Graphic Design Experiments

I've been learning a new skill: Adobe Illustrator. That's the boring part..... the fun part is, now I've been working on developing some Personal Branding.

That might not sound very exciting to most... but personal branding is about creating an identity for yourself. You want to reflect who you are, what you do, what your style is, AND AT THE SAME TIME you want a timeless quality, because you can't go changing your logo every time you change your mood. Branding is about visual recognition and your public identity. So it should stay the same. Think, Quaker Oats or Target.

All that said.... I still don't know quite what direction I want to take my own branding.

I'm still experimenting. I just thought I'd share one of my experiments with you.

On the left is the "front" and on the right is the "back" of the business card.

I have the same pattern in a few more color schemes. These were some of my favorites. Sorry for the tacky and horrible editing... Recent events have made me cautious. I hope your imagination can repair the damages. Cheers!

Style from the East

As a lover of style and design, it is a really exciting moment when you realise there is an era, a location, and a name for the style that most resonates with you aesthetically. Right now, for me, it is the Anglo-Indian style.

Now, I'm not a fan of the whole shooting match! Although I admire the way Indian culture boldly and unabashedly embraces color in totally vibrant and saturated hues, I prefer a slightly more restrained pallet. Nevertheless, I LOVE Anglo-Indian antique furniture (or a few modern reproductions). I also love some of their motifs (some of which are modern adaptations of traditional henna patterns).

There is something very round, confident, and big bodied about the designs. It is similar, in that way, to Dutch or Swedish design. At the same time there is that excellent sense of restraint... where restraint is lacking in color it is executed in the carving or the lovely inlay.

Of course I am the furthest thing from an expert, but I'm starting to see the patterns and really appreciate that particular touch of Anglo-Indian antiques. (It was Bunny Williams who launched my first exploration of this subject in her recent visit to Savannah.... I got a picture with this iconic decorator... a picture in which she looks lovely and I look like a hurried wreck.

Cheers all! Never stop exploring!

(Images Via: Bed AnnaSova, Boxes IndiaRose, Lamps 1stdibbs, Lounge Decorati, Inlaid chest Veranda) 

Summer Goodies -- Fashion and Fun

Before going to work today, I found a quiet and shaded park bench in a beautiful Savannah Square. There, under the oaks and the sweeping spanish moss, was the only place where the heat of the day (which you could cut with a butter knife) was not brutal.

On my little bench in the shade, my drink of choice was: A delicious summer goodie: Frozen Strawberry Lemonade... topped with a paper thin slice of lemon. (You can get your own at Panera. It is a new product, for which I give them high accolades. Mmmmmm!!) The Book of Choice was: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. IT IS SO GOOD!! You just have to read it... really! It is fabulous summer reading that I recommend to everyone.

My summer wardrobe is almost as nice as my summer afternoon! I've been wearing silk blouses because they catch the breezes and keep your skin fresh and cool. Of course, the still fashionable gladiator sandal is always a great throw-on.

When transitioning from the steam of Costal Georgia to the chill of Costal Georgia Air Conditioning, my favorite wardrobe essential is the light denim/chambray shirt/jacket (it is such a PERFECT hybrid).

The thing I'd love to add to my wardrobe in the near-ish future would be a darling straw hat with a broad band (preferably silk... maybe a recycled tie).


So that's me in these sticky summer months!

Happy roasting...








(*Images via: TheHelp, Strawberry Lemonade, Shirt, Hat, Shoes, and Jacket)

the COLOR of FOOD

I must be hungry because I have more to say about food...

I officially have a favorite food photographer. Penny de los Santos. Oh my sweet drooling goodness! Please go look at her succulently beautiful work. Please. Here is a little apertif of her skills... to wet your appetite.
Her most beautiful work in on her website. I merely posted what could be found.

More beautiful color of food images include the work of gloriously talented photographer Christine Rudolph.

 

Cheers all... hope your mouths are watery and your hearts are joyful.

In the Kitchen with Blair

I have had a few weeks of slightly less hectic life recently. With the one or two additional moments of freedom I've been whipping up some fantastical moments in the kitchen. On the menu has been... Fresh Raspberry Mini Tarts, Smoked Gouda Mac&Cheese (with a crunchy blue cheese crust), Margarita MahiMahi, and a from scratch Hearty Cauliflower Soup.

All wonderful summer recipes that I would highly recommend... (if you want more details on where to find such scrumptious recipes, you know where to find me.) For now, how about a play by play of my "cheff-ery"?

1. A beautiful dutch oven in Fire Truck Red cast iron.

2. Sweet Vidalia onions browning in butter.

3. Rough chopped celery & carrrots w/ my Henkel Professional Santuku blade... a gift from my maid of honor, the lovely Chelsea Hauk.

4. The goodies in the pot... such great colors.

5. Parsley and rough chop cauliflower... waiting.

6. But first we mix up a tasty rue!

7. Add Rue to Stew... Oooooo...

8. Serve w/ dill spring for asethics and bouquet.

Hope you enjoyed that little walk through my kitchen. Wish I could serve you as well... but we ate it all up!

Bejeweled Summer Bugs

Summer has gotten just balmy enough to bring out the bugs... oh joy. If only the little critters that sneak into my casa were as glittery and beautiful as these, perhaps we'd become better friends.

This lovely plique a jour antique a vec 1st Dibbs Antique Dealer could capture anyone's heart... but we all know that butterflies aren't so difficult to love... but how about a Stag Beetle?

From the treasure troves of A La Vieille Russie we get this sparkling personality. Everything is so dainty and tasteful until we get to the pinchers! Yikes!.... oh well, isn't that just like most "pretty" things in life? If you'll pardon a bit of dark-ish cynicism.

We continue our tour de force with a diamond bumble-bee from Van Cleef & Arpels.... and a glitzy pair of beetle cufflinks from Kentshire. 

Well... maybe if Willy Wonka were king of the universe, my be-jeweled insect idea would be but into action in the cosmos. Until then... keep swatting, friends.

Happy Weekend Shopping

Living in the beautifully historic and surprisingly style conscious Savannah, Georgia has its perks on sleepy, humid weekends like this.

After spending an hour or so reading in the park, my husband and I strolled down to the infinitely tasteful and elegant No. Four Eleven. There is a clean, airy quality about the products, and the arrangments and displays are delicious! I purchased an absolutely scrumptious set of silk panel curtains. They are done in a broad grey-blue and cream plaid. Unfortunately they are not for my own house but for a client.

Although the shop can boast countless winning attributes, one of their "signature moves" is embroidery and monogramming.

If you ever get a chance to stop by this little nook, you should. It is almost as good as a massage to refresh you and invigorate your sense of style.

Happy Weekend to All

*All Images Via No.FourEleven Blog

Summer Picnic Anyone?

On this steamy summer day I've brought you a delicious treat from La Plates!

Made from unbreakable Melamine, these plates are so stylish! It's like little kid plates... for grown ups! And we all know that at the heart of us, we just want to sit at the kid table. Better yet... they are customizable. Stylize your own Monogram, then pick your own pattern, color, and font. My, my, that plate is so you...

Here are a few of my favorites...

Serve up a tasty summer recipe (like these Creamy Dill Cucumber Toasties) and indulge. P.S. Did I mention that La Plates also offers accesories, like these adorable personalized napkins, to complete your summer table look?

I'm Back...

I took a breif hiatus from blogging because I was wounded by some ugly words from a feckless nay-sayer about my blog. My confidence is like a big prink balloon... it floats and soars, but it is easily deflated by sharpness. I'm in a life-long endevor to become more thick skinned. Consider this an episode in the epic journey. ~winks~

But now I'm back... and I'd like to share more little treasures and joys with any reader that happens by. And from now on, if nay-sayers and grumpy people come here, take your criticism somewhere else.

*Image Via Government Archives