more recycling...

I find these are rather humorous... I am still not sure what I think of them, but all I can say is that the artist, Jean-Luc Cornec, is one of the most creative artists I have seen yet & use of texture is quite beautiful. Read & see more here.

repurposed treehouse.

Now this takes my tree houses fort obsession to a whole new level... Mary Anne & Ginger would have think this was so rad, too. Read more here.

i'm sorry card.

I know this is all over the blogosphere, but again, how my little brain thinks. I wish I could just "ctrl +z" it away, sometimes.

{from here.}

zara.

Zara's Spring/ Summer Collection for 20-10 is pretty smashing. For some reason, I have had bad luck with Zara in the past... either with lack of longevity or fit, but inevitably, I keep on bopping back over to them to see what they are offering. You can get such a sophisticated, forward look & aesthetic, for such a reasonable cost... xoxo.

mice.

How pretty are these images? It is a "mouse" path... all your clicking and scrolling, and dragging and dropping, create this beautiful controlled chaos. Kinda crazy, huh?

Read more here.

{originally from here.}

diy shoes.

These little ditties are in the JCrew Spring 2010 catalogue. I think they are pretty fabulous. I had some thoughts... First, I typically don't like heels this short, but for work, they are ideally superb. Second, I did not so much like the price tag that JCrew chose to attach to them. {If I am gonna fork out that much, in my opinion, I would go ahead & splurge for Louboutins.} So instead, I set out to try and make a pair of my own.


{ahem, please ignore my amature photography skills.}
I first located a pair of shoes I no longer really wear. {I kept the heel short for work, stillettos can get out of control all week... I got these particular Nine West heels about about a year ago at TJ Maxx for $13.} I then picked some satin fabric with a sheen that would compliment the satin on the shoes. {I had it in my fabric stash, but you can go out & grab some to match. Check the remnants section.} I wanted something that would pop a bit more than making it monochromatic, so I used a black satin & a gold tulle to accent.

To make the rosettes, cut multiple size squares, (l & w ) 2" - 4". With each square, fold it in half, & then in half a second time. Cut the edges to make a rounded, half semi- circle. After you have done this step with all your squares. (I used about 10 - 12 squares per shoe, only 3 of those being the gold accent.) Start to hot glue one on top of the other, randomly bunching/scrunching as you layer. I then, cut out a thicker piece of fabric for the bottom in circle and used it as my base to glue it on. I then randomly started clustering and gluing to create dimension. After all of them are stacked/clustered, go back in & add bunched squares to fill in some of the gaps.

This process left me a rather large rose, you can stop here if you like. I knew I wanted it really densely packed, so I started hot gluing many of the folds & creases together to pack in the clusters. I finally, took some black thread, doubled up on the needle and started weaving/sewing in & out of the edges and through the rose to further cluster & create density.

Finally, I just glued on the rose in the desired location. The key to finishing it is to take a lighter & quickly/carefully run the flame over the edge of the fabric to melt it down and seal in the ends to deter from fraying. Enjoy!

LL to Target.

I. can- not. wait. Liberty of London for Target... this is just like cotton candy at Christmas! March 14th. mark your calendars...

One of their beautiful patterns is now my work desktop background... Click here for free wallpaper for your iphone, comp., etc.

Enjoy & get excited!

staples.

My jaw dropped when I saw this work of Baptiste Debombourg, who made this portrait from nothing but staples and patience. a whole lot of patience...

my dream.

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

Let's face it... everything is digital. A huge chunk of my work day consists of Photoshop, which, in turn, makes me sometimes believe I can perform Photoshop tasks & functions in the real world. {don't laugh, I am dead serious.} I sometimes truly live in "Photoshop or Illustrator land" and forget that I cannot quick select, clone stamp, warp, or live trace my daily life. This video {above} perfectly portray what goes on in my little brain, and also adequately proves that life would, in fact, be a cleaner, prettier, more efficient place to live, work and play if we could perform P.S. tasks on a whim. Really. :) Adobe does make the world go 'round.

collections.

Love this unique blog: San Francisco artist Lisa Congdon's project for 2010... photograph or illustrate a collection every day for the entire year.

guac.

When I went to visit my sweet friend in San Antonio, we went to a really yummy restaurant, Boudros, on the Riverwalk. The whole meal was amazing, but I could not get the table-side guacamole out of my head. Last week I searched for the recipe, jumped for joy when I found it, & decided to try it out last night as part of our Valentine's meal. It has some unique ingredients & takes more time, but it is quite possibly one of the best guacamole recipes I have ever had.
(I multiplied this recipe by six, yes six, we love us some guac... but create anyway you please. I was not very specific with measuring & very liberal with certain items.)
Boudros Guacamole:
Ingredients:
Juice of 1/4 orange (used about 1/2 cup of OJ)
Juice of 1/2 lime (used 3.5 limes)
1 avocado, seeded and scooped out of skin (used 6 large, Haas Avocados)
2 Tbsp roasted and charred Roma tomatoes, diced (I used a whole pack of cherry tomatoes, sliced, bathed them in sea salt, pepper, & olive oil, and baked at 435 degrees for around 30- 40 min, then let cool.)
1 Serrano pepper, roasted, seeded and diced (used 3 & did not roast)
1 Tbsp diced red onion (used 1/2 an onion)
1 tsp chopped cilantro (used 6 tsp., approx.)
Sea salt - to taste (I added garlic salt as well.)

Directions:
Squeeze juices into bowl, add avocado and coarsely chop. Add other ingredients except salt. Result should be crudely chopped, not mashed. Add salt to taste (more is better)

The waitress told us some great tips like, sea salt helps to not turn avocados brown & Serrano peppers work better than jalapenos for taste purposes... not just hot, but add flavor.
Enjoy!

snow day.

I know, I apologize... everyone is over the snow pictures, it was just so monumental for Dallas. 12.5" is unbelievable here... life just seemed to stop for a small while, {Besides getting stuck in the snow for over an hour due to the trains just deciding to randomly stop working} it was magical. Chocolate-chip pancakes, eggs, coffee and snowmen made up our Friday morning.... then life hit again & we were called into work. However, those 2 hours of feeling no responsibility, schedule, or concern were absolutely irreplaceable. Why can't that happen more often? I swear, it must add years to our life expectancy, and prevent many, many wrinkles.

HF.

I. am. dying. The new Harvey Faircloth line is outta control. I would like once of each piece, please. Designers, Abby and Katie, appeal exactly to my sensibility and hit it right on the nose. O man, I love/want/need/desire it all. I think my head just exploded.

more SJP.

This picture makes me grin from ear to ear. I heart SJP so much. This post is dedicated to the blustery day outside, me sitting in my office eating chili, and just 'cause...

{via here.}

ringtones.

I may be extremely behind the times, however, I was that naive child who was still purchasing her iPhone ringtones via iTunes. I did some research yesterday, found this tutorial on how to on create free ringtones, and {after a few attempts} was happily successful! Currently, Journey, Stevie Wonder, and Jay-Z are rocking out & notifying me of my incoming calls... you can even still choose which part of the song you would like to be-bop to...Enjoy!

itty.

I have an all-out obsession with anything over scaled or teeny-tiny. {so does my mother} I still, to this day, receive some trinket for my dollhouse {that my daddy built me} every Christmas in my stocking. My Dollhouse is, by far, my all-time favorite Christmas gift. My heart & soul went into decorating that dollhouse growing up... I would save up to all my monies for a trip to MJD or Through-the-Keyhole. My mother also used to collect miniture items when she was little & saved them all for me in two boxes I would riffle through for hours on end. I really cannot wait to pack up each room & give them as gifts to my future daughter one day.

Ok, back on topic... I think I fainted at my desk {again} when I saw these itty bitty letters & packages that you can actually send someone! {They have them for all different occasions.} You can check out all that they offer at The World's Smallest Postal Service.

Mom, I know you just fainted, too.

{via design sponge.}

Hipster-fied.

Check out this awesome new iPhone App, "Hipsters." It lets you take pictures & make them vintage or add "hipster-fied accouterments like Fedoras, 50s Glasses, Smelly Greasy Hair, and Facial Hair..." Its actually pretty fun... my co-worker had the app and took this pic through my office window to show me. It automatically desaturates & adds a Polaroid border. Love it... now we can all channel our "wanna-be hipster."

yum.

I am all about easy, fast recipes since I get home from work so late. I am leery to post recipes like this because, well, they can get boring... but, we had this last night for dinner, I have to say, it was pretty darn yummy. It was super easy and quick... plus we have easy leftovers for tonight. I tore it out of my Southern Living mag. last month, and finally made it. You should try... I think you'll enjoy without much hassle.

Linguine With Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Hands-on Time: 16 min.; Total Time: 26 min.
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 (16-oz.) package linguine
1 (7-oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (I used almonds)
3 garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4 cloves)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 (4-oz.) package crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons thin fresh basil strips ( I used dry basil)

Preparation:
1. Prepare linguine according to package directions.
2. Drain tomatoes, reserving 2 Tbsp. oil. Cut tomatoes into thin strips.
3. Heat pine nuts in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Remove nuts from skillet.
4. Increase heat to medium, and sauté garlic in 2 Tbsp. reserved oil and olive oil in skillet 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, and remove from heat.
5. Toss together tomato mixture, hot cooked pasta, feta cheese, and basil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

little muses.

There's no denying... I am in love with MK & Ash. (ever since freshman yr.- right Lang?) Not only are they little chic fashionistas that send me drooling over their wardrobes, but they are business entrepreneurial moguls. I just saw today that they launched another collection, Olsenboye. It has a lower price point and is focused juniors’ casual apparel and accessories. The new collection celebrates New York City, and items retail for between $20 and $50, (available only at JCPenny.)

This apparel is not really geared to appeal to me or my generation, but there are a few cute pieces. I am just more impressed that that have successfully created another line, this time allowing fashion to be appreciated and consumed at a reasonable, realistic level.

I know, who doesn't love Elizabeth & James... If there was one collection I would love to own in its entirety, it would take the cake. {eh, in competition & combination with J. Crew.} They just have such an amazing balance of femininity and edge. I only own one edgy, distressed black dress from them due only to the fact that it was purchased at a sample sale and deeply discounted... but their quality and fit are impeccable. I just wish they were a touch more affordable. I just cannot justify trendy pieces for that price.... so I do love & admire their latest approach that makes fashion affordable at all levels. Maybe they can make an affordable adult line next... mark my words, I will be first in line.

Way to go on another success Mary Kate & Ash... I still am in love!