:: countdown to ::

nkotbsb performing on dick clark's new year's rockin' eve tonight!

:: it's a bag! it's a skirt! ::

came across this image on catalog living and had an idea.
wouldn't it be great if someone invented a tree bag that doubles as a tree skirt? the bag would be made of pretty, decorative fabric so that when the tree is standing there and the bag is not pulled up around it (as it is in this picture), you have a lovely little tree skirt, falling around the base of the tree. it would be full enough to drape and cover as needed. then, at the end of the season (or earlier or later, depending on your patience and preference) you could just pull up the skirt-bag, like in this picture and haul the tree (perhaps even with decorations in place!) into storage.

to all the many, many inventors reading my blog: please feel free to take this idea...as long as i get my own, free, custom made version when they hit the market!

update: ok, so i'm not exactly the first with this general idea. but what's in my head is better than what's out there. it'd be kind of like this, but pretty and not disposable. or like this, but attractive and fuller. and not as expensive.

:: captain von trendsetter ::

images from here [video] here, here, here, and here

:: Christmas gift! ::

this is the first white Christmas my town has gotten in my lifetime. loved the predictions, the anticipation, and then the excitement as the snow started falling. big, fat, wet flakes fell all through dinner, gift giving and the ride home.

i love giving Christmas gifts. it really is more fun for me than the getting. each year i end up having a favorite gift (that i'm giving to someone). the just-right gift that i can hardly wait to hand over. this year, i had quite a few in the running, but there was one in particular that had me excited and a little nervous.

i saw this deviled egg platter in the anthropologie catalog and immediately thought of my sister. deviled eggs are a staple at our big family meals and since my sister is usually the host of our holiday gatherings nowadays, i felt she should have a special egg platter. i thought that since it was from anthro, if she didn't like it, she could return it and buy something else (from her favorite store).

she saw the anthropologie box and knew it was for her. when it was her turn to open (youngest to oldest), she said (clutching the box), "i hope this is what i think it is!" my heart sank. she was so excited and this was such a random gift, i thought there was no way it was what she had in mind. "it wasn't something i asked for" she said. she opened the box and saw the tissue. "is it the egg platter?"

yay! she'd seen it in the catalog, pulled the picture and added it to her own, personal wish list. score! for weeks (months) i'd been trying to find something that would be a surprise. something she hadn't added to her Christmas list. but everything i came across that i knew she'd like, she went and bought for herself! so, with that, my hopeful favorite became my actual favorite.


i hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

:: serious inspiration ::

we (corey smith) were in a meeting today, discussing art concepts for an upcoming album and supporting photo shoot & marketing materials. the following vogue spread was brought up in response to potential art direction. strictly as inspiration in terms of coloring and lighting. whether or not we go this route, i am so glad this spread was brought to my attention because - WOW. amazing. makes me want to do a finger-wave up-do, put on a pretty little dress & some red lipstick and hit the town for some rhythm & romance! (i just thought, "that'd be a great title for my (non-existent) country album." googled it, and...too late.)

annie leibovitz for vogue

:: au revoir, à bientôt ::

carine roitfeld (previously shown here and here) is leaving vogue paris. i'm excited to see what she plans on doing next (because i'm guessing it will have something to do with internet/new media). while i respect her mark on the fashion world, i haven't picked up a paris vogue since i was there in 1997 (prior to her being the editor), so i'd feel like a big ol' phony if i joined the cries of sadness over this announcement. really, i'm happy that the news has led to so many carine mentions/photos on some of my favorite sites in such a short time frame. i always love seeing pictures of her incredible clothes (and shoes!).

elle
vogue
refinery 29
the sartorialist
all the pretty birds
the new york times

:: letters home - a valentine for mamma ::

[click to enlarge]

5 Feb 1945

Dear Mamma

Just a card to let you know that I am thinking of you on Valentine's day.

Love
Arthur Jr

:: a darling skirt & more ::

i got this skirt at zara in new york in may and haven't worn it, yet. MAY! why is it that i try something on in NYC and love it, but when i put it on at home, it fits differently or i just don't care for it anymore?i did, finally, come up with a cute outfit idea (and belt) for it, but it was a fall ensemble and it got too cold, too quickly. hoping for a warm day (in general!) so i can finally put this to use.

i don't know if the bow belt is really my style, but if it was, i would definitely order this one:
katie, the owner and creative mind behind darlingtonia moccasin company, makes some adorable leather goods and her blog has become a daily read for me. the color tones and consistency on i go by katie are incredibly appealing. she could be talking about math & football and i'd probably still check it out each day just because of her pretty photography, her clean & simple layout and the coloring she incorporates in just about every post.

if i haven't worn this skirt by this time next year, maybe i'll send it to katie so she can put it to good use with a darling(tonia) belt and great photos!



does that model remind of you denise richards?

:: made with fresh guacamoles ::

i've been on a big guacamole kick for a couple of months. after having a bowl of delicious table-side guac from papa's and beer the other day, i decided i needed more lime juice in my homemade concoction. its not particularly hard to make, but for those who like reading my food posts (hi, jerry!), here's my current guacamole recipe. with actual measurements!

2 avocados
1 roma tomato, diced
1/2 small-medium white onion, diced
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 lime
1 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of kosher salt

halve the avocados, remove the pit, add meat to a bowl. use a fork (not a spoon) to mush it to your liking. (i like mine a little chunky, so i don't do much in this step. remember, you'll be adding more ingredients and therefore stirring more so don't turn it into paste!)

add the tomato, onion, jalapeno (i use 1 whole pepper with seeds & membrane removed to control the heat), garlic and salt. add the juice of half of the lime (i also like to add a little bit of lime zest). mix together. add the juice of the other lime half, if needed.

goes great with stacy's pita chips (naked) - but what doesn't? (great dip companion.)

title explantion: i went to a chain restaurant for lunch one day and the waitress really tried a hard sell on one of the appetizers, telling us that it was "made with fresh guacamoles." as funny as we found her description, we passed on ordering the guacamole made with fresh guacamoles.

:: it's simple, really ::

simple
(emphasis mine.)

I wish that when I was younger I could have met my current self. We would have sat down at a coffee shop so that I could explain life to young me in terms that only we would understand. It would have saved me a lot of hardship.

You can listen to all the sage wisdom you want, but things only make sense when you can explain them to yourself in your own words. For instance, I’ve been told for three years that Breaking Bad is the best show on television, but only after I watched it was I able to tell myself exactly why everyone was right. Other truths I know now that I can explain them: that I’m not missing any crucial information and that poker really isn’t all that fun; that heartbreaks do fade but they take about a year longer than you expect and by the time they do you really don’t care about it enough to notice; and above all else, life is simpler than you think.

I used to think that life was an intricate series of levers and pulleys, buttons and switches, Mexican standoffs and hostage negotiations. As I get older I realize that life is more Netherlands minimalist than Jackson Pollock. The problems don’t get fewer, and in fact they grow in number, but the way I index them in the database is different. More problems get filed under fewer category headers.

Things are getting simpler, and it’s making life better. Here’s the cheat sheet:

People want to be liked. We all crave attention and affection and we all reject shame. When we get embarrassed we send a thug version of ourselves to the forefront to do our fighting for us. We’re at the top of the food chain just under fear. We don’t want to be in a relationship to hear the words “I love you,” we want to be in a relationship to say the words “I love you.” We want to feel needed, and exceptional and we hate feeling insignificant. We want to ace a hearing test. We are binary creatures; if we’re the plaintiff, we want to win every dollar. If we’re the defendant, we want guard every penny. We want to make more money than last year. We don’t want to get cancer or die in our cars and we want the same for our loved ones. We go out on weekends to try and have sex while trying not to get punched in the face. We drink so we can be ourselves and not mind it so much. We’re desperate to be understood. We want to know someone else has felt it, too. We hate being judged unfairly. We want to make the person we heard wasn’t all that into us change their minds and admit they had us wrong. We want sunny skies with a chance of killer tornadoes, just to keep music sounding good. We take hours upon hours to admit to self consciousness. We don’t know exactly how to pleasure each other. We just want love. In any and every form.

See? It’s simple. :)

- john mayer

:: deck the halls ::