Everyday Beautiful Life @ bits of beauty

Today, I'm featured over at bits of beauty, talking about a few key things that make life more beautiful.

Thank you, Jenn, for inviting me to kick off such a great series! Take a minute and go check out her fresh new blog.

*swoon*
Paige

P.S. That's Jenn with her adorably glamorous dog, Lola!

Alterations continued...

Okay, how about now?

Alterations

I was able to fix the coding for the layout, but the heading is going to have to wait for this evening.

How is the layout now? Similar to the original? Better?

*swoon*
Paige

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."

Don't worry, you're in the right place, it just looks a little different.

Yesterday when I was sick and grumbly, I decided to play around with a new header for Swoonworthy. I may change it every so often until I find one that I really like, and then brand my site around it. (One site that does this oh so well is coco+kelley, but I would expect nothing less from the fantastic Cassie who has a background in marketing!)

I would love to get feedback from you, readers! If there's something you particularly like (or dislike) - a color scheme, a certain graphic, a layout - please let me know! (Also, if for some reason the layout is oddly positioned on your computer, please, please tell me because I can only view things on my little laptop screen, and if my template coding is off it could bump certain objects around. Nerd alert!)

I'm currently channeling my post on orange dresses... can you tell?

Suggestions are always appreciated!

*swoon*
Paige

Happy 100th Post Day!

Today is exciting as it marks my 100th post! I must say I'm rather proud of myself for sticking with this here blog. It has really brought creativity back into my life. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me, too, and has left such wonderful comments!

On that note, I have a little favor to ask those of you using RSS feeds (such as Google Reader). Would you mind popping on over here to the "real" blog for just a moment? My tracking program sadly does not count when people using readers read my blog, so I don't have an accurate measure of who's here. It will only take a few seconds and would really make my day. Like a "Happy 100th Post" present. :)

Anyway, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I got my haircut, which may sound strange since I'm trying to grow it out... but I have to grow out the top section first or else the bottom part will grow into a very unpleasant-looking mullet. After Saturday's cut, it looks somewhat like this:

Twiggy

Oh, if we could all be as glamorous as Twiggy...

I've been trying to be so patient. I just have to accept the fact that I'm not going to wake up with long locks again anytime soon; this is going to take awhile, and I have to be excited for the various stages in between the above look and a length that reaches the middle of my back.

For the time being, I'll be looking forward to my hair looking like this:

Styling by Ellen Af Geijerstam

What about you? Have you ever had to go through the painstaking process of growing your hair out? How did you avoid the mullets and helmet hair?

*swoon*
Paige

Blogger Survey Time!

I usually don't do these, but I've been tagged by Blondie Lox to partake in a little survey of sorts, sharing with you some things you may not already know about me...

1) What is your current obsession?
Daydreaming about home renovations & gardening. I have neither but I want both so badly!

2) Who was the last person you hugged?
The Boyfriend (typical).

3) What's your favorite dinner?
This is such an impossible question for me, especially lately since I've started cooking more often, and using fancy recipes from places like Gourmet magazine (0kay, well it really just sounds fancy). I've been making raviolis lately, using wonton wrappers, which sound a bit time consuming, but so worth it (read: delicious) in the end.
A great, quick, simple meal, however, is chicken apple curry pita pockets with yogurt: Saute chopped onions and chunks of chicken (another kind of meat, or tofu even, would work well, too) in a large pan. Add curry powder & apple chunks (Granny Smith work best), and keep them moving so everything gets coated in the powder, but also so the apples still keep their crunch. Once everything is sufficiently coated (but not too much... you don't want to be overwhelmed by curry powder), spoon the mixture into soft, oven-warmed pita pockets. Cover with plain yogurt (Greek or regular) and eat!

4) What was the last movie you saw in theatres?
Coraline! Absolutely fantastic. I love claymation & stop-motion and was blown away by this film. Definitely a must-see.


5) What was the last thing you bought (to wear)?
Brown tweed-y linen-y pants for work from the Banana Republic outlet store! Hooray for bargains.

6) What are you listening to right now?
Birds chirping outside!

7) What is your favorite weather?
Sunny with a few clouds, and warm (but not too warm! 75 degrees would be perfect...)


8) Say something to the person who tagged you.
Hey, Blondie-Lox! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments, and for posting my lantern lamp Thrifted Thursday on your blog, and especially for spreading the word about Freecycle! Oh, and for tagging me!

9) Tea or coffee?
Tea, definitely. I have recently discovered, because I don't drink it often, that coffee makes me crazy. Seriously crazy. My friend, Eleni, recently sent me this lovely get-well tea recipe.


10) What did you want to become as a child?
An artist or designer of some sort. This is something I'm still aiming for! Just gotta work on my portfolio... anyone need design or styling help?

11) If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Pamukkale, Turkey. I have always wanted to go here! Incredible calcium formations and warm mineral springs.


12) Who do you want to meet in person?
Currently, Molly Wizenberg, the author of Orangette. I want her to sign my book. :)

13) What is your most challenging goal right now?
Developing my design portfolio while working a full-time job. Keeping up a blog when I can only post at lunches and when I get home in the evening is a challenge, too!

14) What is your weirdest obsession?
Lavender. Well, I don't think it's weird, but The Boyfriend admitted later to being a little confused when I told him (on our second date) that I love to run my hands through lavender bushes and smell them for the rest of the day.


I also love anything lavender-flavored (like ice cream from Molly Moon's in the Wallingford neighborhood in Seattle). On a different note, I'm not actually a huge fan of the color... I'm mostly just attracted to it as a smell & taste.

15) Why did you start your blog?
My cancer battle had sucked the creative life out of me, and I wanted to get back into writing, designing, collecting artsy bits. A fresh start.

16) What is your blog about?
Swoonworthy things, of course! Well, this survey not so much... :)
Mostly style/fashion (although I started it thinking I would focus more on interior design!), thrifting... the list goes on.

17) Which blogs are you obsessed with at the moment?
Even though I'm not even close to being a mom, I love Heather Armstrong's Dooce. She really cracks me up.
I can't seem to stop talking about Orangette so I might as well add it here.
There are so many more... I wish I could list all of them!

18) What is your dream job (realistic or unrealistic)?
Something where I can combine my love of design (web, graphic, print, event, or otherwise) and writing, and just being all-around creative. P.S. I definitely need to be challenged and feel like I'm actually contributing to the company, or whatever group I'm working with. (Although, really, I would love to work for myself someday!)

19) If you could change professions or careers, what would you try (realistically speaking)?
Well, considering I haven't even started on any real career path yet, I would try anything!

20) Who is your favorite designer at the moment?
I have a really hard time with favorites... I can't pick just one! I've always been a fan of Chloe and Miu Miu, but these days I'm really digging L'Wren Scott, a recent discovery of mine.


21) What is your favorite brand of jeans?
Once again, no favorites. Whatever is comfortable and can handle the booty!

22) One thing you would snitch out of someone's closet, with no regrets?
The Boyfriend's cozy old sweatshirt.

23) What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)?
No specifics. Just something timeless with great lines that goes with anything. Something that could be casual but that can also be dressed up!

*swoon*
Paige

I'm tagging some bloggers that have been regular comment-posters:
Children of the Nineties
Dumbwit Tellher
Mystery Creature
StageKid
Sunshine & Potatoes
AllieFab @ Fabyuluhs
Love All This

Fieldtrip!

Head on over to one of my most favorite blogs, coco+kelley, and check out my guest blogger post from late yesterday afternoon!

My mission: to recreate a designer deskscape look with cheap, yet chic, items...

Thank you, Cassandra, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to your fabulous blog!


*swoon*
Paige

P.S. I hope you enjoy it! I'm a little nervous... the butterflies are going nuts in my stomach.

Sustenance - Art as Food, Food as Art

Yesterday the boyfriend and I went down to the Pike Place Market on the Seattle waterfront. It was so sunny and all the produce looked amazing! We picked up fresh snapper, asparagus, and the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes I have ever seen and made a lovely dinner for two.

When I cook, I often like to play food stylist, or channel Molly from Orangette, and try to take pretty food pictures (see my attempt below of some steamed artichokes from earlier last week... with a little Photoshopping).


Sure, I'm no pro, but at least I'm practicing! I sure wish I could airbrush out that kitchen backsplash in real life - hooray for apartment living...

The aforementioned Molly writes my favorite food blog of all time. She posts weekly on Tuesdays, unforgettable words and images of her forays in cooking. Her Flickr photostream is so dreamy, full of muted Polaroids, like mini oil paintings. I easily get lost in them (in the best of ways!). I'm also obsessed with her blog because she, too, is from Seattle, and I am so much in love with this city that it seems I automatically love anyone else who loves it, too. So much love!

Anyway, I have added some swoonworthy Polaroids from her photostream & blog below. I hope you will find these photos to be as wonderful as I do, and take a minute to stop by Orangette. Even if you don't enjoy cooking, it may very well change your mind.




On an entirely different note, yesterday was the start of daylight saving time - sure, we lost an hour of sleep, but it stayed light for so long into the evening! It was still a little light at seven o'clock, even! Spring and summer are on their way! I can't wait! (How's that for exclamation point usage?)

*swoon*
Paige