hello again

my name is bridezilla and i eat, drink, breathe anything wedding. not really, that's just how i feel lately. this monster that is my looming nuptials has created a thick fog where i can't really focus on anything but making chiffon flowers for my dress and worrying whether 2 cones or 3 cones of rolled sheet music decorations are needed per pew in the chapel. i feel pretty isolated. at least i got all the invitations out on schedule. i'm quite pleased with how they turned out:aside from all that, which will be over soon anyway, i thought i'd share my longings and desires for spring, in clothing form. i am going to banff, canada for my honeymoon, and i'm crossing my fingers that i get to wear warm, dainty clothes. my plan is to lounge around scenic areas like lake louise. no activities just yet, i'll probably be a hot mess of raw nerves and hangover. in conjunction with the clothes, i'm using cecily brown paintings as backdrops. i hope this doesn't come off as disrespectful, i love her paintings, i want to crawl inside the buzzing swirling floating petals of color. so mixing the clothes and art together is like a milkshake of visuals...

the girl who had everything; jacket by vivienne westwood red label, silk shorts by D&Gdemaris satin & lace bra, albertus swanepoel fedora;
heart necklace by mawi, kova & T striped dress, vionnet satin sandals

yellow umbrella from topshop, swimsuit by rosa chàhigh society; grevy's wedges from anthropologie, manoline watlin cape dresscurrently listening to black mountain...

i am ALIVE!

i finally understand the burst of joie de vivre people get from alcohol. liquid courage! that cliff right there? jump it you say? hold please, after i take a swig of courage juice, yes it has now become a ditch. after a few glasses of wine, i got an adventurous spark in my bones, and i decided, no, my hands decided as they took on a life of their own, to make this fur COLLAR!! laugh now, but you'll see you cant escape its force. i don't know why i haven't thought of it before, but this little beaut is magic! take an ordinary coat, any coat really, tack this thing on, and it breathes a whole new spirit into the thing.

trenches look beguiling, sweaters more admirable,denim more approachable.

so easy to make, and i have five giant safety pins holding it in place. this collar goes with everything!! not to mention LEATHER. i let my hair down for this one. this was a minor project, craft more than sewing really, a rebellious break from that all-consuming prima donna, THE GOWN. 'til next time, Kemosabe...
p.s. meet my new best friend, Nars' Schiap.

spring

i went down to paso robles this weekend, and decided to post my findings. spring is alive and well, eat your heart out punxsutawney phil...

louie, my favorite animal.

deers were cuddling...dears were cuddling...
and then BAM!! some creep photos i took at night...i swear i've got some sewing projects on my horizon, soon to photograph and post inspiration. in the meantime, another creative endeavor: practicing guitar...

furry friends friday

this weekend i'm venturing into a more rural part of california to enjoy nature, rile up a border collie named louie, practice guitar, sketch some new sewing projects, go bowling, and any other cool envious thing you can think of ;)

have a wonderful weekend!!

photograph by the whimsical jessica tremp; currently can't get enough of queens of the stone age's self titled album

VD, girls, and flappers

the long weekend was generous, with a helping of family and friends on top of my valentines day treat: seeing Girls perform at the great american. they were wonderful. paul describes them as love music, and i definitely feel like i'm in a kaleidoscope when listening to their echoing happy beats. the great american was the perfect venue too, as it's old timey and romantic, and small enough to create that intimate vibe between audience and artist. just SO good.

unfortunately i took zero pictures, so i'm going to throw something at ya to distract ya: my val threw a 1920s themed birthday party, where i danced a fiendish FOUR HOURS! she played miley cyrus' party in the usa... everyone looked dazzling, i wish i could dress like this everyday.

the birthday girl and i. her dress was amazing, covered in silver sequins, and her HAIR had this beaded feathery thing, she was ravishing. you wont get the full effect, as i nabbed these off facebook... damn.get a LOAD of megan's satin trousers. she was summoning the spirit of madonna's en vogue look. she was smokin, and was my die hard dance partner.group shot after a round of group shotsi'm obviously only friends with very attractive people. side note to all you nail polish lovers: that greeny teal color i got at forever 21 for $2.80!!!! do yourself a favor and go there, its a cheap pick-me-up. like your mom. i kid, i kid.
photos by val & dave :)

bfffff

i have hundreds of photos of this guy, and can't seem to get enough of him...xo

oh no

so sad... i feel as though a slew of influential individuals have been dying lately. howard zinn, j.d. salinger, charlie wilson, and now alexander mcQueen. very unnerving...

handmade flowers

as far as nuptial plans go, slow and steady seems to be my motto. paul and i have regroup meetings (as seen above) where we talk table linens and the latest must-add to our to-do list. who knew about cake-cutting fees?? anyway, the one item i have complete control over is the dress. as i've said before, i've decided to make my wedding gown. though i'm thrilled, i don't want to post too many photos of the dress, as i want it to be a surprise for those fortunate fools lucky enough to attend the festivities (like i'm willy wonka. the SNOZberries..) so in an attempt to share but not spoil, this is the process that i've streamlined of making the flowers for my gown, though it does come off as rinky-dink:

first, grab one of the flower patterns martha "made" and "posted" on her wedding site, (which has been my svengali in planning). cut out at least 15 flowers, i think i did about 20. next, and this is all me not martha, string them along a thread over the stove where you can steam the sins out of them. i decided to take this extra step because i'm using chiffon which is so smooth bunching was NOT happening. the steam fluffs the silk like humidity fluffs my hair.thoroughly hang dry. hanging them upside down while they're still damp creates a petal-like fold in the silk...thread them together with feathers sandwiched in every 5 layers or so. and voila!! my plan is to make a strand of them in varying sizes to drape over my shoulder in a most dramatic fashion...

happy fried egg

since the big lebowski, i have been a serious jeff bridges fan. i've watched the last picture show enough to echo his lines, and crazy heart slew me. he's a dazzling thespian, and i have an old man crush on him... mom, i know you have my back on this one. few people know, however, that he is also an avid photographer. after creeping around his radical website, i grabbed a few photos to show off on my modest soap box. these were taken from the set of crazy heart, which if you haven't seen please do me a solid and check it out. there's lots more where those came from...the website has one of the coolest site designs around, all handwritten and minimal. he also has published a book of his photos, for which he has done a book tour. friend and fellow bridges-admirer shane went to and got this souvenir...

more seamstress-related posts soon... happy weekend!!