Social Swatch

Autumn Promises with Julep

 I was thrilled when I was asked by Julep to share some thoughts about transitioning colors into fall. Here are some of my plans for the season, inspired by one of my fave fall Julep nail shades, Misti...

 

1. Be more adventurous in my cooking. Kate Spade Say the Word Dish

2. See things more clearly. Warby Parker Upton Frames in Sea Smoke Tortoise 

3. Treat my hard-working hands to a friendly neighbor. Loren Hope Mirabel Cuff

4. Fall in love with a new-to-me artist. Anne Tholstrup

5. Snuggle up with a classic (Adler and Austin both qualify). Jonathan Adler Throw Pride and Prejudice

6. Go somewhere fun. Francois Vernier Poster via Sandy Vincent

7. Encourage friends. High Five Card from Sugar Paper

8. Stop and smell the roses- while I still can! Vintage textile- source unknown

9. Save time with ultra-fast drying long-wearing nail color from Julep in Misti!

And coming in October- 100% silk scarves and pocket squares in our "Croc and Roll" print dressed up in "Blue You Love Me?"

Here are some other ideas for transitioning into fall from Julep:

 

I Love You Chartreuse-ly

I have been fawning over Charleston, SC artist Teil Duncan's work for years. Not since Slim Aarons has anyone made a day at the beach look so chic and her figure studies give the term "skin tone" an entirely new meaning. 

Teil Duncan Coastal Shower

Apparently designer Christian Siriano shares my affinity for Duncan, asking her to collaborate on a lookbook for his 2015 Resort collection. The result is a brilliant body of work in front of a brilliant body of work.

 

 

SHOP THE SWATCH

Christian Siriano Resort 15 images via Style.com

It's Gonna Be a Great.ly Day

Very excited to announce that you will soon be able to purchase exclusive peices of my artwork at the fabulous new website, Great.ly!

If your not yet familiar with the site, Great.ly invites tastemakers from various industries to curate their favorite handmade home decor, fashion accessiories and artwork and allows you to shop their favorites. 

I'm so looking forward to developing some new work to take advantage of this fabulous opportunity!

Ernst Caramelle

South London gallery wall by German painter, Ernst Caramelle via Remodelista

Thoughts on Success

 

A few days ago my six-year-old son asked if we could make homemade whipped cream. Apparently he had seen a chef complete the task on a cooking show and felt we could replicate the result. Although I had made it before, my son had never watched me do it and so I welcomed the opportunity for a quiet afternoon activity, as we have had a summer filled with broken bones and stitches, and I thought it was entirely reasonable that we could make whipped cream without a trip to the emergency room.

We gathered our ingredients, quite a simple list: heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla. We gathered our tools: a mixer and a glass bowl (it helps if both are chilled beforehand).

As my son watched me beat the ingredients together, and beat the ingredients together, and beat, and beat, and beat the ingredients together, he couldn't believe how long it was taking for the mixture to whip up! It looks like nothing is happening for a very long time, and then suddenly, all at once, you have a bowl full of your fluffy goal.

After enjoying our tasty treat atop some fresh strawberries, it occurred to me that this is often how things work for those of us trying to reach a goal in our professional lives. 

You can have all the right ingredients. You can use farm-fresh cream. You can have the best vanilla that money can buy. You can make sure your bowl is chilled and conditions are perfect- but the secret to a successful whipped cream is also the secret to a successful career. It's time.

This isn't an easy one for me to accept. Because you can't brainstorm time. You can't croudsource it. You can't buy it. You can't earn it. You can't work really, really hard and get it to pass faster. Because time isn't a supply, or an ingredient or an idea. You can't jot it down, pin it or instragram it. Time is a gift. One that we have to accept and be grateful for everyday. Instead of resenting that our dream isn't coming to fruition fast enough, we need to be mindful of enjoying the process.

Often we throw ourselves into our passion and see not much coming of it, maybe even for a very long time. But make no mistake. Your fluffy bowl of success could be just around the corner. And if it is, by all means, lick the spoon. You deserve it.

** If the mere sound of the word "failure" makes you cringe- see this post.

Ellsworth Kelly

“I’m interested in the mass and color, the black and the white, the edges happen because the forms get as quiet as they can be.”

Ellsworth Kelly

Vintage Print

 

Lotte Frommel-Fochler, Flamingo 1910,1911 via Helen Dardik Pinterest

Bob Noorda

Album cover design by Bob Noorda via Thinking Form

The Wind In Your Fails

When I talk about being a failure, I use the term as one of endearment. All being a failure means to me is that I'm willing to fail. I'm willing to try something new and see if it works. If it doesn't, that doesn't mean that I stop. I'm thankful for what I've learned, and I move on.

The same is true for a sailor. Even the most skilled sailor doesn't always find his intended destination in his intended manner. But does that mean he stops being a sailor? No! He only ceases being a sailor when chooses to no longer make the journey. 

I went into my daughter's school to teach a kindergarten craft class. We were going to make some kind of large insect made from yarn. Basically a yarn ball with stuck-on googly eyes. We're not talkin' Jeff Koons here. When I pulled the finished project out of my bag to show the children what we would be making, one of the little boys was instantly aghast, "Oh, I can't do that! That's too much! I won't be able to do it!"

I was shocked for 2 reasons. 1- LITERALLY just a ball of yarn with eyes, and 2- I don't know that I've ever experienced that feeling before. Whether that is a testament to the good parenting I experienced, or if I'm simply missing some type of "reason-gene", I don't know. But when I've been presented with a challenge in my life, I've always taken the approach that I can teach myself, practice, apprentice or just plain fake it, till I make it. 

I don't always succeed. There are goals that I've been sailing toward for years that I haven't quite grasped yet. I just keep throwing the things I learn below decks and turning the wheel into the wind. 

 

Mod Living

From the home of Gene and Heidi Wyeth via Apartment Therapy