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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Calling all designers



I found this laundry/folding station on Restoration Hardware's website this morning. After studying it for a few minutes, I've come to realize that it wouldn't be too hard to make. Love the look of theirs, but come on, $300 on sale??? Thats a bit much for me. I think all you'd need is a table at a proper folding height with horizontal supports that are high enough to hold a series of laundry bags (with dowel rods loaded in the seams). The horizontal supports on the table should provide enough room for the casual toss of laundry into the bags. I'm loving the wheels on the legs. Thats a major plus! Just a little something to keep in mind for the next home. :)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

January



January always reminds me that with patience comes beauty. The rush of the holidays is over, and there is nothing more to do but wait for good things to come. Winter is in full swing here. Chills blow through town and bring rosy cheeks and noses. The dreary days of winter make me think of things to come. Valentines Day and Spring are among the long awaited; however the I must remind myself that simplicity of January allows for personal renewal. Just as Spring's bulbs must wait patiently though weeks of cold and darkness before they will bloom, let us rest for a month... good things are bound to come.

In the "wait" for spring, I've been relying on a few things to keep me cheerfully inspired:

Relaxing Music for January:
Kate Spade's Album
Lee Ann Womack - "Greatest Hits"
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - "Raising Sand"
Feist - "Let it Die"

Blogs:
Orangette - also look for her new book coming this spring!
Paper Pony
No.462
M.A.Belle
Pure Style

I've also been doing a little indoor gardening. I planted paperwhites a few weeks ago and they're blooming! My amaryllis has not had the happiest life though. This week I planted a hyacinth in an apothecary jar - essentially creating a terrarium!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Two Words



Two words my friends, two words... Felix Doolittle. I have found the perfect vendor for my wedding invitations and paper accessories. This line of stationary and paper goods is amazingly beautiful. I stumbled upon the website only thirty minutes ago, after looking through pages in my "Wedding Ideas" binder that I have been assembling. How did I not see this gorgeous paper sooner, you ask? I have no idea! I found it on a page of interesting wedding gifts from an old Real Simple magazine.

I have been back and forth between letterpress and the look of hand watercolored wedding invitations. The more I fall in love with letterpress, the more I think that few people will appreciate it the way I do. So... on a sad sad note, I think I may have given up the idea of letterpressed invitations and wedding accessories. I think that something handmade would be nice, but I don't want anything that is too crafty. The moment I realized this, I remembered my years and years of watercoloring presentations in Design School. I love watercolors. They are so me! They are small glimpses of what something could be... often with a lack of full clarity. Just enough to get the idea in your mind, but not enough to obstruct the goal. I made the decision at that point to use watercolored invitations. Felix Doolittle is everything I've wanted in a watercolored invitation and more. The designs are simple, yet have a great amount of emotion in them. Not to mention, watercolor lends itself more to my theme.

An afternoon/early evening English Countryside garden party. The juxtaposition between structured topiaries and aged concrete urns overflowing with garden flowers. Natural materials such as gravel paths, antique brick, grass, and moss below foot, with late spring's sky above. Glass bulb party lights and lanterns hanging from trees as the afternoon light fades to evening. Crickets chirping, the moonlight above, and the sacred smell of spring's freshly cut lawn.
Now I only need a location, a date, a dress, and all the other wonderful things. Oh, and a big budget for these cards; since I'm caught up in the moment of these beautiful illustrations, I'm going to look past the price. Those are my next goals. For now though, I am thankful to have such beautiful inspiration from Felix Doolittle's gorgeous wedding invitations.