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happy weekend
OH HI! sorry for the infrequent posts this week, and there might be some infrequency next week as my dad is coming into town today for MAH 30TH BURFDAY. my birthdays not actually until next week, but we’re celebrating a little early so i am very excited for whatever’s in store (i’ll keep you posted because i actually don’t know!)
we’re also still maybe house hunting this weekend, last weekend we went and saw a bunch of reeeally cute flips (some we really can’t even afford). we’re still kind of in the process of deciding if we want to try to find something that needs a little less work or something cheaper that needs more work and how much we’re gonna want to end up fixing ourselves realistically. the photo above is clearly a very cute and very expensive house that instead i’m just going to steal some design ideas from.
anyway – have a good weekend guys!
ā a beautiful DIY that has eeendless possibilities.
ā secrets for the haircut we basically all have.
ā need to print 52 of these stat.
ā this print is so in it’s basically out.
ā i hope wes anderson reads a lot or else he’s a real literary poser.
ā cute and easy, my kind of project!
ā so speaking of houses, this one is my idea of perfect.
ā edible flowers make everything look gorgeous. i should try some on my next big mac to see if that theory holds up. -
DIY brass curve necklace
i’ve been hoarding a piece of thin brass from the hardware store for like six months, so finally decided to make something with it! being a minimalist when it comes to jewelry, i wanted to make something super simple, and i don’t think this project gets any simpler. you basically just bend a piece of brass.
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f21 faves
another batch of favorites, clearly i’m feeling a little monochromatic right now. i’m stoked on literally all of these picks, and seriously about to buy that perfectly simple LBD — but my absolute favorite is the purse. i bought it for our trip to paris because my bucket bag gets super heavy and i knew i wouldn’t want to walk around with it all day. so i got this simple little bag and i am obsessed. not only is it the perfect size, but it doesn’t get heavy feeling and it’s also so cute and really doesn’t look at all cheap. i bought it like three weeks ago and have had a dozen compliments followed by “that’s from forever 21?! i want” so go buy itĀ right now if you trust me.
CURRENT FAVES
purse / crop top / skirt / loafers / anorak / shift dress / bra / necklace
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happy weekend
yay – another week down! i’m finishing up aĀ boat load of items to sell tomorrow at a pop up shop i’m participating in! if you live in LA, you should definitely swing by because the lineup and inventory is reeeal good. here’s all the info.Ā i’ll be selling dreamcatchers and ring cones! i hope to see you there but if not, i still love you and i still want to share some good linkage with you.
ā remind me later to get myself a pet owl.
ā in love with this DIY bowl
ā because i’m in full on house hunt mode, can’t stop swooning over pretty makeovers
ā so helpful + informative, now i just have to go shopping
ā i put herbs de provence on almost everything, so naturally, gimme that
ā another realĀ cute hand written font
ā GTA5 + full house – this is perfectĀ (maybe even if you didnt play gta??)
ā some good reminders about making new friends -
maker spotlight : susan connor new york
i have been a long time fan of susan connor new york, so i am so excited to share her story and her gorgeous shop with you guys today. you can see right away that susan has such a perfect shop, with a meticulousĀ collection of pillows, throws, and brass wall hangings. take a look at her shop below and meet this girl!
TELL US ABOUT YOU + YOUR SHOP!
i’m an artist and self-taught pattern designer, and i live in new york city. i design and sell artfully made homewares and accessories. my line launched just over 1 year ago. my vision for the shop was to create a space online that would share the care that goes into my work, so that people could see the quality and detail of the items, in a calm and creative studio-style setting.WHEN DID YOU FIRST START CREATING?
i’ve been creating since i can remember. it’s a key part of who i am, and i can’t imagine life without making things, it’s that vital, and that much of an impulse for me. i’ve always made being creative a priority in life. i’ve been blessed with really supportive family and friends who have encouraged and supported me along the way.
HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR SHOP AND START SELLING YOUR GOODS?
i began working with the ideas for what would become my business a year before i launched; collecting images of inspirations, writing about my intentions, sourcing the right materials, researching the marketplace, slowly creating a set of first designs. i also developed the process by which the textiles are printed, which took a while to perfect. when the whole picture started coming together, it was something i hadn’t seen before. i saw that my work was going to add to the conversation, and i knew it was time to share what i had been building.WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART ABOUT RUNNING YOUR OWN SHOP?
the most challenging thing about running susan connor new york has been staying focused on where i want things to go. often, this means i’ll have an idea, or something i really want to make – but it doesn’t fit with my brand, or it won’t work with some other aspect of the business. i have had to learn to be more selective and to say no and maybe later, more often.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST OR TV SHOW TO WORK TO?
i love TCM, i love old movies, and they play so many good ones. after a long day of work, i love to grab popcorn and watch a movie from the days of the silver screen.WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY HUSBAND?
let me preface by saying i’m very happy with my current boyfriend of 8 plus years, kurt, i love you! butā¦ i have a well-known weakness for viggo mortensen.
HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED WHEN YOU’RE IN A TOTAL RUT?
i tune out, go and do something else for a couple of days. maybe run errands, go on a trip, go downtown, get pizza, see a bunch of friends, exercise, swim, you name it, *anything* but sit there staring at what i was trying to work on.WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D SHARE WITH OTHER ARTISTS TRYING TO GO PRO?
be clear on who your audience is, make sure that you offer them a great experience, and top-notch customer service. think of how you would want to be treated, and do everything possible to create that experience for your customers.
and, as the bearer of good news, susan isĀ offering 20% OFF all items in her shopĀ until july 15th!
USE CODEĀ PERFECT20
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DIY fresh herb bouquets
if you’re growing a big crop of fresh herbs this year, chances are you won’t end up finishing them before they’re gone. so i came up with a way to use them up that also makes you look like a real sweetie.
my stepdad growsĀ a huge assortment of herbs every year, soĀ weĀ foraged them to make cute littleĀ DIY freshĀ herb bouquets! these are the perfect freeĀ hostess gifts (because she’ll actually use them) or a perfect free favor for your dinner guests. free!
materials
- fresh herbs
- (i used purple sage, purple and green basil,
- thai basil,Ā chives,Ā thyme, orangeĀ thyme,
- african blue basil and french tarragon)
- palo santo sticks
- string
- (you could also use jute twine
- for a more natural look)
we love gifting palo santo sticks, because you can buy them in pretty huge batches (don’t be fooled into buying them per stick), so i thought they’d make the perfect little addition to the bouquet.
SO, cut your herbs to around the same lengths, and bunch them together. place the palo santo stick in front, and tie a string around the whole thing. that’s it!
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happy july!
hi again! hope you all had a lovely long weekend!! i wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy new month and to say i’m back from france, not jet lagged anymore but still a little too tired and perma-hungry (like i ate two breakfasts in a row this weekend). paris was amazing, but we had a heat wave the last half of the week so it made it a little unbearable to walk around, but it was still paris, so i still had a fantastic trip. i will be sharing all my photos and tips asap, i also am going to attempt to get back to regular scheduled programming on here immediately.
whenever i leave for a week or two, i feel so so behind on everything in real life and end up dreading coming home the last few days because there’s the long list of to-dos in the back of my mind, always. this is something i’m probably always gonna deal with because of being self-employed and i also have some sort of minor anxiety order (gideon calls it hyper-vigilance). i made sure to unpack this weekend to at least check that off the list (it usually takes us about two weeeks).
you know when you feel like one month is the length of one week because every weekend is booked up already? next weekend we’re celebrating my 30TH birthday (a week early), then the following week is both gideon and my real birthday weekend – and then we’re going on a little staycation the following weekend. so basically july is already over.Ā i also have a part time day job, which i don’t mention often on here – but that’s also gonna be pretty busy for the next coupleĀ weeks before we go on hiatus for the summer (i work on a tv show). so don’t mind me if i skip a post or two, but i’m super happy to be back and be able to clear out this insane inbox of mine. OK enough complaining, it’s summer! yay!
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gin and juice fizz
i really wanted to make a festive drinkĀ for the fourth of the july, but i was just finding in my brainstorming that red white and blue frozen cocktailsĀ are not really my thing. so instead i came up with a simple gin and juice. because well, gin and juice is cool.
heads up : i did the bare minimum. you could fancy up your gin and juice by squeezing fresh juice, but i just used from the bottle, because i’m laaaaid back.
ingredients
- 2 OZ GIN
- 5 OZ JUICE (I USED BLOOD ORANGE)
- 1 EGG WHITE
- 1/2 OZ SELTZER
DIRECTIONS
fill your glass with ice, and a little seltzer if you prefer.
fill a cocktail shaker with all the ingredients and shake until super foamy (about 15 seconds)
pour into glass and garnish with blueberries.
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dream house : the breakfast nook
ok, so for this weeks dream house — i’m daydreaming about breakfast nooks. there’s something so cozy and casual about sitting around at a banquet to me, that makes a house feel extra lived in and family-y. we probably won’t have room for a dining nook in our house if it’s similar in size to what we’ve been looking at (a whopping 1000 square feet), unless we move to like… the valley. but we’ll seeee!
neutral and perfect. [image]
these twoĀ are way more colorful than i’m used to, but i love the relaxed vibe of bothĀ [top image, bottom image]
these ones prove you just use the space you’ve got and it works. [top imageĀ /Ā bottom image]
ok so these two are restaurants, but obviously you can see how they can be inspiration. [top imageĀ / bottom image]
white + wood.Ā [image]
[image]
got a breakfast nook? if not, want one now? me too. me tooooo.
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maker spotlight : loop design studio
if youĀ read this blog, you know that i’m mostlyĀ into making useful DIYs. i always tend to make things i need or want, rather than things i’ll end up tossing because it’s just junk (i do toss my share of junk DIYs though). that’s why loop design studio’s work really resinated with me. so i want to intro you to elisheva, who lives in israel and makes super useful and simple and beautiful homewares.
TELL US ABOUT YOU + YOUR SHOP!
im elisheva, an industrial designer and maker. i live in a small rural village in the south of israel with my husband and two kids. i design and make home accessories that are clean and minimal but still warm and inviting – i like to call my style naturally modern.WHEN DID YOU FIRST START CREATING?
i was always into “useful” crafts like knitting and embroidery, and i got into art as a teenager. my family is very academically oriented and as the third of four children, i think it made me feel special to have something that was just mine.HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR SHOP AND START SELLING YOUR GOODS?
israel is a very small country, and we don’t have large home decor chains like west elm or anthropologie, everything here is outsourced and not locally designed. i knew i wanted to work in home decor, so starting my own shop was really the only way. lucky for me i didn’t know about all of the challenges i was yet to face as a one women show, b/c that would have probably scared me off. i don’t know where i would be without the internet – it has made my business what it is, and allowed me to do what i love for a living. living where i live (endless vineyards and not much else) and seeing where my designs are going, it’s surreal.
WHAT’S THE HARDEST PART ABOUT RUNNING YOUR OWN SHOP?
i think just having so much responsibility without being able to share it with anyone. when people buy something from me it is exciting but also kind of terrifying. i feel like they put their trust in me and i don’t want to let them down – i’ve gotten better at dealing with the anxiety that comes with the responsibility of being a solo business owner. i often wonder if other business owners are like that or if it’s just me.WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST OR TV SHOW TO WORK TO?
i love tv that’s probably aimed for much younger audiences. something about watching teen mom or anything abc family while i work is very calming. plus you can tune in and out and not really miss anything. i’ll sometimes have a tab open with a horribly silly show and work on other tabs, so i guess my guilty pleasure tv shows are more like podcasts in a sense.
WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY HUSBAND?
i’ve thought about this one long and hard. with the risk of sounding cheesy, i’m sticking to my husband of 10 years who never gets the proper credit – amitai hirshman you’re the only one for me.HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED WHEN YOU’RE IN A TOTAL RUT?
doing some really mundane production work helps jolt my mind. i read somewhere that people aren’t ever bored anymore since we’re always on the phone. time we used to spend on busses or in line daydreaming is now spent on screens. for me that was an eye opener, since for me, being bored is a huge part of being creative. so once a week in the workshop i saw and drill and let my mind wander.WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D SHARE WITH OTHER ARTISTS TRYING TO GO PRO?
just start even if you don’t feel ready. a lot of artists are perfectionists, and it’s really difficult to feel like it’s time to publish your website or start selling your work – there is always another tweak to add. truth is you’ll never feel ready, but the good news is neither does anyone else.
i for sure need one of those hangingĀ planters. you probably do too.
luckily she’s offering 15% OFF all items in her shopĀ until june 2nd!USE CODE ALMOSTMAKESPERFECT
