now that thanksgiving is over...

{reindeer postcard by tutti studio available here}

until january ...

we are off. but we will be back.

ps - pictures of our road trip will be on twitter!

{image found here}

i've only ever had 1 iphone case

and it was so pretty ... but not very useful. every time i dropped my phone the case would break or crack. so in the end, it was COVERED in wood glue. which made it, well, not so pretty. anyway i am a pretty staunch believer in the naked iphone (hello beautiful product design) but i do understand that phones are dropped places they really shouldn't be (some more than others) and therefore need some kind of cushion*. so if you are one of THOSE people that insists on covering up the prettiest phone in existence, then might i suggest one of these?



that's right, threadless is making covers, and pretty cool ones at that. so if you must ... please do it prettily.


*i've had my phone since day 1 of the iphone and it still works ... though there are some gashes in the metal and the corners are all dinged up. i drop my phone a lot ... even in frances' water bowl once ... threw it in rice for an hour and it was back to new. so you can't tell me cushion is necessary.

i kinda want these

is that wrong?

{moustache earrings - giles and brother - here}

oh so pretty

{by paper artist jo neville, found here}

new in the shop ... almost

i'll be updating etsy later today, but these lovelies can also be found in our los alamos store (because so many of you live here).

things i am going to miss : part 3

for the first time in, um, 8 or 9 years i am going to be more than a 20 minute drive to a beach, which shouldn't bother me because i never really actually fancied myself a beach person. but thinking about it now, well, it kinda scares me a little (in one those pre-move stress induced states). and i know frances and mas will be quite sad to have to drive over an hour for some sand and salt water*.

*ok, ok, so chicago wasn't exactly on the ocean, but have you been there and seen the lake? it creates it's own weather and the beaches are packed during the summer, so yeah, it counts.

things i am looking forward to : part 2

sunrise biscuit kitchen. we will be about an hour away but something tells me that won't stop us from spending many a hour in the raleigh/chapel hill area. this makes me smile. oh and so does bbq and so does sweet tea (did i mention that before?).

{ps my lame north carolina ass only found out about the above mentioned biscuit kitchen by way of wide open spaces ... i'm from WESTERN north carolina, i never really traveled east except for field hockey camp and there were no biscuits at field hockey camp. and on that note we would gladly be accepting any and all recommendations for eastern nc}

things i am going to miss : part 2

in-n-out. do i really have to say anything more?

{photo taken at dinner last night ... cheesburger animal style ... erm same with the fries only minus the cheese ... and mas and i SPLIT the fries, which makes it almost not bad, sort of.}

things i am looking forward to : part 1

rain boots. remember everything i said earlier? well it can all be negated by the fact that i can finally justify a pair of hunter boots. i've wanted a some for ages, but it just did not seem like a good way to spend the dollars. but now, with a rainy season, i think that is all going to change.

now all i have to do is settle on a color ... hmmm.

{silver pair found here}

things i am going to miss : part 1

when we moved to california i remember a friend telling me that my shoe options would be ridiculously greater because of the lack of any kind of inclement weather. and you know what? she was absolutely right. it doesn't snow and has rained a total of maybe 4 times since we have been residents. in fact the only thing that has ever really come in to play while picking out my shoes has been how much sand we might come in contact with. so life has been good for my ballet flats and suede boots.

but now we are going south, where it rains and even snows a little bit. the temperatures will be colder in the winter (no flats - or heels for that matter - without socks) and warmer in the summer (goodbye flip-flops ... if my feet get even a little bit warm flip flops will destroy them with blisters). so while i think i might still have to have these :



i did manage to step away from these while shopping in santa barbara last week. i mean really i am getting ready to go to winterland, i DO NOT need any more sandals ... right?

{ps - there is nothing on the first page of notcouture today that i don't wantinmyclosetrightnow}

i've got big news ... mammoth big

mas and i are moving. there i said it. we will no longer (at least for the time being) be residents of the west coast. in 13 days we will be putting the press in the prius (at least i think so) and heading east ... far east ... like east coast east. well southern east coast ... as in north carolina ... as in fayetteville, north carolina.

we are moving for his job, which we knew was coming, but only found out about two weeks ago that it would be so soon (we had our bets waged on the summertime). so, needless to say we have been a bit crazy as of late. but things are looking up ... mas now has his number one dream job, and i finally had to hire someone to help out ... who turns out is the loveliest of ladies. she will go by ajb, you will meet her, and you will like her, i just know it.

so for the next week and a half i'm going to devote my blog to a bit of what i will miss, and then a bit of what i am looking forward to, maybe most of which will be my monthly trips back to ca ... bi-coastal kind of? that sounds so fancy. well that and bbq i am so looking forward to the bbq. frances also enjoys the idea of being within 5 hours of her grandparents, she loves them, maybe the best.

{picture of an animatronic 2/3 size wolly mammoth and then actual size skeleton taken on my most fun jaunt with esb this past weekend}

today's high : 70

which means i have fall/winter clothing on the mind. besides a pair of short cowboy boots (in grey), and maybe over the knee boots, the number one thing i have found myself lusting after is a nice big, cozy sweater. something i can curl my whole body into if need be.

{line alice cardigan, mcq hooded cardigan, jen kao chunky knit}

new from the studio

you guys, i just did my first baby shower invite and kinda had a blast. i mean, when else can you use bunting (i still really, really, really love bunting) and elephants and a smattering of different blues/greens?

remember when i said...

that the black toe on the plaid woolrich converse kinda bugged me? i was being quite serious, really i was. but for some reason, the same is not true with these lanvin's. hmmmm. quite curious if you ask me.


i think it is the patent shiny loveliness that is winning me over.

woolrich and converse

woolrich is making a comeback apparently. i think i like, but i'm just not sure, that black toe is really throwing me.

{available here and here}

j.crew and ribbons

i can't help myself. j.crew, i like you. very, very much.

{ribbon jacket + ribbon pullover}