sideways.

I've blogged about my love of silhouettes before. Well, I haven't made one yet, and the obsession continues.

via.

via.

via.

via.

fortune finders.

I just discovered Fortune, an Etsy jewelry shop by New Yorker Kim Dulaney. Her pieces are pretty and dainty with an almost industrial edge, and most are priced around $30. She blogs about her inspiration here.

bookworm.

I've been enjoying my free Maghound trial, and I've decided to keep it going. But as I was flipping through magazines last night — Nylon and Conde Nast Traveler — I noticed something pretty sad: I was skipping all of the stories, just looking at the pictures and reading the blurbs. And I can't remember the last time I finished a book.

I blame blogs. My Google Reader feed is never satiated, and when I get home from a long day in front of the computer, it's completely normal for me to turn it on again and spend a few more hours on it. I love blogs, but I think they're dangerously shortening my attention span.

My solution? Limit computer use at home. Head to the library. And read something longer than 300 words. I'll let you know how that goes.

cfw: finale.

Charleston Fashion Week wrapped up last night. I'm relieved that it, and this entire stressful month, is over, but at the same time I'm going to miss the excitement. Here are a few shots I snapped from the front row with my iPhone using the Camera Bag app.

I thought they turned out pretty cool, for phone pics. The designers are Veritee Hill, Charlotte Hess (who ultimately won the competition), and featured designer (and probably my favorite all week) Larika Page.

hour of happiness: o-ku.

I got hooked on O-ku at a media dinner shortly after the upscale sushi restaurant opened. I was given free reign to try whatever I wanted off of the menu, and I fell in love with a place that I might have otherwise written off as too expensive.

The inventive cocktails and incredible sushi are worth the price, but stop by between 5 and 7 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for half-price rolls, sake, and $3 off cocktails.

That's their famous habanero cocktail. They also have a super fresh basil gimlet that is the best thing I've had in long time.

cfw: midweek report.

We're halfway through Charleston Fashion Week, y'all. Here are a few of my favorite looks so far. Three shows to go.

From top to bottom, Mary Labberton, Troubadour, Troubadour, Hampden, and Hunter Dixon. All photos by Ed Kavishe at Fashion Wire Press. Follow our coverage here.

what to wear?

It's hard to believe it's my fourth year covering Charleston Fashion Week. It's an event that is exhausting and exhilarating, fun and frustrating. Either way, the city has a huge amount of pride for the event and the designers it supports.

Read my cover story on local designers there. And check out some of my random style inspiration here.

Low back, full skirt, buttery brown belt, feathers, and perfect waves. via.

 

painted lady. via.  

 I can dig it. via.

favorite color, favorite fabric. via.

 

this inspired my day one look, sans headband. via.

memphis in review.

 

 

Memphis wasn't really what I expected. It's surprisingly small and a bit dingey. But there were a few highlights, like going to the rooftop terrace at the Peabody Hotel and looking over the city, and Flashback, the vintage department store. But I wasn't really there to site-see. I was there to meet my new nephew, Carl, who was certainly worth the trip. Hopefully it won't be long before my next visit, and maybe I'll find out there's more to the city than I thought.

make-believe.

We went to a wedding at this house last night, the Gov. Thomas Bennett House in downtown Charleston. One of my favorite things about living here is the fact that we're constantly surrounded by so much history. There's nothing like standing on the piazza of a mansion built in 1825, sipping cocktails and looking down on the manicured garden in full bloom. I couldn't help but imagine I was a genteel Southern belle living in a different time.

(This photo wasn't taken last night — it's from local photography super-duo Amelia + Dan.)

bikinis three.

Can I obsess over bikinis a bit more? It's looking like we'll get our first beach day this weekend, so I need to make a move. These are all at Topshop for $55. What's your favorite?

back to basics.

The more street style blogs I read, and the more fashion inspiration I search for, the more I realize that I'm just not really a fashiony person — and I don't want to be. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping, fashion magazines, and drooling over other people's good style, but I'll never be the girl that Scott Schuman stops in the street for pictures. I'm the girl that wears different variations of the same thing every day, and is happy doing it.

maps, part 1.

Have I shown you my map collection? It's on Pinterest, and I kind of love it.

 

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spring forward.

 

It's always a little hard coming home after a vacation, but there's a sweetness, too, especially when home is a place like Charleston. There's the unmistakable salty smell when you step off the plane, a smell I fell in love with on my first visit that I've since grown accustomed to. In just the few days I've been gone, the city has burst into full-flower mode, and I was so happy to find bunches of wisteria hanging from the tree in our backyard. I didn't even know we had wisteria back there.

We embraced the warm weather and lingering sunlight by taking a long bike ride around the neighborhood, trying to get as close to the marsh as we could, discovering a plantation home on a dead-end street. Sometimes I dream about starting over somewhere new, but days like this I think I might be hooked for life.

It's amazing what gaining one hour will do for your outlook.

gandalf.

via.

Watching some LOTR while on vacay, and thinking how much I love this picture of Ian McKellen from way back when. 

come fly with me.

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Things I love about air travel:
* People-watching in airports
* Guilt-free fast food (what else ya gonna eat?)
* Seeing the world in miniature from the window of an airplane
* Skymall

Things I hate about air travel:
* Fear of being late for flight (I blame that one on Todd, who is perpetually late)
* Not having the window seat
* Smelly and/or obnoxious seatmates
* People seeing me naked
* Airports too stingy to offer free Wi-Fi

Just thought I'd share.

wine + food.

Charleston is a city that's a little obsessed with food, and we took it to the next level with the Wine + Food Festival last weekend. Dinners, parties, tastings, and more took over the city, reminding us of just how much talent we have right under our noses. Here are a few of my favorites from the festival's Culinary Village.

omg shoes.

 

I need some brown shoes for summer. What's your favorite? Or do you have better suggestions?

graceland countdown.

Just a couple days left until I hop a plane to Memphis, Tennessee. Home of my baby sister and her babies, along with barbecue, rockabilly, Elvis, vintage shops, and the muddy Mississippi River. Still seeking suggestions of where to go, if you've got 'em.

what about bill?

 stanley chow illustration.

I've been pretty swamped the last few weeks preparing for one of my paper's biggest issues of the year, Best of Charleston. The issue highlights winners from our big reader's poll — everything from best restaurant to best designer to best councilman — and also includes lots of critics picks from yours truly and my colleagues. I can't tell you the theme of the issue, which comes out Wednesday, but I will say that I've had Bill Murray on the brain for some odd reason. (Check out Stanley Chow's print shop for many more fun portraits.)

krazy kitty.

 

I gave Charlie some catnip.