Tag Time: 6 Things

Our friend and author of In Her Twenties tagged us a few days ago and, seeing as I've made it a kind of mini-resolution of mine to be better at tagging, I'm determined to complete this tag before a whole week has gone by. That being said I think we might have done this tag before, but since I can't remember, surely no one else can! So here goes:

The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My six random things:


I love SPAM (not the email version).


I've kept all of my old pointe shoes and have no idea what to do with them.


I'm part Chinese and part French/English/Irish/German, but I'm obsessed with anything Scottish.


I love maps.


I don't own a TV, but watch shows on Hulu.com all the time.


I would love to visit Stockholm.

I'm tagging:

Already Pretty
Hiking in Stilettos
June Shin
On Dressing Up
The Leila
This Wheel's on Fire

All photos are from flickr.com.

CL

Good Things*

Really the title of this post should be something like "Things that make us happy when our weekend has been crappy." But that seems too wordy and I don't like rhymes.

The short of it is my car broke down at an incredibly inopportune moment Saturday evening resulting in a number of mishaps (held up a wedding, got caught in the pouring rain waiting for AAA and missed June Shin's party at Drew Lewis). So we AsianCajuns had a not-too-pleasant weekend. To cheer Lauren and me up, I decided to blog about a few things we've been enjoying recently:

The Celebrity Perfumery: The Handy Craft Guide to Smelling Like the Stars
For anyone who's ever wanted to capture the essence of Robert Downey Jr.'s recent Iron Man success or the magical aura of J.K. Rowling, this is the blog for you! One of my favorite entries/perfumes is the Juno/Ellen Page inspired Who Cares: de parfum (see image below). Ingredients include dusty record stores, Cheez Whiz, Pop Rocks and stale linens.




Favorite books that inspire a favorite movie
Lauren and I were never big fans of The Catcher in the Rye, but we love Salinger's novels about the Glass family - especially Franny and Zooey. So even without the fantastic sets and soundtrack, The Royal Tenenbaums would still be one of our all time favorite movies (I know I just made film buffs everywhere cringe).

New Shoes
Kind of self-explanatory, but here are the basics: Biviel black sandals found on the sales rack at Eviva in downtown Decatur.



It's Always Sunny on Hulu.com
We might not have a TV, but Lauren and I make up for it by watching and re-watching all 32 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia online. It's not quite as sophisticated as Arrested Development, but it's equally as brilliant and hilarious.



Sujean Rim Illustrations
We've been big fans of Daily Candy for years, but never stopped to think about the person behind all of its clever illustrations until recently.


The House of Eliott
A BBC TV series that we became hooked on when it aired on PBS in the early 1990s. Lauren just discovered that our local library has most of the show on DVD and we've spent the past few weekends drooling over the 1920s costumes.


Images from www.bn.com, www.fxnetworks.com, www.allposters.com, www.sujeanrim.com, www.thecelebrityperfumery.com.

*Not necessarily Martha approved.

CL

Brideshead Revisited. . . revisited

I know an Evelyn Waugh novel isn't exactly light, summer reading, but Brideshead Revisited is going on my July reading list.

The soon-to-be-released Brideshead Revisited film is the reason why I'm brushing up on my Waugh. Those of you who grew up like Lauren and me, with a healthy dose of Masterpiece Theater each month, have probably already seen at least part of the 1981 Brideshead mini-series. We've seen all 11 episodes (that's 659 minutes), so you can only imagine how excited (and relieved) I am that BBC has made it into a (100 minute-long) film. The fact that Emma Thompson is in it is just icing on the cake.

Below are a couple of comparison photos of the two versions (2008 images on the left, 1981 images on the right).



Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte lounging around Oxford University.


Sebastian in all his aristocratic-ness.


A day of boating. Champagne? Check. Teddy Bear? Check.


Charles in Morocco searching for Sebastian.


Charles, Julia and Sebastian on the grounds of Brideshead.


I can't wait to study all the costumes in the film. There are a few images on imdb.com that show some of the clothing, but not much. I couldn't find a website for the film, but hopefully more photos will pop up online closer to the release date.


Images courtesy of www.imdb.com, http://www.abbotshill.freeserve.co.uk/StoryContents.htm, http://mrsblandings.blogspot.com/2008/02/brideshead-revisited.html

CL

British Invasion

Textile/fashion designer Celia Birtwell has finally crossed the pond thanks to a collaboration with Express. I rarely shop at Express. The clothes always seem expensive and outdated, but I'd be willing to take a trip to the mall to check out Birtwell's items. They're not inexpensive either ($79 for a shirt and $128 for the dresses), but I think it's worth a look and a nice change from Express' unimaginative pieces.

This shirt is one of my favorites from the collection. I'm not sure if I can pull it off - it might be too much for my short frame. Of course it never hurts to try...

I wish the Express collection had a few more pieces like the ones she created for TopShop - especially this dress below. If you get a chance, check out the Topshop Celia Birtwell site. The clothes are no longer available, but it's a fun site and shows off more of Birthwell's style.

Still haven't had enough of Cecil Birtwell style? Check out her website. I love all of the fabrics and wallpaper. Her designs are like a mix between Anthropologie, a Wes Anderson set and Bloomsbury.
CL

New Resources

After a delicious Easter meal with some friends, I spent the rest of the evening online window shopping. Below are a few new (to me) websites with reasonably-priced items that I bookmarked so I can revisit them on payday.

Tulle

I stumbled upon Tulle's website the other day. I've never heard of it before. It doesn't have a huge inventory, but I love how each piece has something kind of unexpected about it. Like the sweater below could almost be from Gap if it didn't have that great exaggerated collar.

Tulle's price range is around $50-$70, but the best finds are the items on sale (see the five images below).

Waffle Knit Funnel Collar Sweater $26

Cotton Voile Smocked Tunic $27

Herringbone Tulip Dress $31

Canvas Bib Jacket $32

Poly Knit Retro Dress $26

* * * * *

Etsy: Karen Hilton Designs

Lauren and I have been looking for some Union Jack pillows for our living room. Karen Hilton makes them in almost every color combination you can imagine. Other great Anglophile pillow designs from the store include the Queen Elizabeth II stamps (pictured bellow), flower power-theme and terrior dog portraits.

Queen Elizabeth II Stamp Cushion/Pillow $65

Pink and Green Union Jack Cushion/Pillow $60

* * * * *

Matter Matters

This website mostly has ridiculously expensive accessories and home wares, but there are a handful of affordable items that would make any home look like something featured in Dwell magazine.

Cristal Carafe $55

Still Life Fruit Bowl $95

* * * * *

Muji

I fell in love with Muji during my first trip to London. Every item seems so utilitarian and efficient. All the travel and desktop items make me want to be organized. The furniture and kitchen items make me wish that I lived in one of those scarily minimalist homes. So I was quite pleased to learn that the store ships to the U.S.

Cup and Saucer - Heatproof about $6

Square Face Watch about $60

* * * * *

Smil

As this cute, little German website states, Smil carries "accessories that make you happy." It's like a German Fred Flare. All the items are so endearing and the creators seem to have an affinity for dachshunds.

Teckel brooch in pink around $14

Air mail pouch about $27

My regular online window shopping usually includes a stop by CB2, Fred Flare, Heliotrope, Asos and Museum of Useful Things.

What are your favorite online window shopping sites?

CL

Jane Austen Style

I might be revealing too much of myself here, but I have to for the sake of the post: I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I love everything that's related to her: her novels, the films, the Georgian/Regency eras, Bath, England, the unlimited amount of cheesy sequels written for Pride and Prejudice etc...

Background image from www.telegraph.co.uk

So I was pleasantly surprised to find some Jane-Austen-era-inspired clothing at Abercrombie.com - of all places. I've never shopped at A&F before (I first saw these blouses on www.stylenotes.com), but that might change after today. I love the femininity of the tops and I'm sure the square-neckline and ribbon embellishments would have made these a big hit in 1810.

Considering that my Jane Austen fanaticism is usually met with eye-rolls (especially from my guy friends) and an assumption that I read romance novels (I do not!), I won't mention it again on this blog...at least not for a while.

CL

Ain't it Dandy

Found this charm of a website in Domino Magazine. A British company that sells posters and t-shirts with Warhol-worthy graphics. They don't ship to the states yet, but I figure it's only a matter of time.

CL