love forever

MSGM

I've always admired the Italian brand MSGM for their devil-may-care approach to print mixing. When it's so wrong sometimes it can be so right. Right?
There were such great color combinations with their Spring '14 collection, I started playing with watercolors and, boom! these happened.
All images from Style.com. Layouts by yours truly.

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Watching / Top of the Lake

Have you watched Top of the Lake yet? Created by (my favorite!) Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, the PBS miniseries follows Tui, a young pregnant girl who tries to kill herself in a lake and the detective (Elizabeth Moss), full of dark secrets herself, who tries to solve the case. Set in a small town in the New Zealand countyside as haunting and dark as it is beautiful, Campion does an amazing job connecting Tui's story to the pervasive sexism that undercuts women's relationships with men, both familial and strange.
One of my favorite storylines is the group of women who move into an encampment of train cars on a plot of land called "Paradise". These women, scarred and bruised by their relationships, choose to give up on convention entirely. Depite their bitter pasts, they are the most joyous characters in the whole series.
The series can get violent at times and always has a bit of a dark menacing feel but it is beautifully shot and told. Watch the whole thing on Netflix, my favorite source for British and otherwise foreign series.
What are you watching these days?

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Obsessed / Edition 2.0

Another week, a new batch of things to stimulate my braingrapes. Here's what I'm crushing hard for right now:
1. Designer Tia Cibani sent her models down the runway with beautiful be-ribboned braids piled on top of their heads. I have been wearing my hair like this ever since!
2. It's just barely fall but I'm deep in the Spring '14 collections right now. Odd but cool color combinations are everywhere for Spring and I'm particularly taken with the shades at Jonathan Saunders.
3. Oh my, this ring. I would like it on my finger right now.
4. As you might imagine, desk decor at Anthropologie headquarters is a bit competitive. I've had the same look going for a while so this Fall, I am finally going to indulge in my toile obsession and re-cover my walls in vintage toile wallpaper. I can't afford Manuel Canovas but I sure love this color combo.
5. My very Eastsider LA friend Cathy introduced me to Beatrice Valenzuela shoes. I bought my first pair this summer and I lived in them! They are so cool and comfortable, they mold to your feet, they are handmade and the soles are recycled tires! A perfect perfect summer shoe.

Ilse Murdock / Artist

Ilse Murdock is a New York based artist who did a whole series of pieces made with bottle caps. Who knew there were so many colors, sizes and shapes? Look really closely at these: there are so many surprises and details to explore!

Obsessed / Edition 1.0

I spend a good part of my work day scouring books, blogs and the deep corners of my brain for inspiration. In the concept designing part of my job, I find seemingly disparate images all over and start to trace a connection to make something tangible. What with the internets and all that collective unconscious flowing around, I find that what I'm into is not all that original. I don't mean this in a self-deprecating way, I actually like it. People are always complaining about how computers are destroying meanful connections but I don't really see it that way. Out in the ether, there are people that make you feel like less of an island, people who see things the way you see things.
I always see my daily inspiration searches as a trip through the vortex. One thing leads me to another and then another and then sometimes back around. Anyone who works with me knows that I get obsessed with things and ideas pretty easily (paleo, yoga ball chairs, ombre hair) and it's all I can think about.
So this very long back-story is a way to introduce a new semi-weekly feature- Obsessed! What's stirring in my brain this week? Let's see...


California



photos by Ren Rox

In the East coast versus West coast binary, I've always been firmly East coast. But lately, California has been calling me. I think it's a size thing. My northeast is cramped and a bit claustrophobic. I just want to run down the beach and climb some mountains. California seems like a good place to do that.

Lucky Peach magazine

Lucky Peach is the brainchild of chef David Chang of Momofuko fame, a food magazine that focuses on the culture of food in a very thoughtful offbeat way. Before I read Lucky Peach, I erroneously figured it was some some of celebu-chef vanity project (and don't get me wrong, I love me some David Chang) but it is so not that. I learn about 400 new things about food and culture and travel every time I read an issue.

Hiking

photo of the view from Pulpit Rock in PA by me

OK, this is a big one. I've been going through a hugely intense shift from a die-hard city lover to a girl who craves nature lately and I've started hiking. Nothing too crazy yet, just a few day hikes up some small mountains with my Mr., who, in all of his Northwestern outdoorsiness, is thrilled. Looking for hiking gear that doesn't make me want to ralph has been an oddly enjoyable challenge.

Cathy McMurray's Blog - Habit of Art

I bought a piece of Cathy's art last year from Buy Some Damn Art but only recently started reading her blog. It's a beautiful read, filled with her beautiful photos of nature, her artistic process and musings on daily life.

Maisie Shearing Illustrations




There's something really alluring about illustrations of personal collections and little snippets of daily life. I'm really drawn to Maisie Shearing's work for that reason.

What's got your mind going this week?