All Wrapped Up

My daughter's birthday is coming up, and for us that means presents and a trip somewhere.  I love trying to find the perfect gifts for the people I love, and I think presentation is almost as important as the gifts themselves.  With that in mind, here are some gorgeous ideas for wrapping, many of which make the presentation seem like its own special gift!
The following items are from the cute etsy shop Shop K Studio.

Small Grey Chevron Candy Bag- adorable for individual
treats or tiny little gifties- available here

Paris Travel Washi tape- available here

Vintage Inspired Circus cake toppers- I think these would be cute
affixed atop a gift box.  They are so sweet! Available here.

Woven Jaquard Ruler ribbon- available here.
The teacher in me adores this cute ribbon!

Self Adhesive Cream lace tape- available here.
This would dress up any package!

This stuff is from the site Touch of Europe:

Famous Artists Signatures wrapping paper- available here

Antique Mediterranean Map Gift Wrap- available here

Here are some from various places on etsy:

Vintage Wrapping Paper- available here

Vintage Floral- get it here
Kind of cute for Gwenna's upcoming party, no?

Alli loves the Queen's Guard- it's one of her favorite things about London.
I should definitely order this for her, but then I would feel guilty wrapping
a gift in it and messing it up!  Available here- but maybe not for much longer!

This would be awesome to wrap Alli's teacher's gift in at the end
of the year- he is a huge history buff!  Get it here.

Fortune Teller Gypsy custom card- I think this is so cute- you can make
your own custom message to be revealed when you scratch off the crystal ball!
Love it!  Available here.

   ~Lori

Inspiration: The Secret Garden

via folio society

Image from the folio society book version.

The music from the Broadway musical is lovely and puts me in the right dreamy mood.

I like this movie version the best.  1993

English gardens and other inspirations

Highgrove English garden.

Thornewood Castle garden.

via netsolhost


via antique door locks

Maytham Hall garden

The perfect Secret Garden setting for afternoon tea.

Secret Garden inspired art and photography:

This is my favorite! How beautiful is this piece? image by Cyril Rolando

via deviantart

Art diagram by Su Blackwell.

Spring Fashion 2012

via Pinterest

Valentino Spring 2012

More Valentino...

Ralph Lauren, Spring 2012

Erdem, 2012

A few photos taken of my kids this fall 2012.  They remind me of the Secret Garden before the garden fully blooms.:

 This was taken in an old fashion green house.  

We Wear Short Shorts

I love finding pretty new things to look at.  And funny things.  And that is why I love it when blogs I like list their favorite blogs that they like, because chances are, I will like them too.  So I was looking at Habitually Chic when I wandered on over to A Lovely Being.  Both are truly lovely websites.  A Lovely Being recently featured the Greenbriar Resort, where they have rooms decorated like this:


photo by Cooper Carras for Matchbook

Vindication!  Rebecca recently did a post that featured that type of mirror -AND- she just chose that paint color for my bedroom ceiling and for my closet.  Love it! (update- if you read yesterday's post, you'll see that Rebecca bought a similar mirror for her entryway.  Love it!)
Anyway, over on the website, there was a post about French pop star Yelle's video, Comme Un Enfant.  She describes the video as "pink," and "catchy," and she describes Yelle as "Audrey Hepburn meets Lady Gaga."  Well, of course I had to check that out.  My favorite thing about the video are a pair of shorts the singer wears.  They are high-waisted, short, black, retro yet modern, and I love them.

If I had legs like that, I would definitely be getting a pair of those shorts.  And they seem to be cropping up all over.  I found another pair on the blog  Anna del Russo.

from Japan Vogue



Rebecca pinned these on pinterest;
you can see them here

Carven Spring ready to wear-
 these are perhaps a little more "wearable"



image via Chad Syme on pinterest, the Natty Gal
Jason Wu Spring 2012

I have a pair of high-waisted denim shorts that I practically lived in last summer, so I am glad to see that this trend is not over just yet.  Not everyone can pull of super short shorts, but high-waisted styles tend to be universally flattering.  You don't have to go super short, but you can wear them shorter because the high waist balances them out.  
I won't be going super short when I sport this look, but I will definitely be wearing some of these high-waisted lovelies when it warms up enough.  Which I'm starting to think is never going to happen, the way these little winter storms keep blowing in.  There's supposedly a chance we'll get snow.  That's the word on the street, anyway.  So later, when it is warm enough that I won't spend the whole day cursing the cold, I will be pairing my high waisted shorts with all kinds of tops, many of which I am sure are still at the stores, just waiting for me to purchase them and take them home to my ever expanding closet.

~Lori

I Got It!

 You may recall in my "Ghost and Mrs. Muir" House post (view here) that I showed you a similar style Federal mirror.  I have had my eye on this one since Christmas but I thought it had sold.  Lori and I went back last weekend and guess what Lori found?  Yup, in a totally different area of the store and on our second time around, there it was.  Also, it was HALF the price!  It was just meant to be.

Here it is in my unfinished entryway.  I can't wait to see the walls completed (there will be tongue-and-groove boards on all walls).  For now though, I am happy when I pass this fantastic mirror.  It just makes me smile.  Thanks for looking down, Lori!

Fornasetti Wallpaper

Cosmopolitan Hotel closet-
previous post

I did a post recently on the Cosmpolitan hotel in Vegas (because I love the commercial and song!), which led me to do a search on the hotel itself, to see what decor they went with.  One of the images was of a closet.  What kind of hotel showcases an empty closet?!  It might not make much sense, unless you look at the back of the closet, which is covered in Fornasetti wallpaper.  What a cool touch!  In the spirit of that closet, here are some more amazing wallpapers by Fornasetti.  Wallpaper was so big in the eighties, and then went out, and was having a moment again.  No matter what, it is a big commitment.  A wall in a closet is perfect for what can truly be seen as unique art.

Mediterranea

Riflesso

Ex Libris

Frutto Proibito

This last image obviously isn't wallpaper, but it is Fornasetti, and it is awesome.  It's a 1960 (out of production) storage container.

found here

Of course, if you aren't ready for wallpapering a closet, you can always paint it a fun color, like Rebecca did here.

~Lori