Sunday, January 31, 2010

the global kitchen

now, i love to peruse all of those popular design blogs just like any girl- you know, the ones that feature gorgeous pictures of fashion, jewelry, obsessions, and all-around glamour? it's fun to be frivolous. it's delightful to feel luxurious and lustful of beautiful objects.
BUT, ever since i started this blog, i've felt a twinge of guilt... why? because we all love to "want" and covet things that don't really matter, and it's easy to forget that there are women in the world who will never get to wear the latest fashion, will never have the money to buy the pretty, decorative things that are so accessible to us.

that is why i am writing about the global kitchen, a non-profit organization started by my friend wendy, whose mission is to "empower women, families, and communities through the celebration of indigenous cuisine and culture."

so far this month, wendy has traveled to vietnam and cambodia and is soon heading for laos and thailand to document local womens' cooking methods, recipes, and talents to share on her website. the women get paid for sharing their cultural knowledge and will receive royalties once the videos are published. isn't that a fantastic idea?

unfortunately, wendy's work is necessary- many women in poorer countries all over the world are marginalized by lack of education and skills necessary to work in the industrialized world. many are forced to stay home to raise the kids and thus unable to earn an income. and worse, many young girls are forced to join the sex trade in order to help earn money for their families. according to wendy, this horrror is still a pervasive problem in the these cultures, as she saw first-hand. (her 20 year old son was offered a young girl's "company", which he, of course, declined).

yum, right? i will definitely be looking out for these recipes once wendy is able to post them.

i don't even know what are in these dishes, but they are making me hungry!

a traditional silk-weaver. fabulous.

please support the global kitchen and help improve the lives of women all over the world. you can donate money, watch the videos (when they are available), and even use this good search tool to give pennies to the organization every time you use their search engine. even if it's not much, it all adds up.
all photos by wendy

Friday, January 29, 2010

etsy treasury feature!

my flask was featured in an etsy treasury! and it's a pretty one too... i love this shade of yellow.

link here to see the treasury on etsy. :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

i've got the whole world

this is what i gave dx for his birthday yesterday.
what better gift can you give someone than the world? i can't think of anything. :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

gifts for me

today is dx's birthday. so, i thought i'd show off some gifts i've bought for myself recently. tee hee.

i am not at all up-to-date with the 21st century- i don't own an iphone or blackberry or anything, so i need an old-fashioned planner to keep track of my schedule. and who better to buy a planner from than portland artist jill bliss?

you like my reward for the safe return of this planner?

the pages are blank, so i fill in all of the months and dates myself- which works fine for me. pretty illustrations!

i also bought the little notebook {above left} from jill bliss and the cute business card holder from chet + dot. little happy things to go in my purse.

and i got this cute little pouch from pickle things. it's for holding my bicycle lights, since i can't seem to remember to take them off my bike. and i love this fabric!
i keep all of these items in my purse- believe it or not, it helps keep me organized. and all handmade! yay!

Monday, January 25, 2010

pantone wedding

what fun! the dessy group has created "pantone wedding", a collection of tools to help brides choose their wedding colors. in pantone shades!

you can create style inspiration boards and order swatches of colors to hand out to your wedding party and vendors. i created this board below, just for funs {not get married anytime soon, thank you.}

they have lots of images to choose from and, of course, lots of colors.
visit the dessy group site to design your pantone wedding!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

cocktail hour

ya know what? it's time for a drink.

2pm on a thursday? meh, why not. i'm heading out for bloody mary's with the girls. most of my fellow interior designers are unemployed and dammit, it's about time we got our mid-day drink on. i'll be back tomorrow with a regular post {if i'm not suffering from a raging hangover...}
ta ta, darlings!
photo by mission75

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

rad bag

i totally forgot to share this amazing find a few weeks ago! isn't she a beauty?

this gorgeous bag was marked down from $68 to $20. that's right, $20. i bought it at brooklyn industries, a really stylish fashion brand on nw 23rd here in portland. turns out that this is the only brooklyn industries location on the west coast. wow.

look at the cute sewing machines, buttons, spools, and bobbins! i love the fresh color palette too.
the brooklyn industries website is amazing too :: clothing, accessories, bags... very 2010's.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

book lust :: handmade soiree

i popped into the local bookstore last week and decided to stroll down the event-planning section :: that's when i spotted this beauty...

i must have this book! every project is precious, every photo is divine. the styling is perfect.
my boyfriend's birthday is next week, so i shouldn't be buying for myself... but my birthday is coming up too. and this book is going on the wish list. yeah.

darling colors :: navy and pink

my latest favorite color combination :: pink and navy. any shade of pink will do, but hot pink really pops, doesn't it? here are a few examples of successful combinations...

left :: gingham earring studs by mistyaurora
right :: tip top through the tulips dress from modcloth

left :: passionfruit tank top by tangente
right :: nest panties by bird apparel

left :: sweet memories print by lolas room
right :: on-a-wing blouse from anthropologie

Monday, January 18, 2010

blog love :: arch + craft

how exciting! my good friend jenny is the proud owner of this adorable little house! she and her boyfriend have started a blog to share all of their re-modeling adventures :: it's called arch + craft. it's so fun to watch as they make progress updating the interiors...

i love the archways. this house was built in 1903! so charming.

looks like a lot of work.

this is jenny painting some trim in the winter cold! she's so cute...

visit their blog :: arch + craft
and of course, jenny's design blog :: gracious leigh

Friday, January 15, 2010

happy things :: friendship

i can't let my "happy things week" end without mentioning friends. old friends, new friends, blog friends, blue friends :: everyone's included!
thank goodness for friends :: people that listen, understand, laugh, and cry with you. even us blogger-types can commiserate when the going gets rough. it turns out there's a whole huge world of caring, loving people out there- and that's a wonderful reason to be happy. :)
image by trafalgars square on etsy

more flasks on etsy!

aren't they cute? this is a maharam wallcovering called "alphabet" from the "textiles of the 20th century" collection. the design was created in 1952 by the one and only alexander girard, one of my favorite designers ever.


$20 each in my etsy shop!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

happy things :: global giving

this is one of my favorite photos. ever.

it was not taken by me :: unfortunately, i don't know who to give photo credit to. this picture was taken in Liberia, Africa while my father was on a year-long United Nations peace-keeping mission a few years ago. one of his friends took the picture and i think it's just the sweetest thing ever. it reminds me that happiness + silliness can exist all over the world :: regardless of a country's political views and economic condition.
i am especially reminded of this during times of disaster :: i was able to send a meager $10 to the Red Cross Haiti Relief fund today, and i only wish it could be more. i do hope that it helps give a little bit of happiness to someone in need.
click here to be directed to the Red Cross donation site.
{photo by an awesome UN worker}

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

happy things :: snow

i think our 'snow season' might be over in portland... the weatherman says it will probably stay too warm for more snow. aw, come on jack frost, just give us one more day! it would make me ever so happy. :)
photo by mayu

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

happy things :: antiquing

oh, how i do love all things vintage!
whenever i feel blue, there's nothing like a trip to the local antique mall. i brought my camera along on my last visit and i got some pretty great shots. here are a few gems that caught my eye ::
i want that set of apothecary drawers or whatever they are! want want.


vintage shop owners are crafty!





ah, so happy.
{see more photos on my flickr account}

Monday, January 11, 2010

happy things

blah. no motivation. stupid winter blues. it's so easy to get stuck in 'em. so this week, i'm going to post things that make me happy. like this ::

i love cotton candy! it's fun to pull apart the little wisps of sugar and pop them in your mouth. and it's also fun to look at :: i mean, a swirly cloud of colorful spun sugar- can you get much happier than that?

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

florence and the machine

my latest favorite musical artist :: florence and the machine from britain. her voice is amazing and her songs have endless energy + incredible lyrics.

Monday, January 4, 2010

lovely letters

i must tell you about a fun little project hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, amanda from the read baron blog. her venture is called the longhand rally and she's gathering participants for a pen-pal exchange! yes, actual letter-writing-correspondence like the good 'ol days. what fun! {who'd ever thought that hand-writing letters could actually become a novelty pastime?} ;)
amanda will be matching up pen-pals after the 15th, but participation is welcome any time. just visit her post here and send her an email with your address.
and be sure to visit her blog :: it's one of my faves and she's a fantastic writer.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

happy holidays!

Align Center
oops, i'm a little late in my holiday greetings, i do apologize. i took an unplanned break from the blog due to illness and general holiday craziness. i hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and wonderful new year!
i'm looking forward to 2010, i've got lots of goals for this year. i'm looking to expand my wedding invitation business, paper + pinafore, perhaps even start a little brick-and-mortar shop with my business-guru brother - the possibilities are endless!
the hardest part in starting any new adventure is keeping your chin up- thinking positive all along the way. i have a bad habit of getting down on myself when the going gets rough, but my most important resolution this year is to maintain hope, to keep trudging through the trials, and keep fighting when the odds pile up. i am, after all, a savage. and a darling one at that. ;)
happy new year!