Vintage Mint

{Finally!} New episode of my favorite show this Thursday {Jan 14th}!  Bring it.

{30 Rock}

Jack: Lemon, I’m impressed. You’re beginning to think like a businessman.
Liz: A businesswoman.
Jack: I don’t think that’s a word.

{Thanks for the reminder, Jo!}

One of the {only} productive things I managed to do during my brief vacay was lounge around making some of these Anthro-esque floral brooches. They were surprisingly easy to make and you only need fabric scraps, needle + thread, and a pin backing. {Instructions from the wonderful diy/craft-loaded blog, My Mama Made It}.

Hello? Anyone out there? I know, I’ve been a terrible  blog hostess. I for sure need to brush up on some serious blogtiquette. I hope to have some posts up later this week since I finally have some “free” time! YES!

{Replace “Your” with “My”}

I swear, they — the retail clothing gods — better be churning out cute/hip kid clothes like the {limited} Stella McCartney line for Gap Kids by the time I finally have one. Stocking up on cool clothes for my yet-unborn, future children isn’t too irrational, right? Right??

I love everything {EVERYTHING} about this Gap kids holiday line: the soft pinks, grays, cashmere, military jackets {major swoon}, even the yellows {!} — and I am not a fan of yellow.

{ 4 Comments }Fashion + Beauty, Kids

Apologies for the lack of posts the past xx days. I just got back from a super-fantasically awesome trip to Japan! I’ll post more about that later…

Near Yokohama, Japan{yeah right, I wish I took this photo}

{Photo via *Leiss}

I love it when I find cool {and easy} DIY projects amongst talented crafters in the blogosphere. Say hello to DIY ruffle v-neck. Fabulous and practical, no?

DIY instructions from say YES to Hoboken {and another ruffle DIY shirt, here}.

{Found via, Design Mom}

Noo!! Another one of my favorite mags hits the dust: Cookie. There’s no bun in my oven, but, I’ve loved reading this quasi-alt parenting magazine. Sometimes, it got a tad pretentious {read: gruppy}, but on a whole, it had great layouts, ideas + tips, and wow! the photos…definitely made me look forward to being a mom.

{One of my favorite Cookie-cover celeb moms…}

Wow! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this gem-of-an-idea: exchange the clothes in my closet that are in really good {somtimes, um, not even worn — that’s impulse shopping for you} condition with others in the same boat {and size}, ONLINE! But, thredUP got the leg-up on this concept. Makes sense, given that — according to their website — we use only 25% of the clothes in our closet.

Um, I’m 100%  guilty of this; sad, considering I have a completely stuffed closet, with tons of clothes in storage and yet I feel like I wear the same outfits every week.

{Jenna Lyons’ enviable closet}

{Photo via Domino Magazine}

I’d be doing my MS program a huge disservice if I didn’t mention this week was Banned Books Week; which “highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States” (ALA.org).

Crazy to think these great works were at one point, and probably still are somewhere in the nether-regions of the US, banned:

And of course…

 Celebrate the freedom to read.

It’s finally my favorite time of year! I covet everything the Fall season brings: weather, fashion, foods, colorful foliage… Sadly, central California has ephemeral autumns and toilsome summers. {Boo…}

I think my heart would melt if it looked like this outside my window right now:

Now this is what I call tailgating {Husband might disagree}:

{Mmm…cheese…}

{And top it off with warm cider!}

{Photos via Country Living}