Book Art – Heroes of The Negro Leagues
It’s a well known fact, I am constantly buying books. It’s also well known that I don’t always read them. Here’s why. As a consummate bargin hunter and self proclaimed re-purposer, one of my favorite things to be on the lookout for is cheap books. Bargin books with great illustrations are ideal buys for the design on a dime junkie. I have stacks of them just waiting to be used. Simply find a book with illustrations or photos you like and cut them out for easy framing. For little money down and a minimal work you’ll have one of a kind art in your home. I scored this on the 75% off rack at the New Orleans Museum of Art Gift Shop last week.
The book chronicles the unsung heroes of the negro leagues of baseball including Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. The entire book is comprised of prints of original watercolor images of the stars done in baseball card style by Mark Chiarello. They’re now out of print. How great would a series of these look in a little boy’s room? Or a pee wee baseball club house?
Creative people – Lizzie Ford Madrid
Some people are just naturally creative and it seeps into everything they do. Take my good friend Lizzie Ford Madrid. A talented photographer, she’s recently moved back to New Orleans and has started her own wedding photography business. (She did my photos for my website!) Here’s a sampling of her recent work. And yes, that’s me and my dog. It made the perfect Christmas card!
I was recently at her apartment and was admiring her organizational skills. As you would expect she owns quite a few cameras. Struggling for a way to keep them easily accessible and yet out of harm’s way, her boyfriend found some old wooden rail ties which he refinished and bolted them to the wall (sorry ladies, he’s taken). Gotta love custom shelving. Read more…
Artistic Resources from the Chimps
In trolling the marketing blogs for work the other day I came across these gems. Check out the resource guides that MailChimp makes! I’m loving the designs they do. Branding themselves as a cool, hip and trendy company, they make everything about their public persona so fun, user friendly and artistic. Here’s a sampling of my favorites. I’d like to get some of them printed out and framed. Who’s with me?! To see them all go here.
Lustworthy this week
I’m lusting after this. All of it. Every aspect of this banner ad from Z Gallerie makes me wanna scream YES! I love it all, the color scheme, the font, the fauxidermy, the prints, all of it. Bravo Z Gallerie, bravo.
Operation: I was bored with my room
Being sick is no fun. Being confined to your bed for a week is also no fun. This was my life not too long ago. As I laid there in a sinus pressure and drug induced haze I had no choice but to stare at the state of my room for more hours than I’d like to admit. So, as soon as I was feeling mildly better I overexerted myself and spent 4 hours pushing drawers, shelves, hauling stacks of books and moving pictures until it all looked better. Here’s the result. Thoughts?
Scenes from a life
I’ve had a few requests recently to share more of my life and not just the things I wish were in it. So below I’ve handpicked a few of my shots from life in New Orleans and Louisiana. I regularly post pictures of things that inspire me (or are just hilarious) on my Twitter feed. You can follow me @dominiqueellis.
Jade, the family dog
Easter Weekend, Louisiana style
Dad's famous 'Manshack', Audubon Park, view of my daily commute
Scenes from the apartment
Lustworthy this week
I’m going to try and return to my Lustworthy posts and get one up each Monday. Today I’m lusting after this burst of colorful delightness. A friend sent me this image with a short note – “thought you’d like this”. Boy was she right. A while back I purchased 10 or so paper globes in varying sizes and colors (thank you Martha Stewart wedding designs!) I’m thinking with a few more shapes and colors I could rig something like this. Dare to dream.
Art in Bloom and Perch
Recently, I went to the New Orleans Museum of Art’s preview gala for their Art in Bloom exhibit – a nearly museum-wide display of florals all arranged by local artists, florists and decor houses. My favorite was, of course, the table settings. Blending interior design, the art of entertaining and gorgeous flowers I must have spent the bulk of my time in there (well there and the scotch tent). Here are a few of my favorites.
This last one is my absolute favorite. It was designed by Perch, an antique and contemporary design store in uptown New Orleans. Located in an old house on historic Magazine St., Perch is filled to the brim with items I would love to find in my apartment. Here, a collection of what I’d buy. All of these items can be found on their website. Enjoy!
Kitchen Project – Stage 1
The roomie and I have a rather lackluster kitchen. It’s tiny. It’s cramped. It has stark white (and slightly stained) walls and fugly brown cabinets. The stove is antique (bonus!) So we’re slowly and surely working on it as much as our schedules and budgets allow. Step one was doing away with the gross faux wood curtain on a track that was in the boarded up doorway that separates the kitchen from my office. We live in a renovated shotgun/duplex, so the floor plan is a little odd to say the least. But hey, it’s got character!
The doorway was unused space and out of the line of traffic in the kitchen. Plus, we have no pantry so food storage is a major issue. The solution was simple – rip out the wooden curtain contraption and build shelves for our dishes inside the doorway. Of course the doorway was a rather unusual size and is slightly tilted as this is an incredibly old house and the foundation has settled oddly. What is a girl to do in such a situation? Call in her dear old Dad. I’m lucky that mine is not too far away. Jumping at the chance to bust out his power tools, Dad came into town for the day and had the roomie and I cutting, sanding, bleaching, drilling and measuring. The result was rather nice! We still have to paint the shelves and the kitchen itself but stage 1 is at least complete! Results below! What do you think?
Within these walls
Hey fellow apartment dwellers, I’m talking to you. Yes, you. Are you one of the angry renters doomed to a life of beige walls littered with the spackle-covered holes of your humble abode’s previous residents? Do you often stand in the midst of your rooms, wine glass in hand, and stare at your temporarily owned walls wondering “what the hell am I going to do with you?” Well ponder the age old question of how to bring some edge and personality to your walls without resorting to the all-too-oft landlord forbidden paint no more. Yes, wall decals are the answer! And where better to get them than from this amazing design stidio – Blik.
Blik has a a gobs of styles and color options to suit every taste imaginable. Here are some of my faves:
The Impromptu Hostess
Today is the first weekend of genuine warm weather and as I sit here on my porch, soaking up the delicious rays I felt it was high time I got back to you all. So today, a spring-is-here! post to (hopefully) brighten your day.
Occasionally, I like to scan lookbook.nu for inspiration. For those of you who haven’t stumbled upon this site yet I highly recommend it. Yes, it’s a site completely dedicated to the (arguably) vain and fashion obsessed hipsters out there, but I can’t help myself. I adore these kids. They put so much time and effort into blending styles and eras and making the perfect outfit. Pair that with hazy, overly romanticized photographs of teenagers in awkward broken-doll poses and I’m set for a good hour and a half of online procrastination. The girl above struck my fancy. The warm weather here has me longing to add punches of mint, coral, pink, orcre and sky blue to my attire and decor. It’s a splendid way to celebrate the new season and it makes me want to throw a party. Here are some spring toned items I’d use to have a perfect spring filled day.
Take a cue from the country chic look and head to your local florist (or if you’re like me, Whole Foods) and grab a bunch of lavender. When you get home display it in a mason jar. Take an mint green tote with you on your errands (like this one from Phillip Lim). Perfect for hauling flowers and food items home from the market.
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While you’re out running about town stop by Sucré in New Orleans and grab a box of their delicious macaroons. Almost too pretty to eat! Then once you’re home strap on one of these aprons from Anthropologie and whip up some party horderves in their colorful latte bowls. Or use them around the house. I store my lipstick collection in the light blue one on my vanity. It goes perfect with all the pink and fuchsia tones!
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Finally, send out some invites to the girls for a cocktail hour on the veranda with these personalized note cards. Throw on a bright dress and floral necklace and you’ll look the part of the perfect, seasonal hostess!
Say it’s only a paper moon
I’m in the new apartment and things are coming along….slowly. It’s hard to decorate when you’re strapped for time, money and the previous other roommate still hasn’t moved all their stuff out of the place yet. That said, the biggest challenge thus far is getting my paper lantern light hung over my bed. Considering it cost me a mere $15 at Pier One (yay fun find) one would think it wouldn’t be such an ordeal to mount. One would be wrong. After two failed attempts to get the fixtures provided in the cord kit screwed into the ancient plaster ceilings in my room I decided I’d have to be smarter than the light. So then it occurred to me – a hanging plant fixture! Duh! Sounds simple right? Not so much. I had to go to four (4!) stores to find one lonely hanging plant fixture. Apparently despite the fact that it is currently 75 degrees in New Orleans, stores just assume no one is gardening anymore. The entire garden section in every store was cleared out to make room for blow-up Santa Claus lawn decorations and aisle after aisle of Christmas lights. Cest la vie.
The lamp is up now. And I must say, it looks rather fabulous. I’m really loving this decision to put a paper lantern in my bedroom. I haven’t managed to find my camera yet (still unpacking) but I’ll post pics soon. Till then, here’s some lanterns and other fun things you can do with paper that I’m lusting after. Ooh la la.
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{Photos courtesy of: Perfectly Chic, Favors & Flowers, Elegance Redefined, Plan Your Wedding, Wedding Bee Pro}
