add a little dusting of green sparkle to your wednesday :)
happy st. patrick’s day!
sxsw style
the weather forecast for sxsw is looking beeeauuutiful! sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies – could it get any better than that?
with that in mind here is a suitcase of suggestions for what to bring if you’re heading to texas this week…straight from one of our experts who is going and has been there before:
first of all – pack light! bring a backpack. inside she recommends a pair of amazing, wear-anywhere jeans, easy lightweight tops and a good pair of boots and/or sandals. a breezy skirt or dress to wear during the day and into the night, and make sure to bring a light jacket because it gets chilly at night! i also threw in a bandana and a small bag that’s just big enough to hold a wallet, phone and camera for shows. sunglasses are a must and i never go anywhere without a journal – use it to keep track of shows and setlists! oh and the bathing suit in case you take a break and hit up barton springs, or one of the other awesome swimming holes austin has to offer.
barton springs
the items pictured above are:
1. seneca rising aurora ruffle top; 2. classic aviator; 3. folklore sandal; 4. we the free sargeant jacket; 5. sidewinder slip dress; 6. jonsi distressed bandana; 7. harness harley boot; 8. patch printed onepiece; 9. military patch slouch skinny jeans; 10. studded side sling bag; 11. leather and canvas backpack
spring wallpaper!
mrs. bea’s
if you’d never been to austin before and you were walking down the street and passed mrs. bea’s, you probably wouldn’t even notice it. you definitely wouldn’t think it’s one of the best venues to see a show during sxsw. but head around back and you’ll find an outdoor stage, dance floor and bar where no matter where you are you have an up close view of the band. plus music is always better outside in my opinion!
check out these amazing photos one of our fp girls shot at the no age show at mrs. bea’s during last year’s sxsw:
sun is shining
the sun has finally come back out, leaving pretty rainbows dancing across the office floor… :)
we love your style
i’ve really been loving the photos our fans have been posting on our facebook page! you guys are so beautiful…thanks for sharing your pics :)
free people girls
we had so much fun giving names and personalities to the different free people girls! (if you missed that blog post, check it out here). we also loved hearing which girl you all think you are! so as an extra special treat, we wanted to share this video one of our talented fpgirls made using some select images from our past catalogs – it gives a little more context to each girl: sandy, meadow, lou, candy & ginger!
i’m a mixture of sandy and meadow myself :)
song is “girl” by beck.
monday quote
“it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
– henry david thoreau
spring forward
yeah you might lose an hour of sleep tomorrow morning but look at the bright side – spring is almost here!!
enjoy the extra hour of sunlight today… if it isn’t raining where you are, that is :)
spring salad
ok so this hasn’t been the nicest weekend in philly but the recent warmer weather has made me crave lots of fruit and salads. i’m really picky about salads though and don’t always like the recipes i find – but i think this one sounds really good :)
bitter greens with apples, pecans and buttermilk honey dressing
whisk together in a small bowl:
1/4 c cider vinegar
1/4 c sour cream or yogurt
1/4 c buttermilk
3 t honey or maple syrup
1 t minced garlic
1 green onion, minced
pinch of ground red pepper
salt and black pepper, to taste
add in a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly:
1/2 c olive oil
combine in a salad bowl:
4 c bite-sized pieces arugula, washed and dried
1 small head radicchio, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 belgian endives, washed, dried, and sliced lengthwise into long strips
stir the dressing well, add just enough to moisten the greens, and toss to coat. divide the greens among salad plates and top with:
2 granny smith or other tart apples, cored and very thinly sliced
1/2 c pecan halves, toasted
makes 4 to 6 servings
if you know of any really good salad recipes please share!!
art wall
a couple of weeks ago i got an email from a reader named katie, who wanted to tell me about a website she started called art wall. i wanted to share this cool site and a brief interview with you…
a lover of art with a background in display and visual merchandising, katie always felt that there was something missing from the experience of shopping for art online: the “wow” factor that inspired display can add to the equation. with art wall she saw an opportunity to bring the two together. read on for a brief interview with katie about the website.
what inspired you to create art wall online?
if i think back it was really out of a desire to showcase special picks and finds for a fan-based site i run: savegocco.com. i wanted a way to feature and highlight my picks: enter the “studio” room. it was going to stop there as just a page in the save gocco domain, but then i thought: why not make a whole website with pages dedicated to different rooms in a house? i have a total crush on art walls, i find them fascinating and think it takes a special skill to create them in a way that looks interesting. i’ve studied them in magazines for years so it was only natural that i used that type of display to highlight multiple pieces of art that worked together…i used my own home as inspiration.
the website features different rooms- an entryway, dining room, master bedroom, etc. – each with a selection of artwork displayed on the walls. viewers can click on the artwork to see an image of the piece, and information about the artist.
i read on your blog that february’s master bedroom had a “love” theme – do all the rooms have themes?
all the rooms have a very subtle theme in the sense that each one has at least one piece that relates to the room. read: a key lino print in the entryway, the gocco prints in the studio, a sultry portrait in the bedroom. i don’t love themes for rooms in general but i do appreciate that different pieces may work better in specific rooms.
i love all the artists you feature on art wall – do you select who you’re going to feature, or do people submit their work to you?
the displayed pieces are a mix of artists who have submitted their work to me and artists i’ve invited to display. i want the site to continue to have a specific look and feel so i think it’s important for me to keep scouring the indie marketplaces for that look.
check out art wall here, and also check out the art wall blog, its full of inspiration! thanks katie!!
decorating 543
a couple of girls from our visual display team setting up for an event in building 543…pretty!
*update – the umbrellas are from a market in india :)