(Mini) Tour-de-Detroit: Architecture Edition

My fiance's brother was in town recently and we made sure to spoil him with the finest food and entertainment Detroit has to offer... We actually just went to a bunch of breweries, but A- that is the finest D-Town has to offer (kidding! or am I?) and B- that's all my future brother-in-law needed to relax and enjoy a much-needed vacation, so it worked out nicely.

 My favorite thing to do with visitors (besides get a beer... or six) is to show them all the statuesque architecture in our new city. Back home in the wild west, there aren't a lot of the antiqued, stately buildings that popped-up like weeds here in the automotive heyday, so the architecture is a novelty for me and some of my guests. Even when we don't have visitors, I will head downtown for an architecture pick-me-up whenever I am in a design rut or just need a little extra inspiration.

Here are a few photos of Detroit's fabulous facades:

I am cheating with the above picture from the gardens of the Cranbrook school because it is from last summer, but this phone picture isn't the best quality, so hopefully I can get better pictures this summer. I love the stonework detail from the school gardens (below) as well:

Above is the interior of the Grand Trunk Pub (a former railroad ticket office that is now a charming pub filled with Michigan-made brews). I love the vaulted ceilings and the tasty fried pickle spears, which is one more reason why I need a new wardrobe of stretchy pants...

Do you live in an amazing city or one like mine with a bad rap? What do you love about your town?

Sick-Day Shopping

Can my new job be winning the lottery? No? Okay, well then back to square one.

Normally I am not very obsessed with money (you always want more no matter how much you get, so why not be happy with the amount you have?) but yesterday I was in the throes of the flu (or maybe food poisoning? not sure) and needed something to distract myself from reality while sprawled on my bed like a clammy-skinned rag doll with a seriously tangled mane (it was worse than when I put my Troll dolls in the pool and the chlorine fried their hair into matted, plastic-y gobs. Ever have Troll dolls? The ones with the jeweled belly-buttons were da bomb!!)

Anyway, my happy place centered on Pinterest and online shopping for a few hours, and my most exciting find was the Burberry Brogue leather trench coat I have been looking for ever since I saw it in the runway show (I saw the show online, not in person. I wish!). I am convinced they stocked it online for the sole purpose of keeping me alive yesterday. Kidding, but it is wicked cool:

Not a super-fan of the obi belt it was styled with for the runway, but I love that it is a classic trench, plus it's leather and an awesome teal color! And check out the trim details! If I was Rachel Zoe, I'd say this coat is "bananas" but I am not cool enough for that, so I will say it rocks. There.

Only problem, it is six grand and since I am weak from my battle with the plague I don't have the strength to rob a bank, so I guess I had just better start playing the lottery... Or maybe include this in my wedding registry? Kidding, again. It is great to have such fun distractions online-- what have you found recently to swoon over? Happy Monday!

Well, Hello There!

The past few weeks have not been exceptionally productive for me, but they have sure been fun!! My good friend (her awesome blog here) made her first visit to D-Town and I am happy to report that she made it home alive! hehe. It was great to have her visit and I am already having withdrawals :( but no time to dwell on that because my fiancee's brother is flying in today for his first visit!

[Side note: I love how my visitors excitedly equate Detroit with 8 Mile and Eminem. 8 Mile is just a road and I have never seen Eminem, but if it entices visitors or gives me street cred, I am all for it!]

I have also been looking for a new job-ola, but no luck yet. I have been told it will take a while, (this isn't the most booming metropolis) but I feel like I could do a great job at something if I knew what the heck I wanted. Readers, how have you found your (current) calling? Trial and error? Mystic visions? Jail? Divine intervention? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

This is one of my most recent projects: 

I know the next big trend will be earrings, but I love me a statement bracelet and a DIY project!

Are you working on any DIY projects of your own? Any job/soul-searching tips? I hope everyone is having a great week!

I'm a Leap Year Sale Sucker!

I love a good sale and retailers know this, so they invent random sales to entice me to buy things... And it works because I was checking my email over breakfast and got completely distracted by a sale email from Urban Outfitters. In honor of the 29 days of the leap year, they have a few hundred goodies marked 29% off for today only. Now my breakfast is cold and my browser has 10 tabs of Urban merchandise open....

Here are my favorites:

1. COPE Striped Slit Back Top. This top would be great to wear layered now and on its own when (if) spring rolls around. And there are three different color combos to choose from-- all of them are good!
2. Herringbone Duvet Cover. This also comes in a variety of colors and I love that it is a simple, repeating pattern but very graphic and bold. Your bed is usually your largest piece of furniture to decorate with, so it's fun to make a statement with it (and textiles are easy to switch out, so it's low risk, too!)
3. Marquee Alphabet Light. Art piece + ambient lighting is a win-win! I have featured Z because of my last name, but they have every alphabet letter and E,F,M and N are my favorites in this typeface.
4. Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog By J.H. Lee. Please don't question my sanity or intelligence but I am a sucker for this dog! He looks like some sort of mutated walking teddy bear and I love it. I think I even follow Boo on facebook...!
5. Pantone 100 Postcards. My sister got me this set (she is awesome, I know) and rather than use them as postcards I have been using them to create mock-ups of decor vignettes and envision wedding colors. Pantone colors are standardized so it is easier to find the color I am looking for than if I use paint swatches from home improvement stores (can't have my greens too yellow, etc)


Any other leap year sales I should(n't) know about? And am I alone in thinking Boo is hilariously cute?

Weekend Inspiration

I am on an inspiration-high these days, mostly because of NYFW and the resulting streetstyle photography extravaganza. While watching the collections is interesting and exciting, seeing the show-goers mingle in their crazy, opulent and sometimes puzzling outfits is an entertainment all its own. I have spent way too much time on Refinery29 lately looking at:

slideshows of streetstyle snaps,

 Mary Alice Stephenson has the best pieces and knows how to use them!

 

awesome hairstyles, 
 

  and accessory close-ups.

All photos via Refinery29

I love other online resources like the Jak & Jil site, Tommy Ton's candid snaps for Style.com and Vogue.com's streetstyle albums. I also recommend getting the March print edition of Harper's Bazaar and/or Vogue if you need a little change-of-wardrobe-perspective. Lots of great looks in each one and they are like the junior version of the Sept issues! Where are your favorite places to find inspiration?

I am super excited that my friend is coming into town today for a quick visit! Hopefully we'll get to rock some fabulous looks this weekend despite the cold! Have a great weekend everyone!

"Two Tubes of Lipstick"

This post is actually not cosmetic product-related;  my sister's bf says my legs look like "two tubes of lipstick" when I wear these pink skinny jeans, but my inner Man Repeller has decided to run with it. Literally. I was practically running away from him and my sis for part of this impromptu photo session (and being a goof the rest of the time bc I can't stand having my photo taken. There would be many more outfit posts on this blog if I could!!) I forgot I had these photos, they were taken at Christmas time in AZ, but the outfit definitely supports my newly stated dedication to wearing color (as I posted here):

You can tell I am less-than-enthused about having my picture taken, but then the caffeine I am holding kicks in!

Don't make fun of my pants! I will run away from you and not share my delicious beverage! 

I have lots of photos of making this exact face as a kid, btw, I might be crazy from birth.

 Playing nice. Enjoy the sun glinting off my disheveled bun and massive fly-aways.

 The jeans are so soft and stretchy I bet wearing them is like what wearing Pajama Jeans and keeping 

your dignity would feel like if those two things could ever coexist in this universe.

Shopping for magazines for the flight home. To make the cut, it must be large enough issue to distract me for 

4+ hours and small enough that I don't get scoliosis from carrying it in my purse!

 JCrew shirt, thrifted belt (kids section, I believe), Urban Outfitters high-rise skinny jean (purchased my pink pair in Oct so that color is long gone, but the new mint color is awesome), GAP flats, Francesco Biasia bag (few years old, but a great plane carry-on)

 Embracing the bright pants yourself? Or do you try to avoid the "tubes-of-lipstick" effect? hehe

A Morning of Coco and Cocoa

I returned to MI last night and already miss the sunshine and warm breezes for AZ, but I am happy to be home with my big, quirky Valentine :) I caught up on my blog roll over breakfast and especially enjoyed Coco Rocha's NYFW coverage while I was sipping my cocoa. My favorite post was not one of her interviews or instagram snaps of gifts, but this photo:

The overcoat is vintage 1920's and the cropped jacket is self-designed. Great mix of old and new and who wouldn't want to design her own jacket?! Love!

I came home to a gift in the mail (yea!) and have successfully created bright and colorful outfits lately, so I hope to have some photos to share soon...as soon as I find my camera in the tornado-aftermath I call my suitcase. Hope everyone is having a great week!