Shoes Galore!

Shoes designed to increase the appearance of walking speed by up to 10 km/h. You don't slowly saunter down a street, you strut down those streets with a blur of the high heels right behind you!  (But seriously, I am in love.)

Chanel.

So, keep in mind, this is all in one apartment aka one very, very lucky woman owns this many freakin' awesome shoes. Hey now, hey now. Don't hate. I'm allowed to say "freakin'" in very rare circumstances... and I keep it to a minimum because somehow I always end up feeling like some gangly, awkward teenager who's getting way too excited over something but hates to swear and you know, just wants to express herself, and why doesn't anyone understand her and why does her life just suck so much and i'msofullofangstnoonegetsmypoetry... that's how it feels. In a nutshell. Hence the reason why I don't use it all too much.

Back to the point.

Lately shoes are quite the regulars on the coffee tables and the couches of ladies with serious swag. No more will they hide in the closet! They want to be seen, to be embraced as all they are! And clearly it can give every room just a little extra kick and to really prove to people that this young woman is comfortable in her own shoes and that she just has every part of her life figured out from head to toe. See what I did there. Oh so sneaky...

*m

{the coveteur again}

Bonjour, mon cheri

Well, I just love this fella to bits. Who wouldn't want this charming young deer chillin' on their desk? 

Some Trinkets

...referred to as a "Princess & the Pea" gown. So pleasantly fitting.

So earlier on today, I used the word "trinket" and for those of you who are just as unfamiliar as my friend was with the term (although I don't know how):

trin·ket

   [tring-kit]  

–noun

1.

a small ornament, piece of jewelry, etc., usually of littlevalue.

2.

anything of trivial value.

Dictionary.com makes trinkets seem kind of pointless actually. And snotty. Can't you just picture the old, English woman sitting on the other side of your computer screen stating the definition, particularly enunciating "of trivial value." You can't fool me, dictionary. Trinkets are one hundred percent necessary to my environmental high. The little trinkets displayed against the window case, for example. In my mum's study, lining her window, are these vintage miniature dolls. Some elves, some gnomes, maybe a bobbing seal or two, and even though they are of trivial value per se, her room becomes her own with them. 

This is the home of Erica Domesk, founder of P.S. - I made this... New York, and she brings trinkets to a whole other level. I mean, just when you think you've seen it all, you see a line of brightly coloured spray paint bottles holding a ring on each nozzle. Or an alligator head, looking disturbingly real actually, looking as if it has just raided a jewelry store, bracelets drooping out of his angry mouth. And man oh man do I need a pair of those cheetah print shoes, or what. And the generous amount of fancy shmancy brooches dangling around it. Those too, please.

*m

{The Coveteur}

Greenhouse sanctuary for one, please.

Absolute serenity. 

However, if I were to somehow come into ownership of this little sanctuary, I'm fairly certain I would become an official hermit. Which may possibly ya never know kinda kill my social life. But hey, who needs human friends when you can have bird friends, and deer friends, and fishy friends! (Yes, I have turned into a Disney princess.)

*m 

{Happiness is...}

Fairy Tale Dresses

Watch me! Watch me! Watch me! 

Susan Tabak at Prêt-à-Porter Fall 2010: Trash-Couture from Susan Tabak on Vimeo.

Well, hello there dresses of my dreams. I'm Miranda. Wonderful to meet you. You shall be my wedding dress. And my sister's wedding dress. And my best friends' wedding dresses. And the bridesmaid dresses for my brothers. Oh, hmph, I guess the wives get to decide. Since when do they get to do that? Needy, needy, needy.

When I first laid eyes on these ethereal, fantastical dresses I almost died. Yes, literally. It's a true story. As my eyes digested each delicate bead, feathery layer of chiffon, and every piece of gold or silver thread intertwined throughout the trim, it became too much to handle. I am writing this from another realm, folks. A realm of fairies. And don't you worry, my death was relatively painless. Here in Fairy Land, our outfit of choice is from among the designs of Trash Couture and our days consist of dancing to the melodic tunes of nature... 

Okay, that's too much even for me.  I'm fairly sure I would go insane if my days only consisted of dancing. However, it does sound nice to escape to that little world for a solid week/month.*

Oh, yes, hello there beautiful jewelry! You too can jump onto my body!

Macha jewelry blows my mind... and seems to go quite well with the whole fairy theme of today.

Tiny Hussies

...was anyone else genuinely surprised when it turned out that those girls in the first photo were actually this age? I honestly had no idea. At first glance I thought they were merely a pack of very individualistic young women, and then in the next photo, there were these five faces smiling back, no older than thirteen, decked out in makeup and these white, lacey stockings they seem to love. Now I don't want to write a whole article on why it bothered me, blabbering on about the classic "these kids are just growin' up too fast these days" but I can't deny that I was bothered by the photo. Personally, I feel as if this is sending out a slightly twisted message. You can tell on their faces they're very proud of this newfound tween spirit but I found it sad to think that some men would be leering at these young girls who, along with most other "tweens" (whatta word), were just trying out the thrill of being older. 

*m

{from Christeric's travel photos of Tookyooo}

One Badass Hippo

First let me just say how much I love her dress. Very chic.

And now let me say (stop reading here if I'm not allowed to say it) how much I adore this apartment to bits. Usually I have a tendency to be drawn to rooms where there is less going on. Not in a minimalist sense, although that can be equally tempting if done in a certain way, but more of a "if you lived here there will be nothing that will ever go wrong again, ever" kind of way. You know, with gleaming white counter tops, dainty vases of fresh flowers, wide open shutter windows with light washing over the walls... so that imagining any stress whatsoever taking place there seems literally impossible. 

But this apartment is like a feast for the eyes in another way. Every place my eyes seemed to rest, even for a moment, there was something intriguing staring back at me. A statue of a tough, chocolate bull dog, a pop of bright pink in the form of a tree stump stool, two leather chairs that seem right out of Star Trek, a truly 80's boombox radio, dazzling jewelry, all so meticulously organized, or a very happy collection of book ends and miniature statues adorning the book case. So just as the rooms of impossible stress tempt me in one way, this room tempts me in another. One can really imagine a life going on here. It isn't too prim and perfect. There's room for a little healthy chaos, and once all is well in the world, you can take a visit to your hippo friend who just so happens to be a bartender at the same time. There is so much glamour, and so much ingenuity. I can practically feel the creativity pulsing through the veins of this designer, becoming more and more exhilarated with each vintage trinket or bold piece he or she found.

And so of course it makes sense that an editor from Vogue lives here. Honestly, how am I not surprised.

*m 

ps. Can no longer find the link, however, if you are dying out of desperation to find it, I will make sure to look through each page in my history to find it. At this point though, True Blood is calling my name. Forgive me.

sanctuaries dipped in white

Always on standby to dominate in pillow fights, complete with eight pillows within an arm's reach to overtake your opponent.

I've never really known if I would like to have my bedroom so easily visible from the outside, but something tells me this backyard is only acres and acres of lush, green meadows so there most likely won't be any creepers hiding behind trees or anything like that. Or is there... (Okay, I get it. I'm way too paranoid to ever have a hope of being able to sleep soundly with only a glass wall surrounding me. At least now I know.) If this room wasn't so unbearably chic I wouldn't be able to make it through the night.

So NYC. This is the type of scene where Carrie from Sex and the City would emerge in her classic outfit (a t-shirt, undies, and a pair of socks) and would then look outside with a troubled expression contemplating some issue surrounding men. Gotta love SATC. 

So sick. Such a prominent modern touch with the minimalist black chairs contrasting the deep, rustic look. I would feel so absolutely safe in that little nook for a bed. Imagine if you had a single curtain that could slide shut as well, with some sort of sheer material so the light still trickled through. 

There's something about chandeliers and luxurious bathtubs that always gets me. And shutter windows that are such a crisp shade of white. And a fireplace nook filled with a plethora of candles instead (to be subtly witty). And an antique scale which I would never use because it would most likely be hopelessly inaccurate and I'd be left feeling very upset/confused, but it makes the room in my opinion. And a perfectly simple hanging lightbulb which is just the right amount of light needed for a room like this. And of course a wooden platform next to the bathtub, making this room seem as if it is legitimately out of Atonement... well, shucks, this room will always get me.

*m

a stepford wive's nightmare

BSS | Breakfast Interrupted from Bruton Stroube Studios on Vimeo.

I never imagined that seeing something so perfect be destroyed could be so deliciously perfect in itself. Next time I see a breakfast buffet looking just as scrumptious and neat as this, I'm just gonna pull out the table cloth from underneath it with glee! Unfortunately it won't be in slow motion... or with such pleasant music playing in the background, which I'm guessing will suddenly make it much less awesome. Plan ignored.

*m

Swindoll, you are a wise man.

Exactly what I needed to hear.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”  -Charles Swindoll