Snowy Prints

Time to share this little yellow apple's outfitting with you. The last time I shared my look it was bright and sunny outside (sigh) and this time I was playing in the snow flurries. As much as I love clothing, shopping, and creating fun outfits I hope I can get into a better habit of sharing my looks with you here.

Today it's all about mixing prints, Anthro prints to be specific. I got this dress for Christmas and even though I love it I thought the all over pattern was a bit much so it needed some breaking up. I turned to one of my favorite Anthro cardigans, Guinever's Cartographer cardigan, to do the trick. I finished off the look with some off white tights on my legs and low brown wedges on my feet and I was set to face the snow in patterned fashion.

(dress and cardigan:Anthropologie, shoes: Sarah Jayne)

My Hipstamatic Print

Oxford Blues

Recent snap on my Hipstamatic app.

lens: John S
film: Ina's 1969
flash: Cherry Shine

Friday Flick Picks

We're getting close to fun weekend time and I couldn't be more excited. I actually have the whole weekend off so that means errand running, catching up on some scrapbooking, reading my stack of magazines including Nest, Lula, and Ready Made, watching the SAG awards on Sunday, and of course watching some movies with my honey!

Here's what I've been watching since my last post Friday.
January 21st- January 28th

My favorite of the week has to be Spike Lee's 25th Hour. The entire cast is amazing, even Rosario Dawson doesn't get on my nerves, and it being set in the shadow of 9/11 sets this dark sad tone over the whole plot that is brilliant. It's a good sign you're watching a great movie when you're crying because the "bad guy" is going to jail for the right reasons. Check out this 2002 flick and you won't be disappointed.

Have a good weekend everyone. See you Monday!

Midland Antiques

Yesterday I found myself in the mood for some antique browsing so I went to my favorite place here in Indianapolis:  Midland Arts & Antique Market. It's located near the center of downtown in a huge, old warehouse. It's super hot in the summer and I had to keep my winter coat on during the trip yesterday but it has so much charm inside that the temperature swing doesn't bother me.

It's a great place to go if you're looking for an abundance of large furniture pieces, any type of lighting fixture, or books. The items that I tend to gravitate towards (old cameras, kitchen tools, ephemeral pieces, and beauty products) are a little bit harder to score but I always seem to come out of there with something.

If I had the biggest budget in the world, and of course a house to put everything in, I would have come home with all of these things...maybe one day.

An old stove and a wall of drawers and cubbies!? Hello, it's the kitchen of my dreams!

Oscar Nominations Announced

It's no secret that I'm a lover of movies and awards season is the validation for all the hours I put in at the theatres. I'm lucky to have a honey that loves the movies as much as I do (probably more so); he loves all those foreign and obscure movies I don't have the patience for but he can't sit through animated films like I can. We balance each other out.

With Oscar nominations being announced at 8:30 est tomorrow my boyfriend asked if I would share his choice of the nominees here and of course I said yes.  Enjoy his picks!

Early tomorrow morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce its nominations for the best achievements in film during 2010.  Around the same time this happens each year, I like to put together a list of what I would have nominated from the previous year in film.  Rarely do my tastes and the taste of AMPAS line up completely but that’s the fun of it, right?  Much thanks to Sarah here at little yellow apple for sharing my Oscar thoughts with her readers!

(Notes:  My nominees are listed in order of ranking from my favorite of the year to my fifth or tenth favorite.  I only listed nominations in the categories I had a hold on.  Likewise, there are no nominations for Best Foreign Language Film or Best Documentary because I did not see enough films in either category.  There are four or five films that may likely have garnered nominations that I did not see.)

Best Picture

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Cyrus

Inception

Winter’s Bone

Blue Valentine

Black Swan

Catfish

The Town

Shutter Island

The Kids Are All Right

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

Debra Granik (Winter's Bone)

Banksy (Exit Through the Gift Shop)

Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine)

Christopher Nolan (Inception)

Best Actor

Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)

Tahir Rahim (A Prophet)

Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Ben Affleck (The Town)

James Franco (127 Hours)

Best Actress

Emma Stone (Easy A)

Marisa Tomei (Cyrus)

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Catherine Keener (Please Give)

Best Supporting Actor

John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)

Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Jeremy Renner (The Town)

Jonah Hill (Cyrus)

Niels Arestrup (A Prophet)

Best Supporting Actress

Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Amy Adams (The Fighter)

Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Dale Dickey (Winter's Bone)

Amanda Peet (Please Give)

Best Cinematography

Christopher Doyle (Ondine)

Robert Richardson (Shutter Island)

Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)

Michael McDonough (Winter’s Bone)

Adam Kimmel (Never Let Me Go)

Best Original Screenplay

Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis, Cami Delavigne (Blue Valentine)

Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass (Cyrus)

Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin (Black Swan)

Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right)

Christopher Nolan (Inception)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Daniel Woodrell (Winter's Bone)

Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island)

Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard (The Town)

Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go)

Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Best Film Editing

Lee Smith (Inception)

Andrew Weisblum (Black Swan)

Jim Helton, Ron Patane (Blue Valentine)

Thelma Schoonmaker (Shutter Island)

Jay Deuby (Cyrus)

Best Ensemble

Winter's Bone

The Fighter

The Town

Cyrus

Please Give

Milly Collection

This morning I have been wrapped up in the 2011 Spring collection of Milly by Michelle Smith. I had never heard of her until a few hours ago and since then I have fallen in love with her line. Isn't the internet wonderful in that way? One innocent click leads you to something amazing.

Her timeless silhouettes are feminine and sexy and use unique patterns and bright colors. Milly's Spring collection favors coral reds and kelly greens, with pops of yellow and purple, and is anchored by the ever classic black and white. Her collection is a nice blend of eccentric Peggy Guggenheim and classic Jackie O.

Really, I am instantly a fan of anyone who finds a way to incorporate the nautical look and printed dresses into their clothing. Watch the Milly runway show here and then fantasize filling a shopping cart with all her clothes here.

These were some of my favorite pieces.

Hope this perked your Monday up. Enjoy everyone!

Friday Flick Picks

Hooray! We've made it to Friday and you know what that means: trying out the new Friday feature Flick Picks. To recap from its start last week, I share the movies I've watched during a week and share my favorite. So lets get started.

January 14th-January 21st: It was a week of classics for me. I saw:



Singin' in the Rain, The Godfather, and The King of Comedy.

My pick for the week is going to have to be the Gene Kelly classic Singin' in the Rain. It was a tough pick because I really enjoyed The Godfather too; much more than I thought I would. If you've never seen this cinema classic give yourself 175 minutes and watch acting legends as Brando, Pacino, Duvall and Caan make offers you can't refuse. But I'm a sucker for any on-screen musical so I had to pick Singin' in the Rain.

Enjoy the pick and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Great Big Stuff! I want...

This Head In The Sand Melinda satchel from Kate Spade! Never mind the $400 dollar price tag and focus on the beautiful goldenrod color, the ostrich print leather, and polka dot interior. Wouldn't this just go with everything through Spring and Summer? Perhaps even for Winter to chase your snowy blues away.

Oh Ms. Spade how you do tempt me, and in four colors no less! If you think you can be strong too, check out this gorgeous bag here.

Wedding Bliss

For all of you that are Anthro lovers or wedding obssesed, like your dear author here, you are in for some good news today! Last year Anthropologie announced that they were launching a wedding line that's set to debut this Spring. With the reveal day just a month or two away you need to get some info to get you excited.

The name of the wedding company will be called BHLDN. The name is pronounced like the word Beholden. BHLDN is just the phonetic spelling of the word. I'm not sure if it's as eccletic and romantic as I dreamed it would be but I do think it has staying power and it definitely original, just like this company will be.

They plan to launch the store online only first with its first brick-and-mortar store to open in August. They'll be launching a range of dresses in both price and style and staying very true to who the Anthro customer is: someone unique, feminine, and confident.

I thought I remembered reading that a more public release would be happening February 2011 (I can't find that article anymore so that is my own opinion) but Anthro will be keeping their customers in the loop on all of BHLDN's happenings and develoments so keep an eye and ear open for what's to come!


I love these inspiration boards put together by the darling Kathryn Snippet and Ink and I think (and hope) that themes like this will be embraced by BHLDN. Can't you see them coming to life in their store?

Golden Globes

Award season is upon us and in a few minutes the red carpet will start and, shortly after, the Globes begins! I have to say I'm equally excited about both programs. Nothing beats seeing the beautiful celebrities, gowns, and dazzling smiles as well as the anticipation of whose name is inside the envelope.

Print your ballot here and check out my picks for the top categories!

Best Animated Film winner: Toy Story 3. I mean it's a no brainer that a Pixar film will take the Globe. Plus who doesn't love the Toy Story franchise? The third installment was such a touching movie and if it doesn't win I'll cry as hard as I did when I watched the film originally.
Best Comedy or Musical Film winner: The Kids Are All Right. I mean look at the other 4 posters and you'll see why this is the clear winner of this category.

Best Drama Film winner: This is a tough category to pick. My heart says Black Swan because I love Natalie and I loved the film but I think the Hollywood Foreign Press will pick The King's Speech. I always have this moment of dilemma when I fill out my ballot. Do I pick the movie I like or the one everyone is predicting to win? Usually the competitive streak in me about award season makes me pick the winner.

So get your ballots ready, your red carpet gear on, and get ready to be wowed! Who do you want to see win?

Friday Flick Picks

All right readers, I'm going to try something new for Fridays: Recommending a movie for you to get out and see. I'm calling it "Friday Flick Picks." I'll share all the movies I see in a week, from Friday to Friday and then pick the one that I think you guys should check out.

Of course some weeks I see more movies than others and not all of them are in a theatre; but no matter if it's at the theatre or on my couch I'll list them all and pick a "winner." Sound good? Let's let week one's picking begin!

January 7th and January 14th: I've only saw one movie this week but it was a good one so I'm giving it my pick: Blue Valentine.


Ryan and Michelle gave really great performances. Everything feels so real between the two of them. Definitely stressful at times and opens your eyes to what it means to be a part of a struggling marriage but the acting and the cinematography are so mesmerizing that you can look beyond the sadness.

I say SEE IT if you love well acted movies with some meat to it but just keep in the back of your mind it's a little sad.

So movie fans come back next week and we'll pick again. Have a good weekend! xo

Lacy Little Things

I am loving the look of lace right now. It has the power to make you look girly and romantic or hippie and ethereal. I'm digging more of the former of its two feelings. Something about it is singing long wavy hair, tan legs, and sunny days. I guess with all this cold weather it's only natural to be longing for such things. But the jacket, vest, and flats could be worked into some early Spring looks too. I can definitely see a lacey number making its way into my closet before then...

links: 1-modcloth, 2-modcoth, 3-modcoth, 4-rory beca nordstrom, 5-anthropologie, 6-shopruche, 7-vera vague, 8-alloy, 9-threadsence

Snowy Days

So outside my window all I can see is snow, snow and more snow. A warm sweater and a cup of hot tea seem to be the best way to defend against all this cold weather. But I think my sweet puppy Charlotte has the right idea on how to beat the chill... ...snuggle with a friend and sleep through it; dreaming of warm weather all the way!

A Closet to Live In

With the new year still fresh I'm seeing lots of people talking about following through with their resolutions and the top one is to get more organized. For most women I think their biggest project to tackle is the closet! From ELFA systems to space saving hangers, storage bins, and shoe organizers, the ways to make your closet a fashion haven are endless.

I've always had the dream of a closet you could sit and relax in. One with a small couch or settee and a table where I could sit and stare at my beautiful clothes or have a fashion show with friends. Kind of like a mix between Carrie's closet and Mariah Carey's (I know you all remember her house on Cribs!). I guess that's why I'm obsessed with all the closets I'm seeing out there now. I just love to look at the collection of clothes, shoes, and accessories a woman can acquire. It tells the story of her life.

Right now my modest apartment closet is no where near my dream but I already have the space saving hangers and I can dream about having one like these one day...