Dressing like Ms Frizzle

I have secretly always wanted to be more like Ms. Frizzle. She had the coolest dresses, took her students on the best field trips, and didn't doubt her own awesome for a moment. The Magic School Bus books were amongst my absolute favorites as a kid (esp. Inside the Earth and Lost in the Solar System*. Geo and Astro have always been my most beloved subjects...), so it is only reasonable that Ms. Frizzle become a role model, right? Even if she was never intended to be a fashion diva.

So recently when I was scrolling though my options at Spoonflower, the print-your-own-fabric-design shop, I came across some spectacular options that are screaming to be made into Ms. Frizzle outfits. Skirts, dresses, or blouses? I'm not sure yet. I just hope my mediocre self-taught seamstress skills are able to keep up with this plan.

Sun Surface by Animotaxis

Malachite by Ravynka


Peridot by Paragon_studios_one


Rhodochrosite by Missemor


Nebulae by Tingish

Now I just need to find a couple great dinosaur, insect, and robot options and my nerdy desires will be fulfilled!

*How did I never own In the Time of the Dinosaurs? What a shocking lack in my childhood!

Ogling the Microcosm

I haven't yet voted on any options, mostly because I'm too busy ogling the awesome, but I thought I'd share just in case you hadn't seen this yet. Nikon is having a contest for microphotography, and we get to vote. Did you know that cancer cells and algae were stunning? That bug sperm and ovaries belong on my wall?

Nikon Small World

Now I really, really want a fancy zoom lens for my someday camera.

... and the Paper Sculpture Escapade

This is ace. That is all.

Frock or Folly

I really wish I got invited to the sorts of shindigs where this dress could rightly be called a necessity. Because it is amazing. Seriously. Go ogle it now. And then plan a super rad party and invite me, please.

I wouldn't decline invites that required this dress either.

Two of my favorite things are camping and stargazing. I love being out in the wild, feeling tiny and insignificant and yet connected. A bit cheesy, I know, but it really is the best feeling. Jared Brandon captures a bit of that awe and wonder and delight in this lovely timelapse video. Definitely worth a full screen view!

Go here to see the video on vimeo, with the filmmaker's description of the process. I wish I had been camped out there getting to see all this live!

Thanks to S, my kiwi's lovely sister, who sent it to him.

Decades of Dresses

Have you seen this yet? I found it delightful - and it turns out to be a commercial for a mall! And I hate malls! But this video is rad. Watch 100 years of fashion dancing though 100 seconds and wish that you had access to that commercial's closet. (I call dibs on the 20s, 30s, and 40s!)

Originally spotted at The Hairpin.

Good Intent

I am so glad I have an NZ hook up so I can get this album - since there is not a US release date yet. And guys, how good is that video?

I wish my spontaneous dance parties looked a bit more like that.

Smell as Sweet

I love the idea of a signature scent - always wearing the same specific scent (one which is at least mostly unique) every day so that when people smell it, they think of you. What a gorgeous thought. But I'm a bit too fickle for that. There are a few perfumes I adore, but there are also lots of others that I enjoy for a time and then move on to a new favorite. I'm currently on the prowl for a new selection of scents, and these are the ones on the top of my list so far.

Garden, by MCMC Fragrances. It is herby, unisex, and oil based. Pretty much perfect. It is also by a darling indie company, which rocks, and supports a charity, which also rocks. I have gotten this twice before and can't wait for my next tube to arrive. I would highly recommend ordering a sample pack (or both) from MCMC - enough to test each scent a couple times and really get a feel for how the scent wears on you. It may seem kind of pricey for what you can get for free at a department store, but remember, this is an indie company, and you are really getting a couple week's worth of perfume out of it. (Or it is possible I just have a crush on this company and will do anything they ask of me...)

Demeter Fragrance Library. I particularly love Grass and Paperback. The former is a nice grassy smell but with slightly floral undertones to keep it from being too kitschy. Nice and fresh. The later is my favorite musty/musky scent. Very unisex, great for winter. I also love to layer it with a lighter floral option. I always order a small selection of scents in the .5 oz splash size. This goes a long way, and gives me a nice selection of smells. Plus, if you order enough you get a free prize! The prize was pretty lame on my last order (Who wants to smell like a cosmo? Gross.) but my selections were rad. This next time I think I may opt for Beeswax, Sawdust, This is Not a Pipe, Tomato, Earthworm (I've tried Dirt and it is kind of amazing), and Firefly. This is also a really fun thing to stock up on for little favors and gifts. With so many pretty, hilarious, and specific scents you can really personalize your message.

Perfume Oil, by Long Winter Farm. I haven't tried this, but recently spied it on another blog (I'm bad and can't remember who! If it was you, tell me and I'll link back to you!) and now can't wait to order. I'm thinking of getting a sample pack of three oils, because, hey, it's a bargain! I'm probably going to ask for violet, sunset, and meadow but we'll see. I may also have to order some of that cream and lip balm because basically that entire store looks amazing. Oil based fragrances, luscious scents, and they even do requests! I'll let you all know how it goes once I place my order.

What perfumes/scents do you love? I would love a recommendation or two!

PS: This post is definitely not sponsored by any of the above companies. Just my own opinions!

New Zealand

As you may or may not have gathered from previous posts, I happen to be dating a very lovely kiwi fella and we recently (Okay, it was in April. Months ago. Which isn't terribly recent in blog-time.) took a little trip down there. It is everything that people always say about it -- gorgeous landscape, nice people, good food. We spent time with my kiwi's family and friends, seeing places he grew up, drinking delicious local wine and beer, and gorging ourselves on some of the best dairy, produce, and meat I can remember eating. (It helps that his mum is a TERRIFIC cook and we spent much of our time staying with them on the incomparable Marlborough Sounds). Here are a very few of my favorite pictures from the trip. Enjoy.













P.S. More photos can be found at my flickr.

And one more...

For those who actually know me, that last post was a trifle peculiar -- all my coats are bright and colorful, not black and white. I would ruin a white coat in about 3 wears, and black is boring. So here is one last coat, a blazer of sorts, that I am absolutely drooling over and may very well have to get before the season is out.

Isn't that pumpkin color perfect? And don't you just love the ruffled front? I haven't tried it on in person yet -- knowing full well I won't be able to resist temptation! -- so I'm not sure how those ruffles will sit on my very curvy chest, but I cannot wait to wear this with an airy petal blouse, dark skinny jeans, and my go-to lace-up riding boots. So perfect.

Found here. Le sigh, anthropologie. You get me every time.

Cozy Up

I could really go for some cold weather right now. For one, I could use a day cuddled up with a cuppa and a book, watching the weather out the window. For two, I really want one of these coats. Or all four.






Go here, here, here, and here.

Steampunk Parachute

Ingrid Michaelson is a regular in my playlists, but usually when I need something mellow and pretty. This new single is pretty and, I suppose, mellow, but is a bit punchier in sound than much of her previous work.

That said, I like it. And I especially like the video.

It has the flavor of George Melies early scifi film A Voyage to the Moon but also the sass of steampunk.

--- As an aside, have ya'll noticed how up and up steampunk seems to be at the moment? It was even featured in an episode of Castle recently??? Does it make me a total sf hipster if I exclaim "Pshaw, I was reading steampunk novels decades ago!" ---

Anyways, I want to dress as Ingrid's character in this video all the time. Especially that hair, with those eyelashes, those goggles, and that jacket. I've already got the shoes.

TenTenTen

Did you hear about the 1010 project? Probably, because I heard about it from Joanna and we all know she is the Queen of Bloglandia and therefore we all follow her every post faithfully. But I'm going to reshare it here anyway.

Basically Victoria Hannan asked nine other photographers from all over the world to take 10 pics on 10/10/10. She did it too. And all the photos are now available here.

I was struck by how many things are so familiar, even in Japan, South Africa, Australia, Portugal. And then just as you are getting comfy, something wacky inserts itself and you know this ain't Kansas. Or, you know, where ever you happen to be.

Buggin'

I have a fascination of insects. I find them ever so pretty, especially the really grotesque beetles and ultra-magnified images of fly eyes or spider legs. But I like them the most when they can't touch me unless I want them to, i.e. behind glass or dead or in images. So I was pretty pleased by the cups and saucers featured in my Daily Candy email today. Available in several different insects and an arachnid, I'd love to add one or two to my tea cup collection. I'm not entirely sure about spending $40 on a lovely cup, however, so I'll just have to spend my time deciding which cup should be mine. The beetle? The fly? The moth? Alas, I'll probably just ogle the ABC Home cups (and the rest of their home and garden pretties) from afar. But I definitely recommend you check them out.

And if you get a couple cups, have me over for coffee or tea, please.

via Daily Candy

Fall Palettes

One of the things I really dig about living in Pasadena is how close we are to the hills. The foothills start just a few miles up the main road, and trails abound. The Kiwi runs up the steep path while I dawdle up the easy route and we meet at the ruins of an abandoned hotel and train tracks a few miles up.

The hills look different each time I go up them; different desert plants in bloom or seed. I was loving the color combos with all the early fall foliage. I can't decide if I want them to become outfits, jewelery, or wall art but they are definitely going to find new life very soon.


The rust plant had almost an olive hue in person, and when combined with a blushing pink and pops of cream, turquoise, or sage I couldn't get enough.


The silver-green-blue of yuccas, agave, and eucalyptus would be lush layered together in structured, sculptural fabrics, or clean, elegant, simple shapes. Maybe a faint hint of cappuccino, peridot, or butter.


Peridot, rust, and deep olive on a bed of greige. I'm thinking a layered, sculptural pencil skirt and a loose, sheer blouse with some feminine heels.

Who wants to go shopping?

Dreamy Escapes

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip

Just to be upfront, Patricia A. McKillip is my all time favorite fantasist. She is absolutely brilliant. Her lush novels always have this immense feeling of depth that you just get to glimpse here and there, with maybe a brief immersion or two. They leave you craving more, though you are also strangely satisfied. Her prose is crisp, clear but also creates a world of lyrical beauty that matches the Kinuko Y. Craft cover paintings that adorn so many of her novels. I always feel like I've been treated to a new fairy tale after I read one of McKillip's latest -- at once familiar and dear, but also dark and twisted and dangerous, like the original tales of Grimm and Perrault before Disney got to them.

Her latest novel, published in 2008, is no exception. The Bell at Sealey Head evokes something of an 18th or 19th century feel, wholly embedded in a very real village balanced on stormy sea cliffs, but the fey world steadily encroaches on the unwitting villagers, with a few notable exceptions. The innkeeper, a serving girl and her wild hermit mother, a merchant's daughter all have something more to say about why, each day at sundown, a bell rings out. A bell, that is, that no one has ever seen or located. The lady of the land lies in her deathbed and her heir comes to visit with an entourage of silly courtiers, throwing the sleepy village politics into a whirl. Meanwhile, a disheveled scholar arrives ink-stained and loaded down with books, seeking more of the bell and its world. The locals must help the strangers find their paths and positions in the village while dealing with increasing (and increasingly menacing) fey activity.

We are also treated to a glimpse of the parallel fey realm, seen through the dangerously curious eyes of a young princess who merely wants to know why. Her world is one of rules and duties, each more nonsensical than the last, but each of which must be followed to the letter at peril of death and doom. As the two worlds draw nearer and nearer, the young girl must learn to ask the right questions of the right person to free her world and that of the mortals.

There is a sweet courtship over books and curiosities, courtship kept secret to protect lives, bonds of family and friendship in both the mortal and fey realms. The characters are ones you would like to be friends with -- or ones you too would fight with all your strength.

I really encourage you to go out and buy each of McKillip's beautiful novels and story collections, but if you at least read her latest, I think you'll see why she is my favorite fantasist. Though others may reach her level in their own genres, none of them can do fantasy and fairy tales so beautifully, dangerously, achingly daringly well.

Window Shopping

Oh my my...

Have you seen the Lady Dior campaign yet? You can find it here.


I think my favorite is Lady Blue Shanghai, perhaps in part because I always enjoy being utterly perplexed by David Lynch. But Marion Cotillard makes for a swell dame noir in the Lady Noire film -- she always seems so impossibly vintage, doesn't she? And the Lady Rouge video grew on me, between her fab eye makeup as the lady in red, and her rocking performance with Franz Ferdinand in the chorus.

The funny thing is that I really don't see the appeal of the Dior bags -- but then, I really never go in for designer bags. I'm assuming that a fair portion of the wardrobe, at least for Cotillard, is Dior, and there were definitely some pieces to covet. I'll start with those sunglasses at the Eiffel Tower, followed by her suit in Shanghai. And I really really enjoy the campaign from a purely aesthetic perspective. Dior uses very talented people to create remarkable art, much as, I assume, they do with their product line. But I'll never see the appeal of a purse canvased in a designer logo, and I just don't get quilted patent leather. But I'm one of the few, so I'm sure we'll get to see plenty more of these delicious campaigns in the future, no?

Image found here.

Time for a Picnic

Okay, so maybe I'm a little late in the blog world to profess my desire for a summer of picnics. Too bad. Between a delicious bottled pink lemonade found at the local grocery chain, the berries just begging to be made into a crumbly pie, and my everlasting love of chicken salad, potato salad, and deviled eggs, I think I need a picnic.

Now I just need a destination -- a hike up the foothills? A stroll over to a park? Perhaps a trip to the zoo? And a few happy eaters. Oh, and maybe a swell striped vintage dress... As soon as I'm done altering one of my finds from the always fab Playclothes, this picnic is on.

ps: Sorry for the lack of images lately... I'm trying to use only my own images (or at least mostly), but haven't got my camera up to speed yet...

Fauxbulous Party

Being a new girl in a strange city makes it hard to indulge my love of parties. I just don't know enough people here to successfully throw a party, and the few I do are all spread throughout the area, making it hard to get everyone together. However, I still get the urge to throw a party every other day. (Especially as my birthday comes up in a couple weeks.) So I've decided to throw pretend parties in my mind, and tell you all about them here, so you can attend them in your imaginations too.

Today's party is a fictional birthday party (one of many), for my upcoming day. Since it is my fake party, making me guest of honor, I'm going to wear my favorite navy blue dress and shiny gold shoes and hey, since we are playing pretend, I think I'll wear this necklace as my pretend birthday present to myself! The party itself will have a rose and gold theme, very feminine, glamorous and lush. Here's what I'm thinking:

Gold glittery party hats, like this awesome party. And I'm sure we'd get gold glitter all over ourselves and everything else, which would be delightful.

Tissue poms in pretty shades of rose and peach and metallic gold.

Cake balls instead of regular cake, served on sticks. I'm thinking spice cake with lemon frosting and a dark chocolate ganache coating.

Hey, how about a pretty table for the food, arranged in a pretty and colorful way. I think some thrifting might be in order for trays and plates!

Maybe some of my favorite little savory crostini to cut the sweetness -- pear, blue cheese, and walnut; cranberry, caramelized onion, and brie; apple, mint, and havarti all on freshly toasted slices of baguette.

And little party favor bags, like at the best birthday parties when we were kids, with horns, bubbles, candy necklaces. And maybe something grown up. I love the little splash sizes from Demeter. They're only $6 and last forever. I often wear grass in summer and paperback in winter, but this could be a great time to try birthday cake or something funky like play-doh or sawdust. Perhaps little cloth bags (simply undyed muslin?), with a happy message written on it in gold paint.

Starting from Scratch

One of the fun parts of a new home in a new city with mostly new furniture is all the new decorating schemes I can come up with. I'm not limited to matching all my usual furniture and art, and I get to entirely rearrange the little I kept -- much easier done as you unpack a new place than rearranging a fully set up home. This said, although I've been in our current place for nearly three months, and we've been almost entirely unpacked for about two of those months, I only just hung the first wall art a few days ago.

I've decided on colors for the apartment (mostly blues and greens with some plum and pops of rust, ochre, leaf, and yellow all on a black and white background), and have some things purchased, other things bookmarked or planned, and other things are on the wish list or eventual diy list. But one of the things I'm currently ogling as either a purchase or an attempted diy is collection of giant tissue poms.


At first I was thinking a nice collection over my tv in the living room, but the a.c. is right there and might cause issues. More importantly, my kiwi scowled when I mentioned the idea. Now I'm thinking over the bed, as a contrast to the accent wall (inspired by this in black and white, since I can't paint the apartment) I'm planning as an alternative head board. The trick is finding great tissue paper in all my very specific colors.

The every lovely PomLove has a gorgeous selection of colors, and also has clearly mastered the art of poms. I'm currently tempted by the She and Him mobile, seen above, but also by a collection of perhaps 5 or 7 poms in my preferred shades to suspend at various lengths from the ceiling... (I also want her paper source, so I can start using those gorgeous tissues for wrapping, decoupage, and every other possible paper use I can come up with...) If you too are interested in these lovely creations, check out the giveaway on Post Grad Hair Cut.