Sandy Craftalong

I don’t make a lot of money… I’m pretty much still a retail drone and I’m lucky when I get to treat myself to a little something, something. Sometimes, even when I really want to, I’m hard pressed to come up with a few extra dollars to donate to worthy causes. Still, I felt really strongly that I should try to donate something, anything that could help my fellow Americans hit by tropical storm Sandy.

While I was surfing twitter links, I came across this great idea from Natalie Soud and Brett Bara to make warm knit, crochet, or sewn items like socks, hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and blankets to help Sandy victims get through this tough time of no power or heat. I’ve never really participated in something like this but I wanted to contribute somehow. So, I’ve started a cowl (because I’m not a decent enough knitter to do hats and gloves yet and a full fledged scarf would take to long for my novice hands to create).

So, a free Lion Brand cowl pattern and some Cascade 220 that I have had for a while and never used is being knitted up for someone in need back East. I’m so happy to be doing something for someone besides myself for a change and I truly hope my finished knitted contribution will make a person”s life just a little bit warmer this winter. If you’re a crafter and would like to contribute, check out Manhattan Craft Room or A Dose of the Delightful blogs to see all the details about where you should send your completed projects and how to share the word on Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Halloween!

via Bohemea on Tumblr.

Have a spooky Halloween, everyone!

Totally Inspiring Room

The living room of John Derian’s new apartment. I love the rustic but clean style!

This lovely living room is in the apartment of decoupage guru, John Derian, and is situated in a building which has been standing since the mid 1800’s. Apparently Derian is drawn to all things beautifully old and decrepit, so much so that he was reluctant to change much when he bought this apartment. Still, modern building codes required some updates so he undertook the task with the help of a sympathetic contractor. I think the final result turned out wonderfully!

The updated bedroom.

The bathroom was completely overhauled but I think that the spirit of the original style shows in its design.

You can read the New York Times Magazine article on the renovation and see more before and after pictures. I love how serene and livable the whole project looks.

Totally Inspiring Room

The living area in a project my Isabel Lopez-Quesada via ECLECchic.

This living room is by Spanish interior designer Isabel Lopez-Quesada. This is my second time featuring her work on a Totally Inspiring Room post and I’m sure it won’t be the last! Her rooms always seem supremely livable and effortlessly chic at the same time. Definitely something I find totally inspiring… not to mention that I’m totally in love with the blue/purple/pink/coral scheme. See more of the project at the blog ECLECchic or see more of Isabel Lope-Quesada’s work on her own website!

Happy Tuesday, all! Until next time…

Looper

Back to the future…

I went to see Looper last Friday when it opened. I’d been waiting impatiently for it to come out ever since I first heard vague rumblings on the net about a scifi movie with Bruce Willis in it. You may chuckle to yourselves at that statement, especially given that his most famous science fiction movie before this is either a cult classic or the worst movie ever made, depending on who you ask. From my level of breathless anticipation, you can tell that I fall firmly in the former camp.

I like scifi. I like Bruce Willis (yes, I admitted that in public). Turns out that Bruce Willis was the icing on a brutally good cake.

Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis play Joe, a looper (basically a mob hitman) whose hits are delivered to him from the future via time travel. The technology is outlawed but used in secret anyway by the mob as an efficient means to carry out hits, since bodies are apparently too impossible to hide or dispose of in the late 21st century.

Joe explains the rules of the system to us in a slow but satisfying build up to the main action of the movie. You show up, do the hit, collect payment (silver bars strapped to the victims back), take care of the body, go blow your cash on drugs and women. Rinse, repeat. Until… You are sent back to be killed by your younger self (this time with gold bars strapped to your back) and you “close the loop” by executing yourself.

When young Joe and older Joe lay eyes on each other is when this science fiction movie really takes off and spreads its wings, a mean feat considering how stellar the set up is. The dichotomy between these two versions of the same person is palpable. Young Joe is looking out for #1. He still wants to please the higher ups and retire to France (probably because that seems romantic to him) when his loop is closed. The elder Joe has lived a lifetime full of what the younger version’s choices have set him up for; he wants to hold on to what he has at any cost.

I don’t want to give away anything by explaining anymore plot points. The two leads are fantastic in their respective portrayals of the same character. Extra kudos to Joseph Gordon Levitt for picking up the the voice, cadence, and physical tics that we expect to see on Bruce Willis and making them believable.

The supporting cast, including Jeff Daniels, Emily Blunt, and Piper Perabo, also give excellent performances. The writing, direction, and most important, pacing, are all top notch. I highly recommend this movie even if, especially if you are not a scifi fan. At its heart this movie is a character piece and the speculative element is the purely to drive the story along in the best possible way.

I’ll be seeing this again and definitely adding it to my collection.

Vintage Modern

Literally! I love when companies take an iconic product and truly update it for the modern user. Here are two stellar examples:

First:

Polaroid’s compact instant/digital camera, the Z2300. I love the race car model designations!

The Polaroid Z2300 (yes, them again) is an awesome instant/digital camera. How much fun would it be to have all the modern conveniences in a digital camera but still be able to make those cool old school instant prints that made the company famous? You can get the best of both worlds with this slick looking 10MP looker and at only $160, it isn’t going to break the bank.

Next up:

Seriously, Singer’s 160th Anniversary Limited Edition Computerized Sewing Machine made me swoon when I saw it. Thanks, Amazon!

This gorgeous sewing machine from Singer which takes it’s styling from the vintage turn of the 20th Century machines that started it all and upends it with a fully functional computerized interface. Let me tell you, this is WAY better looking than the boring white and blue machines that litter your local Joann’s. I’d go so far as to say this machine in sexay… If you can apply that term to a sewing machine!

Last but not least:

Michelle over at Sweet Suite 10 gave me a heads up on this one… At first I wasn’t feeling the flatter shape but I think it looks sportier, don’t you?

You can’t get more iconic than a classic Volkswagen Beetle, can you? There aren’t many people, whether they are 8 or 80, that don’t know this classic car from the shape alone. Well, for the new 2013 model they have stepped back even further to an earlier, slightly flatter body style but they’ve upped the ante with a LOT more power under the hood than ever before. I could see myself zipping through town in one of these, couldn’t you?

What’s your favorite new old design?

Thrift Store Score!

So, my sister calls me up and says that she was looking for free boxes on Craigslist and that she ran across a listing for a thrift store that was going out of business and was GIVING everything away. Yeah, you read that right. Well, I was still putzing around the house and she gave me exactly 20 minutes to get ready… Do I need to tell you that I was showered, dressed, and ready when she got here?

Anyway, we drive to the Renton Highlands and it’s two store fronts away from a St. Vincent De Paul (which are my favorite thrift stores on earth) and one away from a smallish JoAnn Fabrics (my favorite fabric and craft store in earth) but I digress…

When we got there half the store had been cleared out but my sis was able to get two carts full of clothes for her and her three youngest kids, including enough name brand and designer jeans for my eleven year old niece to be able to render her recent mall purchase obsolete.

I was not doing as well… I scored a few pairs of shoes and two handfuls of CDs (including HS fave Bros., Recoil, Cesaria Evora, Underworld, 808state, Erasure, Tom Petty & The Heart breakers, The Verve, and Handel’s Messiah) but I wasn’t finding something that said TAKE ME HOME! Until…

This retails for $205 on Artaissance… and I got it for FREE!

I was wandering in the very back of the store and saw a print pinned up to the wall. It was from Artaissance. It said that it was Breakfast Treats II by Carolyn Biggio. It was absolutely gorgeous, vibrant, large (at least 2’x3′), and… FREE! So, I snagged it.

Then, I found this silver or pewter bowl-y thing with a hole in the center. It has Hotel Sorrento engraved into the outside surface. Maybe it was a dome to go over a plate and it’s missing a piece or something? I don’t know. I just think it’ll look good on my desk.

Pretty sure I’d found all that I was going to at the going out of business place, I stepped over to St. Vincent De Paul while my sister shopped for more stuff at the first place and found this:

Found at St. Vincent de Paul: a $5 lamp. You can’t beat that!

Isn’t it sweet? I couldn’t pass up the texture and color. I’m not sure where it will go yet as I kind of love the brown lamp (that still hasn’t been projected) on my desk but I’m thinking that it may end up on the desk at some point. We’ll see!

So, overall today ended up being kind of a good day for me on the thrifting front. I mean I spent five bucks! It doesn’t get much better than that… unless you count the time that I got a vintage Henredon sofa for $35. But that’s another story!

Until next time…

Totally Inspiring Room

The gorgeous masculine glamour of this foyer by Osborn Architects blows my mind!

It’s totally inspiring room… the late night edition! Better late than never, I say, especially when the room is this cool. Ok, so technically it’s an entry and it’s also just a glimpse. Still, isn’t this glimpse tantalizing enough to draw you into the rest of the house? Check out the cool blog Rex Kelly Mid-Century to see more of the house which was done by Osborne Architects! Happy night owling, y’all!

Totally Inspiring Room

Magenta + campaign dresser = the sexiest combo ever!

I saw this vignette on the website of artist Lulie Wallace and it totally rocked my world! I love how the magenta color on the campaign style dresser just pops off the soft pistachio green. The folky still life and glam gold + animal print chair add extra dimension to the tableau, don’t they? See it featured in Society Social’s “The Manifesto Magalog” along with some other cool girly and glam stuff. Until next time!

Totally Inspiring Room

The living room of Anna and Caroline Burke in Lonny Mag March April 2012.

Just a quickie post. This is one of my recent faves from Lonny Mag. I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Until next time!