braided necklace

I’ve been on a major clean-out spree around my house and have come up with a huge pile of t-shirts that I received for free at different events. Three of them were put to good use in this braided jersey necklace, which some people are calling a scarf. Which do you think it is?

// necklace instructions from is.ly, photos by monique

an unconventional tree

I found this tree in the ikea holiday catalog and immediately thought it would be a good fit for my gold & silver themed holidays. Overall, I’m quite pleased with my purchase, although there was a major design flaw that I had to address while I was decorating.

The little notches they created to hold each ornament in place were just a little too little. The tiniest bump would send all of the ornaments in a downward spiral to the bottom of the tree. Very frustrating. So, I whipped out the glue gun and put a dot of glue next to each notch to prevent the ornament from sliding. You can’t even see my solution in the images, which is precisely what I was going for.

If you decide to purchase this tree, just know it’s $9.99 plus a stick of glue gun glue, don’t even start adding ornaments until you fix those notches.

On a happier note I am ecstatic about the way my spray painted gold dinosaur ornaments turned out, they are a great addition to my gold glitter and silver ball ornaments this year.

Here’s to decorating for Christmas a few weeks early!

grace coddington

I watched The September Issue last night. All in all, amazing! What a look into the real life of Anna Wintour, I love that they asked her about her family’s take on her career and captured her daughter in their home life. It made her seem like a real person instead of just the goddess of Vogue.

Of course, I immediately fell in love with Grace Coddington. What a woman! She knows how to stand up for herself around the most intimidating woman in fashion, and she can tell a serious story with her styling skills. 

Grace’s best quote in the film: “You have to demand [what you believe in] otherwise you’ll be blamed when it goes wrong.”

// photos top row: grace coddington in her modeling years, bottom right: photograph styled by grace from a shoot for Vogue US september 2007, bottom left: the wedding party styled by grace from Vogue US June 2009, middle left: grace coddington in march 2010

the best of... running shoes

a {special request} running shoe roundup…

Some people think that to be good for running, shoes have to be ugly, but that is not the case; you can find good looking + high quality running shoes! Usually I leave my run talk on my running blog, but these shoes were so colorful I had to share.

Generally speaking I advocate for minimalist running shoes, but if you are new to running, sometimes you need a little more support. Here are eight pairs of shoes I would wear and a little extra tip for each pair! I tried to find the best of both worlds, combining a great shoe with a cool look. Every runner is different though, so try on several pairs before deciding on one.

{1} Saucony Fastwich these are a great halfway to minimalist running shoes, not too much heel, not too little.
{2} ASICS Hyper-Rocketgirl a true racing flat, these are lightweight and provide minimal support.
{3} ASICS Hyper-Rocketgirl similar to No. 2, but the whole body of the shoe is made from mesh.
{4} Saucony Shay XC another racing flat, great for narrow feet (these are what I wear to interval training).
{5} Saucony Grid minimal racing flats, these are super lightweight and good for speed.
{6} Brooks Cascadia a trail running shoe with lots of support and extra traction (I have these for trail running).
{7} Brooks Mach 9 this is a minimalist shoe from Brooks, with a little more heel support than some of the racing flats.
{8} Puma Velosis this is the least minimal in the crowd, would work for a beginning runner or someone who walks a lot.
 

armistice day

“To us in America, the reflections of armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

Woodrow Wilson, Inaugural Veterans Day 1919

// photograph by jake belluci