Mucha.

Alphonse Mucha was born in what is now the Chez Republic. He's like, the grandfather of Art Nouveau , the gorgeous style of art popular in the late 1800's. It is ornate, sensual, and inspiring. His posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt inspired this movement that led to applications in architecture, furniture making, and jewelry, as well as painting and printmaking. The women in his paintings always have this flowing hair that sculpts itself into these great designs, they are decorated with halo-like head pieces, and always look dreamy. I want to look like a girl in a Mucha painting. Surrounded by flowers, a long flowy dress, a gorgeous head piece. Art Nouveau may be my favorite artistic style and Mucha is most definitely among my favorite artists. His style has been copied by artists world-wide, and even inspired the psychedelic posters of the 1960s. If you are unfamiliar with his work, check out The Mucha Foundation .

I Love Lucy

Yesterday would have been Lucille Ball 's 99th birthday. I am lucky enough to have a mother who is obsessed, and I mean obsessed with I Love Lucy. She used to tape the re-runs off TV on our VCR and we ended up with nine or ten VHS tapes full of episodes. If we were bored and there was nothing good on TV, or during lunch time we'd pop in a tape and watch some Lucy. Thank god when the DVD sets started coming out cause those poor VHS tapes were getting worn out! Not only was Lucille Ball incredibley funny, she was also a television pioneer. She and Desi Arnaz were the first to use the 3 camera technique, filming scenes from different angles, which is now used in every TV show ever. She also came up with the concept of syndication (again, thank god) and she was the first woman to own her own film studio, Desilu which made such shows as The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Three Sons, The Untouchables, Make Room for Daddy, That Girl, and many many more. Lucille Ball was dubbed The Queen of Comedy, and rightfully so, 50 years after I Love Lucy, it is still played on TV and she still known by everyone everywhere. Some of my favorite episodes are Lucy Tells the Truth, Breaking the Lease, and Housewarming. The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour was also great with guest stars like Talulha Bankhead, Betty Grable and Harry James, and Danny Thomas. Happy Birthday Lucy, we're still watching!

Big Girl Bonnets

I found these super cute bonnets for the "grown ups" on this great site on etsy . Made by birdylicious from Indiana, she has other bonnets in great colors as well as beanies. Ranging in price form $12 to $20, I may be purchasing one for myself.

Kiva

A few years ago my best friend got me this awesome gift certificate for Christmas and I've been able to use and reuse it over and over again. Kiva is this amazing organization that allows people like you and me to lend money to people all over the world to help them open businesses that allow them to support themselves and their families. Today I just loaned $25 to Olivia, a farmer in Ecuador who is 33 and has 4 children. In the past I've used that same $25 to help Safiatou Diarra a woman in Food Production in Mali with 6 children, the Kyambadde Aidah Group run by Ms. Aidah in Uganda who has 8 children of her own and sells Charcoal, as well as Mwantumu's Ngeta B Group run by Mwantumu who has 2 children and is in Agriculture. Every loan I have made has been paid back in full and has helped these women start or expand their business. The great thing is you can lend as little as $25 or as much as you want and you can keep loaning that same money. As soon as your loan is paid back by one group, it can be loaned to another. This truly is a gift that keeps on giving. Check it out at Kiva.org 

My cat needs one of these

I have a really cute cat. He plays fetch, drinks out of the toilet, sleeps on the coffee table, likes to lay on me after I've just worked out and am sweating and the last thing I want him to do is lay on me. But he is the cutest when he's sleeping in a circle with a kitty smile on his face and his paws twitch cause he's dreaming of playing fetch with me. So I found these really cute little kitty caves made by German artist, Dornroeschen Filzunikate called Katzenhoehle. I think my cat, Ollie is his name, would love curling up in these felted wool nests and taking a nice long nap. And he'd look even cuter (if that's possible.) Check them out at Modern Cat . 

painted furniture

I just moved into a new apartment and with that I needed some new furniture to fill it. I need end tables, a dresser, random other little things. But, as you know I am a poor college student so, I am trying to find some second hand things. I have found a few that I feel are great pieces of furniture, well made, in good shape, yet are ugly as sin. They need a paint job and some fun new knobs. I also own a desk that I love but I have wanted to paint for years. I'm nervous though, what color do I paint it? What technique can I use to spice things up? Should I do something fun with a sponge? Paint it one solid, bold color, antique it, paint it in great contrasting shades? These are a few pictures I found for some inspiration. What do you think?

Bored?

For those who are finding themselves bored with spending free time in front of the computer or television screen and feel like they need to spice things up, pick up this book. 52 Projects Random Acts of Everyday Creativity by Jeffery Yamaguchi is full of ideas to get you off the couch and into a more creative life (or at least a more creative couple of hours.) Some of his ideas include making a key lime pie, then make a box full of things to make a key lime pie, a recipe and mail it off to your friend, wake up, call in sick and use the day to do whatever it is you WANT to do. This does not include vacuuming, laundry, etc. this is a day for pure pleasure. Write some letters (your Grandmother will appreciate it!) Make a list of all the books you own and figure out which ones you haven't read. (my list would be really long.)  Check out the website first www.52projects.com. Another great website for creative ways to spend your time is this website by Keri Smith 

Speaking of Crispy Fall Bike Rides

The grocery store is less than a mile from my new apartment and once I decide on one of these truly amazing baskets from Adeline Adeline , I will be riding there daily for fresh produce and wine. Adeline Adeline is one of those unique shops you only find once in a while. Beautiful designs that you are excited to buy, use, wear, and show off.  This beautiful Klassic Klara three speed with fat tires screams to be rode all over town while jingling this brass Crane Bell . I am especially excited about the baskets though. These two baskets are both detachable, so you can hook them to your bike, bring them into the store to fill with baguettes, tomatoes, crusty bread, olive oil, and Pinot Noir, then reattach to your bike and ride home. All while staying safe in these too stylin' to call helmets helmets . With their polished brim, they look less like helmets and more like chic caps.They even offer these great helmet covers that mask the helmet look. Check out their website , pump up your tires, and ride your bike all over town.

perfect fall clothes

Here in Kansas City it has been like, 180 degrees during the day for the past two weeks. It is awful and I am dreaming of fall. Golden leaves, pumpkins on front stoops, cripsy bike rides, and my favorite of all sweaters, boots, and scarves. So here are my picks for the perfect fall outfit. Loving this plaid shirt and olive green cardigan by j. crew , a pair of perfect jeans with these amazing tall tabacco boots by Ugg, and this great carry everything bag by Fossil . Now if it would only drop 50 degrees so I can rock it.

Ramos

Well, I've never been much into sports but watching The World Cup this year for the first time was pretty exciting. The United States needs to get with it when it comes to "futbol," cause American Football has nothin' on these guys. That final game between The Netherlands and Spain was pretty intense, but I have to say Sergio Ramos made it even more interesting. Cause he's such a babe. Can't wait to watch more of this guy!