0 taka-naka london

Loving the beautiful color combinations, interesting shapes and beading details of this London fashion house collection.





Photos by Kristina

I hate the shoes though... Ha!

2 design talk 8: where do you want to go?

We wanted to share our destination wishlist with you in this brand new webisode of Design Talk. Where would you go if you had all the time & money you want to travel? Click play to hear our picks!

7 paris recap 1

As promised, here's a proper recap of my recent trip to Paris! The first day we got there, my friend Courtney and I had a bit of drama trying to find our friend Tonii in CDG airport with no working cell phone. Long story short, make sure you have a backup plan for your original meet up plan! Haha But, we worked it out just in time to get to the hotel, regroup and head out for dinner + a little night time site seeing.



Kelli (on the far left) had these cute tshirts made - so we could be cheesy tourists! It was so good to see these ladies because we all live in different cities and only get to hang out a few times a year.


We had dinner across the street from our hotel at a little cafe called "Hippopotamus" - go figure! Apparently it's a chain because we saw them everywhere in the city.


My sister joined us - and was probably telling us not to embarrass her with our obviously American behavior. ha!


After dinner we hopped on the metro into the city to hopefully get a peek at the Eiffel Tower at night.


Me capturing the moment. I have to tell you, the Paris metro system, although efficient, is pretty gross! Nevertheless, it got us into the city quickly and we were too excited to be there.


We hopped off the metro, walked a few blocks and what's that peeking through the buildings? Oh yea, it's the Eiffel Tower! We actually didn't walk all the way to the tower this night, because we needed to be back at the station to catch the last train to our hotel. But the butterflies I felt when we first got a glimpse of the tower twinkling I'll never forget!


The streets of Paris are so beautiful at night, it's almost surreal. It's remarkably clean to be such a big city, and there isn't a ton of activity outside of the bars & cafes. Walking along the avenues was really peaceful & serene. I totally understand why they call it the City of Light now!


After a bit of wandering around marveling at everything, we headed back to the hotel....


....but not before popping a bottle of champagne to celebrate on the walk back! ;)

Next up, our first day in Paris!

0 artist spotlight: yves klein

Yves Klein was an early modernist artist from Nice, France. Notorious for his exclusive use of the color blue and provacative installation art, Yves was a pioneer in the Nouveau Realism movement in France. His works left the viewer asking many questions; and that was his exact intention, to provoke thoughts and feelings.

This is the painting he is probably most famous for:

Throughout the mid-50s Klien would show many monochromatic canvases like this, with much confused reactions from his followers. He felt that no one would ever understand these works, so he moved on to installations.

My favorite of his installations is the work he did with women's bodies as brushes. It's a brilliant way to show the beauty of the female figure in an interesting and artful way.



Notice the band in the back? He put on a great show!



What do you think about Klien's art? I'm hoping to catch on of his pieces in person while in Paris. For more on Yves Klein, click here!


Images via 1.2

2 dreamer's digest: week 11

Last Friday, I traveled a little over an hour from Paris to Giverny to visit Claude Monet's home and gardens! The weather was perfect this weekend in Paris so the visit couldn't have came at a better time. Monet found the Giverny area after viewing the little town on a trip on the train. He later decided to move there and rent out a house and the gardens that surrounding the house. Monet lived in the house still on the property until his death in 1926. The property and house was really well preserved.. I really felt like I was walking through a painting! Take a look!






And of course, I promised birthday pics! My birthday was quite enjoyable. My friends and I went to L'as du Falafel to grab some of THE best falafel in Paris. Unfortunately, Berthillion is closed on Tuesday, so we grabbed gelato from Amorino's instead. We met up later on to have dinner at Tribeca, as planned and ended the night with a stroll on Champ de Mars!








I'm sooo excited for my sister and family to arrive in Paris next week!!!! In the mean time, I'm studying for my final exams..wish me bon courage (good luck!!)!

--Adrianne

3 dreamer's digest: week 9

Today is my 22nd Birthday!! Not only am I in disbelief that I am turning 22 today today, but I can't believe I'm able to celebrate my birthday in the beautiful city of Paris! Bringing in a new year of life with new friends in a new city is no ordinary birthday and I'm beyond grateful!



Celebrating this birthday is a little bittersweet, because I'm also coming to the realization that I only have 3 weeks left here in Paris. As you can see by my lack of blogging last week, my friends and I have been doing everything we possibly can to enjoy our last month here. Almost every day last week, I left my house at 11 in the morning and didn't return until about 10 at night! We are making sure we are seeing everything we want to in this amazing city, and of course, spending as much time together as possible.



Today for my birthday, I plan to visit Berthilon for a few scoops of their world famous ice cream, have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Tribeca and hoepfully take a night stroll to the Eiffel Tower!

By the time you all will be reading this, I'll probably be half-way through my birthday so Birthday pictures next week :)

3 dreamer's digest: week 7

Believe it or not...I have been doing more than eating and laying out in the park for the past few months. Paris is a city full of history, knowledge and culture and its more than 150 museums in the city provide excellent insight into the many of the wonders of the city and its testament. Luckily, students under the age of twenty-six are able to visit most city-owned museums for free, so its been quite a pleasure being able to enjoy the museums for free. The company I am traveling with AIFS has also arranged some great museums for our group. Take a look of some of my favorite museums!



Tapestries at infamous Musee du Louvre, one of the world's largest art museums which was originally built as a fortress. Napoleon I's apartments are still on display and are amazing!



Me under the Louvre Pyramid! This was my during my first visit to the Louvre once I got to Paris. We spent 3 hours, went to lunch, came back for another 2 and still didn't see everything!



Baccarat Museum - Baccarat is one of the biggest manufacturers of fine crystal glassware. Although based out of Baccarat, France, the company has a museum in Paris.



This chandelier was not only beautiful, it was rotating!



Yes, this is a chandelier submerged in water on display in the museum's foyer.



Paris has it's share of quirky museums too! This is the Sewer Museum of Paris...and yes it smelled terrible, but provided a lot of history of the development and industrial expansion of the city of Paris.



Me outside of Centre Pompidou (known simply as "Bo-bo" by native Parisians) ! By far, my favorite museum in Paris so far!



Centre Pompidou is Paris' museum of modern art...housing some great pieces by Andy Warhol.



And lastly, the panaromic views of Paris that Centre Pompidou provides are breathtaking! I probably spent 30 minutes up here before even starting to tour the museum.

A tout a l'heure! (see you later!)
-Adrianne

2 dreamer's digest: week 6

Spring has finally arrived in Paris! The weather is spectacular...reaching to almost a perfect 75 degrees a few times over the past two weeks. I'm now on spring break, so my friends and I have been enjoying the weather and our time away from class by visiting some of the best parks in Paris. Here are a few pics of my visits to Jardin de Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), Buttes Chaumont park and a small part of Bois de Boulogne park, Jardin D'Acclimation.


People enjoying the beautiful weather in the Luxembourg Gardens


Kiddies riding Ponies! Luxembourg Gardens


Me! It was such a beautiful day....


My friends and I prepared a grand feast for our afternoon in Buttes
Chaumont


There were soo many people in the park this day!


We found a waterfall in the park! What a pleasant surprise!


Getting some sun in Jardin' D'Acclimation


A tout a l'heure! (see you later!)

-Adrianne