Cotton Bird Designs

 A lovely tutorial to make this here.

I recently stumbled upon Cotton Bird Designs which makes these lovely boats out of vintage books and fell in love. I first fell in love with paper boats after seeing Anna Wood's work who did the tutorial at the top of the page. My friend Ali and I made a bunch of these and hung them from a tree in our courtyard at the Villa Rossa. I miss that place! I definitely want to make some of these this weekend and will be starting several sewing projects.

completed project!

CocoRosie

Step into CocoRosie's magical world. The two sister's music is so beautiful and funky and this music video embodies the band nicely.

Hung Over

I've been thinkin and drinkin a little to much recently me thinks. I have been trying to figure out what I want to do with photography and it all just seems kind of silly. Why can't I just magically become a fashion photographer extraordinar!? These were just some simple shots that I did quickly in my backyard with one of my birdcages and this fun mobile I got in North Carolina. If anyone wants to do some modeling for me contact me (I'm getting pretty bored of my face).

♥Charlie Bird

Acid Girls and Back to Vintage

Acid Girls - Lightworks OFFICIAL VIDEO dir. Steven Ilous from Steven Ilous on Vimeo.

I've come to realize recently that I haven't been doing so well on blogging about the vintage-esque world because I realized I just really like to talk about food. But this Acid Girl video gives me a chance to redeem myself as it involves both amazing fashion and cupcakes being tossed around! Who could want more. When I first saw this video I though it was Kirsten Dunst but alas it is just one of her doppelgangers. The dresses from this time are just so wonderful! Especially these with their modern twist like the much higher helm lines and more revealing bodices. It came as no surprise that this designer is now working for Lady Gaga.


♥Charlie Bird

Continental Divide

 The best pancakes in the entire world with blueberries and honey roasted pecans!

 This was taken outside of the Red House Inn in Brevard, NC. It is by far one of my favorite places to go and relax. This past weekend we stayed in their bungalow down the street and it was adorable! It had this amazing door made mainly out of glass and a lovely little arbor leading to the front porch. But the best part is breakfast served out on the porch and talking to Daniel and Tracie Trusler who own the place. On the first morning we had pancakes with bacon and fresh peaches and on Sunday we had a traditional English breakfast, delicous.


As my mom and I explored Brevard we stumble across this lovely store called Continental Divide were the have the most unique vintage-esque items. It was filled with globes, ships, magnifying glasses, and the most amazing maps. We purchased a wall size map of Paris and a vintage globe mobile. I can't wait to hang it in my new little house this Fall semester!

Wandering around Brevard in a New Dress

My supper cute mama!

This past weekend I went up to Brevard, North Carolina with my sister and mom and had a lovely time. We went into Asheville for awhile and got to go to the Bele Chere festival! It was really fun and we got to hear some local bands but with all the stalls we got extremely lost and ended up walking in circles. We couldn't find anywhere to eat that wasn't packed until we found Roman's at 75A Haywood St. Asheville, NC 28801. I had the best burger I've ever had in my entire life here equipped with goat cheese, red onions, and a pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette!

As we continued to stumble along we ended up at this tiny boutique that was having an amazing sell where I got this dress. It was handmade by a local brand entitled Motel, I believe. I have completely forgotten the name of the store as we still had no idea where we were. I love the back of this dress, from the front it looks so simple but then the back is so intricate. More details and pictures on Brevard later (along with a description of the best pancakes in the world!)

♥ Charlie Bird

Wild Fox Couture

Wildfox Couture Fall 2010: It's Witchcraft from WILDFOX PR on Vimeo.

Oh la la, fancy expensive T-shirts with excellent advirtising- I would love to do a shoot like this SO BAD!

It Needs to be Fall

Inspired by Czech horror film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Alison Lewis fall collection Lewis would be perfect for any film noir flick. The collection's use of patterns makes each piece very unique and ties in nicely with some of the patterns from her Spring collection. I love the black coat and how a lot of the dresses have a double neck line reminiscent of Bouchra Jarrar couture line.

Abigail Lorick's Fall Collection

Abigail Lorick's fall collection is simply amazing. Layers have always been a favorite of mine and combined with funky hats and vintage gloves these looks are very inspiring. They bring together a vintage vibe with a more mordern (for some reason I want to say Swedish-esqu) feel. Lorick was a model before starting her line- which is just dandy and terribly annoying that one gets to both model and design-hurumf. Some people just have it all.

Lavender and Rose Infused Cupcakes!

Lavender cupcakes

These unusual lavender-infused cakes are a popular flavour in the summer

Infusing the milk with lavender flowers makes the flavour subtle. The icing can

be left plain, or you can use a bit of food colouring to give it a light lavender

colour (makes 12).

The cupcake sponge

* 120ml whole milk

* 3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

* 120g plain flour

* 140g caster sugar

* 1½ teaspoons baking powder

* 40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

* 1 egg

* 12 small sprigs of lavender (optional)

* 25ml whole milk

* 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

* 250g icing sugar, sifted

* 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature

* A couple of drops of purple food colouring (optional)

* A 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

1. Put the milk and dried lavender flowers in a jug, cover and refrigerate for a

few hours, or overnight if possible. Do the same with the milk and lavender

flowers for the frosting, in a separate jug.

2. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark three.

3. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter in a freestanding electric

mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat

on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

4. Strain the lavender-infused milk (for the cupcake) and slowly pour into

the flour mixture, beating well until all the ingredients are well mixed.

5. Add the egg and beat well (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the

side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).

6. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in

the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces

back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.

7. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto

a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Lavender frosting

1. Beat together the icing sugar, butter and food colouring, if using, in

a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld

electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together

and is well mixed.

2. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Strain the lavender-infused milk

and slowly pour into the butter mixture. Once all the milk is incorporated,

turn the mixer up to high speed.

3. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy (at least five

minutes). The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it

becomes.

4. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the lavender frosting on top and

decorate with a sprig of lavender, if using.

I will making these but with rose instead of lavender.

The Hummingbird Bakery is a lovely place in

London that makes little wisps of heavenly delight.

I was so sad I didn't make it the last time I was there!