I Spy Friday

For those of you who want to bring fall indoors (or create some in regions where there's none), here's some autumnal decor to brighten your home.

From top to bottom:
Pure wool throws by Bob by Post, available from Not on the High Street
Autumn harvest recycled bike clock from 1byliz
Forest fragranced handmade candle by Melt, available from Not on the High Street
Autumn fragranced handmade candle by Melt, available from Not on the High Street
Cloche from West Elm
Shaker-style wooden star from Cox & Cox
Puffy-painted pumpkins created by Young House Love, tutorial here

Of course, a lot of these items would work all year, especially the lovely star and cloche. Those plus the candles would make for an easier transition to holiday decorations.

You probably noticed the new format I've been doing for I Spy posts... what do you think? Let me know in the comments!

On vacation

I'm taking a few weeks off, and won't be answering email very promptly while I'm busy relaxing. I'll be back on a normal work schedule starting November 12. In the meantime, I have a few posts scheduled for you. See you soon!

I Spy Friday

The weather has been so crisp and lovely here lately (almost as nice as Boston), that all I can think about is going apple-picking. I don't think we'll have time for that this year, so I put together an apple-picking outfit instead.

Shirt: Freya Check Shirt, Monsoon

Cardigan: Kew Cardigan Coat, John Lewis

Hat: Cable & Honeycomb Baggie Beanie, Accessorize

Pants: Stretch vintage bootcut cords in spruce, j. crew

Boots: Nellie pull-on boots by Timberland, buy at Office

National Apple Day may have been yesterday, but I still want to go for a walk in the leaves in this snuggly outfit.

Helen and Dharmuid's Wedding

This August I shared Helen's beautiful bouquets with you, and a few weeks ago Helen emailed me to share her wedding photos. (She was also kind enough to give me a shout-out on her lovely new fashion blog, Alma Matters.)

Helen and Dharmuid eloped to New York, and got married on a sunny August day in Central Park. I was in New York myself at the time, and was hoping hard that they'd have good weather, New York having a habit of being either baking hot (most of the time) or super rainy (occasionally) in the summer. Fortunately a cool front blew in, and they had a beautiful day. Just look...

I think "eloping" (with the delighted presence of just a few family and friends) must've made for a very relaxed day.

What a lovely, low-pressure way to get married! Their style is so gorgeous... simple and elegant, and can you beat a short bridesmaid dress? Nope.

Helen and Dharmuid's wedding was coordinated by Elope NYC, who did both the officiating and the photography. And clearly they know what they're doing.

And to top off the New Yorkiness of it all, Helen and Dharmuid hopped in a cab to head to their reception at Alice's Tea Cup, a ridiculously cute and delicious tea shop in NYC, that I coincidentally visited for the first time on my trip home in August. If you get a chance to go, do so. If you go, try a s'more. But maybe split it with someone.

Final look at one of my favorite bouquets ever. 

All photo credits to ElopeNYC (Liam P. Madden)

I Spy Friday

I usually really love fall fashion, but I haven't really been getting into the new clothes available this fall. Part of this might be self-protection, as M. and I are trying to save money (austerity!). But really I'm not into the extra-long sweaters or '80s throwback clothes. 

Don't worry, never fear. There's always something to covet. If I'm not psyched about funky leggings or weird fur-covered epaulettes, I can still get into fall shoes. Mmmm, yummy, texture-rich, warm-and-cozy fall shoes.

Funny Fella heels from Office

These shoes would look so amazing with the gorgeous green dress I got this summer (pre-austerity). Or with my brown cords. Or with a pencil skirt...

Blossom boots by Lucky (available on Piperlime)

It's fall. You have to have a gorgeous, rugged, comfy boot. I wanna wear these with a jumper (in the American sense of the word) and a thick sweater.

Hopscotch Heaven shoes from Irregular Choice

These freaking adorable flats are a. vegetarian (hooray!), b. freaking adorable, c. shiny, and d. lined with velvet. Mmmmm. Luscious.

All Quilted Up in dark brown from Ruche

Okay, I have a feeling these shoes will be dated pretty quickly. But who cares? They're fabulous now. Let your children laugh in ten years. You'll have lived!

Yes I Twill Heel from ModCloth

The best thing about fall fashion are the fabrics. What is more lovely and huggable than tweed? Which makes these shoes a hug for your feet.

p.s. If you don't watch Glee (or if you do), go check out this video. It's awesome.

Elisabeth's flowers

On Friday I sent out a very special bouquet that I'm so excited about. Elisabeth asked for a bouquet using her grandfather's sheet music, plus black, gray, and silver accents.

She wanted the emphasis to be on her grandfather's music, so I did half of the flowers from the sheet music, and half from a mix of charcoal on black, gray, silver pebble, silver polka dots, and silver on black papers.

I love the texture of the pebbled paper.

Super close-up!

Congratulations, Elisabeth! Have an amazing wedding day!

I Spy Friday

I had such a great time at Origin last week, and I can't wait to share my purchases with you! So let's just jump right in...

 

The first things I got were two lovely Christmas ornaments from two different makers.

Anya Keeley

 I got this lovely mushroom ornament from Anya Keeley, and stayed to chat with her for a few minutes. She gets a lot of her inspiration from the woods around where she lives, which apparently have a lot of lovely fly agaric toadstools around this time of year.

I wish I could've gotten one of her other lovely creations, too, like this charming assemblage.

Anya Keeley, "Gentle Ripple"

Anya works with so many different materials, found and new, and makes such stunning work. I wanted to buy it all! But unfortunately funds were limited and there were many excellent makers to visit...

Betty Pepper

 I had a nice yammer with Betty Pepper, too. She is officially a textile jewelry designer, but she works tons with paper as well, and I was in love with her work. I especially fell for this one:

Women's Hour by Betty Pepper

This piece is called "Women's Hour" and its inspiration is the British radio show, Women's Hour. Women's Hour focuses on the modern and the traditional, and draws in listeners of all ages from around the country. Accordingly, the piece incorporates traditional skills like embroidery, many different textures, and images of all different types of women. I drooled. I wanted. I got the lovely ornament instead. We are going to have such a chic Christmas tree.

As you may remember from last Christmas, I kind of adore knitted ceramics. And so I had to stop by Annette Bugansky's stall to see what she had on show.

Large bowl by Annette Bugansky

Although Annette has lots of big and beautiful pieces, I was drawn to this sweet little tea light. I love the shape and the design. It's currently very happy in its home on the mantle in my living room.
 

Tea light holder by Annette Bugansky, above in a grouping on my mantle with candles from Anthropologie, and detail below.

I love this little tea light. So pretty.

Origin 2010

So, as I posted earlier, Origin 2010 was last week. Origin is the premiere event of the UK's Craft Council, featuring designer-makers in all fields from all over the UK. I went to it last year for the first time and was blown away. This year's show was even better.

This year, instead of having two weeks with completely different designers, Origin was held in the Old Spitalfields Market, where they had enough room to showcase everyone over the full two weeks. The larger venue was a bit maze-like and overwhelming at times, but seeing everything at once was definitely better.

I actually almost missed it this year, between settling into our new house and having a full work schedule, I didn't get around to ordering my tickets. I planned to make it just under the wire on the show's last day. The night before, I had two nightmares about missing the show, either going to the old venue or showing up too late.

Fortunately, neither of my nightmare scenarios came true. I showed up bright and early (well, at 11 am) just when the show's final day was due to open. I spent the morning checking things out and chatting up designers, then grabbed some lunch and went back to pick up a few choice items.

Since there's too much to share in one post, so I'll do my bragging about the stuff I came home with in tomorrow's I Spy. Today I have some other amazing work to show you, which unfortunately only resides in my home via the blog. Saddo.

Catherine Tough

Catherine Tough makes the sweetest knitted creatures and accessories. Despite my lavender allergy, I still wanna cuddle these little birds. I can still love them with an itchy throat. And itchy everything.

Claire Brewster

Claire Brewster is a London-based paper cut artist who focuses on wildlife, mostly birds and flowers. She reclaims old maps and other papers to create stunning papercuts, placed in shadowboxes that have a sense of life and movement.

Rebecca J. Coles

I spent a long time chatting with Rebecca last Wednesday. She's so sweet and I just wish I could have one of her beautiful pieces hanging in my house. Her work at Origin was all about butterflies, which was amazing, but I have say I love these flowery, mushroomy pieces even better. Although I'm definitely okay with someone flaunting the gross trend for using real butterflies in art. Ew.

Sarah Morpeth

Something about the lines of Sarah Morpeth's designs makes me think of Rob Ryan's work, but Sarah clearly has her own thing going on, and it's wonderful. Her work is all about creating and cutting up books, which means her pieces end up being delicate and ethereal, yet approachable and personal at the same time. I really wanted to have a chat, but she was busy whenever I passed her stall. Maybe next year.

Those are just a few of the amazing designers at Origin this year. I'm already excited for next year! And tomorrow I'll share a few little things that came home with me.

Cat's Wedding

Are you ready for some completely fabulous wedding pictures? This July I made flowers for Cat's wedding, but I was so busy that I didn't post them here. Well, it was more than worth the wait, because her wedding photos are so, so amazing.

Such vintage glam!

The (glowingly) happy couple. I love their style!

Best bridesmaid dresses. Ever.

Cat's friend Clare Clarke took the photos for her wedding. I can't believe how professional they look. 

I Spy Friday

This week I have more Victoriana to enjoy, but this time I'm focusing on some books from and about the Victorian era.

At Home, by Bill Bryson. (Doubleday, 2010)

Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. His travel books, particularly I'm a Stranger Here Myself (which saved my sanity one summer), are funny and charming. And other books, what you could call general knowledge books, are equally so. He turns an eye for detail and constant curiosity to the mysteries of the universe and modern science, or, in this case, domestic history. 

This book includes history from prehistory to the modern era, but focuses on the Victorian age when his own home was built. It's loosely organized on a room-by-room tour of Bryson's home, but you'll quickly realize that any organization is extremely loose. But that doesn't matter. The biographies and interesting factoids are so fascinating that you won't be thinking about organization.

Modern Cookery, in All Its Branches, by Eliza Acton. (this edition Nabu Press, 2010)

Two of the books that Bryson references often in At Home, and that the cast of Victorian Farm relied on, were Modern Cookery, in All Its Branches by Eliza Acton and Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton (sort of). 

Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, by Isabella Beeton (Oxford World Classics, 2008)

Modern Cookery was the first cookbook to give precise measurements, instructions, and baking times. And the Book of Household Management is an amazing compendium of sometimes contradictory, but always confident, information. And the reason I say that she sort of wrote it is that most of it is, not to mince words, plagiarised.

Nonetheless, Mrs. Beeton's book was widely popular, and abridged versions giving her best desserts, household tips, and Christmas recipes (to name a few) abound to this day.

Best of all, since they both fall in the common domain, you can read the entirety of Mrs. Beeton's and Mrs. Acton's books online.