Adore {Kirsten Kuehn Designs}

I could spend hours on Etsy...there are so many talented people out there and so much to look at! Not surprisingly, as of recently, my favorite category is "weddings". While browsing one day, I happened to find the most gorgeous designer, Kirsten Kuehn. She makes these beaded crystal bouquet wraps, sashes, bracelets, hair pieces, and garters. While any of these pieces would look fabulous on a bride, I think it would be fun to wear some of the designs with my everyday look.  

These bouquet wraps would add glamour to any bridal bouquet!

I love these bracelets! And they are reasonably priced, which is even better.

She gives the option to have the beading stitched onto your choice of ribbon, organza, or velvet.

I fell in love with this garter the moment I saw it! It is perfectly vintage-like. Kirsten also has a blog, where she shows off even more of her designs!

~Do you ladies have any favorite resources for glamourous jewelry and accessories? If so, please share!~

The forest grows downward.

A Weekend Reflection

May 2nd


1876: The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria. Like most everything else Bulgarians do, it's two days late.


1969: The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City. She comes back knocked up and with a set of bad tatoos.

2000: President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the U.S. military and his drivers helping him find hot pieces of ass.


THANKS!!!

April visits to this blog were up 15.4%, year-over-year. Thanks for reading!

May 1st

1707: The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Really Drunken Slobs.


1751: The first cricket match is played in America... it's expected to end any day now.


1927: The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris. Some of the meals cooked that day are still being served on U.S. Airways.

Smile

smile because it's the weekend ;)

Japanese Mask Tattoo (Album 1)

John Fowler & Nancy Lancaster

Fowler London bedroom from 1970's, image from Architectural Digest

John Fowler worked with and was inspired by and inspired Nancy Lancaster for many years. He began as an apprentice in a workroom that painted screens and fabric. He joined Sibyl Colefax's interior design firm in 1938. But it was his collaboration with Nancy Lancaster that really put him on the map. Together they made famous the English Country look (which wasn't really invented by a decorator, it just evolved in English country houses). It is the beautiful but slightly shabby look featuring lots of chintz and antiques handed down through families. Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler perfected this look. Over time Fowler's style became less shabby and more refined and fussy (especially the elaborate curtains he favored).

Some of his rooms:


Fowler's London drawing room for the Bruces, 1960's, image from Architectural Digest


Bruce family London drawing room by John Fowler



Another Fowler drawing room from the 1960's - Wingfield House, from Aesthetes Lament blog


Parisian drawing room, image from A Different Shade of Gray blog



Washington, DC drawing room of the Bruce family in 1970's, image from Architectural Digest, via Aesthete's Lament



Same DC room, close up of chairs that were in Nancy Lancaster's bedroom at Haseley Court, Architectural Digest, via Aesthete's Lament

sign

Skywatch Friday

Monochrome Benches

I haven't posted any benches for a while - indeed, I haven't posted very much lately. Other things have kept me busy and will continue to do so for some time. However, today I have combined my interest in monochrome photography with my interest in benches.

These are located in Nordnesparken (The Nordnes Park) in Bergen. There are several groups of these concrete benches, and each one has its own distinct pattern on the seat.

Some say that concrete is a dull material, but as you can see, it doesn't have to be.

In my opinion, the dull one in this trio is the plain and ordinary park bench to the right.

This Monochrome concept came from Aileni at Monochrome Weekend.

Jobless in Spain
Spain unemployment is now at 20%, the other 80% are officially employed as siesta inspectors.



Wall Street Protest
Thousands of union members marched on Wall Street yesterday. It's not the huge bank profits that angers the unions the most, it's the fact that the bankers made that money while they were actually working!



Drill Stop
The White House has just announced that no oil drilling in new areas in the U.S. will go forward until there's a full review of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This is in addition to last year's White House announcement that no profits will be made by anybody until the Democrats get re-elected in November.



Shakira Speaks Out
Singer Shakira has joined the growing chorus of opposition to Arizona's new immigration law. In response, Arizona is now offering immediate citizenship to all illegal aliens who look like Shakira.



Crist Bolts
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has announced that he is leaving the Republican Party. He will now be running for the Senate as a member of the new Tanning Bed/Melanoma Party.





April 30th

313: Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Empire under his rule. He goes on to challenge the West coast rappers and assassinate Tupac Shakur.


1789: On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States... and the last president who wasn't a lying sack of crap.


1803: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. It takes 15 years just to get rid of the smell.


1945: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. This remains the most successful marriage in European political history.

Garland

Adore this pretty wedding... via here

Creating order out of chaos

image from India Hicks

Today we are headed to a client's house to get started on making the house beautiful. We are going from something like this


image from ocsitcom blog

to this


image from Schuyler Samperton
Hopefully!!!

Men at Work

I think I am going to start a new series of posts--probably on Thursdays--most Thursdays but not all.

Men (and Women) at Work!

I have a few in my archives and will keep an eye out for others.

In this case, as I drove by this morning, this city worker was flushing the fire hydrants.









A companion series will be Volunteers in Action. I know I could probably go  a few months just on those.

Some Beach...

Some beach, somewhere...

There's a big umbrella, casting shade over an empty chair...

Palm trees are growin' ...

A warm breeze is blowin'...

I picture myself right there...

On some beach, somewhere...

Oh, how I wish I were laying on some beach, listening to the waves splash and feeling the sweet sunshine on my face. Instead, I am preparing to write an essay and take two exams...There's nothing like finals week to make a girl wish for an escape! These pretty, beachy rooms will have to do for now though!

~Enjoy your day!~

{Images from: here, last photo from here. Song lyrics from Blake Shelton}

Tech Furniture with Changing Color Fibers, Milan 2010

Some of the showrooms we saw in Milan were just so inviting, that we just had to go in and take a closer look. Michael was particularly drawn to the Fokas Fiber showroom which could be easily observed from far away due to the cool changing colors embedded in the furniture. We spent at least a quarter of hour there, enjoying the way the sofas, chairs and even carpets changed colors. The technology used to create this designs is fiber optics. Here are a few words from the official web page of the producers: “Fiber optics may be good for the internet, but it is also very eye-catching in furniture. One of a kind sexy sofa that you have never seen before. Fokas Fiber is the only company in the world to produce them and had its worldwide debut in Dubai at the Index 2006 show. Fokas is a Greek company based in Thessaloniki and has been around for 35 years.” Don’t forget to check out the video in order to see how the system works. Would you go for this type of furniture or do you consider it to be too flashy?