Happy Friday!

Another week has come and gone, which, for most of you means a much-deserved weekend of relaxation! I haven't exactly 'earned' a weekend seeing as I don't do much during the week, but I'm particularly looking forward to this weekend because I'm going home to visit family in Nashville! It's been two months since I've seen my family and much longer since I've actually been home. Oddly enough, I like distance driving because it gives me a chance to listen to newly-acquired music without the distraction of, well, life.

This trip I'll be taking in the musical talents of Kings of Leon, Maximo Park, Biffy Clyro, and Metric -- a eclectic group to say the least! Right now I'm just hoping for some decent driving weather since we've been having a rainy week, so *fingers crossed.*

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll see you Monday!
{image via FYSB}

Rockstars need love, too

I'm just now going through the wedding couture collections for next season, but had to share this Chanel design... is there even a need to comment? I happen to love the fierce look of this bride, and what better day to let the world know how much you rock?! I would totally wear black accents on my wedding day!

{image via Style.com}

Grey+Yellow: UPDATE!

Ahhh, so I found a couple of grey and yellow inspiration images from the lovely photographer Anna Wolf.


I'm a huge believer of fashion as inspiration for architecture and interior design. I have a ton of pictures in an folder just to serve as room inspirations. One of these days I'm going to take the time to do the Domino "Outfit to Room" features because they're my favorite!

For now, just enjoy these pretty images from Anna! She's a favorite of mine, so I'm always on the look out for a little inspiration coming from her direction. She even has a blog, so check it out!

Midnight Snack

I would be more than OK with finding myself a young Woody Allen type... cute, nerdy, and interesting. I've always been a sucker for glasses :)
{Images via Anna Wolf}

I would like to...

Good morning! I would love to wake up in this house; wouldn't you?! Yes, it's as secluded as it gets, but sometimes that's exactly what you need. This house would be the perfect place for a rejuvenating getaway or to host a weekend of friends. I would even be willing to take part in one of the work weekends! Here's a little info on this beautiful structure:

Clingstone, an unusual, 103-year-old mansion in Rhode Island 's Narragansett Bay survives through the love and hard work of family and friends. Henry Wood, the owner, runs the house like a camp: all skilled workers welcome. The Jamestown Boatyard hauls the family's boats and floating dock and stores them each winter in return for a week's use of the house in the summer. Mr. Wood, a 79-year-old Boston architect, bought the house with his ex-wife Joan in 1961 for $3,600. It had been empty for two decades. Clingstone had been built by a distant cousin, J.S. Lovering Wharton. Mr. Wharton worked with an artist, William Trost Richards, to create a house of picture windows with 23 rooms on three stories radiating off a vast central hall. The total cost of the construction, which was completed in 1905, was $36,982.99. Many of the historic photos he has were provided by the company that insured the house for its original owners. The house is maintained by an ingenious method: the Clingstone work weekend. Held every year around Memorial Day, it brings 70 or so friends and Clingstone lovers together to tackle jobs like washing all 65 of the windows.

{Images and text via A Life's Design}

Sunday's Six Word Memoirs

"Don't trust a man who waxes."

-- Noelle Hancock

{image via Le Love}

When I Grow Up

Inspired by this post, I started reminiscing about the "when I grow up, my house will have _____" moments from my childhood. Even though I wasn't much of a girly-girl growing up, I always thought about the future as a Mom with a house -- don't all little girls? A friend of mine had a window seat and since the first time I saw it, I knew I wanted one. A window seat and a balcony were two house features that I wasn't budging on. Maybe I loved these two things because with them you can be as close to sitting on grass as possible while in the safety of your own home. I've always loved being near nature or surrounded by nature more than being in nature... weird? I think so, too, but I am what I am! Example: I'm destined to live near water, but I don't have a strong desire to be in the ocean, lake, or bay {I do love puddles and streams though!}.

As I've grown up, my tastes clearly evolved beyond little girl fantasies, but I think I'll always want a window seat and balcony. And I've added a few more things to my wish list, too:

An English-stlye garden {or at least rustic and a little unruly}

A fabulous closet {Cher's closet in Clueless used to be my dream, but now I'm a little more refined..}

And great, big built-ins!

I know I'm not the only little girl who thought about this stuff... what were your grown-up must-haves and/or did you get your wish??

Spotted!

Now I've seen a lot of crazy jewelry trends over time like metal arm bands, belly chains, and even the ear to nose chains, but I can't say that I ever cared much for them. Now there's leg jewelry?
I'm still not convinced, even if I had legs like that. Are you?

{image via Le Fashion}

City Life

Sometimes I think it would have been amazing to grow up in a big city like Paris, New York, Chicago, London...

{image via Style and the City}

Grey + Yellow

Spring's neutral trend jump-started my love for the color grey and it's gotten worse over time -- I have a full-blown obsession now! Grey {I don't really prefer the "American" spelling of 'gray'} provides such a wonderful foundation for pops of color and recently the combination with yellow has caught my eye.

The other day I was walking through Target with a friend and saw this one lonely pillow {right} on the shelf...

...and it transported back to when I stumbled across this living room and sitting area. Isn't this color combination divine?!

It provides the perfect balance between tranquility and visual stimulation. Sign me up!

Monday, Monday

So what does one do while not working, making no money, and waiting on a phone call that could change all of that? Organize your deco files!!

Yes, that's how I'm spending my afternoon and I'm not ashamed of it. Of course I'd rather be using my brain for something a little more challenging than organizing computer files, but alas, I'm tired of the sudoku and crossword puzzles. Let's face it, no one likes Mondays, especially me, so here are some of things I do like right now...

Mary Ruffles' photographs
Glass lamps that remind me of the ocean at night
Functional Art

Simple Dresses
What do you like right now?

Sunday's Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak

"I never said, "I love you."

-- S. Lynn Taylor

Happy Weekend!

Weekends are for fun, so I hope you all find a little excitement of your own! I don't have any big plans made yet, but I'll find some way to enjoy the weekend.

I'll leave you with this little fashion tidbit before I go: If you like street fashion, and don't already follow Garance Doré, you really must add her to your daily internet stroll. She brings out the glow in those she photographs and keeps the posts fun and light-hearted. Her newest find, Lydia, is no exception -- beautiful!

Can you hear me now?

Sweet, sweet internet connection!

It's been a difficult 8 weeks without it, but I'm slowly getting used to it being at my disposal. The best thing {besides constant email access}? Returning to the blogging world, both reading and posting! I've definitely missed the flow of creativity from all of your blogs. It's too overwhelming to try to catch up on what I've missed, so I'm just starting anew.

Hopefully I'll be able to officially share some good news with you all soon, but nothing for now! :)

{image via Bliss}

Music to My Ears

Louisville definitely has a nice music scene, which is such a nice change from the country-filled towns whereI've spent the last 22 years of my life! There's so much underground indie, alternative, and rock that I'm constantly discovering new artists. I'm currently sitting in a coffeehouse listening to music from an artist on the verge of making her first cd, Rebecca Williams. I find that it's hard for me to dislike any live music, at least music by small-time artists {sometimes the radio stars leave much to be desired when performing live...}!

I might have a job AND internet/cable by the end of this week... so exciting!

I also am going to my first wedding of the summer on Saturday which should be a lot of fun. My previous boss is the groom and a co-worker the bride, so I'm looking forward to seeing all of my old collegues! It's also a reason to buy a new dress and jewelry... :) I love summer weddings, especially when they're at night!
{I can't remember where I got this image - sorry!}

23 Going on 65

I've been living in Louisville for 4 weeks now and still no job. This city's job market is nothing short of sluggish and saturated, and I'm just one of many victims, I'm sure. I've been in the hiring process with 3 different companies anywhere from 3-8+ weeks and no one seems to be in a hurry to add another payroll check to the company books. I've even resorted to looking for a crappy, summer, in-between job just to feel productive and help pay the bills, but that's proving to be just as difficult. Anyone know where the unemployment office is, because I just might need to cash in on those government checks! Goodness knows I'm trying...

My calendar is no longer a functional piece of art, but rather a constant reminder of how mind-numbingly bored I am. To top it all off, it's been a nightmare getting cable and internet in my apartment, so I don't even have my usual vices (blogging and Soap Net) to fill my time! I've rediscovered reading for fun, which has been a hard thing for me to relearn after 17 years of an academic dictatorship. I also have become slightly infatuated with watching Friends on DVD courtesy of my good friend S; I started with season 5 (why? I don't know.) and am now ready to start season 9. Oh, and movies. Lots and Lots of movies!! I'm actually quite tired of staring at my television.

Most of my friends have jobs, so I'm left to my own devices most hours of the day and many days of the week. I go and bum internet from the famous Heine Brothers at least every other day to keep up with the essentials and answer emails.

Now, the lack of formally schedules events has given me the opportunity to discover some interesting things about Louisville:

1. free Shakespeare in the Park performances of Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet
2. a fabulous selection of used music and book stores whose employees are always interested in chatting about said music and book discoveries
3. the many coffee shops of Bardstown Road that provide excellent people-watching and a comfy chair to sit in while reading a magazine
4. and the two great free publications: Velocity and Leo Weekly, both of which have ignited a determination to someday be able to complete their tricky crossword puzzles.

Honestly, as bored as I am, a small part of me is afraid I'm going to learn to enjoy the random ways I've found to spend my time a little too much. 24 hours of every day are at my disposal to sleep, wake, work out, shop, meet friends for meals and discover Louisville at my leisure... all that freedom is a little enticing! I need to find a job before my mind kicks into full-blown retirement mode and I start planning my day around feeding my cat and going to the bank to check my ever-depleting savings account!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to my ELLE magazine and people-watching because in 30 minutes it's time to go home and feed my cat....{image via gosia janik}