the perfect shade of pink

definite proof that I am an eighty-five-year-old trapped in a twenty-six-year-old body

My iPod earbuds are all tangled in the yarn from my knitting.

wishing one could peel wallpaper off the walls

Because these three would be worth a shot. These are in a house that my husband is renovating for work, and I love kjust looking at the patterns and wanted them preserved for posterity. Top: kitchen; middle, upstairs bedroom; bottom: bathroom.

fashion tips with Carrie B.

Or, "how to wear a bare midriff without looking like a skank." Or like you're trying to hard. If that's possible.
First: make sure you have the abs for it. If anyone does, it's SJP.
Second: no low-rise jeans. Notice that in both these shots she's wearing a just-below-the-bellybutton full skirt. Interesting, eh? Somehow the combination works, and I like those shirts much better as she wears them than with the inevitable dark wash jeans and pointy heels. What say you all? 

(Ignore the hat in this picture; it's not actually part of the outfit.)


Note: this post was inspired by thinking of midriff-baring outfits I've seen lately.

inspiring me

Images from the June/July issue of Preen that I'm only getting around to posting now. Sorry the color is so inaccurate.






This is the image that inspired this shot. The execution of the concept resulted in a very different look, to be sure, but you can see how ideas are gleaned everywhere.

I might be embarrassed over buying two pairs of shoes over the weekend

If my husband hadn't spent more on one pair than I did on these two.

fun things

Stateris. Like Tetris, only with states. (I actually haven't gotten to play this yet; my keyboard seems to be acting up.)
Why the Bourne Series is the best film trilogy ever. Pretty interesting.
In case anyone wanted to know, Starbucks started serving their pumpkin spice lattes yesterday.
Ok, I need to go paint at my sister's house. And take some pictures. And sort some junk.

more pretty pictures

random photo that has been sitting on my desktop

Until I decided if I liked it enough to post. Taken a couple of weekends ago at Assateague National Seashore park, otherwise known as "the place where the locals go."

back with a not-quite-bang

We had a lovely weekend in Ohio; I'm almost ashamed to admit that I bought two pairs of shoes, but then, my husband bought a pair as well, so we're even. (His cost more than both of mine put together.) I took some lovely pictures, which I will hopefully upload this evening, after the cord for my harddrive is back.
In the mean time, photojojo is hiring, this guy makes cool mosaics, and she is moving about 40 minutes away, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Did someone say "photo shoot"?

full of helpfulness (if you need help wasting time, that is)

We're headed to Ohio for the weekend, much to my delight. I'm sorry posting has been so sparse; I've not been accomplishing much of anything, really, and have been draggingly tired, in addition to trying to catch up from last week. Hopefully next week will be better, and I'm really looking forward to the weekend. We leave in about two and a half hours! (No, I've not packed a SINGLE THING yet.)
Ok, so here is some stuff I love.
If you haven't found out your bionic score yet, just do it. Mine is a wimpy 44%. (the typing thing will kill you.)
I scored the most amazing grey boots at the thrift store yesterday. Sadly, they don't fit me. I had to hand them off to the sister. I also picked up this wicked cool pair of jodphur-style Shelli Seagal Laundry pants at Goodwill--they had the tags still attached! I can't wait to wear them with my tall black boots.
Am I the only person who gets the Jcrew catalog just for the photography? I'm loving this month's lookbook--the shots in Paris and the styling are adorable. Also, I want that yellow jacket.
Finally! End of season sales mean some of Anthropologie's clothing is finally within the price range of "approaching normal" and seriously, they have some of the loveliest stuff. Like a lacy, tunic-y sweater, a puffy-sleeved jacket, and a gathered tank. The last one would be perfect to wear into fall, with a pencil skirt and fitted tweedy blazer. hot, eh?
And that's all I have time to type; I still need to bake a meatloaf for el brother to eat over the weekend.

much too tired for a real post

So here's a pic from the shoot we did last weekend. I haven't edited any of the others, so you'll have to wait on those. (They're all better than this; she's gooooorgeous.)


I'll get the results of the giveaway soon; I'm just dead tired right now. I started at Starbucks yesterday, and, while I love it, for some reason I'm completely drained. Maybe because I haven't been eating?

how to while away a Friday afternoon

Look at all the pretty things at Ebay. All are under $10 at the time of posting, and all have at least a few hours left. As usual, click the images to go to the auctions.
Vintage millinery trims. Wouldn't these look lovely pinned on a lapel? Or tied on top of a gift?

Yes, it's plastic. But it's VINTAGE plastic. And that makes all the difference. Perfect weekend bag, don't you think?

They're pink and fluffy and pretty. Stick them in a little clear glass bottle on your dressing table and just feel happy when you look at them.

Aviators = the hotness. Enough said.
Yes, summer is almost over. But it's a green crepe-paper fan! How ladylike is that??? Also a very classy alternative to sweating at, say, a baseball game. The seller has several more equally charming ones.

It's a hat that looks like a blooming shrub! But it's also very Louis Vuitton S07, don't you think? (BTW, I think it's being modeled by a man, so that might explain why it's sort of...perched.)

A feathery hat! In hot pink! We all need more hot pink feathers in our lives. Unless you're a flamingo, in which case, maybe you should look to the aqua side of things.

And now I'm off for the rest of the day to cook and share my sister's birthday dinner. It shall be lovely!

very worth a look

365 portraits. One year, one portrait a day.
Gorgeous.

add interest to your tshirt collection

I think I added this one not so much for the shirt as because it's from Heatherette. And, you know, adding a piece from the guys who sent pants down the runway lacking actual bum-covering to one's mainly Ann Taylor or Talbots wardrobe is just funny.

I actually have this shirt in white. Sadly, it is not currently available in that shade. However, it is one of my favorite tshirts: it's loose enough to balance skinny pants or narrow skirts, but not actually poofy, and it's a very feminine, flattering neckline.

As always, click on the pictures for purchasing information.

very adorable with tights, don't you think?

I love Frye. I really want a pair of motorcycle boots from them.

one more day for the giveaway!

If you haven't sent in an email yet, you have until tomorrow night to win your very own copy of The Devil Wears Prada. I've had some great submissions so far; I'm going to have to get the sisters to help me judge.

ok, three more things

I'm not leaving you bereft!

• why your free time is boring. Because maybe you shouldn't be doing nothing. Very interesting premise.
  
• Plan your wardrobe using piecharts. For the super-organized among us.
  
• Absolutely gorgeous series of images that refute everything I say about editing down and only showing the very best pictures with no similar shots.
  

two links and one apology

So I had all sorts of brilliant plans for what I was going to do this afternoon, including sorting, photographing, and sharing the fabric and goodies I acquired from that house last week. And maybe posting some pics from the shoot we did on Sunday. And showing you the awesome turban I picked up at the vintage store. Alas, I think I'm coming down with something: the headache, sore throat, and chills seem to indicate that. So maybe I'll convince le sister to pick up SATC season 5, and we'll watch that ALL EVENING. Lovely, eh?

BTW: here is the link. It's an ezine, and it has some seriously gorgeous photography. Also, if you're into fashion and you don't read the coveted (that would describe me up until yesterday) you're missing out. I love her style and inspiration.

sale items that are taunting me

Rachel Pally minidress $58.90, down from $198

Ok, so maybe I wouldn't wear this as a dress. But it would be very charming over bright colored skinny jeans, like the ones from Urban Outfitters, and a pair of flats. And then wear it in the winter with a turtleneck underneath and your jeans tucked into a pair of boots. I'm loving this.

Eyelet Jacket, $96.90 down from $325

Don't get me wrong--$97 is still a lot to pay for a jacket that has no warmth-inducing justification (although that justification is way past for me since I own, no joke, 14 coats and jackets). But this is so pretty and feminine. (I'm hating the way it's styled, though.)

Jersey Dress, $42.90, down from $146

At first glance, this could be a simple basic black dress that would work quite nicely in the office. At second glance, some major problems emerge. 1) it makes the model look drowned and saggy-boobed. 2) If she can't keep the belt in place while standing quite still with an expression of ethereal bliss upon her face, what is the probability that the rest of us can keep things in their appointed places? Maybe the southward slide of the belt is catching, and that's what happened to the bustline? Despite these issues, I do think this dress has potential, and for the price it might be worth finding out.

Diesel Dress, $38.90 down from $130

I think this dress would work quite nicely on the less well-endowed among us. And I love the color. So there.

As always, click on the pictures to get more information.

three interesting things

• free downloadable sewing patterns. (Also check out their other patterns; there are some cute ones, and they're very moderately priced.)
  
• Tutorial for making "carrot leg" jeans. Kinds of like skinny jeans, but wider through the hips. An interesting thought, to be sure.
  
• "Can't afford NOT to be picky" = good article on thrifty shopping without looking second-class.

you actually might not want to know this

But SteveMadden.com is having a massive sale. And while some of the shoes are horrifying, some are seriously covet-inducing. (Is it a sign that they're only available in my size?)

tasty yumness

I made chocolate eclairs the other night, much to the delight of the family. Of the eighteen I made, these two were the only ones left in the morning. I cobbled together a couple of recipes, and, although timeconsuming, it wasn't actually hard.

Chocolate Eclairs

Pastry
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.

Bring butter, water, and salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at high speed after each addition.

Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe 8 (5-inch-long) strips (about 1 inch wide) onto baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart. (I used a ziploc bag with the corner nipped off. I also made them smaller.)

Bake éclairs 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until golden, puffed, and crisp, about 15 minutes more (leave oven on). Immediately pierce side of each éclair with tip of a paring knife and return to oven to dry, propping door slightly ajar, 5 minutes. Halve an éclair horizontally: If still moist inside, return éclairs to oven and dry 5 minutes more. Cool éclairs completely on a rack, about 25 minutes. I used the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a hole in the end of each while they were still soft.

Pastry Cream
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Bring half and half to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk sugar, eggs, egg yolk and flour in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot half and half. Transfer to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boil, about 5 minutes. Boil 1 minute. Pour into medium bowl. Stir in vanilla. Press plastic onto surface of pastry cream. Cover; chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.) When well chilled, whip the cream until very stiff. Fold the whipping cream into the pastry cream.

Chocolate Glaze
about a cup of whipping cream
about a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat cream (I used the microwave). Add chips, let sit, then stir until smooth.

To Assemble Eclairs

Load pastry cream into a pastry bag with a round tip. Pipe into cooled eclair shells. Spread chocolate glaze on top of eclairs. Let cool.

what to wear on a friday night date

That is, when you're old, boring, and married. I found the dress at Goodwill that day, and the flats had come in the mail from Urban Outfitters (clearance!) when I got home. Voila! Comfy, cool, feminine outfit.

giveaway!

While packing to move, I ran across an extra, unopened copy of The Devil Wears Prada DVD. I've been trying to plan the best sort of giveaway, but finally I've decided: all you have to do is post a comment or email me (vdoprincessATgmailDOTcom) telling me why you should get it. I'll go through and judge them, and if I'm really in a quandary I'll just do a drawing. This is my thank-you to everyone for sticking with me through this move and the ensuing sporadic posting. So go ahead: tell me. Why should you have the wonderfulness that is Anne Hathaway for your veryvery own?

Deadline is August 17. Don't worry about contact info at this point; we'll get that sorted when we pick a winner.

Have a good weekend!

snippets

m. has a picture of her sister's living room with lovely photos, and casey has an etsy store containing a gray felt whale. I want!
also re: etsy; I bought some stuff from ScatterJoy a while ago, and it got lost in the mail. Although it was completely not her fault, she completely reshipped the entire order without blinking, which I did not expect. So check out her stuff; she has lots of fun little gifts that are great to tuck into a package and surprise someone with.
Found via myaimistrue: I think I want to participate in World Run Day. It can be my 5K because I'll be done with training by then. Fun, eh?

apparently I am my mother's daughter

Last night Porkchop and I went down to one of the houses that they've recently purchased, looking for treasures. Well, we came back with a chair, a wardrobe, some books, and....lots of fabric. This lady was a sewer, apparently, and, while much of her acquisitions were double-knit polyester in a variety of intriguing shades, I also found stacks of aprons (I think she collected them?), numerous printed tablecloths from the fifties, and LOTS and LOTS of fabric. I'm completely thrilled, my husband was massively not amused ('twas hilarious), and I've stacks of stuff to sort through now. BTW-if any of you blog readers want a bunch of double-knit, do let me know and I can possibly go rescue some of it.

On an entirely different subject, below is a link to a photo-shoot I did with my nephew last weekend. Is he not the cutest thing ever? We're hoping do a fashion shoot with a friend of ours at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

massive amounts of inspiration

If you haven't yet checked out the most recent issue of N.E.E.T. Magazine, DO IT. Besides the fact that it features favorites of mine including wardrobe_remix (flickr group), the vintage society (blog), and lochers (shop), it also has work by a girl named Bethany who I recently ran across on Flickr. In addition, every page is full of links to creative indie shops and products that are sure to keep you enthralled for quite some time.

debating with myself

Ok, so I've recently become obsessed with the idea of wearing high-heeled oxfords. I love the look of regular flat oxfords, but they do absolutely NOTHING for my legs. In addition, something like this:

is an absolutely fabulous combination of menswear-inspired and sexy, and to top it off, it has a vintage feel. There were a pair at Delias that I almost ordered, but they're backordered until October. No thanks! (Also: heels aren't high enough. I have BIG FEET so I have to wear pretty high heels for them to look right.) So anyway, I've been poking on Ebay trying to find something I like, and while these Chanel lovelies will finish way out of my price range, I did find these:


Now, before you recoil in shock, hear me out. Yes, those are 5 1/2 inch heels. Yes, they are fetish shoes and, based on the sizes in which they are available, probably designed for cross-dressers. But still! Wouldn't they be fab paired with a pencil skirt and seamed hose? Or a pair of wide-legged, high-waisted trousers? Or skinny jeans and a loose black top?

Or have I been sniffing too many nail polish fumes? Opinions, please?

well I thought it was interesting

• burka swimwear
• lovely, slightly dark pictures
• incredibly gorgeous clothes with GIANT BUTTONS
• turn favorite photos into color palettes. Great idea, especially if you're trying to break things down and use them in your home.
  

In other news, I made chocolate eclairs last night. 18 of them. This morning there were two left. (Ok, so I did eat half of one for breakfast.)

I want

sweater with ruffly sleeves from builtbywendy

am loving

the productivity chain. I love this idea, and I'm going to start using it in my photography.
gorgeous and creative wedding invitations.
this blog. Lots of pretty pictures from all over.
lovely and cheap wall "art".
now I want purple tights and a skirt that looks like a paper doily!
button display. I can actually see this being a very cool wall installation. Sorting them by color could create an interesting effect.
want that chandelier.

roy g biv

images full of color:
red wall
orange bus
yellow dress
green grass
blue door
indigo yarn
violet plaid
black background
white daisy

gorgeous hair

I don't own a single item made by Guess. But I absolutely love the Bardot knockoffs they do each season. The clothes? Not so much. But the hair and makeup? Lovely.

Grandma's birthday gift

Grandma turns 87 (I think) tomorrow, so I made her a lovely apron from my favorite apron pattern. This time I made it reversible, as you can see in the detail of the bow, and I like the heft it adds to the apron. Also, it looks a little short on my sister, because Gma is decidedly under five feet, so I had to shorten things a bit. We're also giving her a lovely old hardback copy of Pride and Predjudice. (She loves to read.)

little bits of goodness

paper monkey press is having a sale.
this blog is lovely.
lovely bridal shower with some good actitivity and favor ideas.
I love the bedspread on this bed! A brilliantly girly idea that would be easy to do.
I saw hairspray a couple of weekends ago. I think I liked it, but I'm not sure; I was much to distracted by the clothes. Michelle Pfieffer's (sp?) wardrove was goooorgeous, and I wanted every single outfit for my very. We saw No Reservations last weekend, and it was ok. Abigail Breslin was adorable, and Aaron Eckhart was hot, but the whole movie was just "eh." Wait for it on DVD.

That's all I have for now. I'm trying to convince everyone that we NEED to go see Bourne Ultamatim tonight, and tomorrow we're hitting the beach as well as doing a photoshoot with the nephew. Have a good weekend all.

lots of jolly goodness

fabulous stationary contest from decor8. There are good prizes, so check it out!
lots of free knitting patterns from Vogue! (And look! There's a cape!)
another knitting pattern: baby booties. I just learned that a friend of mine had twins; I might make some of these to go with the little hats I'm knitting.
great idea: use coloring book pages as embroidery patterns.
currently (almost) on the needles: this charming little hat. I started it last night, got through the dreaded first row (am I the only person who hates doing the first row?) and two more, and then realized that no, I really had twisted my stitches when I joined them. So I ripped it all out again. Will restart it today, hopefully, after I finish making the apron that is to be my birthday present for Grandma.
photo/stylist contest that yielded some awesome images. warning: not all are family friendly (the contest theme was "wicked.") But gorgeous for all that.
absolutely lovely recycled clothes.
Oh! Tuesday was the last day for me of doing Wardrobe Refashion. I'm afraid I only did one refashion and one sewing project, but for all that, it was very beneficial. I became much more aware of how I spend money on clothes and how those "bargains" add up. I haven't missed buying new, actually, and our bank account is much the better for it. Which isn't to say I won't be hitting the end-of-season sales....

I want a cape

I love these two images from the fall shows.

I love how in the image on the left (Louis Vuitton) the cape is pale, with a punch of bright yellow underneath. (I'm still loving yellow.) But the picture on the right (Aquascutum) is just lovely. Doesn't it look like a visiting nurse gone upmarket? I love the idea of wearing a cape with a very prim suit and hot boots. Might have to make one from that "built by wendy" pattern. Maybe with a very bright lining? Oh, wait. I actually own this pattern. I'll have to do that.