January Wrap Up.

Well it is that time to check in and see how we did on our 11 things to do for the month. Overall I would give myself a B+, didn't make it to the Tar Pits, but we have it on the schedule for next weekend, but I did take in the sunset (see I have the proof). Also I am planning on celebrating the end of the month this evening with...CHAMPAGNE!

I have been taking my daily photo with my phone and am thinking I will do a weekly wrap up here to share them with you all. (Oh yeah that was why this blog started.) The above photo was taken with my phone using the Camera Bag app and I did not retouch it. The sky was glowing above the water, amazing!

I will post my 11 things for February this week if you would like to join in. If you did follow along how did you do, will you do it again this month?

Picture and a Song.

I thought I would keep it simple this afternoon so here is a lovely image from the movie Atonement to inspire you all. Isn't that green just beautiful?

And since it is Friday I had to share a song. "California Sunrise" is by a local San Diego band Dirty Gold that I heard a few months back, I dare you not to dream of early morning surf trips and warm California breezes when you take a listen. Enjoy! 

Punky Power Style File.

I was thinking it would be fun to come up with a "style file" inspired by Punky Brewster all grown up. I have been watching old episodes of this show which was my favorite growing up thanks to my recent DVD purchases from Target. Yes they have the shows on DVD for all you Punky fans out there, and the best part is they are only around $5.00. Score! OK so back to my idea of who Punky would be and what she would be wearing today. I think she would know how to have fun with her clothing, she would still rock the things she loved as a kid and most importantly everything would have an element of fun but with a sense of maturity. My picks are: 1. Purple Sequin Dress: Top Shop. 2. Color Wheel Necklace: Yellow Owl Workshop. 3.Denim Vest: Old Navy. 4. Sugar Stacked Rings: Tiffany & Co. 5. Hand Bag: Kate Spade . 6. Twirl Bow Cuff: Kate Spade. 7. Jet Set Coasters: Jonathan Adler. 8. Sequin Heart Headband: Ban.Do. 9. Butterfly Bootie: Christian Louboutin.

And just in case you need a reminder of who Punky was back then, here you go...

Now the question is what other TV show character from my past can inspire a style board, Kelly Kapowski anyone?!?! Go ahead and revisit an old TV favorite and make a style file of what you think they would wear or have today, it's lots of fun (don't forget to send it my way so I can take a peak)!!

She & Him Love.

Just had to pop back in to share my recent video obsession. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Women We Love: Natalie Portman

The lovely, talented and super stylish Natalie Portman. 

When in Paris - Dior.

This blog is slowly becoming filled with clothes that I WISH I could wear if money or lifestyle did not matter. So if I lived in Paris and could wear couture everyday I would like a few of these lovely frocks from the Dior show. I love the blue and camel color combo, those red lips make me wish I was a lipstick kind of girl and the lace mask reminds me of a certain Marie Antoinette movie that I have professed my love of before. If you want to see the entire collection head over to Style. Don't mind me I will just be here drooling away.

Images courtesy of Style.

Hello Stranger

Hello strangers!! Hope you all didn't miss me too much, well maybe just a teeny tiny bit, absence makes the heart grow fonder right? I do apologize for the brief lack of posts last week, I felt terrible not visiting with you all.  I started spring semester and I wanted to make sure that I had all my ducks in a row and had my plan of attack somewhat formulated so I can get back to the fun stuff here.  Also have you ever noticed that in 1 week there is so much to catch up on, my blog reading is way behind and I feel like I have missed out on tons of goodies. 

I love this picture I came across on the Life website. I highly recommend taking an afternoon and browsing through all the great images they have, so much fun and I even on occasion learn something, added bonus.

Image courtesy of Life.

Just a girl with a tutu.

I have had these lovely dresses by Ouma saved in my Etsy favorites for quite a while now and every time I visit  I can feel my resolve slowly wearing down. I am not sure what I like more, the styling of the photo's or the dresses themselves, but either way I find myself wanting/needing/havingtohave one of these. My closet is pretty full as it is with things I don't really wear as much as I should, but isn't there always room for a fun party dress?

Hey Joni, What's Your Sign?

Images Via: Caroline in the City

All of this Zodiac sign changing  business that has been the talk of the town lately has allowed me to discover two very important things about myself. 

The first being that I am utterly confused by the entire thing. One article says your sign has changed, another says it only changes if you were born after a particular year, another says it only changes if you stand on your head every fourth full moon (OK I made that one up). I figure that I am glad I never have been one to follow horoscopes and that I have always identified with the Virgo sign so I think I will keep it. So take that Parke Kunkle

My second discovery is that I am kinda psychic. Just a few days ago (before all this hoopla started-see psychic I tell ya) I bookmarked these gorgeous images over at Caroline in the City that were shot for Vogue UK. Aren't they gorgeous? If you want to see the remaining signs head on over here and take a peek, they all are simply gorgeous, but these were my favorites.

Also since you know I like to start of the weekend with a song I thought I would share some classic Joni Mitchell, her talent never ceases to amaze me - Enjoy!!

A Diary and A Dress

The Diary: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Dress: Pandora Sweater Dress By Marc Jacobs

I Would Like to Thank....

I am super excited to announce that last week the lovely Jenn from A Home in the Making was kind enough to nominate me for The Stylish Blogger award, say what?!?!

I am always so excited when one of you lovely people decides to stop by and see what little me has to say in this big ol blogging world so to be mentioned on another blog that I enjoy visiting was just BEYOND!! Thank you so very much Jenn, you are the best!! Please make sure you head over and say hello to her, you won't regret it.

So in order to get this thing rolling I felt I should dress for the occasion:

Just a little something I had sitting in my closet. Much better, right, hehehe.

So here is how it works... 

In order to receive the award you complete the following:
      
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. Of course!! Jenn you rock as does your blog!!

      
2. Share 7 things about yourself. Why not.

3. Award recently discovered great bloggers. Easy peasy.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award! On my way.




7 Things about me:

1.) Since high school I have been told I look like Lacey Chabert, it use to really bother me cause I wanted to be Sarah from Party of Five not Claudia.

2.) At 28 I decided I wanted to go back to school to finish up my degree in graphic design. There are many days when I am sitting in a room with very talented 20 year olds that I think I will never cut it in this field. I am in constant doubt of my abilities, but I keep going.

3.) It is my ultimate goal to become a free lance graphic designer. Someday I tell myself someday.

4.) I eloped in Vegas at 18 with my best friend, I still wake up to his handsome face every morning and I couldn't be happier about it.

5.) I have decided to determine how am I doing as a parent not based on what others say or think, but based on whether I would want to hang out with my daughter if she wasn't mine. Truth is I would think she was pretty awesome even if I wasn't her mom.

6.) I love bad reality TV, it is a sickness that I am convinced I need help getting over.

7.) I am addicted to McDonald's Diet Coke. I am convinced they are putting something in there that makes it so addicting delicious. Honestly why is it so good?




Awesome bloggers I'm passing this on to (in no particular order):

latebloomerbuds 

SpiralStyle

MerissaCherie

EverKelly

Kalanicut

badhausfrau

So go check them out and say hello, they will make you laugh, give you some crafty ideas, and be some of the greatest blogging friends you can meet.

I Scream. You Scream.

Happy Monday Everyone, hope you all had a fabulous weekend.!!

I wanted to share with you all this fun carnival style branding/packaging combo that I came across last week while visiting Lovely Package. These fun little treats were developed by Wink for Honey & Mackie's Ice Cream Shop which is described as "an ice cream shop for kids that caters to parents."

Images via Lovely Package

I think everything from the colors that they chose, to their use of typography, to the silhouette's on the cups help make this feel like a place that I would love to visit with my daughter (and probably snap a picture or two - I am dyeing to know what this place looks like inside), plus the fact that everything is homemade with locally grown ingredients makes it a double winner in my book.

Color Inspiration: The Notebook

It has been a long time since I have posted a color palette that was inspired/influenced by a film so ta-da.

I am going to be honest here and say that I have never seen the Notebook but the screenshots that I have collected from this film are truly lovely. Everything from the costumes to the locations are dreamy and romantic, plus THAT kiss in the rain (I have seen that part).

I often like to combine images (as many of you already know) to reinforce what it is that I am seeing that draws me in and evokes some sort of emotional response. This textile design from William Morris seemed to be a perfect example of how well these colors play off of one another. What do you think?

And while we are the subject of the Notebook, this has to be the best award acceptance EVER...

Women We Love: Tina Fey

Me too Tina, me too.

Tina Fey shot by Mario Testino, quoted in an article for Vanity Fair.

Black Swan.

There is not really much to say about Black Swan that has not already been said so I will just tell you it is a must see in my book. It is a visually beautiful movie with some amazing performances and enough twists and uncomfortable moments that make it a great thriller. With so many elements to take in I definitely need to see it again. The costumes alone, designed by Rodarte, may require their own screening. 

As if you need any more persuading check out the movie posters...

The silhouettes and simple color scheme remind me of great old movie posters and continue to reinforce that simplicity can go a long way.

The Resolve Project

Looking for some snazzy new wall paper for my iPhone I came across this great project started by Chris Streger. He asked designers to create a graphic wallpaper of their Resolutions for 2011. These graphics can then be downloaded by readers and used as their wallpaper. Whether you are a resolution holder or not these well designed images can act as great reminders of ideas or practices that you may be trying to incorporate into your life, plus they are fun to look at.  Head on over to the Resolve Project to see the rest.

11 Things To Do In January.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

I have never been very good at resolutions and to be honest I very rarely make it past the first week. So this year I thought I would try something a little different, and maybe even a bit more fun. I have decided that this year I am going to do 11 things every month that I think (hope) are attainable and allow me to spend time rejuvenating myself. My thought is that since nothing thrills me quite like a to do list and small tasks are much more pleasing to the eye, this should be a piece of cake. So here we go...

In January I plan to:

1.) Enjoy the sunset one evening. It is not very often that we stop and really take in the sight of the sun setting so this month let's slow down for 1 hour of 1 day and marvel at something.  

2.) Spend a lazy Saturday or Sunday in your favorite Pajamas. C'mon we deserve it and maybe just maybe someone will bring you breakfast in bed.  

3.) Revamp and reorganize our home office. I love this office space tour of Rebecca Orlov over at Unplggd. Perfect gray walls, lots of open space, fun splashes of color and of course no clutter, hello inspiration!!  Must create a work space that inspires me and not fills me with dread when I enter it and maybe replace the Webkinz mouse pad. 

4.) Head out and buy some film (yep they still make it) and use my old Polaroid Land Camera for once instead of allowing it to collect dust on my bookshelf.

5.) Reread an old favorite with new eyes. Lord of the Flies was one of my favorite books in high school, wonder if it still is?

6.) Drink champagne!! Why not find something, anything to celebrate and indulge.  For example "Look at this I saved $4.32 at the grocery store, let's celebrate with CHAMPAGNE!!"

7.) Make something. I am going to try these great paper medallions over at How About Orange. They are super cute and maybe I will even get a jump on Valentine's.

8.) Put on the old running gear. I used to run all the time and then I just sort of stopped. The past few days have taught me that running is NOT like riding a bicycle and it is going to take some time.  I am going to start the couch to 5K program I downloaded the app to my Ipod and I like it so far. My favorite gear includes my New Balance running shoes, Lulu Lemon pants and of course "Old Faithful" (my Ipod).

9.) Take in a movie in the middle of the week by myself, I am looking forward to Rabbit Hole with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. It looks pretty intense and not something my husband would want to see so instead of waiting to rent it I am going to venture out on my own.

10.) Visit the La Brea Tar Pits, my daughter is dying to go up there and after all this time in CA I can't believe we haven't made the trip.

11.) Try out a new recipe. What's for dinner is always the most dreaded question these days so it is time to add some flair.

So there you have it, in a very large nutshell, my to do list for January. Anyone else up for gathering some fun to-do's this month and sharing it with the group or even on your own blog?

***The images I have not given credit for are ones that came up in Google search, if you know their source or are their source, let me know so I can credit properly