More Inspiration Fodder

Since I have the journals out, and since we're all mourning the loss of Blueprint and Domino, here's some eye candy for you...

Cut out from House & Garden, this one inspired me to paint our bedroom cerulean blue when we lived in Georgia 8 years ago. Now I just settled for a door this color, but I still love it. It's like Greece, and England all in one.


I adore this house from Cottage Living, I think.


House & Garden. Love the tone on tone matching vase and the close bunching of the flowers.

Love this. I think it's a paint ad, but I just see the movement.

Good grief. So sweet. I think I found this in Working Mother. The story was something from a husband's perspective about his wife and how she was her happiest, most mellow with her children.


My sisters and I would cut out old magazine pages and paste them onto these coloring book style scrapbooks at our grandparent's house. This page I kept. Love the movement, the 1950s fashion, the simplicity of it.

In the foreground I've posted a quote from a famous fashion photographer about photographing people in O Magazine. In the background, I have pulled this page from the Garnet Hill catalogue (which always delivers for great copy) because I've been thinking of getting a lemon tree for the house.

When I went to the Vatican in December of 1998, the lemon trees had all been moved inside and lined a hallway. The smell was amazing and the light came through the french doors all along the corridor making them look like shiny jewels.


I believe this one came from H&G (House & Garden). When I pulled it, I was more interested in the color contrast of pink and black, the roundness of the boxes against the square books than anything else. Very French, no?


This appeared in some Cookie or Wondertime. Not sure. I just thought it was awesome that they took a wall, put in shelves, painted the background and voila! dollhouse wall.


This one was from Real Simple with a great quote about how it's best to be in a modest cottage with books, family and old friends.


I pulled this years before I knew I would be photographing weddings, but it is perfect bridal inspiration. Love the lines- chin, swoosh of hair, eye line. Got to be a Chanel ad. It's text book perfect.


This one inspired me to line up plastic clear containers for all of the brio trains, crayons and little people.

This may have been from Organize and inspired me to get wire baskets for the fridge. I'm still hunting for the perfect wire rimmed basket like Kate Capshaw's character uses to get mail in The Love Letter. Speaking of Kate Capshaw...

I could not love this portrait of her and her daughter any more than I do. J'adore times 12.
Super photography inspiration, my friends.
The Gap often has killer photography. I still think about their 2001 commercial with Carol King and her daughter Lois Goffin singing a medley of So Far Away {} and Love Makes The World Go Round. I love that ad. So much clean space, hardwood floors, a black piano, her daughter singing, "So far away. Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore? It would be so fine to see your face at my door. It doesn't help to know your just time away," and Carol answering, "I can't stop believing love makes the world go round." I'm sure I rushed out to buy jeans as result. :)

But the most inspiring thing I have seen or heard in a long time was from President Obama today speaking to graduates at Arizona State after the University chose not to award him with an honorary degree. He said, "I come to embrace the notion that I haven’t done enough in my life. I heartily concur. I come to confirm that one’s title, even a title like president of the United States, says very little about how well one’s life has been led — and that no matter how much you’ve done, or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to do, always more to learn, and always more to achieve.”

So, enough with the pretty pictures. There's work to be done.