over the river and through the woods

this past weekend i drove up to visit my grandparents. it was a weekend i will never forget. from the second i walked in the door, i felt at home. homemade everything: pies, chicken-n-noodles, angel food cake, buttermilk pancakes, and even the pancake syrup. how does my grandmother do it??

after settling in, she and i decided to look through her boxes of fabric. and by boxes, i mean, BOXES! 22 of them. fabrics that were each bought for a project or a person in mind. each held a story that went deeper than the pattern, material, and color. it was fascinating. grandma allowed me to choose my favorites fabrics to sew with. the one i cannot wait to use is entitled, "freckles." it was one that my mom picked out when she was 13. mother like daughter. :)

apart from the sewing, i couldn't help but feel like i had taken a trip back in time, listening to my grandparents' stories of the farm, meeting each other and their courtship, and their prayer lives over their 60 years plus of marriage together. my grandmother read from old journals and letters, dating back to my great-grandfather raymond. it was almost like certain pieces of my life that somehow felt askew started to make sense and they aligned as i sat there.

i can't wait to tell more....and with that being said...i'll be sure to write and share more about my trip home this week.

floating magnolias - part 1

this past weekend it rained. constantly. so i ventured into an antique store fully anticipating to find inspiration from something old and beautiful. well. after walking up and down numerous rows of antique booths, i chose to walk away empty handed. i couldn't find exactly what i was looking for...or more specifically i couldn't find what fell into a reasonable price range....but i did walk away with a few ideas.

idea #1 - stripped lamp shade.



it's a pretty self explanatory shabby-chic project, but this is what happened:

step 1 - find a lamp you love that has a detailed lamp base.

step 2 - find a lamp shade that you think has an interesting shape that would coordinate with the base. trial and error may be required. i wanted mine to be slightly too heavy or large for the lamp i had at home, and i wanted the trumpeted shape. after 3 or 4 stores, i found this chosen "one" at target for $16. pre-deconstruction it was made with a very pretty ivory linen fabric.

step 3 - delicately destroy the lamp shade with a seam ripper and scissors. starting at the inside seam along one of the wires i began to rip it apart. i then cut along the top and bottom wires to leave a fabric trim for accenting the shape of the shade. be sure to use a pair of good, sewing scissors.

i think it is important to choose a slightly larger shade than what would normally fit your lamp because you'll then be creating a lot of empty space, and your eye needs a good frame of height and width. this helps to create balance since there is not any fabric covering the actual upper portion of the lamp. the end result: the lamp base becomes more of the focal point, which is what i really wanted to achieve, and your light bulb has a delicate shabby-chic frame.

ps - be sure to choose a pretty light bulb!

part 2 and idea #2 of floating magnolias will be later this week....and the mystery of the floating magnolias will be answered!

stay tuned.

swimsuits and such

so. it's saturday, 2 may 2009. i live in nashville, tn. i drive a honda. i go to church on sunday nights. i like coffee. i love my family, which includes a lot of friends. life is good. i volunteer as a music teacher to inner city kids, and it's the highlight of life.

i am a pescaterian. i want to be more eco-conscious. oh, and i like to walk. i wish nashville had more sidewalks.

i want to write children's books and share with them the arts of our world.

i'm going to visit geneva and earl in two weeks. geneva and i are going to sew.

i'm thrilled it's spring. i want to seek out the sun and the beach.

anthropologie has some gorgeous, expensive swimsuits. shall we?? yes. www.anthropologie.com. my two favorites are the deckwork suit for the one piece and the heartbeats suit for the two piece.



i hope everyone had a great day! :)

fix the bleed

so my sweet nephew, that is 1 year old, likes to climb things. for example, his go-to favorites are boxes, chairs, ottomans, stairs, etc. last week he found a new obstacle to overcome in his sister's bedroom: her chest that she keeps her dress-up princess clothes in (every 3 year old girl is a princess). so i do believe he made it to the top of the chest, and quickly tumbled off, and on his way down he knicked his temple on her bed post. bless her heart, his sister, karsen, was in the room, and quickly called for her mom, screaming, "fix the bleed, mom. fix the bleed." their mom, tara, asked karsen to run into the bathroom to retrieve some toilet paper to put on his open wound. karsen, being mommy's helper, quickly ran into the bathroom and proceeded to find an entire roll of paper (what a resourceful one), that she then THREW at her mom, while still belting her battle cry, FIX THE BLEED, MOM!

i love the faith of a child in their parents to take care of emergencies. in many ways, i echo her plea to my heavenly Father. fix the bleed! fix the bleed! and He does. sometimes i don't depend so much on the Father, but my own strength...and although sometimes the bleeding stops, the wounds are never completely healed without the Father and obeying His commands.

so this story doesn't have much to do with fashion, but whatever. i bought some vintage boots in austin, tx that i love. there you go. shop vintage!

oh, so caden is fine. he did receive his first little badge of courage in the form of four stitches. i asked if caden had learned his lesson to stop climbing, and of course his daddy said "no!". you can't keep a determined boy down.

fall 09 trends

lil' some-somethin' to think about!

world style




vintage florals



plaid shirts



boys club





slouchy pants



moto jackets



boyfriend jean


outdoor chic





long vest

elizabeth + james

change comes to washington

what a day!  20 january 2009 marks a pivotal point in history.  the inauguration of the 44th president of the united states.  president elect barack obama will be sworn into office, and will assume the office as the united states' commander in chief.  president obama.   millions of people have gathered in washington dc to add this day to their own memoirs, and millions around the world are gathering around tv's and computers to witness this transition of power.  

here is a picture from a friend of where he and another friend will be watching the inauguration today.   i know.  i'm jealous too.  

and here is a picture of people gathered in the mall.  it's amazing to be apart of such a generation.  a generation that has triumphed generalizations, and is united for change and hope.  

god bless america.  god bless the bush family and the obama family, and all the men and women who have made today what it is.  

xoxo.

geneva and bernina

have you ever had the phone ring, and your gut tells you it's bad news? well. that happened to me today. my cell rang, i looked down to see a flashing picture of a magnolia on the screen (saved for my mom's # on my caller id). my stomach literally turned upside down before i even said hello. it's my grandmother. geneva was admitted into a hospital today. she's had a series of mini-strokes. i won't go into too much detail b/c i don't have too much detail to offer. all i know is that they're keeping her there for more observation. i'm worried sick...which is what happens to me in situations beyond my scope of vision or control. over christmas this happened with my grandfather (geneva's husband) and i ended up cutting my hair. my hairdresser said i'm an emotional cutter (of hair). well my bangs are so short i wont be doing that again today, so i guess i'll just be occupying the silence of the wait with activities.

activity 1: i'm going to a sewing session tonight for my new sewing machine: bernina 220.

geneva (grandma) would want me there.

xoxo.

2009 - a year of NOW

happy new year. by this time, we've all become somewhat settled as to what the year 2009 means for each of us. my theme for 2009 is NOW.

i've either stumbled across some encouraging phrases for this new year or have been encouraged by others' voices, and would love to share them with you!

1 - in dreams begin responsibilities.
2 - engage your world.
3 - execute 9 of the 10 ideas you have. no matter if they're silly, random, or whimsical.
4 - to be free, means to be free to fail.
5 - take an account for your adventures.

2009 is a year of being taught and being a teacher. taking leaps of faith. taking road trips with a best friend. donating your bone marrow to a stranger. traveling halfway across the world to make a movie. having dance parties by yourself. going to yoga at noon. making your bed every morning. falling on your hands and knees.

i'm excited for this new year.
xoXo.

white album

the rise and fall of style.  it's an interesting concept, no?!   but with the beatles? 

so rewind to a conversation i had earlier today with my brother about the beatles' experimental stage.   it started in a pop up conversation of brian wilson, the beach boys, and evolved suddenly to the beatles and their transition into their "experimental" music.  it peaked my curiosity, and i'm a little bit of a nerd, thus i searched for articles about the beatles and their phase of "experimental music".     come to find out (per experts in statistical analysis and music) the experimental phase began with Yesterday off of the Help! album, and peaked on their sgt pepper album.  please discover this essay when you have a good 30-45 minutes to burn and learn.  i promise you'll learn a lot about the rise and fall of their musical phases:  early stage, experimental stage, and late stage.   

it is interesting to read a scientific perspective of a band and their albums, and to see how the researchers took into account how music is driven by emotion, culture, politics, and imagination.  by measuring the number of times certain chords were used in a song, the instrumentation, and the lyrical content, they were able to show the direct relationship between the stages of their music and the responses of their listeners.   not stripping away the innate beauty of the music, but breaking it down to its components, the researchers were able to show the rise and fall of the various stages in the beatles career.   

 i wanted to share this paragraph from the essay in reference to the artist's creative process and the rise and fall of style, " The most convincing explanation for the skewness of life span might lie in the process of creation.  At first new features are used gradually more and by the same token the preference for them is linked with familiarity to them.  This causes a rapid rise in the use of features but the cumulative pressures for novelty make greater demands.  Finally it becomes unreasonable to use the same solutions because the amount of available combinations is diminishing and their effective usage is becoming increasingly harder and the results more complex (Martindale, 1990)."  

it's so true!  we, humans, are such quirky beings.  we love familiarity, and strive for individuality.  some artists are ahead of their present time, and will only be appreciated when their art becomes more familiar, even decades into the future.  the same rise and fall curve is present within any period of art, and it is what keeps the beautiful process of art on the move.  so this i leave to you on this beautiful holiday....merry christmas.

a muse

since i began sketching for next spring's line, the idea of a muse has taken on a new form. i began this new adventure with a concept and story for "geneva's daughter." she's unabashed, american, avent-garde, rooted in the days of ole, and has a romantic affinity for the outdoors. she appears fragile and dainty, but has a resilient strength to rally most. her eyes behold life thru rose colored lenses. she loves her friends well. she finds amusement and normalcy in the uncommon quirks of life.

when i happened upon fashion photographer, alexandra carr's, website i gasped. her collection entitled, land of the brave, is a visual/emotional muse for my own collection. i hope it has provided you with a look in my view finder of what is to come.

xo.

recycled snowflake ornaments!

merry christmas everyone!  

i realize that 1 - i haven't updated this in a while, and 2 - this post has NOTHING to do w/ fashion.   i'm actually working on some sketches that i'll be scanning and posting in a few weeks.   but until then, i wanted to share with you a fun idea that i'm using for a holiday gift exchange at work.  we have to make homemade ornaments, key word being HOMEMADE.  as many know, i am a catalog/magazine junky, much like geneva (my grandmother).  so i'm pulling from my recycling bin to make this year's ornament.   i found the idea at zakka life.   she has published a easy to follow tutorial on making your own.  

i would love to hear your own ideas for the holidays!  it's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season (aka shopping) that i often forget to use what is at my immediate disposal.  keeping with the ever growing green movement, i encourage you to get creative, resourceful, and REUSE!   explore your inner child again.   you'll probably find them in an art class with finger paints, scissors, and glue.  

xo.

Avery MaKenna

so without fail, i have to update everything i am connected to that Avery MaKenna was born yesterday, 11.24.08.  she weighed in at 5 lbs., 11 ounces.  and 19" in length.  :)  i hear she has a cute button nose, and light brown hair.  here she is pictured with her big sister, Karsen Monroe, and her big brother, Caden Jeffrey.  i'm sure many more pics will follow.

xoxo

she and him

one of my favorites, she and him, have been given a nod from paste magazine as album of the year. hooray! i would also like to give them a nod for their amazing cover on paste, in stores NOW.

dear stylist of she and him shoot: you are GREAT! please tell me the designer of m ward's suit.

unfortunately, i can't find the cover image yet online, but i did find this photograph from the shoot. m ward's suit is absolutely amazing. the flannel shirt and black boutonnière provide enough friction to compliment zooey's dark tights and ivory dress and shoes. if you have a chance to grab a closer look of m ward's suit, PLEASE do. better yet, just grab this issue (issue 49 dec/jan) of paste. it appears to a be a light grey wool blend. so handsome.

ps - i have a new niece being born today. :)

xoxo

nashville art gallery

today i discovered a rare gem of nashville, tennessee via my friend, betsy.   david arms is a local artist, and he's A-MAZ-ING!  his works are at bennett gallery in green hills.  if you like this teaser, let's make a plan to take in some of his other works.  he paints w/ oil, and his use of light and texture are entrancing.  please go check him out:  www.bennettgalleriesnashville.com.  

xo

the comeback of cravats and snowflakes

not that i don't adore the scarves we've been sporting for the last two seasons (i saw a fifth grader wearing one last week), i am ecstatic about the soft whisper of something new when it comes to neckwear.  

trendcentral updates the new neck alternative is a throw back to the days of yore.  sleek silhouettes using elegance and delicate pops of length and color provide a great new accessory you can create at home or find at your local posh boutiques.   styles inspired from gothic to western, anyone can put their own twist on it.  i recently wore a brooch version with a beautiful black ribbon tied underneath. wear it with a flanel shirt, a dress, a button down, etc.  the options are endless.  

oh..and it's snowing back home around the great lakes.  

xo.

the new kids

with all of the election hub-bub going on, i decided to grace your eyes with a powerful depiction of civil rights, and ask the question, "how far have we come?". this a norman rockwell entitled "new kids in the neighborhood."

this morning i read an amazing article about a woman in bastrop county, texas, who at 109 years of age, being a daughter of a slave, recently voted by a mail-in-ballot for obama. this woman paid the poll tax to vote until the year 1966. it's amazing that even though african americans were given the right to vote after the civil war, the state legislatures passed laws to keep african americans away from the polls, imposing tests and taxes to earn their right to vote.

in a time where americans are supposedly "united", i find that we're still radically divided. we're missing the greater point. instead of fighting with each other, we need to fight to understand each other.

xo.

winter on the prairie

thanks to the sartorialist for capturing this look in paris....

just this morning i was pondering fur and plaid together.   i LOVE it.  let's go thrift shopping!  

3.1 Phillip Lim

calling all ebay shoppers - 

please catch a glimpse of phillip lim brilliance that is now on ebay.  if i didn't have issues with bidding on a dress already going for over $250, i would bid.  so until either my issues are resolved or i decide to sew something similar, join me in pretending this dress hangs in our closets.  

the whimsical ribbon is very feminine...and a flattering accent to this dress.  and the sleeves....oh the sleeves.  they're precious.
i love the delicate detailing!  

xo.

  

great-grandaughter of geneva

meet miss ava. ava is almost 2. and she's the great-grandaughter of geneva! we like stripes, sunshine, and playing peek-a-boo with the camera.