Stairway to Heaven :: Colorful Steps

I have to say, nothing makes me smile more than stumbling upon a set of clever stairs. I know that sounds funny, but if you’ve ever seen a cool staircase then you know what i mean! Rainbow colors, maybe even lights, a little extra flash. I’m not sure what it is, exactly. You stand there at the bottom and look up and it just seems so majestic and cool. Check out some of these fun and funky stairs from around the world!

Rainbow Stairs in Westbourne, England

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Bookstore (Livraria Lello e Irmao) in Porto, Portugal
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Staircase in the colourful Palais des Congres in Montreal.

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The Rainbow House in London

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The Colorful Staircase in Wuppertal, Germany.

LOOOVE these! Don’t you? I especially love the hot pink book store, and this last one. Can you imagine walking down the street and looking up and seeing that awesome stairway tucked in between the buildings.

Sneaky Color :: 45 Record Love

I totally remember the first 45 record I had: Dancing Queen by those satin loving Swedes, ABBA.  I’d fire up my little record player and hop around to the awesome disco goodness. I eventually accumulated quite the little stash of 45s and even though I was only seven, I remember feeling like a massively cool teenager spinnin’ my hot tunes. (Oh wow, I remembered that for my First Communion, my neighbor Cheryl Hazel gave me a copy of the awesomely inappropriate record Afternoon Delight as a present…HAH! I think it was included with “Disco Duck”. But that’s a whole other story.)

Like most music lovers, I have a huge fondness for vinyl. But I have to say that 45’s are a little bit of the forgotten stepchild. Not only are they tons of fun, they often came in really cool little mini sleeves—usually with artwork that was a little bit different than that on the album. I think these would look GORGEOUS framed (without the record) or hung on a piece of fancy twine with mini clothes pins (if you keep the record inside).  Take a look at some of these. Pretty spectacular and SO very colorful!

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What do you think? Pretty swank huh. Kavel Rafferty agrees because she has put together an amazzzzzzing collection of 45 record sleeve art. Stop by her site to see them all!

What if you only wore one color?

This is Kitten Kay Sera. Also known as The Pink Lady of Hollywood. And boy does she loooooooove pink! Of course lots of young ladies are into this delicate color, but what makes Kitten so unique is that she is obsessed with everything pink. In fact, her entire house is pink and she claims to have worn nothing but pink for the last 25 years!

In an interview with UK newspaper The Telegraph, the 48-year-old actress from Los Angeles said: “The colour pink makes me feel like I’m living a lavish life. It’s just a beautiful colour, so I surround myself with any and everything pink. I’m just drawn to it like a magnet!”

A permanent pink fixture in her life is her six-year-old Maltese doggie dear called (of course) Kisses.  Do I even have to tell you that the adorable Kisses is dyed pink every five weeks?? Says Kitten, “She’s pampered at the dog groomers. They use beetroot juice in the bath to dye her pink. It is totally safe and vet approved, I would never do anything to harm my little love!” Wowza.

Kitten says people ask her all the time “Don’t you get bored with pink??” She says of course not! To keep things fresh, she changes the shades of pink and tries out different styles, like country girl, glamour-puss or rock ‘n’ roll diva. “Right now I am sort of in 1950’s Doris Day stage!” It’s totally extreme and over-the-top but I have to say as kooky as she is, she sure seems happy. I do appreciate that the pink she uses in her home is a pale 1950s powder pink and not a garish Barbie Corvette bubble gum. I’m TOTALLY intrigued by this lady.


images: AUSTIN HARGRAVE / BARCROFT MEDIA

It reminded me of an article I read a few years ago in New York magazine about several unique folks who also only wear one color. Yes. The Pink Lady isn’t alone! Check out these peeps:

I did a little digging and turns out? They’re still up to their colorful old tricks.

1. Valeria “ValBlu” McCulloch.
Artist and accessories designer Valeria McCulloch, Valeria not only wears blue, but prefers it to be a verrrry specific blue:  Yves Klein Blue (or International Klein Blue/IKB). Which is like an electric blue. She’s been wearing this blue for over 25 years.

Why Blue? 

“In college, I majored in color theory. Blue was the most interesting color, historically. Germanic tribes wore it to ward off enemies; Christians used it to denote divinity. Wearing blue for me is being in a dream all day. Blue signifies loyalty, and I’m very loyal. It’s hard in this industry, but I’m a humanist. “

She even paints her white Chanel and Christian Louboutin shoes with custom-ordered electric-blue Sharpies. That’s commitment. More on her here.

2. Meet Elizabeth “Sweetheart” Eaton Rosenthal. 

Fabric Designer Elizabeth Sweetheart loves green. She even dyes her hair green. The 70 year old lives with her husband who loves her green, but doesn’t wear it himself. They have one son who is (of course) a professional magician. Hee.

Why Green?
“I’m from Nova Scotia, where green is in your surroundings. I missed nature when I moved to New York. I started wearing green nail polish, and it spread all over me. I always wear overalls. I have 30 pairs. I buy children’s sizes from GapKids and Chadwick’s. And I dye everything—my Nike sneakers, my underwear. I can’t fall asleep unless I’m wearing green.”

As quirky as she is, green seems to fit this nature loving lady. It’s a little too kooky for me, but I imagine kiddos love seeing her. See more of her here.

3. Then there’s Rebecca Turnbow.

Then there is fashion designer Rebecca Turnbow. She wears primarily shades of grey with touches of silver. As dismal as”only gray” might sound, she finds it elegant and sophisticated.

Why gray?
“I like everything to be clean, and gray is clean. Gray is between black and white, so it’s a noncolor, almost. I feel messy and unclean if I wear other colors. I actually wore turquoise for eight years, but last September, I switched to gray. I’d had a bad year and needed to get out of it. “

Read more about her here. See her fashion line (which is pretty cool) here.

4. And the always suave, Karim Rashid. 

Industrial designer Karim Rashid actually wears both white AND pink. Which he manages to make look rather futuristic and not at all easter bunny.

Why white?
“In college, I was obsessed with wearing all white. I felt angelic and free….In 2000, I was on a panel with nine architects, and I wore a white suit. Everyone was wearing black except me. I [always] carry Tide to Go. If I spill red wine, I just rub it off. I should write a book about wearing white.”

How do people react to a grown man in pink?
I make them smile. They say, “You make me happy.”

Read more about him here. You’ll totally recognize some of the things he’s designed!

So wow. Have you ever worn only one color from head to toe? Do you think you even could?? That’s commitment. I’m too fickle, I don’t think I could  do it. There was a woman who worked at the Harvard library who wore nothing but purple—she even had a little purple pocket watch she would sit on the deck next to her. It was crazy. A good friend of mine only wears black/white/grey and it actually looks surprisingly cool and hip. He finds patterns and textures. Oh, and he still wears blue jeans.
By the way, you can see Miss Kitten & her pup Kisses on this short video here or on TLC’s My Crazy Obsession.

Yummy yellow! (and a touch of tangerine!)

The month of colors continues in this week’s round up of vintage goodness in the form of a little vintage ode to yellow. I found some grand yellow goodies to share with you today!

This little yellow striped knit sweater/bloomer set is killing it with the cuteness. From Etsy seller, sparvintheieletree.

Any little girl wearing this sweet gingham baby outfit is gonna have a WHALE of a good time!  Ha!  From Etsy seller, Mother Midnight!

I’d love to find these brilliant Bermuda shorts in MY size!  Perfect for the warmer weather. From Etsy seller, Bette’s Bargains.

Yellow rain boots are such a part of childhood and these are a great vintage set of them! From Etsy seller, ggsdolls shop.

Clearly there is something magical about yellow gingham because I found a slew of adorable yellow gingham outfits, but I had to include this sweet big girl dressie—just for the sweet gingham ties! From Etsy seller, Without Bustles.

Shouldn’t there be some story called, “the three little poodles”! Because this little poodle sweater is so cute that it deserved a story about it! From Etsy seller, Heirloom Iris.

Hurrah for adorable yellow flower power shirts!  From Etsy seller, Tiny Yellow Bird.

You know I love me some Irmi–so when I saw this sunny yellow Irmi clown lamp, I couldn’t help but share it with you! From Etsy seller, Fairly Unique.

Here is the perfect yellow striped t-shirt. And deadstock to boot. From Etsy seller, Little Yolk.

Since the Peach’s favorite color is orange, I just had to include a couple of orange bits of goodness her and how could I possibly say no to including this delicious tangerine top! From Etsy seller, Stop the Clock Vintage.

I can’t leave the boys out–so here is this brilliant orange and olive houndstooth Eton suit. WOW! From Etsy seller, Gnarly Nutmeggers!

Happy Monday!

Friday Link Hootenanny


image: megancurran

Happy weekend friends! We have had a glorious weekend so far. A fun mini golf outing for Wolfie’s birthday, a mini scavenger hunt in our house for his presents, beautiful sunshine, walks with Sammy dog, family movie night, and an excellent dinner with our really awesome neighbors. I’m exhausted! SO much so that I realized I hadn’t actually posted these here links I wrote. Ah well….sometimes ya just gotta shrug and go, “Ehhhh, whatchagonna do!”

1. Kate Spade Makes a Splash.

I have always wanted to do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” project for a client. I think I’ve probably presented the idea at least three times. So far no one has been brave enough to try….except KATE SPADE! Check out this totally adorable interactive video. You choose the sound track and what happens. Its simple and sweet.

2.  The Colors of this Play-Dough!

I can’t believe I’ve never actually MADE Play-Dough. I’ve played with the home made stuff and the real stuff. But never made it me-self. These gorgeous colors had me thinking, “You are never too old to start!” Check it out here.

3. Raising the Bar on Easter Brunch.


Jennifer from Ellie Bellie Kids came up with an adorable Easter Breakfast Bar. The little animation on her post is worth the click alone!

4. Glow in the Dark Easter? Eggcellent!

Next year, we will totally be trying out this Glow in the Dark Easter Egg hunt. SO cool!

5.  Gettin’ Cozy for Easter.

My sweet friend Marie crafted up these adorable little owl egg cozies. Perfect for easter OR just for a sweet breakfast.

6. Clever Passover Froggies.

I think these fun origami froggies would make the perfect kiddo craft for a Passover seder.

7. 24 Carrot Gold.

These simple carrot cones filled with sweets are adorable. Easy to make and fun for the kiddos.

8. Coral is So Lovely.

Bri’s Color Fest series is really inspiring and fun. This week was a gorgeous coral and this sweet purse from Modcloth TOTALLY won me over.

BONUS video COLOR BLAST!
I love this video from Sony….color fountains exploding everywhere. YES!