my blueprint

Top 3 Songs Today

2009-06-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

1. little dragon, "forever"
2. the-dream, "walkin on the moon"
3. the clark sisters, "you brought the sunshine"

You Brought The Sunshine

2009-06-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

four beautiful photos from the sartorialist.
saw these while I was listening to "you brought the sunshine," by the clark sisters...so perfect.

NEVER TOO LATE

2009-05-14T14:32:00.001-07:00

man! too late for easter egg decorating (a pastime i miss and always LOVED), but how beautiful are these?! designed with earth friendly dyes; tumeric, beet juice, coffee & tea. who knew you could make chic easter eggs...
-thank you to beauty everyday for this post!

2009-05-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

VALENTINO.

Just watched the documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor. Excellent! Lovely and inspiring.

HAREM

2009-05-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

the style and silhouette of harem pants have been my most favorite for ages. some folks dont appreciate them too much & those same folks may think these copper sequin and beaded covered versions are hideous. but i think they are absolutely LOVELY. and only $5,000! a real plus.

2009-05-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

" ... GREAT PERSONAL STYLE IS MADE UP OF A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF "ALWAYS" ITEMS AND METHODS, MIXED WITH A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF "SOMETIMES" FASHIONS, AND A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF "NEVERS". "

- the Sartorialist (wish I knew his name)

STILLS FROM A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM

2009-05-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Burns Avenue Love

2009-05-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

the very beginning of our fantastic block party on burns avenue.

2009-05-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

oooo, Paris: Made by Hand, a newly published book by pia bijkerk, covering beautifully handmade things by artisans in paris!

2009-04-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

i mean...crazy. insane. i cant even...begin.

2009-04-06T23:53:00.000-07:00

2009-04-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

2009-03-29T01:21:00.001-07:00

"do not think
the peace of the world
an ideal impossible to attain!"
- Bahai'i Writings

FLYNESS

2009-03-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

some people just walk around, lookin fly, doin it big all day long. riding a bike in a tailored suit, preppy tweedy layers, hat & scarf & 4inch heels on nyc pavement, love the denim under a blazer and the shoes, and those girls up there make me think of my girls and smile.
these photos were taken by one of my favorite photographers, The Sartorialist.

LOVE YOU TO PIECES BIRTHDAY WISHES

2009-03-27T16:25:00.001-07:00

happy birthday beautiful dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOME PROJECT

2009-03-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

colorful, tiny heart shaped bean pillow fun. crafts from the purl bee.

KIJUAN IN HEAVEN

2009-03-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

If my husband and I could morph into one being, this definitely would epitomize JOY and DELIGHT for us; the coming together of two beautiful forces... THE CHANEL FISHING KIT!! complete with double c flies, a cute leather case for the fishing line, a classic quilted leather case, and of course the chain & leather straps. So basically, a beautifully enormous CHANEL leather bag (me) filled with fishing gear (my husband). We two would be so happy.

DREAMING SPIRES

2009-03-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful playhouse designed by judith needham, HANDCRAFTED out of english willow and made especially for children to play in, in the garden. How perfect is this?!
Found this photo on poppytalk.

INK

2009-03-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

"the couple," by Ashley G. she has an etsy shop...

PRETTY COTTON

2009-03-25T23:54:00.001-07:00

printed scarves by EPICE.

PILLOWS & POUFS

2009-03-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

i am REALLY into pillows right now. these are new from missoni bedding.

WALGREENS

2009-03-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

I love these drawings by kate bingaman-burt.
she creates drawings of her daily purchases
& documents them on her site,
OBSESSIVE COMPULSION.

BEAUTY EVERYDAY

2009-03-20T01:22:00.000-07:00

mmmmm.
found this on beauty everyday,
a website dedicated to
"southern beauty, creativity & food!"

BEAUTIFUL SEASON

2009-03-20T00:53:00.000-07:00

Sleeper! Wake up now! Your lover is here!
Get up, and brush the cobwebs off your hair.
Look! Your sweet love has come with love for you.
Wake up, dead lover! Your loved one is here.
The doctor of mercy stands by your bed.
Get up! Get up! No more grief, no more tears!
You -- still cold from your long separation --
will now enbrace your love! That much is clear!
So wan, so worn, and wasted by the Fall --
Get up! Get up! At last the Spring is here.
It's New Year's Day. Life is calling for you.
Rise up, you corpse of every dead, past year!

— Tahirih, outtake from "Tahirih A Portrait in Poetry"

DAY AND NIGHT

2009-03-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

thursday 19 march.

day and night by kid cudi is my jam today. i may be the only person in the world who hadn't seen the video until ten minutes ago...but i love this video! i want to walk around in animation all day long too.

just had dinner with my ladies followed by a nice conversation about spiritual things with the manager of the restaurant. then we left and walked to MILK and enjoyed tea and desserts. i love my ladies.

i learned from my acupuncturist today that alfalfa sprouts contain pretty much all of the vitamins you need & to consume them daily would be like taking a multi-vitamin. you can eat them, juice them or sprinkle them in a powder form. excellent!

i was reminded today that although the sight of dishes piling high in your sink is daunting, once you get started, its not so bad.

A TRUE FEAST

2009-03-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

we just got home from a lovely dinner with friends and i've decided to add a few things to my previous post about womanliness.

* my dear friend Mina baked two WHOLE fish for her guests, served with buttered acorn squash & salad. made two kinds of pasta, people - both wheat AND wheat free options (i was the only wheat free guest, so yes she did in fact make an entirely different (delicious) pasta for me made of quinoa and corn, sauteed with portabello mushrooms and zuchini, smothered in a cream sauce made with only nuts). AND dessert (i was the only sugar and dairy free guest, so yes she did graciously prepare a dish of fresh strawberries and bananas covered with melted dark chocolate and baked pears while everyone else enjoyed some entemann's chocolate cake and ice cream!)

wow. thats hospitable. thats thoughtful. thats loving. thats womanliness.

WOMAN. A PERFECT WORK IN PROGRESS.

2009-03-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

what does womanhood feel like? and what does womanliness look like? when are you officially a woman, and how do you become one? what does a woman do for herself everyday? how does she care for herself? how does she see herself?

*she nurtures her creativity, in whatever way it comes to or from her.
*she cleans her body and hair and home with love.
*she reads...books, plays, articles, maps. blogs, short stories, essays, scribbles, poems, novels...any and all.
*she communes with her spirit.
*she commits to personal transformation and constant growth.
*in her own time, with attention and care she makes time for herself. and with love and patience *she will craft, organize her home, garden, cook, draw, paint, sculpt or build or sing or knit or write or dance.
*she can see the end in the beginning.
*she can love like a river.

BICYCLE MAN

2009-03-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

my mom took these photographs the other night of a man on his fantastic bike of lights. a festive way to ride through downtown LA.

sunday was lovely ~ went to LACMA with my folks and husband to see Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures; I almost cried about 4 times while passing through the galleries of paintings, sculptures, photography, installations and mixed media. Now that could be because I was fasting and sleep deprived, or because I was completely moved by this exhibition of German artists who created art during/just after the Cold War.

"There is an unseen sweetness in the stomach's emptiness." - RUMI

2009-03-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

This past monday marked the first day of the Baha'i fast; a period of 19 days of fasting, prayer and meditation, realigning, rebalancing, refreshing and rejuvenating.
Its my favorite time of the year. i wake up before dawn to eat and drink and pray, then fast until sunset, at which time i eat, drink and pray again. this year, for the first time in the 15 years i've been fasting, i have a loving partner to experience this with, my husband! its amazing to have a companion in the mornings to wake up with during the wee hours of morning! there is a sweetness in that hour before dawn; the true delight is when i hear the first bird song of the morning, its precious!
happy fasting!

una nina encima de una avioneta!

2009-02-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

oh dear!
what a break that was!
pero no mas...

paper dresses

2008-09-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

which? magazine

days of the week

2008-09-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday & sunday

fantastic jeans

2008-09-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

logos brands fonts colors

2008-09-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

2008-09-09T20:47:00.001-07:00

did you ever used to customize your KEDS sneakers? draw on them and then your friends would draw on them, write notes or sign their name? i did. i wish i still had them....those and my cropped black denim jacket (with a light stone wash) that i used to wear daily, and by the time i retired it it had about 50 buttons that i'd pinned all over it.

im feeling nostalgic....

2008-09-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

i dont think ya'll heard me...

2008-09-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty

and frightened. Don't open the door to the study

and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

~ rumi

Jauna Gaita Magazine

2008-09-02T02:49:00.000-07:00

these are some of the freshest illustrations & graphic images!!

from the covers of

a Latvian magazine jauna gaita.

thank you, thank you inspiration resource.

enjoy!

::::two paintings i want in my home:::::

2008-09-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

Trouble The Water

2008-09-02T02:20:00.000-07:00

and another film, recommended by my folks that we cant wait to see is Trouble The Water, a documentary about Katrina, as experienced by a married couple in New Orleans who caught the first day of the storm on camera & follows them as they live through the aftermath. It's only playing for another week or so at the Sunset 5 Laemmle theatre & the Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

We Are Together

2008-09-02T01:56:00.000-07:00

my husband and i watched another absolutely beautiful film last night called We Are Together. Its a documentary (showing on HBO) about the Agape Children's Choir in South Africa. The film follows the lives of these children who have all lost their parents to AIDS, & their crisis and victory while living in a small orphanage together. so incredibly moving and uplifting and infuriating and inspiring at the same time.

::::beautiful losers::::

2008-08-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

after seeing this beautiful film yesterday afternoon at the Nuart, i cannot recommend enough that you....

and if you find yourself in san francisco.....

my blueprint

2008-08-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

i have come to many realizations. It is okay for me to be myself, as I was created to be. I dont live for my career, I value work as worship. I live for heart to heart connections, personal transformation, service to the world of humanity, learning and love. I was designed with love and purpose, import and care. My job is to shine, beam those qualities that I have been given, and shine them in the way I was designed to shine them, whatever that may look like. I was born with a connection to my Creator and I know that we all were. I know that I serve through my heart. Its my job. my noble purpose. my mission. my asignment. and I'm honored to serve, to be, to live, to work, to know this truth.

the blacklist

2008-08-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

slash

toni morrison

faye wattleton

russell simmons

my mom and i watched volume 1 of an incredible film on hbo called the blacklist. a series of interviews and portraits of african-american leaders, activists, artists and athletes, discussing their personal stories and covering the wiiiide range of experiences of being black in america. a collaboration of photographer timothy greenfield-sanders (who directed the film) and journalist elvis mitchell.

Love in the Air

2008-08-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

while reading one of my favorite blogs, my favorite color is shiny, i learned about a balloon wish release that took place all over the world last week. in honor of two lovely people, Stephanie and Christian, who were injured in a private plane crash and are now in what is expected will be a several month long recovery, their close family and friends and blog readers and inspired ones were invited to release balloons on the same day, with prayers, notes, thoughts of well wishes, healing and love attached. so moving. my love and thoughts and prayers go out to Stephanie and Christian!

::::athletes olympians heroes:::::

2008-08-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

in the spirit of tournaments, opens, meets, heats, challenges and games.

the poem of my day

2008-08-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

God

And I have become

Like two giant fat people living

In a tiny

Boat

Keep bumping into

Each other

and

~ Hafiz

2008-07-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

one of the most beautiful films ever, black orpheus

hilarious. uplifting. inspiring.

2008-07-04T00:24:00.000-07:00

"doovde," by the fonejacker.

"bodega," by the Internets Celebrities.

::ooo::

2008-06-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

love this clock by thorunn arnadottir! how creative!

the whole necklace represents one solar day. each bead represents 5 minutes. the red and orange beads are the whole hours. the silver bead is midnight and the gold bead is noon!

AND you can wear it as a necklace!

(thanks for sharing, innumerable goods*)

one to grow on

2008-06-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

my great aunt's birthday was monday, she turned 82 years old. every year for my birthday since i can remember, my auntie has sent me a check, she matches every year of mine to the dollar, plus one year to grow on. she's been doing this for everyone in the family for ages. this year, she asked not to be given any gifts; no clothes, no shoes or hats, scarves, etc. because she already has all of these things and doesn't wear half of them anyway she says. so instead of getting a bunch of "things" this year, each of her children gave her 83 dollars! $82 plus one to grow on. Now she can buy whatever she wants and needs*

so happy birthday auntie!

these pics were taken in one of my favorite places in the world, my great auntie and grandmother's home in chicago, il.

rooms

2008-06-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

these are pics of rooms that i pulled from one of my favorites, domino magazine. also a couple of photos from an awesome blog devoted to rooms of all kinds, whether photographs, drawings or paintings of them.

2008-06-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

so i mentioned bernard rudofsky, i had no idea he was so known for his sandals, or that the strappy, lace up, gladiator style sandal was so popular in the 60s and early 70s. here are some of his sandals featured in vintage vogue shoots. and peep the Sandal Dress above, a custom order piece he did; a one piece garment, connected from shoulder to foot...what???!!

2008-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

there are so many amazing blogs out there. i spent my whole morning researching and exploring and here's what i found. below, a marimekko wall hanging. and below that are two beautiful prints by new zealand artist helen acraman.

and then.....some work by architect, curator, critic, exhibition designer, and fashion designer bernard rudofsky. "i believe that sensory pleasure should take precedence over intellectual pleasure in art and architecture." - bernard rudofsky

2008-06-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

summer came in with a bang this year! it's been about 300 degrees for the last few days and nights, almost unbearable for me and im a summer girl. but ive decided to fully embrace the heat and follow our enormously large and lovely friends the elephants for inspiration. when they overheat, they immerse themselves in mud and spray each other with water to cool off. a wonderful example of how to behave gracefully in the summer heat. when life hands you hot lemons...rub yourselves in mud!

2008-06-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

"and the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

~ anais nin

inspired wednesday

2008-06-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

full day! and its only 2:30pm! love days like these. my husband and i got up early this morning, but then decided 8am was just too early for me today...then woke up again at 10:30am to my phone ringing loudly. i was happy to hear from nicolas, but little did he know he interupted a fantastic dream in which melody, yaani and i were just about to learn the dance routine in a Googoosh music video! ah well, maybe i can pick up where i left off when i go back to the land of spirit tonight. got dressed and went to brunch with two dear friends. im full of joy from the lovely company and conversation and from my ahi tuna tacos with potato salad. nicolas played a game of you-pick-up-the-things-i-throw with a cute baby in a highchair next to our table. alexis shared about the cool art opening she went to last night. oh and enlightened me about Banksy. nicolas showed us the spring issue of Me Magazine that he's in with Rodarte on the cover. plus we got to be outside in this pretty weather. back home now. back to work i go.

true monday

2008-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

just learned about this artist janet morton, she does installations and beautiful mixed media pieces. this one is called "early frost."

pretty piles

2008-06-15T18:04:00.001-07:00

this painting of an african marketplace (artist unknown) reminds me of how much i enjoy the idea of a large outdoor venue, filled with categorized goods; by color, by shape, by taste, type, size, texture or need. and especially if they're displayed in small individual containers. love those pretty piles.

another taiwan post

2008-06-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

:::happy sunday:::

2008-06-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

what a lovely day!

my mom and dad came over this morning and my husband made a wonderful brunch for us for fadders day. then we walked over to the park for the silverlake kite festival, chilled there for a bit. had some soft serve ice cream from the king kone ice cream truck which was fantastic as always. there were tons of families out and kids running around with balloon hats on. there were also some professional kite flyers...with very loud, Star Warsesqe music blaring in the background, and a booth for d.i.y. kites too (or paper towel kites as my husband called them). a sweet way to spend a sunday.

happy friday

2008-06-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

lacma was fun on tuesday. i loved the "urban light" installation by chris burden.

i also fell in love with a morris louis painting, here are several that i could stare at for hours. i really want these to be floor length dresses i can wear all summer long.

point of tranquility, 1959-1960

beth aleph, 1960

couldn't find the title for this one

beth chaf, 1959

feh, 1958

beta nu, 1960

priceless inspiration.

2008-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

yesterday was such a lovely, full day. one of the treats was going to Saderma, a leather goods store on western. they have the most gorgeous colors and textures (although i nearly cried when i saw some bright orange and lime green crocodile skin...in the exact shape of an upside down, hanging crocodile). Poor guy. But damn i wanna wear him on my feet! so after seeing all of the leather goods, i decided that my accessories line will be made with the skill of the artisans of italy and france, but made with the finest faux leather and suede; so that the sweet calves, goats, lambs and ostriches of the world can keep their pretty skin!

on to today's inspiration work!

on the second tuesday of every month, LACMA admission is free for all! im heading there this afternoon with a dear friend. Thursday evenings at MOCA are also free from 5-8pm, and the Hammer Museum has free admission on Thursdays, all day long. Thank you museums.

everyone needs a great pair of jean pockets

2008-06-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

found these bad boys at the trusty ol' goodwill!

praise the peonies!

2008-06-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

i just bought some from trader joes and they're gorgeous. if you're in the mood for flowers (and you happen to be in London), go to a floral boutique called scarlet & violet, found out about it through one of the many, many blogs i love to visit. if you're not in London this week but you're feeling floral, check out their beautiful arrangements online for some joy and inspiration!

colorful black and whites.

2008-06-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

venice west cafe photo i found

this is what popped up when i googled "ruffles"!

such a great photo of the clash

nikki mc clure illustration

calligraphy peace sign

photo i found...best i can do...looks like he's gonna buy some pretty special fabric tho.

monday muse

2008-06-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

i would love to go to millau, france (the world's capital for leather gloves) to learn all there is to know about the art, craft and history of glove making, from the artisans at La Maison Lavabre Cadet . And while I'm at it, I'll skip over to Maison Causse and try to soak up the skill.

i took these photos when i was in tapei, taiwan.

2008-06-09T17:31:00.000-07:00