I tend to split my outfits during the week equally between skirts and pants. And when it comes to pants, I usually stick to skinny black jeans to make getting dresses and accessorizing as simple as possible. Though, every once in awhile, I want to add a bright burst of color to my basics and these paid pants are my new favorite wardrobe addition.

I Wore:
Plaid Pants, Tripp NYC (Asos)
Sweater, Sonia Rykiel for H&M
Tank top (underneath), Vera Wang for Kohls
Stud bracelet, H&M
Bow, Forever 21
Boots, Proenza Schouler

Readers: What’s your current favorite wardrobe obsession?

Over the weekend, I paid a visit to Roadside Attraction to catch up with my dad and grandparents. Enclosed and complete with a fire pit and foliage, it feels like a secret sanctuary in the middle of the city.

Afterwards, we stopped by a bar that’s next door to a former mechanic that my grandpa worked at over 50 years ago. My grandparents are amazing; at 80 years young they like to unwind by gambling and having a few drinks.

With a great coffee mug and my trusty Pantone notebook, I’m up for whatever the day throws at me.

I love the colors of the Hawthorne location of Cha! Cha! Cha! So cheerful!

I spent Thursday hanging out in my natural habitat wearing my favorite Topshop sweater.

During a break between projects, I picked up Surface for some visual inspiration.

It’s okay having dirty dishes sitting around my office if they look good, right?

I found these plaid pants on sale at ASOS. They’re my new favorite wardrobe staple and liven everything up. And with that, I’m off to relax. Have a great weekend, everyone!

• Photographer (and Nubbytwiglet.com client) Luke Copping just got multiple stamps made of his branding and they look awesome. Now I want to get a set of my own…

• If you’re a design student that’s about to graduate, this advice is short, sweet and helpful.

• Album covers minus their now deceased members.

• What are your thoughts on JC Penney’s new branding? I think it’s completely appropriate for the market they’re going after.

• The ultimate Alt Summit roundup on Pinterest.

• Kern & Burn is an online and print publication that curates discussions, interviews and essays. And, it is beautifully designed.

• Five tips for shooting great outdoor photos!

• If it wasn’t already obvious, Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day” took place on January 20, 1992.

• I really want the Computer Arts Collection of design guides. They’re so beautifully designed!

• I’m totally in love with the F. Troupe branding!

• What does it mean to declare social bankruptcy?

I normally don’t post about interviews I’ve done on the front page of my blog (instead, the links go here) but I wanted to make a special exception for this interview that Kat of Rock n Roll Bride just shared. It’s probably the most thorough, in-depth interview I’ve done to date and touches upon how my business name transpired, my attitude towards handling criticism and how I first got started with blogging. I love Kat’s energy and unique questions — please take a look!

This collage contains two of my favorite things, lace and stripes done up in fail-safe black and white. Oh so chic and Parisian! View the full Fashion Notebook set on Flickr.

Late last year, one of my dreams came true when Joey built me a shoe closet. It’s one of my favorite parts of the house now and here’s how it came to be:

Like most older homes, Wolfgang Manor has some major quirks. There are four full-sized doors just in our small-ish bedroom alone. FOUR! When we moved in, two of those doors led to attic spaces, bare rafters and all. Joey transformed the larger of the two into an all-white art studio last year but that still left another free. I’d been wanting a designated place to store all my shoes because I ain’t gonna lie, I have a lot of them. They’d slowly started taking over my home office, filling up a book shelf and creeping across the floor. In my world, a cluttered space equals a cluttered mind and the shoes needed a new home.

The soon-to-be shoe closet was a dead space with exposed rafters, doing nothing but storing a pile of miscellaneous clutter. I wish we had some good ‘before’ photos because it was really dark and creepy. Since it was upstairs, it peaked with the angles of the roof and was an odd shape. Joey had to first frame and drywall the space, then tape, spackle and sand, then prime and paint. Once the space was complete, we found these great ornate, oversized brackets at Home Depot along with a slab of pine that Joey cut for the shelf and painted white.

All in all, the transformation cost only $150.00 at most from beginning to end, mostly because the labor was free (thanks, Joey!) and we had the flooring left over from his studio remodel. The back wall was wallpapered with a scrap of Cole & Son Woods, which we had left from our dining room.

Shoes have always been my ‘thing.’ I’m big on only collecting objects that I can use all the time. When I was really young, my mom had stilettos in every color of the rainbow (this was the mid-80s) and she’d pay me a few dollars every once in awhile to arrange them in her closet. I think even back then, I was doing it by color. As I got older, my first few retail jobs in college were at shoe stores. I guess I’ve always viewed footwear differently than most people. Shoes to me are like wearable art. What can I say? I love shoes.

I’m still focusing on the little details that make my surroundings feel like home. Fresh flowers always seem to do the trick.

I’ve never been much of a tea drinker but Steven Smith has started to change all that. Besides producing the best tea I’ve ever tasted, the packaging is pretty much perfect, from the logo to the subtle patterns to the type treatments. Love it so much.

I just picked up some mini letterpess valentines by Egg Press. Cute, huh? If you’re in town, you can find packages of four at Schoolhouse Electric.

Speaking of Schoolhouse Electric, I took my dad by their new showroom & store last weekend and had a great time admiring their displays as usual. So cozy!

Always judge a lobby by their selection of books and magazines. This one gets an A+.

If you were one of the 50 people who sent me your address during the art flyer giveaway last month, all packages have been mailed! Thanks to everyone who has sent me an Instagram photo of your goodies!

Last night I joined Auntie Nubs for dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant,Pho Van which of course ended with us laughing so hard we were nearly crying…because of this sign. Hot For Cookie?! I tried to do my own David Lee Roth move, lost my balance and fell backwards into the window. I’ll do anything for a photo-op! Have a fantastic weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday for a very special shoe closet reveal.

• I love Dana Tanamachi’s hand-drawn chalk lettering for the February cover of O Magazine!

• Remember that beauty is often in the details and putting in that extra 10% will take you far.

• Everyone in blogland seems to want to know how to make an animated GIF these days and Pugly Pixel shows us how!

• The trend of blogs releasing print projects is heating up. I love the Design*Sponge newspaper!

• The most amazing high definition image of Earth.

• One of the original men in advertising, David Ogilvy offers up some great advice in I am a lousy copywriter.

• Famous photographers pose with their most iconic images.

• I’ve been loving the variety of recaps from the Alt Summit. My three favorites are by Gala, Bri and Promise!

• Kris Atomic’s photos from her stay in Davos, Switzerland are SO GOOD.

• What does it take to literally grow a logo?

• Solange Knowles has a great blog documenting her personal style and photography over at My Damn Blog.

While I was in Phoenix a few weeks ago, I made a stop at Barnes & Noble for some much needed editorial inspiration to fuel a few upcoming print projects. While perusing the magazine racks, I came across Monster Children, a beautifully designed Australian title with an emphasis on skateboarding, photography, surfing and music.

Though my lifestyle doesn’t necessarily align with the Monster Children demographic, the use of negative space on the cover immediately caught my attention. As I flipped through the issue, I was equally wowed by the sparse yet creative page layouts. The editorial design was so beautiful that I felt like I was flipping through a book.

As budgets for many periodicals continually shrink, a lot of magazines these days don’t put the effort into composing creative layouts like they used to but Monster Children is a huge exception. Even the page numbers look great! If you get a chance, pick up this magazine. After all, beauty is often in the details.

For an aesthetics junkie like me, I knew that when I upgraded to the iPhone 4 last month, only one particular case would do. If you’re a color lover that’s in the market for a super basic case that doesn’t bulk up your phone, this may be the answer. And in case you’re wondering, the allure of constantly pulling a giant Pantone swatch out of my purse still hasn’t gotten old!