One of my many wonderful aunts sent me this quote the other day, and I have been thinking about ever since.  It is one of those things that rings so true to me, and it is so encouraging to hear that I am not the only person who has ever felt this way.  Sometimes, as I am going through the motions of this blog, and I am trying to make it be something that is creative not just for the sake of creativity, but to be something that is relevant and great in it's own little way I hit walls.  The walls are built of self-doubt and fear and a general feeling of being overwhelmed by what this is to be.  I have continued to create things, set deadlines for myself, and work to make it better... and thus in a way make myself better as I look inwards and explore myself further.    What does this all mean?  Two things: One, I would like to hear what you think about my blog, and I encourage you to be critical.  I think it is important to have criticism and honesty in order to grow.  Two,  it means that as Joseph Chilton Pearce said, "to live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."  So the second thing is that I would like to challenge you to continue your own creative pursuits and not allow fear to stop you.   It's leap day, and since it's a bonus day, I think it's a good day to start.  

This is one of those outfits that I know I will be wearing for a long time because I love all the pieces on their own, and they are utterly timeless.  I can see myself wearing this in D.C. in a few months when I am walking to and from the metro for work, and somehow it is still casual enough for my life here in Austin.  My beloved Austin is not a dressy city, which I am okay with most of the time... though I tend to dress however I want with little regard to how others feel about me being overdressed.

I have been wearing my hair in a faux bob a lot lately because I am ready for a change without being willing to make any real commitment.  I do not want short hair, but I do like looking like I have short hair for a few hours a week.  Pairing my "short hair" with a power suit jacket (which I adore! I could seriously do an entire post on how much I love this jacket) and a girly blush dress is a fun way to be a woman in a field dominated by men.  T

Some people think so differently from the rest of us, you know, they are those creative people who tweak an idea that has been around for awhile and make it new again.  The folks at Of a Kind have done just that, they have an online shop that works with designers to create exclusive items for the site with the maximum of any of their orders have 50 items.  That means at the most 49 others could have the same shirt or bracelet as you.  If you are anything like me, you love to have the exclusive things that no one else has... and it is even better if you can get a deal on those things.  The items here aren't exactly deals, but there are a lot of beautiful things.  These are some of my favorites and I wish they were all in my possession, okay, maybe just one or two, I won't be greedy.  

So, I decided what I want to be for Halloween... now I have a few months to sketch it out and as Tim Gunn would say "make it work." I can't believe I haven't thought of it before.  Hopefully, I can pull it off as well as this René Gruau illustration.  I enjoy most of his work because it is a celebration of women.  This weekend is the Oscars and I can't wait for my party, but other than that, I don't have any big plans except maybe finishing a pair of floral tuxedo pants I started the other day.  I have been feeling crafty lately.  Do you have anything you want to accomplish this weekend?  What are your plans?  

Some wonderful things:
Another cupcake recipe
If you are going to have a blog about your dog, this is the way to do it
Something for the Best Jelly Maker who is also My Best Friend
Tory Burch's pretty south hampton house
Ever wonder how to make your own waxed denim?
A book I think I need
If you are looking for menu inspiration for your Oscars night

Have A Spectacular Weekend!

This is one of my favorite early morning walking spots because it is so quiet and the houses around are just beautiful. It is a lovely treat to have this long narrow park in the middle of a cute neighborhood where I see the same people and feel a small sense of community as we wave and say hello every few days.  I have been wearing these flats that I got at Anthropologie almost non-stop lately because they are so comfortable and versatile.  They are perfect black ballet flats.  Neutrals with fuchsia has been on of my favorite color combinations lately, and so I just continue wear it in different ways. I wore my hair pinned up in what started as a faux bob, but with the 85 degree weather ended up in more of a low messy bun.  I am not ready for the heat just yet, I have too many cute coats that didn't get their chance to go outside all season!  

The Academy Awards are this Sunday, which is my favorite of the awards shows (Golden Globes is a very close second, but lacks some of the pomp and circumstance that I love about the Oscars) and I always have my girls over for snacks, cocktails, and judging of outfits.  I was looking for recipes that I wanted to serve and thought "what goes with movies?... Popcorn" so then I started looking at ways to jazz up popcorn and found these gems below.  I think I will make two or three of these to have around, but I don't know which to pick they all look so good.  Of course, we will have the traditional sushi and very chocolatey dessert, but I think these popcorns will add a great salty taste for grazing on.  Besides the food: I am going to have ballots for everyone to cast their vote, comfortable floor seating, and a signature cocktail.  My favorites of the nominees are The Artist, Midnight in Paris, and The Descendants, so that's where my ballot votes will be cast if you were looking for tips.  I didn't make my goal of seeing every movie nominated, but then again I never do... maybe next year.   What are your Oscars plans?  Who are your favorites to win?   and the even bigger question... Who do you think will be best/worst dressed on the red carpet?

Well, this season of fashion weeks is almost over, and it has been very exciting and a lot to keep up with.    There were over 300 shows at NYFW this past week, and I know it was even more spectacular than these pictures can show you.  I have a lot more favorites from the ready-to-wear runways, but hopefully this is enough to wet y'alls appetites.  I tried to pick some collections that were very different from each other, but they show a lot of the big trends for fall: military, jewel tones, blue smokey eyes, metallics, and red. 

Rag and Bone piled on the layers and did not shy away from prints, but one of my favorite things about the collection is their use of leather on the trim and accessories. The knitwear is the kind of stuff that looks great almost anytime, and I could see myself wearing them constantly.  The final look of the show did not really seem to fit, but I actually liked it a lot anyway so I put it in here.  What do you think of the head-to-toe florals?

I could not narrow down this  J. Mendel collection enough because I had too many favorites.  It has everything that I love in clothing: structure, white, metallics, draping, glamour, and cut-outs. I try to not like the fur, but if I am honest with myself, I like the look of it... but I would prefer that it was faux.  I love the pleated skirts and the plunging V-necks, and these clothes are always cut to show off a woman just right.  

Prabal Gurung always does one of my favorite shows because of this sleek materials, perfectly tailored pants, architectural details, and bold styling.  The white pants in the bottom left are also done in cobalt blue in this collection, and I had a very hard time deciding which one I like better.  I ended up going for the white pants because I like the overall styling of the outfit better.  I would love to wear all of these looks, though I am not sure I can pull of the floor length gold gown.  

Diane Von Furstenberg is always so wearable and timeless.  I love the slicked back hair with the classic silhouettes, and also how intermixable the separates are.  The hand dress is so interesting; I can't take my eyes off of it (I hate the gloves it was styled with though, so unnecessary).  There were many more dresses that I loved, but it felt a little gratuitous to say "look how good DVF does dresses" because everyone knows that.  

What were your fashion week favorites? What did you think of Helmut Lang's inspiration from the HBO show Game of Thrones?

Lavender in cooking, maybe it's a little strange, but it's the kind of strange I like.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to try it because I automatically thought of all the occasions that it would be an optimal pie to serve.   It could work for a day of relaxation with the girls, late night snacks (since lavender helps you fall asleep), and even high tea.   After having the pie, I can assure you that it would indeed be good during any of these events and would even pair nicely with a dry red wine.  I didn't candy the lavender on top because I had berries that needed to be used, and the berries added just the right about of sweetness that was needed with the richness of the chocolate and lavender. 

This is another exciting weekend and one of my last relaxing weekends for a long time. I know that I will be spending more time than I would like studying, but there will be some fun moments to like the Fellowship and Scholarships dinner where I get to get dressed up in a formal and eat delicious food.  I took this picture from my balcony the other day and then jazzed it up with my drawcast app (that I am addicted to) on my iPhone.  Looking at this picture makes me realize just how much that I am going to miss this great city and how much more I have to soak in before I leave.  I hope that you all have a splendid February weekend! 

Some lovely things:
I love the way this couple documented their journey in this video
A neat foodie site "for men" that I enjoy, started by Chef Marcus Samuellson
A much buzzed about book for my stylish baby-making friends
This is a DIY that I would love to try, silver leaf stump
Figs: Sweet and Savory 

When the weather man tells you it is going to rain in Austin, you hardly believe it.  We have learned to take the weather reports with a grain of salt around here, so when I look outside in the morning and see no clouds in the sky, I go about wearing whatever I want but I do throw on my trench just in case.  I had been dying to wear my snakeskin shoes I had gotten a few months ago during a big sale at Neiman Marcus.  I am not one for wearing any animal prints normally, but I have been wanting to give it a try for a long time.  Shoes are a great way to try things out because they are little things that make a big statement on your outfit.  Pairing the neutral shoes (yes, animal print can be considered a neutral) and khaki trench together with a bright geometric wrap dress makes it a little bit more conservative and appropriate for work or school.   It did end up raining before I left to come home from class (and take these pictures, thus the indoor shots), so I was glad I had brought a pair of roll up flats to walk home in.