Etsy Shop of the Week

Can't help it. I'm drawn to all things nautical. Too many hours logged in beautiful Newport. Soon it will be time to pull out your sea motif jewelry and accoutrement, and an East Coast staple -- Saint James boat neck tops.

Etsy is a great place to hunt for unique jewelry, and after doing a search for necklaces with anchors, I discovered the online shop of Basil and Lola:



Each piece is hand made by proprietor Elisa, inside a small renovated post office along the coast of Southern California. It is her studio, apartment and home away from home. Much to my delight, Elisa is originally from the home of my birth -- the beautiful ocean state of Rhode Island. I knew something resonated with me!




A small summary of the process: Main metal components are carved out of wax and cast in various metals using the lost wax casting technique. All design, painting, resin application, wire work, and overall construction is completed by Elisa.



Says Elisa, "Craft takes time, and therefore it is luxury. You cannot do an amazingly well-made garment without taking time — not just the time it takes to make something but also the time it took the maker to come up with the idea. That is all luxury, and that has been lost because we're trying to make things faster and faster, cheaper and cheaper. The consumer tends to lose track of what luxury is."




Ahoy!

Rustic + Chic = Perfection

I don't know where the country village of Oldwick, New Jersey is located, but I do know that I'm going to get myself there one of these days.

It's home of



and I need to open the front door and experience this shop for myself:















Designer Joel Woodard hails from Alabama but now lives in this little slice of heaven in horse country. His design approach mixes traditional and contemporary elements to create comfortable, interesting and lively homes; his shop brings that philosophy to life via antique furniture, garden ornaments, decorative accessories, abstract art and photography.

Joel's blog, Rustic Chic, is a delightful read about incorporating rustic chic into all aspects of life (including fashion), and is well worth an evening curled up with your laptop. It features fun and eclectic posts (and even yummy recipes) as well as a bit about the elegant fieldstone barn he and his wife have renovated:



Traditional Home beat me to it, featuring J Design in their April issue:



So, can you spot me? I'm just behind these two women hurrying inside for a new adventure:

Outrageously Creative Wallpaper

I saw this wallpaper on Starfish and Sundresses (a new blog for me, check it out) last Friday, and I had to quickly pass on this great idea (btw, S&S passed it forward from Simply Lovely, who hung the paper in her laundry room -- perfection! Black and white, it's by Graham and Brown, and it's called "Frames". Isn't it wild?

"Fill in" with photographs, family artwork, inspirational images, you name it...limitless uses! I would go completely overboard, but I think it looks best on one wall in a large room, or all the walls in a smaller room, say a mudroom. About about your home office for the quintessential inspiration board? Dynamite.

Let me know how you'd use it!

Cupcake Couture

I'm trying to lose those *&%#*#^$%#@&^ winter pounds, and, of course, I find myself drawn to nothing my food sites. Last night it was cupcakes. Actually, I just want an excuse to buy these couture cupcake holders.





Now, you don't have to make cupcakes from scratch to make an impression with these stylish wrappers. Just run to the nearest bakery counter at your local grocery store (what ever happened to bakeries?), and then remove them from the box and drop them into these sweeties (paper and all). Ta-da!

If you want to go the entire nine yards, there's no better place to get cupcake recipes than Martha. Honestly, she is the cupcake queen. How fab-u-licious are these?

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow



Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting



Saint Patrick's Day Cupcakes (next Wednesday!)



The CUTEST ever Spring Chick Cupcakes (don't hide these precious chicks in wrappers!)



Pistachio Cupcakes with Raspberries



Thanks for allowing me to eat vicariously through my blog...

Rob, Uma & Bel Ami Mania

My illustrious book group starts Bel Ami or The History of a Scoundrel today, a French novel (translated to English) by the great Guy de Maupassant. I read (and loved) his short stories in college, but this baby is 400+ pages! You can find it on Amazon or download it onto your handy-dandy Kindle here.

The book is getting a lot of press these days because it is (as we speak) being transformed into a film just outside of London. The cast is tres interestment...

Robert Pattinson as (who else) The Scoundrel (on the set):


The novel was written in 1885, and chronicles Georges Duroy's corrupt rise from a young French journalist to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of influential, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.

Cue Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and a red-headed Christina Ricci.

From MTV.Com: "While the steamy sex scenes in "Remember Me" might seem like a big shock to Robert Pattinson fans used to the chaste kisses seen in the "Twilight Saga," the 23-year-old Brit said that they are nothing compared to the sex scenes he filmed for the drama "Bel Ami," due out in 2011.

Ahem. Now, what was I saying?

Oh - care to start an online book group and join us? You've got one month to plow through, but I suspect it will well be worth it.

In Praise of Grey

The Oscars were abuzz over the color grey this weekend. The likes of Sandra Bullock, Elizabeth Banks, Amanda Seyfried, Cameron Diaz, Helen Mirran and Kate Winslet all rocked in the color.

Why do we have such a love/hate thing with the color grey? I'm on the love side. I think it's modern and chic on its own, and the perfect neutral to complement an entire rainbow of colors. Depending on your mood, it can be warm & soft or cool & hard, classic or edgy.

Two defining "grey" moments in my life:

I once stopped a potential relationship in its tracks when I opened my front door, looked down, and saw that the fellow had on grey shoes. The. End. On the other hand, I would be completely turned on by a guy in a grey cashmere sweater. Yum.

I also remember turning stone cold when a girlfriend looked at a purchase I was about to make and said, "I hate grey -- it's so industrial." Brrrrrr -- I couldn't buy the top fast enough, and a happy array of grey attire since (a tried and true year-round staple).

Warm air is beginning to blow, and people are longing for bright, saturated unadulterated color. But grey is hot for the spring this year, and what says serene more than pale grey linen? Want to jazz it up? Depending on the tone, pair it with a dab of yellow, orange, hot pink, navy or aqua.

Here's a peak at what's on the shelves this season in grey, glorious grey:

How pretty is this linen bow-front dress from Ginny H? (too tres dear for my wallet...)

I love a grey suit in spring...

Sweet and chic cropped cuffed pants:

Modern chic Vince dress:

Grey jeans...a soft alternative to blue:

Pyrite danglies from my new crush, Elva Fields:

Cute v-neck alternative to the tee:

Loving these cork platforms:

The classic heather grey T:

These are grey open-toe shoes I could live with:

Divine Vera Wang for 2010 (why didn't someone where this to the Oscars.......Sandra?):


And now, the big questions. Do you like grey, and do you spell it with an "a" or an "e"?

Etsy Shop of the Week

Oops...I forgot to post my Etsy pick last week. Trust me, this is worth the wait...

My last Etsy artist was from Spain; today's artist is NYC-born but now lives atop a mountain near Mexico City with her architect/furniture designer husband and two sons. Arriba Arriba!

The over-the-top talented Geninne Zlatkis is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer, bird lover. Take a peek at her tools:
Geninne's color-rich bird series is my favorite...no - her fish...no - her sea creatures, no - her...ALL of her watercolors are gorgeous (and she's an incredible stamp carver, block print maker, collage creator, etc.). Follow Geninne's blog for a few weeks to experience the master up close and personal.

Here is a sampling of watercolors and prints from Geninne's Etsy shop:

{Sailing}
{Don Matias}
{fish}

{Bird #30}
I am so envious of beautiful and creative journals:


I hope you are as moved by Geninne's world and work as I am.



Feeling inspired? Try making this collage here: