Melting into blue

via The Colour Gypsy

Hearts and sleeves

“Never apologize for showing feelings. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.”

- Benjamin Disraeli.

via Dangerously Debonair

In love, in laughter, in work and in friendship.  Say what you think, what you mean, and what is honest and authentic.

Amazing friends.

 

I've had some of the best times over the last few weeks with some of the most amazing people I know.  But the best part?  Laughing til my stomach hurts, figuring out the meaning of life, working out work with my incredible girlfriends.  Knowing they are there for you, giving you back all you put in to them.  Being able to say exactly what you think, tear up sometimes, be on a dancefloor til 5.30am.  That's the stuff life is made off.  Now, that is beautiful. 

I heart NY

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion."

- E.B White, Here is New York

Acquisition: getting ready for Cancun

Goddess via Seafolly

Outfit of the week (mark II)

required for summer. stat.

A little artsy

Via iluvskinnybitches and Southern Sophisticate

I absolutely dig this last photo of Rosie Huntington-Whitely.  The hair is insane.

The tough sh*t in life makes you who you are (and that's kind of beautiful)

"And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can’t ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it’s already happened."

 

- Douglas Coupland, Life after God

Outfit of the week

via Stay Gold

Oh Olivia

Well, now i've let one through, the floodgates are open.  Stunning

Destination dreamin'

Feeling the road under your pounding feet

The feeling of running away from all your problems.  And running toward the best of the day.  That glorious rhythmic pounding on the road.

Prioritise this.

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good’."

- Stephen Cove



via Dangerously Debonair

Outfit of the week

via Citizen Couture

I never wanted to post about Olivia Palermo on this blog, on principle.  But the girl has exquisite taste, so I can no longer get away with it.  This DVF Eavis cardigan in bright blues paired with a floaty neutral dress? Divine.

Acquisition: pussy bow.

via Saba

Go on, I dare you

via Absolutely Beautiful Things

Starting to feel like a Kempo black belt again.

Feeling strong is super cool.  I've started wearing my black belt medallion for the first time in since early 2010.  I feel deserving of it again.

Hot pink pout (makes me think of summer)

via Tumblr

A note for the gents

A sweater over your shirt and tie is always acceptable in winter.  Do it.

Green with envy (and trying to wait patiently)

A Pitti Uomo man, is my fave

via Hanneli

via StreetFSN

Words from the wise (never truer)

Or put another way: it's always darkest, before the dawn.

Getting my Rachel Barry on

via Vogue.com

Lea Michele in Moschino for Vogue's September issue.  Just getting inspired for our little Glee performance in 10 days xx

Invictus

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

via Dangerously Debonair 

Kissing mice

Was just wandering along Queen St with the lovely Lizzie (decked out in weekend Marni - no surprises there!) and saw these delectable little flats at Quincy.  Love, love, love.  I'd love to wear them come spring with tailored white shorts, a crisp shirt and tan legs.  Now I just have to restrain myself.

Letter to my daughter - a must read for all the wonderful women I know, and all the wonderful men who have a daughter or one day will

Letter to My Daughter

via Hello Giggles, by Alan Hanson

Some days I fear I will never meet you. Some days I fear that you will never exist and that time, shhh, long ago, was the last chance. But other days I break apart completely thinking about your skin and if you’d smile with your eyes or with your entire face.

I just wanted to tell you some things in case, well, in case it doesn’t happen. In case you never meet me or in case I forget to tell you these things later on, when I’m even more tired.

First of all, do not be afraid of love. Do, however, be afraid of men with two first names. Remember that elegance, etiquette and general ‘being-a-lady-ness’ is ridiculously important. So is sticking your tongue out, hanging from jungle-gyms, drinking whisky and knowing how to creatively curse. The balance is key.

If someone is ever rude to you on the bus or in line at the bank, first try to imagine what other horrible things may have happened to that person earlier in the day. I was never good at this. But you will be. You will be courageous and kind. You will not berate a 60-year-old man in a Citgo.

Some days, you will have arrived at your wit’s end and the amount of rudeness a stranger is exuding may exceed normal levels. This is when you can, and should, berate a 60-year-old man in a Citgo. Cherish these moments, these few moments in which flying off the handle is completely satisfying and justified. They happen less than we’d all like to believe.

When it comes to dating: no one on planet Earth is ever ‘too busy’ to spend time with you unless they do not care for you. This is a fact. Don’t let people use this excuse and do not use it yourself, if you can help it. It is not easy.

There is nothing wrong with not going to college. There is nothing immoral about sex or smoking. It may not be healthy, but don’t let anyone tell you that you’re a bad person for those choices. God does not exist but you should still have faith in humanity. As hard as that can be sometimes.

Tattoos are fine as long as they compliment your beautiful skin, not mar it.

Do you know how many people had to survive this world for you to be here? If one person in the generations upon generations upon generations of our lineage before us had a heart attack or got struck by a car or eaten by a mastodon then BAM: non-existence. Never forget that. And remember that the jerkwad taking up two parking spots exists in the same coincidence of life. It is up to you to decide whether or not that is beautiful or horrifying. Hopefully you’ll decide that it is both.

Do not take crap from anyone but especially do not take crap from your mother, anyone who cherishes only a fraction of you and your girlfriends.

Take everyone’s advice critically. My mistakes will not be your mistakes. You may have better ideas, better ways of making it through the day. Keep the good, discard the bad and be careful with what you tell others.

No one looks like Anna Karina. Be wary of women who obsess over Edie Sedgwick.

Be brave with your love and do not exclude the possibility of sleeping with someone based on their political affiliation. Do not sleep with with bigots, racists, homophobes or artless people.

Never exclude the midwest. It is a gem that most people will never know.

You know nothing and neither do I and that will never change and that will always be comforting. Care for yourself, care for others and care for mystery. No one wants all the answers.

Order girly drinks at the bar when you’re young and when they taste good. But always have a strong drink order for dire times.

So here’s to meeting you and here’s to you moving the ball down the field. Do not forget about sunlight and the way bedrooms smell. TV will not rot your brain. Milk is delicious. I love you.

Alan Hanson is a writer in Los Angeles. He loves space and sometimes pays his rent on time. You can follow his blog of non-sense at lieslieslies.tumblr.com or his tweets @iluvbutts247. Alan also edits and contributes to the poetry blog Looked Like Laughing.

Divine picture of the week

via My Furore

Oscar de la Renta - timeless beauty

via OscarPRGirl

Print me pretty - Erdem

via TheOutnet.com

All in the details

Love the contrast of this detail poking out from a well cut suit. 

Delicious ambiguity. My best life lesson.

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.  Delicious Ambiguity."

 

- Gilda Radner

 

Of all the things I have learned over the last 4 years.  This is the truest.

Perfect song for a beautiful Sydney day...wait, it's not summer yet? Feels like it.

Why dontcha come out? The time is now.

Inspiration

via Palatial Living

"Be clenched. Be curious."

"Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager." - Susan Sontag

Compassion