Fashion: Freja for Tom Ford Sunglasses

Freja modeling fabulous round sunglasses by Tom Ford. I am in love with these glasses, this model and this photo. I fantasize about having the hair in this photo.

I’m not sure who the photographer is but click the pic to take you to the source: http://www.fashionising.com

Pat’s Hipstamatics: Cycling and Shopping

I love the composition of this shot.

Goal List: Summer 2010

Suddenly I feel as though everything is coming together for a really lovely summer and I want to make the best of it! Here’s what I have planned:

• UNPACK – One of my best friends, Sabine, will be visiting from London next month. She arrives on June 29th, two days before the boy and I  move into a new house, so getting everything unpacked and comfy in our new space will be crucial for me. I’m dreaming of crazy dinners around a big dining room table and lazily lounging with glasses of fancy French wine (Sabine is French) in our new super cozy living room. These things can only happen if I really attack our unpacking the day we move in. So yes, goal #1 is unpacking.

• BAKE – I’ll be spending a lot of quality time with the boy this summer teaching him to bake. Foccacia will be our first baking attempt after our move. Lately we’ve already delved into cupcakes, biscuits, cookies and galettes so it’s about time to move on to breads of all kinds!

• GROW – Plants, veggies and flowers! I believe the boy and I are both very excited to have a space where we will be able to grown things year round. I imagine a LOT of potted plants happening in our new space.

• DECORATE – This new move is going to give me so much more freedom to decorate than I have had in any of my previous places in the Bay Area and I’m very excited about it – as is the boy. So expect photos of our new place as I maniacally decorate and redecorate until it’s perfect – which it will never be – but I can try right?

• LOUNGE – I need more lounging and lazy days in my life. I love picnics and reading in the park; sitting and watching the water, boats and people at the ocean or the lake; playing video games on Saturdays; Flea Markets on Sundays; and just simply laying around listening to records and cuddling with my kittypup and boy.

• MAKE – We will have our own private studio space in our new place! Decked out with a desk for each of us and a small latticed in patio out back. It will be the perfect for all of my art, sewing and crafting projects that I’ve been putting off due to lack of space.

A short list of fun stuff I want to do:

• Ride my bicycle more.
• Get on my roller skates and head to Golden Gate Park some Sundays.
• Get to the SFMOMA at least once a month.
• Oakland’s First Friday’s Art Murmur Walk.
• More flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales.
• Take a sailing lesson at Lake Merritt.
• Make more Fancy Mixed Drinks, Iced Tea and fresh Lemonade and Smoothies at home.
• Create a cute area for my kittypup to curl up in the sun while we’re away during the day. He loves our company so much, but when we’re gone I want him to feel special too!
• Join a CSA for a little creative culinary push in the kitchen.

What are your goals for this summer?

Musical Artist: Blonde Redhead – New Track, New Album

Blonde Redhead are one of my favorite musical artists and their new album is coming out on September 14 on 4AD Records. It’s titled Penny Sparkle and here is the opening track “Here Sometimes”! It’s their first release since 2007′s 23 and I do like it and can’t wait to hear the album in its entirety!

Blonde Redhead \”Here Sometimes\”

A Big Change: A New Name

Hello there and welcome to Motley Stew!

I started this blog on a whim, with no fanfare or explanation, without even know what I would name it. I feel like I have a better grasp on what it is and where it is going and so I’ve done a simple overhaul. A name change!

And just so that you can get to know me and my motivation a little better:

I’m a lover of all things creative. Whether it be food, music, style, art, design, fashion, etc…I’m ALL OVER IT. I work in the music industry doing marketing and promotions and am an avid cook and baker, artist, and cyclist. I go to more concerts/shows than is healthy for my poor ears. I’m only just now starting to feel the effects of year after year of concert going – it’s not good.

This blog is my way of documenting the things that I love, covet, make and do. It’s part style blog, part lifestyle blog, art blog, music blog, and part cooking blog.

I’m a punk. I love vintage. I’m a foodie. And I ride my bike everywhere I go. It’s a hideous borrowed thing that will be replaced soon by my own little lovely lady of a bike. She’s a white and gold Matobacane that I’m working on at the moment. I crashed my old bike Pinky about 7 months ago and haven’t replaced her since. This is one project I can’t wait to share here. I’m looking forward to showing the process it takes me to get her to perfection.

The things I find myself attracted to are a motley mix – thus the name of the blog! I’m attracted to harsh, dark macabre things such as taxidermy, bones, punk and metal. But I am equally attracted to ephemeral sweet things such as sailboats, fluffy animals, lace and indie pop. I sometimes feel like I’m “all over the place” with no focus and part of the reason I started this blog was to unify my mind a little. To put all of my inspirations in one place so that I can see more clearly with it all in front of me.The hope is to end up with a cohesive style based on the things I already love and adore. I don’t want to change, I want to develop a solid groundwork to grow on.

I don’t know if anyone will read this or find it inspiring, though I would love for that to be true. This is a place that will be invaluable in helping me set the tone for all of my future projects.  And that, my friends, is enough for me.

-Grace