Currently Loving: Embroidered Book Covers

I am completely obsessed with these beautiful embroidered book covers from Penguin. These are at the top of my graduation gift wishlist!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Emma by Jane Austen (I love her multicolored hair!)

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Graduation gift guide

In my family we give art as gifts for big events like graduation. It's a tradition that I've continued with Char (we exchanged prints for Valentine's day) and that means a lot to me. The photograph my dad got me for my high-school graduation is my absolute favorite thing in my apartment, and I love sharing the story of picking it out with friends who ask about it. There's something so meaningful about connecting events and the pieces that I look at everyday. So the top of my list for graduation is one of the beautiful paintings by Michael Carson, featured on the Jealous Curator. 

"In your face subtlety"

"Lean"

For those who are looking for something other than art, I've created a gift guide with everything under $200 (most are under $100). 

Wearables

Twig bobby pins, woodlandbelle

Seahorse studs, catbirdnyc

Happy bag, dooney and burk (via bleachblack) 

Speckled egg silk scarf, shabd

M&Co. Watch Bodoni, MoMA

Housewares 

Yarn and Needle Plates, poketo

Campfire candle, catbirdnyc

Poulain Tape Dispenser, anthropologie

Leather journal, julieboyles

For the graduates of the male persuasion

Tie bar, nikolai rose (via heartoflight)

Camera case, artemis leatherware

Hand printed rocks glasses, vital

Spring Tidings

It's rainy in New Haven, (may showers bring...may flowers?) and I've got a mountain of work to do but we had our senior dinner for Branford College last night and I'm feeling very nostalgic and not at all inclined to do said work. I've holed up in the library for the day, hoping that other people working will inspire me to do the same. For now, some pictures from the end of March.

Eggs blackstone from the pantry

Cinnamon roll pancakes from the pantry

Rainy library windows

Books for a paper on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

Harkness Tower as we left the senior dinner last night

Etsy Shopping

Some new favorite etsy stores!

Kate Broughton: cards, buttons, and amazing nail transfer

A Merry Mishap: beautiful geometric jewelry

Golden Ponies: handmade leather goods in a rainbow of colors

Tapestry Vintage: designer vintage

Most found via tydepool

A little help for the guys

Since I am the resident shopping addict amongst my female friends they often ask me to help find specific things. This does not happen with my male friends. They just say: "find me new clothes" or "go shopping with me pleaseeee." According to Char spring clothes are more difficult to find. Something about sweaters are easy and shorts are hard.

So here, I went spring shopping for all of you boys. (Also for girlfriends who get bugged about this like I do.)

1. Shorts

$195, these are from rag&bone which means they're expensive, but will probably last forever 

$148, steven alan, I like dark wash shorts, they seem fancier somehow

2. Baseball hat

$44, vintage inspired Chicago Whale's hat, Ebbets Field 

3. Comfy t-shirt

$40, I love men in stripes, from jcrew

4. Khakis

$185, lightweight, simple, easy from needsupply

5. Summer sneakers

$88, summery espadrille type things, from needsupply

6. Lightweight button down

$188, this comes in all kinds of summery color combinations, steven alan

$195, this is the good kind of pink, from our legacy

I've also pinned more options over here!

Graduation clothes, revisited

Welp I bought a dress. Or rather, I bought three dresses but one is going back.

I bought this pretty pink dress from shopbop, but it's not as pretty in real life. Sad face. Returned. 

Leah voted for this dress in a different color at some point in this embarrassingly long process. Then a few days ago I was poking around reserve refinery29, which has some pretty amazing deals and I saw one for Kenny and a formerly silly expensive dress fell right in my budget. Bought, arrived, loved.

Today I found the (2nd) perfect dress. It is bright and fun, and I like the grosgrain ribbon belt because I am preppy at heart. I do not like how straight the model's hair is. It's giving me flashbacks to bat/bar mitzvah's. But I do like neon, yay neon! Also, what color shoes do you wear with a neon dress? A post for another day!

Since my father is probably reading this, I feel I need to justify my purchase of two dresses. Yale drags our graduation festivities out for one very long weekend. We have Commencement, college graduation, Senior dinners, parties, etc. all of which is fun and I'm excited for, but hence the need for multiple dresses.

Look for Less: Elizabeth and James Clair Sandals

Along with my search for a graduation dress I'm also looking for shoes that will see me through the long weekend. I was leaning towards wedges until I saw these gorgeous chunky sandals from Elizabeth and James.

Elizabeth and James Clair Sandals, $295

I have a tendency to fall out of shoes so I like the safety of the double strap on the ankle and foot. However, I do not like the $295 price tag. Luckily, Steve Madden came up with a more affordable option. 

Steven by Steve Madden Catelena Sandals, $169

I'm holding off on actually buying shoes until I've picked my dress, but that hasn't stopped me from pinning a hundred options. 

Currently Loving: Zinke

I included a Zinke romper in my Annual Romper Hunt post, but Zinke deserves a post all to themselves.

Everything Zinke makes is silky and perfect, and exactly what I want for spring. I'm eyeing both their Port dress and Saturdays dress as options for graduation, because they fit all my criteria: loose, colorful, able to wear again. I'd definitely be wearing a slip underneath to add some heft to the material.

Port Dress, $220

Summer Crush Crop Flutter top, $77

Saturdays Dress, $208

The 4th Annual Romper Hunt

Every year, around this time in April, Miranda and I begin the Annual Romper Hunt. It starts with a casual mention of Spring Fling, the spring music festival that Yale throws on the first Tuesday of reading week. Inevitably people are disappointed with the bands playing (this year I believe it's T-Pain and Passion Pit) and complain about how they never get good bands. Which is particularly silly given that Spring Fling isn't really about the bands, it's about day drinking.

At some point it was decided that a romper is really the only appropriate outfit for Spring Fling.* So at that first mention of Spring Fling Miranda and I take to our computers in a desperate hunt for the perfect romper. I've got a jump on her this year because I think I've already found mine (!) but I'm still looking because I'm an addict and can't stop.

This is everything one could ever want in a Spring Fling romper, $63.63 from asos

Also adorable, also from asos

I wore overalls last year, best decision ever. From forever21

I am obsessed with all of zinke's gorgeous silky things, zinke

Stars from nastygal

*Disclaimer: Rompers are a bizarre piece of clothing, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them in real life. However, Spring Fling is like a wrinkle in time in which one is allowed to do any number of bizarre things that are not allowed in real life, i.e. the wearing of a romper.

Look for Less: Neon Sandals

I've seen these gorgeous Rebecca Minkoff sandals all over the place, and have had them in various shopping carts for a while now. But for some reason I have a mental block when it comes to buying sandals. Not when it comes to buying other shoes, just sandals. I realize that I will need sandals in the upcoming weeks because it's a balmy 65 in New Haven this morning and getting warmer but mental block. $125 just seems like too much for sandals, so I was delighted to see that both Zara and Topshop had jumped on the neon sandal train with two much more affordable options! 

$125, from rebecca minkoff

$49.90, from zara

$56, from topshop