Admit it, you missed me.  If you didn’t, just lie to make me feel better.  I took a break for the 4th of July to work on other things but I’m back and SO excited to share one of my current favorite places with you.  A friend of mine told me about a coffee shop by our work a few months ago that he thought I would like…and he was definitely right.  I didn’t get a chance to go until a couple of weeks ago but now this week, I’ve gone two days in a row and I honestly can’t get enough.  It’s inside a gorgeous old home on a quiet corner and it’s absolutely the most charming little coffee shop I’ve ever been to.

Today I sat on the quiet wrap-around porch drinking a delicious caramel macchiato and talking to friends.  It was a delightful lunch break from work(which is just a few blocks from Luna).

The book room is my favorite part.  I sat there by myself for over an hour yesterday reading and the only reason I left was because I needed to act responsible and go to work.  I foresee a lot of my spare time being spent in this room with a good book or even my laptop, getting work done.

Do you think they would be upset if I stole all of their furniture, inside and out??

Stormie Dae

And you can be one too!  Art House Co-op is now accepting participants for the 2012 Sketchbook Project.

According to their website, “It’s like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks”.  How fun is that?!  They have a whole list of categories for you to choose from for the theme of your book and then they will send you a sketchbook with a barcode.  After you’re done filling it up, you mail it back and it takes a little art show tour around the world.  Because it has the barcode, you can track anytime someone checks out your book which is an awesome feature.  After the tour, it is then catalogued permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library.  Yes please.

There are different rules about how wide your sketchbook can be in the end and other stipulations like that, but for the most part – you can do whatever you want.  And for someone like me who doesn’t spend a lot of time drawing, the appeal is in the ability to use other forms of art rather then just sketching.

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My friend, Nick, participated in last year’s project which is currently on tour and you can see some of his pages here.  Awesome stuff.

I think a whole group of us is going to participate for 2012 – now the task is to figure out what theme we want for our sketchbooks…care to join?

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Best of Fridays to you loves!

Stormie Dae

I kinda like books.

I know I have talked about my lack of enthusiasm for electronic reading devices in the past, but here we are again.  I heard the other day that one of the things children born in 2011 most likely won’t know about includes books, magazines and newspapers.  Sad day – just saying.  Let’s get away from the depressing part though…I’ve been thinking lately that I won’t be getting rid of any of my books for a long time.  Not that I would have to begin with, but now I really won’t be.  Instead, I am choosing to find creative ways to display books – and I have found a few fantastic ones:

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This is the entryway of a house…brilliant.

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I adore this, so great.

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Oh my gosh, have you ever seen anything more amazing than book shelf stairs?!

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Yes…do.

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Love love!

Stormie Dae*

Will all of the procrastinators and last minute gifters please stand up?  *Note – I am standing right now as I type.

I don’t know what it is about me…well actually I do, I am phlegmatic-melancholic(look it up if you don’t know what that means)…I’m pretty laid back and don’t get started on projects or gifts until the absolute last second.  I always say I will start earlier the next year, and I never do.  I try – but I just don’t feel an urgency – and this year was no different.

I try to make handmade gifts for my family and friends as often as possible, but it literally wasn’t until 2 days ago that I came up with any ideas.  Not one single idea.  I have to admit, it was extremely annoying and frustrating that my project sector(that’s in my brain, and yes it is real) was on the fritz.  It was giving me nothing.  Luckily, I now have a plethora of ideas – and we’ll see if I end up with enough time to do them.

This random and probably pointless explanation of my personality is just to bring us to this point.  I realize that there are still last minute gifters out there, so I have decided to compile some simple lists of gift ideas – in categories.  I will only be posting a couple today and then more next week – but luckily these are things that you can get anywhere, since it’s absolutely too late to order anything online if you want it before Christmas without paying 50 million dollars in shipping fees.  Be aware – for the most part these will most likely just be items that I like – but you can work off of it:)

Gifts for the cook:

1. An oh-so-darling apron – this one is from Anthropologie

2. Oil dispensers…kinda love.

3. V-blade mandoline.  Williams-Sonoma I heart you.

4. Jamie Oliver cookbooks.  Okay, I suppose any cookbook would do – but seriously, who doesn’t love Jamie?

5. GIANT mortar and pestle – this sucker is 25 pounds people.  Eek!

For the bibliophile in your life:

1. Darling book stack necklace

2. Family portrait bookmarks, love.  This one is a DIY – click here for instructions.

3. Reading light…it’s a must

4. Reading glasses – psssst…these are only $2.99 at Urban Outfitters right now and I may just buy a pair when I’m finished with this post.  You better hope they have more than one.

5. “I like books…” print.  Unfortunately you can’t buy this anywhere – because it’s a print I designed for a friend last week.  But maybe if you’re real nice, I’ll sell you one:)

Possible categories for next week are gifts for: Musician, Artist, DIYer, Fashionista, Techie…do you have a preference?  Or maybe a different category that you need ideas for?  Let me know!

***Also – if you haven’t been over to our Etsy shop recently, we have a lot of new stuff…you should check it out here.  Or here.  Or here.  <–Just trying to give you plenty of opportunity.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter – therefore you should.  AND(shameless self promotion, it’s our blog – we do what we want) – don’t forget to check out our new and updated ‘About‘ section…which is still semi under construction, but answers those burning questions you’ve always wanted to know about Stephanie May and myself, Stormie Dae.***

Thus endeth the billions of links, but just one more thing…Christmas is now only 15 days away.  Yikes! If that doesn’t put a fire under you procrastinators, I don’t know what will. 

Happy happy week of Thanksgiving!  We hope that you are all ready for your special meal on Thursday, and also thinking ahead to the busy and fun Christmas season ahead.  We (the sisterly team of MayDae) are pulling out our Christmas decorations this week, and brainstorming new ideas for this year.  If you haven’t tried something new in your decorating for a few years, now is the time!  You don’t have to start completely from scratch, but can definitely try to incorporate different items or a new theme that you haven’t done before – which makes it so much fun!  Even if a theme that you like doesn’t seem particularly “Christmasy” to you, it doesn’t mean that it can’t turn out to be whimsical, magical, and beautiful.  Go for it and enjoy these super cute Christmas decor finds from Etsy.com!

May’s Etsy Picks:

There are just too many good Christmas goodies on Etsy, so I decided to narrow my picks down a bit and chose to do a “woodland Christmas” theme.  Hope you like!

Love the necktie and hair bow on these adorable owl ornaments.

A fox on a wreath is really really cute and fun.

(Owl ornaments by Ordinary Mommy, wood slice ornaments from reetree, bunny garland by Nissa Lynn Home, painted fox ornament from Cool Ranch Studio, acorn ornaments by Fairy Folk, fox wreath from Knock Knocking, squirrel ornaments by Just Mare, rabbit doily ornament from I Wanna Be, bear cards by Ashley Pahl, wood acorn ornaments from Twigs and Blossoms)

Dae’s Etsy Picks:

Since I love to read, I thought I would do a book pages theme…we both did neutrals, go figure.  Note* – Books were harmed in the making of these ornaments, but they’re just so darn cute, I can’t help myself.  Enjoy!

Okay so this one isn’t book pages…but it is paper – and it’s super cute!

The colors on this are delicious.

(Comic book hanging ornaments by Bookity, Recycled Yellow Pages star from Swedish Krimskrams, Lucky star glass ornament from Halibu Valley, Miniature origami books by Signoraluna, Vintage paper Christmas tree by mindimade, Book pages birdhouse from Ferntree Studio, Glass ornament from kellixmiller, Vintage map garland by Palimpsestic, Trixie Belden book wreath from House of Belonging, Topsy turvy paper ornament by Green Trike Press)

Now I know I wrote a bit of a Christmas downer post the other day – but really…it’s JUST the music – and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go here if you want to read my thoughts on Christmas jingles – but I am EXTREMELY excited about Christmas!  I sent a short list of things I am into these days to my family but decided to follow Stephanie May in posting some of my Christmas wishes(some I am adding but weren’t on my actual list before).

Books, books, and more books.  I think this is on my list every year – I kind of like to read…just a little.  Oh!  And The Little Prince Pop-Up Book!  It would totally go with my Little Prince collection that I talked about here.

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Knitted or hand sewn pouffes.  I have had the photo on the left in my inspiration folder for about 5 years.  I desperately love these.

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Vintage mannequins, dress forms, individual parts.

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Lots of cute socks to wear with my heels or Oxford flats – floral, plaid, ruffled, striped – any and all cute patterns.  I love this look and I feel I need to do more of it!

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Vintage floral, plaid, patterned suitcases…Obviously I am into patterns these days – and I would LOVE to take a weekend trip with the cutest luggage around!

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Not only do I want to start a vintage camera collection – I also am in love with and desperately want to own a FujiFilm Instax camera and also a Diana camera…I heart these.

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Elsie’s Photo Journals E-Course….WANT.  I’ve always wanted to make my own journals but not in a scrapbook way…this is like updated scrapbooking.  Yes.

Tomorrow will be my first outing for Christmas shopping and I couldn’t be more excited!  I am way behind and have been looking forward to hours and hours of thrift shopping, coffee drinking and creative thinking for weeks!  Happy weekend loves!

Hello lovelies!  On this lovely Friday morning where I am already pretending it is winter and am wearing my knit hat from Taiwan, lots of layers and a scarf – I am going to bombard you with photos.  Are you ready?

I recently watched a movie that came out a few years ago called MirrorMask.  The story is by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean and it is lovely.  Definitely not your typical unwinding movie because if you’ve ever read anything by Neil Gaiman, you know he pushes the imagination to do fantastic things.  The way he layers images on top of one another and intertwines worlds in your mind is incredible.  This movie is no different.  The story is about a young artistic girl whose parents run a circus troupe that she hates being a part of.  When her mom gets sick, she is thrown into the imaginary world she herself has created and drawn.  Within this world, she must overcome all sorts of obstacles to find the MirrorMask and her way back home.

It was quite by chance that I decided to watch this movie at the same time that a friend of mine suggested this book to me:

I have not had a chance to read it yet, but it is next on my list and is about…the circus.  I love the imagery of the circus – the sights, sounds, colors, the large tents – and really just the creative type of people that are involved in the circus.  They are appealing to me and I have always loved fashion shoots and parties modeled after the circus.  Not the bubbly, kids type of circus – not a carnival…but the nitty gritty behind the scenes real lives of circus entertainers.

Anna Sui modeled one of this year’s lines after the circus…so it must be good, right?

(Photos from Style.com)

The colors and patterns of this collection are breathtaking, and I want every pair of tights she designed.

And to top it all off, what did I receive in the mail a few days ago but just start to look at last night?  My November 2010 Anthropologie catalog with dozens of photos reminding me of none other than the circus.  I don’t know if that is exactly what they were going for with some of these photos, but the feel of it was the same for me and I think this is my favorite catalog they have ever put out.  I will apologize in advance for the quality of the photos…but I think you will get the picture:)

I desire everything in this photo.  The chair, the wallpaper, even the fox.

There are clowns and animals and fabric tents and over-sized props, even a few circus freaks here and there.  Isn’t it all so delicious?!  As much as I would love to post all 89 pages of the catalog, I’m sure you are tired of all these photos…so go check it out for yourself here – you’ll love it.  I promise.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering or even remembers, this is NOT the post I spoke of last Friday…I’m still not done with that one.  Surprise, surprise.

On a side note, I stopped by Starbucks this morning for my first drink in a couple weeks and to my great delight:

Christmas cups!!!!  My world is complete.

My husband took me on a date to see Never Let Me Go last night.  I have been wanting to see it since I first saw the trailer, and it didn’t disappoint me in the least.  I can’t begin to explain the storyline, but it is a beautifully shot film with the most gorgeous set decorations and costumes.  The film is based on a book of the same title (it was written by the same author that wrote The Remains of the Day), and everything has a golden glow about it – LOVE.  Before you run out to see it, or save it in your Netflix queue, please keep in mind that this is not a Hollywood happy ending movie, and it isn’t made to make your romantic fantasies come to life.  I tend to love movies like this, but I know that some people don’t, and you might have a totally different view of the film than I did.  That being said, if you still want to watch it, PLEASE let me know what you think of it – I would love to hear your take!

Here are a few inspiration photos that remind me of Never Let Me Go:

Autumn day galoshes.

Doll heads, arms, and more.

Golden horse figurine.

Has anyone else seen this movie yet?  What did you think?

Goodbye Summer!  It’s time pack it up, pack it in and make room for Fall!!

I know I am jumping the gun with my enthusiasm because it is still technically Summer but Fall is just around the corner – I can taste it and it is divine!  Fall is my favorite time of year, not only for the comfortable chill in the air and cool nights spent drinking coffee with a great book to read but because I am a layer dresser through and through and Fall is the perfect time for it.  Even in the Summer, you will never see me without at least 2-3 shirts on and often times a scarf, 90 degree heat ignored.

For the past month, my internal clock has been completely off and my sense of the date nonexistent – but even so, I can feel Fall coming and I was thoroughly surprised and ecstatic when I received my September Issue of Vogue a few days ago.  If this doesn’t scream “Fall”, I don’t know what does!

I look forward to this issue all year and the 726 pages of fantastic Fall fashions did not disappoint!

This skirt is fabulous.

Red.

These are only the tip of the iceberg but they’re great, aren’t they?  Well done, Vogue.  Well done.

My new book, to spend the weekend pouring over.  Yay!

5.2 pounds and 1072 delicious pages of French home cooking, supplies and techniques.  Yum.