Fall Must Have: Brown Leather Bag

Every year when fall comes along, I suddenly have so many must haves for my wardrobe. To be honest it is kind of stressful all of a sudden realizing your wardrobe is completely inadequate for the changing weather. And that you are lacking in so many staples. And as much as I try to prepare, it always comes around every year.

So this year I've decided to categorize my must haves and do a little research. My funds are seriously lacking so I doubt I'll be purchasing any of these any time soon. But with the proper funds my first must have I'd purchase for fall is a large brown leather bag. I have a smaller brown purse but it just doesn't cut it for commuting and around the city. And I've always loved the look of oversized leather bags.

My thoughts on leather bags are that they are an investment. A staple for your wardrobe that you can use for many seasons. And while I wouldn't normally drop several hundred on any clothing item, I believe if you save and plan ahead its a good investment. So with that warning all of these options are on the pricier side, but all good investments.

I am going to start with my absolute favorite. Yes I know, save the best for last, but I just can't do that. This bag from J.Crew is just too beautiful. And lately I've really been into the bags you can put over your shoulder or across your chest. Maybe its the very slight hippy artsy in me. Also just look at that gorgeous leather. It is also $395, so unless J.Crew has the ultimate sale of sales, I will probably never own this bag. But I'm still shoppingnotesing it just in case.

So this purse from Anthropologie is a lot more casual than my other choices. And I'm not exactly sure if it is the ideal leather brown commuting/work purse for most. But I like to push the envelope in my work attire and let people write me off as the artsy graphic designer who refuses to conform to corporate culture. I also love how unique this bag is with the leather flowers. Slightly more reasonable than the J.Crew purse coming in at $178, I could definitely splurge on this purse.

Another slightly more casual choice from Anthropologie. But I just couldn't resist, look at those beautiful shades of leather and suede. Coming in at $358, I would probably just splurge for the J.Crew purse at that point. Which is a lot more versatile. But this is still a nice contender.

This Lucky Brand purse is a great compromise between all the purses above. A little casual, but still nice and simple. And the stitching adds a touch more personality to it. Also so far it is the cheapest contender, coming in at $158. Not too bad at all.

Who can really resist a Dooney and Burke purse? And this one is great if you do some serious commuting and need lots of room while still looking put together. I can see myself throwing gym clothes and a book for the metro in this bag. And sadly $195 isn't too bad for a large Dooney and Burke purse.

Even though I don't own a single thing Cole Haan (sad I know), it is a huge weakness of mine. They are so classic and all their leathers are so gorgeous. This woven purse is simple in its shape but so beautiful in its details. The light contrasts of different shades of browns is such a nice addition. Unfortunately $498 is exactly why I do not own anything Cole Haan.

I love the pleats and knotted handles on this Hobo International bag. It is a nice shade of dark leather that keeps it professional but still a good weekend bag as well. For $298 it comes in right in the middle of all the contenders.

So what leather bag am I going to choose? Well to be honest I was not as good of a planner with my fall wardrobe investments as I should have been. So it may be a while until I can make a big purchase such as one above. But my top picks would be the two cheapest options, either the Lucky brand slouch tote or the Anthropologie leather flower bag. Both are practical and well made, yet not over the top expensive.

Good Morning: Light Delight

niko si

Bored to Death Intro

Since my roommate and I are about to downgrade our cable package and give HBO the boot, I've refused to let myself get sucked into any new shows. It will just make the separation even harder.

But even though I've been avoiding the shows, I just can't avoid the artsy credits of Jason Schwartzman's new show Bored to Death. Creative as always. I'm still holding strong on not getting sucked in, but I think I'll have to give it a shot when it comes to DVD. Since Netflix has yet to make the list of cost cuts.

{via design work life}

A Meal Without Wine...

Couldn't agree more. This would go perfectly in my kitchen.

{via SwissMiss}

Good Morning: Through the Night

doug88888

My Weekend in Pictures

And we meet again, Monday so soon! I was so excited for the weekend to start and its already over! Story of my life. Anyways it was a good weekend to hang out around DC, especially after being out of town last weekend.

Friday night my friend arranged a group dinner at Papa-Razzi in Georgetown. Such a good idea on her part as it was a small group of people who knew a few people but no one knew everyone. So it was a great way to catch up with old and new friends and enjoy each other's company after a long week.

After dinner we headed up to Kitchen in Glover Park. I hear the southern style food here is delicious and may have to give it a try next time I'm there and not full from drinks and gnocchi.

Saturday morning I headed over to Clarendon for lunch with a friend. We walked around Clarendon day for a little bit, though it was slightly smaller than I expected. We had fun watching this adorable little boy who was such a rebel with the ramps!

No words can describe the hilarity of this "ride" We were dying laughing watching the kids bounce up and down. Especially when it was all young toddlers/kids and one girl that was about 10 years too big for participating.

We deemed this one of the worst jobs ever, pushing this train around and around all day long. Every time I'm knocking my head against my desk because of a design change I will look at this picture.

Trying on fun hats.

Saturday night I checked out Veritas, a wine bar in the dupont area. It may have soared to the top of my list for favorite wine bars in the city. They have great atmosphere though not too loud and seating for most. Also the bartenders were great at recommending wine and cheese and totally steered us away from not so great choices to amazing selections.

Delicious cheese.

Amazing Wine.

And heavenly chocolate. The caramel chocolate was my favorite. A melted toffee like center with a little bit of salty on top. I will for sure food dream about that chocolate.

Sunday morning I met a friend for coffee and reading. She read her Wall Street Journal and I read my design magazines.

Sunday afternoon since it was such beautiful weather I decided to walk to the gym instead of drive. I'm not exactly sure why I don't do that walk more often since it takes me by the Capitol and all the beautiful buildings on the hill. It reminded me of small reasons I love DC so much.

On my way home I stopped at the arboretum to check out the setup. It amazed me how this space seemed to be under utilized. Look at these beautiful tables with perfect landscaping and views of DC. Can't get much better than this. I'm definitely going to have to come down here more often to read or hang out with friends.

Good Morning: A Paris Romance

DanielaNob

Three Potato Four

Lately I've been really into vintage. I had discovered Three Potato Four a while back, but I don't think my love for all things old and cool was in full swing yet. So when I stumbled upon it again today while reading For me, For You, I fell in love all over. Such great stuff! Below is my wish list.....if I had unlimited decorating funds.

This would be so cute to hang up and display your magazines. It reminds me of the racks in the library during my elementary school days.

I love love love these old hardware drawers. And I have no clue what I would do with them! But look at the potential! It would be awesome if I were handy and could build a chest out of mismatched drawers. If only I had taken wood shop in school. But still, oh the possibilities!

Would it be nerdish of me to buy this old phone and not actually use it? I could just see placing it on a stack of old books. I love the colors so much.

Lately I've been seeing a new trend of creating flower arrangement with groups of antique bottles and mismatched vases. You basically just put a couple flowers in each bottle but arrange them all together. These would be perfect for that!

I love these old milk carafes. Would be adorable for fresh flowers or to serve drinks in.

These huge vintage letters from an old Texaco sign are amazin. So far they don't have any letters that have meaning to me, but I'm crossing my fingers. This would be super cute if you had one of those huge wood mirrors propped on the floor. You could prop this over one of the edges.

Photography Mission: Family Pictures

Ok so I wasn't exactly successful at this photography mission. But I had no idea how hard it was to get posed artistic shots of children! I've always played around getting shots of my nephews when I could, but never tried to intentionally do a photo shoot with them. I think doing my friends engagement pictures is going to be a breeze compared to a stubborn two year old and a little five month old. To Luke's credit (the five month old) he was a pretty chill easy subject. Besides the fact he can't sit up on his own yet....he really needs to work on that.

Anyways it was honestly a last minute thought so we didn't have tons to work with in terms of props/entertainment. My mom picked up some balloons at the grocery store, which really helped. They gave a whimsical look to the photographs and distracted the kids. It also really helped when I clipped them on my camera strap. Because then little Luke would just stare at me/the balloons.

We also pulled out the old red wagon, which was great for shots of both the kids. Only hitch was that was all the two year old wanted to do. You live and you learn. This was great practice for the first time. I definitely learned to be more prepared with props, keep the kids active so as they don't get bored and cranky, and to let go a little because there is only so much you can tell a two year old to do. It was great practice for my first time doing family shots. And I learned they are not as easy as they look! I'm hoping to pick up tips at Kate Headley's photography class and try again over Thanksgiving.

Stupid blogger dims my photographs, so if you want to see more or see them in full vibrant color head to my flickr.

Good Morning: Lonely Bicycle

[auro]

1920's Advertising

So I'm working on a new graphic design project where I'm pulling looks from the 1920's. And while researching for some inspiration, I stumbled upon an amazing Flickr pool of advertising from the roaring 20's. To be honest I was stunned. I've always thought the advertising/design field has always evolved and grown in a good way. But looking at these gorgeous ads a little part of me feels like we have digressed! Look at the gorgeous colors and drawings! They could make any product look beautiful! Below are a few of my favorites. Check out Gatochey's flickr pool for some more inspiration.

Good Morning: Hijack to Heaven

Pensiero