Friday Fashion Fantasy

Today's daydream comes from my obsession with bags, clutches, wallets, anything with lots of pockets for organization and Dooney and Bourke...

D&B Janine Satchel in Chamois or Bordaeux

D&B Medium Valerie in Bone

D&B Grommet Shopper in Blue

I'm also a fan of this, this, this, and this.Oh, and of course this.

:) Have a wonderful weekend!

What The?

I'm no fashonista, but some designers out there are losing it, have lost it, or never had it. There are a lot of What The? moments in the fashion world (not to mention society in general). So, here is the first of what may be many What The? entries. I love shoes, but damn, I love my feet more:

 Lady Gaga? Is that you?

 Instead of feet wrapping, China has gone the more humane route with these ruby slippers.

 You're eyes are not fooling you and this is not a Photoshop error, there are no heels!!

 Obviously that shoe is painful, but make sure you moisturize your heels ladies!

Um, excuse me, I think you lost something. (Taste).

*Images from Google image search for "painful shoes"

Black Cherry/White Chocolate Cupcake

It is no secret that I am a fan of cupcakes. Some legends say I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to cupcake recipes and have sent anonymous love letters to said cupcakes. I will neither confirm nor deny these rumors. I am a firm believer in the philosophy: "Cupcakes make the party." (I just made that up) But they do! Get some cute swirly cupcake holders, I have these in different sizes, add a variety of tasty treats, display a swanky cupcake menu and voila! The talk of the party is on your table.

Yesterday I was surfing around and found this wonderful website: Whipperberry. I spent a lot of time on the site, but the majority of the time was spent drooling over the above picture and setting the recipe to heart. I also printed it out, just in case. Here is the recipe for those luscious cupcakes. I'm going out of town this weekend so I'm going to have to wait until I can test these bad boys out for myself, but I can't stop thinking about them. Plus, this recipe is right up my alley: boxed cake mix, instant pudding! Sorry, I don't have time to bake from scratch. The other great attribute of this recipe is that it is very versatile. You could mix it up, add a little lemon zest, don't like black cherry? (You're strange if you don't, but your prerogative.) That's okay, choose whatever Jello-O flavor you'd like, experiment!

Ode to Old Timey Photography

I adore photography. I adore all styles of photography, except for the fashion/commercial world's obscene use of Photoshop to body shave celebrities/models. I found these gorgeous photos from Daniel A. Carrillo. He uses a photography technique originally used in the mid 1850's called the Collodion Process, also known as a Wet Plate Collodion process.

Photoshop is an amazing tool, but even it cannot produce the beauty found in these photos. I love the coloring, the tone, and the feel, but most of all I love how this process brings out the majestic quality of the eyes. Each of these photos have a similar, yet completely different feel. While the poses may be similar, the subject's eyes bring in their personalities. It's as if you can read their desires and fears through the photograph. I am enchanted.

I'd love to see this process used on Sam Elliot, Clint Eastwood, Florence Welch, Zooey Deschanel, and me (of course).  Mr. Carrillo has a show at the Greg Kucera Gallery in May 2012. I hope I find myself in Seattle around that time. Here are some more photos to enjoy...

Friday Fashion Fantasy

This week's fashion fantasy comes from Valentino. Oh, if I had the spare change...

"Modern" Art

If you ignore the safety hazards and the fact that I would be really pissed off if I got paint on my car, this is really creative and beautiful on both an artistic and societal level.

The Cool Style of Severus Snape

I saw Harry Potter last night!! I won't spoil it, but I loved every minute and I do agree with my brother that it is probably the best one. In honor of HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, I am going to forgo the Friday Fantasy Fashion post and give homage to my favorite HP character, Severus Snape. Alan Rickman, the brilliant actor who plays Severus Snape, is one of my favorite actors and is probably my favorite British actor. He does make a black wizards robe look powerful and stylish, don't you think?

My favorite moment in the novel Deathly Hallows is when Harry enters Snape's memories. We finally know the true, complicated character which is Professor Snape. Rickman reveals Snape's emotions, his undying love, his internal torture, his pain and surprising compassion perfectly; and then he reveals his patronus, cue teary eyes! I really hope he gets a nod for an award. I was thinking of those scenes on the way to work this morning and teared up again. I will miss you dear Severus, you and your furrowed brow, you and your calm, deep, stern lectures, you and your really cool ability to change into a black mist and fly, you will be missed.

The Story of Snape:



*Please click image for original source.