Christmas and Winter Style

Hello friends,

How was your weekend? Mine was one of those where you need another weekend to recover from your weekend J I do love this time of the year though so much. I love the Christmas parties and singing carols and, well, all of it… and it’s definitely a ‘good’ kind of tired I’m feeling right now.

Today, I’m loving the work of Eva Lindh, a Swedish stylist. Both her fashion and interior design photos are smashing. Here are some of my favorite Christmas and winter ones: 

Have a Lovely Much-Love Monday!

A Whole Lotta Love,

Adrienne

The Ade Braid or 'Whip My Hair'

I love having long hair, but I also love putting it up, especially in the summer. One summer, probably ten years ago, I started just twisting my hair and clipping it up with clips or bobby pins. I loved the way it looked and I loved the way that it stayed up so neatly. I could hike all day and my hair would still look exactly as it had in the morning. I began doing it fairly often, and one of my friends coined it the ‘Ade Braid’ (since my name is Adrienne, I often have friends who shorten it to Ade, Adge, or just A). 

I often get compliments when my hair is up like this. When I was in New York City one day this year, one person even snapped a few photos of it. Anyway, I’m surprised that I have never seen anyone doing anything like this. Maybe they have and I’m just not in the fashion world enough, but just in case anyone wants to ever try this, I thought I’d include a few how-to photos. I was visiting my sister this weekend with my mother and she snapped a few photos this morning as I was getting ready. Even though it looks fairly complex, it only takes 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I can even do it in around 5 if I don't do as many twists.

 I usually do this with wet hair, often because I've just gotten out of the shower... but I also find that it holds tighter when you start off with wetter hair. My hair wasn't wet this morning, but I did wet it down a bit before I started. To achieve this look, you simply take a strand of hair, twist it as shown in the picture and then clip it up on top of your head. 

Here, I've shown a few strands done. Sometimes I just leave it like this too, which is also a cute look. 

You then just continue to twist and clip. 

And then finish by putting bobby pins over any loose hairs. 

That's it. How easy was that? And it doesn't have to be perfect. That's the idea. It's kind of a unique and messy look that you can do every day or even for a special occasion. 

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and that you try it out some time. 

This post is part of Much Love Monday, so here is my heart. If you thought my hair was twisted and whipped up, Willow Smith's hair is crazier. By the way, how crazy is it that this ten-year-old's single, 'Whip My Hair' reached #11 on the charts! I guess when you have the parents she does, you're bound to have both talent and connections.

Have a lovely Monday filled with Much Love! 

A Whole Lotta Love,

Adrienne

A Little Fall Style and an Award

I love fall. There is something so magical about the season. I know its almost winter and today is December 1st (how did that happen by the way?), but until we get our first big winter storm it will still feel like fall to me. I concur with this quote by George Eliot:

"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." 

Its always fun to get out all the sweaters and scarves that I haven't spoken to since March and perhaps find some new friends too. Here are the looks that I've been loving this fall... and I'm sure these can extend into winter as well.

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 I love this jacket by Totokaelo. 

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To see more of my Fall Style Faves, go here.

Also, last week the beautiful Amy of A Daring Little Life gave me the Stylish Blog Award. If you haven't seen her blog yet, check it out! Here are the rules: Thank the person who gave you the award, tell 7 facts about yourself, give the award to 7 bloggers you just love, and leave the 7 bloggers a comment telling them they won!   

So here are seven random facts:

1) True story: My wedding ring was a fake. The back story is that we had ordered a ring online (fyi – bad idea) because I had my eye on an eternity band and I couldn’t find the right one locally. Anyway, the day of the wedding was approaching and it still hadn’t arrived. So just as a precaution, I bought a cheap fake ring at a department store a few days before the wedding. On the morning of the wedding, the ring arrived. But it was much too big! They had sent the wrong size. I was afraid it would literally fall of my finger at some point, so we went ahead and used the fake one in the ceremony. My husband and I were trying so hard not to crack up as the minister spoke of the ring saying things like ‘these precious metals symbolize the precious bond that you share as a couple’. It was even harder not to crack up when later , during the reception, everyone wanted to see my ring and then hearing them say how pretty it was. I just couldn’t tell them.... Anyway, seven years later, one of the things I find most 'precious' about my marriage is the fact that we can have fun, laugh together, and not take things too seriously – and it all started with that ring.

2) We have a skateboard ramp half-pipe on our property.

3) When I was in college, I once snuck in with a friend to a movie premier. It was for the Perfect Storm, which was filmed nearby to my school. We literally went to the film’s website, copied and pasted the logo onto a word document, wrote the word ‘staff’ or ‘press’ or something like that, cut it to form a badge, covered it in plastic wrap, and attached a string so that we could put it around our necks.  I had a large camera with a telephoto lens and my friend had a clipboard. We just walked in like we were supposed to be there. At first a person was about to stop us, but then they saw our badges and were like ‘oh, ok you’re fine’.  Later, we went back and told some friends what he had done and then a bunch of us snuck into the after-party too. Oh college days.

The proof. Forgive the really bad photos of my photos. This was pre-digital.

4) I have two copies of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone true hardcover British first editions. There were only around 300 copies printed, so yeah – I think it’s pretty cool. I also have the whole set in first editions. Now if I could only get them signed… J

5) Ok. I know this is weird, but I only had four students in my high school graduating class. Even stranger than that, is that two of us got married on the exact same day (and not to each other).

6) If you have a gallon tub of feta cheese in your refrigerator you are either: a) obsessed with feta cheese, b) are married to a Greek, or c) both a and b.  Answer is C.

7) I have been sky-diving. 

And now to pass this award on, which is always the hard part because there are so many I love, but I will pass this on to:

Heather at A Measure of...

Vanessa at Hey Lady Grey

Gaia at Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Rosemary at Content in a Cottage

Ruth at The Beautiful Life

Laura Marie at A Diary of Little Things and Curiosities

 and Pip at Pip Pip Hooray 

‘Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn’- Gore Vidal

Have a stylish day!

A Whole Lotta Love,

Adrienne

Sunday Surfing

Hello lovelies,

How was your weekend? Mine was a wonderful one in Boston filled with rare steak from Morton's and rarer books at the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair. Now I'm just relaxing from the long weekend and catching up on a little blog reading and web surfing. Here are a few lovely things I thought I'd pass along...

Once Upon by Heidi Lender:

What began as a self-imposed weekly photo assignment — “Stand on a bench. Make sure it’s Monday. Wear something pretty.” — transformed into this who-am-I photo-tale exploring the individual in various environments and apparel.
A former fashion editor and reporter on style-related subjects, I abandoned the world of words and appearances and moved to India nine years ago to study yoga and dive into the inner universe. My past and paths now collide in this project – personal façade vs. private interior.
Wardrobes and surrounding spaces are representations and reflections of who we are or who we purport to be. We explore, experiment and express the different aspects that are the ingredients of our individual, whether we are aware of it or not. Be it wild or controlled, we inevitably illustrate a part of ourselves.
The self-portrait series “Once Upon” whimsically plays upon this illustration. With a platform on which to stand, I investigate the host of personalities within, the layers that make up the self, the characters we hide, show, accept and reject, and the role that fashion and design play in molding those characters. My closet is colorful, a menagerie of clothes and accessories amassed on my journeys; though a collection untouched, unworn. Here, it has place and purpose. Headless self-portraits, piled with textures, lend a sense of objectivity, obscurity and freedom from identification.

via Happiness Is...

Nine Strange and Amazing Vacations:

1. A Vacation to the Moon

Space Adventures provides the opportunity for you to blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft for a circumlunar mission. During the seven-day space flight, which reaches top speeds of 17,000 mph, you'll see stars, the illuminated far side of the moon, and the Earth from 250,000 miles away. Candidates must train for four months alongside Russian cosmonauts at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Two seats are available for $100 million each.

2. A $1 Million Vacation

A battle is brewing for bragging rights to the most expensive vacation. The Emirates Palace resort in Abu Dhabi announced a Million Dollar Travel package that "incarnates pure opulence."Along with first-class airfare and seven nights at a giant suite at the Palace, the package includes:

Chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi.

Daily SPA treatments.

Day trip in private jet to Iran where you'll create your own Persian carpet with the country's most-exclusive and best-renowned hand-maker. Day trip to Bahrain in private jet for "a pearl deep sea experience," with the pearl hand-designed settings.

The Emirates is hoping the trip gets it a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records. But it turns out that Leading Hotels of the World has its own ode to opulence. Its $1 million Around the World in 80 Ways trip, which plays off the storied journey of Phileas Fogg, lets travelers recreate the 19th-century around-the-world fantasy experience with 21st-century comfort and flair.

3. A Vacation With Real Mermaids

At a west Florida intersection, where the 21st century runs headlong into 1947, is a roadside attraction that must be seen to be believed. There are no Disney cartoon characters or underwater mannequins, but living, breathing, bubble-blowing mermaids just an hour drive north of Tampa. Weeki Wachee Springs attracts tourists from around the world, and during its heyday attracted celebrities including Elvis Presley. But in recent times the park has fallen into disrepair and is faced with a few financial and political woes.

Weeki Wachee is a theater built into a natural spring-allowing the audience to walk into an underwater world without getting wet. With today's environmental laws, there will probably never be another place like it in the U.S. Clad in their iridescent Lycra tails, the mermaids perform choreographed routines and stories and are sometimes joined by fish, turtles, and manatees-creatures that some say inspired the original mermaid legends.

4. A Naked Vacation

A fun-but-unscientific poll found out that more Americans are open to the idea of naked vacations, a.k.a. nakations. The poll found that 48 percent of Americans would be willing to bare it all at a nude beach. That's up from 31 percent last year. Why the increased interest in nakations? Are Americans' attitudes about nudity loosening up? Or are travelers simply looking to travel light - so they can avoid the hefty baggage fees now imposed by many airlines?

All you'll need for the week (sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries) can fit in a small carry-on that will fit under the seat, avoiding even carry-on bag fees. But saving money on baggage is one thing. But what about the risk of sunburn "down there?" It's a real concern, experts say. In other words, slather it on if you take it all off.

5. A Vacation Where You Can Swim With Pigs

Swimming with dolphins? You can go one better! Visit the paddling porcines in Big Major Cay and jump in for a dip if you're brave enough. They won't bite---well, as long as you don't whisper "BLT" within earshot.

6. A Vacation In A Little People Themed Park

If you've hit up all the SeaWorlds and Wisconsin Dells of the globe, why not take a trip to a make-believe town populated by little people? According to TEA, Asia has the fastest-growing theme-park market-with 77.6 million visitors for Asia's top 15 parks alone. One of the region's biggest recent openings was the 2009 blockbuster debut of Dwarf Empire, a hilltop park in southern China devoted to-and almost entirely staffed by-people under four feet tall. The park also gained worldwide media coverage for employing many of the country's height-challenged, who traditionally have had a hard time finding work. Thanks to the park, many of China's dwarves are now gainfully employed as everything from janitors to crown-wearing empresses.

7. A Trip to Afghanistan

Although it is not considered safe for tourists at the moment, many look forward to being able to visit Afghanistan in the near future. Why? Take a look at some of the remarkable places you would be able to visit and decide for yourself. Would you take a vacation to Afghanistan? Tthe City of Screams, the Minarets of Ghazni, the Blue Mosque – these are just some of the incredible sites of Afghanistan. Astonishing lakes, ancient destroyed cities and breathtaking landscapes may persuade you to think a little differently about this war torn but still spectacular country.

8. A Ghost Tour

While Halloween brings to mind ghosts and goblins, did you know that many ghostly tours are available throughout the year? Florida offers a collection of tours and excursions guaranteed to scare up the need to plan a day trip or weekend getaway. As entertaining as they are informative, ghost tours explore paranormal phenomenon that may have you believing... or not

9. An Underwater Vacation

Talk about an extreme vacation! An Australian adventurer spent two weeks living underwater, riding a bike to generate electricity and using algae to produce oxygen! Breathing air provided by algae soaked in his own urine, "aquanaut" Lloyd Godson spent 12 days living in a yellow steel capsule submerged in a flooded gravel pit.

The 29-year-old's claustrophobic ordeal was intended to shed light on the practical and psychological challenges of living in an alien environment. His temporary home, a 10ft long box, was billed as "the world's first self-sufficient, self-sustaining underwater habitat." Back on dry land, and toasting the success of the experiment with champagne, he admitted to suffering cabin fever.

What vacation would you choose? If I had the money, I'd definitely go to the moon

A Whole Lotta Love,

Adrienne