The Brass Petal

And if you're also a fan of Emily Henderson's (winner of Design Star), check out her cute and funky blog:

http://thebrasspetal.blogspot.com/

P.S. How Does She Do This?

Just ran across a blog called "P.S. I Made This," which documents one woman's creations inspired by anything and everything she sees - fashion, interior design, jewelry. 


How does she do these things so fast? Where did she learn how? Is there no end to her DIY ingenuity? I just can't answer these questions. Check out a pom pom necklace she made:

Inspiration Board

How To Instructions:

http://psimadethis.com/post/555895121/to-pom-or-not-to-pom-theres-no-question-about

Clever girl. (Try not to click through her entire archives. It's hard to stop!)

No Wires!

Considering I have a cell phone that is the size of a walkie-talkie and wrapped in nuclear-bomb grade rubber to avoid breaking while dropped, I'm obviously not on the up-and-up with technology. I had a Blackberry, hated it, and gave it to Jon two weeks after buying it. I actually miss my real 1990s phone, which I sadly lost in a taxi in NYC.


The iPad, however, is pretty cool. A savvy design function? Portable TV. Check out this retro docking station:

Via Design Sojourn and Design Mind

The most exciting part of this whole thing for a non-techie like me - no wires!

Trash TV

I fully admit this: I have the television taste of a 12-year-old high on candy straws and Coke. America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl (this show is high brow, due to the extremely chic taste level of clothing), Top Chef, American Idol (back when it was good), The Next Food Network Star and Design Star. Jon calls this trash TV. I call it addictive.


I may have been known to rip out the ad page for an upcoming season of ANTM and 'X' out the eliminated contestants' faces as the season went along. 


I said "may."


Last night Design Star officially ended and the winner was Miss Emily Henderson, a catalogue and photo shoot prop stylist. The premise for her show is "clothing style to lifestyle" - designing a space based on your clothes (which Thom Filicia's show started out as several years ago, and later changed; love this show, BTW, though Style Network is not a current part of our cable package - rude and unfair and most likely done by Una). 

Genevieve Gorder has the worst hair/wig I've ever seen. This pic is not a good representation.

And Candice is enormous and Vern is a midge. 

Not sure if Emily's actual HGTV show is the same premise as they showed on the competition, but I'm pretty positive it will be added to the repertoire. 1) She looks to be around my age. 2) I like the vintage/global/flea market vibe - more accessible to young people who don't want things to be matchy-matchy. 3) I am bored with the other good shows, and everything else is tacktastic. (I am looking at you, David Bromstad. Don't even get me started.) 


I have a reality design show compulsion. There's really nothing I can do about this. And in the genius words of Vince Vaughn, a la the first church scene of Wedding Crashers: 


"Sorry I'm not sorry." 

Light the Streets of Milwaukee

I often remark how pale I am, especially in the summer months whilst standing beside a bronzed and glowing beauty with nary a freckle in sight (slash everyone but the Amish population, who continue to wear long sleeves and skirts in the dead heat of August). Usually, someone will follow this up with "You're not that white. You just need a tan."


People, I am that pale. 


Please observe a photo of me with my two sisters' from July 4th weekend. I will let you guess which ones are mine.

I was clearly hit with the "burn when inside a car with tinted windows while wearing SPF 70" stick, even as sisters and brother tan in a dang thunderstorm.


Biology decided not to replicate this gene with younger siblings. I will continue to tell myself it shall serve a purpose at a later date. Like if the electricity goes out in the dark of night and I need to light the streets of Milwaukee with my shins.

Sale, Ship, and Sew

Our new rental house isn't even fully unpacked, let alone painted. Part of that is because I've been visiting fabric stores to pick window drapes and headboard choices, so I can pull the wall color from the prints (and the other half is because when I'm not traveling, I'm sleeping and catching up on shitake from 8 weeks ago). 


I finally narrowed down our headboard and living room picks and I am so dang excited! (Yes, I realize I just wrote that, though my 18 year old self is pretending not to know me.) My absolute favorite, a pale ikat print for our headboard and bedroom curtains, was coming in at . . . $49.99 a yard. Yikes (especially when you need 10 yards). Add to that the living room print at $29.99/yard, and heart attack, meet Jon. 

Headboard and Bedroom Drapes! 

Robert Allen "Khanjali" in Glacier

Living Room Curtains - [Wrong Color, Bad Closeup of Print]

P/Kaufmann "Boscobel" in Patriot 

(a dusky red, linen and marine blue combination)

That is, until I perused the selection of fabrics today at Jo-Ann. They're having an awesome sale August 22nd - 28th: 40% off 54" decorator fabrics (which include my two), and 50% off regular/non-sale fabrics. Hell to the y-e-s!

But it gets even better. After searching for photos of my fabric online, I discovered OnlineFabricStore.net, which is selling my bedroom fabric for just $15.25/yard! I would never order online without having touched and seen the fabric in person, but since I've already decided it's the one - consider this a sale, ship, and sew. 


Hello, house. Aren't you looking gorgeous?

Lonny's Back!

The August/September issue of Lonny is out! Woo hoo!

http://www.lonnymag.com/Home.