Moustachio'd dreamers...

Loving the neo-Edwardian styling for Galliano's latest men's collection, as captured backstage by Tommy Ton.

A dapper gent at the Governor's Island Jazz Age Dance Party, via the Sartorialist. What is it about a good boater hat? Raaawr.

Moonmoth greeting card and (should you be in the mood to indulge in a little moustache magic yourself) a Build-Your-Own-Moustache Kit, by Whiskerworks, both on Etsy. I have already done the wordsearch for you! Don't you feel loved?

E.B. Harris, a primer.

Earlier I posted some shots from an apartment therapy feature on the home of Portland artist Evan Harris, and I figured I ought to link the whole feature, and link his AMAAAYZANG website while I'm at it. I really like the way he plays with archetype and storyline in his paintings. Also, his cartoon work with Laika Studios (Select Evan from their list of illustrators, the videos are the first two entries in his portfolio)? Fwahahaha. Words fail me, so semi-deranged laughter will have to suffice.

Living with art...

Lately I have been coming across these spaces that are just breathtakingly vivid and creative and personal, and yet I am also struck by how liveable they seem....

I am trying right now to put together my own living space, and the inspiring combination of art and objects in these rooms is really speaking to me.

 The rabbit room is in the home of collector Hunt Slonem, the tent/studio space is in the home of E.B. Harris. The others....??

Geometric seduction..

I have a weakness for all things which find the root of their beauty in pure math.















Gowns by Atelier Versace (There was another, floor length with origami-like folds of silk organza, that was to die, but the model's pose was so dorky even I couldn't handle it!)

Petals from A Field Journal.

Embroidered gems by Maranon. Is it me, or is there just something so unequivocally cool about things that aren't things?

Like this ceramic dodecahedron. A naturally occurring crystalline form rendered by hand in clay. Geometry within geometry. Science!

And this. wooden clasps in place of metal. Malachite necklace by Vivre.

















I can't remember where this came from. isn't it lovely though?

Some days...

New love...

I'm a fickle woman, I know, but such is the nature of things. So what's perking up my pulse at this very moment?

These. I've been on the fence about these beauties for a long time. Don't ask me why. I mean, fabulously chunky five inch wooden platform heels with buttery leather t-straps? RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. Its almost like they're too good. I mean, I could get some highly effective stomping done in these, right? Heck, I might even come up to Boyfriend's chin! After seeing them in scrumptious Stevie-styled action, I'm sold ( I am very suggestible when peacock feathers come into play). 

Speaking of being suggestible....Blah blah blah Nefertiti, blah blah royal herbs, whatever.

This is amazing. It smells like real honey, right out of the skep; earthy, warm, waxy, tooth-achingly sweet, nose-ticklingly sharp, and indescribably clean. Oh, and its by Korres. For Target. They're going to start selling unicorns (hand crafted by blind nuns in the workshop of the re-animated Nicola Tesla) soon, I'm sure of it.

This is a summer staple. I'm not a sunny sort of person. Well, cheerful, yes, baked, no. I don't believe in fake tans or bronzers, either. In fact, if I was free to do whatever I wanted all the time I'd probably just hang out in caves and libraries and other dark, quiet places, getting paler and paler until I was nearly invisible and could sneak around and get away with all kinds of stuff. But humans are surface dwellers, and a little sunlight is good for the soul. In the event that you forgot to reapply your spf 100++ and pack a parasol, this dramatically improves recovery time from a sunburn (I did a test patch. Science!), and is so, so soothing. Plus, it smells like coffee and brown sugar and makes your skin all healthy and glowy. Done and done.

Its new backpack time! Not only are these military surplus options vastly more appealing on a purely aesthetic level, they also completely blow commercially marketed "sport" packs out of the water in terms of value, performance, and general radness.

The black Swiss Army alpine assault (!!) pack is completely waterproof (like, drop it in a river and your cornflakes will still be crispy waterproof) and holds three days of provisions, a tent, and a sleeping bag. The little green French Armee' one somehow manages to be convertible from backpack to duffel and include full lumbar support, a rubberized bottom, and a locking system, so thugs, terrorists, and very clever deer don't steal your favorite flannel. Needless to say, I don't often get very excited about the global military-industrial complex...but these are just genius. Now, to decide which one I want!

Octopus! Hand painted glass from Anthropologie. This little fella might just have to come home with me. Lately I'm really into the idea of having a collection of small, one of a kind little tumblers on hand for entertaining...so much more fun than boring old wine glasses, and much easier to remember which is yours!




Last but not least, this breezy little summer DIY by the classiest lass in the blogosphere just made my little heart skip a beat. Value Village, here I come! I'm thinking this would be dreamy x 10 in crazy Russian style technicolor florals, and maybe thread leather ribbons through the chains Chanel style? The other day I was rummaging through the scrap leather barrel (yes, such a thing exists! There is hope for humanity!) at Scrap and found yards of the palest buttercup yellow deerskin in 1/2" strips. I knew I should have nabbed them, but couldn't think of a use for them at the time. Silly girl. Always hoard. Always.

And now for something completely different...

FEMINIST HULK is one of my favorite things. Ever. In the world. Why? Because its always hilarious, often poignant, relevant, irreverent, and challenging, occasionally (hilariously!) inappropriate, and never dull.

Par example: "HULK RETURN FROM TWO-DAY YOGA RETREAT. BIG GREEN HAMSTRINGS FEEL WONDERFUL. HULK SMASH WITH NEW FLEXIBILITY AND CALM."


Magic.

Cornflakes have no nutritional value.

How's that for a downer? Nonetheless, they are crispy and delicious, and hands down one of my favorite (non)foods, especially when its hot and the thought of actually having to digest something is exhausting. And, surely, if you top them off with organic berries from the garden, a little lemon thyme, and lots of cream, they are somewhat good for you? They must be.

Adventures!

Q: Is there anything better than a piping hot cup of tea beside a roaring waterfall?
A: No. No there is not.

Yesterday self and boyfriend packed a thermos of English breakfast, a bag of tortilla chips, and a bowl of raspberries and hit the road, with the vague idea of dithering away an afternoon in Champoeg Park. The road itself, with its wide open vistas and clusters of happy cows and hop farms, berry farms, orchards, nurseries, and fallow fields seeded with retina scorching swaths of California Poppies, proved to be so captivating that we just kept going, detouring through Butteville and along the Willamette river, stopping at a gas station for a hot dog and a road map, which led us, eventually, to Silver Falls. After hiking down to the North falls, we clambered/slid down a rocky little trail and bummed around on the river bed for a bit, then clambered back up a ways and perched on a sunny outcropping just above the plunge pool. With the late afternoon sun dappling the rockface and the mist from the falls drifting onto our faces, sharing a little metal cup of still steaming black tea, it was about as perfect as life gets. Too bad neither of us had a camera...then again, sometimes a picture just can't do justice to the image it was meant to capture.

Love.

I am such a dork for my cat. He's like a little dragon. A really obsessive cranky creepy little dragon. Also, he matches my bedding perfectly. Could a girl ask for more?

six very shiny reasons why Victoire de Castellane is the queen of haute joaillerie...

The tiny black onyx frog! Eeeeee! On opal! *thump* That was the sound of me passing out from the excitement that such a thing even exists.

These.

Tiny amethyst pomegranate seeds and hand enameled serpents make Eve's dilemma perfectly relatable.

Genius for those of us without pierced ears. Now if only I had seven or eight grand laying around...

What's that? You hope I would find something better to do with it than buy useless adornments?

Pssssh. Priorities, shmyorities. 

Ooooooh, look, more!

Girl crush.

What is it about gals n' guns? This saucy riflewoman makes period reproduction costumes that have serious history geek cred.

In related news, I spent most of my afternoon going through two plastic garbage bags full of Victorian clothing that was rather unceremoniously donated to the museum where I work. While the idea of cramming these little (literally, almost nothing over a modern size 0!) masterpieces into garbage bags kinda makes me want to vomit, most of them were in pretty great condition....over the next few weeks I will be working on cleaning, repairing, preserving, photographing, and archiving them. You'll be able to follow my progress with the collection on my other blog, which I'll be starting up this week. A lot of work? Yessssss. Super-fun? Yessssss! Seriously. This is what I live for.

This seems silly...

...As I'm pretty sure I haven't got any readers, but, just in case I do, there have been some rather significant changes to my blog.

1. The name. Since part of my job as curator/publicist of a national historic site is building a website and blogging, and I'll be blogging as "the Curator" (whoo-hoo-hoo! Look who knows so much!), I decided to rename my personal blog something a little less pretentious and a little more...um...painfully dorky?
2. The intent. Originally this was going to be a photo-journal, and, while I still like the thought of documenting my life visually (outfit posts! Wheee!), turns out I suck at it. So, in the name of getting this pretty little zeppelin off the ground, I'm just going to post whatever I find interesting enough to keep my attention for the next thirty seconds.
3. The format. I upgraded! Its super-pretty! Yay me!
4. That's it.

Speaking of spiders...

This is Big Mama. She is the guardian of the water spigot in my garden. Gardening has never been my strong suit, not least because, while I find spiders compelling and beautiful in a controlled environment (What? That exists?), in the chaos of their natural habitat THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE. And, usually, they are. Especially the baby ones. While I fully realize the ridiculosity of a grown woman who is so terrified by the sudden appearance of something that tiny that she is compelled to jump and flail around the shrubberies shouting random obscenities and leading the neighbors to conclude that she must suffer from some form of gardening tourettes (poor dear), I'm still completely unhinged by them. I much prefer the relative slowness and predictability of Big Mama, even if I do find her staring a bit unnerving every time I go to water the raspberries.


EDIT: Apparently Big Mama is a boy spider. So, good for him. Since Big Papa might just be the sleazeballest name ever, I am going to call him Bernard.

Dream on...

When I took my current job, part of my salary was a house. Amazing, right? To compound my wonderment, the house in question is a tiny 1800s all-American fairy tale cottage; a one story, two bedroom (one serves as my studio, at least in theory), two porch, black and cream fully landscaped shangri-la. Ok, so the garden is a little "lush", and bristling with spiders, and the insulation is still horsehair and plaster, the closet space is non-existant, and the whole house needs fresh paint....but its still undeniably lovely. And its mine. While a full overhaul is financially out of the question, I can at least dream of the things I want to fill it with!

To start things off with a bang, a couple of genius reworked Victorian plates. Chewie, of course.......And Gizmo! What better way to temper taste and refinement than with shameless nostalgia?

The most perfect little pet bed...I forget where this photo originated, but half the charm of this idea is that it would be an easy (and so worth it!) DIY. Vintage suitcase + claw feet + comfy graphic pillow = love.

From Anthropologie, a gorgeously graphic gold rimmed charger, and....
...A sweetly mod little cache pot.
The iconic British WWI morale poster...for the kitchen, I think!
An amazingly cool vintage print from the most delightfully random Etsy shop ever.
And last but not least, the Andrea rug from Ikea, which I have been stalking for years now...like walking on clouds at sunset.
Pffft! I should just save up and buy it already!