Kate Long Stevens

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More goodness from The NEO-Traditionalist today! Actually – she posted about this artist last week, but I gather my post ideas the week prior – so there you have it.

Anyway – I’ve fallen madly in love with the work of Kate Long Stevens. And I was floored to read that she’s very young (graduated from University of the South in 2003). But talent doesn’t hinge on age – and these paintings are truly wonderful.

Her figurative paintings capture light and motion and often vehemently nod to the Impressionist masters.

More impressionist notes can be found in her “land and sea” paintings, and these serene landscapes make me sigh.

Finally, I was blown away by her abstract paintings. Their bold brush strokes and feminine colors are enchanting.

I’m no art critic – so my observations are far more decor and design directed. But this artist’s accomplishment in such a short period of time can’t be denied. I find it incredibly inspirational.

Baby Boho at Rickshaw Design

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One of my new favorite sites, The NEO-traditionalist introduced me to this darling line of children’s clothes and bedding.

Rickshaw Design’s founder and designer Catherine Fitzsimmons uses her world travels as inspiration, particularly India where she found herself captivated by block printing.

I only have to look at her picture to know that I’ll most likely love anything she creates. I’m obsessed with her top.

Here are some Baby Boho images I found on the Rickshaw site:

Um – Catherine? Are you planning to start a line for women anytime soon? I’ll be your first customer…

Pssst! Run don’t walk to The City Sage where the lovely Anne is giving away a $40 store credit to Rickshaw.

Looking for Bridesmaid Dresses?

Clayton Gray Goodness

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Jackie VonTobel posted pictures of some lovely lamps recently:

I absolutely love these two and thought I’d do a little browsing around the source.

I’ve heard of Clayton Gray Home, but I’d never actually visited. Now that I have, here are some of my favorite items:

I had to include that last picture of all the wastebaskets since I looooove them. I want one in each color.

Of course, I didn’t love everything on the site since there was quite a bit of contemporary stuff. But that’s simply because it’s not my cup of tea – I can still appreciate the good quality and style.

One piece kind of made me laugh though:

That is a BOLD light fixture. It would take a very strong room to handle it. I think it looks like a Tiffany lamp met at disco ball.

Another light made me do a double take. But it’s not at all contemporary. It’s very fancy:

Is it me or do you also see this and immediately think of Cinderella’s pumpkin coach?

Anyway – I thoroughly enjoyed perusing Clayton Gray. I’ll definitely be back for more…

We Never Just TALK Anymore…

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Oh yes – more blogging about blogging… I’ve decided that this is what happens when you have writer’s block or just feel a little overwhelmed by life and it affects your motivation to write. You fall back on blogging about blogging.

But it is something that I’ve been thinking about lately since I’m trying to find a good balance for the time I spend online. I mean – I spend A LOT of time online, reading other blogs and writing for my own sites. And still I’m sucky at keeping up with FaceBook and Twitter (top of ignored to do list: create a FB fan page for each blog and try AGAIN to be interested in Twitter…)

I guess it’s just all about priorities. And what it really boils down to is this: when I have a free hour to myself, I really prioritize catching up on Project Runway episodes. Yeah – so that’s where I am right now in the blogging motivation department.

But I also think that this is the result of the pressure that I put on myself to perform. When I started The Big Piece of Cake almost two years ago, it was supposed to be a creative outlet for writing. It was something that I liked to do, so I created a place for it. And I LOVED it. I was just writing for fun and wasn’t in the least bit concerned about who was reading. But now it feels like I have to come up with something significant every time I sit down at the computer, and I don’t know about you, but I find that stressful. Not at all what I had in mind when I started out…

SO (if you’re still with me because blogging about blogging is incredibly boring..) I’ve had to make some decisions about where I’m taking this. And the answer is: absolutely nowhere.

I’m so not cut out for the superstar blogger world (if nothing else, my apapthy for Twitter has pretty much sealed the deal on that) – so I’m going to stop trying to perform. This blog is small potatoes. It’s an indie endeavor compared to the Oscar level success stories I’ve seen develop over the past two years. The corner book store compared to Barnes & Noble. A Mom & Pop shop compared to Target…

I think I need to go back to just writing for fun. And not get so hung up on trying to “say” something every time I write. Blogging is a genre of writing that’s ultimately very conversational. With all of the commenting that we do, we’re really just talking to each other.

From now on I’ll be writing more and pontificating less. I may not always have anything important to say, but I think that’s okay. There is no pulpit here at The Big Piece of Cake. I’m thinking less lecture and more “group.” Pull a chair up to the circle, why don’t you? Kate – do you have anything you’d like to share today?

From now on, you can expect to see more short posts (shut up IRL friends – you still have to read the long ones) about nothing much. AND if you like looking at pretty pictures, come visit me at Wishing True. I’ll be doing a lot more there now (about 2-3 posts each day).

I’ll also continue to post my fiction writing – but don’t worry, I don’t expect more than a handful of you to be interested in that. Seriously – don’t feel like you have to read it. Because I’m totally not reading your attempts at poetry either.

So to summarize one of the longest posts about nothing I’ve ever written (who am I kidding – this is practically a caption compared to some of my other gems…): more/shorter posts and less pontificating/self perceived brilliance at The Big Piece of Cake and more pretty pictures and “cool stuff” on Wishing True.

Oh yeah – and FaceBook fan pages and increased efforts to tweet…eventually.

Or something like that. We’ll see. No pressure…

****************************************************************************************************

ELSEWHERE:

On Wishing True…

My Liberty of London Haul

Fantasy Styling from Mrs. Lilien

The Haul

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Yesterday I wrote posts here, on Style Key West AND on The Big Piece of Cake – all about my Liberty of London for Target shopping. And I promised that I’d post pictures of everything I bought.

I didn’t buy any of the cute home goods because quite honestly, we don’t need them and I couldn’t justify the purchase. But we do need some new clothes – so that’s what I have to show you.

First – the adorable outfits I got for Eleanor. I wish I could have taken pictures of her modeling them… But as I explained on The Big Piece of Cake yesterday, her taste level is questionable and I’m going to have to trick her into liking them in spite of the fact that they’re not pink and emblazoned with Disney Princesses.

The kids’ clothes really were the best of the lot. And we splurged on five outfits. Which she may never wear… We’ll see.

Then I got four things for myself. I’ll admit that much of this stuff looked better online. But isn’t that always the way? And I had to laugh when I read someone blogging about how bad the quality was. Um – you did know this was Liberty of London for Target right? Did you look at the price tags? You get what you pay for.

But all in all – I was very pleased with my purchases. Which included…

This yellow coat:

I couldn’t resist. It was so darn cute – and I’ll probably get a lot of use out of it in the Spring worn over jeans. But it could also be dressed up a bit. I’ve always been a sucker for what I call “little old lady clothes” – meaning pieces that would look just as great on your 85 year old grandma as they do on you. The only thing I really hate about it is the choice of buttons:

They’re like big onyx marbles. Very awkward and heavy.

You can actually see the threads pulling. I give it one to two wears before buttons start falling off. I’m going to replace them with something more practical. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

Then there was this sweet little sun dress:

And yes – I am strategically placing my legs to hide problem areas. They’re not my best feature… Anyway – I thought this would be perfect for hot and humid DC summers. And I could possibly even dress it up a bit if we go out or something (it could happen.)

My surprise purchase though, was this pink top:

Not really my usual color choice. But I really liked the neckline:

Bottom line – it was cheap. So why not?

This last one was the first thing I put in my cart and the only thing that didn’t get put back on the rack several times as I waffled on whether I wanted-needed-actually liked it:

It’s supposed to be a bathing suit cover up, but I’ll probably just wear it as a tunic. I don’t do fancy pool outfits these days…

So that’s it! What do you think? Did you buy anything of note?

*Please ignore the ugly background. My bedroom (as I mentioned earlier today) is the one room that we did nothing with when we moved in three years ago – but it’s time…

DIY Dreaming…

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I don’t know about you, but I saw this and immediatly felt the need to paint my bedroom.

Nicole from Making It Lovely recently posted a detailed guide to DIY painting. And I’ve been thinking that it’s time to step up my DIY efforts…so this might be a good place to start! (By the way – did you read the caption? I can only aspire to that level of DIY expertise…)

We moved into our house three and a half years ago, right before my twins were born. While we were able to get most of the rooms painted (via professionals this time – I mean, give us a break – with an 17 month old running around and twins ready to be born at any minute, we needed help!)

The master bedroom didn’t quite make the cut. So I have been looking at dreary bone white walls for years now.

I think a complete bedroom makeover may be in order. And the first project will be updating a couple of boring white lamps and repairing and painting the rickety side tables. But painting the walls is high on my list of musts, so I’m holding onto this article.

I totally think I can do it myself. We’ll see…

Mrs. Lilien

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Run don’t walk to this fabulous blog!

On Mrs. Lilien, each post is a “Mrs.” with source annotations (you’ll have to visit Mrs. Lilien for those details). For example:

Mrs. Meyer

Mrs. Mingle

Mrs. Why Not?

Mrs. Brunch

Mrs. Weekender

Mrs. Uptown

Or at least most of the posts are devoted to a “Mrs.” Some have a slightly different theme. Like this Mrs. Lilien paper doll:

I may stay up all night going through the archives…

Apparently her genius stems from a graphic design background. So it’s not ALL creative talent and extraordinary taste. This makes me feel minimally better about myself.

The Perfect Beverage…

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…may have to come in one of these beauties:

Spotted on Table Tonic, Samantha Robinson Ceramics. Just gorgeous.

Here are a few more images I pulled from the site:

Definitely check out the website – it’s like a work of art itself.

All in the Name of Liberty

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*This is technically “part three” in a series of Liberty of London for Target posts I’m doing today. If you’re interested, part one is on Wishing True and part two is on Style Key West.

Long before I had my own daughter, I would marvel at some of the truly hideous outfits I saw little girls wearing. Especially when the parents accompanying them were dressed so tastefully. Where was the disconnect? Why did they put their daughters in hot pink bedazzled Barbie halter tops? What possessed them to think shiny polyester dresses in Easter colors made for appropriate “fancy” clothes?

Now that three year old Eleanor has taken an interest in her own wardrobe, the pieces are starting to fall together.

Bottom line: little girls have atrocious taste.

When Eleanor was just a newborn, I combed Ebay for Janie and Jack’s London Town line. It came out a year before I knew I would have a daughter, so I didn’t buy any of it. I have fond memories of pressing my nose up against the store window while I clutched my first born boy, tears running down my face, as I admired those darling plaid jumpers and embroidered cardigans… But Ebay delivered! I found every piece in the collection from the red rosebud embroidered top to the plaid gaucho pants. I couldn’t wait to play dress up with my new doll. But wait I would, since I knew better than to dress an infant in such finery. I only purchased the 3T sizes.

And this was our year! She turned three in October and as soon as the weather began to cool, I gleefully showed her the rich wool and soft cotton.

Her response? “That is not for me.”

Excuse me? Since when did she have a say in what she wore? Didn’t I have time until the inevitable teenage girl battles over low rise jeans and bra-less tube top ensembles?

Apparently not. And after copious tears over the gaucho pants (on both sides), I had to admit defeat. Look for my Ebay listings next Fall.

Sadly, this was not an isolated incident. Every shopping trip involves at least one conversation where I ask her what she thinks about something adorable and she tells me, “it’s terrible.” Seriously – that’s the word she uses. Where do they get this stuff?

I recently wrote about our children developing their own personalities and how they should be free to choose “who” they want to be. That? Was a load of crap. Eleanor’s fashion sense isn’t developing well. And I really wish I could just enforce tasteful clothing, like I enforce good nutrition and bedtime schedules. Oh – who am I kidding, my kids won’t eat anything but cheese sandwiches. Why would I think their wardrobes would be any different?

The most recent of our mother-daughter debates took place yesterday when we drove to Target to see the new Liberty of London line. I had already viewed most of it on the Target website and was enchanted by the dresses for little girls. One of each please!

Eleanor did not agree. She looked at this…

…and promptly sniffed her disapproval. She then pointed at this:

Out of EVERYTHING in the girls’ section, she picked the shiniest, sleaziest polyester. In sunset colors with a rosette AND a bubble skirt.

And she meant business.

She really wanted that dress.

Luckily for me, there weren’t any in her size and I didn’t have to lie. Crisis averted. But it’s just a taste of the years to come…

But I’m smart. And I have a plan.

Eleanor is madly in love with our six year old neighbor Jonas. She begs for him to come over and play, and when he leaves she dissolves into tears. When he is here, she spends half her time asking me why he’s not talking to her and insisting that I come tell him to pay attention to her

What am I? Her wing man? Seriously Eleanor – he’s just not that into you.

But it does kind of break my heart when she gets all excited about showing him her pretty dress and he could care less. She smiles and flourishes, “LOOK Jonas!” And he just gazes at her blankly, obviously thinking, “what am I looking at.” Oh Eleanor…get used to it…you’ll be dressing up for men for years and it will never change… (Barring the low rise jeans and bra-less tube top of course, but that’s another conversation for another time.)

So here’s my plan. I’m going to ask Jonas’ mom (a good friend of mine) to bring over the Liberty of London dresses one day and say they’re from Jonas. I may even pay Jonas to tell her he loves them on her. And I totally think it will work.

But what about the future you ask? What about the more important disputes over indecent apparel? Well – I have a plan for that too. I have no intention of being the bad guy. When she walks downstairs wearing a skirt that barely covers her bottom and a challenging glare, I’ll just smile. Then I’ll say, “you look nice honey. Just go say goodbye to Dad before you leave.”