Creative inspiration.

I hadn't worked on any Kumihimo pieces for a long time and really wanted to find a way to incorporate it into some new designs. Last October I bought some interesting hand-cast bronze pieces from Burma/Myanmar and hadn't yet figured out what to do with them... Then a bolt of inspiration struck, and voilà!

Woohoo!

This news has me doing my happy dance!

Laugh-out-loud funny.

This book made me laugh out loud. Many, many times. Dare I say, even more than Tina's book? I highly recommend it for a quick, fun read.


P.S. I just discovered The Concerns of Mindy Kaling, a site chock full of Mindy goodness. From the "Prelude" page:

Mindy Kaling is an actress, comedian, writer, producer and shopper. She can translate Latin and is an avid slow jogger who covers small amounts of distance over long periods of time.

More from Isabel.

Vince printed tunic in blanc/rouge
Fimo keyhole dress in noir (I'm not sure about the sandals and socks, though)
Paco blanketwrap in marine (LOVE this!)
Some more of my favorites from Isabel Marant's new designs, found on the blog of San Francisco's Metier boutique.

Etoile.

Hera floral dress in noir
Hume start print tunic in creme
Budy embroidered peasant top in noir
Helba star print shirt in bleu
Wonderful new designs from Etoile by Isabel Marant. All found on the website of Metier, a San Francisco boutique I hope I'll get to one day soon.

Holiday sweets.

At my workplace, the holiday season means receiving many, many edible gift from businesses we deal with: cookies, chocolates, even a lunch of enough barbeque to feed a small city. As much as I enjoyed indulging in all of these treats, I can honestly say that my very favorite this holiday season was a box of incredibly delicious and decadent Champagne Truffles from Teuscher Chocolates. Only once before in my life have I had these truffles (as a "thank you" from a client at a prior job), as they are much too expensive for me to buy for myself. So I have been trying to make them last as long as possible, eating only one at a time. So far, so good; at this point more than half the box remains uneaten. Soon to be minus one more... typing this post is making me very hungry!

I had to post some photos here; the packaging is so pretty and colorful.

Farewell, Eva.

I only just found out this sad news. Zeisel was an incredible artist with a lasting impact. Her timeless yet modern designs will live on.