Shoe Love

I know most girls can relate to "love at first sight" when it comes to shoes. It doesn't happen to me very often but when does I get a little obsessed and start planning outfits around the shoes. This latest shoe crush is truly a wearable work of art.

Yes, I drew a fun little doodle

I think what I really love about these shoes is the mix of materials: the suede, the watercolor print, and the cork. The elements play off each other and compliment one another in an unexpected way. What can I say, I'm a sucker for water color prints, Impressionism is my favorite genre of painting and I'm often wearing Vera Wang's watercolor prints. I also love the tiny curve around the front opening it's so adorably retro.


This lovely shoe is by Tracy Reese and available (at where else) Anthropologie. What's even better it comes in two very different colorways. A playful weekend one, and a little more serious work appropriate one. Bright colors are my favorite so I'm pretty sure if I had to pick only one pair it would be the bright ones, but I really like the blush/gray combo too. But alas I am not coordinated enough for 3.5" heels and I'm already 5.9" tall so I'm pretty sure I would feel ridiculous towering over everyone.

On to the outfits:

These shoes have so much wonderfulness going on it's best to let them take the focal point of the outfit. I think a simple black dress is a safe option, the contrast would really make them stand out.

from asos

I also like a nice cobalt blue mixing with the green suede of the shoe.

from gap

 

The other colorway, the gray and blush could dressed up or down.

from anthro

This next dress is probably a little to matchy, but I love it anyway, Supyana has been one of my favorite designer for quite a while and her prints and her attention to detail are awesome.

from Supyana

Which color do you like better? Got your eye on a cute pair of shoes? Happy Wednesday!

Daschund Lover

I am an avid dog lover and dachshunds are my favorite. Over the past few days in one way or another dachshunds have popping up here and there........ sometimes a post just writes itself :)

In the Anthropologie catalog, it comes in other prints too.

so cute :)

The other day I was looking for color standards at work, and I'm not ashamed to say that this discovery made my day.

Dachshund = brown lol

I also spotted this cute retro pin on etsy. I love how stylized the shape of the dog is, I think it would look great on a winter pea coat.

Even at Target in the Valentine's Day assortment, they had weenie dog decor, some of which is on clearance now. I got this cute frame in the store a while ago.

Me and Alize in the Bluebonnets

And if I had money to blow on something frivolous but still kinda practical, I would get this clutch wallet. I love Ted Baker :)

A dog closure is the coolest!

Ok so my geeking out over dachshund related things has come to end for now :) Hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Top 5

Here's my top 5 things I'm excited about right now.

1. I got to take a painting class with my friends this past weekend, it was really great to hang out and do something different together, and it's always fun to see how everyone's painting will turn out. Everyone has their own style :)

2. I get pretty obsessed when I discover new music or a new song I really like. I am really into the band Ruth right now. They are upbeat, and experiment with genres, and their lyrics are endearing :)
AND I really love their covers EP. I love when people put their own spin on pop songs, with the exception of Christmas songs lol. No one should redo Wham's "Last Christmas" because the original is perfect but I digress ;)

3. Springtime and new plants. I have been looking at these succulents for a while and I finally got some at Home Depot the other day :) And I got some new seeds too! I love spreading seeds it's always a wonderful surprise to see what will come up.

Neon green = happiness

4.  Yes, I love children's movies, and this is the best trailer I have seen in a long time. Is it summer yet?

5. I also love my British comedies and I've become pretty avid fan of Doc Martin. He was a successful surgeon in London who becomes a GP in a sleepy little seaside town, where everybody and I mean, everybody knows each others' business. It didn't come on PBS this weekend and I was going through withdrawal, but Hulu saves the day! They have a ton of episodes and I got to catch up on the 1st season which I totally missed. I will admit at first I wasn't that impressed but it kinda sneaks up on you and once you get to know the characters it's completely hilarious :)

Hope you have a wonderful week, I'm going to try to be more disciplined this week and make more time for projects that have been swirling around in my head.

4 bunnies and 1 owl

I mentioned I was sewing again, softies for friends and family. I finished a baby owl for a friend who is welcoming her own baby soon. This was my first fleece owl, I had made some plush owls before with cotton fabric and fabric markers.

And on a side note doesn't Target have the cutest gift cards? I love the novelty shaped ones and they always have fun patterned ones too.

On to the bunnies, I have been interested in bunnies for a while now.  I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to make a plush bunny. Here are my previous attempts.

first attempt 

 

 

second attempt

I took a break for a while and then started sewing late at night and came up with a unbalanced cartoonish fellow on the left, but it really helped me work out my issues and I came up with the prototype on the right. So it was overall a good learning experience.

I wanted to make a bunny for my little cousin who broke her leg, so I made a bunny with cast on her leg too so they can get better together :)

I just used a strip of fleece and tied around the leg to emulate a cast. It's not pictured but you get the idea. I would have liked to add more detail to the face and ears, but I lost a lot of time being sick and I didn't want to wait too long.

Bunny tail

Close up of the face, in previous versions I was hand stitching all facial details, but I used the machine more, it was kind of nerve racking but I'm happy with the embroidery and machine stitch combo.

 That's all my sewing adventures for now. I'd very much like to make major progress on my drawings projects so that's my goal for this week. Hope you have a fantastic Thursday :)

I love ceramics

I've always loved the idea of making pottery, how cool is it that you can make something beautiful and useful from basically mud. I really enjoy tactile activities and making things with my hands, as a kid I was always secretly hoping for one of those potter's wheel kits they sell at the toy store.

what would we do without Amazon?

I finally got to take my 1st pottery class a few years ago, it was hand building class and I learned about different kinds of clay, glazes, and different techniques. I had a habit of making things too thick which often resulted in explosions in the kiln, much to my dismay. I really like making vessels to hold things: bowls, mini pots, and vases shaped like creatures. I still would really love to take a throwing class, and I think I'm going to make it a goal for this year.

a cup for my Q tips and a purple vessel for my cotton balls

a carved owl couple

one of my vase creatures

The great thing about etsy is you can discover so many different techniques and beautiful work in one place. Here are some of my favorites:
Jeff Campana is one of the 1st ceramic artists I've discovered on etsy, I love his use of lines and how everything looks flower like. I would love to have one of his mugs :)

Stepanka is another one of my favorites, and this year I was lucky enough to get one of her awesome glasses for Christmas. I love porcelain clay because it's delicate and translucent, nobody makes things quite like she does.

love you

I love natal yasots' use of color and pattern, her pieces are so intricate and have such a great personality.

I love his little top hat

 This toast plate is a great example of functionality and playfulness. Isn't it just the cutest?

This next artist is a local favorite, I first saw her work at a local craft show a few years ago, I was completely enamored by her lace infused pottery, I love her playful color palette and amazing pieces.
She's actually teaching a bird bath class at the Dallas Arboretum. Pretty awesome :)

Any exciting crafts or skills that you have been wanting to learn and try?
I'm off to watch the Oscars....have a wonderful Monday

Prabal Gurung for Target Review

Hi Everyone, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, being sick has had me doing a whole lot of nothing this week. Here is my review of the Prabal Gurung collection for Target.
I mentioned in previous post, that I ordered everything online, and didn't shop the stores, usually with the designer collaborations, I hop from store to store to see if they have something different, as the one by my house is often picked over. So I saved myself the hassle, I like to try things on at home anyway.

This first thing I tried on was this long sleeve top, I wasn't overly impressed with it online but thought the print was fun so I ordered it just to see. I was pleasantly surprised the fabric was really soft, a cotton blend and I really like how the pattern continues of the back of the shirt. It's moderately priced at $20.00. I think this might be the only piece I end up keeping.

back view of print

I really liked the black and white floral print. I thought this top would be cute. I like the geo shapes.
I ordered it maybe too big, in the past my experience has been that these collections are sized small, though this one seems true to size. I wasn't really happy overall with this top but it looks cute on the model lol.

I thought my favorite piece would be this cardigan with the same floral print, although it seemed really long. The button placket was lined for wear and tear which I thought was a nice touch but the buttons were really boring. Yes, I know I'm being picky. And it was kind of see throught notice my pink top showing through at the top of the cardigan? I was sad this piece didn't work out.

On to the dresses, I'm always a sucker for dresses, though I rarely wear them....I ordered the brightly colored mirrored pattern one, and to my surprise it was a knit t-shirt material. The skirt is a polyester material and has a cute little swing to it.

I kinda liked it although the drop waist kinda made it feel a bit like a muumuu. I'm sure it would very cute on smaller girls ;) 

The last dress, I thought or hoped rather, would be a knit material but alas it is made of polyester which I do not wear because it doesn't breathe and doesn't really feel like wearable, comfortable fabric in my opinion ;)

It kind of reminded me of a retro flight attendant outfit or something however weird that sounds.

So yeah, overall I was impressed with the collection because the variety of materials was better than in previous collections and the prints and shapes are fun, I'm just not sure they are for me.
PG does have some more subtle offerings in two tone tops and sweaters for those who are not into the prints, and from what I hear a lot of people are liking the shoes.

A more subtle look

So what did you think of the collection? Did you buy anything you love?
Between the picture taking and trying on these clothes, I've decided I really need to try to go vegetarian again or at the very least cut out all fast food except Chipotle lol


I almost done with two sewing projects, and I'm officially over my desire to sew for now, which is good because a couple new drawing ideas are wanting to come out and play.

Hope to have more soon :)

Top 5

I had great plans for weekend, I even took Friday off to get a head start on awesome stuff, and then Thursday I got really sick, I didn't get anything done this weekend, and I still feel awful. While I'm the road to recovery here are some things I'm excited about now :)

1. The Black Apple's latest painting in her wild and ordinary series.
It's such a whimsical and delicate concept. I'm pretty sure if I were ever to get a tattoo it would look something like this with morning glories and pretty birdies perched on the vine.

love the colors

2. Adele and Mumford and Sons. I watched Grammys last night and it was so great to see them together on stage for a little bit. I was thinking how popular they both are and that they are so amazing live, that would a be the best concert line up ever! I recently bought Adele's concert dvd & cd combo and Mumford and Sons recently released a concert dvd too. If you can't see them in concert soon I would do the next best thing and buy the dvds :)

picture from here

3. Skyfall out on DVD tomorrow. This has been the best Bond with Daniel Craig in my opinion because he finally has a villain that is up for the challenge, plus new characters are always fun.
AND Adele does a really awesome theme song, and coincidentally she will be performing this song at the Oscars because they are doing a tribute for 50 years of Bond pretty exciting! If you haven't seen Skyfall yet and you are Bond fan be sure to rent it soon :)

4. Prabal Gurung's new collection at Target. This time around, I did my homework, reviewed the look book and figured out what pieces I was actually interested in adding to my wardrobe and ordered it all online. I get tired of going to different stores seeing if they have what I think I want. I always get captivated by the dress that never seem to work out for me. I really like the black and white print cardigan, and the bright geo spliced dresses. I love his use of color, we will see how wearable it is.
What pieces are you excited about?

5. Ken Price at the Nasher Sculpture Center, I just found a new sculpture exhibit to get excited about. Not many of the museums are getting fun new exhibits but this looks awesome like a Pixar brainstorm :)

What are you excited about lately? Happy Tuesday to you :)