i went home for the weekend

one of many edens

blouse- H & M (Germany)
jeans- Rock and Republic (CA)
white wedges- Seychelles (zappos)
bag- vintage (CA)

valentine's day at the courthouse

on and off rain: a study in wardrobe

last weekend

Valentine's Day

apartment therapy

Helsiniki apartment on Apartment Therapy

It's been a cold and rainy week, which for Southern California is the equivalent of a month long snow storm. Rain always makes me want to stay indoors and nest, and luckily my roommate just introduced me to Apartment Therapy, a great site with lots of nice tips and ideas for your inner decorator. Even if it's not raining where you are, you should check it out.

desk and chairs fashioned from vintage rulers

want: frye shoes

This is mostly to clear up some tab space in my web browser, but also for me to pretend I have the money to indulge in new shoes. Oh, new shoes.

I kind of hate trying things on in shoe stores, because inevitably the staff will either hover and force a decision out of you, or they will just throw the box at you and retreat to the back room, never to be seen again. Ideally I'd like space to walk around and hem and haw for the necessary half hour of deciding, but this is not usually the case. So what this boils down to is that I like online shoe shopping best, even if the circumstances of sizing are at best nebulous. But this is why Zappos is amazing, and a wonderful free-shipping-both-ways kind of company. Onto the show:


Frye Ava Oxford in dark brown. My boyfriend contends the olive green would be a better choice, but I just love brown shoes.


Frye Kat Mary Jane in cognac. These would also be really cute in yellow, but again, the brown thing.


Frye Kat T Strap in poppy. Red shoes are such a great outfit brightener. My red wedges from a couple of years ago are really not wearable anymore, so sooner or later I will be forced (ahem) to replace them.


Frye Adrienne Stitch T Strap in dark brown. I love the T-strap heels people have been wearing the past season or two (or longer?). I don't have any trouble walking in heels, though depending on how much heelage there is I sometimes feel conspicuously tall, and I think flats are just in general better for the ole joints.


In my defense these are all on sale, but they are all also Frye brand, which is not exactly the cheapest manufacturer out there. That said, I'd much rather get more for less if that means there is actual craftsmanship involved. I won't name any names, but I am continually unimpressed by some of the big retailers whose classic-yet-quirky styles for 20-somethings I like but whose quality is just not worth the money. If I can't buy vintage then I at least want something long lasting.

sea bird

I may be depressed about being unemployed, but I sure can't complain about everything.

animals on the wall

In a leisurely search for furniture and wall hangings to give personality to my new room, I've done my share of salivating online for art which I can in no way afford right now (which is not to say that they are unreasonably priced!). Some of my favorites:

Quail by Studio Lyon
Have you ever seen a Mama Quail leading a scurrying line of babies? Quails are awesome.

Forest Raccoon by intheforest

I'm always interested in what animals are 'pests' in different parts of the world. Raccoons are well known night trash diggers in the U.S. I remember an English friend saying the raccoon equivalent in the UK were foxes, and in Germany I vividly remember the fat little hedgehogs dodging my bike on the sidewalk late at night. Who goes scavenging in the dark where you live?

Swingers by boygirlparty
I am enjoying living at my new place with the two pups of my housemates, but deep down I really love cats the best. I think I might start volunteering soon at a cat rescue place near my house.

Koi Pond by arinfish
Every time I see koi, especially the fat old ones, I want to just slip under the water and hang out with them. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that in Japanese koi just means 'carp,' but that doesn't really detract from their otherworldly charm for me.

I just did a bit more room decorating yesterday, with specially selected postcards from my vast collection. When I lived in Germany I got very into collecting those free postcards from bars and the like, as well as buying a postcard from every new European city I'd visit. I did this again when I lived and traveled in Asia, and now back in California I have a very high stack of postcards that I, uhm, have nothing with which to do. My last year of college I covered an entire bedroom wall with them, but that was a lot of work, and so this time around I just selected my personal favorites for a brief collage. Do you have any favorite decorating tips or ideas?

The 1950s Drama Dress

One of my favorite pieces in the shop, this 1950s black party dress, has been chosen for Etsy's "Loviest Ladies" poll. The items with the most votes will be featured in a gift guide and on the Etsy blog. Please go here to vote (it'll just take a second)!

[And honestly, if this fit me there'd be way no way it could leave my closet. I adore the sheer shoulder and arms, and the way they dramatize the strapless bodice. Perfection.]

bits of a new place

The last few weeks have been a blur of the unending job search (great market right now, really) with a debilitating case of food poisoning thrown in for good measure. I am hoping to update the shop as soon as I can trick my boyfriend into playing photographer again. In the meantime, a few bits of my new locale:

coastal iceplant as seen on a Saturday hike to the butterfly migration point

my African violet, plus one of the house dogs in the background

my beautiful craigslisted antique desk (the zappos box is from my best purchase in recent memory, these slippers)