because you're still the girl he married...

in a disturbing but amusing afternoon, i have come to find out that lysol was once used for feminine hygiene! um, why women would do this to themselves i have no idea. but married ladies (or soon to be), take a gander at these ads -- so that you can always be "the girl he married".

bridal inspiration -- french tablecloths

i'm currently working on an invitation suite for an outdoor wedding on a working farm. not only do they grow scrumptious fruits to pick yourself, but they also have a lovely setting that they do up right for events. including using french tablecloths for their settings.

so in my research for this suite, i came across a number of lovely tablecloths to pull reference from. how gorgeous are these? not just the patterns -- some subtle, some not-so-subtle -- but the colors!

i hope these inspire you as much as they have me. i promise to post images of the suite when it's finished.






Images above courtesy of FB Linens, French Country Home and Pierre Deux.

stationery hustle -- stationery showcase

hey out there!

my friend rajshel juan, the fabulous lady behind jane hancock papers, is starting a stationery showcase on her blog, the stationery hustle. all stationery designers are invited to submit their work under various categories. so, go for it people! show off whatcha got!

card above from jh papers zombie boy set.

barcelona -- art, architecture, and appealing oddity

barcelona is a very interesting city. buildings look like melting ice cream underwater. there is a cuisine that isn't necessarily the easiest to get used to. they speak a totally different form of spanish, catalan, so that they need a translation from one version of spanish to the other in the museums. and the cava is never-ending! we had a wonderful, design-inspired time.

the stained glass at the top, as well as the two pictures above, are from the segrada familia. the building of the cathedral was begun by antoni gaudi in 1882, and completion is not scheduled until 2020. it's amazing to watch a great example of modern architecture still being built.

we went to the casa batllo on our first day in barcelona and were completely in love. the building genuinely looks like melting ice cream and fish all at once. it's colorful and magical -- like a toy house for adults. every detail is skewed in such a way that it makes you question your balance. the stained glass is spectacular, the facade and chimney tops are a mosaic of tiles, and the attic ceiling is made of warped arches.

la pedrera is a similarly warped, but somewhat more subdued, building created for the mila family. it's currently used for both tourist visits and private residences. the chimneys in the first photo sort of look like mer-men, while others on the rooftop (which looks like an adult jungle-gym) are covered in broken glass from cava bottles.

park guell is tasty. that's the best way to describe it. all of the architecture looks as though it's straight from a hansel & gretel story, covered in candy and melting ice-cream (i know i use that analogy a lot when it comes to gaudi's work!). the entrance is above, with details below.

scary, monster-with-teeth looking bolsters.

i honestly think that great adventure's buildings were inspired by these structures (though, of course, much more crude!).

taking a break in barcelona is summed up in one word -- cava!!! it's akin to champagne, made in exactly the same way, but is much less expensive. we took a day trip to do cava tasting in the penedes region, and found our way to the codorniu facility. isn't the entryway above just beautiful? it's like a church dedicated to cava. =)

dave double-fisting cava in the tasting room.

this is what happens when i have too much cava early in the day...

food in barcelona is not always the easiest. when we ordered fish there, we got a plate of fried sardines, whole. dave couldn't eat them, but i did -- after taking the heads off!

finally, we wound up in this great sandwich restaurant on our last day there called sandwich and friends. i wanted to go there specifically because of the above -- a giant mural done by illustrator jordi labanda. how cool is that?

morocco -- the inspiration i was looking for

not as sexy as expected, morocco is a poor but picturesque country. the people are kind and friendly. the crafts are the same as they were in medieval times, which really adds to the true art of them all. the colors are just delicious -- you want to bite into the textiles and even go swimming in the horrid vats of leather dye. and the food is simple, inexpensive, and just plain yummy. though i wanted to do more that i couldn't do -- and will therefore have to go back for -- dave and i were just swept up in the culture and the beauty of the muslim country.

the photo above is of tagine pots outdoors at the falls of ouzoud.

people in marrakesh were true characters. the photo of the old man on the step is a constant source of inspiration for me -- i've been meaning to paint that scene for a while. the girls directly above lived right by our riad, and so we saw them daily.


souks carried spices, teas, grains, fruits, scarves, clothes, jewelry, etc. the souks in the two photos above are in marrakesh.


djemma el fna is the main square in marrakesh. a bit touristy, yes, but still a facinating spot. at night, it looks as though it's on fire, with hundreds of people milling around and eating at the food stalls in center.


the falls of ouzoud were a welcome day-long escape from the tourist center of marrakesh. dave and i at the end of the trek (we had to hike down the mountain to get to the foot of the falls).


beautiful doors in morocco were as much a part of the culture as anything else.


lantern shops were colorful and glittery.


animals were much used and eaten in morocco. donkey's are still burden-bearing vehicles there, and can be found on even the most narrow of streets. every part of an animal is used for food, including heads and hooves.


the crafts in fez were incredible to behold. the ceramics were hand painted, hand broken, and formed into patterns for mosaics without a previous plan. no electric tools are used, just hand, hammer, chisel, and brush. we wound up buying a table there, just because we were so enamored with it.


and the tanneries in fez were probably the best sight of them all. they smelled awful, but are worth the trip just to see the process. everything is done the same way it was done in medieval times, without a thing changed for modernism.

tomorrow, photos from barcelona!! and don't forget to email me or post below with your inspirational places, and people.

post themes -- things, people, and places that inspire you

since i'm talking about my travels today, i thought we could ponder a bit on things, people, and places that inspire. as an artist, i love the experience of going to other places in the world and meeting the people, getting to know the culture, seeing the colors and crafts that come from there.

my travel bug started in college, when i studied abroad in florence, italy, and met my wonderful husband. italy is a place of amazing food, awe-inspiring art, and beautiful churches. the countryside is incredible, and the landscape is just as striking as any painting in the uffizi. it is by far my favorite place in the world (besides nyc, of course).

since italy, i've been to paris, barcelona, and morocco. out of all these amazing locations, morocco was the most inspiring, and so where i'll start this post-week.

while enjoying the photos that i've put here of my trip to morocco, please think of places that inspire you. send me an email or leave me a post describing where, who, why. and if you want to send me pics, please do! i'll put them up this week.

photo above is a doorway in marrakesh, which i love for the beauty of the yellow bike against the "love" graffiti on the old door.

thailand!

so, dave and i are owed a really good trip. it's been almost 2 years since our honeymoon, and therefore since our last big trip. we love to travel together (hell, that is how we met!), and are acutely aware that we have limited time left for the longer travels. if we want to have a family, we can't go away for 2 weeks to wherever we want.

we were supposed to go to india, but sadly we ran out of time to plan it. so, what's the next best trip options? egypt or thailand, of course!! hehehehe... for those of you who are wondering, no, we can't do a regular trip. =) and though we had a hard time making a decision, we finally settled on thailand.

we are doing bangkok --> chang mai --> krabi --> bangkok. it should be an amazing trip -- elephant treks, temples, food, cooking classes, silks, crafts, etc. we really like to get our hands dirty when we travel and be as local as we can, and that's the general plan yet again.

and the prices! i can't believe them! yes, it costs a good amount of money to get there, but it's more than made up for by the prices of the food, transport, and hotels/guest houses. dave and i both enjoy staying at smaller local places (as long as we have our own bathroom), and have found one great place in chang mai for $22, and another in bangkok for a whopping $48! and both include breakfast!! it's crazy.

as i continue planning for our quickly-arriving trip -- we leave on march 29 -- i will update the blog with great photos that i find around here. the photos in this post are from my friend carrie's trip with her husband last summer.

marching down the runway

corny title, i know...

first of all, happy march!! so sorry i've been absent from the blog for most of the week -- i needed some time off to rest and recoup after the event. but i'm back, and so glad that march is here! one step closer to warm weather.


now, onto more news... deity bar and lounge on atlantic ave. in boerum hill is starting its "goddess thursdays". ladies get 50% off wines and champagnes by the glass from 6-10. to kick things off this thursday, march 6, they've asked yvonne chu of kimera to do a fashion show. and to go one step further, yvonne has asked me to be part of the show! so, yes, my clumsy self will be modeling one of yvonne's beautiful "audrey" dresses. i hope i do it justice!

so, if you want some drinks in a lovely bar, some girl time, some fun dresses, or a view of me strutting down the runway (or potentially falling on my butt!), then please come on down and join us! any way you cut it, it should be a great time.

deity's goddess thursday
march 6, 6-10
kimera fashion show begins at 8
check out the goddess thursdays myspace page for more info