Crunchy Chic

I'm getting crunchier by the minute, I swear.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know I have a slight addiction to beautiful leather purses and expensive J.Crew driving moccasins. You'll also be aware of the fact that I adore animals and am a proud card carrying member of Peta.

Can someone say contradicting interests much?

In my effort to de-Kate Spade myself, I've been trying to find animal friendly purses. Still on a high from the cuteness that is this preppy headband, I perused American Chic and found a super adorable purse!

Not only is this bag adorable with a capital A, but it's animal friendly, too! No leather in sight! When I got the bag in the mail, it came in its own dust bag and everything. I'm a sucker for the details. :) I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking it would be really obvious that it wasn't real leather, but this bag did not disappoint. It was made very well. Can't wait to do the whole 'to do' that is the changing of the purses. ;)

Now, I just had to take care of the shoes...

I was so surprised when I found out that Endless had a vegetarian shoe section. Eeeek!

Now if you're thinking animal friendly isn't chic, look at these babies!

Oh, how I love flats! And what I love even more is the philosophy of olsenHaus. Cruelty free fashion. Loving it! Y'all know I'm snatching these babies up just as soon as Lent is over!

I'm getting really excited to find that I can be stylish and still be conscious of my animal friends. :) And check out Alicia Silverstone's blog, the Kind Life. She has some great fashion and foodie inspiration. Totally wanting her book, too!

While I'm nowhere near where I want to be on this journey, I can feel myself becoming more and more conscious of what I put in and on my body. You have to start somewhere, right?

So, what are YOUR best cruelty-free finds?

xoxo

orla kiely at one kings lane

i really like the orla kiely journals, composition books and stationary sets that are on sale over at one kings lane.  they get me in the mood for spring…as if i needed any help with that.  i’m not a journal person but if i were i would buy up every single one.

 

 

LiveJournal Tags: orla kiely,one kings lane

color scheme

i saw this color scheme in last months fresh home magazine and was immediately drawn to it.  i can’t wait to use it in someones home.  

LiveJournal Tags: color scheme,fresh home magazine

better after

a big thank you to lindsey from the blog better after for featuring charm home on her blog.  she posted pictures of a changing table transformation from a nursery that i’ve been working on for a good friend and client of mine. 

THANKS LINDS!!!

you can see her post here.

LiveJournal Tags: better after,nursery,my design

 

loving…

1.  this lafayette chandelier from pottery barn.  simply beautiful.

2.  this “kitchen love” post from paloma at la dolce vita.  so many great kitchen pics in one spot.

images la dolce vita

3.  this chalkboard decal from chiasso.  if you’re scared to used chalkboard paint on your walls then this is the perfect alternative.

4.  i’m not loving this sofa from cb2 but i’m really, really liking it.  it’s definitely growing on me especially since it’s 40” deep.  this could be a really close contender to the one i posted last week that i want for our living room.

5.  this amazing artwork from restoration hardware by atlanta-based artist todd murphy.  todd is actually a friend of a friend of mine.  i’ve never met him though.

 

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,pottery barn,lafayette chandelier,la dolce vita,kitchens,chalkboard,chiasso,cb2,sofa,todd murphy,restoration hardware

Raw

Is there anyone out there that is a raw food nut or a vegan? Southern Hubby and I are watching Food Inc. and Oh. Em. Gee. I IMPLORE you to watch this movie. It's not so much political as it is big corporation. Very scary stuff. We're beginning to rethink all our food choices. More money on food = less money on health care.

Remember a while (emphasis on while) back I started drinking green smoothies each morning? Well, that definitely didn't last long since the holidays (and all the food that comes with them!) were just around the corner. Sadly, I didn't revisit the green smoothie until just recently.

Isn't a marvel how the human body is so keen on telling you that you're putting the wrong things in it? First, it starts slowing down- always wanting to sleep, always feeling bloated and sluggish. Then, it tries to get your attention by making those pesky numbers higher on your scale. And when that doesn't work, it starts making you crave raw food- fruits, veggies, green, green, green!

And that pretty much sums up how I've been feeling for the past couple weeks. I finally did something about it this week by bringing the green smoothies back into my diet and the mid afternoon naps have disappeared. My energy level is finally climbing!

After seeing the movie and reading a whole bunch of scary articles, I seem to be on yet another mission to make my body whole and clean again.

I'd love to hear from anyone out that knows a bit more about this lifestyle (and it definitely is one) Good stores? Good blogs? Good recipe books?



Oh, and those scary articles? Here ya go!

• On high fructose corn syrup
• On food dyes (Oh, Lordy..)
• On milk (so sad!)
• On meat

PS- If you do watch this movie (and you reallllly should) be warned. There are some brutal animal violence scenes. I definitely had to cover my eyes and plug my ears to drown out their sad and frightened cries.

PPS- After reading some comments, I just have to point out that in no way am I going full raw or vegan just yet. For me, it would have to be a very gradual process. These thoughts are just what have been going through my head lately.

oh phoebe

a couple of weeks ago i took a trip to south of market over by adac.  just around the corner from south of market is phoebe howard’s max & company store so i stopped in since i was in the area.  max & company is set up like a home, and each room is designed with a particular theme.  i fell in love with the top floor of the store which had a very european feel to it.. 

i loved all the architectural elements and special touches that make the space truly look like a real home…or even better than most homes. 

this zinc top table with nailhead details was for sure my favorite piece of furniture in the room.

close up of the nailhead detail.

i also liked this little reading nook that was tucked into a corner over by the bedroom area.  i wish i had a small area like this in my house to set up like a reading nook…one day, one day.

i would love to have windows like the ones behind this bed.  the light poured into the and lit the whole room.  natural light is so necessary in designing a home.

for some reason the image below is my favorite one that i took while i was there.  the symmetry of this vignette speaks to me. 

i didn’t get pictures of the rest of the store but if you want to look at some you can view them on the store website here.  if you’ve never looked at them before believe me you will be completely inspired.

LiveJournal Tags: phoebe howard,max & company,atlanta design stores

New Collection!! MARCH 2010

randomness

today i have two bits of randomness to post about. 

first bit of randomness…

i discovered angela(a picture of her from her blog is to the left – isn’t she beautiful) from the blog the painted house last week and was so excited to find out that she was working on a new blog design.  you’ll see when you take a look at her blog that she is an amazing artist and a very fun blogger.  she actually incorporated her own “doodles” into her new blog design.  to celebrate her new design she is offering a giveaway of one of her original oil paintings to a lucky reader.  no, you didn’t read it wrong, i did say an original oil and a very cool one at that.  head on over and check out her blog if you get a chance.  you’ll be glad you did. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

second bit of randomness…

how to make the silhouette nursery artwork that i posted on yesterday. {this is for you amanda} 

i wasn’t planning on doing a “how to” on this artwork while i was making it so i’m sorry for the lack of pictures to go along with the directions.

things you need: quilting fabric, staple gun, acrylic paint, paint brushes, ribbon, paper, pencil

1) to make the silhouette artwork first i figured out the silhouette i wanted to use and i drew it out on paper.  this took a while because i had to play with the size and scale of each image.  after i got my image drawn then i cut it out.  you can use any image you like.  i suggest experimenting with different images.

2) then i took my fabric and wrapped it around the canvas.  i used my staple gun to attach the fabric to the back of the canvas.  i only attached it in a few spots in case i needed to move it later.  i used 2 different fabrics – a seersucker and a polka dot.

3) next i placed my silhouettes in the center of the first pair of fabric-wrapped canvases and i lightly traced around the edges of the silhouettes with a pencil.  then i flipped the images over and traced them on the second pair of canvases so i would have a mirror image.

4) once i had my silhouette traced i used my large paint brush to paint inside the silhouettes and i used a smaller paint brush in the areas that were small (like the bird’s legs and the owl’s legs.)  then i did the same thing to the second set but i painted around the image instead of inside. (repeat with 2-3 more coats of paint.)

5) after the paint was dry, i secured all edges of the fabric to the back of the canvas with the staple gun.  i used about 5 or 6 staples per each of the 4 sides of the canvas.

6) to give the art a more finished look i painted all of the edges a darker pink.

7) finally, i attached two strands of ribbon to the back of each canvas with my staple gun and tied the ribbons in a bow.

LiveJournal Tags: the painted house blog,giveaway,my art,how to,diy

CONTEST is back!!

Dear All,

I'm in the mood of sewing now....hehhe..GC is back ya!!!

Thus i want everything new.. i got my new machine and i also want a new tag line..

I'm calling all the creative minded out there to create simple tag line for my product...drop me the tag line in comment area ya..you can also email me the details to girl.charms@yahoo.com before 15th APRIL 2010.

Happy Days to all!!

Truely;
Shikin for Girl Charms

GC back in Action!! NEW COLLECTION will be released soon!!

Salam semua,

Mohon maaf atas kesepian yang sangat lama...terlalu bayak urusan yang perlu diselesaikan sehingga kekurangan masa untuk Girl Charms..

Walau bagaimaapaun..GC akan kembali dengan koleksi2 terbaru yang akan menambat hati semua..

Nantikan kemunculan koleksi2 baru serta wajah2 baru Girl Charms!!!


Truely,
Shikin

silhouettes

over the weekend i went to my friend shelley’s baby shower.  for her shower gift i decided to diy it.  i made some silhouette art similar to the ones that i posted in my “loving…” post from last friday. 

i used quilting fabric, acrylic paints and ribbon in her nursery colors to make them.  i thought they turned out pretty cute if i do say so myself, and i can’t wait until she sends me a picture of them hanging in her nursery.

LiveJournal Tags: my art,nursery,silhouettes