blogs I enjoy

Having a close connection to Scandinavia, I sometimes end up on different new sites or blogs that come from that world. So I thought I'd share a couple blogs I've come across that I've been really into of late.

emmas.blogg.se

The first is one of the top blogs in Sweden by a woman called Emma. I know almost nothing about her except that it's a pretty famous blog in Stockholm and she has many advertisers and sponsors. And she even has sponsored posts every so often. That said, it's an awesome blog to look at it for home design inspiration as well as for objets from the clean, "Scandi" world.

Simple Blueprint

One of the other blogs I'm into is put together by a Swedish-American woman named Joanna Swanson who lives in Stockholm. Hers is more fashion and art inspiration as well as details about all the exotic locales she has traveled to and the fabulous hotels and resorts she has stayed at. She recently put together a city guide to Stockholm for design*sponge. Above is an image taken from her site of a hotel on Gotland in Sweden called Fabriken Furillen.

Brinja Copenhagen

And one of my absolute favorite blogs is by a woman named Brinja who lives in Copenhagen. She has a boutique in Copenhagen of the same name, I believe. And not only is she always posting pictures of these amazing meals she has had (see above) but she also just had a baby and is now posting pictures of her baby in the most adorable handmade clothes. Her main blog theme is a days-of-the-week outfits log where she highlights either different friends of hers in Copenhagen, other blogging friends or even her own baby! I also love seeing all the pictures of this miniature dollhouse version of her apartment that she has made by hand: she is uber-creative!

madewell

So on my recent shopping trip to NYC, I scored at J.Crew's less ruffle-y sister brand, Madewell. My bounty included: perfect-fitting tight black ankle jeans, loose cuffed boyfriend jeans, two great striped tops, a cute plaid button-up and these awesome cropped black leggings with a gold zipper detail at the bottom. And my total was amazingly under $500. At Barneys, it wouldn't have even been under the $1000 mark.

Well I have been a little forlorn wearing any of these great items since there is no Madewell store here in Portland and none of the stuff has been available online (with the exception of a smattering at shopbop). ... Until now! what a nice surprise that Madewell's online store has just opened!

Check it out here: Madewell. And don't be put off by the kind of cheesy black&white photos. I think they are still working out the kinks on their image. Trust me, the clothes are good, both the fit and quality, and not a million dollars.

Here are a couple of my scores:

Zip Leggings (only $35!)

skinny black ankle jeans

boyish but sexy plaid shirt

basic black&white striped tee

another striped tee but I bought it in red

And I love these shorts too. Might have to place a "small" summer order.

who does it well: Patricia Urquiola

Not only is she one of the lone women in a field dominated by men but her designs are off the hook. Patricia Urquiola is from Spain, lives in Milan and designs for pretty much the coolest furniture companies out there, like Moroso and B&B Italia. But she does way more than furniture, she designed a new line of plumbing fixtures for Axor and she's done hotels and, for even a lucky few, home interiors. Anyway, that's pretty much all I know about her AND that lately if I see something I love, the chances are pretty high that she's designed it. Here are some of my favorites:

Tropicalia for Moroso - a beautifully designed indoor/outdoor seating line that is such a great statement piece.

Tufty-time for B&B Italia

Axor Urquiola line of plumbing fixtures

FLO for Driade bar stool

And Patricia's line for Agape is my personal favorite:

long absence

so yes I have been neglecting my blog lately. not only did I spend last week in NYC, but I'm also in the midst of a massive home renovation which takes up all of my time. And the only things I end up being inspired by are plumbing fixtures, lighting, furniture, you get the idea.

that said, I am going to take a little sojourn into home interiors for a while. Maybe feature several of my favorite designers or inspiration blogs in addition to the plumbing fixtures etc.

to start it off, i have to showcase the one item that i am determined MUST be part of this home: VOLA plumbing fixtures. Designed in the 60s by Arne Jacobsen - the Danish mastermind behind the Egg chair, the Swan chair, the Ant chair and several other one-word items, VOLA has had the same design for 50 years and counting. Talk about timeless.

These are the faucets for the 3 new bathrooms in my house.

And this is the ridiculously beautiful (and ridiculously expensive) tub filler for the master bath.

Check out more here: Vola

totokaelo gets a facelift

The fab Seattle boutique debuted a new website this morning. The site is overall more user-friendly in addition to showing full-length looks. The makeover is a throwback to the days before totokaelo when it was a blog for a store called Impulse that didn't even sell product online and was known mainly for its great styling. The new look seems to combine the best of both worlds - totokaelo's top-notch and unique product assortment with Impulse's style inspiration. Check it out: totokaelo.com

the perfect sandal

I am completely in love with these Loeffler Randall sandals spotted on Barneys.com today. They are light grey leather with brass buttons. You can never go wrong with brass button detailing. It is always in style. Unfortunately this beautiful sandal - called the Audra - is $295.

Timeless pieces

I bought this jacket 10 years ago at Saks in NYC. It's a Marc by Marc light gray denim military jacket. I don't think a year has gone by where I haven't worn it at least 15 times. It is one of those timeless wardrobe staples that you don't anticipate when you buy them but realize soon after how much you are really going to where it. Year after year.