Seven Days of Giveaways: LoriLooms

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

So it's the second day of September and though I hate to admit it, fall and even (horrors!) winter, are upon us. Sure it's still mild now, but if you live in a cooler climate you know you're going to want something to keep you warm when there is a nip in the air--LoriLooms has the answer for you. The brains behind this business is Lori, a stay-at-home mom who turned to knitting after she had her first child three years ago. Lori opened her Etsy store in 2008 and has been producing steadily since, crafting her products on a variety of looms. When Lori added her Button Up Scarf for Fall/Winter 2009 she was delighted to learn she had a huge hit on her hands--and it's easy to see why. This scarf not only looks super warm, but also super chic. A few new items have been added for this season (head over to LoriLooms to check them out) and Lori is excited to see where her business takes her.

Lori has generously offered to give one lucky winner their choice of a baby/toddler hat, perfect for your own child or that special munchkin in your life.

How to Enter

Open to all followers of Sogni e Sorrisi--old and new. Just visit LoriLooms

and let me know which product you'd love to have come fall.

Extra Entries

1. Follow me on Twitter. Already do? Thanks a bunch. Just let me know in your comment.


2. Tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy you can Tweet this:

Enter the great LoriLooms #giveaway @SogniESorrisi  http://tinyurl.com/22s5g2v


3. Blog or Facebook about this giveaway. Please leave the URL in your comment.

4. Sign up for LoriLooms' newsletter to keep informed of new items and big sales. Leave a comment letting me know you've done so.

5. Receive 10 extra entries if you purchase something from LoriLooms. Just forward proof of purchase and let me know in a comment here!

Giveaway open until September 10, 2010.

Winner will be chosen by random.org.

Don't forget to enter check out what else we're currently giving away!

Beautiful Bride: Tatiana Blatnik

Nikolaos of Greece (not sure if that is the correct thing to call him) married Tatiana Blatnik in Spetses, Greece in a wedding attended by a herd of royals. The 29-year-old bride was very pretty in a lace Angel Sanchez gown. Tatiana works for DvF, who is the former mother-in-law of Nikolas' sister-in-law, Marie-Chantal's sister, Alexandra (whew!)

Cathedral of Ayios

 

The sequined bridesmaids. They remind me of mermaids.

The Spanish Royals

Pavlos and Marie-Chantal and their matchy-match offspring.
That one kid looks bored!

Willem-Alexander and Maxima of the Netherlands,
 Mary of Denmark and Haakon of Norway

Newlyweds Victoria and Daniel of Sweden

Madeleine and Carl Philip of Sweden

Jemma Kidd and Arthur Wellesley

Rosario of Bulgaria

Pre-Wedding Party

Tatiana wore a J. Mendel Spring 2010 dress to the party.

I think she looks much better in the dress than

Vera Farmiga did in it at the SAG Awards.

Victoria and Daniel

Mary of Denmark and Haakon of Norway

Maxima and Willem-Alexander

I love this Chloe dress that Marie-Chantal was wearing.

Such a great summery, island feel.

Photos via Zimbio

Movie Review - Beyond Biba

James Collie, producer of the film "Beyond Biba" sent me a copy of the movie to review. The film will be released on DVD in the US this month, and will have several US screenings this fall. See the Beyond Biba Movie website for more information.

I must admit, the British fashion scene is not my area of expertise, so I was intrigued to learn more about Biba founder Barbara Hulanicki. The film is essentially a series of interviews with Hulanicki and her friends and colleagues augmented with photographs and brief archival film clips. In the first half of the film, we are given an overview of Barbara's childhood and a brief history of the rise and fall of the Biba stores. The second half jumps forward to 1987 and gives a somewhat vague look at Hulanicki's work in interior design in the South Beach area of Miami.

While the film held my interest, I was left with a sense of frustration. As a vintage fashion aficionado, the main reason I wanted to watch it was to learn about the Biba stores, the clothing, and Hulinicki's design process. While there were some fabulous images of original Biba clothing and catalog images, these were panned in extreme close-up, so you could not see an entire garment in one glance. The archival film clips taken inside and outside the stores were all too brief and left me wanting a far more in-depth study. Perhaps someday, we will get one. For now, I do recommend the film with the caveat that you will not learn as much as you would like about the Biba phenomenon of the 1960s.

Nicole in InStyle UK , October 2010- highlits of the interview

As I already informed you, Nicole Richie is the cover star for InStyle UK's October 2010 issue.
On the cover the designer wears a Winter Kate Duke vest and a Valentino fall 2010 blouse.
I really like her look, it's not often we get to see her looking polished.

Here are some extracts from her interview:
On her fiancé Joel:
And then there’s Joel. Their engagement was made public by a Twitter confirmation in February, although it happened long before then. “Yeah, we’ve been engaged for a while so your [sic] all kind of late on that. But thanks for the hoopla all the same,” Joel tweeted. Nicole says that the wedding is still on and, of course, she’s excited.

On her past:
Nicole doesn’t see the point of dwelling on what went before. Nor does she blame anyone else for her past mistakes. “One thing about me is that I’ve always taken responsibility for my own actions whether they’re good or bad. Even when I was going through my tough time, that was a situation that I created. People ask me, do I blame Hollywood or my parents? No I don’t blame my parents. It had nothing to do with them. I created it and manifested it and I got myself through it with the help of a lot of great people.”
Nicole doesn’t seem one for tortured self-analysis – a favoured pastime of the Hollywood A-list – and it’s refreshing.
When I look back at old photos, I’m able to laugh at myself, in the same way I can show my dad  [Lionel Richie, who, with his then-wife Brenda, took Nicole in at two and adopted her when she was nine] a picture of himself when he was in The Commodores with the Afro and the bell bottoms and he’s like, ‘Oh baby, that’s so funny’.”

On her various tattoos and her regrets:
There is little she regrets, although for the first time she’s reconsidering some of the body graffiti that dates back to her teens. There are nine tattoos in all. Not all of them, in hindsight, were a brilliant idea. “I’m a Virgo and the sign is a virgin,” she explains. “So when I was 16, I got the word virgin tattooed on my wrist, thinking I was sooo deep and cool. And now I just look really weird having virgin written across my wrist and I have to explain it.”

On being a domestic goddess:
She does, she says, do most of the cooking in the Madden-Richie household and her diet isn’t anything more special than “home-cooked and very, very healthy... and made with love”.
She mentions having a home full of people and throwing dinner parties. Has she turned into a domestic goddess? “Well, I don’t have a hat and apron... but I entertain at home a lot. I love cooking for other people.  

On her pregnancy and kids:
Did pregnancy change her relationship with her body? “No,” she says, but the mention of her children has her animated. “Being pregnant with Harlow was easy. I was wearing heels for eight months. I never got sick and I was like, ‘Oh, what are people talking about?’ But with Sparrow, I was so sick. And my feet were swelling. They were polar opposite pregnancies.”

Two-year-old Harlow is already showing an inherited passion for fashion. “She picks her own clothes. It’s a 20-minute thing – it begins at 7.30 each morning – but it is what it is and it’s fine,” she smiles with a mock roll of her eyes. Other than that, family life is only referred to in general terms. She mentions having a home full of people and throwing dinner parties.
Nicole wears a pair of shearling-lined aviator boots from Burberry Prorsum's fall 2010 collection

Nicole in a Valentino embroidered silk blouse and Christian Louboutin "Tinazata" cutout boots

To read the full story go buy InStyle magazine on newsstands now.
Click HERE to see a behind-the-scenes video of Nicole Richie's photoshoot for InStyle UK's October 2010 issue

Since the First Day

I loved you since the first day... I believe that I love you for always.

What is so wrong with love? When did our society build up such a phobia of this word? Love is the scariest , most thrilling, unnerving, rewarding thing you can experience. But the only way to experience it, is to take the risk and dive in head first, unprotected, and vulnerable. And yes, that is scary as hell, but the crazy insanity that follows, the feeling that you will never return to Earth, that is the feeling worth all the risk.

Hearing I love you is such a wonderful feeling, and as people, we need love to keep us going in this nonsense world. If you love someone SAY IT! What if you never say it and then they leave and you lose the one person you ever truly cared about because they didn't know you felt the same? Don't allow movies and TV shows to convince you that I love you is this scary step in a relationship that should only be done on Society's Timeline. You know what? You decide your relationship's timeline. If you like a girl, call her, don't wait three days. If you love someone, tell them. If it feels right, then it feels right, and waiting four months isn't going to change that.

Who do you love mes cheries?

Lido Paris- Shay Stafford

copyright Carla Coulson

I took this photo of my dear friend Shay Stafford at the Lido in Paris a couple of years ago when her costume needed mending. Not long after she left for Australia. I miss her dearly. I found this in my neg box the other day and it reminded of how much fun we had together in Paris. Three cheers for good friends wherever they are in the world.  Carla x ps. taken on my Leica M7 using Neopan 1600 smooth grain film.

to natalie: a note from your aunt "nina".

{natalie & julia. August 2010.}

sweet girl, 

i won't be there tomorrow to kiss you before you are wheeled into surgery- but as you close your eyes to dream, dream of hugs, snuggles & Love. (and story-times filled with cuddles from your aunt "nina".)

everyone is praying for you baby girl. 

all. around. the. world!

i will be thinking of you all day tomorrow- & you will be in my heart, as you always are.

And, when you get back, we will dance around & sing to mamma mia like we love to do together. ok? 

I love you, precious natalie. 

so many hugs & snuggles,

xoxo-aunt"nina".

Angels descending, bring from above, Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.   -Fanny J. Crosby