long may you run

| August 17, 2009

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When I first saw Lizzie Fortunato‘s 2008 collection, it was just before the wave of flowered necklaces hit. They were super romantic and you could tell each piece was made with love — not in the crafty cutesy sort of way, but invested with care  & meaning. Their 2009 collection, “Long May You Run”  is inspired by the American West, and the addition of metals and stones gives the collection a rebellious edge. Of course, regardless of my shopping ban, it’s still out of my price range, but they have collaborated with Urban Outfitters to create a more affordable line called Hope Marian.

A few pieces from their collaboration with Victoria Bartlett’s runway shows. Bottom one reminds me of my sister Tien and her 1,000 paper cranes.

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All right, I’m going to be good now and straighten up my room. Lots of love to my RISD teachers — hope your year goes smoothly!

cute overload

| August 16, 2009

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Lots of birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations this weekend with the family. Tomorrow, I go back to work. Hmmm.

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| August 15, 2009

deaconIn memory of Deacon Bruno, the world is a little less colorful without him. We miss you.

BJ and I both wanted to collaborate together, and while we had several designs almost finished, time was running out and we couldn’t get anything printed before he flew up to PA. I worked on this a little more last night and I think I finally found a way to make my drawing a little less bare, because B was right: Deacon was not a minimalist. I’ll post BJ’s design once he finished. If anyone would like a copy of the final print, whether it be a prayer card or poster, please email us. We’ll be more than happy to send it out.

Higher resolution of this drawing is available here.

a blessing

| August 14, 2009

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Early in the wee morning, I dropped off BJ at the airport. I miss him already and wish I could be there with him and our friends to celebrate D’s life. So I’ve been dragging myself out of bed today, and I know… I know I need to go to school and shape up my room, but I just don’t feel like it. blah. Can’t believe this is my last weekend before work officially begins. 

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Sunday, we’ll be hitting our 4 year mark, and I wanted to paint something special for BJ. Picking Philip Roth wasn’t too hard a decision, I’ve been hearing about him since we’ve met, and BJ always finds a reason to buy more of his books. “I have it on audio, but not in print…. I don’t have this edition…”  I gave it to him yesterday, after the poor guy was drenched from head to toe from the rain downtown. 4 years have gone by so fast, and we feel very blessed.

For the painting, I used watercolor on stretched linen canvas. I wanted to just DO IT, to get over my hesitation and doubts and paint! It also allowed me to work fast, cutting down on the drying time because I’m a little, okay… super… impatient. Some of the tricky parts of working with wc & canvas happens when I need to paint on top of previously painted areas. The bottom layers would totally disappear  because the paint was only sitting on the surface of the canvas rather than being absorbed like it does on paper. I can’t count how many times his eyes would dissolve before my eyes! Sometimes it was a blessing– especially when I needed to correct proportions.

japanese goods

| August 13, 2009

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I LOVE office supplies. A few of my favorites from Uguisu Shoten, an online shop for Japanese goods. The prices aren’t bad either. They have the lowest prices for Japanese masking tape that I’ve seen so far.

(Top to bottom: 1. clock stamp 2. graph masking tape 3. tape dispenser 4. grid tracing paper envelopes)

Today, I went to an all day ceramics workshop for teachers. I feel more confident about running the kiln and how to use glazes. Whew. Say goodbye to fears of burning down our building. I also discovered watercolor glazes!!! I’ll take pictures of them tomorrow.

made to hold something super

| August 12, 2009

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Anthropologie, fall catalog. They always have beautiful photography, but sometimes it’s hard to remember an outfit in a sea of florals, color, jersey, etc. But I keep thinking about this outfit because of the Maille necklace. I also love the color combination of grey + lime.

If I wasn’t under a shopping ban, mine would probably hold some peppermints, chapstick, my driver’s license, and a strawberry air head xtreme roll (gotta try it if you haven’t!!!)

Jen and Jackie, if you’re reading this, I think I found a replacement for my cookie wristlet!

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| August 12, 2009

I am on a shopping ban for one month with the exception of groceries, gas, and school related purchases. We just have too many bills, deposits, and traveling to do this month. AHH, but then I came across this again on jcrew.

erez

Before I got engaged, I saw this dress and fell in love with it. Simple and elegant, and almost the opposite in terms of style of what I ended up buying. For our reception I already have an ao dai, but I would like  to find a dress to wear at the end of the night, especially if we end up going out together. Gotta be practical though.

erez-1My sister, Christine, ordered a bridesmaid dress from jcrew and it arrived today. It looks awesome on her. Plus, it has pockets so double yay!

While I’m on the topic of weddings, I love Cheri’s garden reception! It’s a dream. She also added more flag necklaces to her etsy shop.

bon appetite!

| August 11, 2009
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Look, it's just like me & bj

Remedy for a bad mood: Julie & Julia

Last night, B, my sister and I went to see J&J and it was a perfect way to end the day. I laughed throughout the whole movie, and 2.5 hours whizzed by  like it was 30 minutes. If only there were more scenes with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. I was in love with their love if that makes any sense.

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Ah, Paul!

Meryl Streep gave an amazing performance as always, but Stanley Tucci really won me over. Besides The Devil Wears Prada, I am not too familiar his work and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for the future.

Another great review by A.O. Scott for the  nytimes.

photo-37Do you think BJ will wear one of these with me?

strawberry swing

| August 10, 2009

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Check out this awesome music video for Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing, directed by Shynola. So imaginative & inspiring, not to mention time consuming. I’ll never get tired of stop motion animation. via drawn.ca

AHH just spent 2.5 hours sitting in the dentist office. Not in the greatest mood.

the gap

| August 9, 2009

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I think I’m going to miss the gap! B is such a good sport about it, but he won’t have to wait much longer. He has an appointment tomorrow. (Had to protect you from his crazy eyes)

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