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It's A Bright and Wonderful World - Inspiration Friday

Happy Inspiration Friday!
As you can see, today's inspiration was vibrant colors.
All the inspiration Friday post are very mood driven,
and today is a bright sunny day, thus the bright post.
How was your week?
Has it felt like the weeks have been moving way too fast?
I honestly wish i could borrow Hermione's time turner!
Well anyways, my friends, hope you're doing well! :)

Images are by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent Van Gogh, Coco Rocha of Numéro, and the other few other images not sure the source :)

5.27.10 // NEW YORK CITY// Rivington Street. / Lower East Side

{a charming mix of things - three}

. . . oftentimes things come together perfectly and there is endless inspiration at every turn, but sometimes, and especially during exceptionally busy weeks, inspiration is elusive . . . happily, one thing that fell beautifully into place was this collection of fluttering thoughts -- and so, on this early friday morning: a charming mix of things . . .

. . . cozy reading corners



. . . raindrops on the ocean


. . . smokey eyes & windswept hair


. . . seaside inspiration


. . . pretty underthings {from agent provacateur}


. . . skylights



. . . white blouses & summer sandals


. . . perfectly ornate


. . . eiffel tower pillow cover {via ephemerette}


. . . topknots & lacy summer dresses


. . . fires in the springtime {via ephemerette}


. . . pretty packaging


. . . elegantly hidden



. . . gracefully gilded {via aubrey road}


. . . chandeliers in entryways


. . . palest pink seashells


. . . palest pink lace {via definitely golden}


. . . grand ballrooms



. . . masquerade balls


. . . settes & staircases


. . . sea & sky


. . . secret doorways


. . . always & forever, butterflies


. . . and these french words -- il n'est jamais trop tard pour être ce que tu veux être: it is never too late to be what you want to be . . .

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{p.s.} past collections > original | one | two


{top image via [design] relevant], masquerade ball photographed by steven meisel, natalia vodianova photographed by michael thompson for w magazine march 2005, french print discovered via madebygirl}

Train and Bicycle Day - Part II

(all photos by ridingpretty)

Four hundred and fifty people boarded the train... add that number in again and that's just about how many bicycles also went on board the train.

Just what is the Trail and Rail Day all about? It's about riding your bicycle to the train - then take a train ride to Roaring Camp/Henry Cowell Redwoods - then ride your bicycle nine glorious miles (down Highway 9) through the Santa Cruz Mountains on a beautiful mountain road that you've just about got all to yourself, meaning sans cars. This miracle ride happens once a year, and it's five years running now. A CHP escort secures the right of passage keeping traffic at bay during the course of the ride, sorta like what they do for the Amgen Tour.

Now there is a bit of an agenda behind all this. Come on folks, just do this ride once and you will want to see Rails and Trail get the funding and implementation it so deserves. Sincerely, I hope this idea continues to spread wide and far! For more info - Santa Cruz (local) or for National (in scope).

****

Anyway. Sheer joy! This day was so much fun, and yes I do have a few more photos from the day to share, so stay tuned...

A Sneak Peek of what's coming....

Hey Friends!
Well, I have some fun things for you today!
This is only half of my Shirt Collection for Forever21 ...
To my surprise Teen Vogue & Refinery29 Posted a few images of the Tee's
so i thought i would post them for you too. ;)
I'm so excited for you to see all the shirts,
and excited for them to be in the stores.
But you know what is by far my favorite thing about this collaboration?
I get to share it with my friends!
Looking at the shirts on Teen Vogue today it hit me,
I was like "oh my gosh that's Geri Hirsch, Louise Ebel, & Carolina Engman all on Forever21 shirts!"
Haha its so awesome!
I think the friendships i've made blogging are the best rewards ever!
Oh, and there are a few more friends on the other shirts...
So excited for you to see! ;)
Hope you like them.

P.S thanks Teen Vogue and Refinery 29 your amazing, i love you both! :)

GOODBYE MY FRIEND

God saw you getting tired

and a cure was not to be,
so he put his arms around you,
and whispered "Come to me".
With tearful eyes we watched you,
and saw you pass away.
Although we loved you dearly,
we could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
hard working hands at rest,
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best

Two years ago today, my father left his family on this earth
to go home and be with his Mother, Father and Brother.
I truly hope he is happy up in heaven.
For almost ten long years, my father courageously
battled heart disease,
four strokes and a heart attack.
He always had a positive attitude
about his condition and was always saying
"I'm alright"
even when we knew he wasn't.
Maybe it was his fighting spirit,
his wishful thinking, or his compromised
mental capacity that the heart disease robbed
him of...or maybe it was combination of all three things.
Nevertheless, he maintained a positive outlook
and never felt sorry for himself.
I am so proud of the role model he was for me,
my family and my daughter
while dealing with his condition.

My parents were married for 52 years.
Some of the time was a struggle but most was
spent happily raising their three daughters.
I loved my childhood growing up.
I am truly blessed to have had two wonderful,
loving and giving parents.
They taught me to value education &
have a strong set of morals and values.
They ingrained in me a strong work ethic
and the power of belief in myself.
Thank you Mom and Dad
from the bottom of my heart!
I LOVE YOU, Dad up in heaven
and Mom, here on this earth.
My father was a bright man, an Engineer with a Type A Personality- a quality not so great on the heart!!
He had an Artistic talent that he passed on to me,
as well as my daughter.
Thanks again, Dad!!
Growing up during the Great Depression
with Polish immigrant parents,
my father always found a way to be resourceful.
His bright mind and creative soul were always
collaborating imaginative solutions to take
next to nothing and make it into something.
I have some vivid memories of interesting things
he would do that earned him the title of
"Character" at times.
My sisters and I have reminisced over things he made,
like his extra large homemade rubber bands
from cut up tire inner tubes,
or the large garden funnels
and scoops he made from recycled Clorox bottles.
There was always the scrubbie made from the
plastic mesh that came wrapped around the turkey
(Thanksgiving will never be the same).
It served as the wrapping for all the last bits
of bars of soap fused together:)
Voila...scrubbie
He went green long before it was in vogue to be "GREEN". His mind was always thinking up ways to be clever.
Clever was one of his favorite words.
His color coded yard sale maps were yet another of his "clever collaborations".
Mind you this was all at least 25 to 30 years ago!!
He loved his "Cellar" and his garden.
They were his places to tinker and fix things.
My Dad strikingly resembled Bob Hope
in his early years, but more so in his older years.
Don't you think???
My father couldn't wait to be a grandparent.
When his first grandchild, my daughter,
was born he spent any time he could with her.
I am so grateful they were able to spend time together
getting to know each other before his
heart condition took a toll on him.
The happy times they spent together
are some of my daughter's most
cherished memories...

...and mine too!

This is one of the earlier pictures
of my father and me together.
Here he is holding and nurturing me.

Ironically,
this is the last picture taken of my father and me.
Here I am holding and nurturing him.

Isn't life funny????

You can click here to see the news story that was
done about my daughter.
This is how she remembers and honors her
grandfather

Thanks friends, for listening to me ramble on
and reminisce about my father.
He was such an honorable, hardworking and
smart man who we all laughed with.
It's so nice to have kindred souls who are willing
to lend an ear and listen.
Thanks for letting me tell you a little about
the man I called
"DAD"
I was so happy and blessed to have him in my life.
I have to tell you, I'm so happy and blessed
to have you in my life too!!