♥ and the winnner is....

the luck winner of melangerie's for love print is...

# 2 heather yalin

congratulations! and please email me

with your mailing info! xo

♥ tie one on.

i have to admit i am probably one of the only people whose more

interested in my own upcoming wedding than today's royal wedding,

so in celebration of that, i wanted to share with you the forage bow tie

from etsy shop, something's hiding in here that i bought

for nick to wear for our big day.

i have never seen nick in a bow tie, but i have to say,

i enjoy the old-fashioned look on a dapper gentleman

and i do believe it will look amazing with my shoes.

here are some other adorable bowties

from their latest collection.

♥ take a page out of my book.

boston's south end is the home of some of the finest restaurants

in town- so it should come as no surprise that even small,

hole in the wall places like delux are great.

my bff, timothy, striking a pose outside of delux.

and while i could go on a bit more about how yummy my quesadilla was,

what i want to tell you about is how cool their bathrooms are. the men's

bathroom is covered in all sorts of colorful graffiti, and the women's

bathroom is wallpapered in pages from the children's book

series, madeline!

of course, i am still kicking myself for not snapping a picture

for you while i was in there, but thankfully i came across this post,

from a girl who actually tore up an old copy of les miserables

for the very same purpose. don't you love?

...and because i could not resist,

here is a little more eye candy for my fellow booklovers..

source.

i don't know if i could ever consciously kill a book, (even if it were for

aesthetic purposes such as this) but if i did, i would definitely choose

the illustrated pages from my favorite childhood book,

jenny & the cat club.

which book would you choose?

♥ pretty as a postcard.

i don't know about you-- but these gloomy/rainy/ugly days have got

me feigning for a vacation to somewhere- anywhere-with sunshine.

i think right about now, the only thing that could brighten my

day would be a plane ticket, or one of these gorgeous

pieces from kate spade & louis vuitton.

♥ once upon.

in her art project, "once upon," former fashion editor heidi lender

studies the innumerable personalities that may be expressed by an

individual through clothing in a variety of public and private spaces.

what was once a self-imposed photo assigment that required no more than

to "stand on a bench. make sure it's monday. wear something pretty."

has now turned into a beautiful, textural exploration

and celebration of the art of dressing.

love it.

♥ you don't love a woman because she is beautiful, she is beautiful because you love her.

a few weeks ago i read naomi wolf's feminist manifesto,

the beauty myth and ever since then i have been racking my brain trying

to think of the best way to approach this subject with my fellow

fashion writers, beauty bloggers and lovely readers.

as a modern woman living in today's society (sounds cheesy, but true)

i have been completely engrossed in this culture of female beautification

ever since i was a little girl and i have loved it all along- without ever

questioning why i loved it. i have filled makeup bags to the brim,

searched endlessly for the mascara that will change my life, longed

for a brand new look or to make over a complete stranger,

to share with you a simple "glimpse of glamour..."

and yet hardly stop to ever think about why

(like most girls i know) i have this utter

preoccupation with beauty.

one of the culprits that naomi wolf addresses in her masterwork

is something so subtle, so part of a woman's every day life that we

would hardly ever believe that it can be so helpful yet so poisonous

all at the same time-- and that is women's magazines.

source.

" the voice of the magazine gives women an invisible female authority

figure to admire and obey, parallel to the mentor-protege relationship

that many men are encouraged to forge in their educations and on the job,

but which women are rarely offered anywhere else

but in glossy magazines." (74)

according to wolf, women's magazines play a contradictory role in the

way that we see ourselves. they want us to feel empowered on one hand,

while simultaneously putting us down with the other. we are pitted against

each other for a piece of this invisible pie- so much so that we don't

know a thing about female camaraderie because our magazines tell us

to hate the girl who has it all.

we have no idea what a regular-sized woman looks like;

we have accepted surgically-altered faces into our realm of beauty's reality;

we completely shun the idea of aging and fight it tooth and nail with all

kinds of creams and gadgets; we feel guilt-ridden with every bite of food

that we ingest and everything we are not doing to be perfect, but we never

stop to ask-- in whose eyes are we trying to be perfect for?

as a blogger who loves and lives for fashion- i have to say that i am

having a tough time finding solid ground when it comes to where i stand on

this subject matter. i want to write a blog that is thoughtful and not just riddled

with pictures of skinny models and actresses no one will ever look like-

i want to discuss trends in beauty and fashion that are relevant- yet without

the added pressure of having to go out and spend money in order to

attain that perfection. i want to enjoy beautiful things for their own

sake, and to seek out beauty in things that are not

necessarily thought to be beautiful.

in her book, naomi wolf lays out the groundwork for what

she imagines would be an ideal magazine. i think from now

on it will be something i will model this blog by.

"imagine a woman's magazine that positively featured round models,

short models, old models- or no models at all, but real, individual women.

let's say that it has a policy of avoiding cruelty to women, as some now have a

policy of endorsing products made free of cruelty to animals. and that it left

out crash diets, mantras to achieve self-hatred, and promotional articles for

the profession that cuts open healthy women's bodies. and let's say that it ran

articles in praise of the magnificence of visible age, displayed loving photo essays

on the bodies of women of all shapes and proportions, examined with gentle

curiosity the body's changes after birth and breast-feeding, offered

recipes without punishment or guilt, and ran seductive

portraits of men."(83)

♥ spring fling @ streamline antiques.

occasionally,

in my spare time,

i make jewelry.

nothing too complicated-

i use simple materials such as

felt, ribbon and chiffon,

yet nothing too simple that

you could walk into a room

and go unnoticed.

though floral in design-

my pieces are for no

wallflowers.

this thursday, april 28th i am pleased to announce

that my collection of jewelry & i will be at one of my favorite

vintage stores, streamline antiques for a spring fling event

with food, wine, treats and glamour galore ;)

if you live close by- please stop by!

between 6-9pm.

♥ i'd rather have roses in my hair than diamonds on my neck.

source.

last year, i was lucky enough to be a part of the fgi fashion panel,

where i connected with a number of local bloggers and fashion designers-

one of which was the fabulous jimmy guzman of jng floral designs.

a jack of all fashionable trades, this floral designer did not set out

to work with flowers initially, but rather decided to take a floral design

course while attending graduate school for tourism management at BU.

since then, he has worked on prokects designing floral dresses, couture

floral headpieces and wedding arrangements for special events.

claiming his "biggest inspiration is the world," jimmy likes to work

with a medium that "reflects life as it should be: calm, fulfilling, and holy."

working with unconventional materials such as stones, metals, flowers and

crystals, jimmy finds infinite possibilities to create an array of designs

with no limitations, no boundaries and endless amounts of

reverence to his clients.

giving new meaning to the term,"everything's coming up roses"-

i cannot wait to see what jimmy comes up with next.

♥ oh happy day.

just last easter, nick and i celebrated our

engagement by taking a victory lap on the carousel-

just the two of us & the easter bunny himself.

this year will be a lot more low key,

but no less celebratory & filled

with the delicious hint of

promise.

♥ a LOVE-ly giveaway.

i am ecstatic to announce the opportunity for one of my lovely readers

to win this beautiful "for love" print from one of my etsy shops,

melangerie this week!

this 8" x 10"print features scans of handmade paper-cut "love charms"

and typography that were created with love in the designer's studio-

and printed on heavy white card stock. i can't think of a more perfect

way to wear your heart on your shelf.

for a chance to win, please leave a comment below

and make sure you are a follower on this blog!

a winner will be chosen next friday ♥

♥ you're a good egg.

with easter just around the corner, i could not help but

join in on the eggs-ceptional holiday postings by sharing

these custom- stamped "good eggs" offered on

the lovely webshop, paloma's nest.

and for those of you who have never visited

this site, here are some of my favorite offerings:

♥ she's a brick house.

i'm the kinda girl who enjoys a good challenge- well, reading about them at least!

so, when i came across the fantastic interior design blog the brick house,

i was immediately intrigued by this young couple's determination to

renovate their mid-century cement brick house by following a

simple $100 rule: which is basically not to spend

over $100 on any one item.

i am a firm believer that unique challenges make for resourcefulness and

creative thinking and this blog is definitely a testament to that belief.

chock full of diy tutorials, thrifting advice and home-owner how-to's,

the brick house makes me ache for a home

i didn't even know i wanted!