♥ i know that it's true, it's gonna be a good year.

out of the darkness

and into the fire

i tell you i love you

and my heart's in the strangest place

that's how it started

and that's how it ends.

well i know you're with me

it's a point of pride

and its louder than lightening

in this room of mine

oh, i'm just like you

i never hear the bad news

and i never will

we won by a landslide.

"in the new year" by the walkmen

source.

happy new year!!!

xoxoox

In The New Year - The Walkmen

♥ if i had a second skin, i'd probably dress up in you.

{ image via jak & jil}

i love this picture of pop magazine editor, shala monroque.

it is a perfect combination of casual + fancy.

love the head wrap + tote bag,

love the gold boyfriend watch + layered bead necklace,

and i especially love the wild flower printed skirt!

and although none of it matches, it all works.

that is the art of dressing well.

♥ if these walls could talk.

i always like to think that a house full of eclectic pieces of art

and cultural artifacts is a testament to a life well lived.

so, it should come as no surprise that i am fascinated with the

paris house/office of

french fashion model/ muse/ icon

ines de la fressange.

{images via the selby}

as one of the first models to be signed exclusively to a

haute couture fashion house, (chanel) ines became the muse fo karl lagerfeld

for most of the eighties. she kissed that contract goodbye when she was

asked to lend her likeness to the bust of Marianne,

the symbol of the french nation.

she has gone on to marry and have two daughters,

design her own very successful line of clothing and perfume,

work as a consultant for Jean Paul Gaultier

(and even model for him occasionally,)

and at 52 she is now the spokeperson for

the famous french shoe brand,

roger vivier.

it sounds to me like a life

that has been very well lived.

♥ what the world needs now is love, sweet love.

... it's the only thing that there's just too little of.

nick and i just watched 500 days of summer (2009), a movie in which

zooey deschanel's character is decidedly unromantic

and completely against the idea of love.

she can't see it, she certainly can't feel it, and she doesn't

know what she is missing in her life because she is just fine without it.

the only thing that joseph gordon levitt's puppy eyed, love struck character

can come up with to say in love's defense is that "it's love, it's not santa claus,"

and you know it when you feel it.

left with the icky taste of cynicism and unrequited affection in my mouth,

i was in the mood for an extra dose of love and stumbled upon

these spectacular images from chris craymer's book, romance.

brimming from cover to cover and spilling and splashing over each page

are gorgeous photographs of real life and faux couples whose

unabashed passion and utter surrender to one another really

celebrates how beautiful it is to love

and be loved.

♥ a calendar year.

one of my favorite gifts to open each christmas season is a

calendar for the upcoming year.

something about a fresh calendar brings to mind thoughts of a brand new start,

a chance to do things better the next time around,

to really live life instead of sleeping, working and blasting through it,

to enjoy every moment and

savor everything

to the last

drop.

here are some darling calendars that are so unique and special

that they will remind you each and every day that

life is certainly something worth celebrating.

polaroids calendar via alicia bock

hand illustrated calendar via my folk lover

urban calendar via feyer werks

ca[t]lendar by emilie boudet

her month by month calendar via sarah jane studios

quotations calendar via confection press

custom calendar pillow via giggle room

under the sea linen calendar via flock home


bubble calendar

pearl & friends mini calendar via sheyl derilo

animal calendar via story by mia

cut out calendar via mary and michael

"this will be our year" calendar via julianna bright

tea towel cloth calendar via 1canoe2

printable calendar of vintage silhouettes via red door studios

dry erase re-writable wall calendar via simple shapes

♥ put a gold star on my forehead and label me yours.

happy holidays, my lovelies!

i spent this past weekend channelling my inner kate spade and

decorated myself in festive, oversized bows wherever possible.

it was fun to explain to everyone that my bow.bedecked presence

was their present!

these do it yourself headbands and necklaces are fairly easy to make,

and just require a hot glue gun, felt, ribbon, bows and a bit of holiday spirit!

for the headband:

simply cut ribbon to fit around the circumference of your head,

or purchase a plastic headband

remove the adhesive tape from the back of the bow

position the bow in the spot you would like it on the ribbon or headband

cut a circle of felt(preferably a color close to your haircolor) that is smaller than the bow

using the hot glue gun, apply a dollop of hot glue to the felt circle, and quickly lay

the ribbon or headband over that, and then lastly place the bow.

it should basically go: bow+ ribbon (or headband) + felt = pretty!

the bow necklaces follow a similar pattern:

select the bows you will be using, for this instance i used two green and a red

take a paper sized piece of felt and cut it in half, from that piece, cut a U shape

cut a shallow U to create a bib shape of felt

remove the back of the bows and place them on the felt. play around with them

until you are happy with the way they look.

take out your trusty hot glue gun and adhere the bows to the felt.

cut around the felt, so the necklace is basically all bows.

cut two piece of ribbon that will be long enough to tie around your neck

comfortably with a bow.

sew either side of the ribbon to the felt.

fasten it around your neck to the position you want, and make sure

that it is the focal point of your outfit.

voila! you are ready to be re.gifted.

♥ there is nothing sadder in this world than to wake up on christmas morning and not be a child.

source.

last evening, nicolas and i got dressed up and went to the opera.

boston opera house to be exact; and we saw the nutcracker.

for both of us, it was the first time and we found that it far surpassed

all of the magic and graceful grandeur that we had expected.

our seats were right in the front near the orchestra pit, so we could see

all of the characters tippy toeing around the stage with delicious clarity.

it was simple, yet over the top lovely and for a moment again

we were children on christmas eve.

source.

♥ think pink.

i adore the color pink and that is why i am in love with

this blog, la vie en rose-

which simply celebrates the art of seeing the world

through rose-colored glasses.