happy friday + pleasant surprises!

Yay, I won, I won!! Almost as good as the lotto . . . almost.

Thanks to Ms. Shoo of She Breathes and Ebony of Nuvany Nice, I am the official winner of a $75 gift card to purchase some vintage goods from Nasty Gal Vintage here. She Breathes is my latest blog crush full of great fashion finds, art, design, and for my own personal use, color inspiration. Be sure to check out today's post on the gorgeous artist, Tanekeya Word and her latest works.

Now on to the tough question at hand . . . what does a girl buy? . . . decisions, decisions.

Stoned Cherrie

Love the funky color combos from Stone Cherrie's latest collection. The violet dress should be mine just because . . .

Love these . . .

vintage West African barbershop signs from Indigo Arts, sure to inspire another set of doodles in my sketchbook . . .

happy friday + imagination

It's been a busy week and I'm so glad the weekend is here. Plans for the weekend:

-Mailing off some very late gifts
-Designing some new pretty things
-Playing scrabble with the family
-Having a lil' me time with the homies (YAY!!)

And you?

such pretty images . . .

done in black and white by Géraldine Georges.

House of Machere . . .

Love the gear, dig the head wraps, want the jewelry. Find out more about this collection here . . .

SUNO

While perusing Love Made Visable (she's really got a great eye) I saw a preview of SUNO New York's spring 2009 collection and I wanted to post it here just for my own visual enjoyment. As always, I am a huge fan of the incorporation of African prints on anything, but especially in fashion. My favorite design in this collection is the black and white dress below.Check out the pocket detail . . .So pretty!

So much to like . . .

about the styling in this photo of Nigerian runway model Oluchi Onweagba . . .

photo by Bruno Sebastia

Happy Friday + thoughts of spring

Plans for the weekend:

-Frame some artwork and place on wall
-Visit Barnes & Noble for more inspiration
-Finger painting with the midget
-Making aloo pies

and you . . .

Compai

This morning while getting my etsy on I checked out this weeks Shop Live Host, Justina Blakely, DIY editor of VenusZine and quickly got acquainted with her company Compai and the crafty goodness that she has been up to. Along with her sister, Faith, Justina co-authored a series of books, 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Rock Your (Scarf, T-shirt, Denim) and designs a line of eco-friendly clothes all made from recycled textiles. Scroll down to see pics of one of the most creative boutiques I've seen designed with all recycled materials. You can check out her super cute company website here, and be sure to check out her flickr photo stream as it is filled with colorful inspirational photos of the work she does, and sneak peeks into the books . . .

Dujour Magazine . . .

another gorgeous online glossie full of great fashion spreads mixing the high, the low, and even the etsy. Check out Dujour's latest issue here and the companion blog here. . .

doodles . . .

I'm officially an addict . . .

I've got . . .

decorating on the brain again. I'm forever in love with the color combination of gray and yellow. These two rooms, snatched from my folder of lovely interiors, inspired the color scheme throughout my place. I love the mix of design and decor in the top room. The bottom room displays a great way of adding texture to the wall without all the fuss of papering the entire room. . . Will have to post some pictures of my design progress soon.

A little something, something

on my birthday wish list . . .

It's my birthday . . .

It's my birthday!!

I subscribe to the belief that life is a gift and that birthdays are reminders of another year I was blessed to live, learn, and grow from. I also believe in paying that gift forward. Today I will be donating 10% of all 2008 Aquarian Thoughts sales to an organization I feel strongly about, WBAI 99.5FM, listener sponsored Pacifica Radio. They are a repository of information, and an asset to our communities, especially in times of corporate controlled mass media. You can find out more about WBAI here.

I am also happy to announce the 5 lucky recipients of the GEO NECKLACE!! I want to thank all who participated in the giveaway. I was astounded by the amount of ladies who signed up. I wish that I could gift you all, but I will be having more giveaways in the near future (because giving feels so good), and those who participated will be the first to know when I do. And without further delay . . . . the winners are . . . .

Sonya Howard
Courtney
Patrice Yursik
Michelle Hurdak
Ailysa

Please respond within 24 hours and claim your goods! And thanks again for participating.

The Aquarian Thoughts, Aquarius Sun GIVEAWAY!!

Absolutely Beautiful . . . .

I'm sure this will be all over the web, but I'm so touched by this video I had to share . . .



Click here for details on the music and the making of the video . . .

Janine Rewell

I saw this while browsing It's Niice That, one of my new favorite blogs and wanted to share. This illustration of wood and ink was made by graphic designer Janine Rewell. A perfect find for the interior design lover with an artistic eye..... so much more inspiration to be found at her website . . . .

Absolute gorgeousness....

from the lookbook of Pippa Small. Finally something pretty enough to make me want to design . . .