I know it’s been a long time between posts, but I’ve been a busy girl lately. I left my  full-time job a couple of weeks ago, just started a new one, took a trip to Paris, and celebrated a birthday last week, so needless to say, it’s been hectic! The last minute trip to Paris was such a fun, serendipitous way to mark the end of one era and the beginning of the next.

I’ve been to Paris a few times, but usually it’s been for work or for short visits where I am unable to get in everything in, and one of the things I have always wanted to see are the flea markets around Clignancourt.

Before my trip, I was advised to check out Paul Bert and La Serpette in particular, and they did not disappoint. I knew it would be cool to walk through, but I had no idea how cool. It was endlessly fascinating from start to finish, and even my husband who is not particularly interested in antiques was totally enraptured as well.

Both Paul Bert and La Serpette are considered THE markets for decorators filled with the most interesting finds.

Paul Bert is outdoors and is comprised of miniature streets with vendors along each side, while La Serpette is indoors.

We never grew tired at looking in at each stall at the variety of items each seller had arranged. Some stalls were very focused in terms of style or era, but the most interesting ones to me were the eclectic ones that forced you to walk closer and take a look.

There are no prices on anything, it’s all bargaining, although it was obvious that there were no real bargains here, it’s still considered expensive antiquing.

I had such a crush on some of these trunks and vintage leather travel items from Goyard, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton at Le Monde du Voyage. The trunks were especially fascinating to me, looking at the amazing interior details and imagining what it would be like packing for a journey with such fancy luggage.

After we were done with Paul Bert and La Serpette, we began walking back toward the Metro and came upon another market called Vernaison on our left, the oldest and most authentic of the flea markets. We were fascinated walking around the labyrinth of little stalls, one more surprising than the next. Not as high end as Serpette/Paul Bert, this was clearly the place to hunt for affordable treasures. It was fun looking at all of the costume jewelry in cases, old postcards and books, antique dolls, trinkets & bric-a-brac.

There’s even a gentleman that wheels his cart around the market selling snacks and drinks.

Around one of the side alleys, we heard accordion music and followed it until we reached a dead end and found Chez Louisette. This strange little place has been famous since the 30′s for feeding flea market patrons and entertaining them with a chanteuse. Manuela was singing the day we visited with lots of old Edith Piaf songs which felt like a time warp and we stood for some time enchanted by this little place that seemed to come out of nowhere.

For more details about visiting the Flea Markets around Clignancourt, see this guide. On my next trip, I would love to go back again and check out some of the other markets I didn’t have time to see!

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It’s been so refreshing to see bright colors in Fall fashion’s palette this year unlike the typical earth tones to which we have become accustomed. The hot pink and orange color blocking that was all the rage this summer has turned cooler for Fall, and ladies on the street are turning to acid yellow and emeralds, which are always a good idea.

p.s. The lovely Jacquelyn over at Lark + Linen asked me to participate in her Bits + Pieces series today. So hop on over to Lark + Linen to check it out. Thanks so much for having me, Jacquelyn!

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1. Wild Horses by Stephanie Lategahn

2. Moonstone gold fringe earrings

3. Scotch natural nail polish in Heather Blush

4. Dip dye throw

5. Gate Armoire

6. Alpaca gingham plaid throw

7. Cork coasters

8. Paloma wedge bootie

9. Ingenue bag

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This film looks like it has a lot going for it: Jean-Luc Godard in the prime of French New Wave Cinema, a romance meets danger storyline, and the iconic beauty Anna Karina all set against a cheery nautical color palette. Just added it to my list of films to watch after spotting it on Criterion.

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I have a guest post on Pennyweight today about Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth with a roundup of items that might exist in her house. Hop on over to Pennyweight and check it out! Thanks so much to Elise for having me!

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I try to re-organize myself every fall by cleaning up my desk and buying myself a few fun new office accessories to keep motivated. I am having a hard time letting go of summer, so I can’t think of a better wake-up call then these bright pops of color that are around the marketplace right now. When I saw Andreas Samuelsson’s print it made me want to go back to elementary school and start playing with Spirographs. Poppin is a great company that has a variety of office basics in a rainbow assortment of colors. They were kind enough to send me this red notebook and these ballpoint pens which I love and have been happily using since. (Thanks, Poppin!) Good luck getting back to the grind!

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1. Office Organizer | 2. Nike 6.0 by Andreas Samuelsson | 3. Hypotrochoid Art set | 4. WTF Stamp (this would really come in handy!) | 5. Michael Sodeau Clock | 6. Emerald Ruler | 7. Rainbow notebooks | 8. Endangered Species Rhino and Gorilla erasers | 9. Lucite chevron tray | 10. Classic Sticker pack | 11. Dice erasers | 12. Red notebook | 13. Ruby Notebooks | 14. Poppin tape dispenser and ballpoint pens | 15. & 17. Italian paper clips and pushpins | 16. Get it Done Zebra notepad (listen to that zebra!) | 18. Pop Handset Gold

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I am playing catch up this week and am completely bogged down between work and personal life so I’ll resume with new posts next week. I have some Fall fashion picks lined up and some guest posts –  so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this new Ikat tile from Ravenna Mosaics. How gorgeous would it be as an accent wall?

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Spotted via Christine Martinez on Pinterest. Photos by Ravenna Mosaics

It’s always sad to say goodbye to summer, but hey, autumn can be a lovely change of pace with the sunny days and crisp evenings. I especially love the sense of awakening and productivity it brings after a sleepy few months. I’m headed to Florida to spend the long weekend with a dear friend who is expecting her first baby in November. I’m really looking forward to some quality time together before she becomes a busy mom, and we’ll be decorating the nursery so it’s all set for her daughter’s arrival! Hope you enjoy the long weekend and the last bits of summer, xo.

Download So Long Summer >>>>>>> here

1. Far Away | Washed Out

2. That’s Us/Wild Combination | Arthur Russell

3. Something Good Can Work | Two Door Cinema Club

4. Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat | Cut Copy

5. Murderous Joy | Carter Tanton

6. The Eagle, or the Serpent | Case Studies

7. 50′s | House of Wolves

8. Two Cardinals | Rewards

9. Your Love (The Outfield cover) | Bon Iver

10. Animal (Mark Ronson remix) | Miike Snow

11. Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh | Say Hi

12. Vagabond | Beirut

13. Moonlight | Sunset

14. Koop Island Blues | Koop

15. Comin’ Home Baby | Mel Torme

16. You’re Always on my Mind | Sam Cooke

17. Beechwood Park | The Zombies

18. New Theory | Washed Out

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If you missed Luster’s other mixes, check out  July,  May,  March, and February. Gotta give a shout out to my blog pal Casey over at KID Collective who does a Summer Mix series where I grabbed a couple of these tracks. Check them out!

Photo: June Cottage Trip by The Workroom

Images: Cardinals | Autumn Fern | Red twine | Girl with Balloon from Vogue Italia, Giugno 2007, photographer Ellen von Unwerth via Bricolage |  All other images via Toast, Early Autumn

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It’s been a dramatic week around here, first with the Virginia earthquake that rattled the East Coast and even managed to shake to us a little here in New York. Then, the arrival and aftermath of Hurricane Irene which many are still in the midst of recovering from. We left the city not certain if our Brooklyn neighborhood would be affected by flooding, and were pre-occupied with knowing our help was needed at my family’s house on the beach in Connecticut. After making sure the house was boarded up, basement cleared, and family members safely in a hotel, we weathered the storm with my husband’s family on their homestead just north. Despite some damage to my family’s home on the coast, the silver lining in all of this for us was the time spent together, working alongside each other, and spending some quiet moments while we waited. It’s amazing how short our conversations and overall attention span has become with most of us usually distracted by gadgets, so the simple pleasure of just talking for hours was a welcome change. I’ve been thinking about how lucky we are to have made it through, while others have not been so lucky, and their lives forever changed. It’s essential that we strike a balance between technology and holding on to the simple things in life that seem to be slipping away from us. Have you been thinking about this too?

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Photo by Irene Suchocki