Buttercup Bungalow

flickr fun: Jump!

2012-02-01T03:01:00.004-05:00

I love the creative minds hanging out at flickr. These are from toadstool at dadaya's photo sets. She's got TONS more, her outfits are varied and she obviously expresses herself with them. Not too serious -- but seriously fun.

Enjoy!

She knows how to rock a cute skirt, a short jacket and a fierce pair of heels, doesn't she?

Faded fairy tales ...

2012-01-30T03:01:00.039-05:00

moonmomma/deviantart

The Romance of Sadness

Pink loves blue!

2012-01-28T03:01:00.016-05:00

Heartbeat Oz

flickr

Winter grace ...

2012-01-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

LiLiROZE Photography

2012-01-26T03:01:00.010-05:00

all images: LiLiROZE

Welcome, beautiful dreamers!

2012-01-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

I have noticed lately that my readership numbers are slowly but steadily climbing. I'm flattered and excited to think that there are others who want to follow me down the path of my own beautiful daydreaming!

If you have recently joined -- welcome! If you've been a faithful follower for a while, thank you! Buttercup Bungalow does lie fallow for long stretches at a time, but I always come back to it.

I need to have a corner of the world to exult in -- and share -- the beautiful things I find. The world can be a rough place, harshest on even the sturdiest of souls. We need our hideaway places to come and refresh ourselves, to dream our loveliest dreams and renew ourselves with reveries.

Lilac and lavender loveliness ...

2012-01-24T03:01:00.005-05:00

Victorian Cameo Brooch

Mid 19th-century

Aawsomblei Antique and Vintage Jewelry

Duralee

Ysolda

Haute Design

flickr fun: turquoise treasures

2012-01-23T03:01:00.002-05:00

flickr / MySoCalledVintage

flickr / meekssandygirl

flickr / Huzzah Vintage

flickr / IDA Interior Lifestyle

Pretty things: blue cameos

2012-01-21T03:01:00.000-05:00

flickr / Good Girls Studio

Cameo Pill Box

Wedding Depot

Wedgwood Muse Brooch

Crystal Classics

Luulla / Kaori Kaori

flickr / MySoCalledVintage

Glamour Spot: Yves Saint Laurent

2012-01-20T07:59:00.003-05:00

Sometimes the detail photos in runway shots are a lot more interesting than the entire outfit. These are from the Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2012 RTW collection, as seen at Vogue.com.

There is something perpetually 1970's about Yves Saint Laurent -- in the best sort of way. There was a liberated spirit about that decade, one of the few truly modern eras in high fashion, marked by kind of rebirth of sophistication, a serious return to the elements of design and a desire to innovate. Fashion "broke the mold" in the 60's, but it came of age in the 70's.

I think of YSL as "hard-edged glamour" -- but never trashy, never crass. Some YSLs from 40 years ago can easily compete with a lot of contemporary fashion and will probably outlast them 40 years from now.

The YSL woman is confident, cosmopolitan and eternally sophisticated. I like to believe there is a YSL woman in each of us!

Ad Loveliness: Swarovski Dance Film

2012-01-20T00:28:00.000-05:00

Tea and pastels: Spring on my mind!

2012-01-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

"If you are cold, tea will warm you.
If you are heated, it will cool you.
If you are depressed, it will cheer you.
If you are excited, it will calm you."
(William E Gladstone)

flickr

Such Pretty Things

flickr

The Sweetest Occasion

Such Pretty Things

Pieter Estersohn

Selina Lake

And what would a spot of tea be without a good book?

flickr fun: Books and Tea

2012-01-16T00:09:00.004-05:00

From a flickr set of photographs by J.M. Richards: "Books and Tea" ...
... each photo with a mood all its own.

Old Books, Grandmother's Teacup

Childhood Books and Tea

Ebenezer Scrooge and Tea

Fairy Tales and Tea

Jane and Tea

Elmer, His Dragon and Tea

This post was inspired by an e-mail I received from a fellow blogger, with whom I have begun to correspond. Although we chat via e-mail, it feels more like getting an old fashioned (actual paper!) letter when I read what she's written because it's obviously written with care, and never too short.

You know what I mean about a too short letter? It leaves you with the lingering feeling that the person could have written more but decided it wasn't worth their time? Perhaps that's too harsh. I just prefer to be able to savor and linger over words, and know what a gift they can be from one person to another.

Anyway, here is a part of what she wrote in a recent message, the part that inspired this post: "I stopped on the way home ... bought 3 pre-made salads, a bag of romaine, a wedge of brie (I traded in pastries for cheeses), fresh squeezed orange juice, whole wheat bread, several apples, a banana, a cranberry orange tea bread and I forgot what else."

Doesn't that sound like the perfect little shopping trip? Just enough, not too much, trusting that there will be more time, more food, more life left in a few days to go back and get more. No hauling a dozen plastic bags at a time, no huge list to check off, just enough precious, simple, sustaining things in just enough abundance.

Savoring.

Graphic Goodness: Darling Clementine

2012-01-08T23:12:00.002-05:00

Darling Clementine is a Norweigan design team turning out REALLY cute, eye-popping stuff.

Oh those crafty, talented Scandinavians!

Give me a pink to build a dream on ...

2012-01-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

... and my imagination will make that moment last.

Forties-Fifties-Sixties Love

Absolutely Ladylike

Sasha Pivarova

lookbook.nu

Zsa Zsa Bellagio

source unknown

Heavenly Creature! Marchesa Fall/Winter 2011

2012-01-06T01:12:00.002-05:00

Sublime. Ethereal. Diaphanous. Dreamlike.

Who else does it like Marchesa?

via models.com

I love my cat. Her body is frail but her spirit is strong ...

2012-01-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

My Kitten Girl is sixteen. She is battling thyroid imbalance, arthritis and (just recently) the probable beginnings of renal failure. I have had her since she was a baby. In the past few days I was convinced she was on her last legs, but she's shown signs of improvement. I don't consider her out of the woods yet, and even if she is, I'm too sobered to trust any improvement yet.

Never lost an animal to old age before, or anything really except divorce. That was hard enough. I wonder sometimes if I'm going to make it through this intact. She is dearer to me than any other being in my daily life (dearer than most any at all), has been with me through some tumultuous years, and never once treated me with anything less than gentleness. (Other cats? Fair game for the claws. Mom? Just love and occasional mischief).

Please pray for me and for my cat. I am so disspirited right now that I'm not even sure prayer will make a difference, but I don't think it can hurt. Just knowing that other people are thinking of us will mean a great deal.

This is far more difficult than I ever thought it would be, the prospect of saying goodbye. Far, far harder. People tell me I'm strong, but I feel so weak.

1950's Allure

2012-01-02T03:01:00.001-05:00

Heartbeat Oz

Ivy Nicholson

via I Don't Want To Be Alone, I Want To Be Left Alone

Forties Fifties Sixties Love

Happy New Year's Day!

2012-01-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

May 2012 be fruitful for you and yours!

Looking ahead to 2012 ...

2011-12-31T03:01:00.003-05:00

... and hoping for a year full of memorable moments.

Happy New Year!

Buttercup Bungalow gets a "Liebster Blog" Award!

2011-12-30T14:18:00.001-05:00

Kim Grey of the ever-lovely lamb & blonde has just awarded Buttercup Bungalow a Liebster Blog Award! "Liebster" means favorite or beloved in German, and the award helps to draw attention to blogs that aren't too well known -- but should be!

My love of lamb & blonde -- and Kim's aesthetic / curator's eye -- are well established. The world through Kim's gaze is a beautiful place, full of enchantment, elegance and beauty. To be picked by her for a Liebster Blog Award is a REALLY big deal for me!

With the award comes the opportunity to pass it on to five other deserving blogs. In no particular order, my selections are:

Romi and Bob

The sweet delights of home, crafting, cooking and kids. Warms my heart.

La Vie en Rose

Unabashed romance from a beautiful dreamer. A gal after my own dreams.

Passage Paradis

Los Angeles through the eyes of a local artist. She pulls me out of my reveries about the past and shows me that there is a whole lot of interesting stuff going on right here in the present day!

Urban Stems

One woman's on-line inspiration folder. Her decor vibe is "Romantic vintage, floral designs and a relaxed elegance". What's not to like about all of THAT? Oh, and she lives by the sea in Ireland. Sold!

Greyhouse Journal

A creative, a Corgi and a fascinating diary through divorce to the wide open world beyond. A wonderfully personal blog that reads more like a diary, with lots and lots of wonderful photos and quotes.

Thank you all for sharing yourselves with the world!

A glimpse of stocking was oh so shocking!

2011-12-30T13:22:00.006-05:00

What IS it about legs, lovely legs?

On a man or a woman, a well turned leg is a thing of great beauty.

(Yes, I'm a "leg woman". A man with nice legs turns my head!)

The advantage women have in the "leg department" is stockings (which don't necessarily feel like an advantage, though they look good), and heels. There's no denying the allure of an elegant shoe, one that accentuates the curvature of the instep, the contours of the female ankle and calves.

All the great Hollywood sirens have known this -- and used it to their advantage. With the possible exception of Katharine Hepburn, who did things her own way, and got away with it because she was inimitably and always gloriously herself.

Whatever happened to showing "just enough" skin? I'm tired of too much skin on TV, in the movies, on the street. I think men's imaginations need a bit more mystery to work with. Then again, I am old fashioned to the point where I'm thoroughly -- probably hopelessly -- out of step.

Oh well ... nothing new there!

The Sweet, Solitary Pleasure of Reading

2011-12-28T01:49:00.000-05:00

Inseparables (Florence Fuller, 1900)

via Thomerama

Whilst Reading: A Portrait of Sofia Kramskoya, the Painter’s Wife (Ivan Kramskoi, 1866)

via KindlePapers

The Reader (Henri Fantin-Latour, 1836-1904)

via Women Reading

Leisure (William Worcester Churchill, 1858–1926)

via Women Reading

Young Woman Reading (Hermann Jean Joseph Richir, 1866-1942)

via Guarisco Gallery

Cult of Beauty: Saoirse Ronan in Vogue

2011-12-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

Bewitching photos of actress Saoirse Ronan in Vogue (US) December 2011, as photographed by Steven Meisel.

It's enough to make the Pre-Raphaelites swoon! (Precisely the point).

Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2012

2011-12-27T18:58:00.002-05:00

The ads and the show for this collection were pastille perfection. A fashion show AND a carousel? Does it get more flight-of-fancy pretty than that?! No.

photos: Miami Provocateur

Another Christmas behind us ...

2011-12-27T08:25:00.005-05:00

I hope yours was a good one!

I'm afraid I was a bit Grinch-y this year, but there is always next year for a re-do. My Kitten Girl's health has begun failing more seriously than before, and I can't be completely certain she'll be with me next year. She's been mine for sixteen years, and contemplating life without her is more painful than I can handle with complete equanimity.

Still, hope springs eternal. Rainbow Bridge and all of that.

I'm on a week's self-imposed blogging vacation from my primary blog The Daily Corgi, which means I'm blogging ahead of time and scheduling posts when I ought to be leaving the entire thing alone and taking a REAL break.

Alas, I think I'm a "Type A" blogger!

Laurie

Vintage Ad Loveliness: 1920s

2011-12-01T03:44:00.001-05:00

These 1920's lovelies have been lingering on my hard drive for a few months now. It's high time I release them from that limbo!

Wish I knew the illustrators' names ... if you do, please leave a note in the comments.

Enjoy.

While I'm away ...

2011-11-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

If you're a regular follow of Buttercup Bungalow, you know it's been a while since I posted. There's a very good reason for it: The Daily Corgi. I am busier than a one-armed paper hanger with The Daily Corgi blog, facebook pages, etc. It's growing by leaps and bounds, and right now there just isn't enough time for me to tend to that and Buttercup.

So Buttercup Bungalow is on hiatus, but it will be back eventually. In the meanwhile, might I direct your attention to a wonderful new blog (and soon-to-be online shop) from friend and fellow blogger Kim Grey? It's called lamb & blonde, and it reflects Kim's exquisite eye and appreciation for life's beauties, big and little both.

Kim's blogging and "curating" of images has been a source of inspiration to me for a long while now. You can see a list of her blogs (all worth visiting) at her blogger profile HERE. She also posts on Pinterest HERE.

Here's to finding the beautiful in every day.

Lovely rooms, lilac and rosy hues ...

2011-09-20T23:34:00.000-04:00

Designer's Guild via Haute Design

This Is Glamorous

Designer's Guild via This Is Glamorous

from Boudoir by Hillary Robertson via This Is Glamorous

Heartbeat Oz

Every woman needs a LBD ...

2011-09-20T03:03:00.005-04:00

... Long Black Dress!

Indulge me in a fantasy post (I know, they're basically all fantasy by this point -- but isn't that half the fun?)

I openly declare my love of the allure of being utterly and completely (or very nearly) covered up. And while we're at it, covered up in layers of rustling silk, chiffon, crinoline ...

Source: google.com via Laurie on Pinterest

... bold lace and a bit of crinoline ...

Source: vogue.it via Laurie on Pinterest

... gloriously composed in diaphanous swathes ...

Source: vogue.it via Laurie on Pinterest

... looking every bit the part of the woman standing at the edge of the sea at dusk, dark skirt billowing in the mist ...

Source: vogue.it via Laurie on Pinterest

... battling urban ennui in a declarative statement of a coat (here I AM!) ...

Source: absolutesunday.blogspot.com via Laurie on Pinterest

... or playing dress-up as a modern day slightly dark-sided Alice (drink this!), or a Little Woman Jo?

This is some kind of greatness. Not quite costume, far more than merely clothing. It exists somewhere in between. Only on the runway, perhaps, or in the magazines.

But also very much in my imagination. That may be the best place of all!

All images via my Pinterest boards.

Those certain shades of blue ....

2011-09-18T03:01:00.019-04:00

I never really was a big fan of blue, until I began blogging (that is to say, collecting images in earnest) a couple of years ago.

Now it's one of my favorite hues ... it just has to be the right kind of blue, and all of these are.

Heartbeat Oz/tumblr

Heartbeat Oz/tumblr

(Almost aqua, but not quite ... )

Heartbeat Oz/tumblr

Absolutely Ladylike

I did a post a few days ago about how the Summer shades of blue are slowly fleeting for the year, and I guess I needed to remind myself that although blue has many faces -- in fact, precisely because it has so many faces -- it is flexible, versatile and adaptable to the entire calendar year.

Although I can't say I've ever seen a blue Valentine (not even the film) ...

p.s. Since beginning my Pinterest boards, I've begun gathering new followers here to the blog. My curiosity is piqued, and although I don't know how much feedback I'll get (Buttercup has been pretty non-interactive, as I'm so caught up in my other blog), I would like to know why you signed on, and -- for those of you who've been hanging around for a while (the silent majority?) -- what is it you like best about my blog?

How would you describe it to others?

Do you ever share it with friends?

I realize the blog is extremely "web 1.0" looking, but I'm looking for quality of content here more than anything else. I spend (probably too much) time looking at images on-line and in magazines, so my eye knows precisely what I like. If I don't absolutely LOVE an image, it doesn't get on here.

Trust me, that leaves a whole lot of pictures in the discard pile :-)

This blog is a space for me to let my completely dreamy, enthusiastic, emotional, visual-seeking self take flight. My actual environment and mode of dress looks barely like anything here, but a gal can dream, and this is where I do some of that dreaming. It's where a side of me comes out that not very many people know.

Thank you for being here and sharing in my little curated gallery of lovely things. A beautiful thing is twice as lovely when shared.

Laurie

p.p.s. If you don't Pinterest yet, you have to start!

Lilac, lavender, violet, purple!

2011-09-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

Anthropologie

Victoria Magazine

Noa Noa

Pretty on the outside!

2011-09-16T00:44:00.000-04:00

Can you imagine what these places look like on the inside, if they're this beautiful on the outside?

WOW!

tumblr/victoria station

tumblr/heartbeat oz

Here come the blues again ...

2011-09-14T15:57:00.003-04:00

The blues that sing of a Summer now fading slowly away for another year ...

Just Beachy

... the blue of the sky reflecting on the ocean, the music of the lapping tide floating in on the breeze ...

Darling Clothes

... the blue of wildflowers and yard sale finds and pretty cotton dresses ...

tumblr/heartbeat oz

... the blue of the sea, of old suitcases, of vintage things that speak of many Summers past.

The season for this shade of blue is passing, but like the ephemeral months of mid-year, it's never far from my mind.

* * * * *

Blue, oh blue, I love you.

Fall colors will dim you, but only for a while.

You make your way back come Winter, as frosty hues, royal blues, even (for the luckiest) Tiffany-box blue.

via my Pinterest board "Kid's Stuff"

You are among the most faithful, dear blue!

Perennial favorites: raspberry pink, fuschia, candy pink, magenta ...

2011-09-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

For me, these colors will always be fun, exciting and combine-able in a nearly endless variety of ways. What do YOU think of these hues?

In praise of brown frocks ...

2011-09-12T03:01:00.004-04:00

Jessica McClintock

via Textile Source

Shabby Apple

Nanette Lepore

Fall 2010

weheartit

Vogue Portugal

July 2010

Balenciaga

tumblr

Lavenham jackets!

2011-09-08T00:08:00.000-04:00

English plaid, tweed, cable knits and toggle coats have me pining for October, which coincidentally is right round the corner!

All images: Lavenham

Bring on the pretty: Elie Saab Fall 2011

2011-09-07T03:01:00.001-04:00

Elie Saab

Ravishing ruffles!

2011-09-05T03:01:00.002-04:00

Elle Russia

Gorgeous Glam

Harper's Bazaar Romania

Februar 2009

New York Times

Style Magazine

2007

Vogue

Christian Lacroix for La Redoute

2011-09-04T03:01:00.004-04:00

A few years back (2007), Christian Lacroix designed for La Redoute. This fantastic coat is one of his creations.

Loved it on sight!

I will always associate Lacroix with the rich, fiery reds and fuschias that made some of his 1980's designs so memorable.

weheartit

A pretty post, just because I need to feel better ...

2011-09-03T17:04:00.002-04:00

... and I always feel better after looking at images of great beauty!

I'm back from a professional conference (pertaining to my other blog), and I'm kind of crashing from the stress/high of that. I'm prone to very blue moods anyhow, and things like this just make them worse.

Anyhow ... on with the posting!

Absolutely Ladylike

I've always loved satin ribbon tied into big, swooping bows. This hue is like a pale version of the famous Tiffany blue ... looks kind of like the inside of a flower at the center of the bow.

Absolutely Ladylike

Esther Louise Photography

tumblr/heartbeatoz

from my Pinterest boards

Funny how this post turned out to be a kind of "pink loves blue" one ... I hadn't intended that, but as always I am happy with that combination!

Hope you're having a satisfying day.

Braids, romantic braids!

2011-09-03T03:01:00.002-04:00

photograph by Anja Verdugo

Clever Nettle

a glamorous little side project

Elegance in black & white!

2011-09-02T03:01:00.004-04:00

Creatively Captured

Vogue

March 2009

Elle Sweden

May 2011

Vikki Dougan

Life Magazine, 1951

Countess Rosina Almaviva

2011-09-01T03:01:00.001-04:00

Deborah Lloyd for Kate Spade

via ology.com

My Pinteresting Life

2011-08-31T12:03:00.000-04:00

Now that I've discovered -- and learned how to use -- Pinterest, I am spending way more time on it than I ought to! I'm an image pack rat, however, so this gives me a place to "store" my favorites somewhere other than my already overly-crowded hard drive, nevermind tearing pages out of magazines (stacks of both grow like mushrooms in my home ... torn-out pages and magazines).

Click on the pic to visit my Pinterest home page.

Anyway -- Pinterest is an awesome tool! I'm just not sure yet how it's going to fit in with my blogging ... although it has certainly generated some new fans for my blog. Building a "board" on Pinterest is like compiling one big blog post.

I'll never run out of images, of that I'm sure. One way or another, there's plenty of grist for for the mill of my curator's imagination!