This past week, I have been studying a good amount. BUT, I don’t want to mislead you. I am not a disciplined study bunny. My current studying pattern is to compensate for not studying more earlier (being a feces-face).
Despite my devotion to learning new words (lilliputian is my FAVORITE so far), I can’t resist flipping through fashion week pictures. I’m not obsessed with any particular brand, however, there are certain designers that I tend to like more than others (Fall 2009 gold stars: Badgley Mischka, Richard Chai, Nanette Lepore, and BELOW!). My dear friend, Angelica, and I love discussing new designs and interesting silhouettes. So, I have to be informed to facilitate healthy discussion! Okay, poor reasoning. I know, I fail at life.
1. Although some people hated the Marc by Marc Jacobs fall collection, I really enjoyed it. After reading about him in the New Yorker, Angelica and I concluded that we wanted to be his friend. I suspect that we mutually respect Marc Jacobs, because we wear a lot of layers (MOTIVES: 75% “I-GET-COLD-EASILY”, 25% “JUST-BECAUSE”). He seems to like layers, thus we like Marc Jacobs. The picture above is my favorite from the fall line, and is also the inspiration for this post’s design!
2. Of the ones I’ve seen, I like Tracy Reese’s collection the best. I admit, I am biased because a childhood friend of mine is the Assistant Designer at Tracy Reese. BUT, I still believe that despite this wee fact, I would still declare this collection as my favorite. Superbly executed, this collection features a good mix of normal subdued fall colors, and sprinkles of stunning colors (see the turquoise dress below!).
The greatest aspect is the accessories! Threaded throughout the entire show= the most GLORIOUS FASCINATORS AND GLASSES!!!! Cool points to the max!!!@#@!!!!@#@!#!
3. Sometimes I have shitty days. Angelica and I refer to these days as “cupcake days.” Some days are…”two cupcake days.” Those are the worst. Chicago is an exceptional place for a food-lover, especially someone who has a weakness for cupcakes. Recently opened, Sugar Bliss is conveniently located near work. I’m not willing to declare it the best cupcake place in Chicago, but it is definitely in the top three. Sugar Bliss cupcakes are perfect for those who love icing (they even offer icing shots!). Based on what I’ve tried, I like their Chocolate Caramel cupcakes the most.
4. When my eyes first met this image of Obama Sushi (via Boing Boing and brother-in-law), I thought about the following…
5. I know this is a slightly outdated expression of love (by exactly a month!), but I am infatuated with Animal Collective’s latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Every time I listen to it, I always feel inundated with reverence for Animal Collective. This album is a little more electronic-ambient, filled with bold beats and some danceable tunes. My favorite song is “My Girls,” but lyrically, I like “Summertime Clothes” the best. Thank you, Taylor, for sharing with me your Animal Collective albums.
6. FACT! I love Shark Week. When I saw this Shark Tea Infuser on Designboom, I wanted it immediately. I would even consider trading coffee for tea (maybe), if I could use this tea infuser. My co-worker, Patrick, brought up a good point- the shark only looks cool if you use red tea. GOOD THING = I LIKE ROOIBOS.
Note: All fashion week images are from nymag.com, and the font is “LT Nutshell Library” from dafont.com!
Copyright Pepsi
Last weekend, I was in DC for a reunion right before the Inauguration. While there, I tried to spot as many of the Pepsi “HOPE” advertisements as I could. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t want to cooperate with the single digit temperatures, so I wasn’t able to snag them all. The above are just a few of the spots we saw plastered over Metro stations, buses, and billboards.
Although I think the general consensus from the various design blogs I read is that the Pepsi re-branding is a bit of a flop, I do think this campaign was great. Maybe it was just being in DC and around all of the excitement for the Big Day, but I thought seeing all of the uplifting signs added to the atmosphere. That, and I respected that they went with pinks and yellows and oranges rather than the patriotic color palette they could have. It broke up all of the American-flag-monotony around town. Check out more images/video of the campaign at this French site and read about it and the other Inaugural campaigns at Creative Review.
Maria’s Note: This post introduces a new S&D blogger, Lorraine, whose great design-sense I discovered through her own personal artsy blog. I’m very excited to have her here, and very jealous that she went to the inauguration!
By way of introduction: Lorraine grew up in Missouri, but claims Nebraska as her home state after spending half her time visiting family there while growing up. After college at Missouri State, she interned in Nuremberg, Germany for a summer and fell in love… with Nürnbergerbratwürste. She is currently working as a graphic designer and, in no particular order, enjoys: cheesecake, printmaking/letterpress, languages, badminton, watercolors, and antique doorknobs. In her “free time,” she reads a ton of books, plays around with her gocco printer, and blogs about design and DIY culture at her personal site, Lorraine Design. We are glad to have see her very first post on S&D!
Must say, I love the new whitehouse.gov web-site that launched today along w/Obama’s presidency. Worth taking a look around. A white house blog and everything!
The day is finally here! : ) If you’d like to re-live the election, visit the Election Collection (still one of my favorite things I’ve done for S&D).
A “metaphorically crude” (as the creator himself puts it) desktop wallpaper from elsanchez.com. (more…)
Yes. Friday. Hard to tell when you are unemployed. BUT I have yet to veg out and watch any random tv shows like Matlock or Saved by the Bell, or, a worse fate, an entire Columbo movie. I have actually been quite busy!
Here is the week in review:
By the way, that picture of Barack Obama and me? NOT photoshopped! Okay, but I did buy a life-sized cardboard cutout of Obama (BEFORE I was unemployed). Yes, I took him on a picnic in the woods. And now he is in my living room. Although, sometimes I find him in the kitchen or the bathroom. Either my roommates are moving him or he’s alive.
In this second special installment of “Maria-and-Tricia-converse-with-Mrs. Grossman’s-aka-the-founder-of-the-STICKER-industry,” Creative Director Susan Eslick shares her current obsessions. Yesterday, we learned that Susan has used stickers to barter, and surprise waiters and waitresses. This made me reconsider that silly dream of, you know, being a full-time creative girl (read: struggling artist that supports herself by serving frito pies). I like stickers that much.
SUSAN ESLICK IS CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH THE FOLLOWING THINGS (a few of which I have commented on):
1. OBAMA (Have you been to www.change.gov yet? You can even apply for a job on the site! Question. How many people do you think have applied to be the family’s puppy walker?)
2. CNN (I have tepid feelings towards Wolf Blitzer, but I love Anderson Cooper.)
3. Vintage labels
4. Stickers (I LOVE MRS. GROSSMAN’S CHUBBY LINE.)
5. Mad Men (Do you remember Maria’s fabulous Dyna Moe interview?)
6. Comfortable shoes
7. Typography from the 50s
8. Bahn mi (These Vietnamese sandwiches are so great! The best one that I ever had was from Ba-Le in Oahu).
9. Saving money
10. Italian ceramics
11. Cava
12. Small chairs
13. Manchego cheese
14. Eye glasses (The above glasses are from Eyebuydirect, where Maria purchased her last pair of glasses).
15. Fabulous packaging
16. Blown glass
17. Small kids in Halloween costumes
18. My cat.
ONE MORE THING LEFT IN S&D’S GREAT MRS. GROSSMAN’S SERIES!
A contest!
My dear bunnies, you are in for a treat! Mrs. Grossman’s has put together an exclusive prize pack for one lucky S&D reader. This prize pack includes Susan Eslick’s favorite stickers! To enter, email me with the correct answer to the following question:
What was the very first Mrs. Grossman’s sticker?
You have until Sunday, 11/16. The correct responses will be numbered, and the winner will be chosen randomly using this random number generator. And please title your email entry with something…you know…cute. Like “BALLER MRS. GROSSMAN’S CONTEST.” (Not that your chances of winning will increase if you have a cooler title. I am just fishing for a giggle. Selfish, I know.)
Tricia’s Notes & Picture Credits:
The font is Adam Gorry Lights by Senitel Type, which is available here. Image of Manchego Cheese from here. Bahn mi image taken by stu_spivack.
Happy Election Day! I guess by now it’s pretty obvious who I’m voting for. I hope by now you’ve cast a ballot for your pick (or are planning to) and I also hope you’ve perused my Election Collection Part I and Part II. (150+ fab election-related links!).
Since my birthday is always right around election day (in fact, I was born the day Ronald Regan was elected prez), and it’s always not far from Halloween, I think of the day as a part of a conglomerate of holidays that kick-off the whole winter holiday extravaganza that ends on New Year’s Day.
My election day is shaping up to look like a less exciting version of the image above. But there is still time to make presidential-shaped snacks and wear pretty buttons! (more…)
So many links, wordpress is breaking!
So, here it is, Part II. Tell me your favorite in the comments, or something I should add! And visit Part I!
Which do you like best? (Some of my favorites listed at the bottom of the page.)
CLICK to open the related page or product in a new window.
Am I missing anything? Let me know! I’ll update the page through election day as I find more relevant links! WordPress is having trouble with all of the added links, I’ll add links to Part II through election day. Lots more there!
Obama & voting prints, merchandise, blogs, web-pages, posters, maps, and more. Click on each images & it will open the related site in a new window.
Have a favorite? Here are some of mine:
Web-Pages
Clothes
Prints/Posters (besides every other one from AIGIA, also these were quite hard to choose):
Other
Although I found many of these through my own ventures, searches, and a significant number were posted on multiple “big blogs”, I did find a handful of useful links in the following locations: notcot.org, Urban Outfitters Vote Blog, Urban Outfitters Store, SwissMiss, SeriousEats.
PS VOTE!!!
PPS If you want to link to this post, I’ve got some cool images you can use:
Spelling Change just emailed me about their new project involving Obama-inspired letters, Obama supporters wearing letter T-shrits, and the fun way you can put them together. (The about page explains it best, actually.)
The site allows you to write Obama-related phrases (or anything you choose) using their fun politically-inspired alphabet (or make your own letters!), then you can embedd it on your webpage or purchase a T-shirt, sticker, poster, or postcard with the word you’ve created.
Fun!
