2.21.2013

Beautiful ART :: Raw Color...

I am not even sure if I am naming this right but these are beautiful images and video art. Invited by MU (MU is a Netherlands cultural project), Temporary Trees was a project which took place during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven (22-30 October 2011) as part of Make a Forest, an international platform, founded by Joanna van der Zanden and Anne van der Zwaag. Somehow I JUST found this but I wanted to share it with you because it's really beautiful. Some of these are images, but the bottom image is a video project: Falling Leaves, it's amazing!

For Raw Color and studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters trees are anything but static. They are ever changing life forms that determine how we experience light, shade, wind and changes of the seasons. This observation, is translated to illusions‚ of trees in different materials, that represent the life, dynamics and transformation of trees.

Temporary Trees, Poplar
Light box - Oak wood, acrylic, lambda-trans
128,5 x 87 x 20 cm (h x w x d)

Temporary Trees, Cherry Tree
Light box - Oak wood, acrylic, lambda-trans
128,5 x 87 x 20 cm (h x w x d)

Temporary Trees, Platan
Light box – Oak wood, acrylic, lambda-trans
128,5 x 87 x 20 cm (h x w x d)


Leaves - Temporary Trees from Raw Color on Vimeo.

visit the website here to find out more

for the locals :: For the Love of FILM party

Anyone looking for something FUN on Saturday night... there is a great 'friend-raiser' going on for Newport Film - Marilyn's Hollywood - Saturday, February 23rd, 7-11pm at Christie's in Newport, RI


I'm sure this event will be fun, it's put on by some wonderful people that always manage to pull of a smash bang event - click here to get your tickets!

There will be a photo booth so dress in your best Marilyn's Hollywood style! (below are some fun memories from last years bash!)



2.20.2013

Favorite thing of the WEEK!

We have TWO favorite things this week... one for kids and one for YOU...  I know you are getting ready to go somewhere and if not you are just getting ready for Spring because you are a PREPARED mom! Well if this is you.. we have a DEAL... all of the Fall 2012 Lucky Fish Tshirts are $10 off... we rarely put these t's on sale (only when sizes are totally down the wire) so this is a special offering for ONE WEEK ONLY These (and more.. ) Lucky Fish T's are on sale for $28! - shop at Nonchalantmom here!

And for YOU.. as you prepare for your special Spring travel.. or just need a little POP to get you into the Spring mode... The our FAVORITE Clare Vivier leopard print flat clutch is on sale! (was $184 now $146) shop this and other Clare Vivier bags here on Nonchalant Mom.

I hope you enjoy our FAVORITE THINGS OF THE WEEK!!!

love - carina

2.08.2013

education - listening to Finland and South Korea

Yaeum Middle School (photo by Stephen Hucker)

Yesterday (2/7/13) on On Point radio with Tom Ashbrook, Finland and South Korea top the charts in a new global education ranking. But with very different philosophies. The radio show looked at what the US – ranked number 17 – can learn.... This has to be one of my favorite shows that I have heard, from testing to spending time outdoors to computers... it's very interesting.

Pasi Sahlberg, of Finland suggests that there are two areas where he feels that school is important in Finland. From the beginning, health and well being is the most important and less in academics. Secondly, teachers are paid more and MUST have a higher education (masters or above). Teaching is highly sought-after career in Finland, akin to the Medical or Lawyer trades here. There are similar standards in South Korea, 1 in 50 people who want to be teachers actually get to be teachers in Seoul.

It's hard to compare, since our country is SO big compared to both of these countries. But the ideas are there and even for the most involved parent, some of them are new and interesting. From very little high-tech in Finland to Seoul where each child has his/her own computer, the success in Finland is helped by technology but not at the heart of their system.

I liked this story because it focused on ideas and not on more computers or more testing... thank you NPR again for helping us to better understand our educational system. Don't miss the final comments of Pasi Sahlberg... children need time to play and that's important!

The guests were:
Pasi Sahlberg, director general of the Center for International Mobility and Cooperation in Helsinki, Finland. Author of “Finnish Lessons: What Can The World Learn From Educational Change in Finland?

Okhwa Lee, professor of computer education at Chungbuk National University in South Korea. She participated in the South Korean presidential committee, “Educational Innovation: Vision 2030.”

Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, which studies what the U.S. can learn from international models.

listen to the story online

final markdowns taken...!!

SHOP NOW! www.nonchalantmom.com

no more take an additional whatever of this or that... just plain old PRICES AS MARKED!
GO TO CLEARANCE SECTION TO SEE ALL AT ONCE!

they are as LOW as they are GOING TO GO!

2.06.2013

Aleishall Girard Maxon in Martha Stewart!


The Martha Stewart blog posted a very sweet story on Aleishall (Studio Deseo) today, and we finally get a glimpse into her studio as she is working (I've desperately wanted to see all those colorful tassles, yarns and beads and how she works with them!). The way she lovingly describes her inspirations and really it's her way of working that is seamless with her life! We love her work and I have been so happy to have some of her pieces in my store.

Let's look in on her conversation a bit (and then I have links to her website as well as to the Martha Stewart story at the end of this blog)

Aleishall working on pieces together with her daughter

MS: One of the most strikingly beautiful elements in your work is your playful yet chic color palate; where would you say the inspiration for this comes from?
AGM: My love of color and need to be surrounded by it both in my personal life and in my work is an intrinsic part of who I am. I grew up surrounded by the rich colors of the landscape in New Mexico. Our house was filled with colorful textiles, artwork and folk art. I also inherited a love of collecting and have always gravitated towards objects of color. Arranging things around my house can often inform a collection I’m working on in terms of color.

Aleishall in her beautiful studio

MS: What are the major techniques you use in crafting your jewelry?
AGM: I was never formally trained, so I’ve developed techniques that work for me over time. In the past, I’ve used more premade pompoms from India, but now I make my own pompoms and tassels, which I love and prefer to do because they turn out stronger and are more easily incorporated into the necklaces. There has been a great deal of trial and error over the years to figure out what works for me in combining the unique elements that I use.

you can find pieces of her last collection for Nonchalantmom here

Visit the Martha Stewart blog to read the entire interview
Visit the Studio Deseo website here


2.01.2013

Margaret Solow - In time for Valentines Day!

tourmalated quartz w/18k gold

23k gold bead necklace together with a 22k gold drop necklace (16")

at center - a gorgeous moonstone!

peach moonstone & tourmaline in 18k gold bezel

23k gold random bead necklace (16")

NEW margaret solow is in store NOW just in time for Valentines day... pick out yours... believe me there is no better thing (even if you have to get it for yourself!!) than a margaret solow piece!

shop Margaret Solow here

wellness rules for exceptionally healthy people


I came upon this via a new website (well new to ME..) called Well + Good, you can sign up for their daily newsletter which I enjoy (so far). In Integrative Wellness Rules by Jim Nicolai the director of Miraval’s Dr. Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Program compiles dozens of the simple practices of healthy people and the article in Well + Good shares nine of them with us (thank you!)

1. Hang out with positive people and movers-and-shakers
-just as with your kids, you should hang out with the 'right crowd' the book suggests. This seems all too obvious but so very true, and something we rarely think about for ourselves. Take care that your friends are feeding off of your energy and you can positively feed off of theirs, the idea alone makes you more energized to be a better person. (the photo used in the article is two women running together... see!! it works!)

2. Take a break from your militant diet and exercise regime
-if you never ever indulge you are not living well, the article suggests. Right... that sunday sleeping in with a cup of tea and the Sunday paper is ooohhh so good! Take off Sunday and you will be all too eager to get back on track Monday morning.

3. Get back to - or into - nature
-There’s a reason why apartments overlooking the park are more expensive. Whether we realize it or not, humans have a profound connection with nature. No matter where you live there is nature near by (so people may have to look harder than others) take advantage of it, take the time to use it and it will give back to you.

4. Practice Hari Hachi Bu
-I had NEVER heard of this.. and I think I am pretty tuned into this kind of thing. This is the Japanese practice for eating until you’re 80 percent full, which is helpful because we’ve all heard that it takes about 20 minutes for our brains to catch up with our stomachs. (duh!) but all too often today we race from here to there with little time to sit down and eat (not to mention eating at our desks!). Try this, sit down to eat, hold hands with your family and chant OM three times - we do this at our family dinner and it gives you the time to come down from the day and relax before you eat dinner. We are happier with each other and have a better meal every time, NOW I will only eat 80% though!

5. Double your D's
-Dr. Weil has always been a big proponent on vitamin D, I think about it every time I am at the beach, taking a walk (especially in the wintertime) or anytime. Doctors used to only think vitamin D was good for bones, but new research has associated it with preventing a host of maladies, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression.

6. Try some Tulsi
-although I drink this tea, I did not know about it's amazing properties: "Known as holy basil, this herb has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years (mystics believed it fostered personal growth and enlightenment). Usually sipped in tea or taken in supplement form, tulsi is full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Even better, tulsi also lowers cortisol, the hormone associated with stress and belly fat.

 7. Eat your Mushrooms
-we have added more mushrooms to our family meals this year, it's also a macrobiotic thing but there is more and more evidence that mushrooms are a positive daily intake. Shiitake, enoki, oyster, and maitake boost immune system activity and have anti-inflammatory properties.

8. HIT some HIIT
-that’s High Intensity Interval Training. Short bursts of activity have been shown to be even more effective at burning fat than prolonged periods of exercise. I think it's important to remember that this is intense workout so running, spinning, etc...

9. Know your trigger points
-and be aware that your training takes into consideration these muscles or joints that are your problem areas and take care of them.

see the full article in Well + Good here
get the book here - Integrative Wellness Rules by Jim Nicolai

New York... New York!

In the last few weeks my husband and I have been on a constant treadmill going back and forth to New York City... rarely together, but I just thought I should share some of our favorites with you at the moment... it's a short list but we really like this list!

lead belly

desert
marley LOVES NYC (not really...)
skating at The Standard
skating

snacks at lead bellys

The Fat Radish... I know I have been going on and on about this but it's still our favorite. We took the kids and had a little birthday party for a friend. Honestly, I don't know how to get reservations in the place though... it's ALWAYS booked! Then we found across the street 'Lead Bellys' -- this is how it went... we arrived with the kids and DOG in tow to NYC in the early evening, it was raining so we just couldn't get ourselves going for anything the kids might enjoy. So we set up a meeting with friends at Fat Radish (figuring it was early enough.. we could get in.. but NO!) so they suggested we go across the street to their sister place, Lead Bellys. It was fantastic-O! Really, it's the people that work here that make the place, everyone is so incredibly nice and by the end I just wanted to exchange phone numbers with everyone! We sat down, and there were games to play and it wasn't crowded (it was like 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon... so whatever...!) with LIVE music! (who does THAT anymore..!!) we enjoyed ourselves immensely and so did the kids, Franny was mesmerized by this guy who was singing and playing a guitar. We played a game of Monopoly, and drinks and oysters + fantastic appetizers... YUM! Then later we did manage to get a table at the restaurant (we told them we weren't going to leave until they got is IN!) and enjoyed a great birthday dinner for our favorite friend Claire.

sky bar w/view!

yes, our favorite man and his own drink at The Standard Grill (Rodriguez!)

me.. getting on the train at 6:45 AM!! (my hair is FROZEN)..
The Standard (highline) - Again, it was cold and kind of raining and we practically spent the day here.. kids skated, we enjoyed ourselves inside/outside... just a casual day and somehow we ALL had fun. Which gave me the idea.. to get a room for the Gift Show (this last weekend) - so I did and it was a BLAST... (this is a totally different trip) it goes like this: train from Rhode Island to the City, taxi to the NYIGF at Javits Center, taxi to The Standard, drinks at the Sky Bar with BEST friends, Dinner at The Standard Grill, back up to the Sky Bar, sleep, taxi back to the Javits, bus to Penn Station and back to Rhode Island on the train - two days and HARDLY outside! It's crazy isn't it??... although I walked more than a mile (inside the Javits) and saw a million friends... I don't know I thought it was crazy, how about you?

the sky bar

the standard grill

the room... lovely and ohhh so QUIET!

That being said, and I may be a bit late on the draw but The Sky Bar... what the HECK... that's the best place EVER! Completely elegant, so incredibly well done, the VIEW (whooaa!) it's just flawless - it hardly matters who is there, although that night there was a delightful Colombian band playing, you just feel you are in a very very special place.... and I am a sucker for that kind of thing.

I told you the list was short... but GOOD!