Green

In my New Year's post, I talked about eating more mindfully and responsibly. During the past few months, every time I drank coffee, I felt yucky and sluggish and recently made the switch to green tea. Cue the angel's song. I had never LOVED green tea before. I think I saw seeping a tea bag in a cup of boiling water as more of a hassle than brewing a pot of coffee. Something about one cup vs. 8... I was wrong. It's easier, duh. And it gives me so much more energy and makes me feel infinitely better than a cup of coffee ever has. The trick is only steeping the tea for 60 seconds and trying a few brands before you find a green tea you love. I have two to recommend:

For every morning, I love Stash's premium green tea. You can get it anywhere and it's reasonably priced.

For something a little different, I love Tazo's Refresh Green Tea - green tea with a hint of peppermint. Super Delish.

Loving Love

I love love. Ergo, I love days that celebrate love. Ergo, I love valentine's day. Ergo, I am dedicating this blog to all love and love-inspired things (and the occasional red side table or random thing that really doesn't outwardly have anything to do with love other than the fact that i love it). Celebrate love today! 

West Elm's Hearts for Haiti - 10% of the Proceeds go to the HAND/EYE fund

Sweetheart Bib Necklace, Anthropologie $398

Lucky Number Knob, Anthropologie, $8

J.Crew Merino Chiffon-Placket Cardigan, $78

AURÉLIE BIDERMANN Pop silver-gilded heart necklace, $885, net-a-porter

Bright Morning Teapot, Anthropologie, $128

Diane von Furstenberg Striped knitted sweater, $245, net-a-porter

Printable Anatomical Heart Card, $2.50, Etsy

Jimmy Choo Rosabel grained-leather tote, $1750, net-a-porter

Tall Order Giraffe, Anthropologie, $30

J.Crew Plaid Eliza Tee, $118

IKEA 'Lampan' Table Lamp, $6

Amazon, $13

Key-spiration

There's something about keys that I'm drawn to time and time again. I must clarify, though, that my obsession is not new. It is well documented in 'Alix's Baby Book' that my first word was, in fact, key. Although I have no memory of the momentous occasion when my mouth first formed the word key, the word and symbol clearly made an impression in my mind. My recent (newly-awakened) love affair started approximately 18 months ago when I first discovered these:

Tiffany's collection of keys knocked my socks off. It was the perfect combination of cool elegance, understated beauty and timeless design. The key on the far left was featured in 'Alix's Christmas List 2009' and (thankfully) was given to me by my parents that year. I wear it often and still LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Last spring I got my first tattoo. And while I had known since 2006 that I wanted the word 'trust' somewhere in my tattoo, the key was a (relatively) last-minute decision (But, nonetheless, a great decision).  

And so, the moral of this is, I Love Keys. Here's some more key-spiration.

Beautiful necklace from ghostlovejewelry

from Bohman, flickr

Tangles Antique Skeleton Key Necklace from DreamingSquid

Key Wall Hook Solid Black, Cast Iron by FourRDesigns

Keys by Stewart Leiwakabessy

Personalized Old Fashioned Key Dessert Set for Two by happiestdaysdesign

Vintage Keys, Set of 7: Pottery Barn 

Pass the Chalk

I'm in love with chalkboards (I admit, this may be because I just installed one in my bedroom). They are quintessentially perfect for note-writing, inspiration-drawing, and idea-sketching. These people below agree. Be Inspired!

romanlily

xtopalopaquetl

booizzy

Muy Yum

Smithsonian Institution

(all above images from flickr, credit given following photo)

www.design-milk.com

www.apartmenttherapy.com

potterybarn

ellenmedlocksblog.com

fleurishnews.blogspot.com

www.apartmenttherapy.com

www.apartmenttherapy.com

www.kitchenchalkboard.net

McQueen McBeautiful

The Alexander McQueen collection currently on Net-A-Porter is making my heart simply pitter-patter. It is the definition of modern elegance. I wish I could own all of the following pieces:

Cowl-neck Crepe Wool Dress, $2395

Structured-shoulder crepe blazer, $1920

Wide-leg crepe pants, $765

No Lie, If I was getting married in the next year, I would be wearing this dress.

Strapless silk-chiffon dress, $3195

Cape-back crepe dress, $2395

Images and prices from Net-A-Porter

Amazing Video, Amazing Message

Thanks, Ringo.