Ahhh!!

Today is crazy.crazy busy, so I'll be back with more posting over the weekend! In the meantime, check out Brianne's loveliest of blogs, Brianne Lee. She has some fabulous posts and particularly pretty photographs:

Blog . Roll . Update

It's been pretty much forever since I updated my blog roll, aka "Daily Reads," even though there are tons of new blogs that I need to add!

I think I also may have to divide to be able to conquer - rather than having a single long list, I'm going to scoop people into different categories:

Fashion
Design/Home Interiors
ETSY Store Blogs
Personal Musings
Everything Else (that' still lovely and wonderful!)

If you've been commenting - or even just found Pretty Little World - and are interested in exchanging links, just leave a quick post here and also let me know which category you think you best belong in!

My . Truffle . Is . Here

After a long decision process and a bit of waiting (it was coming from Holland), my Truffle bag from Morelle finally arrived!



It's perfectly smooshy and still structured enough so that I won't constantly be digging around to find the things that I've stowed in there. The red color is very pretty in person and it's really well-made...swoon, I love it!

Valentino

I normally am not a big fan of Valentino accessories - the dresses are beautiful, but the bags are a little on the garish side, IMO. Bright colors + Patent Leather + Oversized + Lots of Intricate detail = way too much going on.

While the bags from the SS 09 collection are certainly bold, the ruffled and floral detailing keeps the bags feeling more feminine:





I'm kind of particular to the gray tote with the smaller ruffles (2nd row), but I wouldn't exactly turn any of the other bags away either!

Just . Once . Won't . Kill . You

I feel a little bit like The Sartorialist is akin to a high school drug dealer: he gives you just a little taste of how good fashion can be...



...and then before you know it you're up to your arms in Chanel, Louis, Balenciaga, and debt.

Free . Shipping

Free domestic shipping and discounted international shipping at Pretty Little World now through the end of April!



Happy Shopping!

New . Furniture

This past weekend I finally got over my fears of refinishing and reupholstering furniture. I always figured that any sort of this must be really difficult, and better left to people who are not me.

Well, I found two harp-back dining chairs at the thrift store, and decided to give them a new look -- if it didn't work out, I wouldn't be out much money.

Here is one of the original chairs:



...very scraped up and really.really unattractive fabric

But then, after two coats of graphite gray paint and $3.00 worth of fabric from Joann:





I've still got to refinish the other chair, but I kind of like how this first one turned out! I'm even thinking about finding and refinishing a vintage dining table too!!

Private . Practice

I just finished watching the short first season of Private Practice on dvd. It started out a bit trite, but after a few episodes, I kind of liked it. It's fluff, don't get me wrong, but fun fluff ;)

I realize that this is television (land of the insanely unrealistic), but my major gripe with this show is that everyone is ridiculously beautiful. Even on Grey's Anatomy there are slightly less attractive characters. Not so with Private Practice:



Even in L.A., what are the chances that a seven person office would be filled with this many pretty people? I work at a university, with thousands of other people -- where the hell is someone on my campus who looks like Taye Diggs? Not there.

Also, I really would like the collective wardrobe of the women on this show; I would particularly like to have Addison's blouses:

What . I . Want . from . JCrew...

...is to be able to comfortably shop in their stores. I'm always smitten with the set-up on their website, and the clothes are super cute.



But I hate shopping in store, and it's entirely because of their employees. The people who work there are almost always snotty and act like they're manning the counter at Tiffany & Co. (And the last time I checked, JCrew did not sell diamond tennis bracelets).

I get that everyone wants to be proud about their job, but why is it that "rude" seems to be a required qualification for the SA's at some stores? It does not endear me to those brands.

Grow

I try not to have too many collections -- while I like a lot of things, there's just not the space, time or money to collect all of the things that I'd like. One of the little collections that I do indulge in is cute animal planters.

I don't know what it is about these that I fawn over, but it's at least in part due to the fact that they're made up of pure cuteness! And if I ever need to add to my collection, ETSY sellers have a fabulous supply:



Bird Planter: 5 Gardenias; Deer Planter: Chance Vintage; Pair of Swan Planters: Vintage Notions Lady; White Swan Planter: Harlow Monroe Vintage; Little Cow Planter: 5 Gardenias; Little Unicorn Planter: Valerie Keiser; Elephant Planter: Funkey Finds

Haunted . New . Orleans

Nicholas Cage is selling one of his homes (how many does a person really need?) in New Orleans. Apparently the house is haunted:

The LaLaurie house is a six-bedroom home on Royal Street that was a house of horrors in the mid 1800s. Delphine LaLaurie is believed to have tortured her slaves. Accounts differ as to what actually happened but the stories span the range from starving, beating and imprisonment to far more lurid and unspeakable acts. In 1834 there was a fire at the house and Madame LaLaurie disappeared never to darken the door of her own home again. Some reports say screams and the sound of chains dragging on the ground have been heard in the house and several owners have bought the home and then quickly sold it.

To me, living in a house with ghosts sounds fabulously cool. And if I had 3.5 million, I would buy this house. But I definitely would hire a decorator different from Nick Cage's:





Pics from Luxist

Blossom . Part . II

More pretty spring flowers in honor of Earth Day:






Early pictures from the garden:

Blossom

The quality of these pictures isn't great, because I only had my camera phone this morning, but when I came into my office this morning, I was so in awe of how pretty the courtyard trees were, I had to snap a couple of quick pictures:





P.S. - I'll grab my nicer camera and try to get some better photos later!

Alex . Prager

Alex Prager Photography. Love it.





P.S. -- Sorry if posting is a bit slower lately; these next few weeks are crazy.busy!

Patterns . and . Colors

I've been thinking a lot recently about mixing different textures, patterns, and colors to put together a creative but still cohesive design scheme. In my search for inspiration, I found the perfect example of this on Decor8. Recently they featured the home of artist Kelly Rae Roberts.

She mixes new (Anthropologie, IKEA) with a gorgeous smattering of pretty little antiques, vintage furniture, and original art:

The . Trendmill

Earlier today I was browsing through ShopBop's collection of shoes, trying to hunt down a particular pair for someone. When I was looking at the sandals I realized that the gladiator sandal is clearly not a style that's going away anytime soon.

I actually don't mind this kind of shoe, and since they've came to be popular again a couple of years ago, the variety of styles is pretty astonishing - even the biggest "gladiator naysayer" should be able to find something she likes!





And since this trend is around for a smidge longer, you might as well pair a cute new pair of gladiator flats with a pretty little romper -- another trend that's only flourished between last year and this:




With some of the simpler rompers and shoes, you could include a statement necklace, such as some of the perfectly wonderful options from ETSY seller Urban Rose Jewelry:

I . Thought . It . Would . Never . Arrive

...the warm weather, that is. But today it is solidly spring-like outside, a full 70 degrees and sunny! I was really starting to feel as though, in a cruel trick of fate, we would simply go from winter back to winter, skipping over the loveliest seasons. Michigan had a full five months of winter this year and I can't be happier that it's now gone!!

I finally can start to think of things like summer fruits and sundresses in a non-wish-you-were-here way!





Pics from Canelle-Vanille, DaisyJellyBean on Flickr, and Elle.