Oscars 2011

Credit: Jason Merritt; Photos: Getty

So the Oscars 2011 went off without a hitch; I was so excited about Natalie Portman winning for her role in Black Swan. But, I must ask– who was your favorite star of the evening?

Oddly enough, my pick for best dressed was Mandy Moore (although I found myself asking..where has she been lately??). She looked like an angel in her Monique Lhuillier dress..a true star.

Limited Edition Tee Collection Available NOW!

 

I'm so excited to tell you all that my Inspired House of Wright limited edition tees are available NOW! Grab one today!

Happy Friday everyone!

Royally Sick of the Royal Wedding?

By Lydia Leith Design

Although I am excited about the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these.

It's too pretty outside to blog

I must apologize, dear readers, for my lack of concentration this week. I have had the worst case of spring fever with this unusually warm weather; I feel as if I am emerging from a cocoon!

It will turn cold/rainy/terrible once again and I will be able to fully concentrate on my daily posts. I love you all– But for now, I MUST get outside!

Coco Chanel Inspired Baby shower

In  NO WAY am I ready for the baby chapter, but if I were, I would have a baby shower that looked something like this...I'm officially IN LOVE!

(via  Blair Britt Weddings & Events)

Toomer's Corner Oaks Poisoned

This weekend was rough. If you haven't already heard all over the news, our [Auburn University's ] historic twin oak trees have been poisoned by an angry rival team's fan and they have a less than 1% chance of survival. If you aren't an Auburn fan I know it's hard to understand why we're so upset...

To me, this corner and more importantly, rolling these trees after a victory, has been a family affair my entire life. My grandpa passed these oaks everyday when he played football for Auburn. It's hard to see them dying, helplessly, and not be able to do anything about it. You can read all the details on CNN.com (and see me sitting on my bro-in-law's shoulders when we rolled Toomer's Corner during the national championship, blogged about HERE).

We went to the Tree Hugging Rally this Saturday; it was so sad. I couldn't help but to break down and cry seeing "Please Do Not Roll The Trees" signs everywhere. It's sad to think that I will never get to meet with my family and friends at the oaks after a victory and roll them again.

I quickly created two tee-shirt designs HERE and am going to show my support for our poor oaks...

This isn't a normal blog post for me, I just needed to share and express my sympathy. I want to write down a few of the stories of my years of fun at Toomer's Corner, but right now, I think I'm still in shock and have extreme sadness in my heart.

The Art Institutes " Create Tomorrow" Campaign

When I saw this I had to share, after all The Art Institute is my alma mater! In its first work for The Art Institutes, independent ad agency David&Goliath shows that indeed the world is a canvas with a series of ads that promote the abundance of opportunity the world has to offer. From the aisles of a mundane grocery story to the heart of Times Square, opportunities are everywhere and an education in fashion, design, media or the culinary arts can help create the future.

I hope you have a great weekend. In the meantime, enjoy these links:

How cool are these vertical gardens?

#obsessed

Yipee skippy Google Bookmarks!

xo rachel

Paper wigs

 

The Atlanta duo Amy Flurry and Nikki Salk have created a wonderful series of fantastic paper wigs! Flurry, a freelance writer, editor and stylist co-founded Paper-Cut-Project. Salk runs a fashion blog called Fashion Gatherer and an art website called Charta-Aeterna.

Their paper installations are “fueled by a love of fashion and an appreciation of grace and nuance of this humble material.”

Aren't these a gorgeous complement to the installations by Zoey Bradley?

Little Golden Men

Oh, the Oscars. The pinnacle of any actor's career and the most beautiful eye candy for the rest of us. This year, I thought it would be fun to think about what I would wear if I went. The shoes! The dresses! The jewelry!..how could one ever decide?

When I saw Michelle Williams in her Vera Wang saffron yellow dress (with bright red lipstick I might add) I was hooked; it was the most elegant and beautiful look I had ever seen. I loved her hairstyle so much that I even asked my hair stylist to mirror the updo for my brother's wedding!

The other look I might choose is simple elegance like Miss Jolie here. Yes, it's a little black dress, but my how she stood out with those amazing emerald jewels! I definitely think this is a trend on the rise- let the jewelry speak! This would be my second option for my 'lil visit to the Academy Awards; maybe in another lifetime? ;)

And lastly, you can't leave your guy out. Call me old-fashioned, but you just can't go wrong with the classic bowtie.

Now let's head over to Ashley Nicole Catherine for our next stop on Blog crawl: A Toast to the Oscars.

xo rachel

Vintage vacay

Do you ever have the urge to jump in the car and take off for a moment? I've got the worst case of that right now!

Is it the weather? Or maybe it's because I haven't had a vacay since my honeymoon last May? I dunno..just ignore my words and look at these fun vintage motel signs ;)

P.S. Don't forget our blog crawl-A Toast to the Oscar's this week starting with  Cornflake Dreams!

And the winner is...

Giveaway Director Blue says, Congrats Joanna! ( P.s. He was clearly NOT happy with mommy, but sat obediently with the sign on his head for five minutes..sweet boy!)

I hope you have a fun day celebrating with the one you love, even if it's hanging with your pooch!  I'm going on my third day of celebration ( I've been referring to it as "Valentines weekend" to the Hubster tee hee).

I'll post my Valentine's present from him later in the week; he built me an easel and had flowers and chocolate waiting for me this morning!

Happy V-Day everyone!

Happy Valentine's Eve

How is your Sunday going? Giveaway Director Blue and I are preparing for his special Valentine's giveaway announcement tomorrow..stay tuned!

If you haven't entered my Valentine's Givaway yet be sure to by 8 am tomorrow!

Happy V-Day Eve everyone!

Art History 101

But seriously. Where's Bob Ross owns 30 minute happy landscapes..?

Have a good weekend y'all!

Baking FAIL

This past Sunday I tried baking a cake but gave up for a minute due to an unforeseen event that had my kitchen looking like a cake batter war zone  baked a cake for Hub's birthday. It went ok.

{Guest Post} Cornflake Dreams

Hello again! The winter in Chicago has no signs of slowing down, with more snow falling everyday. I am constantly thinking of spring and sunshine. Here are a few things I am looking forward to: 

psst... want to see more?! Here are a few of my favorite posts::

fashion:: dream outfit, the perfect accessory

travel:: dream vacation , favorite trip

design:: my fave etsy shops,

life and love:: a little more about meeee

Happy Birthday Dad!

I love you more than words can express.

{Guest Blogger} Cornflake Dreams

Good morning! It's Jillian from Cornflake Dreams, and like Rachel, my 'real job' is in marketing and i love all things design. I am a right brain thinker and I gravitate towards visually appealing images.

I started Cornflake Dreams, a life and style blog about all the dreamy things in the city and travels abroad, as an outlet for my desire to be creative outside of work.

A huge thank you to the lovely Rachel for allowing me to take over her blog today!  Be sure to stop back later today for a peek at what i am looking forward to this spring.

xoxo jillian

Sneak Peek: My visit to Cornflake Dreams

I was so happy when my new friend, Jillian, of Cornflake Dreams, wanted to do a guest post with me. Not only do I adore her style, but she has a way of capturing her audience as if you were sitting at dinner with her. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with her blog, it is always packed full of amazing eye candy from interior design, to fashion to fun tidbits of her weekend.

For my guest post, Jillian allowed me to write as if I was talking to my own readers, with no main topic to stick to. So I decided I would take a moment and share with everyone a little bit about my history, what influenced me to become an artist, and what inspires me today. 

Here's a little sneak peek of my visit at Cornflake Dreams.

To read my entire guest post, click HERE.

And while you're visiting, make sure you stick around and peruse the rest of Jillian's beautiful blog.

Happy reading lovelies.

xo Rachel

West Elm + Etsy

What's better than West Elm or Etsy? Now you can have them both in one place! West Elm is now highlighting unique pieces from Etsy artisans in their catalog ( see HERE). Now, how can I get them to discover my Etsy shop? :)

Cuteness

To brighten your busy day :)