A Room with a Viewpoint.

Recently I've been exploring what a space can say about a person. I've found that just as the clothes on a person's back reflect his/her personality, so does a space say something about the way they live, because well, they live there.
When getting ready to set up my home for the fall, I have been looking for things that are punchy and make a statement. It's almost like I've been designing a set for a character, who is me, and I want to add specialized touches that bring light to who I am. This is the first time I've ever had my own place without roommates so it's new and exciting for me to have a space that gives off a singular expression of personality rather than a compromise between two distinct voices.

So basically, after painting like mad last week (which I discovered I love! I may buy and eisel for the room too so I can paint after long days) and reinventing items to make them unique (like the play animals I repainted for display), I am officially done planning my room, which I move into in a little over a week.

I think my space will give an air of playfulness yet calm, detailed but not overdone. I can't wait to share it with you when I'm all moved in! xoxo

Also, side note, I wanted to include the picture above of my new trompe l'oeil sandwich pencil case (isn't it fun?), but you may have thought at first glance I'm just randomly holding a sandwich. So, yes, no it's not a sandwich.

Everyday Beauty.

Life is so big and so exciting, isn't it? I feel like there are so many magical things happening in so many different places. Even if they don't scream at you to look or that they are important, when you are keen to their ways therein lies the treasure. I was talking with my dad today about this. He said for example he didn't like Seinfeld when he first watched it, but when you get to know the humor and personality of Larry David, you pick up on the specifics of the humor and it becomes so much more enjoyable.

This applies to every day beauty. When you are trying to understand the ways of our glorious Maker, sometimes it helps to see a part of his personality. For example, He is rawther creative. If you even get a small glimpse of the creations He makes, you see he is a God of big proportions. I was driving through my little hometown today, not expecting anything particularly grand, when all of a sudden I looked up at the painting of the day in the sky. I was in a particularly good part of the road near my neighborhood where the view of the sky is breathtaking, visible for miles and miles. I look up and I see the most perfectly fluffy clouds all in rows extending as far as my eyes could see. For the first time I actually stopped on the side of the road and just gazed for a bit. It got me thinking how wonderful He is and that He thinks a little town in Georgia is just as worthy of a beautiful skyline as Cortona or the poles. People in the creative field search day in and out for the world's idea of beauty. They will study it, move for it, and devote their lives to it. I myself have to travel a good half hour to look at beautiful hand-made paper or a store design worth oggling over. But the Lord gives us wonderfully detailed and hand crafted beauty to awe over day in and day out. The trick is recognizing the patterns in his work to really appreciate all that He has made. It also must be said, if He pays that much attention to creating a beautiful sky to show His handiwork, how much more is He already working through things in your life to reveal Himself to you?

Photo

July Playlist.

Alright my dears, here is some belated music inspiration for the month of July.

Good Times (Diplo Remix)

-Brazilian Girls

A Thing for Me (Breakbot Remix)

-Metronomy

(original)

Cannibal Queen

-Miniature Tigers

Clap, Whistle, Walking

-Cornelius

My Dear

-Kirsten & Marie

Side Dish

-Psapp

Photos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Trunks of Trinkets.

I have just been in a major creating/photographing mood recently. I finally found an aperture setting on my camera that I like and the colors are much more in line with how I see things in my head. Before it just looked so blahh. I also got some things for my home for this next semester. Here are some of my little trinkets:

wooden plate turned jewelry display

über modern looking glasses from a flea market (not a need but will be good for entertaining)

Good read: Moonwalking with Einstein

Other little finds (I'm obsessed with neon pink right now):

My sister's Kate Spade tote from the neon collection

some perfect French espadrilles from Ann Mashburn

Kate Spade keychain

Essie nail polish in Funny Face

Neon pink bobby pins from J. Crew

Sister's jelly watch from Italy (I don't have the heart to set it to Eastern standard time, plus I don't know how)

Once again, favorite magazines:

TAR and Bullett

New favorite Ralph Lauren glasses and J. Crew vest ($15 online!). When the vest came in the mail, my mind automatically went back to a street style pic I had seen in Teen Vogue forever ago. I had just gotten a floral scarf (Pictured two pictures above) and the pairing seemed a perfect interpretation of this other image in my mind. So I went searching for it and...

I found it! I had a hunch it was from the early years of my Teen Vogue obsession and I sensed it was from the fall season. So I look to September 2006 and there it was. Lola in her perfectly quilted floral vest and a lovely citrus colored top. The mind is certainly an incredible thing.

Future by Design.

I recently watched a very interesting film called Future By Design. In a nutshell, the movie is about a man who was interested in the future from the age of eight after watching the then futuristic movie Metropolis. I love some of the things he believes about the organization of a city and how it can impact a society. Here are some quotes by him:

"At a time, people thought that decisions of the majority were very close to reality. But there was also a time when the majority of people believed that the earth was flat."

"Any culture in the world today tries to educate people so they'll serve a function in that particular culture. People are conditioned to serve a purpose to an established culture."

"Value systems are distorted: if our environment is altered, so our behavior will be altered."

It's crazy to think that our thoughts are effected by visual culture and that our range of thought is rather limited by dominant interests of our society. I just thought you might all find this interesting. I hope you watch the movie, even though he does jump to conclusions in a few areas, his ideas are interesting and a lot different from the norm. Enjoy!

Photo

Video Smorgasbord.

I am doing some computer cleaning and have started converting all of my saved blogs, music sites, etc. over to Pinterest. Praise the Lord! My computer and mind were getting quite junky. The only thing that doesn't quite fit in are saved videos I've accumulated over time. So I am going to post them all in this very post, together in mass! Pardon that there is no particular theme or driving concept (Although there is a driving concept to the Chrysler commercial below. Too cheesy? Too cheesy). Enjoy xx.

Chrysler Style Commercial

Sermon on the Mound (actually basically the whole channel this video is in)

Thom Browne Interview

Esquire- London Fashion Week Looks

Revamp.

This summer has been dedicated to the concept of change. I have had lots of free time to think about the Lord, life, knowledge, beauty and the future and how they all correlate and which holds the most importance (the Lord obviously). Here are three shifts in lifestyle and focus.

My room went from this last summer...

To this. I have been cleaning, streamlining and focusing on the importance of minimalism (hence a copy of the Fountainhead on my apostrophe chair).

Side note. I'm not really a fan of the curtains like I thought I would be. They should have been lush and white like my sister suggested.

.......................................................................................................................

I have been reading foreign magazines like a fiend. Here are a few that are my favorites.

Scenario- Denmark

Bullett- England

TAR- Italy

Bon- Sweden

Nögesguiden ("Bulletin Board" in Swedish)

.......................................................................................................................

Then lastly, a table turning realization.

Although the things previously stated are all great, I have basically been over-indulging myself with all of my interests and I have found that they aren't nearly as satisfying as I would hope they could be.

I tend to find something I like, conquer it by learning about it wholly, then moving onto the next thing. I realized this is not a good or healthy way of existing because it can carry over into more important areas like my spiritual and social life. I am going to try to wean myself off of the things I used to rely on for support, i.e. beauty and knowledge, and instead focusing on friendships and reading the Bible and growing in relationships rather than furthering my brain. I can only take in so much information to a point where I am eventually wasting my time when I should be investing in other people. In the end, I want to look back on my life and see that I spent time appreciating the beauty that is all around me rather than a far off concept of it created in a studio somewhere across the world. So here is to shifting perspectives, making changes, and not being bound to a comfort zone.

Images 1, 2, 3, 4

the Fall.

This movie is the one that has impressed me the most of all of the ones I have seen this summer. Not a dull visual or plot-related moment was to be found as you go on the colorful journey through the imaginative story of Lee Pace's character Roy Walker. You simply must watch the Fall. It will be an experience like you have never had before. (And here is a behind-the-scenes look at the film.)

The Future Perfect.

Daphne Guinness film

The Future Perfect Store

The Dark Side of the Lens

Interesting Typographer/ Graphic Designer