!! It's so beautiful we kept catching ourselves gazing at our kitchen wall! (Hope you like it Rie)

A huge "thank you" to Kristina and Nick. Without them, I'd still be taping.

Jesus Walks

I was fortunate enough to go to Paris with my lady friends earlier this year. It was as dreamy and romantic as I imagined, but we tackled the city at this impossibly break-neck pace that left us shattered from exhaustion. I mean, destroyed. On our final day, we woke up, dragged ourselves downstairs for breakfast, then crawled back upstairs for a post-breakfast nap (a real low-point in my life). Somehow, we mustered the energy to go out where we were forced to sit several times inside the Louvre before coming home and taking a substantial pre-nap dinner.

What caused this madness? Maybe the drinking, maybe our ambition, or maybe the Jesus Walks. Yes, everyone lies about Paris. You'll arrive at your Metro stop only to learn that you'll need to walk several city blocks underground. Hey Liars! Then that's not where the stop is. In some stations, they have those moving sidewalks like they do at the airport, except underground.

Regardless, hilarity ensued as we trekked through the city. Always, always walking far farther then we expected.

My little Rach-Face.

I die for these colored ouef containers. Also, my favorite french word is 'ouef'.

Rach, I love this photo. Great perspective.

My dreams look like this. No joke. Paris looks so ethereal.


Obligatory. Let me tell you about the men who are selling shit under the Eiffel Tower and who said to me "Jiggy-jiggy sex?" I had no idea how to respond, so we laughed and quickly walked away.

Pure, unadulterated happiness. Until the moment the door opened which was pure, unadulterated panic and sent me running away to hide.

This is how I remember the Louvre.

Let's please, please discuss these pants. They are fanTAStic.


Kevin Costner in concert? Strangest thing I've ever seen.

This is the view my poor roommates had for days.

Today I feel like..

Hopeful. Fragile. Shiny. Delicate. Light. Optimistic. On the cusp.

...and also, tired.

"No, he's a real superhero"

-Eileen Monahan, NYC, referring to Aquaman.

I've never been particularly struck by cartoons or comics. I have these memories of sleeping at my best friend's who can't sleep unless the TV is on. I wait around until she falls asleep and then sneak to the TV and turn it off. She waits til I drift off to turn it back on, rinse & repeat.

However, I am loving the simplistic design behind these 'Minimalist Superhero Posters.' The retro feel would make spectacular art (imagine one hung in a gallery wall) or nicely decorate a kid's room. They each add a nice pop of color.

My dad always talked about how he would lay under the table listening to the Green Lantern and The Flash on the radio. [Cue the nostalgia again]. Also, who doesn't love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

So take a peek at my favorites and view all of them here.

Gem

Woah. The wonder of the Interwebs is how obscenely quickly one can find one's self dreadfully off-topic. I started in one direction and one wayward click later I found this: Portland General Store on etsy.

Can we talk for one second about the packaging? Admittedly, I'm a sucker for good packaging (and have been known to choose wines based on the label), but come on. You love this. It's so nostalgic for men who were all testosterone. A better kind of man than the skinny-jeaned, skinny-mustached fools that amble around on their skateboards and bicycles today.

And they smell like Cognac to boot!

Take a swoon over the packaging with me.



eau de whiskey. how dreamy and cowboyesque.


Sulfate-free shampoo.


That bottle is an incredible shape. Put it on my bookcase. NOW.


eau de cognac

A curious sighting

I present my favorite window in Boston, hiding in plain sight on Charles St. in Beacon Hill. I spotted in one day on my drive home and was oddly intrigued. I've snapped several pictures of it.

And then suddenly, on a gray and dreary day last week, I drove by to see the window closed, water bottle removed. Gasp. Sad Face.

A New Arrival on Newbury

Once upon a time, Newbury was home to cutting edge clothing designs accompanied by alarming, designer price tags. But then, as it happens, the average consumer stores garnered a foothold and it was all strip mall from there on out. Hello Best Buy and American Apparel.

But, in the down economy, even loss-leader store fronts didn't necessarily make sense. See ya later Pottery Barn. So in this enormous space we welcome All Saints Spitalfields, a British company. And the store set-up, display & mannequin stylings and apparel knocked it out of the park. And price tags, while out of my price range, fall in a dangerous territory where you could find a way to justify the purchase.

The facade is hundreds of vintage Singer sewing machines.

Yikes. I'll get a flash-free shot.

Can lights like a stage!


Stark cement walls draw attention to the copper accent pieces and show stopping pieces.


This seasons designs are exploring seriously unique necklines and draping. The clothes have a distinct point of view and I love the personality they represent.



I love this wallet at least as much as my own. (To be fair, they share many similarities.)



Baubles.


Baby clothes. So sophisticated.


Also digging the men's wear & men's accessories.

Welcome to Boston.

Things that took my breath away...

...this week.

This week, I tried to be quiet and observe. These are the things that caught my eye and made me go "hmm".


Spotted: One hoopdee on Berkeley st. in Boston. Reminds me of a great story...

Photo Credit Phil Mansfield for the New York Times.

Listen, you can't get me here fast enough. Part of an article on 'Steampunk style' which is a) quite popular right now and b) I second that popularity. It's using things/images/feelings from the past and using them to look to the future; think antiques, nautical homages, weathered books. Read more about it here.


Speaking of Steampunk style...I want this on my bookshelf. It reminds me of Michigan. Found in a Signs of Vintage's etsy shop.



Underwater art. Always a crowd pleaser (uh, at least a crowd of one). Beautiful images captured by Nadia Moro. There's a whole breathtaking collection.

Ok, truth: most favorite etsy shop of all time: irenesuchocki. Yes, please. I'll take all of these vintage, dreamy, beachy pics.

Palpable nostalgia. Featured on 20x200 this week.



I've been hoarding this Mark Elverson image of purple smoke for over a year. It always speaks to me.

Happy weekend. Find some moments to pause.