The Remainders of the Day

How cute are these Vanessa Barrantes dresses from LES shop Lola y Maria? I am pretty much smitten with their entire dress section.


And! I finally got my hands on the revamped Marie Claire with Miss Maggie Gyllenhaal on the cover, and I loved it. I loved it so much that, for the first time ever, I signed up for a subscription (just $12 these days). In the past, I've found MC to be too predictable and less quirky than I generally like my fashion magazines to be. A little too much Nine West and Paris Hilton, if you will. But some of the changes to the magazine – the front of the book shopping pages (like the photos of models' off-duty outfits), the feature on how Muslim women shop, the revamped 101 Ideas section – seemed fresh and interesting. I give it two green thumbs up.


Design*Sponge posted a great little flickr tour of her new Pamela Barsky piggy bank hanging out around her apartment. Of course, now I want the piggy bank too. (It's so cute!) But what caught my eye even more was D*S's Amy Ruppel artwork (above), and so now I'm desperate for some Amy Ruppel for my own walls. Amy's next online art sale will start September 13 – consider my calendar marked.


Style Bytes had posted this picture above from Norwegian Elle, and it struck me immediately. Maybe because pretty 60s shapes are so oversaturated at the moment, this hippie 70s look seems very cool and fresh? (Sorry, I know, I know. We're still doing 60s! My ballet flats haven't even arrived; it's not time to move on yet.) Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the 70s come around next. I love the line of the long dress and the wide-leg jeans – it's a good alternative for when you're tired of looking like a lady.

Okay, back to the pretty, idealistic 60s. Treats & Treasures posted directions on making this ribbon-tie shawl and I think it would be so great over a little vintage dress. Preferably at a date at a drive-in movie theater, if possible.


For more fun crafts, I suggest you head to the new Craft Zine, from the creators of the always inventive Make, a website that Mike reads religiously. The Craft blog is run by Miss Coquette herself and has already featured lots of fun stuff like free vintage knitting patterns and how to make a very cool-looking garden hose vase. Also this really adorable plush S'more (below) by Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane, which made us smile almost as much as the Cute Overload post where the fat Korean baby eats a puppy.



And finally! I love this DIY pencil roll from One Hour Craft. Of course, knowing me, it will actually take about four hours to make, but I think it could be the perfect thing for toting around my colored pencils. Which I really don't use for anything except random coloring. Though one day I hope to use them for fashion illustrations. Ah, dreams.