On one of my recent weekend hikes, I came across this plant similar to a dandelion seed pod. It seemed to “pop” out of the landscape of mainly brown, with a few green, plants. I am not sure if it is a variety of dandelion, but its delicate nature and translucent snow-white puff with dark seeds intrigued me. I got in close to take a detailed photo. I feel so fortunate to have these beautiful trails almost in my back yard.
A trip to my local flea market yielded a very affordable vintage evening bag. Unfortunately, it’s peach satin exterior was in poor condition. The interior was in excellent shape, although it did not have any labels to denote it origins.
I have been experimenting with metallic paints on leather for jewelry making and I thought it would be fun to try it on the satin. All I had to lose was $2 and a little time.
Well, voila…the results were very positive. The paint took well to the satin. I chose a rose gold shade and then added accents of a vintage chandelier crystal and jewelry piece.
I thought the gold tones worked well with the chain strap of the bag. Here are the before and after pictures. What do you think?
BEFORE
BEFORE – YOU CAN SEE THE DAMAGE TO THE SATIN
AFTER – PAINTED AND EMBELLISHED
AFTER – IT CAN BE USED AS A CLUTCH WHEN THE CHAIN GOES INSIDE
AFTER
CLOSE UP OF THE VINTAGE CHANDELIER CRYSTAL AND JEWELRY PART
INTERIOR
When I think about moving FORWARD…it may not always have been the easiest direction. Sometimes it feels as if it would just be better to turn back around. In the case of hiking the Halalau Trail on the Na Pali coast of Kauai, once I saw the sight of Hanakapi’ai Falls, this was my motivation to keep moving FORWARD. It was a challenging, full day of hiking but well worth the reward of swimming in the waterfall.
I love this photo of my son Peyton and his girlfriend Natalie taken at the beach in Florida. Her sweet kiss is a reflection of their unconventional personalities and committment to each other.
I saw these jeans in an Anthropologie ad for “Distressed Denim”. I love the lace trimmed pockets. They are Piper Destroyed by AG. I thought this would be an easy DIY project. I chose some True Religion jeans I had not being wearing very much and added vintage lace around the edge of the front pockets. I plan on wearing them rolled up “boyfriend” style with a feminine white blouse as shown the photo below.
I love my HOME state of Louisiana. There are many misconceptions about it…but the truth is we have many bayous that course through the landscape. Also, we have beautiful live oak tress that are centuries old. We have a unique culture of music, from Cajun to Zydeco to Jazz. And most of all we love to “laissez les bons temps roulers” (pass a good time). All the elements of my HOME state are apparent at this celebration on Bayou Teche.
To say the B&B, Trois Estate, is UNIQUE, would be an understatement. I am trying not give too many details as to not spoil the experience for anyone, but this is definitely a one of kind property. Enchanted Rock is within viewing distance and the charming town of Fredricksburg is nearby in what is called the Texas Hill Country. My sister and I had the opportunity to stay here on a weekend getaway. Besides the adobe style rooms, there is a restaurant, underground grotto pool, and chapel on the premises. The owners have quite an extensive and albeit spooky and eclectic collection of…well collections. One being the largest cap gun collection in the world. Now I am not necessarily recommending a stay here, you have to keep a very open mind, considering the oddities. So, if you don’t mind staying in a room that only locks from the outside (and you get no key), or coming back to your room after having left for a few hours to find all of your stuff has been packed and moved to another room, or just laughing off all the unexpected, UNIQUE experiences you may have, this place is for you.
Today, February 1, 2013 was the 10th annual National Wear Red for Women day. The event was started by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of women and heart disease. At the time it was begun, women were being affected by heart disease in huge numbers (it was the no. 1 killer) but many women still considered it to be a male dominant disease.
Many people at work today wore red attire to continue to raise awareness of women and heart disease. I chose this red sweater, that started out as a traditional V neck but I cut down the center to make it “cardigan like”. I chose boyfriend jeans (hey, it was casual Friday as well) and a silk tie blouse with ruffle front. Grey suede wedges finish the look, along with a cuff bracelet I made using a vintage jewelry piece attached to suede leather and a vintage pin.
Someone I know loves drawing hearts in the sand ! In 2009, we spent our first Christmas together at the beach in Pensacola, FL. In 2012, we spent Christmas there as well.
2012
2009
Artesa Winery, Napa Valley, California
fashionjuxtaposition 