Abandoned

It's true, I've abandoned this blog. I'm not sure if this situation is temporary or permanent. I do know that I need a new focus and I'm working at figuring out just what that is. I've been trying to make a point to read more books and to do more things since I've been gone. I'm enjoying an internship this semester at Anthropologie (a dream come true) and generally just trying to soak up knowledge and experience for a bit without knowing just what I'll do with it. I wish you all the best.-Karyn

p.s.-For now, we can trade inspiration here, if you'd like.
Narumi

Art Appreciation

Samantha Hahn. Love.
Maquette

Workspace

A well planed workspace makes all of the difference in the world. There are many aspects to consider. Here, I like that there are many levels of lighting. I often work late into the night on projects and find that exclusively using overhead lighting doesn't work because of the shadows that are cast onto the work so I especially like the idea or adjustable, portable lamps. Must get some of my own...
A Feminine Tomboy

Note to Self

Need indoor plants like these; wispy and wild.
Daily Tonic

Time

Today my first born child turned 16, tomorrow our oldest daughter leaves for her freshman year in college. The way that time moves is something that will always confound and amaze me. It's full of contradiction. All at once fast and slow, fluid and frozen.
Lyla & Blu 

Day Dreaming

An Alabama beauty.
The New York Times

Found

I spent the last 8 or so years complaining about a sectional we had upstairs. I went on and on about how much I wished we could squeeze a new one from Ikea into our budget and made everyone around me nuts until one day I realized that it was never going to happen. I needed to do like I do for most everything else we acquire and look secondhand. Then I found a couch like this (but different) and brought it home to be my own for only $30 and moved on...
Fiddlehead

Look

A perfect look for September weather in my part of California. Mornings are starting out a little bit cool but the afternoons are still scorching.
RDuJour

Wants, Needs, Desires

Love. Wish I had this floor. Just in the wet and highly traveled areas, everywhere else I'll take wood with pretty rugs on top, please.
Dinesen via Blissful Blog

Art Appreciation

The Artist's Wife by William Merritt Chase. So many shades of pink in one place. I just love the mix.
The Haggin Museum

Fenced In

I adore the idea of hedges in place of fences. Not only are they beautiful but I imagine they are much less costly to maintain/replace. Our fence is slowly wasting away, maybe I should get planting!
The Blue Hour (a beautiful photography blog)

Love

I'd never have been able to predict that I might someday fall in love with a drain pipe but look!
House Beautiful via Robynne's Nest

Souvenir

I love the idea a souvenir but not the kind that has destination names spelled out on everything imaginable. Instead, I like to simply bring home a special something for myself that will remind me of my trip whenever I see or use it. This time it was gold stork scissors from Purl Soho which I hope will be nestled in with my notions many, many years from now and get put to lots of good use.

We Love Citrus

Update

I'm a bit delayed in posting about my trip to New York only because I've been trying to figure out just what to say. It was an experience that can't easily be put into words. Put simply, I love New York. I love the pace , the attitude, the style, the variety and the simplicity. I don't think I'd necessarily want to live there but I am most certainly going to go back to visit...again and again and again!

Away

Be back soon!

Imagine

A trailer in the backyard would be so much fun and perfect for guests!
Abbey Hendrickson

Defined

Sunroom- a room with large windows and sometimes a glass roof, designed to let in a lot of sunlight...perfect.
My Little Vintage Attic

Weekend Plans

Might I suggest a movie? Moonrise Kingdom, it's adorable. It wasn't until the summer that I had seen any Wes Anderson movie other than The Fantastic Mr. Fox but I've corrected that. With the help of Netflix, I've seen every one of his films and I must say, I'm a huge fan!

Well Read

Today was one of those (rare) days spent almost entirely in bed reading and it was just as wonderful as it sounds. I highly recommend it!
Country Living

Wants, Needs, Desires

My current obsession, a stock tank pool...want.
Apartment Therapy

Art Appreciation

Carly in Flymask by Clare Rickman as seen at the California Sate Fair yesterday. Love...I seem inexplicably drawn to art work with a subject whose face is obscured from view.

Reader Giveaway

Looking to add to your summer wardrobe? Well, I have good news, friends, Shabby Apple has offered a $50 gift card as a giveaway for one Compulsively Compiled reader living in the US (as this shop is not yet shipping internationally). To be eligible, simply like Shabby Apple on Facebook and then comment here to say which is your favorite piece from their store site. I will randomly pick a winner from those comments on Monday morning!

Travel Plans

In three short weeks, one of my dreams will come true. I am heading to New York! I'll be going with two instructors and a classmate from the fashion program that I attend. One of the instructors has been many times and has a fantastically educational experience planned for us which will even include a visit to the Met where we will see Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. I can hardly believe it!
From Me To You

Monday

Friends, we took a vacation last week (more on that later) which wound up a leisurely month of June. Ever since the school semester finished, I have been sluggish, in what I think of as a "research mode" which means much time spent watching movies, reading and searching the internet. All of which is necessary but today I feel ready to spring into action and into more of a "productive mode"!
Dust Jacket Attic

Imagine

A doorway into a garden...well, of course!
All Buttoned Up

Cost Analysis

Love. I could probably leave it at that but what I love most about this little tiny glimpse of a beautiful old kitchen is that it could be done up for nearly nothing. That's the kind of budget I'm on so it leaves me feeling encouraged!
Brooklyn Color

Look

I'm all about floral prints paired with denim at the moment.
The Beauty File

Inspired

I'm a night owl by nature so mornings can seem like a long drawn out chore to me, especially if there's no where I have to be. I prefer to take each thing very slowly starting with a cup of coffee. I love this little spot for that very thing. I can just imagine myself sitting there in my pj's which leads me to believe that I should make such a spot for myself here...
via La Dolce Vita

Freeform

Vintage portraits pinned in directly to the wall, expanding as new photos are acquired. Love.
Bird in Hand

Courtyard

A windowed courtyard seems part refuge, (when outside) part art (when in) and completely beautiful. Or at least it seems to me.
Marie Clare Maison

Art Appreciation

I've fallen in love with this piece, Moth #1, by Nicholas Mendise. See more of his work here.

Standard

As summer is here and we are all likely to pass by quite a few garage sales each week, I encourage you to do as I will be doing and keep an eye out for old dishes.

For me, the next six months is chalk full of parties. Not the kind where I just show up and have a good time, but the kind where I'm involved in a whole lot of planning. It started last weekend with our eldest daughter's high school graduation and winds up in November with the wedding of my youngest sister, with more in between.

At any party, I've found that replacing paper plates with my the eclectic mix of vintage dishes I've gathered for pennies from garage sales and second hand stores has multiple benefits. They make every guest feel important, they serve as a decoration of sorts, they start conversation because of their varied patterns and they are surprisingly simple to clean up. They've become my standard party ware!
Amelia Tarbet via Bustled

Dream

Brick, ivy, gravel, huge open windows, shutters; it's a dream!
Maison and Deco via Little Emma English Home

Look

I'm doing some wedding planning with my youngest sister at the moment. We've been searching for the perfect vintage or vintage inspired dress for her November wedding. This is one of my stand out favorites. Not only is it beautiful and simple, it also works for something old and something blue!
ReEnhabit

Plan

I think that when I'm finished shuffling the kids rooms around this summer, I'll look to this room as inspiration for my own. It's like an all inclusive retreat!
Canadian House and Home

Favorite

Mint, the color, is among my favorite things at the moment.
Homes and Gardens

Blur

Last night I showed my student fashion collection. What a fantastic feeling it was to see it come together to be just what I envisioned;  that it was well received makes it even better. Find more pictures here (I'll add more as they come in).

Luck

Love this piece (find it here)! Isn't it true in life, we have to work hard to make this all work out to our benefit. Right now, I'm working night and day on my student fashion collection to be shown this Friday. It's exhausting but so exciting thinking about it all coming together to tell a story. So, if you don't hear from this blog for a little bit, you'll know, I'm patterning or sewing or pressing or styling. I promise you'll see pictures when it's all finished. Wish me luck.

We'll be doing some shuffling of bedrooms around here over summer as our oldest gets ready to head off to college. What's the plan? Simple, classic, vintage.
Windsor Smith

Look

Love this look. It's perfect for this in between time. When it's nice out one day and then raining the next two.
Vanessa Jackman 

Plan

I can't wait to get out in the dirt and plant our summer garden. Soon...
Country Living

Good as New

Leather sofas can last forever. Well nearly. Inevitably, though the cushions get to be unbearable long before it's necessary to replace the whole thing. Which is just why recovering just the cushions in fabric is such a great idea!
Little Blue Deer

Art Appreciation

Love this combination of materials; a vintage doily displayed on a weathered wooden embroidery hoop. Ready to hang. Here.

Time

Lately, finding time to spare has been impossible. This school semester is especially time consuming and stressful. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to a leisurely summer.
Marie Clare Maison

Travel Bug

Do you read Selvedge? It's a textiles magazine from the UK that is amazingly beautiful. This is a photo of their shop in London. Someday I'd love to step inside for a visit.
Kangan Arora

Really

I keep all of my books on a shelf in my closet (and in piles next to my bed) that shelf tends to get a bit messy. I decided to cleaned it up this week. Now the orderliness of it is making me crazy. It feels all wrong. Some things are just better left alone.
Domino

View

This was the view from my kitchen window this morning. . .

Color

Love. The only thing I'd be left to long for would be a view from a kitchen window.
Karin Lindstrom

Art Appreciation

Deborah Forman's work is so beautifully layered. This piece makes me think of looking through a window on a rainy day. See more of her work here.

Look

Loving the billowy shirt with skirt look. And that bag!
Smothies