new year joy

I am excited for the New Year to officially begin. Let's bring it in style! photos from getty images.

have a merry & a happy

Enjoy these days... And a little design from my "make design" holiday promo mailer above.

buy handmade

So far, most of my holiday shopping has consisted of handmade items, mostly bought at local boutiques (or etsy). I can really appreciate the work and hope the recipient treasures the gift in the same way. Plus, always best to support fellow artists & crafters. Some sweet stuff: Playful fabric creations by Tamar Mogendorff, original illustration prints by Ashley G, fantastic jewelry selection at chain chain chained.

decorate my home...

...{please} I am sadly so behind in doing any holiday decorating this year. Where does the time go? I wish I could wake up in the morning and have the beautiful & festive stylings of Tine K home throughout my house. View their Winter collection & inspiration here.

merry happy

I want to go to this enchanted forest. Puts me in a dreamy, merry mood. Gorgeous photo by Eleanor Hardwick.

pillow talk

Yes, let's go for a walk through the rows of colorful homes & trees. This adorable pillow designed by Francesca of Mrs Eliot Books is available now through Envelop. She has her textile patterns on other items there too as well as cute cards and stationery for sale here.

winter white

As most of the North & Midwest is blanketed in snow, it puts me in a winter white moment. Although no snow here, I think it's plenty cold. These images & gift ideas above give me that warm, fuzzy feeling. photos top to bottom: Millie Owl Plushie, Porcelain Flowers, Christian Lacroix runway look, Twig picture holders.

top it off

I love a good whimsical topper to wear for a party or any ole' time. These silk hair pieces & headbands are just the thing. Shop the cutest stuff by Ashley Cheeks of it's ok my dear.

holiday deer

I can never have too much deer decor in my home. I adore these tiny, original hand painted pieces that work as both ornaments and wall art. Shop more of Kate Durkin's lovely goods.

bunny kisses

A bunny after my own heart. We share the same love for fashion, shopping & style magazines. She has a delightful new shop open full of prints, cards and this limited edition pin. Plus, get her adorable Christmas cards at Topshop now. I heart Fifi Lapin! xxx

a few of my favorite things

"Earth friendly blouses and wrap around dresses, buttons and thimbles and cool winter weather..." Thank you Stewart+Brown for your pretty & sustainable fashion collections. This West coast duo combines a sophisticated aesthetic with organic & green fabrics. It's obvious they put great love into their creations, the photography and look books are beautiful, where you can really get a good sense of the vision. It makes me dream that some of their pieces will be under my tree wrapped up in a bow! shop holiday for me here ;)

it's essential

If you've never tried H.Gillerman's organic oils before, it's about that time. These delicious blends are appealing on all levels- the packaging is gorgeous, the scents are soothing and once applied, they make you feel amazing. In particular, I am a fan of their sinus and stress remedies. Dab a bit of the tension remedy on before you go out holiday shopping, trust that it will help. While using only the purest and highest quality oils, these products make great gifts or a fine treat for yourself. You can also learn how to make your own blends with the Essential Oils deck by Hope Gillerman & Joan Arnold. Deck available here.

oh so glovely

Fingerless and studded leather gloves have gone lady lovely. These feminine driving gloves are my current obsession and seem to be everywhere these days. Some of my favorites at nice prices are: (from top to bottom) speed racer glove by free people, leather stud scoop gloves from topshop, and the studded driver glove, also free people.

thank-full

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Enjoy your family, friends, feasts on this day and always. Learn more about the history of thanksgiving here. Cutie tipi illustration by Amy Borrell.

making whoopie

I'm happy I didn't overwhelm myself cooking for Thanksgiving this year. I have selected a dessert to make, that's all! And I am positive these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies will be a delicious success. The recipe is from the Baked Cookbook, by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito. They have made the whoopie pie famous, straight from their bakery in Brooklyn. Hopefully mine will look as good as in the photo above (by Tina Rupp.)

a candle burns

During a recent shopping jaunt through one of my favorite boutiques, I noticed the most gorgeous line of candles. Tatine's handcrafted candles are perfectly exquisite with their nature & garden inspired scents, by Margo Breznik from her Chicago studio. She has made it her passion to utilize green production practices, with the blending of soy wax & beeswax, all contained in a recycled glass jar. Not to mention, the packaging's design & letterpress creates a stunning end product. It makes me happy to see and support small studios and artisans like this one. Locally sold in Berkeley at Lola.

always pie

This is a perfect sentiment for the festivities & feasts ahead...can't wait for pumpkin, apple, pecan (really any kind) of pie. Thanks to the lovely collages and journalling of Jamie at waterhalo for putting thoughts of sweet things in my head.

feathers & flowers

As the holidays are almost upon us, I am excited to get decorating. This is always my favorite season to create vibrant & textural floral arrangements. While flipping through some classic domino issues, I came across the brilliant idea of putting together a bouquet of feathers instead. How will you enrich your table centerpiece this year?

the fall

As I sit here working, I have the soothing sounds of Norah Jones in my background. Her latest album, The Fall, just released today. It's a wonderful new style for her, yet still has the same silken quality that Norah is known for. I can keep listening to this over & over. Love the quirky Cover art by Autumn de Wilde.

sweet jane

This is my friend Jane Kirby, fabulous on so many levels. We first met years ago while both working at Mademoiselle magazine, me in the art dept. & her in fashion. I remember getting so inspired by Jane's style and the unique ways she could work an ensemble. Time has been good to Jane- she's ever stylish- as you can see in the above feature of her on Madewell's website. She has also turned her love for fashion into an outlet for creating colorful & striking hand-cut paper fashion illustrations (See Jane's work below). There's a variety of original illustrations for sale now in her shop and she'll soon have these darling designs available as prints on greeting cards & gift tags. Perfect offerings for birthdays, weddings & the upcoming holidays! "My Madewell" photo above by Michael Fine.

beautiful day

Puts me in the mood to ride out into the country on a lovely Fall day like today. Happy Sunday! Photo by Mert & Marcus.

wish list

I've got the holidays on my mind, and the Urban Outfitters holiday catalog is making me want to start shopping (for myself) now! I am in definite need of the long lady gloves. I am equally enamored by their selection of rhinestone jewelry, lacy frocks & tops, and dramatic dresses with embellishments & cut-outs. With all this good stuff, I'm thankful to find their luxe looks at affordable prices. Makes shopping for yourself a bit more guilt-free.

good evening

What began as a creative coincidence, turned into a friendship and visual blog collaboration. It's amazing what this idea has become for artists Maria Alexandra Vettese (MAV) and Stephanie Congdon Barnes whose distance between them is 3191 miles. The daily photo blog of each one's morning observation was documented for a year, and then published as a gorgeous book called A year of mornings: 3191 miles apart. Now, their latest gathering of glorious & intimate evening photos has been put into book form, 3191: Evenings. Rich with visual stimulation and connectibility, these pretty pages are another inspiration. View their current project here.