Petite Company: Dear Hancock

The National Stationery Show took place not too long ago. I have been following the recaps by Nole of Oh So Beautiful Paper these past few years. One of my favorite companies from her review was Dear Hancock.

As usual, I also like to search for any peeks into the home lives of small business owners. Here is the creative work space of Dear Hancock owners,  Gwendolyn Mason and Earnest Merritt:

{ First four images by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper; 

 last two images by Stephen Chiu for Design*Sponge }

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Petite Business: Lamb's Ear Shoes

I do not know know whether I should thank Miss Moss or regret reading her post on Lamb's Ear Shoes. Seattle is one of my favorite cities,  so I am even more excited to learn about this boutique. I will be sure to pay this shop a visit on my next trip to the Emerald city.

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Petite Maison: San Francisco

I enjoyed "touring" Chelsea's home; so bright, airy and stylish for a 430 square feet apartment.Be sure to check out more images of her pad here.

 

Can we pause for a moment and admire the shelves of shoes?

{ Images by Lindsay Tella for Apartment Therapy }

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Petite Chic: Camile Miceli

I first read about Parisian Camille Miceli over a decade ago, when she worked in public relations for Louis Vuitton. She has since gone on to design jewelry, and now Miceli is the artistic director of costume jewelry at Christian Dior. I saw her in a recent issue of Harper's Bazaar and thought, "Wow! This femme is chic-er than ever!" I think her best accessory, though, is her smile...

Two takes on a jacket:

 

 

{ Photo credits, in order of appearance: ELLE;  Red Fashion; Madame Figaro; 

Ameblo; Garance Dore; French Vogue; Andrane de Barry via Pure Trend }

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Petite Eats: Quinoa for Breakfast

Confession: Eating is one of my hobbies. While I do not stuff my face silly with food, some of the finer tastes in life (carne asada burritos and macarons, to name a few) are also not the healthiest. Fortunately healthy and delicious meals are possible.

Take the quinoa, for example. Until  7 years ago I had never heard of quinoa. Now I cannot get enough of it! I usually eat it for lunch or dinner, but now I want to eat it for breakfast as well after seeing the plethora of recipes in magazines and on the web.

Cinnamon Strawberry Coconut Quinoa

via Made by Girl 

Breakfast Salad 

via Mosaic Kitchen

Porridge 

via Choosing Raw

Pancakes

via One Hungry Mama

Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake

via Family Fresh Cooking 

 

Quinoa cakes

via Sweet Fine Day

 

On a side note: As grateful as I am to have been introduced to this nutrient-rich food, I am concerned by the socioeconomic ramifications of quinoa's rising popularity. Read here and here for more information.

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Francophile Friday: Studio Calico and CKC

To say that I am thrilled about this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge would be an understatement. It just so happens that we are using Studio Calico's francocentric kits from April as inspiration. In terms of palette, it is a departure from the kit we counterfeited last month.

Of the five kits I decided to counterfeit two, based on the supplies I already have:

Montmartre

Versailles

My hybrid interpretation:

Stickers by Pink Paislee and Amy Tangerine for American Crafts; butterflies from a Martha Stewart punch

Yuki stamps by Prima Marketing

Left: a make-and-take from a local scrapbook store Right: tag by French General for Jolee's Boutique

Stickers: Jenny Bowlin; Bazzil Basics Paper

Wilton doilies; washi tape; Hambly transparent overlays

 

Papers: Prima Marketing, Making Memories, My Little ShoeBox, Basic Grey

My Mind's Eye and Jenny Bowlin papers

closeup of Jenny Bowlin paper

My Mind's Eye, Lily Bee, October Afternoon

Bicycle stamp by Pink Paislee

     

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Francophile Friday: Little Brown Pen

Whenever the wanderlust for Paris strikes me I head to websites like Little Brown Pen to satiate it momentarily.

LBP author Nichole Robertson's story is equally fascinating as the images on her blog, thus reminding us all to "do what you love and the rest will follow." In addition to LBP, Nichole's work is made more tangible for francophiles through her book "Paris in Color" and through her print shop.

{ All images by Little Brown Pen }

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