Swooning for you

My first look at Gucci's AMAZING new spring line was on the back of Katy Perry via my Elle Magazine cover last month. The moment I laid eyes on those incredible jewel toned silks and gold tassels I was in loooove.

It is sadly unfortunate, however, that you will not find me on fifth avenue picking up this ensemble any time soon.  So I've been looking for some more accessible (and probably wearable) looks. And for those of you who are now swooning over anything color-block, thanks to Gucci, here are a few of my finds.

Top: Gap ($50)
Pants: Talbots ($70)
Belt: Michael Kors from Bluefly.com ($23)

Now this dress from Target ($28) isn't that great, but imagine it cinched at the waist with this fabulous belt from Asos.com ($22)

And check out this great video from stylist.com on how to wear the color blocking trend. 

Now I just need to find a royal purple blazer to go with that first outfit. *yawn* I'll look tomorrow. Goodnight!

Screw it!

Sometimes I just sit in my bedroom and stare at the walls wondering…

What the HELL was I thinking?

I’ve been obsessing over this room and how to FIX it for 2 months now. I’m about ready to drown my frustrations in vodka martinis and Lays potato chips, which is never a good thing. So before I drive myself absolutely insane over this, I have decided to for-get-IT! At least for now.

This weekend I intend to head back over to Rosa Leigh’s room for some fun finishing touches to her walls. 2 reasons:

1: Thanks to Uncle Sam, this month's budget is busted. So I need to do something free.

2: I love working in this room… it makes me feel like a little girl again. Pink and Aqua make great medicine!

So here is what we have so far:

 

And here is what I’m planning:

-Finish her photo board (ran out of ribbon)

-Paint a cute frame on the wall around it

-Paint the bookshelf from the playroom and move it in (I think)

-Hang pictures with maybe some cute mural above the bookshelf.

You will see a post of the results next week. God willing.

Goody: Happy Chic!

I got my new Jonathan Adler book in from Amazon today. Woo hoo! This is the second of his "Happy Chic" books that I have, and I can't wait to dive in. I'm going to try my best to not even crack it until Rosa goes to bed on Friday night, and the house is quiet, and I have a fresh martini in hand. Mmmm. These are the little things that get me through the week.

I wonder what Jonathan would say about my master bedroom redo gone wrong. Ugh. I'm mortified at the thought.

Latest Painting: Hello Yellow

My latest painting was for my entryway. I wanted something super clean and graphic and, well, welcoming. So this is what I ended up with. I wasn't sure if my average visitor would like it, but this painting has gotten much love thus far. So I thought I'd post it for those of you who haven't visited lately.
I got the idea from a split-second glimpse of a Chanel logo I saw in the background of some video I saw while mindlessly surfing the Internet. I wish I could tell you where to find that, but I've since searched EVERYWHERE for it to no avail. I might have actually dreamed it. Who knows. The logo was encircled with a band of black dots, and that was the seed for this idea. But the thought of free-handing all those dots made me wanna forget the whole thing and take a nap instead, so I started by designing the layout on my computer using Illustrator... here is digital the image:

I borrowed an old-school projector from our tech dept at work for a weekend. I've always heard of crafty girls using these things for DIY murals, so I thought I'd give it a try. After painting the yellow block onto my giant canvas, I projected the image from my computer onto it and started tracing the dots with a pencil. It took me about two and a half vodka martinis to finish. And that's why the rightmost dots are a little wonky. But who cares.

 

Then, using a black Sharpie oil paint pen (available at most art supply stores and on Amazon) I filled the dots in. That was on night two. I had to be sober for that step. Then I free-handed the rest.
This painting was surprisingly fun to create. I think the repetitive precision was somewhat therapeutic for me at a time when my world had gotten pretty inexact.  It was definitely a huge leap from the painting I did just before that, which you can see on the opposite wall here. By the way, imagine "Hello" sunken in a nice glossy white frame. If you like that idea, please send cash.

A goody

I Had to grab a few things at Sephora today, and I picked up something I can't live without. I used to forgo eyeshadow because my lids are on the oily side, and within hours the stuff would slide right off. I also love wearing lots of seriously black eyeliner (probably too much), and I used to have to touch it up all the time. Otherwise it would form black blobs in the corners of my eyes and leave semicircular frowns on my eyelids. Not pretty. That is until I discovered this stuff. It's one of my two MUST HAVES for every day (the other being mascara).

It's called Shadow Primer Potion, by Urban Decay, and you have to forgive the cheesy packaging. It's around $18 a tube, but the last time I bought it was in December, so it lasts me about 4 months. And I seriously use it every day. Just put a thin swipe of this on each lid before applying your eye makeup, and voila! Anything you put on your eyes sticks like glue and stays put until you wash it off. Trust me. This stuff holds on through my sweaty, hour-long sessions at the gym. Just don't put too much on or you won't be able to blend your colors well.

It now comes in different colors that are apparently supposed to enhance your sheer shadows, but I never tried those. I have always used the original, colorless stuff in the purple tube. Let me know if you try the other and how it goes.

I know it sound like someone's paying me to write this. I wish they would!