Friday Favorites

I remember, in a time long ago, before the internet was really anything at all...me and Aaron would do our grocery shopping late at night in one of the few places that were open 24 hours. We'd be there in the store pretty much all alone in the early am hours, our only company being the guys stocking shelves overnight. So before we grabbed any of our frozen or refrigerated stuff we'd hit the magazine racks and pore over Elle Decor, Country Living, Country Home, Vogue, Elle, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion...and all of our other favorites. We'd stand there for like an hour flipping pages. Many times, while browsing the mags, we would talk to the guys working there...and as we became more familiar they would refer to us as 'the magazine people'. So anyway, one time a younger dude comes up and says "I've been wanting to ask you guys...what are you looking for in the magazines? you stand there for like an hour every time." I think I answered something like "we just love stuff. we love to see and read about stuff." And the three of us just laughed at how vague that statement was. But I almost couldn't think of a way to narrow it down any further. 

I was thinking of this...and thinking of my current internet-based incarnation of 'looking at stuff' while I was putting together these Friday Favorites. And the Socrates quote came to mind..."The unexamined life is not worth living." It's a pretty bold statement...not wishy washy at all. And it's something to live up to in your own personal way. Sure, everybody loves something...maybe it's very interesting, maybe it's ultra mundane. But I guess the key is to consciously let that something impact your life in a positive way...learn from it...grow from it. That thing or things that you spend hours and hours focusing on, obsessing over...make those things count. Apply them to who and what you are in any way that you can. 

I'm not gonna get deeper than that, because I know you guys know what I mean. I feel like if you are here reading this than you probably already subscribe to a specialized view of the world. You are actively examining this life that you're living. You're interested in things and those things make you interesting. Anyway, on this Fabulous Friday lets once again look at some interesting things together!!

Starting with the decor in this drop dead gorgeous apartment! You cannot take these esthetics for granted. The choices she made for paint colors are so essential to the overall feel. And the placement of simple objects is made to look so-easy-to-pull-off....but everything is genius and absolutely spot-on.

I love this creepy yet extremely cute little purse. It's from a Japanese maker, they come signed and are available in pink or gray. What a cool statement piece to wear around your neck...and it's functional!

I love this idea...making feathers with washi tape. So simple...but it's not like I thought of it! I've found a few similar ideas online but I gotta give props to the gal who put together this little tutorial. I love her shapes and supply choices, photographs and simple instructions. As if I wasn't thoroughly washi tape obsessed already!

The color...the shape...the gold tone hardware...this is totally for me. And although it looks like a purse...it's actually a camera bag! Which is exciting, because my current camera bag is all function and no form. The name of this style bag is The Missy (in mint). From one of my favorites... Jo Totes.

Roasted Strawberries and Buttermilk Ice Cream recipe! It sounds amazing and the gal behind the recipe says it's egg free and tastes as good or better than recipes containing egg. So...the roasting of the strawberries, which is a simple first step, makes all the difference. The flavor becomes more concentrated, and there is less water in the fruit after roasting. 

This image from the Summer issue of Sweet Paul Magazine made me swoon. It's a shot of Ryan and Eric Berley's old timey candy shop called "Shane Confectionery". It's located in Philadelphia, PA, where they also own an old timey ice cream shop! Non-stop amazing eye candy (pun intended). You gotta check these guys out. They dress straight outta the 19th century and use antique candy molds and traditional 19th century recipes. But they are modern in that they're ecologically sustainable...they source only local ingredients, they use biodiesel trucks for delivery, they have a compost pick up, their cellophane wrappers are biodegradable. I love these guys! 

I Love this story! Above is Lorene Carnes, a 92 year old gal who went to art school 70 years ago. So, when World War II hit she quit art school to work in the shipping yards and never looked back. Her portfolio sat in the garage until this past year when a visiting family friend who works at Robert Kaufman Designs, caught sight of it and brought it back to her design firm in LA. So fast forward to now...the 70 year old designs now appear on a fabric line called "Glamour Girls" that can be found in stores everywhere! Very cool.

Ok kids...off to design some stuff with Aaron. We both hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

xo, Jenny & Aaron