Friday Favorites

Friday is here and for some reason I've been looking at our week like it's a sentence, or a paragraph, or a short tale with a story line. In our case the story was rife with plot twists...each of them were a surprise to us. It almost seemed like the energy of the universe was mocking us for even assuming that we could set our own schedule, because every time we made plans they were soon kiboshed. Even the weather was being tricky. Just when we thought that we were easing into Fall we got hit with two consecutive very humid 90 degree days. But today the temp seems pretty rational and after meeting a couple stressful deadlines and shipping some stuff out, I feel like this Friday is the period at the end of a wickedly twisty sentence. And I'm glad it's a period...not an exclamation point, and thankfully not a question mark. And oh gosh am I glad it isn't a dot dot dot...as in 'to be continued'. Nope, just a simple, clean, concise period...dot, the end, of the week.  

So...now for some very clean and concise Friday Favorites! I just adore everything about this window.  Its a bakery in Sweden and I think I'd love the place. That window graphic...the simple white silhouette set against all that black. And I'm a sucker for chalkboards. The other key to this look is the bread itself. The tans and golden browns of those fresh baked loaves tie right into the aesthetic vibe that I'm going for right now. Very very soon we'll be smack dab in the middle of a complete kitchen overhaul, and this is where I'm at visually. Lots of black, chalkboards of course, some white, rustic wood, and golden tones like those bread loaves...Oh jeez...I Don't Care, I Loave It!!

    Isn't this a dreamy image? It looks so much like a painting, but it is in fact a photograph. I first saw the image in a New York Magazine article that listed The Year's Best Doughnuts. Yes, click the link, seen above are the actual contenders. And yeah, the world famous Cronut is in there. (the one with the ring of cream icing) And pictured right above it is the one that Aaron says he would want the most...it's peanut butter and jelly. That's doesn't seem like it's my style, but to each their own. Anyway, I'm gonna continue to eat wisely, and for the time being I'll settle on simply looking at the pretty picture.  

I've already shared my love of the craft supply sale site Blitsy. Well in today's email Blitsy got my number again. How did they know that I'd be in love with these Catalyst Wedges & Contours tools? I immediately searched youtube for videos so I could see these in action, and came across the one seen above. This duo reminds me of me and Aaron in the studio. We've got two separate styles but we can both advise and consult each other without fear of stepping on toes. So about the tools, after seeing them in action it confirmed my initial attraction to them. Once again, I put my money where my Friday Favorites mouth is...me and Aaron both chose a few tools each and placed an order! I can't wait to get them so that we can play with them. You gotta love when a tool inspires you to make new artwork. That's always a good thing. Of course we'll do a follow up for you guys to show you exactly how we put them to use in our own work.

I am loving this color palette. The pale pink, mustard, and black. Oh jeez! Perfect for me. Check out the Autumn /Winter 2013 Orla Kiely lookbook...it is pretty darn fab. 

     I've always been a fan of optical illusions. I remember so many of them from when I was growing up. I believe there were always a few in science textbooks. There's the one with the American flag that's in all the wrong colors, but if you stare at it and then immediately stare at a white sheet of paper you will see a normal red, white and blue flag. And then there's the prayer card that will show you Jesus as a constellation in the night sky. Anyway, check out This! You can sorta get the effect on this small scale, but I recommend clicking the link to see it larger. It is bizarre. In your peripheral vision the faces take on a crazy caricature look. Really odd.

Umm just how wonderful does this look right now? Again, it is by no means Fall here on the NJ Shore...but we do have the Cider Donut candle burning, and we've been sifting through our Fall wardrobes...so it wouldn't be completely crazy to bake this up right now, would it? The name alone gets me...Pumpkin Dream Cake with Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting! yes, mmhmm, yep!

Ok, thanks again for stopping by. With Friday here, I'm ready to start a new story, Saturday and Sunday are predicted to be perfect weather days...so that's as good a place as any to start! I hope your weekend holds some much deserved magic for you!

xo, Jenny...and Aaron