state fair of yesteryear

The great annual, end to summer celebration of the local fair.
There was a time when your neighbors would enter their best baked goods in hopes of winning the first place ribbon to gloat about all year. Someone green with envy would eventually gossip about how Mrs. Jensen's peach pie always wins,
"I heard she adds a little rum to soften the judges," gasp!

Popcorn and fried food wafting through the air. The sweet bliss of having cotton candy in one hand and a corn dog slathered with mustard in the other. Sadly, for most of us it has lost it's luster since childhood. I remember when the wildest thing at the fair was the carny with a naked lady tattoo under his arm. If he reached up for a prize you could get a free lesson in female anatomy.

Now you have to wonder if some of the staff members are sober enough to operate the machinery... "I apologize sir, I realize you smoked something earlier but, I didn't really want to ride the merry-go-round for forty five minutes. If it isn't too much trouble could you please let me down now?"

elegance without color

If you peek at our shop, house or even my wardrobe, it is not hard to realize that I adore color. No, that doesn't mean I like wearing a rainbow of loud colors all at the same time- I was born in the eighties and once was enough thank you. Years ago, I realized that there is not a single color, shade or hue, that I dislike. There is the only the chance that a color gets wrongly used that gives some of them a bad rap. For example, pea green color in nature can be lovely. However, 1970's pea green on your bedroom walls...
not so nice and it may just remind you of the Exorcist.

Even with my fondness for color I think a black, white and gray palette can be elegant and refreshing. Maybe it stems from old photos or classic black and white films, I am not sure. That being said here are a few great examples.

Real Simple

Hooray! We are very excited that Holly Becker, from Real Simple magazine and the creator of decor8, was kind enough to include some of our work on her Simply Stated post. Holly is a freelance writer and interior design consultant with a knack for sharing beautiful things with the world. In addition to working for Real Simple she has also contributed to Cookie magazine, HGTV
and the late, great Domino.

For the full post please swing by Real Simple.
Thank you Holly, you have made my day!

Bright Sunshiny Day

I can see clearly now the rain has gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way...

It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!

I have been working on this poster off and on over the last couple months. It went through some changes along the way until it was just cheerful enough to do justice to such a great song. We cherry picked the best lines to make this sunny giclee. Complete with two little birdies ready to sing along and greet you everyday.
Now available at Farouche- I hope you like it!


For those who want to be reminded of how lovely this song is check out the Johnny Nash version below...

Blush and Bashful

Some of today's favorites, enjoy!

Sun Kissed

This collection of photos is the work of Camilla Akrans
for Italian Elle.
It sure would be nice to stay on a sunny holiday forever...
especially if it was on the Italian Riviera.

Red Headed

"While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats."

-Mark Twain

There is something extraordinary about red heads.
Maybe it stems from their rarity in number or possibly due to the spectrum of beauty they can posses. In college I was friends with one of the most gorgeous red heads I have ever met. She was half Cherokee Indian and half Irish- not to mention her genes made her a train wreck when it came to drinking but, that's another story. She was an rare beauty to say the least. A naturally red bob and tan skin is an unusual combination indeed. After college we drifted apart, as friends do when they move. I sometimes wonder what ever became of her.

We all have had people in our lives that are only there for a short while, yet for some reason we never forget them. So cheers to the unforgettable people, may they live long in our memories and happy Friday everyone!

Ghost Busters (1954) trailer

I wish it was real, but sadly it is not the secret black and white version of Ghost Busters. I would like to think that it exists and has been collecting dust in the back of Columbia Picture's movie vault for the last fifty five years due to some steamy scandal between the director and a movie executive's mistress. This trailer is actually the work of a very talented film editor, Ivan Guerrero.

Several movies were used to splice together this trailer:
Ghost Busters, The Three Stooges, Scared Stiff, Ghost Breakers, Topper Takes a Trip, Abbott and Costello meet the Invisible Man, Star Trek, Ghosts on the Loose, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Spooks Run Wild, Flubber, Son of Flubber, The Caddy, 100 ans d'histoires de Bibendum

Cheep, like the budgie.

We all have a soft spot for animals... well most of us anyway.

Keiko Murayama

I came across the work of Keiko Murayama this morning. I love the playfulness she brings to each illustration. Her website is equally amusing and interactive.

Today's to do list...slow down.

With all of the things I try to get done I have become the queen of to do lists and lists in general. I actually have a weekly list, monthly to do list and the "when possible list" for big projects.
So, today I need to give the cat a bath, run the usual errands, call so and so back, wrap a birthday gift, make sure and mail that thank you note... does this sound familiar?
It goes on and on, huh!

I think we all need to slow down every once in a while and enjoy the day. It is beautiful outside so why not today. Put off all of the little things until tomorrow (the ones that wont get you fired or make your life impossible later). On your way home from work stop by the farmers market and pick out what ever looks amazing and a bottle of decent wine. I swear, if you hate cooking just grab some fresh sour dough bread, buffalo mozzarella, basil and heirloom tomatoes. Add a little kosher salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and it is practically a meal in itself. Once home pour yourself a glass of wine, put on some great music and dance barefoot in the kitchen. You will wonder why you don't do this more often.

Cupcake Social

This selection was inspired by the chiffon party dress on top. With all the sherbert and frills of a 50's social. You might not even need a cupcake... these colors alone can give you a sugar rush!