mr. suomi, mountain views and weekend reads

I realize I've gotten into the habit lately of sharing a song every Friday along with my weekend reads. My love for music probably matches my love for fashion (and books, and movies...) and I've always enjoyed introducing people to knew, obscure or up-and-coming artists. Usually these songs have been accompanied by an appropriately matching image of some sort, but today I decided to post the original video because it's quite spectacular. This is a lovely fellow named Damion Suomi (pronounced sue-me), who traveled to the breathtaking North Georgia mountains with some friends to perform several live songs from his self-titled album. His music is of the acoustic folk variety (and, as Wikipedia states, it falls under the genre of "Drinking Songs" - ha). This is my favorite song from the album, "Archer Woman", and I think his sound so perfectly suits the scenery of the mountains. It's also refreshing to see a talented musician/vocalist performing so naturally. If you have three minutes and forty-six seconds to spare, I recommend cranking up the volume and checking out this lovely video.

Christian Louboutin Releases 'Piece of Shoe' at Little Girl, Big World
Sweet Nothings at The Chirpy Bird
Friend Friday: Copying isn't a form of flattery, it's stealing at Beautifully Invisible
(Also check out B's Tom Ford-related posts, one and two.)
Photography: Raceytay on Etsy at Pink Tuesdays
Cinderbellas Giveaway at SHE (remember my previous Etsy love post about Cinderbella's?)
Girls and Holiday Guide: Cards at A Spot of Whimsy
Christmas Holiday Centerpiece You Can Make in 15 Minutes at Between Naps on the Porch
17 bookmark-worthy worthy Tumblrs I (only) discovered this week at Table Tonic
Inspired by: Pretty, Pretty, Pink at Here's Looking At Me, Kid
Gift package inspiration at the Unicorn/dream Magazine blog
My Favorite Used Bookstore at The English Muse
Studio tour / valdirose at Oh, Hello Friend

I hope you enjoy those posts as much as I did! Have a lovely weekend, everyone. I'll be attempting to tackle my to-do list and my big project for the weekend: finishing NaNoWriMo! Wish me luck!

hitchcock, pink martini and weekend reads

Pink Martini is a twelve-piece band from Portland that rather defies classification. Wikipedia says, "They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop." That's the most accurate description I can imagine. They're incredibly fun and delightful and perfect for when you're spending a cozy Friday night in, like I am tonight. I'm crazy about the vocals of leading lady China Forbes, and this particular song - "Hey, Eugene" - is inspired by a true and not-so-romantic story that happened to her. It's a rather odd little song, but I adore it. I think you can't help but instantly start dancing along to it, just a little bit.

The image - which strikes me as being particularly worthy of Dorothy Parker - is from the 1928 Alfred Hitchcock silent film, Champagne. Visit Hitchcock Wiki for the full set! And now, on to the weekly list of marvelous links that you should all check out as soon as possible...

Monday Adventures: Scotland on Pink Tuesdays
9 Things Christina Hendricks Taught Me About Body Love on Dramatis Personae (thanks to Beautifully Invisible for bringing this to my attention!)
First Look: Resort 2011 on ELLE.com
Kate Spade: "Things We Love" Book on The English Muse
Infatuation: Jean Michel Basquiat on ArtFashion
RL Store Love on A Spot of Whimsy
APT with LSD: Coco Rocha on Vogue.com
Photographer: Marianne Taylor on Art-Pixie
Lizzy and Darcy on The English Muse
So You Want To Leave Blogger for Wordpress on Beautifully Invisible (I haven't done this yet, obviously, but check do it out - B clearly put a lot of time and effort into it!)

Have a snappy weekend!

songs we sing

(image credit)
I think we all have certain songs that stay with us, some for sentimental reasons and others simply because the melodies made sense to us or we liked the way it made us feel when we heard it. For me, this is one of those songs. It's called "Astair" by Californian singer-songwriter Matt Costa. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I first heard it and even now, years later. (He also happens to be a rather terribly good-looking fellow so I recommend watching this live version, ha!)

Here are a few links worth checking out this week, as well. What with NaNo and writing posts I haven't had as much time as I'd like to read and comment on my blogroll, but rest assured that when things quiet down a bit I'll be back to visiting you all as often as possible!

- Unicorn/Dream: Issue #3 (fresh out, and including an interview with Anna of Much Love!)
- Spotted and Swooned at The Chirpy Bird.
- Sounds Lounge - Jamie Cullum at ArtFashion.
- The Look by Sara Teasdale, a cute poem.
- Featued Belle: Audrey Hepburn at Pink Tuesdays.
- Holiday Hair How-To: Side Chignon at This Is Glamorous.
- Infatuation: In the bones - Mexican traditions honoring Death & Posada's calaveras at ArtFashion.
- I Write Like Vladimir Nabokov and J.D. Salinger. Who do you write like?
- Weekend Inspiration at A Fairy Tale World.
- I Like When You Are Quiet by Pablo Neruda, more lovely poetry.
- MegaLove 11-2-2010 at ArtFashion. (Did I mention Bere was really on with her posts this week?)

Enjoy your weekend, everyone. Oh, also - I reached 10,000 words for NaNoWriMo last night! So happy!

write about love and the little things

Belle and Sebastian featuring Carey Mulligan - Write About Love
A few weeks ago I posted a little Carey Mulligan lovefest on SHE which gave a few pictorial examples of how impossible it is to do anything but adore her. Now, after hearing her lend her honey sweet vocals to the title track from the new Belle and Sebastian album Write About Love, my Carey appreciation has just about tripled. This is the perfect song for her, so bouncy and cute. I always love Belle and Sebastian, but this new album may be my favorite. It's quite easy to listen to, very comfortable playing in the background as you sip some coffee and read your blogroll. I very much recommend it, but especially this song for Carey's super-cute contribution!



Also, I was invited by the lovely Ashleigh of Little Girl, Big World to contribute a guest post to her new series "It's the Little Things", about life's little moments that mean the most to us. I chose to talk about one of my favorite fall memories. Check it out here and be sure to follow Ashleigh's beautiful blog if you hadn't been already!

fashion's night in

What do you do when Fashion's Night Out isn't happening in your little country town? Have Fashion's Night In! I spent my evening listening to lazy jazz songs on Juliette Gréco Radio and chatting with Jen about Fashion Week. Plus, we gushed over our favorite Christian Siriano pieces. We've also been working on some additions to SHE so look out for those.



Julie London - Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
I had this song stuck in my head for most of the week so I thought it was only appropriate to share. As much as it's Marilyn Monroe's iconic song, I do love this version by Julie London. She's one of my favorite jazz singers with her deep, smokey vocals and cool, laid-back style. And isn't she gorgeous, too?

Here's a little bit of reading material for the weekend. Thanks to all of you lovely bloggers who constantly dish out such spectacular content!

...look closer - jen kao
Art-Pixie - Rainbow in your hand
a spot of whimsy - equestrian
amateur couture - center square
ArtFashion: - Stories on Film
Beautifully Invisible - Outtakes: Christina Hendricks for London
Beautifully Invisible - Photoshoot: Liu Wen for Numero China
Becoming Lola - The Breakfast Club
Daily Diva Dish - High Fashion Hounds
Days in Mayfair - Pretty Enough to Make You Weep
Everything Fabulous - Haute Couture goes to the Old West - Carey Mulligan for Vogue US October 2010
minnja - cats and fashion, it's all about meow
November Grey - How to Thrift Shop
Oh, Hello Friend - Collections/Books:
Overlooking Mississippi - Wednesday Flowers (Details Edition Part 2)
Some Kind of Style - Pin-Up Girls Love Elvis
The Blonde Salad - Dolce & Gabbana and Martini party and dinner
The Layered Pancake - Thursday Photography - Black and White
Twitch Vintage - Kindergarten Cool

What did you all do for FNO? I'd love to hear about all your fabulous adventures!

summer mix (part two)

Here's the second half of my summer mix to listen to on 8tracks! The first part is over here. These are all lovely folk-inspired or acoustic songs - with some random French pop thrown in for good measure!

Click the pictures for their sources (:

like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

(image by aubriab)
On the Road Again - Kaizers Orchestra
I love to hear covers of old Willie Nelson songs, especially with vocals as lovely as Janove Ottesen's. This version makes me so happy and nostalgic.

i'll just keep it to myself in the sun

Well alright, it's okay
We all get the slip sometimes everyday
I'll just keep it to myself in the sun, in the sun
She & Him - In The Sun

Tonight I'm giving the second She & Him album a proper listen. I love these two so much, and their music videos are so delightful. I think I would like to live ever day with the kind of bliss Zooey Deschanel has in the video for "In The Sun". Also, her hair is blowing my mind and I love her little polka dot dress!

you were the one who woke my heart

(images by Simon Filip)
Aren’t these photos darling? Take a peek at Simon Filip’s photostream on Flickr for even more lovely things like this. I love the second photo especially. I would very much like to steal away in there and read Jane Austen novels. I’ve had a hankering to re-watch the 1995 miniseries version of Pride & Prejudice lately and those silhouettes are reminding me!

I would also listen to The Honey Trees while reading my Jane Austen under twinkle lights. That’s the band featured in the first photo, and they’re perfectly dreamy. Especially check out their cover of “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music. It’s so pretty!


And on an unrelated note, our very first giveaway on SHE was extended and today is the very last day to enter! So do that if you haven’t already, and tell your friends. Thank you for your support! (:

why don't you be the artist and make me out of clay

(image credit: raychel sonveeco)
Sat on your sofa, it's all broken springs
This isn't the place for those violin strings
I try out a smile and I aim it at you
You must have missed it - you always do
The Writer – Ellie Goulding

It’s a somber, rainy little Monday here so I’ve been listening to a lot of music. Ellie Goulding is one of my favorites lately. She has such sweet vocals and engaging lyrics. “The Writer” is her next single, due out sometime in August I believe. It also happens to be my favorite song on her album, so of course I’m incredibly excited to see how the music video will look and I hope it does well on the charts! But listen to it – how can it not?

summer mix (part one)

Summer mix time! This is my favorite season for music. Every year I make two mixes: one with upbeat dance-y songs and another with lovely slow songs. This is the upbeat one, obviously. You can listen to it over here on 8tracks. Enjoy!

(Click the pictures for the sources!)