Beautiful Woman: Steel Magnolia

Original magnolia photo courtesy of http://www.shopterrain.com/

Wiktionary defines Steel Magnolia as a [southern] woman who exemplifies both traditional femininity as well as an uncommon fortitude. Our dear friend's "mama", Michelle Fiala, is a firecracker from the deep south with a laugh and personality more vibrant than her fire-engine red hair. So, when Miss Michelle was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma 3 years ago, our mom nicknamed her our Steel Magnolia. And did we mention her unparalleled design eye? During her treatment, Michelle generously and beautifully re-decorated the Wellness Community of Greater St. Louis Center. Her spirit and grace embodies everything we admire in a Beautiful Woman.

In celebration of Michelle Fiala, if you are in or near our hometown of St. Louis, MO, please help support the fight against melanoma by participating in the 6th Annual Miles over Melanoma this Saturday, May 11. Donations can be made to OUR M.O.M through the link below:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SherriMcCann/6th-annual-miles-over-melanoma

To read more about Michelle's heroic journey or leave a message for her and her family, please visit:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michelefiala

To our family, Miss Michelle will ALWAYS be our Steel Magnolia.

All the little things...

We've always been about the little stuff: the perfect polish or a brand new journal. A good book or even better earrings. Or soap. Or vintage tea cups. And let's bring back hankies! (Repurposed pocket squares work just fine too.) In our vast, fast-paced world, the details remind us to slow down. Below, a glimpse of some of the little things we're lusting after at the moment. Because for us, the little stuff leaves the biggest impression.

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Homemaking Quick Tip : Twine-Wrapped tp

Our apologies for fewer posts recently; between weddings and wedding dress shopping, we've been keeping rather busy! But we're back with one of our favorite homemaking tips: it's nice to give guests easy access to your spare roll. As much as we loved our grandmother's hand knit toilet paper covers, those unfortunately went out with the 80s. We're lobbying for a comeback, but meanwhile we love wrapping twine (you know our feelings about twine!) around you spare set for that special added hostess touch. So easy and always well received!

Scarf Spotlight : ash & dans

This week, just when you need that perfect layering piece for Spring, we're thrilled to feature ash&dans, a line of darling embellished jersey scarves and accessories created by two fellow Wash. U. alums, Ashley Cook and Danielle Dankner. The pieces have been worn by everyone from Jessica Alba to Lena Dunham, and it's easy to see why: the scarves showcase feminine styling and details but feel like a favorite vintage tee. Below, some faves from the Spring 2013 line, as well as an interview with the designers. Enjoy!

All scarves featured can be found at http://ashanddans.com/

Celeste & Pearl: What inspires your designs?

ash&dans: Everything inspires our designs; we find inspiration in everything around us.  

Danielle: I always wonder what it would be like to live in Ashley’s brain. She comes up with the most amazing ideas; it’s fun to watch her in action browsing through colored jerseys and embellished trims.

Together, we collaborate on honing in on the best pieces that will make a cohesive collection. Ashley's style is definitely crazy, colorful and bold, whereas my style is much more muted and simple.  Everyone loves quoting our blurb from our website that pretty much sums it all up: "When Ash, the color-loving Coloradan, and Dans, the nothing-but-black-wearing New Yorker, married their distinct styles and personalities, ash&dans was born, the perfect blend of classic and cool."

We always seem to hit the trend right before we know it exists. Feathers in 2009, neons in 2012.  Whatever it is, we somehow see it or feel it before it's hot.  Perhaps it's just a sixth sartorial sense.

C & P: What is the hardest part about running your own business?

ash&dans: One of the biggest challenges was dealing with all of the haters and disbelievers in the beginning. A lot of people would smirk or question our legitimacy when we first told them we were starting a scarf company, but after all of our success, they’re not smirking anymore. I think people are genuinely impressed with how we’ve built up our company from scratch, with not outside help or investments, and garnered a celebrity following. It’s pretty amazing when we step back and look at what we’ve accomplished in just over four years.

C & P: What has been the most rewarding part of ash&dans? 

ash&dans: There are moments when it really hits us – hey, we actually started a business! When you have your own business, most days you just go about your day and don’t really think about how “cool” it is, but when you see your first celebrity wearing your product, or read your first mention or feature in the press, it really is an unbelievable feeling.

  

Leighton Meester was the first celebrity to be photographed wearing one of our scarves on the set of Gossip Girls. I think we jumped and screamed for at least an hour when we first saw her on our computer screen wearing our Niki navy jersey scarf with black lace trim. We didn’t even have our website built at the time; we were in beta mode, more or less. I think it was at that moment when we realized this is actually going to be something big, let’s do this!

Another awesome moment was our feature on the Today Show. Jill Martin offered our scarves on her Steals and Deals segment for a mother’s day special. We thought it was pretty cool to see our scarves on national television, but we had no idea what the response would be like. We sold 3,000 scarves in 24 hours from that segment. I think that was one of our best and worst moments. Best for obvious reasons, worst because we were suddenly catapulted into producing quantities we never imagined in such a short period of time. Our manufacturer in New York is unbelievable and she got it all done in time.

We can't wait to see what these ladies do next!  For more information or to purchase ash&dans, visit http://ashanddans.com/.

From Sweaty to Chic: How to Clean Up in under 5 minutes

We're thrilled to once again feature Jacquelyn from our favorite fitness blog, fitsouffle! Jacquelyn lives in Chicago and is a NASM certified personal trainer and Fletchers Pilates teacher, among other accolades. For years she has motivated us to live our healthiest lives, so we love sharing her genius with you. Today, she's giving us her invaluable tips for going from sweaty to chic in under 5 minutes. With our schedules, we definitely find this useful! (We also admire her bravery photographing herself for the cause after teaching an hour long bootcamp and running 2 miles in the rain! Although we think she's always darling. She cleans up nicely, doesn't she?)

"It's great to be back on Celeste & Pearl again! Today I have put together my often daily routine of what I call "Sweaty to Chic." Hope you enjoy and take some tips with you!

There are some days where you have to choose between getting in a workout or running errands, or maybe you don't have to choose! You can do both by using these quick tips to clean up and get going without anyone knowing you just worked out. I teach bootcamp on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and I have less than five minutes between class and a client to clean up... it's possible!

Products from top: Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Sheer Shine Mist (Travel Size), Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion SPF 15, Sephora Travel Hairbrush, Neutrogena Cleansing Towelettes, Bobbi Brown Cream Concelare, Secret Invisible Solid, Nars Blush, Nars Bronzer, Trish McEvoy High Volume Mascara, Eco Tools Travel Brush Set

How to:

1) Take hair down and brush, spray lightly with glossing mist.  It adds a clean smell and tames fly-aways.
2) Clean face with a Neutrogena cleansing towelette.
3) Apply lotion, creamy concealer, and a light touch of bronzer and blush only if needed (sometimes your post workout glow is enough!).
4) Reapply deodorant to stay smelling fresh :-)
5) Apply mascara to brighten eyes.
6) Simply braid hair to the side to look a little more polished than your workout pony.

Voila! Ready to tackle the world smelling fresh and looking CHIC!"

Artist Feature: Kimia Ferdowsi Kline

We find such beauty and inspiration in the paintings of Iranian-American painter, filmmaker, and Liz's college roommate Kimia Ferdowsi Kline, and we are thrilled to share a sampling of her work and life with you!  Kimia originally hails from Nashville, TN. An MFA graduate from the San Francisco Art Institute and currently living in NYC, she has exhibited both within the US and internationally since 2003. Not only that, but she is absolutely hilarious and always impeccably dressed. Enjoy a taste of her stunning work as well as our interview with her below.  

C & P: Where do you find inspiration? 

Kimia: Recently I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from gardens and their relationship to women. I spent a year painting in India and was lucky to visit many famous gardens throughout the country. I think the theme of the garden and its universal symbolism is one I will be working with for some time to come.

C & P: How long do your paintings take to finish? 

Kimia: Unfortunately there's no consistency in the time they take to finish. Sometimes I'll sit down and within an hour a painting will be finished. Other times it will be a long arduous process over many months.

C & P: What does a typical day look like for you? 

Kimia:  During a typical day, I'll wake up, pack my lunch, and head to my studio in Brooklyn where I'll paint for about 5-7 hours. I try to be consistent with how much time I spend there each day. If I'm not painting, then I'm usually working on the administrative side of being an artist. This includes photographing my work for my website and other social media outlets, researching and applying to grants and paintings residencies, or working on portrait commissions for collectors. 

And while we're at it, Kimia's engagement photos with her now husband, Kenny, are some of the most gorgeous we've ever seen.  Taken by photographer Jose Villa in Napa, we just had to share them too!

For more information on Kimia or to see more of her work, visit her website at http://www.kimiakline.com.

Earning Our (Black & White) Stripes

Stripes: to say we're obsessed is an understatement. They are, by no means, a new trend: Coco (Chanel, of course) loved them for their "graphic sensibility", and ever since she was famously photographed circa 1930 at a French resort wearing a striped top and palazzo pants, the rest of the world has too.  Then there was Brigitte. (Oh, Brigitte.)  And even though it seems stripes trend every Spring and Summer (at least in our closets!), this season we can't get enough of them in black and white. Between the Marc Jacobs suits and the Oscar de la Renta dress, what's so wrong with seeing the world in black and white anyway? And we don't just want to wear them. We also love the Old World Hollywood Glam sensibility that decorating with black and white graphic stripes evokes.  Below, the images that inspire us and the items we're lusting after.  

Coco loved them, so we do too. Image courtesy of http://www.vogue.co.uk

Stripe awning much?  Image courtesy of http://www.istockphoto.com

Graphic black and white stripes look Old Hollywood Glam. Image courtesy of http://theaestate.tumblr.com

Image courtesy of www.housebeautiful.com

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagevogue

Oh Oscar! Image courtesy of http://www.shefinds.com

Image courtesy of http://zsazsabellagio.blogspot.ca

Image courtesy of http://myvintagevogue.com

Uneven tan lines equals worth it. Image origin unknown.

Black, white, and striped all over. Image courtesy of http://shandynicole.tumblr.com

What are you looking at? Image courtesy of http://www.vogue.com

Ahhhhhh.  Image origin unknown.

Striped curtains add panache to any space. Image origin unknown.

Image courtesy of http://expimage.com

Thinking about stripes, Audrey? Image courtesy of http://blog.buyosphere.com

Don't fall, Brigitte! Image courtesy of http://peggymoffitt.tumblr.com

Allie. Image courtesy of http://brabournefarm.blogspot.com

Modern stripes. Image courtesy of http://the-style-skinny.blogspot.com

Image courtesy of http://decor8blog.com

Image courtesy of http://www.countryroad.com

Image courtesy of http://apartmentsilike.wordpress.com

Image courtesy of http://lolobu.com

Image courtesy of http://www.cococozy.com

Image courtesy of http://apartmentsilike.wordpress.com

Marc Jacobs Spring 2013 runway. Image courtesy of www.luckymag.com

 Image origin unknown.

Image courtesy of http://fanantique.blogspot.com

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