I am a tote bag whore. I have so many that it gets a little silly at times, but tell me: is there anything more useful than a tote bag? I think not. I use them year round for well, toting stuff, but in the summer I also tend use one instead of a purse. I bought the natural version of this fieldguided tote a few months ago, and just saw that they’re offering it in black too. It wouldn’t be too ridiculous to own both colorways, would it?
photos: fieldguided
I’m off to spend the weekend at the beach*, and am looking forward to getting my toes in the sand. Here’s to hoping for warm weather wherever you are!
*I’ll be chaperoning 20+ teenagers, so no need to be too jealous
Photo: taken at Stinson Beach, sometime last summer.
I am *almost* done decorating my new bedroom, and am so happy with how it’s turning out. I’m hoping to be able to share the end result in the next few weeks, but here’s a peek
(excuse the odd lighting and color balance in this photo) That’s the closet door you see, which is doorless, so I’m having a curtain made from the vintage sheet you see hanging there. Amazing sheets, right? They used to belong to someone in my family – I believe my grandparents. If it was a set I would totally try to use them, but all that’s left are two top sheets, so closet curtain it is.
Flip-flop weather is almost here, and I just discovered that I apparently tossed all but one pair of my old ones when I moved in December.* Because I live in them most of the year, I’m definitely going to need to buy a few more pairs to get me through this upcoming spring, summer, and fall.
As far as brands go, I have long vacillated been J Crew and Havaianas – I tend to have a few pairs of each brand going at all times. My general experience is that Havaianas are more expensive but tend to last a little longer, while J Crews break in quicker and are more comfortable immediately.
*there’s a chance I packed them with my summer clothes, which currently are in a box whose whereabouts are unknown.
Beacon, NY based painter Lee Price‘s work is incredible – I’m especially digging her series of women (a woman? her?) eating in the bathtub. I would love to hang one of these in my dining room (check out the sizes – they’re deliciously huge.)
images: Lee Price (originally found via… somewhere)
really loving these Rope Knot Bracelets made by Tanya Aguiñiga, available from Poketo. Thinking that one of them might just be the summer accessory I’ve been looking for…
Photos: Poketo
While I’m usually a white subway tile type of girl, I love this bathroom by Davidclovers
Photo: Courtesy of davidclovers Assisted by Ziyin Zhou via Dezeen
Since I was semi-laid up with a cold, my last few days in Chicago were relatively laid back. Lots of hanging out at the apartment with forays out for food and drinks. We had dinner Sunday night at the Publican, which was *incredible.* The blood sausage with latkes was especially killer, and their beer selection is notable. An unexpectedly warm night called for drinks on the back patio at the Whistler. Which, despite being a very hipster bar, has very delicious drinks (I’d recommend the Vermont Cocktail.)
Charlie’s little brother Brad, who I have known since he was 11 or 12, is all grown up now and planning on going to pastry school in the fall (he is currently an engineer, and I think it is so awesome that he’s choosing to pursue his passion at such an early age.) Brad brought fresh donuts over to Charlie and Kim’s on Sunday morning, and let me tell you – he is definitely doing the right thing. They were probably the best donuts I have ever had, homemade or not. Brad writes a cooking/baking blog that you can check out here.
Chicago, part 3, has involved waking up to the full blown version of the cold I felt was coming.* So, after we dropped Kim off at something work related this morning I made Charlie search with me for a Chinese restaurant so I could try and blast it with hot and sour soup. Which helped for a while. After we picked Kim back up we headed out to Calumet Fisheries. Which was so worth a visit. We sat on the side of the road (there’s no seating) and ate amazing smoked shrimp, along with fried fish and oysters.
Does anyone know who invented tissues with lotion? Because I want to kiss them on the mouth.
*which was no doubt helped along by the the fact that some Chicago bars are open until 4am.
Hey! I'm Elizabeth Clayton, and I'm an event planner & coordinator in the Bay Area. I think that there's little in life that's better than a really good party, although a really good pair of party shoes can sometimes come close. Click here for my full bio.