Inspirations

We are always on the lookout for things that inspire us, and of course we love to share what we love, so here are a few places we are currently finding inspiration.

The Anthropologist: A collection of inspiring artists from around the world that bring grand visions to life

Tumblr: A place we can get lost in for hours. We're sure you've heard of Tumblr since it is only becoming more and more popular, but if not, do yourself a favor and start tumbling. 

ART IN THE STREETS: A collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art,  Los Angeles that brings us a behind the scenes look into the installation of three public murals and the artists that created them. 

One Track Mind: We've talked about this wonderful blog before, but it's so great it deserves to be mentioned again. Discover new music daily, from new artists around the globe. You can also rate songs, share with your friends and leave comments!

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Color Blocking By Day/ Color Blocking By Night

Getting creative with color is one of the most fun things to do! The color blocking trend for fall is something that you can take chances with and pull out all the stops. We've put together a couple of fun ideas for a fun day look and a put together, chic night look. Now hit the closet and start getting colorful!

All clothing courtesy of Netaporter.com
All jewelry courtesy of House of Lavande Tweet

Food For Life

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of eating at one of our favorite local vegan restaurants, Christopher's Kitchen. From the moment you walk in, you are greeted by a welcoming environment, friendly staff and can very easily find yourself hanging around talking and learning about their creative and insanely delicious recipes and what makes them so good for you.

Chef Christopher Slawson put it best when he described his creations as "Living soul foods that nourish the body and spirit". We couldn't agree more. Check out their blog and menu for some wonderfully creative vegan food inspirations.

Now onto the important part. What we had for dinner.

Thai Noodle Salad: Fresh herbs, mango, avocado, mixed vegetables, sesame seeds, thai dressing and sprouted almonds. 

Flatbread Trio: A sampling of three different flatbreads.

The Greek: Red Sauce, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, sunflower seed cheese, red onion, red pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, lemon.

The Mexican: Walnut taco meat, fork crushed avocado, shredded romaine, pico de gallo, lime, cilantro, cashew kream, hot sauce.

BBQ: Chipotle BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, thyme, avocado, red pepper, ricotta, hunza raisins, cilantro, lime. 

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Ladies in Lavande

The past couple of weeks the red carpets have been beautifully accented with jewels from House of Lavande! From bold, modern gold, and delicate vintage to a statement collar; we are loving each one more than the next!

Michelle Obama wearing a House of Lavande necklace while speaking at the White House 

Emma Stone wearing House of Lavande earrings to the London premiere of The Help

Viloa Davis wearing a Collar necklace by Alan Anderson for House of Lavande to the London premiere of The Help

Evangeline Lilly wearing House of Lavande earrings to the premiere of Real Steel

Jessica Chastain wearing House of Lavande earrings to the UK premiere of The Debt Tweet

de Kooning: A Retrospective

Back in September the Museum of Modern Art began an exhibition dedicated to the entire career of Willem de Kooning. His colorful visions of beauty are among our favorites, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to study his life and his work dating back to his work before he moved to America in 1926.

In anticipation for the exhibit, Architectural Digest revisited their 1982 issue which features the East Hampton home and studio of Mr. de Kooning. It is a beautiful behind the scenes look into works in progress, rooms filled with light and overall inspiration from one of the most important artists of our time.
See the full slideshow here

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Takin' It To The Streets- Via Paris

As we all know, the third version of Fashion Week is now taking place in Paris. Phil Oh, for Vogue.com has captured the colorful, mixed pattern, eclectic and bold looks from throughout the week. Enjoy!  

(To see the full slideshow click here)

Leaf Greener

Prada Heels 

Miroslava Duma in a Lanvin cape

Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl

Chic prints, and awesome headphones!

Charlotte Olympia clutch

Detailed sleeves that we cannot get enough of

Salvatore Ferragamo clutch with chunky layered cuffs

Frida Gustavvson

Miu Miu Glitter booties

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Louis In Paris

There are few things we love more than Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. This year at fashion week in Paris, he once again stunned (hopefully not for the last time). With a larger than life working carousel that serves as the backdrop for the lady-like, 50's inspired fashions for Spring/Summer of next year, this could be one of our favorite moments from Paris. Kate closed the show, looking as beautiful and angelic as ever in a white feathered baby doll dress and messy bun. 

Having been inspired by all of this beauty, we took to the drawers here at HOL and picked out jewels that compliment the look and feel of the show; 50's, pastel, shimmery and fun! 

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Food For Life

Today we are going to talk about one of the most gratifying practices of cleaner eating. The detox. There is a fantastic E-book that is available at Foodmatters.tv. It is just $20 and is a plethora of knowledge about healing and cleansing your body from the inside out.

"There is an abundance of documented evidence and research on people the world over healing themselves using nutritional therapies. Cancer, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses have been successfully treated by allowing the cells to detoxify and subsequently delivering nutrients to the cells of the body with wholesome life giving foods. If poor nutrition and an accumulation of toxins initiates disease in the body, then the reverse must also be true. In UNderstanding the the body works both ways, it makes sense to conclude that the prevention is the same as the cure." - Andrew Saul, Phd

A three day cleanse is suggested to start off with, as it is a reasonable amount of time for someone who leads a busy lifestyle. If a seven or even 10 day cleanse can be incorporated into your life, even better!

A basic outline of a great three day cleanse:

- Have a large glass of room temp water with the juice of one lemon and a crushed thumbnail size piece of ginger when you wake up.

- Before breakfast have a green drink. Wheatgrass or barley grass powders are an easy place to start. (You will get used to the taste. We promise!)

- For breakfast make a veggie juice. You can use carrots, beetroot, cucumber and a handful of spinach, and parsley. Also take 1000mg of vitamin C and two 1000mg flax seed oil capsules.

- Between breakfast and lunch have a caffeine free detox tea of peppermint, ginseng, licorice root, ginger or chamomile. You can also drink more green drink if you want!

- Lunch will be a small serving of brown rice and raw/steamed veggies. You can season with sea greens, miso soup, lemon juice and olive oil. Also 1000 mg of Vitamin C.

- Have another veggie juice mid afternoon. This one can have fruits and veggies like carrots, apples and ginger to boost your energy.

- Before bed have a relaxing/ detoxifying tea of peppermint, lemon balm, licorice root, ginger or chamomile.

Follow this for as many days as you can and you will quickly see the results. Your body will eliminate stored waste, which will in turn help you lose weight and feel better and your energy levels will rise. If you have heart problems, you will notice a more regular heartbeat and your circulation will improve through cleansing your liver, kidneys and blood.

For the exact recipes above, and ideas and suggestions on ways to keep up clean eating after you cleanse, download the Food Matters ebook. It is filled with information that will help you stay focused and delicious recipe ideas as well! Tweet

Beauty's Top 10

This month Glamour Magazine is featuring a beauty special: Top 10 Everythings of Beauty. A fantastic ten page guide with all of the tips, tricks, products and practices to refine your makeup/skincare routine!

Here are a couple of our favorite lists:

Top 10 Ways To Wake Up Prettier:

1. Braid wet hair and wake up with gorgeous waves.
2. Use Frownies Facial Patches. Reduce facial movement during sleep to reduce creasing in skin
3. Moisturize
4. Flip hair upside down and pull into a high pony using a scrunchie to protect your blow out
5. Use essential oils like rose oil and jojoba on your face
6.  Use primer over skincare products. It will help the products to sink in
7. Apply a hair mask
8. Use an electronic complexion brush
9. Self Tanner to keep your glow all winter long
10. Sleep on a satin pillow case for smoother hair

Top 10 Beauty Investments:

1. Dolce and Gabbana perfect finish creamy foundation for flawless coverage and texture
2. The perfect red lipstick. Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Crimson Noir
3. YSL eyeshadow in number 11 Midnight Garden. Great options to add a pop of color in fall
4. Mason Pearson Popular Mix Bristle Brush
5. Guerlain liquid eyeliner
6. Prada Candy eau de parfum (we also love Chloe, by Chloe)
7. Bobbi Brown 20th anniversary lip palette. 20 different shades in one compact
8. Cle de Peau eye contour cream. Pricy, but fantastic line softener
9. Chanel nail polish. Every color is great, but we are loving the neutral tone of Quartz
10. Philip B. Russian Amber Imperial Shampoo to liven up your locks

YSL eyeshadow in Midnight Garden

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New Photography

If you are in New York at any point between now and January 12, make sure you stop by the MOMA and check out the New Photography exhibit! Featuring six photographers from all over the world (Canada, England, China, Holland and the United States) the exhibit focuses on the diversity and international scope of modern photography across the world. Here is a preview of a few of the photographers and some of their work. If you go, make sure to tell us all about it!

Deana Lawson, Her photos explore intimacy, sexuality and community in her portraits of people taken in their homes. 

George Georgio. A british photographer who lives in Istanbul and photographs extensively in Eastern Europe.

Viviane Sassen is a photographer who was born in Amsterdam, but was raised in Kenya. You can see the influence of this in her photography in her photographs that are taken in intentionally unidentified African countries, focusing on anonymous, faceless subjects. 

Doug Rickard is an American born photographer that explores ground level geography of urban areas using Google Street View

Moyra Davey is a Canadian born photographer that creates pictures using analog materials that are increasingly hard to come by in today's digital world. She then folds the pictures into envelope shapes and mails them to friends, and later collects the photos and displays them in grid form complete with stamps and markings.

Zhang Dali is a Chinese born artist that manipulates photos that were used as propaganda during the rule of Mao Tse Tung's Communist regime. 

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A Few Things

The Fall season is here and in preparation for more time spent at home with friends and family, it's time to get a few things in order! All while listening to good music, of course!

He's My Brother, She's My Sister- Clackin' Heels. This entire album is fantastic, and we love the look of this video. Everything about this group is super fun. 

P.S. Check out this new site for discovering new music and artists: One Track Mind. It's Awesome!

No Carve Pumpkin Decorating- Courtesy of one of our favorite magazines ever- Real Simple. Fun and creative ideas for decorating pumpkins without the huge mess! 

Disney is coming out with another Muppet movie this holiday season, and OPI is celebrating with a new line dedicated to them, arriving in November of 2011! We love the range of bold reds, neutrals and fun glitters for the holidays! Also don't forget to check out the fun names OPI has given them. We especially love Gettin' Miss Piggy With it.

Also from Real Simple is this fantastic food and wine pairing guide. A great go- to guide for tastes that will work best together. Even for the wine connoisseur, this is a wonderful place to consult for fresh ideas, and pairings you may have not thought of. 

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Pan Am, 1960's Style

Being that we are fans of anything vintage and fabulous, the addition of Pan Am to the fall television lineup has us totally psyched! Based around the personal lives of the pilots and flight attendants of the iconic airline, the show is a fantastic period drama that many are comparing to Mad Men. The fashion is of course one of our favorite parts, so keep and eye on the fabulous vintage style elements and be inspired to find ways to incorporate them into your look today!

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Food For Life

Week three of the Food For Life posts have brought us to one of our favorite blogs;  Affairs Of Living. A must follow for healthy lifestyle ideas, clean recipes and additional resources around the internet that will help you in your journey to a cleaner, healthier lifestyle.

Today we want to talk about juicing and smoothies. Yes, you hear correctly; veggies and fruit and and blenders galore. You will feel so healthy and accomplished after incorporating these (extremely simple) recipes into your dietary routine, you won't know what to do with yourself!  

Blueberry Soaked Oatmeal Smoothie:

What you will need:

- 1/4 cup of gluten free steel cut oats, soaked for 6-12 hours in 1/12 cups of water and 1 tsp of raw cider vinegar, raw coconut vinegar, whey or lemon juice

- 1 cup of frozen blueberries

- 2 tbs of Hemp seeds (you can substitute any other nut or seed if you don't care for Hemp seeds)

- 1 cup of filtered water

- 1 tbs of finely ground flax seed or chai seed

- 2 tsp of flax oil or hemp oil

- plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to taste

Soak the steel cut oats with 1 1/2 cups of water and acidic ingredient of our choice in a bowl for 6-12 hours. drain and rinse very well. 

Place the soaked oats and all other ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth and sweeten with stevia to taste. 

Avocado Shamrock Shake:

What you will need: 

- 1 Avocado

- 1 cup of packed spinach

- 1 cup of non dairy milk 

- 2 tbs of fresh mint leaves

- 1/12 cups of ice

- 1/2 - 3/4 tsp of peppermint extract/flavoring to taste

- 20-25 drops of stevia liquid. You can also use dates, agave, honey, brown sugar or brown rice syrup instead. 

Place all ingredients in a blender, pulse, then blend on high until smooth. Adjust mint and sweetness levels to taste. 

*pictures and recipes courtesy of Affairsofliving.com

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Chanel Extravaganza

In the October issue of Elle, there has been an explosion of vintage Chanel, AND WE LOVE IT! Draped across the beauties of Victoria's Secret are Chanel pendants, belts, layered charm bracelets, and CC logos galore. All Available right here at House of Lavande! If you haven't gotten your hands on some of these pieces, now is the time; we can assure you they won't be available forever!

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