When looking for visual inspiration I often pull out my back issues of Vogue (I have, uh, a LOT) and the December 2003 issue of US Vogue is one that I always pull first. My favorite childhood book was Alice in Wonderland (it’s still one of my favorites – definitely top 3) and while there have been many visual interpretations of Lewis Carroll’s classic story, I never cease to be inspired by this spread by Annie Leibovitz.

If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see? – Alice

Of course, I’m excited to see Tim Burton’s interpretation this coming weekend – and, if that wasn’t enough, new Penguin clothbound classic titles will be released this month, including Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. It’s definitely on my wish list!

la cucina :: culinaria spain

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love cookbooks – I love reading them, looking through their gorgeous photography and/or illustrations, cooking from them, and I love admiring them on my bookshelf. There are so many gorgeous books out there simply dripping with inspiration – an hour or two in the cooking aisles at the bookstore and I come away wanting to pull out the sketchbook as well as my All Clad.

I Know How to Cook :: The Patisseries of Paris (cover design by the uber-talented Jessica Hische)

Complete Thomas Keller (The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon) :: Vefa’s Kitchen :: The Country Cooking of France

all images from barnesandnoble.com

(all images from papermojo.com) from top to bottom: asian lattice print, peacock damask print, lustre print, rossi manuscript print, spirograph print, midas touch lotka print

When in need of a little inspiration, one of my favorite things to do is to swing over to one of our local stationery boutiques to browse large sheets of patterned paper. It’s no secret that Jonathan and I are serious paperphiles, and the danger of seeking inspiration at said local stationery boutiques is that I typically come home with far more than I actually need.

Online paper browsing is far less dangerous for me. Papermojo.com is one of the best online sources for fine papers from a variety of sources, and it never fails to inspire. The patterns shown above are some of my current favorites (and the gold/neutral color palette is exactly what I’ve been loving as of late).

Our anniversary is this week, and to celebrate it Jonathan and I will be heading out of town for a few days. I’ll leave you all with this fun batch of wedding inspiration – all in black and white (our own wedding color palette).

Enjoy!!

From top:

calligraphy by Neither Snow
invitation by Hammerpress via 100 Layer Cake
photo by La Vie Photography for Junebug Weddings

cocktail bow by etsy seller Little White Dresser
bouquet photo from Martha Stewart Weddings
butcher price signs available at Three Potato Four

bouquet photo from Martha Stewart Weddings
bib necklace by etsy seller Bejeweled Bespoke
“to have and to hold” bag by etsy seller melangerie

invitation by Perky Bros., printed by Studio on Fire
Louboutins available at Barneys
bouquet photo from Martha Stewart Weddings

gray suiting by jcrew
calligraphy by Neither Snow
cake by The Cake Girls

Last week we posted about Seb Lester and his ‘Keep it Simple” poster. We couldn’t leave it at that. We had to post more of his gorgeous work. Above is his “Home Sweet Home” poster that not only is a beautiful type specimen but also uses Mirri paper which changes colors depending on the lighting conditions. See this video of the poster for the full effect – very cool!

Another great piece in metallic gold.

Similar style in metallic silver…

…and a beautiful inspirational piece, where in the artist’s own words, he said, “I like to think that almost anyone can achieve almost anything in life. It’s all about passion, focus, and commitment. I wanted to design a strong, dynamic, inspirational poster that referenced this popular self-help adage.”

A nice thing to remind ourselves every once in a while.

All the works can be found and bought at Seb’s website or at the Keep Calm Gallery. {images from here}

In thinking about our upcoming Chicago trip, I figured I should really check to see what the current exhibitions are at some of the art museums. While I always love to go spend a day at the Art Institute of Chicago, when I saw that there is currently an exhibition about industrial designer and inventor Buckminster Fuller at the Museum of Contemporary Art, I realized that if we are able to spend any time in a museum it would be fascinating to see this exhibit.

Buckminster Fuller has always intrigued me – I think because my Dad, as industrial design graduate himself, used to talk about ‘Bucky,’ his geodesic domes, and his forward-thinking designs. Many of Fuller’s designs and ideas were not only ahead for his time but are ahead even by today’s standards. Just look at his design for a high speed, fuel efficient car (30MPG) that could carry 11 – and this was in 1933!

I love the geometric details and futuristic aspects of his many of his designs. I think the retro-future look (which seems to be a favorite of mine) would be really fun to pull into a couples’ wedding stationery – all those fun geometric shapes and patterns would look amazing.

The USPS stamp that was created in his honor is great too.

It’s been a crazy few weeks. And the next few months promise to be just as crazy. Susy, the designer behind  SusyJack, blogged a bit today (on her inspiring blog, heysusy) about her own business and the new ventures that she’s moving forward with, and this little bit at the end of her post expresses exactly what I needed to hear today:

…while I know I could be looking at these new ventures as overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, I think, this time, I’ll just go with it, savor it, and believe in it.

I feel so encouraged by that little snippet and it’s going to be my anthem for the next few months (because I couldn’t express it any better on my own if I tried).