March Magazine Drive

The magazine rack has hosts of magazines that I haven't had a chance to meander my way through-of course, with a seven month old, these days aren't about leisurely reading around the house! That isn't going to stop me. These covers caught my eye. British Glamour hosts the fabulous Reese Witherspoon on the cover and with its small formats means I can literally read on the go. 

Host a Party Like Megan Draper

{Mad Men Season 5}

Megan Draper, the new Mrs. to Don Draper, taught the world on the season premier that she knows how to host a party even if it leaves everyone speechless. No, it wasn't the appetizers or the drinks, nor the decor that left the room stunned into silence, it was her special gift to her new husband. Ahem, let's recap. 

How to Throw a Party Like Megan Draper

• Over serve drinks like a Gibson Martinis and Moscow Mules. This is the official Mad Men Cocktail Guide
• Serve party food that has heart-attack inducing qualities like bacon. Extra Pound Cake has a modern take on the perfect Mad Men food + drink combo. 
• Music is so essential to a great party. What was Megan's inspiration for her little number...a little known French song, Zou Bisou Bisou by Gillian Hills! The video is just as awesome as Mrs. Draper's version!

• Kiss your husband and make up when things don't turn out as you expected! Or read this interview to know what it's like to kiss Don Draper.

Three Favorite Things: Simple Gifts

Last January, Alt Design Summit and Design Milk hosted a lovely webinar. At the event, I was fortunate, blessed, pick your own adjective here to describe meeting Judy of Cute & Useful. Judy is simply brilliant! She is a graphic designer, crafter, and mother. I'm very excited to introduce her guest post for Three Favorite Things!

Judy, what are your three favorite things?!

 My three favorite things are simple gifts. Simple Gifts are thoughtful, lovely, and special.

It's easy to make these simple gifts. All you need is card stock, scissors, glue, and a printer. First, print the template on card stock. The template download is at my blog, Cute & Useful.  

Next, choose a printable paper and print it, also on card stock. I made three neutral-colored printable papers special for this project (I chose them to compliment the gifts inside the boxes), or you can choose from any of my printable papers at Cute & Useful. Trace the template onto the back of the printed paper.

Cut the traced template from the printed paper and fold. The original template has dotted lines you can reference as guides, but it's pretty easy to see what to do. The tabs show where all the folds should be. 

I made all my folds before beginning to assemble. In assembly, I made the lid first, then I put glue on the side and bottom tabs and assembled. After I had the bottom tabs in place, I gently pushed the bottom against the tabletop to make it snug. I used as much glue as I needed but no more; a little glue and the tabs stuck right away -- too much and they were slippery. The glue was Elmer's. 

And then, you have a cute little box! Fill it with practically any small thing. The box on the right is filled with silver binder clips. The box on the left has beads and elastic cord to make a bracelet. Wouldn't these little boxes make a great teacher gift? Don't you think they'd be a thoughtful gift for a neighbor or friend?

What's in the box in the middle? Candy, of course! These kisses with melt-away centers are really, really...mmmmm. I think the boxes would also be fun filled with Jelly Beans for Easter. (I recently made a colorful Jelly Bean paper.)

Aren't they cute? Aren't they useful? 

It's been my pleasure posting today on Modern Girl Style. Remember to find the printable papers and template for this post at Cute & Useful. My very best to you!

Thanks, Judy! I feel so inspired! This will come in handy for giving out little gifts to friends and family! XOXO!!

How to Wear Trapeze Tops

Before I throw off this post by beginning with a picture of a vintage trapeze artist, I want to talk about the cut and design of the trapeze top, a very celebrity worn look. The cut of the top is "fitted at the bust and extends out to an A-line shape, which extends toward the hemline". The flow of the fabric gives the impact of movement, much like the trapeze artist. Here are the modern images of the trapeze top that will help you to connect the dots to this style trend that you may be seeing at your local boutique or mall. And I will take a quick moment to thank, Mary Ann, a reader, who sparked the writing of this post! She wants to find the trapeze top that Jenni was wearing on the second episode of Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis-any one think or know the top, please post an answer in the comments! Now to that trapeze top:

Living Mad Men Style

Mad Men Season 5 returns to AMC on Sunday and I'm a fanatic for the show. I seriously believe that this is the best TV drama I have ever watched. As I'm so excited for the next season to arrive, I love feeling the excitment everywhere. There is the Banana Republic Mad Men collection, fabrics being selected with Mad Men feel, and vintage dresses patterns being made and worn by women today {hint: check out my favorite read list to find bloggers doing this}. There are modernist furnishing to acquire. I love this collection of furnishing inspired by Mad Men:

{image via pretty little green things}

I've always loved vintage, but this week has been good for me and my vintage finds. The highlights include this vintage 1960 Eaton Viking electric typewriter. I gasped when I found it at Goodwill and bought it for less than $10. I saw it and instantly thought this would have been the portable typewriter at the offices of Cooper Draper Pryce.

Trust me, I love the vast world of modern technology, but the snap and feel of a vintage typewriter is like slow food cooking. It's a sexy, slow, real experience that yields rich rewards. My question to you is:

If you had a vintage typewriter, what would you write?

Happy Mad Men watching this weekend. Please don't even try to phone me!

Book Shopping: Style Guides

Lately, I've been truly inspired to flip everything about my life. I want to live with better manners, travel more, get my home in tip-top style shape! Holy heck, yes, I am a new mom! LOL! Before my mother left town, we hit the bookstore and these titles jumped out at me. I always see book shopping as a cryptic way of decoding the things you need in your life. I need to travel and get that Parisian sense of style. Parisian Chic will do just that since traveling at the moment seems unrealistic for me! 

I want manners.  I want to write thank you notes, brush off rude drivers in style, and host parties well. Could you help Emily Post? This book has been helping generations to live with manners, which is  another extension of being stylish. It's fantastic that the book is in its 18th edition!

What about a refreshed home? Thank you Grace at Design Sponge. Your book looks fantastic!

Three NYC Favorite Things

Spring is here and to celebrate its arrival Modern Girl Style is launching a new series, Three Favorite Things, written by some of the finest bloggers from around the world and on the Web! Three Favorite Things is just like it says: A simple question with infinite answers that reveals more about the questioned than the question itself. So allow me to introduce the fabulous Hope, of Hope in High Heels, with her sweet NYC twist on her Three Favorite Things!

NYC is always busy, always fabulous and always changing. It's the place where you can find anything your heart desires, be anyone you want to be and do (almost) anything you've ever dreamed of. It's a million different things - party town, entrepreneurial hotbox or shopping mecca to name a few - to millions of different people. My New York? It's an adorable apartment in the West Village, lazy mornings and long brunches full of laughter and long walks through city streets and leafy parks... here's three of my favourite places:

Washington Square Park is in the heart of what is undoubtedly the most fabulous area in NYC, The Village. It's a gathering place for wonderfully talented musicians and performers and walking from one side to the other I might stop to marvel at the hula-hoop girl, listen to an amazing pianist, enjoy an interactive comedy show, nod my head in time to an acoustic guitarist and stop to laugh at the children chasing eachother around the fountain. There's nothing I love more than getting a coffee from the nearby Third Rail, a flaky pain au chocolat from Claude's Patisserie and then sitting in the sunshine listening to jazz and watching the world go by.

When it comes to shopping, the cobblestoned streets of Soho are my favourite place to go. I like to wander through the models, trying on shoes at Prada, handbags at Chanel or Mulberry and Missoni knits at Intermix. Once I've had my fill of dreaming, I walk a little further to Broadway and West Broadway to actually buy things at Anthropologie, DKNY and Aritzia. Of course no shopping is complete without something sweet with sprinkles... the Little Cupcake Shop in Noho is the perfect place to rest and recharge mid-afernoon (or morning, or really anytime!).

Onto food - NYC is a late rising city - if you happen to be out before 10am it better be because you're returning from your yoga/pilates/bar method class, or walking a cute dog. The first real meal of the day is brunch and my hands-down favourite place to go is Jeffrey's Grocery in the West Village, for a plate of blueberry french toast which is so indulgent it should be a dessert. There's no better way to start the weekend than right here, sitting at the bar sipping on a bellini and taking in the relaxed and beautiful crowd.  

I'd love to hear about your New York - what do you like to do when you're here?

Here's to You, Jeanwest!

One of the aspects I love about blogging is meeting new people, places, and things. This post is a loving shout-out to my loyal readers at Jeanswest that have been reading my blog for the last few years.  More importantly, the Australian & New Zealand denim outfitters have beautiful news! They are celebrating forty years in the business this year. Since the thought of sewing my own pair of denim jeans is like the idea of me flying a spaceship to the moon, I'm going to drool over these beautiful images by Jeanswest. Who wouldn't want to be wearing a pair of these?!

National Home Show Highlights 2012

We were Decked out to have tons of fun at the Toronto National Home Show. We loved bumping into Paul Lafrance, host and builder on HGTV's Decked Out, and his awesome energy. He admitted to having four beautiful children and he loved holding Makena, which he said was the highlight of his day and ours too! After all the fun of meeting the cast of Decked Out, we toured the countless vendors. I couldn't stop being amazed by the kitchens, patios, and lovely flower displays. Here are my highlights from the show!

Toronto National Home Show

I'm off to the Toronto National Home Show. You can follow my misadventure right here or follow along at Twitter National Home Show Tweets. More posts and pictures to come soon!

Sewing My First Dress

I haven't had time to focus on the construction of my off-shoulder dress. I wanted to get something done quick and fast. New Look 6936 was the perfect solution. As a new mom, I also need dresses that are easy to go. My sister hates the print of this dress, but I like it because it reminds me of my wedding in Maui! So take or leave the fabric of this dress, the pattern rocks. It really is super easy to sew. A great dress for a beginner like me! I also like the other options for the bodice of the dress. The kimono style dress really is the best for my post-baby body! 

What can I say? I make a bunch of sacrifices for my little girl-but it's all soo worth it! Now, my mom is still in town and like no one in my family, including my mom, understands my blogging thing. She is on a melt-down to leave and do what?! Shop! Got to run and guess what? I'm wearing this dress today!

Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis

I'm a huge Jeff Lewis fan! I've been hooked since watching the entire first season in one day on a cold winter day! I'm super excited that the show is finally premiering tonight. Tweet along with me @moderngirlstyle for all the fun. The show is on Bravo at 9pm, but check local listings! I also want to recommend Belle Maison's creative twist on Interior Therapy.

What is Jeff going to be doing next?! What about Jenni? Who needs the therapy the most! Ah, the simple pleasures of life! See you on Twitter tonight!

Spring Inspirations for 2012

Hipster Baby Hat

Did I mention that I have no time as a new mom? I wasn't able to work on drafting my dress and had to suffice with a fast project. This was just in time for record cold weather in Toronto. The Hipster Baby Hat was born out of the need to have more hats in different colors, without breaking the bank. I took my favorite baby hat and drafted a pattern from it. Five simple easy steps later, I've made hats for my friends with babies, my cousin-in-law, and just about everyone else I can think of. This project is SOOO EASY!!

The Perfect Iced Americano!

This is my favorite spring drink...we're almost there why not! It's super simple. Two shots of espresso poured over lots of ice in a glass. Follow up by pouring filtered water to the top of the glass. Add cream, milk, or almond milk to taste. Sprinkle a bit of sugar to sweeten things up. This is the perfect sunday drink to chill and relax through the day!

Weekend Art Lessons: Pen and Ink

I don't have the same amount of time to doodle like I had before baby. A great fast, cheap, and easy weekend art project is pen and ink. 

THE SUPPLY LIST

PEN

At Michael's or your local art supply store, you can purchase an artist pen holder and a nib. Make sure you get a nib used for drawing because some nibs are for drawing maps or are used for calligraphy.  You could also collect twigs or sticks on a walk around the neighborhood and use it for mark making. 

INK

I've tried an assortment of inks. I really prefer acrylic artist ink. It's opaque and ready to handle additional media like watercolor, without the ink blending or washing away. The ink comes with an eye dropper. The eyedropper is another way to draw. In my artwork for this post, I used the eyedropper and liked the results.  

PAPER

I've had art professors tell me not to use Strathmore papers because they're cheap. I say so what! I'm doodling to have fun and I'm not worried about my art being collected by the MET. I love this bristol paper by Strathmore. These journals are a bunch of fun. For pen and ink, I recommend bristol paper. The surface is smooth and the ink really pops on it! Use what you got, that's the bottom line!