wistful wednesday.04

me and my Smurf-blue tights on vacation!

I hate playing catch-up. Which makes me procrastinate, which makes for more catch-up - it's a vicious cycle.

So as a preventative measure and without further ado, here are my wistful Wednesday links. Be sure to check back later this week for blog awards and *perhaps* a giveaway!

• this puritanical little dress reminds me of Pearl from The Scarlet Letter
• the textures of this baked pumpkin cheese soup are irresistible
• this photography project reads like a novel by Thomas Mann. Or Isak Dinesen.
• thrifting tips to try
  
• light and color and texture: 14 photographers on Fernhill
• (also from the last link - I really want a pair of boots now)

wistful wednesday.03

You know how fashion magazines have that feature where you can dress a like celebrity for cheap? Well, this is my version of that for what I'm wearing to the wedding - only these are the more expensive options! My version to follow, credits here

Weddings! Today I am off for a little vacation - my oldest sister is getting married in Maryland this weekend. Partay!

Everyone loves a good wedding, no? So this wistful Wednesday is devoted to the best wedding ideas I've seen/heard lately:

• Casey is going to be such a stunning bride . . .
  
• this wedding is the most fun I've seen in a long time (a tandem bike? priceless!), and you won't believe how cheap it was! (via)
• my favorite wedding toss idea to date: lavendar (it smells better than birdseed)
• there is so much to love about this wedding, but especially the green shoes . . . (via)
• if I ever do get married, I love the clean simplicity of a 1950s gown
• No kidding, bikes are the best wedding accessories
  

(Btw, thank you to Casey for the lovely blog award! I have a plane to catch, but I plan on passing on this award ASAP. Take care all, and see you later!)

quatre raisons . . .

. . . for me to learn French.

1. Un. So I can watch cool French films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and those by Jean-Luc Godard without subtitles.
   
   
2. Duex. So I can listen to the music of Francoise Hardy (because CDs don't come with subtitles).
   
   
3. Trois. So I can order food at chic bistros and brasseries without wondering about my pronunciation.
   
   
4. Quatre. So I can channel French fashion muses like garance doré, le blog de Betty, and model Clémence Poésy (okay, so I don't need to speak the language to do this, but it still would be cool . . . )

Is there something you've wanted to do for a long time, but never had? Tell me what it is, and come up with reasons why (maybe you'll talk yourself into it)!

look-listen-learn

Confession: On an average day, I have more than 20 items checked out from the library, with more on hold. Books, movies, music. I'm a voracious consumer of images and words on random and multitudinous subjects. I'm an addict, a junkie, and the library is my candyman.

Nobody creates in a vacuum. With feed readers and sites like delicious, it's become easy enough to document one's web browsing and inspiration. Once I've returned a book or film to the library, though, that record is cleared.

So I've got this idea - each week, to post a select list of the books/movies/music I've consumed in the past week. Let me know what's on your library card, too!

Looking:

• Bande à part by Jean-Luc Godard, 1964

Listening:

• "Where or When" by Rodgers and Hart, as sung in Turn of the Century
• "Merry Happy" by Kate Nash
  

Learning:

• Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography by Franz Schulze
  
• Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
  

(Usually I'll try to have a photo with these posts - unfortunately I've returned most of these to the library already!)

a braid for all seasons

Braids hanging down one's back are simple and pretty enough, but wound around the head they turn a milkmaid into a queen.

images (clockwise, starting upper left): Toast home catalogue fall '08, a mess of braids from glamour.com, Bottega Veneta fall '07 (via), Jackson, Johnstone, & Roe spring '08, spaceheaters, Vogue Italy February '08 (as if models could wield a saw), and alibosworth

I've loved this look for a long time, but I've never got it to work for me. My hair's too thick for a thin plait wrapped flat around my head, and the visual effect of a French braid is lost against my dark hair. Lately, though, I've gotten good results with two reverse French braids on either side then twisted into a bun, kind of like the Italian Vogue photo above.


Braiding links:

• instructions for just about every braid ever invented
  
• a poetic mess of braids in 10 minutes (via, photo above)
• Anna's braids for short hair
  
• more braiding links
• (and simply because she's brought this look to the limelight) Sienna Miller style
  

Goodbye, farmer's market; I will miss you. See you next year!

wistful wednesday.02

Happy October, everyone! Only a few links today, with hopefully more "real posts" by the end of the week . . .

• this girl has such a cool look. I wish I had red hair and a bicycle.
• this interview with artist and illustrator Maria Kalman is terrific (I'm a huge fan of The Elements of Style Illustrated)
• give gingham one last hurrah and say goodbye summer . . .
• . . . or should we? Alicia's apple picking skirt from a refashioned gingham shirt makes me rethink this fabric's seasonal potential
  
• more recipes for fall flavors: gooseberry chutney and tomato jam