Today it's  raining.  Rainy days seem to be the trigger for creativity.  And good coffee, all day long, haha.  I think I'll create something today using this color swatch... Stand by.  :)

And so this is the product of the aqua & gold inspired color swatch.  Hope that you enjoy.  ~ Hugs, K

Beautiful latte design

Loving all things beautiful and elegant, I appreciate great barista art!

Tasha Tudor's amazing garden

Tasha Tudor's amazing garden... This clip is breathtaking.  Rest in peace, sweet sister....

Tasha's Garden

Gaudy Me's website makeover

One of my favorite clients, Gaudy Me, a/k/a Dressin' Gaudy, requested a website "facelift."  They were looking for a bolder statement, one that reflected young and contemporary abandon; a "throw away all the rules" type of logo and image.  I contemplated the project and, with the help of an amazing designer/sister-friend, came up with this new look.  Thank you, Nancy, founder and creative brainchild behind the amazing Crow About Studios.  Your letter fonts and vivid turquoise harlequin fabric for the background were simply amazing  icing on the cake!

Below are depictions of the before and after.  What do you think??

 Before

 After

The Brave Girls Club

I absolutely LOVE grinding fresh coffee beans for that perfect cup of coffee.  Next I plop down with that perfect cup of coffee, Dakota in lap, and pay a visit to my favorite blogger sites.  Heaven, I assure you...

             (Dakota)

 I stumbled upon The Brave Girls Club this week.  I am a magpie for beautiful imagery and content, so I joined the site last week.  This morning I logged on to see what these gals are about.  THIS was the first thing that I saw there.   I'M HOOKED!

Adorning the fanciful soul...

(Photo credit:  Jill Elliot)

Meet the beautiful and talented Jill Elliot.  Jill is the owner of the Haberdashery Boutique in Fredericksburg, Texas.  Our meeting was serendipitous.  A gentleman had unknowingly taken Jill's seat at a fashion show, leaving Jill and her beautiful -- and beautifully bedecked!-- little girl stranded along the back row of chairs, where my husband and I were standing.  (I did not know about the seat mix-up until days later!  Jill was gracious and unflappable over the whole situation.)  Certainly I consider it a blessing and my own good fortune to have struck up a friendship with this lovely and talented lady.

Every item in the Haberdashery boutique fits nicely into the overall scheme of  the Haberdashery experience.  The boutique is stocked with evocatively creative and grin-provoking treasures that span the globe  (i.e., my beautiful new belt from Uruguay ! ), in addition to darling items that Jill has made by hand.  Not one item feels out of place here.  For good reason:  Jill's formal background is Interior Design.  She is  "creatively logical" and has very effectively managed to evoke a vague and seductive aura of... (How do the French say?) ... Je Ne Sais Quoi.  The illusion, almost, as if  one has stumbled into the personal apartment of Audrey Hepburn, circa 1961 -- Think Holly Golightly!  

The Haberdashery is absolutely tantalizing and should be added to every woman's "Must Do" list while visiting beautiful and historic Fredericksburg, Texas.      ~ Joie de Vivre, Darcy

(Of note... Jill made this intoxicating mask for the Mardi Gras celebration held in Fredericksburg.)

I am am obviously still buzzing from my "Imaginarium High"... still smiling at the fresh memory of my first Magnolia Pearl experience.  If you are a FaceBook subscriber, you can see more here at the Magnolia Pearl Facebook Page

(photos credits:  Magnolia Pearl/Amy Bowland and  countless other breathtakingly talented photographers who worked so artistically and diligently in effort to capture the almost un-capturable!  Great work, angels...)

 

THIS is how I will dress when I have lovely grandchildren.  

I want them to remember me always and with a smile.

 

Lovely Magnolia Pearl sirens...

 

Shabbylicious!!