I have heard of Nylon Magazine, I’ve even visited their website a few times – but I didn’t really get it until I picked up a copy as I was breezing past the magazine section at the grocery store a few nights ago.  I knew from the second I laid eyes on it that I had fallen in love and now it’s all long walks on the beach and, “Where have you been all my life?!”

This perfect blend of art, music, fashion, and travel is a feast for the eyes and even with the combined 3 hours I’ve spent pouring over it’s pages, I’m not even half way through.

With the craze of the Kindle and Apple IPad sweeping the world, I worry that physical, in your hand books and magazines will eventually become nonexistent.  Maybe not in our lifetime, but it seems it’s an eventual certainty.  I am most definitely an Apple fan and I realize that people travel alot and the convenience of having access to everything at your fingertips is an attractive idea – but for me, I would fill my entire suitcase with 50 lbs. worth of books and magazines before I would use another device to read.  I love the feel and smell of the pages and the weight of the book in my hand – give me that anyday…I don’t need any additional hours of sitting in front of a screen when I already do that for 9 hours a day with my job.

So the purpose of this little technology rant?  I know the reason it took me buying the actual magazine to find appeal in Nylon was because I needed the pages, the smell, the weight of this wonderful magazine.  I am amazed that it took me this long to find the true beauty in Nylon but my eyes have now been opened and you better believe I am now a proud subscriber.

I am heading out of town for a few days to relax with my dear cousin and get in some antique and thrift store shopping…I’m thinking my Nylon will be coming with me – and my guess would be that I still won’t be done with it when I get back in 5 days.  Have a wonderful and interesting weekend friends!

Oh my goodness, I love this dress and styling so much.  I love that the pattern has a patchwork “quilt” effect, and the red lipstick is heavenly.

My favorite part about this kitchen is the floral thermos collection.  Divine.

I am throughly enjoying Project Runway Season 8!  Mondo Guerra is representing for Denver big time, and I also love April Johnston, and the ultra-cute Valerie Mayen (pictured above).  Valerie has an Etsy shop called Yellow Cake, and it gives me a tiny sense of pride knowing that she is coming from the Etsy community, and rocking it on such a huge platform.  I would love if these 3 designers were the “final 3″, but we all know that there has to be at least one designer that everyone else hates:  Gretchen.  Get used to her, because I have a feeling she’s here to stay.  Is anyone else watching this season?  Who are your favs?

I had slightly let go of Tavi this summer, because let’s face it, it’s no ego-boost that a 14 year old has more blogging talent in her little (and I mean little) finger, than you have in your whole body.  But, Stormie Dae reminded me of her hilarity, and I have once again succumbed to her infinite charm.  Her post about her I-Pod was…great.  I loved every line.

No floral post (or any other post really) would be complete without a mention of the beautiful Elsie.  She is my major blog crush right now.  Can you even fathom the volume of my screams when I saw that she mentioned our cute plaid Thermos set on her blog last week?  *Blush*  Oh, and the Thermos set sold a couple days after her post so, yeah.  Thanks Elsie!

The skirt and shoes look great together – I don’t know if I would have paired them, but wow.  And I adore the fedora.  It’s an adorable fancy fedora.  That’s got a nice ring to it doesn’t it?  I don’t own one, but I think buying one is way overdue.  My husband Tristan doesn’t care for the fedora look, but I think he just needs to be persuaded.  I found a really cute one at the drool-worthy Beacon’s Closet in Brooklyn this past May, and I almost bought it.  Now I am regretting leaving it there.  Stormie Dae, why didn’t you force me to purchase it?

Well, I am off to update our Shop (yes!) with lots of cuteness, and have some tea.  Keep an eye out for a cute fedora for me.

(Rochas dress in Vogue January 2010, kitchen via Design Sponge, Valerie Mayen from Yellow Cake, Tavi Gevinson, Elsie Flannigan, Mayo W via LookBook)

We all have guilty pleasures.  Here are a few of mine:

If you know who these people are, welcome to the club.

All photos from Nylon

It’s day 3 of our NYC photos!  We saw, met and talked to many different kinds of people while there.  I love that NYC has so many different ethnicities and cultures represented.

Dae walking onto the Brooklyn Bridge and about to pass a ‘white’ man.

Okay, I know this is gross…., but it was also hysterically funny!  This random guy was just laying in the middle of Central Park, oiled up, and he didn’t care who saw him.  In fact, I think he wanted everyone to see him.  Just be grateful that we didn’t post a photo of when he turned over…Dae and I had a major laughing fit.

For my husband, the drum teacher.

We spotted Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler outside the Soho Cafe and had to take his photo.  We’ve featured their work on our blog a few times, so it was super cool to see him in person.  Did you know that their design studio is right on this same corner?  Well, now you do.  Oh, and he’s the one on the left…not the right.

I also saw Maya Luz from Project Runway Season 7!  She was by far my favorite designer on that season, and I was so sad when she dropped out.  I’m sure she thought I was stalking her because I followed her for a good 15 minutes but never actually talked to her.  I know, I know, once in a lifetime opportunity, but she was wearing those big headphones and carrying her bags, and I felt stupid tapping her on the shoulder, so I snapped her photo from across the street instead.  She is way shorter than I imagined, and way beautiful.  I love her jet black hair, blunt cut bangs, and red lipstick.  And of course, the all black look is a personal favorite of mine.  Gorgeous.

(All photos taken by MayDae)

MayDae loves The Office.  It is unquestionably the best show on television (in your face Lost fans!), and we never miss an episode.  This Thursday will be the Season 6 finale and sadly, we will have to part ways with Jim, Pam, Kevin, Andy, Toby, Erin, Kelly, Meredith, Ryan, Creed, Dwight, Phylis, Angela, Darryl, Oscar, and Michael – but thankfully just for the summer.

Enjoy our Etsy picks this week which are inspired by:  well, you know.

May’s Etsy Picks:

nunchuck pillows

“The Secretary”

(vintage calculator from Lovely Vintage Ect, trophy from The Lovelys, Homer Simpson doll from Vintage Zen, crossword mug by Autumn Always, tie by Toy Breaker, nunchuck pillows by Sushi Booties, “The Secretary” bookmark by Agbro, beet hat by My Market Stall)

Dae’s Etsy Picks:

“bears.  beets.  battlestar galactica.”

tuna.

for your accounts.

(Vintage paper tray from Jet Set Vintage, Beet tee by Dig This Chick, Chatter teeth stamp by SugarSkull7′s, Eyeglasses from Sugar Lily Vintage, Tuna stationary by Amber M. Moran, Keds from My Grandma’s Closet, Banjo necklace by Jane Wear Jewelry, Stamped notebook by Leahmackindotcom)

This is a story about a boy and a girl.  Meet Ned.  Ned can bring people back from the dead with just one touch, but if he touches them a second time, they will be dead once more.  Meet Chuck.  Chuck is Ned’s childhood best friend and first love who gets murdered.  To find out who killed her, Ned touches Chuck and brings her back to life, and they fall in love.  One tiny thing, they can’t touch again….ever….or she will die.

Though Pushing Daisies was short lived (only 2 seasons), with sometimes meandering writing and flimsy storyline, it is a gorgeous feast for the eyes.  A feast of pie.  Ned owns a restaurant called The Pie Hole, and let us suggest that you have a slice of pie with you when you watch it.  Pushing Daisies is a gem and our Etsy.com picks this week are all inspired by our love for the delicious show.

May’s picks:

Apple pie necklace.

Don’t touch.

Autopsied finger made from polymer clay.

(pie necklace by Baby Loves Pink, teal gloves from Vintage Eye Fashion, men’s apron by Dear Edna, binoculars from Island Girl Jen, mannequin hand from Grafix, bee hive from Sea Pinks, ‘Exhibit A’ by Buy My Crap, orange ring from Jennifer Birge, red dress from Marie Retro Revival)

Dae’s picks:

Who says losing an eye has to be ugly?

Fact – you can definitely put a bird’s wing back on with a bejeweler

Yum.

Good boy, Digby

(Eye patch by You’re so Fascinating, Daisy cuff from Willow & Quinn, Tablecloth from Coffee Klatch, Bird brooch by Siiri, Day dress from Revolving Styles, Magnifying glass from Back Bay Beads, Pie bites from Skipping Skones, Floral wallpaper from Gingerscraps, Yellow dog by Middleburg)

This past Christmas, I gave my husband the gift of reading any comic book or watching any anime that he chose for me.  He went with anime, so this weekend I finished watching the anime TV series Nodame Cantabile.  The show is based off of the manga series by the same name and has also been adapted into a live-action version – neither of which I will discuss here since I haven’t been exposed to them (yet).  This was my first anime, and to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to watching it, and I was hoping to get through it as quickly as possible.

The story of Nodame Cantabile centers around two students at a music conservatory in Toyko – Megumi “Nodame” Noda and Shinichi Chiaki.  Nodame is a piano major who is extremely child-like, innocent, and who quite frankly seemed crazy to me in the beginning.  She’s constantly screaming made up words like “GYABO!” and “MUKYA!” and always seems to be running in a frenzy, or crumbling into an ashy heap because of some misunderstanding.

Nodame loves music, food, anime, and as you can see in the image above, she is okay with a huge mess.  She is a kind, generous, and forgiving person that doesn’t mind being imperfect.  She can sometimes be blind to her musical talents and is scared of striving for higher goals.  Nodame falls in love very quickly with Chiaki, whom she places on a pedestal in every way.  Nodame is very persistent in their relationship, and immerses herself into every area of Chiaki’s life.

Chiaki is also a piano major, but is the opposite of Nodame.  He is very serious, harsh, and doesn’t have time for relationships (even though every girl wants to be with him); he wants only to study and practice music.  He is an extremely talented pianist and violin player, but his life goal is to become a world renown conductor.  Chiaki likes things clean, organized, and minimal.  He is a perfectionist to the core, and expects everyone he works with to strive for the same perfection.  It seems as though everything he decides to do comes out perfectly and with very little effort.  Chiaki sees Nodame’s talent and potential as a pianist, but knows that it is not up to the standard that it could be.  Chiaki becomes Nodame’s cook, maid, and piano teacher – all completely against his will.

I am shocked at how much I connected with and loved Nodame Cantabile.  I adored the first season’s finale so much I actually started to cry.  The season 3 finale felt incomplete, and a little boring, but my husband reassured me that there was a good chance of more Nodame to come.  I began watching the show thinking that it wouldn’t affect me, and that I wouldn’t like it at all.  I was wrong.  Please savor those words my husband, as that might be the only time you read them.  I was so inspired, that I had to make these ‘sets’ today, and I had the most fun making them!

This first one is inspired by Nodame’s school style – color and comfort with a little quirk.  I love the piano bag she carries her books in every day:

This one is inspired by Chiaki’s school style – lots of greys, blacks, and navy blue for him.  No prints, nothing that would draw attention to his looks:

Nodame’s home style – lots of clutter and music.  You’d have to watch the series to know what all of this is supposed to be, but I hope it shows the difference between their characters:

Chiaki’s home style – clean, organized, good food, sublime music:

Thanks for reading.  I’m off to watch Nodame.  Gyabo!!