in rainbows

making rainbow cupcakes has been on my culinary to-do list since last september when i first saw a tutorial on the dainty squid. to be honest, i'm not much of a cake baker unless it's for quite a few people, so i knew the best time to make these cute cuppies would be when i had my nieces for the day.

i watched the girls this past weekend and lined up a few fun activities for saturday. in addition to baking the cupcakes, we also got rainbow manicures, took a trip to a converted opera house used book store, enjoyed homemade ice cream at an old fashioned ice cream parlor, went to the park, and had a fun movie night (fantastic mr. fox is fantastic).

i made a concerted effort to film snippets throughout the day in the hopes of making a cute video for the girls. i was completely inspired by bleubird vintage's iPhone videos this past week and i've always wanted to make a family video with she's a rainbow by the rolling stones, so...


She's A Rainbow from Megan Charters on Vimeo.

i shot everything on my iPhone and used the 8mm app to post-process the clips before editing the film in iMovie. it all came together really easily and i think it turned out pretty sweet. if you look closely, you can spot a cameo of my oldest niece (who was at work all day - boo) dressed as a pirate. classic.

i hope you had a fun weekend!

estate sale finds // 07.09.2011

i say 'estate sale finds,' but really, i brought nothing home from this sale but snapshots and an imagination run wild. before heading to hillsboro to save the bottle rocket motel last weekend, i went to a few estate sales with my friends, one of which was in an 1887 home in a historic neighborhood.

i almost felt as if i were entering crotchety mr. pendergast's dilapidated manor (please tell me how much you love pollyanna -- i can't be the only one).

everything was faded.

and bare.

and quiet.

the house was full of the clutter that fills a home over 124 years, but i couldn't focus on books and cutlery and maps when there was such a haunt to explore.

there were so many small, out-of-the way rooms and views.

i was particularly taken with this room. as soon as i saw the tennis rackets and the suit jackets, visions of a melancholic richie tenenbaum, former tennis prodigy, filled my mind.

everything was a bit grey gardens meets the royal tenenbaums.

an eerie perfection.

i would have loved to have seen this place in all its splendor, but i suppose i'll have to settle for a ghost.

the library // sac en plastique

a patron left a plastic grocery bag just outside of the library today and later called to see if it was still there. my co-worker had the very good fortune of assisting this patron with his inquiry.

after the grocery sack was located, the patron asked what the bag contained. he wanted to know if it was worth his driving 25 minutes back to the library to fetch the contents.

contents: 2 (open) boxes of crackers, partially eaten; 1 (open) container of cookies, partially eaten; 1 (covered) cereal bowl.

the patron decided that it wasn't worth his while to drive back for his bag, but could we mail the contents to him?

after a polite refusal, my co-worker offered to store his goods in our lost and found box, where they would be safe for 30 days, until he could make it back to the library. the questionable freshness of the perishable items aside, the patron agreed to this compromise only if his name (first and last) and phone number were clearly identifiable on all his items.

his final request? "could you wash my dish? it's gonna get real stinky in a few days."

the exceptional internet // photography edition

if you know me, then you know i take pictures of everything (much to the annoyance of those around me, i'm sure). i just like to capture the world around me in stylish, nostalgic, quirky, and beautiful ways and it's never been easier for the amateur shutterbug -- there are so many great photography tutorials, apps, projects, and accessories around the interwebs these days!

here are just a few of my current favorites:

my new obsession is the gif shop app for the iPhone. the app creates animated gifs on the fly from still shots and allows you to upload your creations to facebook, twitter, and tumblr or you can send animated texts. win. i made this simple animated gif in a matter of minutes during an extremely boring webinar yesterday - giving the librarian finger has never been so amusing to me.

speaking of animated gifs, cinemagraphs seem to be all the rage right now and i so want to make one (weekend project?). cinemagraphs are similar to animated gifs, but a bit more refined and definitely more subtle. photojojo has a tutorial and from me to you is a tumblr chock-full of gorgeous and mesmerizing examples of cinemagraphs (like the one above).

i'm kind of in love with this iPhone case by drop it modern (reviewed here by totally rad!)

matt richardson from make has a short and sweet tutorial on how to create pretty bokeh effects in your photography. yes, please.

i need to frame this manual photography cheat sheet by miguel yatco. for reals.

i'm also really loving the diptic app paired with instagram; it's a nice way to combine my gazillion (give or take a few) photos into one.

and finally, in honor of polaroid week, here's a nifty little video on how the impossible project makes polaroid film | via boing boing

saving the bottle rocket motel

my love for wes anderson is no secret. his films, to me, are perfectly executed, perfectly styled, and perfectly cast. so, when i came across an article in the dallas observer detailing the potential loss of the iconic motel from wes anderson's directorial debut film, bottle rocket, i knew i wanted to help.

things got even better when the alamo drafthouse cinema got involved and offered to extend their summer rolling roadshow for a special showing of the film at the motel, which just happens to be a mere hour south of dallas. road trip!

a few friends and i headed south for the night toward the days inn in hillsboro.

it was great seeing so many fans of the film showing up from across the country: texas (of course), but also alabama, georgia, and arizona.

it was also pretty great to be able to walk around and see where the scenes were shot.

in a crazy twist of fate, the temperature was actually quite tolerable last night - there was even a breeze!

my friends and i got to meet robert musgrave, who played bob mapplethrope in the film. he was so cool and chatted with fans about scouting locations with wes anderson and owen wilson, staying on set (or not, as was his case, much to luke wilson's chagrin), and who had crushes on whom.

he signed my commemorative poster...

and sneakily added a moustache on future man (his brother in the film). awesome.

instead of previews and commercials, the pre-show included clips from all anderson's films and the many commercials he's directed. of course, we also got to see the now famous alamo drafthouse psa, which is so hilarious to me (here's the censored version).

right before the show, we all got treated to nose tape. exactly!

the movie was even better viewed in a field with like-minded fans.

it was late when the show ended, but we stayed for awhile just walking around again, finding more shot locations around the motel.

it's fun being a fan.

sparkle on, america

things that make me feel american, in no particular order:

(via)

stars and stripes and glittery sights | liberace. oh, my, need i say more?

patriotic ditties | little edie beale was amazing! if you have never seen grey gardens, carve out some time and visit the beales on hulu immediately.

(via)

americana decor | red, white, and blue? yes, please.

picnic foods | solid potato salad by the ross sisters. how many times have i watched this since seeing it on ranch dressing with eartha kitsch last year? too, too many. eartha, i cannot thank you enough for sharing this bit of internet kitsch!

fireworks | i hope you have a fun and safe holiday!

house hunting

despite the holiday weekend and steadily rising temperatures, my friend and i decided to wander aimlessly through historic neighborhoods in search of estate sales and garage sales. needless to say, we found not a single vintage ware.

since we were already in one of our favorite neighborhoods, we decided to hunt down the exact location of one specific mid-century home among so many other gorgeous mid-century homes.

sometime last year, i was in this same neighborhood for an estate sale and i got lost.

i have to say, it's the best place in which i've ever found myself disoriented.

on one of my many turns and u-turns and three-point-turns, i found myself on a shady cul-de-sac.

the cul-de-sac was actually a small roundabout with what seemed like a hidden corner.

tucked back in the hidden corner was the most amazing mid-century home i had ever seen in real life.

i literally stopped my car to admire this architectural wonder of the 1960s for a full five minutes, my mouth slightly open, i'm sure. i felt as elizabeth bennet must have upon seeing pemberley for the first time.

after getting similarly disoriented (this time on purpose), my friend and i finally found my mid-century dream house. the trees, the lawn, the clean architectural lines, the glass-walled dining room filled with vintage furniture... i've never seen anything so happily situated.

i'm tempted to try to contact the owner and ask questions and demand interior photos. i can imagine room after room filled with items similar to those in my 1955 house beautiful ads and those are happy thoughts, indeed!

i often find myself torn between my dream house being a small arts & crafts bungalow or a larger mid-century ranch-style home. as a singleton, i lean toward the small bungalow; if i ever have a family, i'd like a mid-century brady-style house. compromise, right?

do you live in your dream house? do you have a dream house style? i'd love to hear about it!