monday music: franz ferdinand & marion cotillard

It's no secret that I'm pretty much a fan of anything Franz Ferdinand does. I hate to label just one group as my "favorite band" because there are so many amazing bands and artists out there who I'm absolutely in love with. But if I was FORCED to choose just one...

In any case, I was thrilled to hear this new song they did with Marion Cotillard. She's apparently the new face of Dior and the video below is a commercial of sorts. Watching this reminds me how I still really need to see La Vie en Rose.

It took me a few listens to really get into this song, but once I did it stayed in my head for days (in a good way). Sometimes you just want something fun to sing along with, you know? My only complaint is that the members of Franz Ferdinand are not actually in the video. Come on Dior! Haven't you seen these fellows? They have a pretty sharp sense of style.

care for a scone?

I have a bit of a history with scones. At the Co-op where I work, freshly baked scones are delivered twice a week... and I work both those days. There was once a time when I hovered near the baked goods aisle, hungrily awaiting their arrival. I have been known to eat not just one, but two scones in the same day. It is probably important to note that the scones I'm talking about are not particularly small or dainty. These are hearty scones of the stick to your ribs variety. You really don't need two. Eventually my stomach protested and I was forced to impose a no scone rule upon myself.

But lately I've started thinking, doesn't it really makes more sense to have a no buying scones rule? Surely baking them every now and then couldn't do any harm.

Definitely not harmful.

I spotted this recipe over on Orangette earlier this week and decided today was the day for a little baking. As you may notice I did a bit of tinkering with the recipe because I wasn't really in the mood for dried fruit. Instead of apricots I added in a cup of frozen blueberries after the dough had been mixed together a bit. Messy, but worth it.

The berries on top have a tendency to just balance there rather than sinking into the dough, but I'm really not complaining. And since these are made partially with whole wheat flour and don't have an outrageous amount of sugar in them, I don't even feel guilty about breaking my own rule.

this and that

Whenever I'm feeling uninspired but itching to take pictures of something, I head over to my parent's house. With the bright walls and collections, teacups, bookshelves and willing subjects, it always manages to get the shutter clicking.

(It's a bit hard to see clearly, but this is my mom's luna moth tattoo.)

P.S. I am loving my polaroid land camera lately.

monday music: she & him

After almost a full week of mild temperatures and much needed sunshine, today is looking a bit gloomy again. So here I am, back on the computer with nothing to distract me!

This weeks music is something I found myself humming along to quite a bit while enjoying the spring weather. For some reason the first She & Him album passed me right by, but after hearing a few tracks off of Volume Two (out tomorrow!) they've fully captured my attention. In the Sun is the perfect song for this time of year and the video is completely charming. Of course, with Zooey Deschanel in it, how could it be anything else?

You can stream the full album here.

interior inspiration

I'm always on the lookout for interior inspiration, especially these days. My lease will be up at the end of June and I'll be moving on to something a bit more permanent. This means I'll have more of a chance to settle in and decide what my own interior style is exactly... of course, the boy might have a thing or two to say about how things look.

The latest images to find their way into my inspiration file come from this beach house in the Hamptons. I love the laid back charm and color scheme. Now, if only I could live that close to the beach.

laundry studies

Maybe this sounds strange, but laundry hanging out on the line is one of my very favorite sights.

spring color week: yellow

I'm having a bit of fun participating in Spring Color Week! In case you couldn't tell, today was all about yellow.

spring color ahoy!

The past few days have been so lovely that I've had little time for my computer. If anything at all has been lacking, then maybe it would be a bit of green. It's warm, but buds have yet to pop and only a few brave, green things have begun to show up amidst a whole lot of brown. Fortunately, Poppytalk is providing a riot of spring color this week, and today happens to be green! So until I'm surrounded by growing things here, I'll just have to browse their flickr group.

image by RipeToday

image by fadingfreckles

image by suffragettedesign

image by isabelle T

And if you just can't get enough of this color (like me), then check out these posts.

Green on design is mine

Green on resurrection fern

Green on abby try again

Green on sweet eventide

I can't wait to see what the rest of the week will bring. Tomorrow is yellow!

a place to dream of

I wasn't going to post today, really. Thursday always feels like a long day and I come home late with little energy left for much of anything.

But then I saw the new Toast catalog.

Until warmer weather really comes along I think I'd like to live inside these images. They transport me completely.

edit* So, I just realized I posted the same picture twice. Did I mention Thursday is a long day? But I'm going to leave it... because it's really pretty.

etsy love

Oh, Etsy, you tempt me with so many pretty things. Here are few items that I just can't seem to get off my mind.

This peacock pendant.

This dreamy print.

These tiny terrariums.

This notecard.

This magical time piece necklace.

This set of screen printed bicycle glasses.

This absolutely gorgeous fabric by nani IRO.

This set of colorful Pyrex bowls.

This hand embroidered necklace.

These beautifully blue vintage tumbler glasses.

Every time I visit Etsy I am both overwhelmed and inspired by all the creative talent people possess. There are so many cool things out there!

green and growing

Over the weekend the boy and I took a trip to Logee's Greenhouse. It was the perfect way to escape the last of February's gloom and I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. It's such a mood lifter to be surrounded by warmth and green things. The flowers there are gorgeous and they have a huge lemon tree growing inside! I couldn't stop taking pictures,as usual. Every time I thought we'd reached the end there would be another corner to turn and even more tropical goodness. It reminded me of the secret garden.