Random favorites

I will be out of town for next 4 days so I will not be posting anything new until I get back. This will my last post this week :(. I haven't been blogging for as long as a lot you out there, but I have become so hooked and I love it! I have enjoyed all the people that I've met so far in the blogging world. I'm always thinking about what I'm going to blog about next, and I take random notes if I think of something "blog-worthy". So this post is pretty much a post of random things and pictures that inspired me to get a little creative. Thank you for reading my blog!


Celebrity Style
I Love Gwen's look! She always looks fabulous - I love her unique wild, yet lady like prints and funky accessories. I read in one of her interviews that she sometimes gets inspiration for how she dresses from seeing what her fans wear. I also want her abs. Even post-baby Kingston she looks great.







Her signature look is her red lipstick and wearing animal prints. But the look that I love from her is her coiled-quiff updo.



To get Gwen's coiled updo:

from HelloMagazine:

Leaving a large section free at the front, pull hair tightly back into a pony tail or chignon and spray liberally with hairspray, using the edge of a bristle brush to smooth hair flat at the sides.
Wind the free section around a large Velcro roller and apply heat from a dryer to set, before leaving to cool. Coat with hairspray while the roller is in place.
Carefully unwind, leaving hair to keep its shape, and backcomb with a fine-toothed comb on the underside – right from the roots to build height.
Curve hair around fingers into a coil, using plenty of hairspray as you shape and gripping the outside of the coil into place at the scalp.
Tip: Use the tips of the fine-tooth comb to smooth over the surface of the coil, then smooth finally with fingertips wet with hairspray.
Here's another link with steps on how to get Gwen's updo:
http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip21106.htm


Kitchen & Dining inspirations:
Great design & decor from dominomag.com. These are actual people's dining rooms and kitchens, not just props.

European inspired kitchen

I love the wall color in this dining room and how the blue candle holders stand out.

Breakfast at Tiffany's inspired dining room

I love this whole look.

Halloween Inspirations

Fun and easy Halloween ideas from marthastewart.com.

Witches curtain

Lay a heavy-duty black garbage bag flat on a work surface, open end toward you. With scissors, cut 1 1/2-inch vertical strips from the bottom, stopping a few inches from the top. Cut open one side seam, then unfold bag. Use masking tape or tacks to hang. Then, with hands a few inches apart, grasp each strand and pull; stretch strands in several places for a decrepit effect.



Eyeball soup

A bowl of hot tomato soup will leave you cold if it stares back.
To make "eyeballs," scoop the centers from mini mozzarella balls, and fill them with sliced pimiento-stuffed olives. For the bug crawling along the edge of the bowl, use a toothpick to prick holes in a pitted Kalamata olive; then stick in rosemary sprigs for legs and snipped chives for antennae.


What I want to eat right now

yum - a triple layer chocolate mousse cake....

Mail Call

A colleague of mine once told me a story where a high school intern at her husband’s business did not know where to place the stamp on an envelope for outgoing mail. Shocking, isn’t it? Something as simple as where a stamp goes is getting lost among the next generation. Communication is so instantaneous now – email, text messages, IM. My younger brother who just started his freshman year in college told me that he rarely checks his email because IM is so much more convenient. His means of communication: IM and text messages. Call me old fashion, but I like to get out a pen and paper every once in a while and send a letter inside an actual envelope via snail mail. I love receiving hand-made cards and hand written cards. My best friend and I make a habit of making each other’s birthday cards every year, the more outrageous, the better. So when I found the website http://www.redstamp.com/, I immediately fell in love with it. How did they know how to get into my heart??? They carry good ol’ fashion stationary, cards, pens, and desk accessories. They carry a very wide variety of designers – all very unique and beautiful. For sure you will be able to find the perfect card for that next birthday, anniversary, or holiday. Based in Minneapolis, Red Stamp was founded by two friends with a love for paper and correspondence. Check out some of the designs below:

Eggs, please.

Ok, so who would have thought that the shape of an egg would make such cool stuff? J Schatz has his products available online; it is a really cool website full of products made from clay. All the products have beautiful shapes, mostly egg-shaped, to decorate your home. Artist J Schatz made his first Egg Lamp in 2000 in his cramped apartment. Now he has a working studio alive with colors. What I love most about these products – beautiful, natural shapes and colors, colors, colors!

Egg-shaped bank for all your coins

Egg shaped bird feeder - not your ordinary bird feeder

Egg shaped hanging planter

Luna Rocket Lamp

Orange Wildfire lamp - love the punch of color it gives

Salt & Pepper shakers - very modern

My favorite: the "happening" curtain (great as a room divider to brighten up a room)

Double egg lamp - the shape is sooo beautiful!

Olive lamp - again, very modern. Who knew?

Oh Johnny!

Selling cupcakes without actually making cupcakes?
That's what Johnny does. He started it as a joke - and it has turned to be a huge success. He opened a store with a giant dough machine, a glass bakery case, and cooling racks - and no cupcakes. Instead, in the displays are t-shirts with images of cupcakes. He creates his own designs - all selling between $40-$70 a piece. All the shirts are very cute, unique and creative. I'd love to actually go to Newbury St and check out the actual store.

At the age of 24, Johnny is already giving advice to aspiringentrepreneurs. My favorite advice from him:

a. Try not to limit/Mass produce anything. Everyone wants what nobody has.

b. Focus. Live a drug-free, alcohol-free lifestyle - this has helped him save money, think straight, live healthy, focus and use his time wisely.

The display looks delicious!

a suitcase full of cupcake t-shirts

Some of my favorite designs from http://www.johnnycupcakes.com/

Doesn't it make you want to eat some cupcakes?
Read more about Johnny's story:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5618417