2.27.2008



Blue Saddlebag

I have a green leather duffel backpack that I really love, but you can't beat awesome vintage fabric and tan canvas. Because I'm tired of taking off my backpack to get something out, I like that this bag goes across the body for simple retrieval. It's also terribly sophisticated, with a cool orange label. These bags deserve a following and should be birthday gifts to all of your friends.

$37.50

2.26.2008


Hi, everyone!

I want to interrupt this week's gorgeousness to let you know that I'll be moving to Boston this Sunday, where Uptown Frum will continue, albeit with a more East Coast swing. Until then, things are a bit slower than usual because of all the packing and planning, but everything is sure to brighten up once I arrive.

Wish me luck!

2.24.2008



I want this day. I want to be warm and ride my bike in a flowered dress. I want to see different scenery, like in that movie, The Holiday, where a new place can bring on a new self, or in Roman Holiday, where you sightsee on mopeds and love your hair. I hate my hair, inconsequentially.

Today the postcard, tomorrow the personal revolution.

$16

2.23.2008


Sustainable, recycled metal. Old diamonds. Unparalleled design.



Let Them Eat Cake Poster

Hey everyone, here's a heads up:

This is a new and super cute poster that would look perfect in the kitchen, or above the mini-fridge, whatever. The coolest part, though, is that there's a buy one get one free sale going on so buy this and get the Keep Calm and Carry On poster free!

$12

4 Swallow Branch Cards

A little bigger than four by five inches, these are so pretty and fresh. Natural, but not trendy in the new "isn't nature precious??" kind of way. Just true to life and beautiful. Tuck them in books you're giving or have the distinctivly sized envelope appear in someone's mailbox. They'll end up stuck in the corners of mirrors and under glass desktops.

$10

2.22.2008



The In Crowd Pillow

Cool, right!? Awesome fabrics with gorgeous stitching, simply and cleanly put together, with an eye for color and beautiful impact. I just love it.

$18

2.21.2008


Trazo PVC Necklace

There's a sheer, ribbony quality to this necklace that is kind of intoxicating in a spring kind of way. I can see this against a plain white tee shirt and a dark jean skirt. Swell striped rainboots or polka dot ballet flats. Black eyeliner and cherry-flavored lipgloss. Pear green convertible with Michael Buble's Everything blasting through the speakers.

$38

2.19.2008


Hey, everyone!
I'm back from Cleveland having had a nice, long, cleansing roadtrip, and am so ready to get started.
While I was there, I stopped at Saks (The Happiest Place on Earth) where I saw these gradient color ballet flats by Prada. They're stunning in person but, with this price tag, I'm bringing them to you to get you psyched and ready for a very full, very beautiful week.

So happy to be back!

$450

2.16.2008


Hey, all. I'm off to a wedding for a few days. I'm hoping to leave you with a few more great posts before I go, but I wouldn't want to forget to leave you this, our favorite song. We used it in a girly vintage-y video we made (no link to that, yet) that had crackly film like in Juno, but was generally pinker than that awesome flick.
Enjoy, and see you Tuesday!

2.15.2008

Spring!


















I'd wear the shrunken jacket open, ruffle against ruffle, with the deep pink flowing out the bottom over the jean skirt. I wear these shoes with the laces slightly loosened, but untied, with the lace ends stuck inside, out of sight. Just a bit of white sock peeking out.
I'm so ready.

2.13.2008

This week I was given the wonderful opportunity to interview Tamar, of Nest Interior Decorating and Nest Pretty Things. Three years ago Tamar moved from Israel to Vermont with her husband and three teenage sons, and has wasted no time in shifting from her career as a fashion editor, creative director, fashion and interior stylist to owning her own interior design business. Tamar also shares her color-filled, real-life-made-gorgeous style through the crafts and designs in her shop. Mostly, I am thrilled to share her warm taste, inspiring perspective, and her photogenic, livable home that functions beautifully in everyday life.
~

How would you describe who you are and what you do?

I worked as a Creative director and Fashion and Interior stylist in magazines and advertising for many years, when we moved to Vermont 3 years ago I left that world behind and started an interior decorating business. Waiting around for clients is not for me, so in between decorating jobs I started designing and making products and selling them on Etsy, it’s been really great and now I do both!







How did your first discover your talent?

I come from a very artistic family, my mother was a painter, my dad is an architect, my grandfather was a painter and my sister is a painter, it’s hard to say when I discovered my own talent, I have been in a creative environment my whole life and was always engaged in some artistic project…..

What is your biggest design and creative influence?

I would say that my style is very eclectic, I love to mix different things, but I would say country modern with a twist of bohemian and funky??? Does that make any sense…?

How does family contribute to or influence your creativity?

Everyone in my family is extremely supportive and they always have something nice to say or positive criticism which makes me think and that pushes me to better places.





What is your favorite space in your home? Why?

Sitting at my work table which is actually part of the dining room, having everyone around me, I love it, I just wish it were bigger.

What are your tips for making a workspace personal, efficient, and inspiring?
I like to have everything out and around me, I like a happy mess, that gets my creative juices going. I clean up after every project making room for the next thing.
I always keep glass jars for storage, I have loads of long white shelves for all my supplies.



What has been your most challenging job or project?

Wholesale orders are challenging but also a lot of fun, as far as my Interior decorating projects, I would say that our house is the biggest challenge of all, turning an ugly ranch into a lovely home.

If you could walk to your window and see anything outside, what would you see?

In the winter a snowy wonderland, in the summer a beautiful garden which I LOVE!

What dreams have you achieved and fulfilled?

Having my own business, I never thought I could do it and moving to Vermont has been an amazing journey.





What is one dream that you hope to attain in the future?

Continuing to do what I love most, being creative!

What would you identify as a turning point in your professional or personal life?

Definitely the move here.




In a regular day, when are you happiest?

Getting up in the morning, reading emails, sipping tea, going for a walk with my husband and the dog.

What makes the biggest difference in the decoration of a home?

Color and accessories.




What are some of your tips for creating a beautiful home on a budget?

Try to re use what you have by painting, reupholstering, or repurposing, I am a great believer in using what you already own. Bring in color to mix with a white palette, get wonderful art to put on your walls, Etsy has some awesome affordable art, thrift shops, yard sales and Craigslist are some of my favorite places to find fun stuff on a budget and my most favorite is Ikea!

How can people add more color to their environment and everyday lives?

I like to use color mixed in with a lot of white. I also use color in accents like pillows with lots of patterns mixed in all together and interesting accessories.






What are you looking forward to wearing in the spring?

A skirt!

What is your dream travel adventure?

NYC, London, Paris, a culinary trip to Italy and the souk in Istanbul

If you could say one thing to the world, about the world today or even about yourself, what would it be?

Spread the love….




What would you say is the single thing that creative people can do to take better advantage of their talents?

Take different classes in different medias, I know each new class I take opens up a whole new world of inspiration.



~

Today is Tamar's son Mikey's 13th birthday. Go ahead and leave birthday notes here

Happy Birthday, Mikey!


.

2.12.2008



Impressionen

I love this photo. It's the lifestyle and the sunny room with the white angles and the many-paned window and the shoes.

via Decor8

2.10.2008


Isn't this just lovely? Lined with blue velvet, part is left open to catch change, electronics, and those aluminum museum lapel pins that you always find bouncing around the bottom of the washing machine. Most of it, though, is covered by an etched glass cover that lifts to reveal your stuff.
This could also go beyond the dressertop by carrying embroidery supplies to different favorite spots around the house, or writing paper, or creamy white candles and personalized matchbooks.

SALE $64.99



Start now, on snow-free days, with semi-sheer textured tights, a black tulip skirt, silky deep pink top and a shrunken velvet jacket. Transition to spring by zipping into a flowered skirt, ironed white shirt, black bead drop earrings, and smooth fringed scarf in a strong color.

$165


New York Times Modern Love Contest

College students, you're up. The NY Times wants to know what love is now. Winner gets published in print and online- with a photo, it seems- and wins a thousand dollars.

Step forward!

2.08.2008



{Spicy!} Chocolate Challah Pudding

Have a good Shabbos, and save some challah for this surely-delicious recipe. We should try this next week. In some ramikins.



I bet it makes a good, old fashioned "Bbrriiiiiing!" sound.

$14



Establish a rotating journal where each sister writes for a week, then fedexes it to the next. Elevate the shopping list. Use each small folded section for a manageable, isolated sketch and when the book is full display it unfurled on the mantel.

$14

2.07.2008

A gorgeous set of photos was posted at Nice Spice, which recently discovered The Beach Studios. It's a good bet if you're looking for glamorous, warm-weather-worthy scenes to inspire you.



















In the first, I love the distressed white of the furniture, the slick, shiny white of the floor, and the faded sea blues and greens on the cushions. Still, it could be anywhere inland, with heavy wooden doors that stand open into a woodsy lane or English garden.
















T
he second is so like the Cape or some secluded inlet with distressed wood boards and peeling iron bedsteads. Doors on both sides have only curtains and allow the air to flow through. The writing desk, chandelier, mirrors, and reading lamp are refined and appropriate. I'd love to go to sleep here after a long day swimming in a lake.

2.06.2008


Hugo Poppy Canvas Griffen

The bag of dreams containing a hefty Moleskine daybook, a slim glass water bottle, and a thick brownie wrapped in waxed paper.

$225



I love this ring because it is exactly like Robert Frost's Birches. It's soft and natural and it evokes a sparkly, potential-full part of winter that I had forgotten in all the slush and bother.

$45

2.03.2008


Leah Desk

This is so beautiful, particularly in front of the window, with the vase of cherry blossom branches and the necklaces slung over the edge of the mirror. Put some jewelry trays in one drawer and your writing paper in the other. Plug in your modern conveniences and pull up a juxtaposition of a chair, with a Marimekko fabric cushion, in the blue blossom design, of course.

$369

2.02.2008


It's lovely to be back, and we're taking it slow tonight with some beautiful soap. I was watching that Samantha Brown Passport to Europe show where she visited a French soap factory. The soaps there were so rustic and quirky and gorgeous, but these are ornate and earthy at the same time. Besides, I have more of a chance getting to this Iowa workshop than actually visting France.
Also see the honeysuckle scent, which is so summery.
$5