today i love...

These beautiful flower illustrations on the Grande Vegetale Candela tin collection from the Australian bath and body company, Sohum Cosmetics. Love the vivid colors, the intricate details, the gold accents... Wish I could buy them all and start my own personal collection!

nature photography by yiu

Just stumbled upon Hong Kong photographer Yiu's Flickr photostream. His endlessly dreamy, soft nature shots are simply stunning.

french onion soup

I love food. I love cooking even more than I love food. But sometimes, I just don't feel like stepping foot in the kitchen, let alone whip up something good for Luke and I to eat. Yesterday was one of those days when all I felt like doing was sit on the couch and watch TV. Luke, awesome boyfriend that he is, went out and bought me a french onion soup from Panera (and a tuna melt from Subway for himself). Then we watched 27 Dresses on DVD (yes, DVD, not Blu-Ray, ha) while we ate our little takeout supper. My soup came with a bunch of croutons on the side, all wrapped up in a cute little glassine bag with the end twisted like a goodie bag. Of course I had to grab my camera and take a picture (or two).

This was the first time I had Panera's french onion soup (usually I get their amazing breakfast soufflés and asiago loaves). The soup was a little on the salty side, but a bit of hot water diluted it right down and made it just nice. The croutons were chunky and crispy. On my third spoonful I found a surprise bit of melted cheese that turned out to be a whole lot of melted cheese. Love, love, love the cheese. So it was perfect.

(All photos by me)

it's a beautiful day

Yesterday was all cold and misty and more than just a little gloomy...

But today was warm and sunny and gorgeous! 

Luke and I went for a stroll around this afternoon and we enjoyed every second of it. When you live in a big bustling city like LA, it can be so easy to just overlook nature and forget to admire all its gorgeousness. It was nice to take a little break, step away from the computer, and just walk around carrying nothing but my trusty camera. For the first time I noticed the fallen maple leaves scattered on the sidewalks, in all the amazing autumn hues: bright golden yellow, deep spicy red, and light beech brown. I came home with more than 100 photos just from the hour-long mini outing in the sun.

So beautiful!

(All photos by me)

princess polly

LA doesn't get snow, but on the (very) bright side, almost every day is a summer day and you can wear sandals and flip-flops all year round without having to worry about freezing your feet. So although fall's officially here, these bright jelly sandals and shoes from Princess Polly are still quite perfect for a sunny warm day out shopping at the Third Street Promenade or a breezy stroll along the beach!

How amazing are those pastel candy colors? Love love love them; they look good enough to eat. You can find these pretties here. And while you're there, check out this SS 2011 slideshow on their homepage too. The photos are just gorgeous.

found photos

Have Less Be More

A photo I took of the cascading chandeliers at the Paris Las Vegas

Wesley Asher

Donna Geissler

BCBGeneration Fall 2011

Narelle