My Milk Glass Heart » design

I have two Marimekko pieces… the bf got this shower curtain and piece of fabric for me for X-mas last year. My dad made a wooden panel and it’s hanging in our bedroom. They’ve been around for so long, even my mom had their fabric framed, hanging in her first apartment.

shower curtain

enormous wall hanging

Their Autumn fabrics are now out and I can’t say I like many of them at all for wall hangings, pillows, upholstery, anything. They used to have a lot of variety. You could get these big retro patterns but you could also find an intricate clean repeat. What do you think? I think it looks dingy, boring and old… and not in that good old way.

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fall fantasy wish-list

Lara — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:47:20 +0000

I used to keep a journal full of cut out pictures of things I saw in magazines and I’ve shared a ton with you in the past. So, what does a grown woman do on a Wednesday night? Well this grown ass woman sat with her September issues spread out, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, paper and a pen. In all the magazines, I honestly didn’t see too many things that I fell in love with. I enjoyed concepts and styling ideas but not many individual items, except for these.

Oh, and I totally ordered the DKNY Pure perfume. I rubbed every last microbe of scent on my wrist off that magazine strip and couldn’t stop smelling myself. So cozy and comforting and sexy. The bf loves it. Part of the profit goes to a microfinance program for vanilla farmers in Uganda as well. I haven’t given up on my beloved Kenzo Amour… it just needs a little rest.

PS- I can’t spell Gabbana obviously

Click for the large version:

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+ & –

Lara — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:37:51 +0000

I finally watched The September Issue and if you get stupid excited about the 5 pound September fashion magazines like I do, you will love it! I have always enjoyed Vogue creative director Grace Coddington‘s luxe editorials but after seeing the struggle she goes through with editor Anna Wintour, I am in awe. You can watch it instantly on Netflix.

Ask and ye shall receive. I have slowly [finally grown up and] come to the realization that men are not mind readers. No way, right? It is soooo much easier to simply ask for what I want. Feeling overwhelmed with household duties? Ask him to wash the dishes. Feeling frisky? Pounce. Need some alone time? Make it happen. Want a romantic evening out? Make the reservations. Instead of building up resentment and tension, living together has become a lot easier. Showing appreciation for all the little things instead of complaining, not asking him to help with chores when he’s in the middle of something, warning him ahead of time and not springing things/requests/moods on him… these little actions have made for quite the peaceful happy home. I’m getting it all in return as well! Funny how that works out. (PS – What’s with the commercials where the woman stands there holding a full trash bag while her man is watching a game? Take the damn trash out yourself!)
Sewing machine:

It’s all about good friends dude. Seriously. This post reminds me of when Jen’s dear cat Cleo died about 10 years ago and we buried her in a friend’s back yard. Jen and I (during the grunge days) used to say we wanted Mother Love Bone’s Chloe Dancer played at our funerals but instead we burst into CLEO Dancer as we stood by her little grave and everything was okay. (Oh and I totally started boohooing for Cleo when I heard that song again.)
Sometimes you need a visual to imagine putting different colors together. For your wardrobe, your home, projects, anything… this little tool is a lot of fun!

An enviable birthday gift haul. Good grief.
More reasons why I love TJ Maxx/Marshall’s – I got this glowing blue rocks glass for the bf (last one – we keep breaking all the cool glasses), an aqua Kuhn Rikon 12″ non-stick pan (the non-stick of our old pan died), and a Kenneth Cole wallet (my old one was soooo funky) for less than $30. (Oh and an extra pair of cute pink tweezers because I have plucking problems.)

Another great artist via My Love For You… this painting is by Kristine Moran. I have this weird habit of deconstructing everything beautiful I see to assess if I could do it myself. This is completely beyond me.

Alas, I won’t be making it to New York Fashion Week this September. I told myself last year that I would go this year but it’s not in the cards/budget. To rub salt in the wound, I actually got invited to a few things this time around and didn’t even register for a press pass! Argh! I don’t like to make promises I don’t know if I can keep but I really really want to try harder to make it next year!
We have been dragging ass with some weird bug for over a week now. I feel achy, slightly feverish, eyes burning, bronchial tightness. We’ve been going to bed before 10pm most nights and have wasted 2 free weekends that could’ve been filled with fun, instead laying around doing nothing. I saw this picture on Saturday when I was feeling like crap and started laughing hysterically then started sobbing uncontrollably. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Dear People Who Sell Shoes Online, Please quit it with only offering whole sizes. That is so weak! I am a true-to-size 6.5. I cannot squeeze into a 6 and a size 7 will fall off my feet. You are losing out on a huge customer base and I have yet to discover what you are gaining from this nonsense. Just knock it off! Thanks, Me.

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Embroidery

Lara — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:24:34 +0000

Thanks again to MJ for tweeting this awesome piece of embroidery by Rosie Geissler from her very new blog. This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. (via Craft)

Here’s one more piece of her work. Love love love her messy style!

Her etsy shop is empty at the moment but keep an eye on it!

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prints

Lara — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:28:14 +0000

I keep seeing these wonderful prints I want on my walls. I never wanted to decorate with small wall hangings. It starts to feel messy. A few large pieces were fine with me but now, I’m starting to justify a few groupings in my head because these prints are so great!

All from Little Paper Planes. Click picture to be taken to it.

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indie tees

Lara — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:40:42 +0000

My graphic t-shirt criteria:

v-neck or deep scoop neck – hard to find with a graphic tee (If it’s something that I simply must have, the neck can always be cut out. I like to trim the arm holes and bottom hem below the stitching as well, to keep the frayed-edge look more cohesive.)
fitted for a woman, longer
arty and clever, not cheesy licensed motifs or slogans
will this look good under a blazer with some skinnies and heels?

Threadless is a good source for tees w/ indie designs but it’s usually hit or miss.

^ My bf’s most fave tee in the whole world ^

Rumplo has tees by artists from all over the world. They curate from all sorts of great tee sites (even etsy), separating the gems from (a lot of) the junk and simply redirect you to purchase from the original site.

I just discovered Little Paper Planes. They have great art prints and tees!

There’s also DesignByHumans. Most of their designs are huge and have back detail as well.

The antlers go down the back.

The back of the tee is full of wires.

My favorite tee of all time came from my mom. She wore the hell out of it in the 70s and I sent it to its grave in the 90s. It was covered with a fine detailed jungle motif and jungle animals. It was fabulous. I usually have one favorite graphic tee at a time that I wear to death. The last one was a white v-neck from Urban Outfitters that had a thin black scribble all along the neckline. It’s on its last leg. The bf just bought me the keyboard cat tee I’ve been dying over for almost a year but it is soooo ridiculous that I can only see myself wearing it casually.

What’s your favorite graphic tee?

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+ & -

Lara — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:03:58 +0000

Putting some more color in my life. My wardrobe mainly consists of black, white and grey. I’ve been making a concentrated effort to choose the colorful version of something cute I see, instead of the standard neutral. It can always be paired up with a neutral I already have. Still can’t get into prints though.
I finally went to u-fab, a fabric discounter in the city, this past weekend and holy cow it’s awesome! There is no other store in Richmond that has so many contemporary prints at such great prices. The $2.99 remnants in the back were very basic. Most of the gorgeous prints (in all types of weights) were about $10-$15 a yard. I bought 2 yards of heavy duty fabric for two large floor cushions for my livingroom. The mod print for the bf and the floral for me. I think they coordinate pretty well, in a funky kinda way. $24!!! All I need is some patience to cut it, a few easy swipes through the sewing machine, and hopefully I can get my hands on a heavier natural fiber filler so they have some weight. I will post pics of the finished product soon! Washed out phone pic:

Rediscovering DnB. A looong time ago in a land far far away, I dabbled in the rave scene here in Richmond. The first big party I went to, I wandered around to the different rooms until I found music that hit me. That was Drum & Bass. A local DJ was spinning and I was mesmerized, watching the subtle movements on the records and mixer, feeling the build-ups, being blown away. I became friends with that DJ and all his other friends and for a while, Richmond was a lot of fun for me. Then as my circle of friends got bigger, drama and drugs got a bit too much for my liking and I had to move on. Either way, the music is still important to me, even though I don’t listen to it as often as I should. I would much rather go to a DnB night to dance than a hipster dance night. I forgot all about BassDrive. Click on the “web player” and listen to DJs spinning sets from all over the world!
I really enjoy Sarah Von’s blog Yes and Yes. She has recently shared two awesome things. First, THIS BLOG of Japanese cats. Second, is this great reminder to keep things in perspective:

Removable/repositionable wallpaper! Transform a wall in your rental without your landlord having a fit! Check it out!

Try imaging a ton of nail colors on a virtual hand. Yeah, I played with it.

I had been putting off getting my car inspected 10 days past the end of the month, because I had a bad feeling I was going to have some expensive repairs. I was noticing some subtle changes and they didn’t feel good. So of course, this past Thursday, I got a ticket for an expired inspection sticker. Two hours later, I was at the mechanics and sat there for over 3 hours as they collected $700 from me. In addition to a lot of minor maintainance things, a ball joint was cracked and it was pretty major. (Thank you Richmond pot holes!) Trying to look on the bright side, the car is over 8 years old and this is the first real repair I’ve had to perform. I always wanted to take a class in auto mechanics and have done quite a bit of car repair in my lifetime and I’m good about taking care of my car so, I’m counting my lucky stars and knocking on wood that it wasn’t worse.
I came about 3″ from catching a wee kitten last Friday. I was driving through my parents’ neighborhood and saw a tiny kitten sitting on the side of the road. I stopped and started walking towards it. It mewed a few times then took off to a house and hid under shrubs. After about 10 minutes of crawling around on my hands and knees under bug filled bushes with the kitten darting from one bush to another, it took off again and I didn’t see where it went. It was one of those brown stripey wild kitties and that’s exactly the kind I’ve wanted! Kinda like this:

yeah

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beads

Lara — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:27:52 +0000

Definitely for the more mature and sophisticated woman with a lot of cash to play with, Mrs. Lilien’s blog is still full of great styling tips and decadent gems. A few days ago I saw this neckace by Elva Fields and was immediately smitten. I’m not usually a necklace person. No, I take that back. I used to always wear a bold necklace of some sort, mainly in the summer. For some reason, I’ve forgotten how much much fun it is to wear statement jewelry.

This necklace is not my style. Not. One. Bit. And… I’m completely in love with it! It’s one-of-a-kind and sold out, along with most of the others offered on the site. The few that remain are all around $200. The vintage brooch is 4″ across and contrasts in the most pleasing way with the muted African beads. I think this would be so much fun with a simple white tank, jeans and heels.

So what does a girl do when she sees something she loves, it’s no longer available, and would be out of her price range even if it was? DIY of course!

I’ve made my fair share of necklaces in the past so, this wasn’t a daunting task. Finding the right colors and sizes of beads was a whole different story and required a frustrating adventure to 3 different stores. Jewelry making is a huge business right now. The bead sections in craft stores are getting larger. Beads are getting more interesting and definitely more expensive. Bangles & Beads here in Richmond is my absolute favorite place but soooo pricey. I decided on smaller sized glass beads because the cost was going to be ridiculous.

I had some loops and the pliers already and had to get silver-finish toggle clasps, some clamp connectors to secure the coated stainless wire used. They attach to the loops which then attach to the clasp. Here are all of my supplies:

Last night, I strung over 20 feet of beads. I just kept going and going to see if I could possibly make 2 out of everything I bought. One to keep and one to either give away or sell. I had enough to make two 4-strand necklaces with a bit more length. Here’s my busy/handiwork:

I also checked out brooches at some discount stores but nothing was panning out so, I’ve found a few online that are a bit smaller but will totally work on this smaller scale version. I will probably order one this weekend once I make up my mind.

So, after dividing everything that I strung up and getting it all put together, here are the two base necklaces, waiting for some bling:

Part of me wants to wear them both together! It’s so heavy! I may just sport them out this weekend!

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