Gorgeous Knitted Things

As mentioned in post previous post (read The Big Angel Blow-Out here), once in a lovely while, Cath and I get to meet some pretty spiffy people. Last weekend at a craft fair we had the pleasure of meeting Kay Moates of On Slender Threads: knitter extraordinaire.

Kay expertly mixes mohair, cotton, silk and stones into her creations. They remind us of ButtercupLtd's baubles that we mentioned in an earlier post. Also, her scarves and shawls don't just look delicately beautiful, they also feel luxuriously soft and weighty in a comforting way (most of the stones anchor the ends of the scarves).

The photo to the left is just another gratuitous paper crane photo (see background- we really liked that shed). In the photo to the right Kay let me try on some of her scarves (that's me containing my giddiness and trying to look like a thoughtful blogger).



Her gorgeous creations also remind us of softer versions of Rodarte's Vogue-coveted knits.

Image courtesy of www.rodarte.net

You can purchase Kay's scarves here and see some of her other work here.


LL

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all are enjoying delicious meals of cranberry sauce, mash potatoes, yams, turkey and/or toferky.


Image courtesy of the New York Times.

Ever wonder what Mark Twain craved on Thanksgiving? How about the very first meal between the Pilgrams and the Wampanoags? Find out in this lovely Times op-ed piece by Andrew Beahrs.

With love,
The AsianCajuns

Saturday Night at The Depot

We had a fantastic time at Saturday Night Sabotage hosted by Whynatte and Esperanza. Those guys know how to throw a party. The Black Dominoes were great and The Midnight Socialite captured it all here.

If we had planned better, Lauren and I would have taken some outfit shots beforehand to make this a genuine fashion post. Maybe next time!



Whynatte's Jesse and AsianCajuns' Catherine (me). Sorry ladies, he's already married to a lovely lady.


CL

And You Thought the Elections Were Over...

Some of you Georgians might think the title is referring to the upcoming senatorial runoff between Martin and Chambliss (vote for Jim Martin on Dec. 2!). Well, that is not the case. Lauren and I try to keep AsianCajuns relatively politics-free (minus the few posts leading up to the presidential election), but we're never adverse to promoting our fellow bloggers and blog-friendly sites - like Regator. See our previous Regator mention here.



While we've been tooting our own horns about getting into Atlanta Magazine's Best of issue, Regator has made it as a candidate for Best Social News Site in Mashable's Open Web Awards - and the site is only 3 months old! Well done guys! So if any of you readers are fans of Regator, you can vote here. For those of you who don't know about Regator, shame on you! No, just kidding. Visit www.regator.com to learn all about it and then vote here.

Good luck, Regatorers! We'll be voting everyday!

Big Angel Blow-Out

The earlier part of this past Sunday, Cath and I spent at the Big Angel Blow-Out (the latter part was spent making mac & cheese and watching the Colbert Holiday Special). The Big Angel is a top-notch craft fair held at Whitespace in Atlanta. Some of the crafters are old favorites (including June Shin and YeeHaw Industries) and some new ones too (stay tuned for the next post featuring Kay Moates).



Apart from offering crafty delights, Whitespace functions as equal parts gallery and my fantasy house. Located in the historic Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park (home to some gorgeous, old Victorians), Whitespace has charm coming out of its old-paned glass windows. For instance, where else could you find a small outdoor shed full of paper cranes?




Dreamy, non?

LL

Woohoo!

Our blog has made it onto Atlanta Magazine's Best of list this year! We had some inkling that we'd get a mention in the December issue, but had no idea that it was the Best of Atlanta issue. According to the magazine Asian Cajuns is the best local style blog. Well, as the Brits say, we're chuffed :).



If you're an Atlanta Magazine reader and this is your first time visiting Asian Cajuns, welcome! And if you're a loyal reader of our blog, thanks for all of your support!



Also, congrats to fellow Decatur bloggers of Decatur Metro and In Decatur for getting best neighborhood news and to the gang at Heliotrope for being the best one-stop gift shop!

CL

Getting Crafty

Lauren and I like to think of ourselves as relatively crafty people - that's DIY crafty, not cunning and scheming crafty. But for the past few years we haven't done much crafting. I'd like to think it's because we've been so busy, but truthfully it's mostly due to laziness. So imagine my surprise when Lauren bought some chain at a local bead shop and put together this lovely body chain all in one afternoon.



Pretty fantastic, eh? All you need is some chain, a few jump rings, and a pair of pliers to make your own. She had a bunch of chain left over, but I've been too lazy - er, I mean busy - to make one for myself.

CL

The Satchel-like purse

I've been looking for something satchel-like since seeing glimpses of these on street blogs around the world. I spotted one last weekend at my local Salvation Army for $3. Horrah!

The Sunday Best recently did a post on bags of similar nature (thanks for the tip-off, MC). I think I would really like these on a man (mine is bit purse-y, but a slightly boxier shape would do). Drool here.

LL

A Mini Selby Tribute

The Selby is really one of our favorite places to visit for inspiration (see AsianCajun tribute here): getting a glimpse into other people's homes and their methods of nesting are really fascinating to us.

These are just a few quick shots around my room (Cath's is much more organized and orderly). Much of the bric-a-brac are photos/drawings I've done. The rest are books and second-hand odds and ends I've picked up along the way or have been given.

Doe anyone recognize the movie paused on my Mac in the middle photo (hint: it's not Arial)?

LL

Headers

Some of you have noticed our new headers. Press refresh and you should see a new one pop up almost every time. It gives us a chance to exercise our graphic design muscles.

Sick of refreshing? Here are the seven new styles below:

We'll probably add and edit these in the coming weeks. We're playing with ideas
for some big new projects- we'll let you know when they come together.


LL

Sunday Randomness

I love this homage to photoshop's screen display. It's made the rounds on the graphic design blogs (although I took the image from Siggelicious), but I thought some of you fashion bloggers/photoshop users would appreciate it :).



Two lovely looks from Face Hunter and Altamira NYC. I especially like the dress on the left - gorgeous material.



My weekend purchase: an owl sunglass holder from Heliotrope. The store had a fantastic 2nd year anniversary party last night. So to the peeps at Heliotrope, Happy Birthday!


CL

A Delightfully Delectable New Coffee Drink

One of the best things about writing this blog has been getting to meet all you fellow bloggers spread across the world, as well as meet face-to-face with some inspiring people in our own backyard. Tonight our backyard was located in Whynatte Latte's headquarters (right by Grant Park, for you locals).

Whynatte wha wha???

Pronounce it "Why-Not-A" as in "Why not a latte?"

Whynatte is the caffeinated elixir invented by Jesse and Andy. It tastes like the best iced latte you've ever had, but with an additional boost of energy. And the best part is you can mix Whynatte with your favorite alcoholic beverage that you always thought belonged in your plain-joe latte. So far Cath and I have just tried Whynatte sans spiking, but they have a list of tempting recipes on their website for you to try.

For you locals, Whynatte is sold at Alons, Parish and other gourmet shops around the city. Those farther a-field can order some here.

We got a full tour and some lovely new tees from the Whynatte crew:


Me, the lovely Hannah and Cath; Jesse and Andy (geniuses behind Whynatte) and Dave the super-talented graphic designer.


Me and Cath sporting our new Whynatte tees.

Thanks for the tour and the jolt, Whynatte Team!

Fellow readers, if you get a chance to try Whynatte- let us know what you think and then upload your own pics to their blog.

LL

Give Me (us) an E!

The sweet and generous Ana B. of On Dressing Up awarded us with an Excellent Blog award! And she created this gorgeous Asian Cajun collage for her award post. We feel so honored to be chosen - so, thank you, Ana!



Now it's our turn to award five great blogs. It's pretty much impossible to narrow it down to five blogs. We consider all the blogs on our blogroll to be excellent, but here's 5 that we love:

Annie Spandex
Sharon Rose
Bonjour its Jinah
Solo Lisa y Nada Mas
Style Discovery

So Annie, Sharon, Jinah, Lisa and Songy thanks for all of your support and inspiration! We think you're Excellent!

Bespoke Moo Moo

That's what I would call this particular item of clothing. I spotted it at Zara a few months ago and fell in love with it immediately. I have no idea what possessed me to buy it, but I'm glad I did. It's so comfy and appropriate for meeting-free work days. I'll probably wear it with a thin, black turtleneck and boots when it gets colder.


Moo Moo/Dress from Zara, tights by Eurotard, and Target pumps.

CL

Chomp and Stomp

Chili cook-off detritus.

We hope you all had a lovely weekend- we figure a Monday-going-on-Tuesday is a good time to reminisce. Saturday was Chomp and Stomp (chili-cook-off extravaganza in Cabbagetown). We were too late for the chili, but not the beer or June Shin's lovely baubles at the Artist Market (chili with a side of culture- faincy, non?).


Gorgeous Cath with her purple tights.

Me scouring June Shin's tent. Cath bought the Cinderella carriage necklace and I bought this gorgeous faux-horn piece. Missed June at the Chomp and Stomp? Visit her shop here.

LL

Brilliant! Build a Beard!

There are some brilliant people in the world. For example, the creators of Build a Beard Workshop. You choose a photo, download one of the Build a Beard beards to photoshop (or print out, cut and stick it) on your face, then submit it to the Workshop. And the greatness doesn't stop there. For every bearded image that's submited $1 will be put into a Kiva account to help someone in a developing country.



This is without a doubt the best thing since sliced bread...or at least Free Rice.

Have a happy weekend!

CL

Election Day Outfits

Nope, our outfits don't have any patriotic meaning (if that was the case, we'd be wearing blue head to toe), but this is what we were wearing Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008.

Georgia might not have swung all the way in the direction I hoped for, but it was a lot closer than four years ago. Obama received 46.8% of Georgia's votes, which is not bad for a usually deep red state.




You can't tell very well in these photos, but Lauren is sporting acid-wash red jeans. When she tried them on the other week at American Apparel I told her I loved the fit, but that she should find another wash. Wisely, she did not listen to me and since then, has had a ridiculous amount of people say how much they love the jeans. Just goes to show that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about...

Outfit details: H&M shirt, American Apparel jeans, Walmart belt and Target boots.

I'm trying to smile in this photo, but Lauren took this before the polls closed and I was incredibly anxious about the outcome. Just trust me when I write that I was smiling like crazy four and a half hours later!

Outfit details: Secondhand sweater from Vacation, Anne Klein belt, H&M denim and Nine West boots.

CL

We've Gone to ...

Poster by Shepard Fairey.

LL

Halloween Transformations

We hope you all had a terribly spooky Halloween last night!

Last year Cath and I were maybe a little more cultured in our costume choices (The Artist and The Singer). This year we went with good ole classics: Native American and Vampire (both augmented with a selection of American Apparel goodies: see cath's altered pencil skirt and my high-waisted, "wet" leggings).

See the transformation below:







LL