Showing posts with label why i love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label why i love. Show all posts

Why I Love: Fashion For Home


While I often find myself in a hotel room
& sleeping cuddled up to my purse
on an overnight train...

I actually do have a sense of home.

In fact, I've always felt that it's because 
of this solid sense of having a place to belong
that I feel to free to roam this pretty planet.

I know that, regardless of what may happen, 
I always have a good home base that I can return to.

{Editor's Note: I know you aren't supposed to end sentences with "to,"
but I can't reword it in a way that doesn't sound stupid. Please forgive me.}

With Pinterest bubbling over with dreamy interiors
and designers (like my friend like Beth) whizzing up gorgeous pads for clients,
it's hard not to set your standards high
on what your own home should look like.



The only problem is: 
my bank account never matches these aspirations.

That's why I really dig Fashion for Home.



This site has really great pieces
that can transition into modern or transitional spaces,
has super functional pieces for urban living,
and is, drumroll..... affordable!

Yay!



The mid-century inspired range is really cool...

How cool is that?



Beyond the furniture,
they also feature some really cool furnishings & accents.



{Honestly, I want that fire fixture... I'm thinking tableside s'mores.}

So there it is: Fashion for Home...
have you ever heard of this line before
or is it as sweet sounding to your ears as it was to mine?



*This post was sponsored by Fashion for Home. However, I only partner with companies I actually like & want to recommend... so go on, give it a try. I honestly think you'll like them!

Why I Love: Natalie Erwin


Beyond my duties as an Aspiring Kennedy,
I'm also an aspiring art collector.

I scheme of ways to get beautiful art into my home...
with little luck, to this point.

As a girl, 
a print of one of Monet's Water Lilies
 hung above my bathtub.

I would lay there and stare at it...
becoming involved with the scene 
and feeling at home the blurry dream..

While I still love Monet,
my tastes have slightly expanded...

Different styles...
different texture...
different techniques...

These days, I can be lured into a multitude of pieces.





I first met Natalie Erwin through work,
in fact- by hosting an art show for her
when I lived in Dallas.

And though we were busy selling her work
through the project,
it was me who ended up SOLD on her work.



Natalie burns her art into
trademark, birch panels.

Though it's hard to see in pictures,
each piece has amazing texture and depth 
from the wood-burned designs.

Natalie then uses stains and milk paints to color the pieces
and bring life to the image.

{Learn more about her technique here.}

the best wedding guest book ever!



The result is a glossy delight
that blends well into both modern & traditional settings.

While I have been smitten with her vintage scarf series
and her ranch series,
Natalie may be best known for her custom dog portraits.





Because honestly, 
how precious are those little faces?

I'm a sucker for them...



Someday, when our big check rolls in
and I finally get an allowance for art...
you better believe I'll be staring up from my tub
at one of Natalie's pieces.


Why I Love: Sheyna Jewelry



Do you ever go shopping and see something so cute and think:
"If I could just tweak this one thing,
this could be perfect?"

I find myself thinking that thought all the time.

Luckily for all of us control freaks, 
Sheyna allows you to make those kinds of changes
to any piece of jewelry
with their custom jewelry design tool,
and make things "perfect."



It's pretty awesome.

I also like that their jewelry 
is made by artisans around the world
in exchange for fair wages.

So not only can I look better with their pretty things,
but I'm making smarter choices in where I spend my money.



Today's my birthday,
so to celebrate Sheyna & I are giving
one fabulous, awesome, cooler-than-cool readers
$40.00 to make your own piece.

{Which lines up to my idea of an awesome birthday party favor.}



Just leave a comment on how you follow Aspiring Kennedy
{Google Friend Connect, RSS, physical stalking not preferred}
and you're entered to win.

If you want to blog/facebook about the giveaway,
you can snag an extra entry.

Also, be sure to check out Sheyna!

{Which I think would be perfect for custom bridesmaid jewelry. Am I right?}


UPDATE: Contest closed. Congrats to Anna of And Everything Nice!



Why I Love: ASOS


There are some wrongs in the world that are heart-breaking.

The tragedy of Romeo & Juliet.
The short-lived season for girl scout cookies.
The fleeting metabolism of your college years.

And most plaguing to my life-
the love of clothes 
with the budget of a one-income household.

Tragic, no?

I sometimes hate revealing my sources to the masses...
it makes less common what I know of exclusively.

But I figure,
if I don't show you, someone inevitably else will,
...and I need all the favors I can get.

So here we go:

blog world, this is asos.
asos, this is the blog world.



Some of you may have already met, 
but to those who haven't...
you've been missing out.

I kinda think of asos as the clothing equivalent 
to what IKEA is for the home.

dress one | dress two | dress three


Cheap, great design, and straight forward purchasing
on great items for both men & women.

They even offer free shipping to the US & UK...
for delivery & returns!

uptown girl | shop girl | downtown girl


I can find a dress for most anything under $60,
the sales are amazing,
and asos offers every niche size from petit, curve, & maternity.

glitter | ruffle | poof

So go ahead.

Fall in love with asos.

Just remember who introduced you...
and that someday, I'll need the hook-up, too.

Why I Love... Graphic Image.


Back in my previous life,
I had a "cool job."

You know the type, don't you?

The only dress code is to look good,
you travel to exotic locations and stay at the best hotels,
you're friendly with buyers and editors,
& you make a hilariously small salary 
that leaves you feeling extremely broke 
among the glossy world you work in?

Yup. If that's the criteria,
then I once had a very cool job.

I think my favorite part of it was the trade shows.

They are so much work, 
but they always brought such adventures and stories.

After a few shows, 
you start to develop a nose for the important buyers.

...Bendel, Saks, Harrods, Barneys...

You start to remember each other from previous shows and meetings,
and it gets easier to be prepared...
but the easiest buyers to spot 
are always from Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman.

While they might have their buyer's badge hidden in their handbag,
they all carry the same tell-tale object in their hands:


You can spot those giant planners half way down the convention center aisles...
and boy, are they gorgeous.





Graphic Image is a family owned company out of New York 
that sits above the rest of the over-saturated leather market
with their gorgeously unique line 
of luxe everyday items.


I'm sure you've seen their goods before-
but as their website quotes:
"We're the biggest brand that nobody's ever heard of."

It's true.
You'd recognize their handiwork in a heartbeat,
but most people never know their name.

Graphic Image pieces are so lovely 
no label is needed to sway the customer into the purchase.

At stores like Bergdorf & Barneys- 
that speaks volumes.


(Why, yes, I do have one of these!)




Metallic passport covers?
(As if international travel wasn't swanky enough!)



they have my heart.

I'm waiting patiently
until the day comes
when I have my own...
with my initials monogrammed at the bottom
like all the BG & NM buyers.

And the day that happens?
Well, I'll know then that I'm actually cool.

Why I Love: Cannon Lewis



It's modern,
it's ornate,
 it's absolutely luxe...

and seriously- how cute is Cannon?

I can't stand it really.


Between her three collections
Cannon offers an array of 
gorgeous jewelry
that is fitting to any personality.

{...well, any awesome personality.}






I've been watching her line grow for several years,
and felt completely validated when
Reese Witherspoon was spotted wearing her own piece
from Cannon's collection
earlier this month.





So go on,
all you non-student, 
successful-in-your-career ladies...

Cannon's lovely pieces in my honor.

{Just let me borrow it sometime?}

Why I Love: Roald Dahl




As you may have noticed,

Serious writing definitely has it's place,
but quirky books have always had my heart.

The first author to really write in a way 
that captured my mind was

My fifth grade teacher his stories to us
every day after lunch.

We would lounge on the carpet floor
as he read the pages of 
and 

Each character had an appropriate voice,
the plots left our eleven year old minds begging for more,
and after a few weeks of having these read to me...
 I started checking out these books from the library to take home with me.

From there, I was unstoppable.








Luckily, I'm not the only one who loves his work.

Hollywood does, too.

His books live on in movies and plays that are still being made today...

And those movies have "cool" hollywood stars... 
like Danny DeVito, George Clooney, & Johnny Depp}











And the sweetest legacy Roald Dahl may have left is
all the Willy Wonka Candy...

because honestly,
who can argue that the world isn't a better place
with gobstoppers & nerds?









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