The Senses Five

Shorty

claire — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:13:35 +0000

Confession: Right before my senior year of highschool I cut all of my hair off, exactly like and partially because she did. And I haven’t gone much shorter than my shoulders since. Although I do love long hair, I can’t help but obsess over short haircuts. They always look so chic, feminine and just plain sexy. I think in part because you have to be confident to cut your hair short, and there isn’t much sexier than a woman oozing with confidence. Have you had short hair? Would you go short?

dream haircut: Karla’s Closet

Beautiful Maternity

claire — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:56:02 +0000

Are you dying? This is seriously the most wonderful maternity shoot ever. Of course I just melt when a big lovey pooch is involved. And it doesn’t hurt that mama Emily Newman, founder and editor of Once Wed, is gorgeous. I have to admit, I’m usually not a fan of maternity shoots. They can go so wrong so easily. But THIS, this is PERFECT! See more here.

Photography: Rylee Hitchner Photography
Styling: Joy Thigpen
Hair & Makeup: Joanna Ballentine

Yasmin Sewell Wedding

claire — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:10:16 +0000

You may not know Yasmin Sewell… but you know her. She is a constantly gracing the posts of the fancy photographers and has my dream job. And as if being a style icon isn’t enough, she also seems like one of the most down to earth chill girls in the word. So of course her wedding was super dreamy and her dress was f*ing amazing.

photos: Harper’s Bazaar

Mornings

claire — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:22:22 +0000

Since Bub started his job we’ve been getting up pretty early in the morning. There is something really nice about getting the day started before most. The streets are clear and quiet, the air is crisp, and my email isn’t filling up at a frightening pace. I can already feel myself turning into one of those annoying morning people… are you a morning person?

Goodbye Maurice Sendak

claire — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:06:14 +0000

I loved that grumpy old man as much as his I loved his books. One of the funniest interviews of all time, Maurice Sendak and Stephen Colbert.

photo: Maurice and his dog Herman - Joyce Dopkeen/The New York Times

Settling In

claire — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:10:46 +0000

It’s official, I have the home improvement bug, pinteresting my face off, wandering the halls of hardware stores with a measuring tape, stalking craigslist, and dreaming of power tools. Bouncing from one rental house to the next has never made making a house a home easy. It always seemed that the minute I started to settle in we would move. We’ve been in the house we’re in now for almost 3 years, and just confirmed we’ll be staying another year. So I’m not holding back anymore.

I tore the ugly bathroom wallpaper off and painted when we first moved in, there was no way I could live with a stars and moon border… no way. Then this weekend I finally changed out some of those awful ceiling boobs and replaced them with simple porcelain lampholders spray painted in high gloss black with some clear bulbs. What’s next? A kitchen workspace, dining room table, new rugs, paint the bedroom?

Photos: 1, 2 via emmas designblogg

Lisbon – Finale

claire — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:19:13 +0000

My Lisbon Advice: GO! Rent an apartment and make yourself at home. Wander around, get lost, sit at a cafe all day, bring a bottle of wine down to the city center at night and lounge, pick out random restaurants based on smell, bar hop in Bairro Alto, shop in Chiado, listen to Fado. I think all too often vacations are over planned or someone spends the entire time with their nose in a guide book. This is not one of those vacations. Lisbon is a manageable size with kind people, good food, and a laid back vibe. Just go with the flow and you will have the greatest time ever. We did.

I hate falling for the janky souvenir traps, so I was determined to get a few good quality items, but most importantly: Shoes! Thankfully Jordan of Oh, Happy Day was in Lisbon just before us and had posted about some amazing handmade leather shoes. I could have spent all day at We3 trying them on. I have a feeling this won’t be my last pair of Catarina Martins.

We enjoyed a stroll through the Botanical Garden, it felt like dinosaurs were going to appear at any moment. More pictures…

Why does Europe get all the cute little cars? I want an old Renault 4.

Hope you enjoyed our pictures from Lisbon! Sorry there were so many… can you tell I am new to the digital camera world?

Lisbon Graffiti

claire — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:06:42 +0000

Lisbon – Part 3

claire — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:30:05 +0000

The food! For me that is arguably one of the most important parts of travel. Many of the places I desire to go are based on food… ok, and wine. Lisbon is full of pastry shops. Little neighborhood shops have an amazing array of pastries, sandwiches, and super strong bica (shot of espresso). The most popular pastries in Lisbon are pastéis de nata, a creamy custard tart in a flaky crust. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, ugh… it is amazing.

You know when you go to a restaurant and have a really great meal that’s so simple you think you can easily duplicate, but you just never get it right. I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen with my meal at Noo Bai Cafe. Hello goat cheese and tomato sandwich on grilled bread drizzled with honey.

We stumbled upon Cervejario Pinoquio while we were out wandering around. The patio and pitchers of sangria definitely draw you in. The menu was not in English, so we just winged it based on the few words we knew and it worked out extremely well. Their sangria is hands down the best I’ve ever had and those olives were soooo good. The hunt for Portuguese black olives is on.

I was nervous about the wine situation in Portugal, only hearing about Port and other sweet wines. We must have lucked out because every wine we had was delicious and dry. We tended to stick with wines from the Douro region, which ended up being the house wine at many of the cafes and kiosks. I’m pretty sure I ordered an (insanely cheap) glass of vinho tinto 10 times a day.

Lisbon – Part 1

claire — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:12:18 +0000

Lisbon, Portugal. A place that was not on the top of our travel wish list and if not for a cheap flight and a random pick out of a hat we may have missed out on visiting what is now one of my favorite cities. We stayed in an apartment right between the two main areas we figured we would spend the most time, Biarro Alto (nightlife) & Chiado (shopping).