New Year! New Happenings!

Beantown Bride is now live- YAY!!! The screen shot above is from my first post, an inspiration board inspired by the new year. Also of note is the fact that at the bottom of the image is an ad for my Etsy shop! Most excellent! This weekend I'll be having a tres chic photo shoot for my Flutes & Fabric designs on Etsy so that it can be fully up and running. I'll also be tidying up this place up over the next few days and preparing it to, er, well, I guess be a bit more public than it is already. All good things! So if you're joining me from any of these other places, hello there!

The Living Page

Just yesterday, over dinner and drinks (for me: a margarita, extra salt, for the boy: pumpkin beer), D and I were discussing dying magazines, newspapers, and the advent of blog culture.

I think the manner in which the Internet allows for new contributors to shimmy up to the table is a beautiful demonstration in democracy, and the fact that you can seek out anything and everything imaginable (differing points of views, new music, a new needle for my ancient Fisher Price record player), is incredibly empowering. Personally, I find myself increasingly turning to well-curated online sources over magazines. And when it comes to art and culture, stumbling down rabbit holes has been particularly beneficial for me, as I've found sites with aesthetics and outlooks that very much agree with my sensibility- a great joy indeed! This is especially the case since some of my favorites glossies bit the dust, Blueprint and Bust included. I do still get a few, ReadyMade, Vogue, and W are favorites, but then I stumble upon stunning, beautiful, images like these, and suddenly I'm convinced I need to pick up or subscribe to some of the international fashion magazines. Scratch the subscription idea... much to expensive...yikes. Wendy Bevan, whose gorgeous work is above, has done a lot of lovely shoots for Italian Marie Claire. These shots are from a shoot that is something of a swing era, beach-side, weekend-long party. I want an invite! (And there are even cheeky nude bathtub shots- reminds me of college- ah-ha!) And Tim Walker, who studied with Richard Avedon, has done work for Italian and British Vogue. While his images cannot be reproduced, rest assured they're amazing- they include baby elephants, balloons, oversized accessories, and exquisite composition. Both sites are a goldmine for stunning photography. And when it comes to such images, there is something to be said for real, tangible, glossy pages in front of you. Really, it's quite a way to showcase for stunning art and design.

But {shudder} don't even get me started on the topic of dying print in general. No, I am not ever getting a Kindle.

Dear Diary

Oh. Swoon. I love rabbit holes. I've somehow stumbled upon a beautiful blog, The Unicorn Diaries, the whole of which is something akin to poetry in website form. The author hasn't posted in a while, but everything that's there is beyond lovely. I've found myself repeatedly pouring through it over the last few days. Above is a book created by the author. Below another tiny treasure, a haunting video from the site. Love.

Small Joy: Happy Accidents

Today while at work I quickly lifted some papers off my desk, which somehow resulted in me clumsily knocking over my coffee thermos, which then rolled into my cell phone, which then tumbled off the edge of my desk and into my boot which was sitting on the floor below, the force of which caused the boot to fall over into my trash basket, out of which rolled a discarded apple core. It reminded me of this.

Rare Bird of Fashion

The Irreverent Iris Apfel exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum closes in almost a month! I must go soon! This is the sort of fabulous old lady I aim to someday be.

Inspiration: New Year

By now the countdown is long over, the confetti has since been swept up, and we should all be caught up on our lost sleep. But still, there's something about New Year's Eve that gives a girl great reason to wear ample sequins, statement jewelery, and fancy dancing shoes without apology. It's an occasion for counting down the minutes until you kiss your sweetie, thinking of the past, and looking to the future. And, while you're at it, add some bubbly, a bit of revelry, and several good friends to that list. So really, it already has all the makings of a fabulous wedding. And so to kick off the series, this inspiration board draws on all things fun about the holiday that is a herald of new beginnings. The design is celebratory, thoroughly modern, and a little bit irreverent, in shades of midnight black, platinum, and gold. 

clockwise from top left: Black and Silver Cupcakes by Crumbs and Doilies Cupcakes; Sequin Stripe Bubble Dress from Arden B.; Live What You Love Letterpress Print by Hijirik Studio on Etsy; Black Feather Fascinator by eeek.designs at Etsy; Polka Dot Room photographed by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia via Oh Joy!; Dorothy Gown by Vera Wang; Starry Champagne Glass from Anthopolgie;Starlight Friends Pave Star Ring by Marc for Marc Jacobs at Shop Bop; Reptilian Sheen Oxfords at Anthropologie

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT BEANTOWN BRIDE ON JANUARY 2, 2010

You say it's your birthday! It's my birthday too, yeah!

Happy birthday baby Jesus! Here, Linus' beautiful monologue and Charlie Brown's dear, tiny tree. Regardless of where my religious upbringing leaves me now, his echoing little voice makes this epic and always makes my heart quiver.



(Side note: D should be picking our own tiny tree this evening. Last year it was dubbed Jimmy Stewart. This year I'm thinking Clarence would be a most appropriate name.)

And now for something completely different! More importantly, err, happy birthday Mikey! Here, a ridiculous video. Some year soon I swear to you that I will dress up like our Lord and Savior, gather a band, and play you this song. Baby brother is 25! Love!



(I know, I know, this post is sacrilegious for several reasons. I can't believe the animator made John fart on Paul either.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!