friday faves: 5.27.11

friday faves... on sunday.   sorry!

it's ben a crazy week and i still have a  crazy week ahead of me - my store officially closes for the season today, then it's off to h'are for a speedy 2.5 day vacay, then back home to do a ton of prep work for the big trip to china.  this past week has been a lot of tying up loose ends and shockingly not very stressful.  i think i'm finally learning to leave my work at work and relax when off the clock.  well, at least a little.  i really hope that i can carry over this less-stressful mind state to the next two weeks, as i am very worried i will get overwhelmed with the pressure.  so for now, i'll just focus on the beautiful and inspiring and calming.  here are just a few ~

design/decor

~ a bright & relaxing bedroom ~

i'm really just drawn to this space -  i love the big window, the built-in shelving, the colors and print-mixing, and mostly the huge huge bed piled up with pillows.  my own bed may have a massive pillow mound, but it is currently broken so i am sleeping on an angle.  but this bed?  this bed is glorious.
moral of the story: i want to live here.

from house beautiful, march 2008 [via housebeautiful.com]

fashion/shoes

~ bright coral shoes ~

i own these.  and they are magical.  i put them on and somehow feel happier, prettier, sassier.  

[from white house black market, of course]

etc.

~ california dreaming ~

huntington beach, CA ~ summer of 2008

ohhh california, how i love thee... whenever i get stressed i find myself looking through old pictures of mine from california summers and i instantly calm.  i think it's about time i return...

[photo taken by me while suntanning]

~ this song ~

listen & love.

{i was made for sunny days}

wedding wednesday: tara keely by lazaro

i came across this dress on the great wedding blog, the bride's cafe, and immediately fell in love. the designer is tara keely by lazaro and the rosy detailing is just lovely. i adore texture in gowns - depth, intricacies, layers - and this dress is a perfect example of how to do texture properly.

up close details... and a beautiful bow ~

and of course, the blushing bride in her masterpiece of a gown ~

{ photography by marie labbancz }

gorgeous!

some more gowns from the collection ~

reblog: dear edward cullen

read this and just could not stop myself from sharing! ~

sorry all, but i'm not a twilight fanatic.  i read all the books, mostly because i'm a reader and because i wanted to see what all the hype was about.  i was sadly underwhelmed.  just not my thing.  wanna know what actually is "my thing?"  see here.  also include in that list peter pan.  


hope you enjoyed this little blurb as much as i did :)

*found on one of my fave tumblogs, booklover

friday faves: 5.20.11

i was sick most of this week with what can pretty much be described as a non-stop migraine.  ugh.  when i wasn't drugged up, asleep, or whining in pain, i've been working on some long-term plans currently in the works.  lots of big life decisions coming up, to say the least....

but anywho, between all the researching and phone calls and hours spent in bed hurting, i did happen to find some fabulous pretty things to share ~

design/decor

~ a great diagram to help start your gallery wall staircase ~

as you may remember, i love me some stairwell gallery walls! but as incredible as i find these spaces, the work of actually creating such a masterpiece seems, well... daunting.  where to start, how to make it just right, try to balance the difference size frames... ugh.  but this post on everything fabulous, filled with lots of beautiful stairwell gallery walls, gave me this handy dandy diagram!  appareantly the trick is to: "measure the same distance from the collage to the stairs every second or third step, to keep the distance consistently."  not so daunting anymore!

~ surprisingly chic yellow striped walls ~

i never would have expected to like yellow striped walls anywhere other than a nursery, but man do i love the way the soft yellow pops in this living room!  absolutely lovely.  [via hooked on houses]

fashion

~ everything about this outfit/image ~

everything.  i love all of it, especially tiiu kuik's fabulous pose - & laughter! she is such a talented model [remember this editorial? and she was laughing in that one too!]  but it's not just the model/pose, it's the great outfit - especially those nude lace heels by azzedine alaïa - perfection ~

photo shoot from marie claire australia, march 2011, shot by walther chin [via]

~ fan bing bing in lavender ~

man i must really have a girl crush on fan bing bing!  or at least on her stunning fashion choices.  i love lavender, i love elie saab, i looooove fan bing bing in this gown!  stunning 

[image via red carpet fashion awards]

etc. 

101 followers of pretty things

 

 chicka-whaaa?!  

this is even better than a dalmatians!  

i started blogging about a year ago but kept it all to myself.  it wasn't until mid-june that i decided to do it "for real."  i created a new blog called pretty things and made it open to the public.  i didn't tell any of my friends and thought no one would ever find it - i just figured these pretty images would be out in the middle of nowhere, seen by no one but myself.  and really, that was fine with me, because the whole point of blogging for me was to create a virtual scrapbook where i could stow away all things i find beautiful for the one day i may need it.  but somehow you all found me!  and now, 101 followers?!  wow!  thank you to all you dear readers for making me feel so special today and every day :) 

link love 

 ~ gorgeous ladies in red [my faves = dianna agron in michael kors & brooklyn decker in escada] ~

~ speaking of red, a stunning ODLR dress that is exactly my style! ~

~ some beautiful beautiful mantles ~ 

~ the origin of the bathing suit ~

~ messy buns galore ~ 

xx, kait

pretty pictures: holiday

it's no big secret that i love audrey hepburn.  i even went through a stage where i watched breakfast at tiffany's multiple times a day, for roughly 2 months.  not just because of audrey but let's face it - she is the one that made holly golightly holly golightly.  i loved her before this time, but after she/holly got me through such a difficult time, i began to adore her on an even deeper level.  maybe that sounds strange or slightly idolatrous but it is what it is - i love audrey hepburn.  i idolize audrey hepburn.  i aspire to be like audrey hepburn.  audrey hepburn is grace, compassion, intelligence, talent, and natural beauty, in the purest form.  someone to look up to, someone to emulate.  oh, audrey, audrey, audrey...

she is an original.  often copied, never reproduced.

so i'm not always the biggest fan of audrey as a halloween costume, audrey look-a-likes, or celebs doing photo shoots trying to replicate traditional "audrey" poses.  [remember emma roberts in glamour?  no offense little emma, but no thank you, i'll stick with the original]  so just imagine my surprise when i saw this editorial, published in tatler magazine, and liked it! 

and the craziest part?  the model who i actually think captured audrey's fun and carefree spirit is phil collin's daughter!  crazy unexpected.  and crazy cool.  can't wait to see what she does next!

credit for this beautifully shot editorial go to photographer robert erdmann.
from tatler uk, june 2011; images found on tfs, first discovered on dustjacket attic

wedding wednesday: lhuillier - spring 2012

more monique lovin', try to feign surprise.  but i mean, come on, how beautiful are her gowns?!

monique lhuillier bridal spring 2012 collection 

ballerina-esque

bright white + sheer

embellished corsets

asymetry done right

and my fave:

 

corset, belt, & tulle...

ethereal, intricate, and yet somehow not over the top...

a.k.a. so very lhuillier

more lhuillier love:

~ fall 2011 bridal ~

~ pre-fall 2011 ~

~ on ginnifer goodwin ~

*all pictures from brides.com, where you can see the whole collection

i want: a stampler

want?  psssh - more like need.

need need need this on my desk.  asap.

from suck uk
first discovered on badder homes and gardens

fashion: chanel resort 2012 suits

chanel suits can be recognized a mile away - the trademark tweed, structure, lapel... everything.  i read an interesting article once about the intricate process that goes into making each and every suit - everything is done in a very particular manner and only with the most trained professionals.  wish i had the article to share or even just to provide more exact details, but suffice it to say that the detail with which each suit is constructed is just amazing!

but anyways... karl's take on the traditional chanel suit for the 2012 resort show = interesting.  i've decided to highlight just some of the suits for this post, although the collection is jam-packed with variety.  and there are many more blazers and tailored pieces than these i have included - these are just some key trends from the collection ~

yellow, yellow, yellow

dusty lavender suits

cream & tailored

(my fave parts of the collection)

blazers + swimwear

my all-time fave piece

 love, love, love... everything about this perfectly tailored jacket!

my wrap up...

all-in-all, i wasn't too impressed with this collection.  it's not really a good sign that the chanel looks worn by attendees at this show were far more interesting than the looks in the show itself.  i think that some i included here are kinda cute, and that last cream jacket really is amazing, but there were also a lot of awkward and even just sloppy looking pieces that i happily left out of this post.

i was also really not into the accessorizing.  what are those thigh-high sock things attached to the flip flops?  but wait... then there are sheer gloves with swimsuits?!  and top hats?!  come ON karl! 

more bizarre looks =  a funky shooting star fabric, random sheer fabric on otherwise decent outfits, and - in my opinion - awkwardly young-looking flower embellishments.  but to be honest, there's also some quite pretty sundresses, fabric choices, and interesting necklines.  so whether this sounds like your aesthetic or not, it is a collection definitely worth a peek. 

so go over to style.com to see the whole collection, and then come back here and tell me what YOU think!

celeb style: fan bing bing in atelier versace

yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!  i could not be happier right now!  okay that's a bit dramatic.  i could definitely be happier - if i weren't sick, if my dogs weren't barking, if i had complete faith the bulls would win this game... but anyways, as far as red carpet fashion goes, i couldn't be happier about this: the gorgeous and always fashion-forward actress fan bing bing stepping out at cannes wearing one of my fave gowns from the atelier versace ss 2011 collection.  it's even slightly altered to make it even more amazing than the original! 

not only did fan choose a breathtaking gown, but her beauty and poise really brings the dress to life.  stunning, stunning, stunning.

my love for ombre continues to grow...

[picture from red carpet fashion awards]

friday faves: 5.13.11

before going on to all the other pretty things i found this week, i must share how big & beautiful my tiger lillies have become!

last tuesday they had yet to bloom.  one week ago they were just starting.  and now?  they are the definition of full and vibrant.  by far the best thing about being cooped up in an office on these sunshiney days!

but anyways . . .  a few things that have caught my eye over the past seven days . . .

design/decor

~ perfect way to display coffee mug collection ~

pretty sure i need this type of storage in my life.  yup, definitely need! 

i love coffee mugs (and have a huge mis-matched and totally awesome collection myself!) but hate that they are typically stowed away in a traditional kitchen cabinet with - sigh - doors.  but this solution from a canadian quirky-candyland, a.k.a. amy and keith's fabulous home, is beyond perfect.

 fashion

~ my faves at cannes, thus far ~

karolina kurkova ~ shining in armani privè

salma hayek ~ gucci glam [première couture]

fan bing bing - atelier versace

diane kruger ~ calvin klein

gong li's purple perfection ~ roberto cavalli couture

uma thurman as the feather goddess in versace

can't wait for more!  all images from red carpet fashion awards

etc

~ but i like, really can't wait to see this movie ~

bridesmaids!  hopefully one day next week... pic from the super hilarious site, but you're like really pretty

lovely links

~ a super cool photo series of feet on vaycay [feet first]

~ tree branch + lace + wedding = simply love

~ can someone please buy me the dude's cardigan at this auction??!  if you do, i'll get you princess beatrice's fascinator in return...  deal?  deal.

a weekend reminder...

the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

- eleanor roosevelt

p.s.  sorry for no giveaway tips this week!  i'm sure there's some fab ones going on right now but i just haven't had the time to search around.  hopefully next week all will be back to normal :)