♥ i like cats because i enjoy my home; and little by little, they become it's visible soul.

this post goes out to my fur-covered sidekick, talula.

ever inquisitive, ever luxuriating, ever so amiable,

my kitty sunshine is the cat's meow.

so put your paws up if you have a furry friend

at home that you love more than life.

♥ enjoy the little things- for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.

in the craziness and the chaos of everyday life,

it is easy to forget to stop and smell the roses-

or look up and appreciate what is around you.

it is for this reason that my new favorite tumblr,

little things- is there to remind me about

the small, simple pleasures that make

life so sweet.

♥ a pearl of a girl.

remember the friendship bracelet package i sent to roxy,

from the sensational style blog, my cup of te?

well, i finally just received a lovely response from her-

along with a special treat: a pair of black pearls!

i don't believe i can think of a better accompaniment

to some colorful andy warhol stationery.

thanks again, roxy! :)

♥ picture perfect.

being the untraditional couple that we are, nick and i decided

to forgo the whole engagement photography bit in a sort of

'skip the appetizer and go straight for the main course' kind of way.

a decision which i was fine with- that is, until i saw my friend amanda

(of d.ama design)'s adorable photo shoot with her fiance, phil.

love, love, love.

photos by kara kochalko

♥ without obsession, life is nothing.

source.

with my sister lissy's wedding less than two months away,

nick's cousin's wedding this weekend, my married bestfriend's

sister's wedding only a month away and my own wedding

about three months away- i have to admit that i have

drank the wedding juice and am wholly

and completely consumed with

all things wedding-related.

which is precisely why i am currently loving

my friend, amy (aka punky)'s side-blog project,

hipster bride. it is filled with endless inspiration

for a non-traditional, diy-type like myself.

source.

source.

source.

source.

punky is sort of a juliet of all trades, you see.

first of all she has too many blogs & businesses to name:

punkystyle, i love trailers, hipster bride, she is the other

half of the swapaholics, she runs haberdash vintage,

she is an event planner, an entrepeneur

and a major fashionista.

when i asked her to reflect on her wedding blog, amy mused;

" i live for a pretty party and weddings are the ultimate party.

i started hipster bride last year when alot of my younger, hip

friends were getting engaged. i never had any interest in traditional

weddings and i really wanted to inspire other girls to think outside

of the box when it comes to wedding."

source.

source.

source.

ps. punky's mobile shop, the haberdash is now

available for wedding shoots!

♥ in the land of chew & swallow.

since i started off this week talking about girls i am envious of & admire

i thought i would continue with the trend and post a few mouth-

watering-ly lovely how-to video & food recipes

from rachel chew blakely of the beautiful blog,

elephantine.

yum. yum. yum.

apple galette.

mall pretzels.

meringue cookies.

asaparagus risotto.

potato & rosemary pizza.

ps.

she also designs jewelry. (visit her shop!)

pps.

she also does graphic design. (look at her mini wedding calendars!)

ppps.

her middle name is chew, and my last name is chu,

so i like to think we may somehow be related-

which would make me fabulous by association.

♥ the thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. you just take it.

dvf t.

so, earlier in the year when i met diane von furstenberg,

(i still pinch myself when i begin sentences with that statement!)

she said something quite profound that i have been reflecting on

and wanted to share with you. she said,

"to you, the girl across the room may appear to have it all together-

but from her point of view, you are the girl across the room,

and you appear to have it all together too."

such a simple notion- and yet when she said it, i realized

i had never thought that way before- and it was quite refreshing.

i recently found a blog based upon a similar notion

that i needed to share it with you as well:

"ever find yourself with an overwhelming sense of admiration

for another girl? where you want to be her AND be friends with her?

and it teeters on the line of jealousy/envy?

sounds like you've got a girl crush.

this is a place dedicated to those women with impeccable style,

talemt and wit. we'll be posting links about these awesome gals,

photos & art by talented females, and music by rad girl bands/artists.

not to get all spice girls up in here, but we feel empowered by these womenm

and hope you will too."

got a girl crush is an inspirational blog

dedicated to some fantastic ladies:

dvf, duh.

patti smith, double duh!

ruth asawa

tavi+ sassy

the charmels.

frida kahlo

iris apfel.

who is your girl crush??

♥

source.

the hotel room is four flights up

just enough for me to see

the tops of heads i'll never touch.

brown hair, yellow hair,

hatless heads and heads with hats.

people alone, people together

watched by my sniper's eye-

poised to drop invisible love bombs.

rod mckuen

♥ whoever said money can't buy you happiness doesn't know where to shop.

yesterday i visited artifaktori's brand new shop on charles street.

i loved everything saw and were i not a woman who is saving

every penny/living hand to mouth to pay for her wedding

i could have done some real damage. sadly, i don't

remember what it feels like to buy anything

except wedding decorations. and food.

but i digress..

read my shop review on

regarding design!

♥ waste not. want not.

artist sandhi schimmel gold makes treasures out of trash- literally.

"my work reflects our society's obsession with beauty through advertising-

and the endless images that bombard us daily. it is a purposeful intermix of

images derived from advertising and thousands of incongruent pieces-

images and text- from advertising that arrives through my mailbox.

assembled like a mosaic; the paper tiles create an entirely new

image- an eclectic and tactile portrait reworked in my

imagination, utilizing materials that

would otherwise go to waste."

brilliant, eh?

♥ howling at the moon.

this rainy evening, i settled down to watch the handsome james franco play

beat poet allen ginsberg in the much talked about biography, howl (2010).

much like my reading of patti smith's just kids, i went into

this film not knowing much of ginsberg's work (except this poem!),

the time period in which he wrote, and i had not even the slightest

inclination about the trial that took place as a reaction to

the publication of the poem, howl, into book form.

the film is made up of interview style dialogue with franco as ginsberg,

layered with beat style poetry readings, which are at times animated,

and other times read on stage. i can't say that i understand

all of his work- but i understand ginsberg's desire to

take what was in his heart and put it on paper.

source.

"i am hitting on an area that's absolutely true. in that sense..

able to be read by someone and wept to maybe centuries later.

in that sense- prophecy- because it touches a common key.

i mean what prophecy actually is, is not knowing whether the bomb

will fall in 1942- it's knowing and feeling something which someone

knows and feels in one hundred years and maybe articulating it in

a hint that they will pick up on in a hundred years."