BV SS 2010 yes please!

Tomas Maier's SS 2010 collection for Bottega Veneta is pushing all my buttons. I am loving the bright, yet muted, color palette that feels like a mashup of Italian Memphis Group design meets 80's office furniture. Lots of pale neutrals with a shock of color toned down just a notch. I particularly love the mustard-eggy yellows.

The soft, handcrafted look of the accessories are beautiful. They really take the signature Bottega weave to another level. The bags feel very ethnic, crafty, but quietly luxurious -- something Maier does so well. This asian-inspired, loose, structured silhouette, with a dash of body-con thrown in is so sexy and feminine, yet serene. I can't wait to interpret this feeling in my own wardrobe.



My favorite looks.






Photos by Marcio Madeira via Style.com

Visual inspiration.

Italy 6602 by Departure Lounge


photo by Bethany Ramella


photo by Bethany Ramella


Water by Adrien DONOT


DRAWING by fakemood

Delicious simplicity

I've been seriously hooked on this radish beet salad. It's so yummy, crunchy, toothsome, tart and satisfying. So simple and easy, you can put this together in minutes.

Radish & Beet Salad
- raw beets (I used golden here) sliced thin, thin, thin
- radishes sliced thin
- radish greens (the tops)
- roasted plain almonds, lightly crushed to manageable pieces
- fresh cilantro minced, to taste
- salt & pepper, to taste
- apple cider vinegar, a good sprinkle
- extra virgin olive oil, just a drizzle

The secret to this salad's success is massaging the salt, pepper and vinegar into the vegetables with your hands -- just under a minute will do. This helps soften up the beets, and allows some of the vegetable juices to co-mingle with the vinegar. Add the almonds, with a drizzle of the olive oil, and you're ready to enjoy! Btw, I used a mandoline to get the beet slices paper thin, but you can use a vegetable peeler as a good substitute.

A few variations you might add: romaine lettuce, raw kale leaves, mint, thinly sliced apple or pear, cabbage.

Auerglass

Concept, performance, costume, art, collaboration... Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing!

Open the door dear...

Some recent, tasty discoveries...


Gravel & Gold, a new shop in my neighborhood that speaks to my inner soul. I could caress that wood table all day. [pic via Gravel & Gold]


Delicious chilled tea from Samovar Tea Lounge. Jasmine lemonade is a winner! [pic via nic221]


Pepe Joe's little banana thunder thigh peeking during nap time.


Betty Carter's Open the Door, which somehow slipped my musical grasp. I love this!!

charmed

When I last visited my mother, she gave me a pair of cross/dagger-like earrings, from Palau. They were made of real tortoiseshell. She assured me the turtle was in fact eaten, and the shell was used thereafter. It is illegal, in the US, to bring in tortoiseshell, so I suppose I'm a lawbreaker having these in my possession. For many Pacific cultures (my own included), eating turtle is a traditional food. Although I've never tried it, and not sure if my Western upbringing can go there. As a child, I once saw turtle soup made for a wedding, and I suffered mild culture shock, but have since been over it.....

These tortoiseshell pieces felt very special, and seemed to emit their own power. I combined one of the tortoiseshell pieces with mineral bits, I've collected, and strung it on simple hardware ball chain. I sometimes wear this charm necklace when I crave protection.

// Metal ball chain, tortoiseshell charm, vintage wire wrapped quartz crystal, vintage jasper-like stone with gold edging. Necklace made of mostly found, reused materials. The wood bowl, carved from one piece, was a find on a thrifting jaunt.

shell toes

I found these shoes for under $10. I tucked them away, and rediscovered them again rooting through my pile of.... The leather sole is sumptuous, but I'm unsure if the straps will hold up to city streets. It's funny how my nails are painted the same color as the shell. I recently noticed my pseudo-Fred Flintstone toes, on my left foot, do a weird grip/curl thing. I'm not sure if I like that....