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the greatest generation

Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I’ve been meaning to make this post for several days now but I was waiting to get some more pictures.

My great-great uncle Bill Duane, who is 93 years old, fought in WWII. You would never know it from talking to him–he is so humble and kind and soft-spoken. He will sit silently at dinner listening to conversation and then suddenly and quietly make the most hilarious comment–he is just as sharp as a tack.

Yesterday, he and my family returned from a two-week trip to Europe where he revisited the places where he fought almost 70 years ago. Through his remarkably detailed stories and the pictures my family took, he was able to give us all the smallest glimpse of what fighting in the second war was like. Lying in hedge rows with heavy equipment. Waiting to recapture a bridge, bringing wounded soldiers into medical tents. The honor of bringing freedom and liberation to so many families in France. He landed on Omaha beach. He was standing literally feet away from Eisenhower when his unit was told, “You must take Hill 122 or the invasion will fail and we’ll be pushed back into the sea.” So Bill Duane’s unit took it. It was a bloody and fierce battle but we know the outcome.

Those are all real memories to my great-great uncle, not just chapters in a history book or clips from a documentary.

They all had the most amazing journey around Europe on their trip in the last few weeks–I almost don’t know where to begin and it seems like around every turn was another serendipitous meeting. Bill Duane met with the former Marshall of the Russian Air Force, which is the top position in their Air Force. They also presented him with a medal. Bill Duane’s unit met the Russians at the Elbe River. The Russians were aware of a Russian veteran who remains alive who met the Americans at the Elbe, and he was at the meeting. It was billed as (probably) the last meeting in Moscow of a US & Russian veteran who met at the Elbe and received coverage on the front page of the Moscow Times and several other international publications.

There seemed to be so much more respect for war veterans in Russia and the rest of Europe than we have here. World War II is a BIG deal to Russians. Victory in Europe Day is a National holiday and they venerate their WWII Veterans. Dozens and dozens of people came up to Bill Duane and personally thanked him, or shared stories with him about their own families’ experiences in the war. One person even shared that his brother’s life was saved by Bill Duane’s own division–as a medic, it could have been Bill who saved him! So moving.

On D-Day, on one of the final days of their trip, Bill Duane raised the flag at the American Cemetery in Normandy. 66 years later.

I just wanted to share some of the pictures my dad took on the trip that I found very moving.

1. Bill Duane with a Russian Colonel who also fought on the Elbe and the former Marshall of the Russian Air Force 2. The path into the Kremlin 3. In front of “The Super Tiger,” the only one on display in the world. 4. Outside President Medvedev’s office

5. At the grave of a Nebraskan soldier in American Cemetery on Omaha Beach

6. At Omaha Beach 7. These were French reenactors who were playing the part of US G.I’s. There were TONS of reenactors. These guys specifically thanked Bill Duane for their freedom.

8. Bill Duane received an honor guard from soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One! At the end of the ceremony they presented Bill Duane with a Division patch and pocket flag that had been carried by one of them in Iraq. 9. He was asked to raise the flag on the anniversary of D-Day in Normandy–this is the woman who supervised the ceremony.

10. Raising the flag at Normandy on D-Day

I teared up writing this post and I wish I had been able to make it on the anniversary of D-Day itself, but the pictures and stories add so much. I know here in America we don’t always think of the hard-won battles of WWII and the quality of life we are able to enjoy today because of the sacrifices of so many people. I know I am guilty of forgetting that.

Although I was home with Alice and not in Moscow or Normandy or St. Lo in the last few weeks, these pictures and the stories they tell make me feel like I was there. I am so proud of my great-great uncle and honored to be part of his family. And I am proud to have that picture of him with Alice. I can’t wait to someday tell her all of his stories.

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Hansel from Basel Haiti relief promotion

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I wear a lot of tights and leggings–maybe 28 days out of the month, especially in these wintery ones! Hansel from Basel, a Los Angeles-based company, makes the most durable, high-value, and adorable tights in my wardrobe and until the end of February they will be donating 15% of all sales proceeds to Haiti relief efforts.

Some of my favorites:

1. Pink kneepad tights 2. Red spats knee-highs 3. Orange dot-trimmed knee-highs with a subtle zig-zag print 4. Cashmere fishbone knee-highs 5. Wool and modal marionette booties 6. Acrylic and polyester snow dot tights 7. Beige haus haus knee-highs 8. Mondrian knee-highs

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ten things I love

Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I got a huge deluge of kit orders (awesome! thank you!) so I am working hard to finish those as well as a really beautiful yellow/grey/white bridal bouquet that is HUGE. I also want to take some pictures of new things I am making (but I need daylight to do that, so later). Those are my goals tomorrow.

I am having one of those days where I need to stay positive and keep my eye on the ball. Making lists is always inherently pleasing to me. Here is one about nice things.

1. This is the quote that first started my day looking up. What wise and inspiring words.

Found at Perfect Sentiment

2. I love how my husband always offers to make me food. I pick what I want, and he makes a double order and we share. Today for lunch we had blueberry pancakes. He is the nicest, least selfish person I know and I feel so lucky.

3. This bridal bouquet made entirely of vintage brooches. Photo by Studio del Fiore, found at Offbeat Bride.

4. I can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous printed hoisery by Les Queues de Sardines.

5. My good friend Jeff shared this article with me about being realistic about your limits and setting boundaries: Say Yes to Saying No

6. Adorable, totally apolitical yard sign satire from my friend John Henry at What Cheer. I can’t wait to have my kid–we will have so much fun like this.

7. Little bunny index tabs from Lemontree77 on Etsy

8. I so want this stuffed kitty for Alice. Made by Sleepyking

9. I love that my upperclassmen who have been slacking off didn’t do well at our last speech meet, but I had four (I believe?) hardworking freshman break finals. Ha-ha! Practice does pay off!

10. This picture from the University of Okoboji Winter Games is amazing! My mom is in it–she is where the bird’s wing meets the neck. Photo by Judy Hemphill.

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interior design inspiration photos

Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I’ve been cutting out so much fabric today that orange is kind of starting to look pink, and grey is starting to look brown…it’s either time for a break or my brain cells are seriously dying. Today I was driving to one of my favorite stores–a very usual stop–and I got lost and had to call Dave to remind me how to get there. Duh!

This week I had my first consultation with interior designer Jessica McKay of Birdhouse Interior Design (CUTE website!) and I can’t wait to start working together on my house this week. I feel like I have a great eye for color and design and scale, but I also want to file this under “not my problem.” With my workload, other projects on the table, impending parenthood and increasing fatigue, I love that Jessica is going to take some of the pressure and stress out of decorating and give me some instant gratification.

I wanted to share some of the pictures collecting in my inspiration folder. I’m sure you’ve seen many of them around the blogosphere–it seems like so many of us have the same good taste! You can see the sources of these images over at my imgfave site.

Like blogger Jordan Ferney has talked about, one of my goals this year is to have every room in my house decorated so that I can feel happy and comfortable and content everywhere in my house. We are the couple that lives totally in the living room–we eat at the coffee table, we sit on the couch and talk after work, we watch tv before bed, I often sit in there and sew during the day–when I had my cyst rupture, we even slept in the living room for over a week! We have this whole house full of space that I don’t even like using! It’s sad!

I want to have places for things.

I want to get some art. (We have none!)

I want to paint my dressing room that dusty rose color and write on the walls. I want it to be a magical place for my daughter to try on shoes and paint her nails.

Another goal is to paint with a bold color. (Maybe even wallpaper.)

What do you want to do with your space in your deepest, wildest home decorating fantasies?

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photo inspo dump

Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I saw these Rosegold booties on Gilt and reloaded the page to be the first to order them–and then as soon as I put them in my cart, they were sold out. Drat!

Trying hard not to fall into the trap of buying tons of disposable plastic baby stuff–I am only buying the things I really need. A crib, a surface for changing diapers, a stroller, a car seat. What else do you consider absolute must-have big-ticket purchases?

I love these simple drawings from Krisatomic’s Daily Draw set on Flickr. This one is currently my desktop background.

Found via Paul Mathers, who puts together my favorite photo collections.

You should tell yourself this every day.

One of my favorite gifts to give is a single three-foot balloon. I hope there isn’t too much wind for my runway show this year because I want each model to carry a big armload of these! Found via Oh Joy!

Been so in love with this sheet set from Dwell. Just my colors!

These pretty Oscars look like pasta

Found via Sooner or Later

Working hard!
xo
meg

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polka dot house (and some questions for you)

Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

1. Today I installed Roman bamboo shades in my new studio upstairs. They look SO cool and I’m so proud that I did it myself! I decided to move upstairs from the basement for a few reasons:
…It’s right next door to the baby’s room
…The basement is freezing
…The basement is ugly
…It’s better to lay felt and projects out on a wood floor than carpet
…Having a little less space will be a fun challenge. I think I will do a better job controlling clutter and maximizing my space usage. I know I can do it!

2. Moving things upstairs and going through all of my craft stuff, I noticed that I have a TON of polyester and acrylic felt (the kind you buy in craft stores). Now that I only use wool felt, the acrylic/poly stuff is just taking up space. I feel bad shilling it off to customers because it’s not something I like working with myself, but I don’t want to keep it knowing it won’t be used.

Would you use my acrylic felt if I cut it up, polka dotted some of it, and did a giveaway?

3. How horrified would our neighbors be if we painted the side of our house like this?

Photo found via Oh Joy!

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my goals for 2010

Posted on 03. Jan, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

Last year I resolved to look my best every time I left the house, and I did a good job with that one.

Next year I am keeping that resolution and adding three:
1. Stop saying so many negative things
2. Waste less
3. Ask my friends to teach me something they are good at

These other things would be nice to do too. I think this is more like a New Year’s To-Do List than a list of resolutions:
1. Learn how to swing a golf club (can you teach me?)
2. Host a mimosa brunch on my porch
3. Finish my book proposal
4. Leave Alice and Dave at home and go on a long weekend trip
5. Try a new creative technique like bookmaking or letterpress
6. Make ten how-to videos
7. Have a yard sale
8. Host a birthday party
9. Make Dave lots of fun and adventurous lunches for work

photo via mackin ink

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ten cool things.

Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Princess Lasertron.

1. About half of the packages ordered this month went out on Monday, and the rest are going tomorrow with the generous help of Mr. Lasertron. (And I slipped on those stairs twice! Rude!)

2. My super cute friend Sarah’s new shopping/fashion blog, What I Really-Really Want.

3. This adorable picture of her and her husband taken by Bill Sitzmann of Minorwhite.

3. Clara and Brandon’s fairytale wedding, found on Offbeat Bride

4. An excellent quote.

5. Jordan Ferney’s post about stocking stuffers for dudes is full of good ideas

6. In that vein, Shoestring Mag’s Top Ten Gifts for Kids That Inspire Creativity

7. The dining room of my dreams, via Sooner or Later.

8. I love Nikki McClure’s delicate and beautiful paper cuts. This journal recently arrived in the mail and I can’t wait to start filling it out–it’s really the baby book I’ve been looking for, that isn’t too dorky or precious.

9. Smile.

10. Loving local chick Mary Pattavina’s blog, Pretty Good Things. She also showed her hats at Omaha Fashion Week this year!

So a ruptured ovarian cyst is the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life. I feel pretty stoked for labor now. Hey, maybe I can handle it.
xo

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survey schmurvey

Posted on 12. Nov, 2009 by Princess Lasertron.

From the Red Velvet Girls blog.

1. What is the latest piece of artwork you have purchased?

this

from here

2. What’s a recipe you have been dying to try, but haven’t got around to it yet?

I’m not an adventurous eater and there aren’t many things I want to try, but I really want to learn how to make this German Oven Pancake.

photo via flickr

3. Post a photo from your flickr favorites that is inspiring to you at the moment.

so many!

via decorology

via miss marionette

via fashion addict

via lindsey marie

4. What’s something you have been enjoying as of late?

fruit tartlettes from the bakery down the block
softlips vanilla
vellum
shrinky dinks
sewing with zippers. I got the hang of it!

5. What’s something you would like to try?

working from 8am-5pm instead of 5pm-8am
learning to crochet

6. What’s something you’re looking forward to in November?

finding out the gender of our baby
the magical weekend of madness that is silver bella
the beginning of blair high school speech season

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stuff I’m loving….elsewhere on the internet

Posted on 08. Nov, 2009 by Princess Lasertron.

1. Kits kits kits. I am working on some new kits for Silver Bella and I am starting to notice little pre-packaged kits EVERYWHERE. My friend Eric showed me this Tooth Fairy Kit–I wish I had this when I was little! Is it too early to order one for my little sprout now? Haha…

(I’m also thinking about starting a kit club next year…any interest?)

2. Want a smile? Agatha Ruiz de la Prada never fails to impress and delight–check out her Spring 2010 collection on Project Rungay.

3. One of my Australian friends sent me a link to Olive’s Friend Pop, a vintage-inspired children’s clothing store. I love the little jumpers and overalls–you can see from all the details how much care they take in their designs.

4. “If you were to mentor other businesswomen, what would your advice be?” Ariel, the Offbeat Bride and soon-to-be Offbeat Mama answers reader questions.

5. Jenn Maruska does the cutest embroidery I’ve ever seen. This kitten design is on one of her original bookmarks–don’t you love the string in it’s mouth? hahaha!

6. I’m looking for more German school supplies and toys. This chalk set from Present & Correct.

7. Love all the adorable stationery from The Beautiful Project

8. …and these tiny red felt shoes from the A+R store.

9. …and this beautiful turquoise subway tiled bathroom found via Birdhouse Interiors

10. I think I could sleep here.

Tomorrow I’m going on a trip to work with my mom and couture designer Joi Mahon, who is helping me with the 2010 dress line. I hope to finish picking out fabric and see some samples!