Hats Galore

Summer is very nearly here (horray!), and that means we'll be needing some good ol' hats to keep our heads from burning under the noonday sun. Everyone loves themselves a straw hat, from wide, floppy brims to crisp and neat fedoras, there are plenty to choose from. I'm coveting the John Lewis stripy, wide-brimmed hat. 

Who else is thrilled for the warm weather? I went fishing today and I sure could have done with one of these gorge hats to keep the sun off my face. Speaking of hats, who watched the royal wedding? There sure were some crowd-pleasingly awful hats, weren't there? There were even jokes made about one of the hats worn being a Chihuly. 

Left image: Tara Palmer Tomkinson; Right image: Princess Beatrice of York

And after those photos, it might be a bit embarrassing to admit that I quite liked a lot of them. Good work Phillip Treacy! 

Happy weekend!

♥, Azzara

Art Relish: Dale Chihuly

Passion Pit covers The Cranberries for this video about Chihuly's glass work.

Definitely want to see this exhibit at the Boston MFA, Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass.  Can you imagine walking under all those blown glass pieces with the light shining through? AMAZING.  If you're in Boston area you should go! 

Here are come photos by Beth (more on her photography tomorrow) from when we saw a Chihuly show at the Bronx Botanical. Lots of lovely reflections of glass on the water, water on the glass, and so on and so forth.  Amazing colors and the sunny weather really made the glass pieces sparkle (I want to add some weird joke about Twilight here but I won't even go there).

Check back soon for the interview with Beth! Have a happy Thursday...almost the weekend.

VvV Amanda

Pete Dungey's Pothole Gardens

In celebration of Earth Day (a little late, I know... but shouldn't it always be Earth Day?), I thought I'd share some artwork by Pete Dungey, an artist and a recent graphic design graduation from the University of Brighton in the UK. Since the local government in Oxford couldn't keep up with the overwhelming number of potholes sprouting up (pun definitely intended) all over the place, Dungey decided to counteract the problem by planting flowers in the holes instead. Seriously, what a great idea. A super green (gosh, I'm funny) idea to get rid of those pesky potholes. Wish I'd thought of it. Check out some more images below of the pothole gardens:

♥, Azzara

Last weekend in photos: Global Africa Project exhibit

 Henry says READ ON for more after the jump...

Swim Swim Swim

There are some seriously great swimsuit options this summer and I can't wait to get out there are do some trying-on! Not sure if you can tell what my favourite colour is (yep, it's blue.. good guess)... but I also happen to love fun floral and abstract prints, as well as a good ol' bandeau top. Any swimsuit recommendations for summer? Let's hope it gets warm soon!


♥, Azzara

Lintzer cookies!

LINTZER LINTZER LINTZER! 

More after the jump...

The Mountain

I just saw this and had to share. It was filmed between the 4th and 11th of April 2011, and it's amazing fo' real. Full screen it for an even better view.



The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.


♥, Azzara

Studio Sweet Studio

image/ Studio Sweet Studio

Just found this really cool site.  In the vein of From The Desk Of, this one's called Studio Sweet Studio.  Get a look at the artist's workspaces as well as their homes.  It's esp. interesting when you get to see their works in progress.  Also has lots of fun interviews/ Q&As.  Loving this site but it's giving me major workspace envy. 


Some of my favorites:
+ All + Etc. Studio
+ Jing Wei
+ Fieldguided


ENJOY. VvV Amanda

FJALLRAVEN FRENZY

I'm a bit obsessed with the Fjallraven kanken backpack.  I know you've seen it many a time (see Hannah's picks and all over the blog world) but damn I love all the colors and the simple shape.  I think I want to invest in one before I head to grad school in September (AHHHHH) but damn, it's hard to pick a color.  I'm also wondering if the classic will fit a laptop inside.  If it doesn't that would kinda defeat the whole purpose wouldn't it?  No way I'm carrying around a separate tote just for that. HMMM. Did you know Fjallraven means arctic fox?


Check out these beauties. 

images/ I love my kanken

WHICH COLOR?

VvV Amanda

Karen Walker's pad

image/ The Selby

Check out these photos The Selby took of Karen Walker's place.  What I love about Karen Walker is her quirky design sense which is definitely evident in her sunglass campaigns seen here.   The current one is kinda like Karl Lagerfield meets Yeti and the previous one was more of a aztec sun god meets egyptian theme (you have to see it to believe it). Anyway her sunglasses are pretty AWESOME I have to say.  To bad I can't afford em but one can look. 


She's the maker of many a fine thing, such as:

(click through on the image for more details)

Currently listening to ♫ ♪ Annie- Heartbeat 

VvV Amanda

P.S. my weekend project is to make lintzer cookies sandwiched with jam from this place.  More on that soon...

Cuffed and Collared

This post is dedicated to interesting collars and lock motifs.  Click through to see more about each item if ya want.

Last weekend in photos + henry

Henry says "READ ONNNNNN"

click link below for more after the jump...

Splendid Sandals in the Springtime

So as much as I love heels, my disastrous balance and horrendous klutziness means I'm primarily a good ol' flats girl. Since the spring is officially here (it was 70 degrees a few days ago!), it's time to break out the sandals and get a wonky and unique strap tan ASAP. Here are some great sandal picks for the springtime (and they might even carry over into the summer if you're lucky):

click through for more details!

♥, Azzara

From the desk of...

image/ from the desk of...

If you have desk envy like I do then you'll love this site.  From The Desk Of... gives you a glimpse of how artists, designers, and writers live by peeping at their work spaces.  Always interesting to see everyones knickknacks and how their spaces are organized (or not).  Hope you enjoy!

VvV Amanda

Derek Lam x eBay? Hasbeens x H&M?

image/ Derek Lam Ebay

image/ Fashionista

So many spring collaborations...  today definitely feels more summery (aka muggy/humid) than spring-like but 70 degrees is 70 degrees.  I'll take what I can get!  

Derek Lam is available for pre-order now and Hasbeens hit H&M on April 20th. 

VvV Amanda

Tetris All 'Round

I have to admit that I am more than a bit obsessed with Tetris. I also happen to quite like stop motion videos. And... books. So when I came across this video that integrates all three of my likes, I was impressed. Check out this cool video, and maybe get inspired to make a bookshelf of your own like this:

♥, Azzara

Meet my new shoes.

Just got these babies last week. Yes it is spring and yes, these are jelly shoes.   So comfortable and they remind me of summertime when I was a kid!

image/ Mel Shoes

The company is called Mel Shoes and they specialize in "vegan friendly and recyclable shoes" aka plastic.  You should check em out if you're interested- they have some other colors and styles available.  I got these on sale for about $30 so I'm sure you could find em for the same.

VvV Amanda

Panda Burr

Panda Bear's new album "Tomboy" isn't officially being released until April 12th, but NPR has it available for streaming so you can have the first listen!

Listen Here First!

♥, Azzara

Music Music Music!

Due to technical difficulties during my radio show last week, I ended up having the chance to listen to a whole bunch of new music that we had at our station... as well as finally getting the new Starfucker album all for myself! Check out the songs below:

Rachel Goodrich

Adventure

Starfucker

Be sure to listen to my radio show tonight from 6-7PM on 91.5FM if you're in the Wellesley area or on WZLY.net, click LISTEN

Have a lovely Wednesday! 

♥ , Azzara

A couple of things...

Firstly, this song is so cute.  I admit I don't speak French so if someone wants to translate for me that'd be much appreciated.  If not, this song still makes me smile.  It's off the Les Chaud Lapins cd that I found out about through Matchbook Mag.  Doesn't it remind you of someone cranking a victrola player on a picnic?  Or a ukulele serenade in a canoe?









Secondly,  I think I've discovered my new favorite web shop, TenOver6.  It doesn't have too much on the site but seems well curated.  Of course it's way out of my price range but a girl can dream right?  Also I like to look at these sites just for inspiration as well as to see whats out there.  Here are some of my top picks from TenOver6:

images/ TenOver6

PS- more Les Chauds Lapins here on WNYC's Soundcheck

VvV Amanda

Last weekend in photos

Here's another weekend in photos!  Lots of fun things happened including taking care of these babies:

I decided this year to try and grow veggies because for one they can be very expensive and two because they just taste better when they're home grown.  Also, it's fun because it's a bit of a challenge and I know I'll feel satisfied if it actually works out.  Seed to fruit!

Here are some of the sprouts before I transplanted them to a raised bed in the yard (more pictures later).  It took a long time to decide what to grow but I ended up with cucumber, long purple beans, sugar snap peas, zebra tomatoes (!), and yellow peach tomatoes.  Also bought some starter plants this weekend (bell peppers, asparagus, and a blueberry bush).  I'll let you know how they're coming along for sure.

More after the jump...

Matchbook Magazine: April Issue

image/ Matchbook Magazine

It's that time again.  Matchbook Magazine just published their April issue online.  Check it out here.  Best viewed in full screen mode!  Enjoy and happy Saturday everyone...

VvV Amanda