Watching.....Priceless

Last night Mark had a solo gig, so Kate and I spent the evening by ourselves. After she went to bed, I snuggled in to watch a movie. I love my husband dearly, madly even, but I must admit, our tastes in movies are often drastically at odds, and my chances of getting him to watch a movie with subtitles, well, they're just not good. I've had this movie on my Netflix queue for awhile now, but was waiting for just such a night to enjoy it. It did not disappoint. Such a charming film! In a lot of ways the storyline reminds me of Breakfast at Tiffany's, except of course, Priceless is set in the present day and it's in French. I made the mistake of watching this film all grunged out in yoga pants and a hoodie, and felt like quite the frumpy American as Audrey Taotou pranced around in all her gorgeous dresses and lovely tousled hair, but I consoled myself by the fact that she is so the epitome of French chic and elegance she would make even Gwyneth Paltrow look frumpy. Just sayin'. Anyway, it's really an awesome movie. You can watch the trailer here.

Winter Hat

It's supposed to be a cold day today, so I thought I'd take this opportunity and show off my fancy new winter hat. I just ordered it from Portland based designer Liza Rietz. She has a lovely etsy shop, and I'm so pleased with my hat. I love the glamorous 1920s-esque cloche style, but it's also made of warm black wool, so it keeps my head nice and cozy.

Emma Watson

These pictures made the blog rounds a month or so ago when they showed up in the pages of Teen Vogue. Aren’t they stunning?

I thought they were gorgeous the first time I saw them, but now that fall is actually here and the weather is cool enough to make burgundy velvet jackets and leopard tights a reality, I think they’re even more inspiring.

This is why I can’t keep up with fashion week. Who wants to look at all those light flowy spring collections right now, when all I can think about are rich jewel tones and luxurious velvet, corduroy, wool, and cashmere?

Eat Sleep Tweet

Okay, so I'll admit I'm a bit spastic when it comes to twitter. Sometimes I will tweet compulsively throughout day, and then I'll go days on end without a single tweet. I really love Twitter, but I think the fact that I still don't have one of those fancy schmancy smart phones (I know, I'm like so 2007!) keeps me from consistently updating. I'm torn, because on the one hand, I thrive on communication, but on the other, since I'm usually glued to my laptop at home, sometimes it's nice to have a break from information overload when I'm out and about. I have a feeling I'll give in eventually, but in any event, I'm loving this Eat Sleep Tweet T-shirt!

And Speaking of Rain....

Should I dare to venture out, I think these lovelies from Target would make puddle hopping ever so much more fun!

Ruffly Pencil Skirt

(via Anthropologie)

I’m smitten with this ruffled pencil skirt! The silhouette is still classic and elegant enough for the set of Mad Men, but the flirty ruffle adds such a fun, whimsical touch. So pretty!

Laura Ashley Book

I've only owned one piece of Laura Ashley clothing in my adult life. It was a gorgeous Edwardian style burgundy velvet dress, long and flowy with an empire waist, luxurious velvet covered buttons and an intricately crocheted ivory collar. I found this treasure at my local thrift store, and remember looking around furtively wondering why no one else had already scooped it up. I carried it to the counter, paid the lady my $3.00 and scurried out as quickly as I could, half fearing someone would run me down and say it had all been a mistake and that dress wasn't for sale after all.

Well, I hoarded that dress away in my closet and pulled it out on Christmas Eve. I twirled around in the mirror feeling like a character in a Jane Austen novel (Elizabeth Bennet, of course). And then my husband walked in. "That's a really pretty nightgown," he said. It was 5:00 in the afternoon and we were on our way to Christmas Eve dinner. My bubble was officially burst.

I haven't felt the same about Laura Ashley since then, because although I would never have admitted it at the time, that dress really did look like a very pretty Edwardian nightgown that some romance novel heroine would run around dark, damp castles in. It's the type of thing that looks stunning in the glossy, highly stylized editorial pages of magazines and advertisements, but doesn't translate that well to real life. Or at least my real life.

Still, I saw a blurb about this book in this month's issue of Country Living, and was immediately intrigued. Just look at that cover shot (top photo)! So impractical (seriously who could ride a bike in that dress!), but so beautiful and romantic. And that's what Laura Ashley's vision was all about: not practicality and real life comfort and ease (how boring is that?), but rich textures, soft, romantic ruffles and pleats, and the blurred edges of an ideal bucolic existence.

The story behind the brand is the subject of Martin Wood's new book. Laura Ashley: the woman from Wales who started her fashion empire designing scarves at her kitchen table and grew into an international sensation that would touch every element of style, from her signature blouses and dresses to rustic, romantic home decor. The book features an impressive collection of photographs both from the company archives as well as the family's private collection.