Hello, Sunshine

San Francisco has been hit with a sudden heat wave - 75 degrees and sunny is a huge change from the freezing rain we had last week (and from the chill we get 95% of the time) This summer-like weather has got me craving some bright yellow.  If there is a color that I believe in it's yellow.  It can make a room so cheery and warm, even on a grey day. I can't believe I don't have more of it in my apartment.  I'm thinking with the changing of the seasons, I'm am going to try and find some fun yellow pillows to bring more of the color into my living room.  But, next time I start from scratch,  I'm going to keep these sunny inspiration photos in mind. (Found around the internet, click on photos for sources)

Awesome Palmer Weiss kitchen nook.  I love the giant 60's poolside print and cheery yellow ikat.

Yellow and orange from Martha Stewart.

How about this amazing yellow chevron rug? (via DecorPad)  I'm not usually a fan of those driftwood tables but because I love so many other things in this room, I don't mind it.

 A little bit moodier yellow found on Emily Henderson's blog.

From Decorati, another room that combines a giant beach photo with bright yellow.  (I'm kind of obsessed with these large beach prints.  More on that another day)

Oh My, EmersonMade

Ok, so I was  talking about my skirt crush yesterday but I have an even more extreme crush to share with you today.  And it's on a girl: Emerson from EmersonMade.  If you're not familiar with her,  click around her website and you will instantly see how darling she is. (And, if you are familiar with her, then I'm sure you understand my feelings)

EmersonMade started off by selling these super cute hand-made flower pins and clips.

And, while I cringe at spending that much on jewelry or accessories, her inspiration photos keep me lusting for a serious collection of flowers.  I mean, I just want to hang out wearing flowers on her farm with her ducks!

On top of the flowers, EmersonMade launched a clothing collection sometime last year, and honestly, its like she was reading my mind. Every classic piece I either have or am looking for in my closet, she has made.  

Exhibit A: perfectly proportioned "Bluebells"and silky polka dot blouse
I literally have literally bought like 4 pairs of jeans over the past couple years in the effort of finding a perfect fit like these. (If only I would have known, I could have saved that cash and bought just one perfect pair!)  And that blouse! Polka dots+breezy fit+tie neck = perfect where anywhere top.

And, for spring,  the cutest  scalloped polka dot skirt.   I am a complete sucker for polka dots.  Especially multi-colored polka dots.

Plus, these super cute ruffle blouses

The perfect pocket skirt!

I could go on and on, literally listing everything on EmersonMade's website, but I will stop.  The one thing I have purchased  is this leather and brass belt (Got a great deal with a promotion from LuckyMag.com)  Not only do I love it, but it came in the most darling package with my very own pair of little mini flower pins.

EmersonMade: if you're out there, and need a SF based member of your team, I'm on board!

Skirt Crush

I have a huge crush on this skirt:

I saw this photo (by jakandjl.com's Tommy Ton) on style.com a while back and I can't get the skirt out of my mind. The colors, the pattern, the flowy pleats!  I have a skirt crush.  I've tried to fill the void with other skirts but the problem is that every maxi skirt or dress I find has a different vibe- I can't pull of the flowy hippie look. Plus, I love the way this one just barely skims the ground; everything quasi-similar I've looked at has been way to short.

After seeing that photo a while back, and dreaming about it, I finally identified the skirt.  It was in Suno's spring 2011 collection.  (photo below)  I can't find it for sale anywhere, and I'm sure it would be way out of my price range if I did.  S.o.. I will just post this picture and continue to stare longingly like pre-teen and a Justin Bieber poster.

Update on Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 8:32AM by Meagan @ Style-Edition

Update:  The lovely Gwyneth Paltrow just shared a photo of the same skirt (on the same darling girl) on her weekly GOOP newsletter.  It's haunting me...

Fabric Dye Job

A couple weekends ago I experimented with fabric dye for the first time.   I was thinking I might want to dye the curtains in my dining room, but I wanted to try something a little smaller first.   So, I decided to experiment with garment dying a dress I picked up at Goodwill a few years ago. 

This dress had already gone through one transformation.  When I picked it up, it was a weird, mid-calf length but I couldn't resist the polka dots so I hemmed it to a mini-dress.   But, even with the shorter length, the oatmeal/natural color wasn't very wearable - I only wore it twice over the past year.  Instead of tossing it out, I figured I'd try dying it.

I was thinking blue, but my local hardware store only had dye in black and dark green.  Since I wanted the navy polka dots to show through,  I decided to give the green a try.

Here is the process:

1- First, I boiled water on the stove in a pot big enough for my dress.  And, added 1/3 of the bottle of Fabric dye.  (The package said 1/2 bottle for 3 gallons of water but I didn't have that much so I just estimated)

2- Soaked the dress fully in hot water from the faucet.  (I guess if it's wet when you submerge it in the dye,  it picks up the color more evenly.)

3 - Submerge the dress into the heated water and stir continuously for 20ish minutes. 

4- Rinse out the dress with warm water until the water runs clean (This was the most time consuming part of the process,  it seemed like there was an endless amount of dye in the dress!)

5 - Hang to dry - check out the photo below.  At this point,  I was convinced the dress was going to be pure black, and you could hardly see the polka dots.

But, after it dried, it was much lighter.  Here is the side-by-side before & after.

It definitely didn't turn out "Forest Green" like the package said, but it's a nice dark greyish green color. I had trouble getting a photo that accurately showed the color but here is an awesomely awkward picture of me wearing it out.

I Just Discovered: Blendo Glass

Reading this issue of the online magazine Lonny, I discovered a style of vintage/antique glassware that I'm totally in love with.  I can't find much detail about it but apparently Blendo glassware was produced by the West Virginia Speciality Glass Company in the 50's and 60s.  It is a mix of clear and frosted glass often with gold detailing.  What I love most about it is the cheery spring colors that it comes in!  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago,  I'm in need of some more color in my kitchen.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more of this at flea markets because there seems to be no shortage.  Check out all the fun options that come up when you search "blendo" on eBay and Etsy.

Here are some of my favorites:

How cute would they look lined up on a little retro bar cart?  Perfect for ladies night drinks or maybe even summer sweet tea?