My Hertitage Bag

There are few pieces that I like to exclaim about on their own entire post but I feel this bag from Tiger Tree is one of them.

I remember when Josh and Niki first got these Heritage bags.  Josh was in the store and told me the story of how he came across these great tool bags that were canvas and leather with a doctor's bag sort of mouth metal frame.  I instantly had to have one to tote books, knitting and othes goodies.  Unfortunately at the time I was a bit shy of the stark white canvas and the sizes that he had left.  Patiently I waited and sure enough they got more, and even better custom made in collaboration with Tiger Tree.  They had them made with black and navy canvas and even though the price was higer it was well worth it.  Fortunately I also had my Groupon for them as well so that shaved off a nice chunk.

In the end it doesn't matter this bag is FANTASTIC! (please excuse the new leather dust in the photos)

This Bag is coming with me on my Shopping trip to Soho in NYC in two weeks!

Hand and Lock Embroidery Contest 2010- It's only the beginning

I've decided that I am going to enter in the above international contest.  I looked into it last year but had missed the deadline and felt that I was ill prepared either way.  This year I feel much better about my opportunity  to be in this.  I have a new confidence in my beading and smocking techniques as well as my overall design.  Fortunately for me this year's theme is Militaria!  Which is perfect I love it!  Something that I always try to put in my aesthetic as it is.  The only thing I could see going wrong is that international military references that I am pulling from.  I have been heavily studying the different medals of honor between the US and UK.  I was thinking of sticking with the United States metals such as the Purple Heart and Medal of Honor but am not sure how the UK judging would welcome that.  I remember from my past experience with the Styles Scotland Competition in College that you must be aware of who your judges are and where they are coming from.  Overseas and even in other cities judge everything differently.  The things that I could think would be a fun twist on a medal of honor could actually be viewed as an insulting bastardazation of their culture and history.  I'm treading on some very very loaded territory here with this contest.

My first order of business is to pull images for inspiration.  It is a Militaria theme and then you must pick a more specific color pallete already chosen with a description.  Which can be found on their website here.

I have chosen the last set
"Air Reactions

Rotors and windmills, stromy seas, magnificent waves, sudden splashes and sails.  In a plane amongst wind-strewn clouds, parachutes, hot air balloons and power kites.  Smoke and steam, typhoons, hurricanes and tornados.  This theme should represent our place along side the power and delicacy of nature.  It should use light and transparent fabrics, fluid jersey and ultra fine knits.  Structures in waves, puckering, gathers and textured falling lines. 
Colours - blue and grey tones, lead, antique blue, light foam and sea breeze, crystal, blue smoke, indigo, sky blue and azure."

Everything sounds perfect for the setting of a Semi steampunk oceanic voyage right?  Or as I like to think of it LAPUTA, the castle in the Sky.  That Anime has Military influences, not the best costume but hey it works for what they are doing and it is an older anime, not so much fantasy as the story line.

My biggest gripe is the fabric they describe to use, how in the world am I supposed to produce a heavily embellished military inspired jacket from "light and transparant fabrics, fluid jersey and ultra fine knits"?  I need a good wool or canvas to support what I am doing so we shall see.  Especially since I want to add fur to the collar.

I did find a wonderful source for 100% silk organza that has 11 yards per bolt for fairly cheap. 
Well I shall continue to Brainstorm! 
I did pay my my fee which was 29 pounds for Open Entry which equals anout $42 US.  I can't wait to get started!

OTD: Spring is nearly upon us!

After Yesterdays unfortunate surprise of Snow Spring came today in the form of Sunshine and cool winds.  Driving around windows rolled down I felt inspired to write a nice light entry.  I have some longer ones in the works that I will be posting this week about projects I am on and been a part of.

I went to visit my lovely friends at Sew to Speak for the store's 2 year Birthday Party!  I was good and restrained myself from buying anything but a remnant of fabric and a book I have been wanting.  Sure I usually preach that you can get books cheaper on Amazon but I am a huge fan of supporting a local store.  I'll write a little review on the Book "The Sewing Bible" in another post. 

For today it is Outfit of The Day!

I am wearing a really old knit and fur trimmed vest from Express like 10 years ago!

Leopard Cardigan also from Express

White Draped t-shirt from Anthropologie

Grey racer back tank from Express

Black distressed jeans from Express with knee rips by me

Black Zigi Soho open toe booties

Large Swan Sunglasses from UO

Hematite and Silver diamond dangle earrings from Express

Geez.......... I can't wait for my mini-break to NYC to get some clothes that are NOT Express into my wardrobe again!

And the Winner is!

Thank you everyone for participating.  I really liked what you all had to say but this Quote just really struck me as something original besides the Cat drawings!

If you still want a chalkboard decal for yourself they are available at the CSN webstore called www.allmodern.com.

I think I will try to do a giveaway more frequently as in once and month.  They are fun and it's good to hear what other people have to say about some of the things I discuss on this Blog and just things going on in other people's lives that might mirror what I am doing or thinking at the time also.

Decorating the House and GIVEAWAY!

After this Liberty of London Kick I started to think about how my house can be more fashionable and savvy.  I want the decoration on my interior to reflect not just my maniac personality but my exterior fashion style.  My boyfriend and I have an odd assortment of prints from all over, local and larger artists as well.  We have prints of pop culture such as star wars, Kozydan, Shannon Bonatakis.  I have a pleathora of japanese plushies.

So on this kick I was pleasantly approached by CSN to do a promotion!  As I searched their enourmous conglomaerate website I got lost in all the fantastic things that could be snatched up!  Most importantly I want to decorate our "guest room" which will also be our "kid's room" in a style that can easily translate when we have childern without having to invest a lot more money.  I wanted it to still have the quirkyness but clean look that we have for the rest of the house with a childern's touch.  I also did not want to overwhelm the room with cheesy sponge bob motifs or any other limited character.  I started the search on kids bedding because I feel finding the right bedding is always the first start to putting together a bedroom for any age.  I was amazed at how there were some very sophisticated items like these:

Along with the wonderful bedding options they also had some other fun furniture that I personally think is great for all age groups if you have a little bit of a childish side to your personality

Such as these Night Lights!

But what room young or old is complete until you have a blackboard to make your daily scribbles?

This I LOVE!  I was fortunate enough to be able to pick this as the Give away.  So one of my lucky readers will get the chance to have this for free!  It includes the US and Canada (yah!)

It is the "Kikkerland Decor Chalkboard Sticker"  

So this nifty little thing can be applied to any wall in your house just like a Vinyl Decal so no worries of it ever falling down and bonking you in the head.

How do you win this?  

1. Follow my Blog publicly

2. Make a comment Before 12PM Friday March 19th about what inspirational words you would write to yourself every morning on this chalkboard.   

3. Also Include your e.mail address so I can contact the winner!

HAVE FUN and GOOD LUCK!

The More Innovative Comment will win!

In the House

Target has done a great job of getting some fresh items into their brand.  Not just clothing designers either.  This weekend they launched Liberty of London clothes, housewares, living and storage.  Of course I hit this opening day but not as early as I would of liked.  Since it happened so close to the Jean Paul Gaultier opening I had forgottan about Liberty of London until I had an e.mail from Target reminding me.  So of course I got up right away to go check it out.

I was very surpirsed to find that majority of it had already been picked over.  I opted to just have a basket because with a cart I knew I would be filling it up with much more then I needed.  I had a few things in my sight such as the Piggy banks and the Teapots.  I was curious about the Tumblrs but then I saw that they were acrylic and the last Acrylic tumbler's I had gotten were very disappointing in quality.  They did not hold up well to the washing.  These could of been different but for $23.00 why take the chance when I could put that money towards getting a new duvet cover!

There were of course clothes!  But I have yet to find good images of those to share.  I was not very interested in them just because of the plain shapes and designs.  What makes Liberty of London is the prints for sure.  The little cami sleep sets were very cute,  if I did not already have an overflowing drawer of night attire I would of snatched up at least 3 different sets that I had seen.

Here is a little Preview of the clothing.  Also they had Men's clothing which does not happen very often with these guest designers.

I ended up with the two floral piggy banks, black and white Teapot, and a Storage container in the pastel poppy print.  I might go back later this week to pick up a tie for myself. 

Jean Paul Gaultier for Target - belated

So first some Image eye candy from FabSugar and I know this is belated but blogging is unfortunately not my full time job........ awww dream jobs..... that's a truth for later!

Onto the show!  I only posted the ones that I was personally interested in almost all of it I got unless the fabric turned me off or it was out of stock.

I saw the leather Jacket was not impressed with the odd brown that was chose but LOVED the striped Bustier dress and snatched it up immediately.

Same Bustier top but this print was not available in Columbus.  Pants were cute but I like to spend my money on something with higher quality fabrics if it is meant to be tailored.

Looks like the dress is Denim right?  Wrong..... it was this strange plastic feeling fabric that had alligator print embossed onto it.  The T-shirt underneath however I felt was Iconic so I had to get it.  Usually I don't go for just any t-shirt unless it is Alice themed.  something about this one was worthy

The mesh Halter dress was PERFECT.  It fits in my closet right next to my other Jean Paul Gaultier Mesh dress that I snatched up years ago when I was working as a Personal Shopper at the Original Marshall Fields in Chicago.  The slip dress under it is neither silk or cotton, it was this strange almost slip like fabric probably a rayon mix.  Vest was cute but once again I need better fabric.

Oh Woe is ME!  They only had the blue slip dress which I already was not into.  The Striped draped top never made it in and neither did the floral skirt which surprised me because you would think going to a Midwest store they would fill it with things that are more "Fashion Practical" as I like to say for Columbus.   I checked online and that skirt was completely sold out in the first 5 hours.

This dress looked like it would of been the perfect replacement for the above skirt but once again they fooled me with fabrics.  It was again that strange man made material that felt like putting on a trash bag against my skin.

This red and white dress was very cute but not something I would consider that I absolutely had to have. My friend Megan from Tsurubride had tried it on and said it was not for a girl who had any shape to her body.  It fit her perfectly up op but the bottom was so narrow that when she went up a size it made the stomach area pouf out.

This Skirt was actually really nice but I already had something nearly exactly like it from H&M years ago so of course I don't need another.  The Mesh Leggings however were one of the pieces that I woke up at 7AM for and it never came into the stores.  Apparently an online only deal that sold out also within mere hours of launch.

I was highly interested in the green dress underneath but it was just like the Blue slip dress in fabrication.

This cardigan looked exceptional online but alas another that never made it into the store.  The Swimwear did, which I was pleasantly surprised with.  Although I didn't snatch any of it up I feel it's safe to not buy swim wear immediately living in Ohio.  First because it's still cold as a witch's tit.  Second more then half the people I interact with daily have no clue at all who Jean Paul Gaultier is.  Third I have at least 4 different swimsuits that already don't get used as much as I'd like.  They did have the same goldfish/dragon prints as the mesh for the swimsuits which I thought was a real delight!

The Trench Coat was another long awaited piece that I have not seen in person but was keen on.

Overall the sizing for the Jean Paul Gaultier line was pretty true.  Unlike the Rodarte line for Target where I normally wear a size 2-4 and I had to go up to an 8-10.  For this Line I only had to go up on the Bustier size to a Medium.  Everything else was true to size for me.   I hope this helps anyone who wants to try their luck to shop online.

Remember you can always return something if you are unsure.  I often times like to take clothes home to "test drive" with the rest of my wardrobe to see if it is really worth it.

Alice in Wonderland - The Review

My Alice in Wonderland Review with no spoilers!

What?! Not spoilers? Yes it is entirely possible to write a review about a movie without giving away any spoilers as tempting as it is to spill my guts on it all I will restrain. I just wanted to put this out there ASAP for all my friends and followers reading.

Firstly I did watch it at Midnight on Thursday (last night) because I was so enthusiastic about it and to gloat over all my other friends that I had seen it before them. I know real grown up of me right? Sorry but I am hopelessly obsessed with all things Alice so first I of course had to dress up with my inner Alice.

I wore my new Shoes from Aldo that had JUST come into the mail the day before. I wore a very girly grey dress with a lace bodice and a long sleeved silk/cotton blend blouse in a soft blue with poet sleeves. I would show you pictures of me dressed up but due to me being daft and staying up too late earlier this week I was in no mood for pictures due to a blemish. Actually blemish is being too kind, it looks like I am zombifying starting with my lower lip.

Anyways…….. Onto Alice!
The funny thing about movies these days made from what were once my childhood loves are surprisingly not all for kids even if they are made by Walt Disney. Several examples of this being Where the Wild Things are and Sleepy Hollow, even Transformers. Alice is not like this at all! It is completely (in my opinion) safe to take your child without too many terrible nightmares. I would say the fiercest beast there is the Jabber Wocky and rightly so, followed by the Bandersnatch, who isn’t all bad.

Things were not so dark and dreary. I feared that I would be creeped out the dark tones of the scenery but the voices and the people who played them put so much life into the characters and made them really shine out of the woodwork. Such as the Cheshire cat and Tweedle dum/dee. All the pictures I had seen until the movie made me leary of the creature but in the movie cheshire was quite charming and it made me want to dye my own cats hair blues and green. I felt myself longing to be able to pet the silly beast (don’t forget I was in IMAX 3D for full fur effect). I think the only character that really creeped me out that I didn’t expect was the March Hare.

You must also remember in this movie that it not the same Alice in Wonderland Story.  It is Alice grown up revisiting Wonderland so it is the same favorite characters in an all new adventure.  I was a little put off by the Disney website and how it described all the characters.  Also all the Hype on Johnny Dep as the Mad Hatter.  I think he was only focused on as a main character because he was one of the few Human characters that was in the main story line.  Each of the characters for sure had their moments and personalities that very much stuck out which I thought was great.  You could almost see the back stories for each one without getting off track of the main adventure.  I thought it was a wonderfully done story line.

The Makeup was of course off the charts!  Ridiculous for the Hatter and Queens but perfectly flawless for Alice.  The different costume changes for Alice was a great treat for me!  I think my favorite were the draped ones of course.  When Alice Shrank the first time she had this gauze/organza and ribbon dress that was just folds upon folds neatly draped together in a luscious blue.  The when she was her largest at the Red Queen's palace and they did a little Scarlett O'Hara with the curtain dress.  I know myself that those were not particularly rich fabrics or silks and most likely were man made fabrics but the way they were filmed made them seem super rich and expensive.  I think it is just that way with all clothes and fashion is giving the appearance of decadence and richness even when it is not. 

For me this was Top of the Charts.  I will be watching again in the theaters as soon as I can!

To Muse on Wedding

Something a little different then usual.  I started a secondary blog because wedding items have been heavy on my mind lately.  My best friend asked me to be her Maid of Honor aka MOH for their wedding next year.  Of course I said yes and that had put into my head questions of my own relationship and wishes for when we do become married.  

Looking through all the books and websites and listening to my friend plan away jumpstarted my own desires for planning.  My problems were
A. did not want to carry around some cumbersome additional planner to my already deliriously planned life and multiple planners.
B. have something multi accessible to me, Andy and my friends involved and those just curious about what we are doing

Thus I figured with my blog here I can tap into it anywhere and from my laptop so it only made sense.  It also is easy to edit and find things depending on then format I choose.   And here it is!

To Muse on Wedding

Once again this may not be exciting for any one else but if you get bored you can wander over and read my trials, tribulations and Ah Ha moments.  I won't give all the fiscal details but you can see where things are heading.  It also is going to be very wordy so don't expect a ton of pretty pictures.

P.S.  I am going to my first Wedding Expo with my Best Friend in Chicago this weekend at O-Hare!  I will try and take a lot of pictures and post to you as soon as I can about the horrors of it and perhaps some of the pleasantries (it might be a double post for here and To Muse on Wedding).