Style: Carnation Confession

I have a confession to make....I love carnations.

This poor flower gets a bad rap and seems to have a cheesy stigma attached to it. I will admit they are not very pretty when they are dyed all types of strange colors and their year-round availability at any grocery store makes them less exotic than a peony. In their natural colors, though, I think their full, ruffled petals are beautiful and create such a full and happy flower arrangement.

I bought some vibrant pink carnations over the weekend and they have brightened up my living room all week. I think carnations may find themselves in my grocery cart more often!

My bright pink carnations in my living room.

This minimalist and more structured arrangement proves that carnations are beautiful even in smaller numbers.

via Apartment Therapy

And I couldn't post about carnations without including one of my favorite ideas from Eddie Ross. I have always loved this tiered birthday cake made out of carnations and have been waiting for an excuse to create one!

via Eddie Ross (complete with a great how to guide)

Style: 2012 Oscar Red Carpet Fashion

I first have to confess that I didn't even watch half of the Oscar's last night and didn't know who won some of the big categories until this morning (yea Meryl!). I did, however, watch a lot of the red carpet coverage which is my favorite part of any awards show.

I typically don't find red carpet style as interesting as street style because it just all seems a little overdone and too choreographed. Plus, I always feel like there is one major trend and after a while the dresses all start to look somewhat the same. I didn't really feel like that was the case last night. There were no major trends and there were a few stand out dresses for me. These were my favorites...

Hands down my favorite was Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford. I mean she is wearing a cape people! I love the clean silhouette, minimal hair and jewelry oh and did I mention the cape?!? A little kooky, a little risky, but I love it.

A close second was Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton. In the red carpet interviews there was a lot of discussion about what color her dress actually was. Whatever the true color, it was unique and looked beautiful on her skin. She does feminine so well in this dress without having to go full-on ball gown.

While I feel like I have seen this look before, Milla Jovavich' made her one-shoulder Elie Saab Haute Couture silvery gown fresh. The softness of the draping paired with the structure in the shoulder made this dress glamorous and modern. I thought her hair and make up complimented the look well.

Viola Davis' vibrant green Vera Wang dress was such an amazing and stand out color. I was a little nervous about the bust any time she moved around, but overall she looked spectacular. I read a sweet story the other day about how she always wears wigs on the red carpet and her husband told her she was beautiful just the way she was and encouraged her to go sans-wig on the red carpet.

I was ambivilant when I saw Cameron Diaz' Gucci nude gown on the red carpet. I wasn't sure about the color and it seemed a little plain on top. When she walked on stage to present, though, the way the dress fluttered at the bottom was absolutely beautiful. I think her short hair keep this look fun and not too serious.

Speaking of hair, my two favorite "do's" for the night were Jessica Chastain's half-up style with soft waives and Tina Fey's slicked back up do (also loved her custom Carolina Herrera dress).

Who get's your vote for best dressed last night?

Design: Greenhouses

So....funny fact about my house, I have a greenhouse in my back yard! It came with the house and I am sad to say it has sat in semi-disrepair the almost six years we have lived here. Every spring, I get the itch to repair it, but lose steam so it is still missing window pains, could use a fresh coat of paint and definitely needs a pressure-wash scrubbing.

I have grand plans of using it as a working greenhouse a la Martha Stewart (you can read about her amazing greenhouse in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living), but there is so much I still need to learn about gardening. In the meantime, I would like to transform this backyard eye-sore into something a little more visually pleasing. I am feeling like 2012 will be the year I make this happen!

I have found so many inspiring greenhouses on Pinterest, I started a board completely dedicated to the topic. I promise to document my greenhouse transformation in the spring and include a before and after picture. Here are some images that are particularly inspiring to me.


My greenhouse is concrete and metal and I love the idea of a fresh coat of green paint to help it blend into the surrounding landscape a bit more.
via Pinterest



The climbing roses on this greenhouse are so beautiful and help soften the angles.
via Sunset



This is a little more formal than my greenhouse and backyard, but I love the symmetry of the landscape leading up to and around the greenhouse. The stone base is beautiful and it looks like this isn't used as a greenhouse at all, but an outdoor dining area!
via Pinterest



So this isn't a greenhouse, but I couldn't resist including it. It is a chicken coop! Is this not the most beautiful structure. Pretty nice digs for some chickens.
via Pinterest

Design: A Heart for Art

There is no shortage of art dedicated to love, Robert Indiana's Love sculpture in Philadelphia being one of the more famous modern day examples, but it is hearts as art that I find really inspiring this Valentine's Day.

There is something nostalgic about hearts that reminds me of making Valentines by folding pink and red construction paper in half in second grade. I have had fun the past few days making homemade Valentine cards with watercolors and have found some inspiration in the following examples of hearts as art. While slightly more sophisticated than my construction paper days, these are none the less sweeter.

Via Casa Sugar

 A modern, minimalist interpretation...

Via Do Stuff Decor

 I love these heart sculptures by artist Chuck Pryce sold at Anthony Todd. I would love to have these for my cocktail table....

Chuck Pryce Sculptures via Anthony Todd


What a great Valentine's Day gift for an avid reader....

Via Style by Emily Henderson



 Love, love this painting by Caitlin McGauley....





Via Caitlin McGauley's Facebook Page



Jessica Randall of Loeffler Randal put this heart made of tissue flowers up for her sock hop Valentine's Day party and loved it so much she leaves it up year round. You can read more about it in the February 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living.





  I really like this heart suspended in an acrylic frame in actress Brooke Shield's home.

     Happy Valentine's Day!

Perfectionism

Hi. I am Lauren and I am a recovering perfectionist. As a recovering perfectionist it has been so hard to shut off my self-criticism for the lack of posts on The Zoo the past few weeks. In fact, I have been avoiding not just my blog but blogs all together because that nagging feeling of guilt, shame, whatever was just there whenever I thought about blogs.

I hoped that starting a blog would be a practice in letting go of perfectionism. So often in my life I have talked myself out of doing things by telling myself,"Well if I can't do it perfectly, I just won't do it." The Zoo was a way to take the next step and do something even if I didn't know what the three month or six month outcome would be. My perfectionism can really manifest itself in over planning, so I have really resisted the urge to plan out every single post in advance, instead trying to let The Zoo evolve organically and write about what interests or inspires me on any given day.

The truth is, I have been tired and uninspired lately. I have been living out of a suitcase the past three weeks or playing catchup from being out of town. When I have had down time, the last thing I wanted to do was spend it on the computer.

Today, I looked back at my very first post where I outlined what I hoped The Zoo would be. This is a nice reminder that my intention for blogging wasn't to achieve a new level of perfection but to slow down a bit and appreciate the beauty of everyday life. Happy Friday!

Welcome to The Zoo, a blog about STYLE (fashion, art), DESIGN (interior, table, floral), TASTE (cooking) and anything else that makes the world and every day life more beautiful. My hope is this blog will be a form of creative expression for myself and a resource of inspiration for others. I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.

P.S. I have been reading a fabulous book my friend recommended to me about perfectionism:
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. I highly recommend it!