Kinfolk, Haru_mi, The Simple Things, Gather, Sunset, The Gentle Woman, Cereal, Sweet Paul
From Natalie:
I have always loved magazines. I remember when my mum signed me up for a subscription to W Magazine when I was in high school (it was in a large, newspaper format back then). I would cover the walls in my room with beautiful images every month. I still tear pages and post them to the wall if they are inspiring. I have a small library of my favorite-can’t-live-without magazines that I’ve lugged around for a couple of years now. And yes, I still have every print publication of Domino in my line-up.
I also read a fair share of standard publications like: Vanity Fair, Fortune, House Beautiful, The New Yorker (my husband’s subscription – otherwise I’d feel terrible for never finishing a copy), Red (UK), Wallpaper, and design related; Communication Arts, How, I.D, and Print.
What I’ve noticed recently is that there are more ‘thoughtful’ publications like Kinfolk, Gather, and The Simple Things. These magazines aren’t cluttered with crazy ads on every other page along with product placements – instead they feature stories about slowing down and being ‘present’ in life. I love that they are embracing the everydayness of life. My mum sent me a subscription to “The Simple Things” after their third publication, and I am like a kid when the package arrives in the mail every month. These publications helped inspire me (us) to finally get JUST A TITCH up and running. I hope that you find inspiration in them too. If you have any other magazines that we should know about, please feel free to add them to the comments section below. We’d love to know what else is out there!
This was such a difficult project! I had to drink copious amounts of inexpensive plonk so that I could use the corks.
Not exactly true but it does sound fun in an odd way.
Last year, I scavenged many succulents from my son-in-law and daughter’s San Francisco garden. There were so many varieties, I knew I had to take a lot since I live in the dry lower Sierra to see what would grow and what wouldn’t. Surprisingly, everything adjusted to the climate and now I have my own bounty of succulents.
This year, I’m making little holiday gifts for dear friends. I have decided to combine the succulents with wine corks. I’ve seen these little gems all over the internet so it’s not an original creative idea of my own (just working with what I have in the garden). I must admit, I really think they are precious …recycle, reuse and give!
How To:
-Hollow out the cork about 2.5 inches. (I used my Dad’s old knife to hollow out the hole in the wine cork)
-I placed moist earth from the garden and the clippings from the acquired SF cuttings.
-I pushed the soil down with a long nail to the bottom of the hole in the cork.
-After I inserted the cuttings and earth, I put the corks in a bowl that was half filled with water (I wanted the new plants to have moisture to encourage new growth). These will stay in the water for 2 days then I’ll remove and nurture them until the holiday season.
I think I’ll wrap copper wire around the upper part of the cork, make a loop so that they can be hung up, or just sit on a window sill. If I do that I’ll take another photo and post it.
1) Gare du Nord Scarf via Anthropologie 2) Fair Isle Dress via Toast UK 3) The Transport Tote via Madewell 4) The weekender shirt via podolls 5) Jour d’Hermès Eau de parfum natural spray 6) Teritory booties by Steve Madden (via Zappos)
If you know me, you know that I’m a sucker for tunics! I’ve been wearing dresses over jeans for eons.
Blue Tunic: I finally discovered PODOLLS in San Francisco last year. Bonus – they make everything locally in San Francisco. I love everything about their blue tunic stripe shirt-dress. If only I could find my size!
Sweater Tunic: I’m also a big fan of TOAST out of the UK. They’ve been designing clothes since I learned how to bookmark a web page. I finally got an inside glimpse to their daily life in the latest issue of Kinfolk. They are truly an inspiring couple! I’m loving this fragrance by Hermès – it’s a perfect ‘everyday’ perfume.
Fig leaf circle path, inspired by Andrew Goldworthy
Somehow in Northern California autumn arrives in a flash overnight. One moment, we’re sauntering around in sandals and short sleeves, enjoying the long indian summer, sipping cucumber water and mulling if lavendar or calendula blossoms work best in frozen ice cubes…then bam! The trees drop every leaf, and cold nights turn into blanket tugging wars.
The best feeling is when the leaves fall into multi-coloured puddles under the trees and bushes. Time to pop on the wellies, wrap a scarf around the neck and enjoy a very brief season that will be followed by the long (much needed) rainy season. Wishing you all happy autumn days.
It’s that time of year again in San Francisco….it’s finally Summer (in October). I’m looking forward to one more glorious evening where it doesn’t dip below 60 degrees after 3pm. I’m eyeballing the week by week forecast so we can enjoy one last evening in yard – hopefully with our recent lemon tree harvest!
