Found Inspiration

I have been sitting at my computer trying to come up with a blog for a good two hours (granted there was some Facebooking going on and I was watching House Hunters) but I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to share with you guys.  So I decided to google Norway, because I'm almost 100% Norwegian, and I wanted to see if I could learn anything.  Lucky for me I did this because it lead me to Norwegian artist Terje Sorgjerd.  He is a landscape photographer, but has been garnering a lot of attention for his night sky inspired time lapsed videos.  The first video is called "The Aurora".  It was shot outside of Pas National Park in Norway and is so completely breathtaking, it doesn't seem real.  Seeing the northern lights is on my bucket list, and now I know this is something I'm going to have to do sooner than later.  Do yourself a favor, and expand the video below to full screen when you watch it.  And when you want to see  more magic, watch the other video below, "The Mountain".   Without sounding like a tree-hugger, how gorgeous is the world we live in?  It's all in how you look at it. 

The World in a Grain of Sand

Of all things, sand, has been my inspiration as of late.  From the its soft earthy hues, to the varying textures, I love everything about it, and interestingly enough it translates beautifully into fashion.   Since it comes in such a variety of shades (from powdery white to burnt sugar brown) it can work on any complexion and is the perfect simple alternative when white and black become too blah.

Chanel Nail Colour in Parteculier $24
Topshop Sage Cornelli Embroidered Blouse £45
Michael Michael Kors Suede Shorts $250
Valentino Lace & Satin Platform Pumps $795
Stella McCartney Woven Faux Leather Clutch $995
Jean Yu Eden Silk Chiffon Bra $320

Champagne Supernova Summer

What heaven looks like?

Rain, you can be done now.  Summer, I'm ready for you.  Maybe it was going home this past weekend and seeing old friends, but I couldn't be more excited for the arrival of sunshine, tanning, watermelon, late nights, boat rides, and just being outside (lots).  I'm oddly excited for it this year and am bound and determined to make it great.  It's always been the time year when things have happened. I'm not sure why.  All my great loves, accomplishments, and memories have occurred during the balmy months of June through August (I sorta count May and September too) and I can't wait to see what the coming months bring.   Until it's here, the daydreams below are keep my mind occupied.

The Adisia Maxi Dress from Anthropologie ($228).  This is THE maxi I've been looking for.   It will be dreamy on warm summer nights.

Pardon the boring video, but this song speaks for itself.  Ray Lamontagne's "Hannah"  is the perfect love song and takes me right back to summer every time I hear it.

Being this tan.  And this happy :O)  And wearing flowers in my hair.





Braids pinned up are perfectly summer.





Get caught up in towels, romance, and days by the water. A'la Geogia Jagger.



Cause it's as pretty as it is delicious.



And I want to capture  it ALL.



...Oh, Constance!

At the beginning of the year I dubbed Constance Jablonski 2010's "It Girl", and had a feeling she's be just as hot in 2011 .  My premonition was correct, and her latest work in Haper's Bazaar is so inspiring. Take a look below.

Inspired By:

• The bold statements made by the pairing of simple, primary colors.
• The tie up sandals paired with an innocent white shirt dress.  I *will* copy.
• A sexy twist on a formal pant suit (hello, plunging neckline).
• How fresh a white shirt can look under a t-shirt.  So simple
• The power of a print!  Pajama dressing is back, and I'm not sure I'll attempt it, but I love to see those who can.
• The funky, structural cut of that shift dress.  Fresh and modern.
  
  
  
  

Random Lustings

 

Live by this



sip cocktails here


 

wear tiffany blue

 

grow more

experience this

be here

taste how fresh

hold him

smell these

  

Violet Eyes

So much to do, so little done, such things to be...

Violet Eyes herself, Elizabeth Taylor

There are certain people we just grow up knowing.  We're not sure how we heard of them, or what our first thought of them was, but they've been apart of our lives for as long as we can remember.  Elizabeth Taylor is a woman that I've admired since I was very little.  And how could't you?  Her beauty, her passion, her giving heart - on March 23rd, a true angel left this Earth.    

I actually had a post half done featuring her gorgeous style.  It almost seems trivial talking about her style now that she's no longer with us - she was so much more than amazing clothes and other-worldly beauty.  She fought for what she believed in - lending her famously breathy voice to the fight against AIDS when few would.  She was also someone who believed in love, and never gave up on it.  Through eight marriages, she stayed strong.  Her life, constantly under a microscope, constantly criticized - she always stayed true to herself and in the end, it was just her.  But did she ever seem defeated or weak?  Never. 

She was a legend, someone you wanted to sit down and talk with and learn from.  How to age so gracefully. How to maintain such beauty (inside and out) after so many health problems.  She was the last great movie star.  She posessed an old world elegance, perhaps the only woman who compared was Marilyn.  But Elizabeth survived, when Marilyn didn't.  Through the scandals, the diamonds, the husbands, and the melodramatics, she was a star that shined brightly and still will in years to come.

Poetry in Motion

Fashion is like story-telling.   It originates from different places and tells different tales, but at the end of the day it's delivering a message.   So how does it come to be? Well, for Mr. Karl Lagerfeld it comes from a poem entitled Colloque Sentimental by Paul Verlaine, and translated, it states:

In the deserted park, silent and vast,
Erewhile two shadowy glimmering figures passed.

Their lips were colorless, and dead their eyes;
Their words were scarce more audible than sighs.

In the deserted park, silent and vast,
Two spectres conjured up the buried past.

“Our ancient ecstasy, do you recall?”
“Why, pray, should I remember it at all?”

“Does still your heart at mention of me glow?
Do still you see my soul in slumber?” “No!”

“Ah, blessed, blissful days when our lips met! You loved me so!”
“Quite likely,—I forget.” “How sweet was hope, the sky how blue and fair!”

“The sky grew black, the hope became despair.” Thus walked they ’mid the frozen weeds, these dead,
And Night alone o’erheard the things they said.

Translation: Gertrude Hal

The imagery created by this poem is startling in its beauty.  It's easy to see where Mr. Lagerfeld found his inpspiration, but to so seemlessly translate it into such a meaningful collection has me at a loss for words. This is the very reason we all need to explore outside the box and hold on tightly to whatever brings us beauty.  The collection is romantic in a tragic sort of way, and the stormy grays knits against the smoldering background created a scene no one could soon forget.  I love the way the feminine details add a spark to otherwise bulky and slightly boxy shapes the collection features -

What inspires you?

My Heart Belongs To A Leo Jansen

The past few days have been a whirlwind!  My parents bought a new house, and needless to say we've all been very excited.  The house itself is so pretty, and the icing on the cake is the fact that the previous owner left lots of fun things for us to go through.  After a little digging around my mom found a painting that is perfect.   My new room is going to be elegant, and this print complemented it in all the right ways.  It inspires so much, specifically feminine beauty.  Without being erotic, cliche, or tacky (which so many nude portraits can be) it captures all the things I wanted my new room to be - a place to get ready and indulge in all things girly.  After a little research I found out that the painting is by Leo Jansen a Dutch artist who specialized in portraits.  I'm obsessed, to say the least, and I'm now reallllly excited to get some ultra girly things for my room and self.  Take a look at what I have in mind below.


Filigree Scroll Vanity Tray, $24, Urban Outfitters



Society Taper Holder, $18-$24, Anthropologie

Set of Six Bud Vases, $24, Sadie Olive

Breakfast at Tiffany's Sleep Mask, $34, Mary Green

Chetak Round Pillow, $70, Inside Avenue



Canterbury Knightie, $24.50, Victoria's Secret