What I'm Loving Now

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I LOVE the knitted coffee cozies I am seeing all over Etsy right now! Not only are they so cute, but they are great for the environment instead of the cardboard holders and will keep your coffee or tea warmer longer. I really like this one shop Natalya's Studio. 


 She makes these adorable cozies in several colors.

She also has patterns you can purchase to make your own. So maybe it is time for me to get the old knitting needles out and make one for myself.  Check out her shop for knitted cowls also.. I have really wanted one, but it hasn't been that cold here in the South the last two Winters. Hopefully it will be this year so I can buy, or make one for myself.


Have a wonderful day!





Linda

UNIFORM | Kapital scarves

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The Japanese have a way of making almost everything consumable so much more desirable and exciting. The American heritage and workwear-based label Kapital is no exception. Their name is derived from the city of Kojima, known as the denim capital of Japan. Kapital has been in business for almost 30 years and makes men's, women's, and unisex clothing and accessories, but I have yet to find any of the women's stuff on the internets outside of Japan. Unionmade carries some of their men's collection here in the U.S. (including a few of the above scarves) and Anthem of London retails a selection as well. As much as I'd love one of their scarves, I'm dying to get my hands on some of their past catalogs, especially Surf Cowboys and Colorado Hippies (!!!). Their women's and men's lines are wild, definitely worth a look online. But seriously, two tickets to Kojima please.

Update: Reader Martha B. of Nibsblog just sent me a photo from a Kapital catalog she kept. Incredible.

Q&A | Erin Austen Abbott

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I get really excited when I discover people doing exciting things in unlikely places, well, not unlikely places so much, as just parts of the country that don't get enough coverage. Not only is Erin Austen Abbott doing one super exciting thing, like founding and running Amelia, a store out of Oxford, Mississippi that purveys unique goods and gifts (like these vintage push pins and this flask and this letter opener!), but she's done so much cool stuff that I feel an Erin Austen Abbott list is in order:

1. Has an MFA and is a talented fine art photographer.
2. Was tour manager for bands such as Ok Go and Hot Water Music.
3. Founded Amelia, named it after both Earhart and Bedelia.
4. Co-founded rad company called chARTer nannies, for people who want creative nannying while traveling (brilliant idea!) and continues to do a little travel nannying on the side for bands like The Flaming Lips and Mates of State.
5. Has son named Tom Otis.

And she's generous too! She is offering Tomboy Style readers 20% off from Amelia with the code TOMBOY. Thanks Erin!

If not in Mississippi, I would live in...somewhere next to a river in the mountains or Vashon Island, off of Seattle.

My dream holiday would be to...go camping at Lake Bled in Slovenia or travel around Ireland and Wales then over to London to attend Wimbledon.
   
My current obsessions are...

Food: Avocado, now and forever. Love the stuff. I’ve also been cooking a lot of leeks recently.
 
Music: Tycho (perfect for listening to around the house or on long quiet drives) and the Away We Go soundtrack (I listen to this every night as I'm giving my son, Tom Otis, his last feeding before bed).
 
Fashion: Moccasins, penny loafers, jeans always, and a big bulky sweater. I also love my heart shaped locket earrings by designer Erica Weiner and sharks teeth earrings by Laura Roebuck, from Amelia. I also love little bags (plural) in my purse, to keep it organized, which can double as a clutch if need be. I love button up shirts and polka dots. The two together just makes it that much better. Basically I channel my inner John Hughes character daily. 
 
Retail Stores: Amelia of course. I have really been into children's stores lately, since having Tom Otis. Minilulu is very well curated. I also love Estella and Darling Clementine.

I channel my childhood self when I...think about games and activities for my son. And also when I'm singing him silly songs. I write like 20 songs a day... all to the tune of wheels on the bus. I’m so original, right??

The fictional characters I most relate to is...Samantha Baker from Sixteen Candles, Angela Chase from My So-Called Life, Felicity from Felicity, and not sure how much fiction is woven into a David Sedaris book, but I can totally relate to that guy and his stories.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...like to spend it exploring. City, nature, doesn't matter which. I don't sit still well unless I'm camping. I can sit around a camp fire for hours.

My favorite quality in a man is...humor.

My favorite quality in a woman is... creativity and independence.

I'm terrified of...not having a new, creative idea every day. And worse than that, I'm worried some of my ideas will never come to fruition. And rats.

My dream car is... I have a bit of a vintage car obsession. As a child, my favorite car was always the Porsche 911 and 912. I've since found love for a vintage BMW 3 series and the 2002. To top it off, I would love to own a vintage Land Cruiser one day. I'm also really into vintage Vespas.

My cocktail of choice is...a Dark and Stormy. There's another drink I really love, but if you are a serious wine drinker, please move onto the next question. You won't be happy with me. I call it Water Valley Sangria. It's just red wine, ginger ale and some frozen berries and/or peaches over ice. I don't know if I made this up or if it's a real drink from somewhere, but it's really good and great for summertime porch drinking in the South.
My celebrity crush is...Josh Duhamel, Scott Speedman, Brian Williams (yes the newscaster/ funny SNL host) and the fictional character Jake Ryan in 16 Candles.

My beauty product of choice is...I’m really into the line Cold Springs Apothecary that I carry at Amelia. They make a wonderful dry shampoo and I love their face line of toner, eye cream and night cream.  
My friends and I like to...have coffee dates and talk about everything!

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1950's without a doubt. I love the design from that era.
As a teenager I was totally into...planning and writing. I have always been a planner. I also had a radio show all through high school and college on the NPR affiliate station in Tampa, so I was really into working on that. And making mix tapes for friends.

I tend to splurge on...travel and nice meals. I don't need expensive things around me, but a great trip and a nice meal, I'm all for it.
 I'm not afraid to get dirty, (and well, I have four brothers, so being anything other than a tomboy was not in the cards)...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.

GEAR | Surfboard Bags by The Critical Slide Society

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I am loving these canvas board bags ($114 for short, $149 for long) by the Australian surf clothing and accessories company The Critical Slide Society. I know surfing is the last thing on most of the country's agenda in early February, but it's a nice thing to daydream about, isn't it? TCSS also makes really great men's board shorts, wovens, hats and tees—some of it highly borrowable for a girl's closet, given the right ensemble.

UNIFORM | Paddle Tennis

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Photo via Blogging Los Angeles.

It wasn't until I started playing Paddle Tennis in L.A. that I realized there are actually two sports by the same name. There's Paddle Tennis, which is popular in Los Angeles among many other beach cities in the world, and then there's Platform Tennis, a similar sport, that many people call paddle—and is popular in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The differences are small and include court size and whether one may play the ball off the caged fence, but mostly the difference lies in the season. Platform Tennis is a winter sport played on a heated platform and often accompanied by hot cocoa, and Paddle Tennis is more of a sunny summer sport. Both games can be super fast and a great work out, but I have to say Paddle Tennis has become my most favorite sport. I play once a week in West Hollywood at Plummer Park (there's only one court there, so don't tell anyone), but the best public courts in L.A. are definitely at Venice Beach where you can watch some crazy games. I combed through a bunch of the history of the two sports and the best thing I came across was this quote from an old article from the USPTA:

"Unlike tennis players, paddle-tennis players like to dress down, perhaps because of the beach's influence on the game. And the strict etiquette that is required in tennis is almost completely ignored. [Players] are renowned for  screaming—at teammates—during matches. Tournaments get nasty—players have been known to purposely smash overhands at opponents' torsoes from point-blank range."

Maybe that's the reason John McEnroe likes paddle? Do you guys play paddle? If so what kind and where?

Paddle tennis: Knockaround sunglasses ($14); KP MacLane polo shirt ($155); Sid Mashburn Day-Glo Tretorn Nylites ($95) or Classic white Tretorn Nylites ($60); Bird Audio Cube ($90); McClure's Bloody Mary Mixer ($13).

Platform tennis: Saint James hat ($25); Wool blanket ($245); William J. Mills & Co. canvas duffel ($136); Enamel mug ($18); Boast long sleeve polo ($78).

NOISE | Kids In LA by KISSES

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What is better than when your favorite band drops a new album? NOTHING. Kisses is releasing their sophomore album Kids In LA on May 14th! The album art is spectacular—drawing on cigarette and liquor advertising of the 1970s and 1980s and Giorgio and Chris as inspiration—and the tracks are all incredible. The dance pop duo made up of Jesse Kivel (an actual LA kid) and Zinzi Edmundson (legitimately from Rhode Island) worked on the album, co-produced by Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne and Tim Larcombe, over the last two years with a thematic focus on the starkness of wintertime in Southern California (check out the album trailer to get an idea). The best part of Kisses is that despite both of their enormous talent quotients, Jesse and Zinzi are some of the funniest, nicest, most down-to-earth people ever. Oh, and Zinzi also pens the ridiculously great blog Treehouse too. Triple threats! Over the next few months, their single The Hardest Part will carry you to the 5/14/13 release date. I've already listened to it 90 times.

The Most Intimate Way to Paint with Pastels

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'Sing Out Loud'       8x8       pastel      ©Karen Margulis   $75 buy here

It's true. Pastel is a very sensual medium. When painting with a pastel stick there is nothing between you and the paper. No brushes, no mediums, no mixing of color....just sticks of pigment on a surface. A Pastel artist is up close and personal with a painting.  It's one of the things I love about pastels.  I didn't think painting with pastels could get even more intimate until I discovered a new way (for me) to apply pastels.

Painting with the dust of a pastel!

'Hunker Down'         6x6       pastel   $55 Buy Here

I'm in love all over again! This week I blogged about the Dusting technique and creating paintings and special effects by shaving pastel and pressing it into the painting.  This is a little different. For these two bird paintings I used the dust and painted with my fingers. Now there is truly nothing between the paper and pastel.  Here is what I did:

• I used Canson Mi-Teintes paper since I would be blending and wanted a non sanded surface. I tried the bumpy side to introduce some texture. I used a brown paper because that's what I had!
• For my pastels I used my 'Box of Bits'  the little pieces of leftover or broken bits of pastels that I saved for something. Now I have something to use them for.
• I didn't shave pastels to get my dust although you could, instead I crushed the little pieces to make piles of pastel powder. I put the piles of powder into a foam meat tray. 
• For the top bird I crushed the pastel into my palm but found I had to clean my hand in between every color change. I preferred preparing the piles of color in advance.
• I painted by dipping my thumb or forefinger into the pastel and smearing it on the paper. I used my finger like a brush. It was like finger painting with pastel dust! 
• I found that each pastel type made different marks. I loved the effect of the softer buttery pastels such as Great Americans. If there with small uncrushed bits, they made nice juicy marks.
• I did take a pastel pencil at the end to draw in a few details/lines but other than that it was all finger painting.
• For the chickadee in the snow I dusted (shaved) pastel and pressed it into the painting with a palette knife.

DISCLAIMER:  I did not use gloves. I used some hand barrier cream. I don't think I would use this technique exclusively unless I wore gloves but used sparingly I would definitely try to incorporate it into a painting.  It was a lot of fun and it really got me up close and personal with my subject! It's just another tool for my toolbox!