design – Leah Wise

images & inspiration

February 3, 2013Posted in inspirationTagged american eagle, cabin, chambray, clarks, collage, corset, desert boots, design, designer collaboration, eley kishimoto, pinterest, polka dot dress, river, swedish design, yellow door2 Comments

The weather was blindingly cold today (that will make sense to you if you had to walk outside facing the wind for any length of time), so I felt no desire to venture out once my shift at work ended. Instead, I’m sipping my second cup of Oolong tea and enjoying some quality time with pinterest while Daniel reads excerpts of his school reading to me.

A little house with a yellow door
Eley Kishimoto for Clarks Desert Boots
Leather jacket and polka dots (no link available)
Shallow dof + storefront + love
Swedish design is so in right now
I want to stay in that house for awhile
American Eagle Tie-Dye Denim Corset Dress

home tour: The Library

January 27, 2013January 27, 2013Posted in interior designTagged book room, budget, color scheme, design, gold, home tour, interior design, labor union pin display, library, low cost, mod podge, paper cutting, personal home, real library, red, shelves1 Comment

Finally, a post about the library. It took me forever to arrange and re-arrange and add furniture and put up artwork in just the right way. I didn’t feel satisfied with the overall look until two weeks ago, when I moved the cube shelf we used to have in the living room onto the bookshelf wall. It is incredibly difficult to decorate rooms that have a glaring wood element built in (in this case, the window frame); no wonder my peers who own homes are all painting everything white. I settled on multiple wood tones to make it look intentional rather than makeshift.

Walmart pillow, painted reindeer, Target paper lamp, banjo (!), TJ Maxx ottoman, hand-stretched frame with antique labor union pins

Modpodged San Francisco “Street Sheet” newspaper headline, paper cutting by Daniel’s sister, art print from Tallahassee shop

This room has a red and gold color scheme by default; items that didn’t fit in other rooms made their way here. I had intended to add an area rug to bring in another color, but that proved difficult on my current budget (which is essentially 0.00). We hardly go into the library, but I’m glad it’s presentable. Maybe I’ll use it more now?

For all home tour posts, click here.

3 months in C-ville

November 1, 2012November 1, 2012Posted in thoughtsTagged 2012, change, design, monthly summary, months, mouse, move, october, poetry, reading, recap, reflection, update2 Comments

October felt almost normal.

Daniel and I in our Halloween costumes

This month I (and sometimes Daniel):

enthusiastically attended my ballet classes
worked, one latte at a time, through growing crowds at the coffee shop
grieved (however briefly) over the loss of our mouse, Chantico, and bought a new mouse, Hecate.
suffered through an art film our friends insisted we watch
talked into the night on a front porch
attended the Black Voices Gospel Choir Fall concert, and loved it
ate at some good restaurants
went to my church’s women’s small group consistently
witnessed the Dalai Lama’s and Bruce Springsteen’s visits to downtown Charlottesville
met people from all over the world thanks to the universal need for caffeine
drank lots of spiced hot chocolate and cafes au lait
walked around a pleasant historic area downtown
got a library card
(somewhat) successfully fixed my car’s minor lock problem
finished decorating the living room and kitchen
thought a lot about feminism, sexism, and Christianity
appreciated the fall leaves
survived Hurricane Sandy/Frankenstorm
visited Washington DC for the first time
wrote two poems after a long hiatus from the craft (one, two)
attended a Halloween party
began watching Friday Night Lights
cemented local friendships
fretted over our finances
sold many items at Water Lily Thrift
enjoyed fall
got my first taste of what winter will be like
read 5+ books
dyed my hair dark brown

This month, for the first time since moving, felt normal. Many friendships are secure and openly mutual. We’re even invited to things on occasion! We spent less time exploring and more time inside, partially due to cooler weather. I grew more secure on a personal level and felt more satisfied in my free time activities (reading, writing poems, organizing, thrifting, etc.) I did feel a bit stir crazy and I’m currently brainstorming ways to fill my time. I can’t decide if I want to pursue a side job or if I should focus more on Water Lily Thrift. We’re walking a tightrope financially and spent a lot of time working out a budget and then trying to actually follow it.

I realized that what you leave behind can hit you hardest in the small ways. You want a friend to commiserate with on local events or weather annoyances. You hear of a new store opening and just wish you could helpfully tell someone about it or check it out with them. You enjoy the excitement of making new friends but miss the comfort of old friends. Your neighborhood is beautiful but you miss having a park within walking distance. You are tired of telling people what FSU stands for. You aren’t capable of giving people good directions within town. You begin to realize that the culture of your new location differs from your old home in just enough ways to make you feel like fish out of water (for instance, southern aristocratic culture is annoying).

All that being said, we really do like living here. People here are more like us in terms of background, beliefs, political leanings, and education than most citizens of Tallahassee and that’s made it easy to settle in.

See all monthly summary posts here.

dorothy perkins

October 28, 2012Posted in thoughtsTagged design, dorothy perkins, fashion, flapper, frankenstorm, halloween, polyvore, roadside prophet, style2 Comments

Dorothy Perkins is a UK based brand and women’s retailer. I suspect, unfortunately, that they’re a bit like the Forever 21 of England, but maybe their products are of higher quality. Their clothing appeals to my aesthetic to a greater degree than most American, mid-range designs do. That mixed print dress in the center would look great at a holiday party.

dpwish

Sorry to bring you another set and no meaningful content, but I woke up with a cold and spent most of the day sleeping or clicking mindlessly through internet content. Since Frankenstorm is headed our way within hours, the sun hasn’t shone all day; it turned out to be the perfect day to relax and recover.

We attended a “Vintage Cocktail” themed Halloween party last night and I dressed up as a flapper. I prided myself in the historical accuracy of the overall look; unfortunately, I only have a headshot of my get-up. I wore vintage costume jewelry, a thrifted drop-waist dress, and richly hued makeup to complete the look. Daniel, on the other hand, was a Roadside Prophet; he wore a board with boldly etched, condemning verses on it around his neck. I was a symbol of debauchery and he was the radical, moral response to it.

home tour: The Bedroom

August 14, 2012September 29, 2012Posted in interior designTagged 1950s, apartment, basement, bedroom, brick wall, design, oil painting, paris, san francisco, vintage mirror6 Comments

I finally finished the bedroom (but I’m sure I’ll manage to clutter it up with knick knacks in the coming months)! I made two chevron pillow cases and a butterfly one, stretched bird fabric onto stretcher bars to create a 16×20 art piece, and mod-podged my Lichgate tree photo onto canvas (which actually didn’t turn out that well if you look closely – you can’t always trust Pinterest tutorials; those women are sugar-coating things).

I love the brick wall in the bedroom. This portion of the apartment used to be the garage, so the brick is actually part of the original exterior of the house built in the 1960s.

Art: Lichgate tree/San Francisco oil painting/Stretched fabric, from old shower curtain/Bridge print, purchased by my dad in Paris.

We purchased the mirror above the dresser at Possessions Recycled here in town. If I haven’t already mentioned it, the mirror that came with my dresser is too tall for our short, basement apartment ceiling, so we had to find a replacement. This one is black with gold stenciling and was made in the 1950s.

My grandma gave us this silver platter; we have no idea what it was intended for, but it works well for my toiletries. She also gave me the wood storage tray, originally intended to display painted wooden cats on the wall.

I’m happy that I managed to be so productive today. Originally, I was scheduled to work, but my boss got her days mixed up, so I had the afternoon off. Daniel was never really clued in to my plans for the room, but he (without my prodding) complimented my choice of fabrics and he and I chose the mirror together, so we both have a room we like now.