Tulum, Mexico

It's BaAaaaAack..........

for Spring 2012.  Peplum.  I don't know about the rest of you but I happen to be a huge fan.  I first began my love affair with peplum as a young girl watching Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty flit across a Disney screen in those tiny fitted dresses whose fabric flowed into a slight poof just below the waist.  The look is a classic one adept at showcasing a woman's softer feminine side using structure and detail in a deliberate manner.

Below I have compiled a short photo list of some of my favorite peplum moments in fashion history.



How Alice see's India

This short video clip stands to reason how Chanel continues to be one of the only long term Fashion Houses that understands the value of imagery and the overall impact of the visual experience.  

It's as though Alice in Wonderland has taken a ride on the Darjeeling Express.  

Chicago's Secret Garden

A New Leaf

This is a three story floral shop in the heart of Old Town Chicago that boast an inspiring array of Springtime flowers smack in the middle of the winter.  The exposed brick that blankets the surface of the entire interior of the building added to the ambiance as I found myself delightfully drawn around each corner and up each surprising new level that revealed itself.  Hidden amongst palm fronds and beautifully crafted over sized wreaths I found handmade candle displays, two small greenhouses and enough refinished wood furniture to make the display team at Anthropologie proud.  An hour wandering around this shop with a coffee in hand easily chased away the winter blues and made me nostalgic for what I love and miss so much about California.  Flowers, flowers, and more flowers.... to last the whole year round.

Baby Its Cold Outside

My recent visit to New York and its unprecedented snowstorm in October  inspired me to spend my evening editing this song into a visual wish list if you will. 

Natures Emotional Antiseptic

Home Is Where Your Creative Heart Is

To Curl or Not to Curl....

That is the Question?

My SoCal/San Diego rant

Ok so this one has been brewing a long time I just have not had the time to put finger to keyboard on the subject.  It's been a bug under my skin for the past year even before I made my personal move from Cali to the Midwest.  And here it is:  People who leave Socal/San Diego and say that the only thing they miss is the weather.  If that is the case than you obviously did not use your time there wisely.  Whenever I hear someone say anything along those lines I actually find it to be one of the saddest attempts at prestaged social disconnection I have ever heard. 

We all know those people.  The ones who try to make themselves greater by always managing to find a way to put everything and everyone down ever so slightly.  Those folks are useless.  So what your telling me is  you lived 4 hours from Vegas, 2 from LA, and maybe a half hour from PB, MB. OC or the gaslamp and you really couldn't find anything to love or miss about SoCal?  If you were smart you bar hopped via bicycle, you spent long hours in a sun that wouldn't quit, you wore cute dresses, shorts and open toe shoes all year round, you had the option to surf, rock climb, hike or snowboard all within the same day and the best you can come up with are witty little quips about how you only miss the weather?  Yawn............... your coolness bores me. 

Le Ballon Rouge

The Little Black Dress

 SIMPLE,  TIMELESS,  ELEGANT

Bride Psychology: Less is More

BRIDE PSYCHOLOGY

Alice

Hosts:  Heather Broderick & Briana Adams
Photo's: Courtesy of Briana Adams & Mary Fasanello

Venue:  Home of Sean & Heather Broderick


A special thanks goes out to all of my friends who helped to make this such a lovely event.

Spring in Manhattan

This is just because I love Bill Cunningham (quirky as he is) and because I remember what Spring means on the island of Manhattan:  Crocuses burried under dead leaves or pushing through melting patches of snow, the AM flower district, designer store window watching and good old fashioned people watching.

Mentally and emotionally Spring has always represented the rebirth of hope and possibility, and no city does this season better than New York.



http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/03/25/fashion/100000000744592/onthestreet.html

Etsy Bitsy

For those of you who are not already hard on the Etsy bandwagon .... let me take this opportunity to put you in the know!  Hip as I think I am (and as you all know I do think myself to be quite hip) I only just learned about this website.  So I have to acknowlege a huge shopping fail on my part.  However pushing past that, I would strongly recommend that you think of this site as an arts and crafts fair, meets a garage sale, meets a thrift store, all stationed online. 
The selection is just as wide as the price ranges. 

• The blue wedding dress below is $2200.00
• The beautifully intricate blue gem stoned necklace is a mere $40.00 bucks. 
• The hand crouched foot lace shown below for your beach apparel runs at $10.00
• Paper Pom Poms for your home, party or otherwise are about 4.00 each
• The never ending array of clutches can run as low as 22.00 or reach heights of 200.00
• Rockabilly dress 45.00
• Paris Candles 11.00

There is something on here for everyone!  I'm chalking this up as one of the major wins that I stumbled across while working my way through the tedious nonsensical hoopla, that crazy people lovingly refer to as wedding planning.  I'm thanking Real Simple Weddings for putting me onto this one stop shopping gem. 

http://www.etsy.com/?ref=si_home