best of the oscars

I am so glad everyone stepped it up for the Oscar's. There was no shortage of beautiful and interesting dresses, that is for sure.
Hailee Steinfeld looked fantastic and gets bonus points for choosing an age appropriate dress.
Loved Sandra Bullock's red dress, gorgeous.
Cate Blanchett gets an honorable mention since her dress looked awful on TV but it photographed well.
Camila Alves with the best black dress of the night, no question.
I love Hillary Swank's dress but she needed earrings or a necklace or perhaps even a bracelet to go with it. It is the Oscar's after all.
I thought Mandy Moore looked glam.
Rhea Durham had one of the most beautiful and interesting frocks of the night.

Who was your vote for best dressed? Mine is a tie between Sandy and Camila Alves.

photos via Yahoo!

a roundup of lovely

I love these rolled fabric shades on Little Green Notebook

I saw this scarf on rikshaw design. I completely agree with the title, I need it.

San Francisco and snow? The pictures from past snow storms are awesome.

I need this poster for my Royal Wedding watching party.

These trims from Full House are so pretty, I love the idea of using them to spice up curtains.

Have a good weekend!

iconic style

I love Kate Middleton, or Princess Catherine as she will soon be known. There is some debate about whether she will be a style icon or not. My vote is definitely, if for no other reasons than stores that sale/sold the clothes she wears are re-issuing and selling out of those clothes.

I love her fascinators and hats particularly. And how she tied this scarf.

I am going to have a wedding watching party and I am thinking it should involve hats and fascinators...

photo via Yahoo!

around the house

I am running low on ideas today so I turned to House Beautiful. They came through, as always...
Don't you love the red chairs?

If I ever have triplets I will be referring back to this picture...

This room would be a perfect fit for a cabin.
I love the throw across the foot of the bed.

via House Beautiful

travel tuesday: greenland

Today I am looking at Greenland in an attempt to embrace the cold weather that has re-visited the mid-west.
Greenland is interesting. It is physiographically considered to be part of North America, it is politically associated with Europe, Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark but is also an autonomous country. To top it off most of it is cold and icy rather than green and lush. 81% is covered in ice sheet but the southern part is green in the summer


Greenland's highlights include dog sledding, hiking, fjords, marine life watching and in the Autumn months you can see the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis .


via clim-atic, greenwich meantime, poul webb, wikipedia,

currency wall

My friend Martha, of A Curious Misadventure, is a true traveler. Currently she has 25 different types of currency that she has collected from various countries she has visited. Martha is looking for a way to display them in her home but whatever she does needs to amenable to additions. I couldn't find any pictures of a similar undertaking so I collected some inspiration photos.

I love the idea of incorporating a shadow box in a project like this. She will be displaying primarily the various currencies but a shadow box allows her to put up coins and other travel mementos while adding interest and dimension to the collection.

For the actual currency I would frame most of them, mounting them on a white mat. These two photos are the primary inspiration for adding a shadow box to a grouping of frames.

This is my diagram, all the frames hold only currency (I imagine the different currencies are in a variety of colors) except the largest, which I would put large wood or metal letters or numbers, coins, currency and memorabilia.

via Real Simple and Pottery Barn

and the winner is...

Jamie! Send me an e-mail at paperwhitejewelry@gmail.com with your mailing address!

the graduate

I am presenting a research paper next month for a graduate research fair. I need a professional look, here is what I am thinking...

I think I want to pair this cardigan with one of the first two dresses for a professional/scholarly look...

The finer things dress gives kind of a sailor-ish look. I love this dress.

A classic little black dress

This kalanchoe blooms dress is way out of the price range but so lovely.

The cause for celebration dress- a little too short for me but so gorgeous.

vanity

My parents are working on a bathroom renovation right now. They are looking at vanities, their only stipulation is that it must come from Costco (I am sure there is a price stipulation too, I just don't know what it is). These are my favorites from Costco. Which is your favorite?

P.S. don't forget the giveaway ends tonight!












via costco

meals for the week

This white prosciutto pizza from say YES! to hoboken looked so good that I couldn't resist the prosciutto at the grocery store. I got 1/8 lbs. of prosciutto for $1.80 and it should be more than enough for a homemade pizza on Saturday.

I have made these panini's from Giada before, they are fantastic. I mad some minor alterations to fit what I had at home (provolone cheese and mixed greens) and they are still just as good.

P.S. Don't forget the giveaway ends tomorrow night. Leave a comment if you would like a chance to win the earrings!

photos via say yes to hoboken, food network

chandelier

via maison classique

I love this chandelier. I worked for a woman who had an ornate chandelier and ever since then I have loved the look of crystal/glass chandeliers.

city comparison: san antonio, tx

Remember the Alamo?

Pros:
Approximately 1 hour from family
Abundance of things to do and places to see
Reportedly excellent Mexican cuisine.

Cons:
Yet again, really low test scores. This seems to be a recurring theme.

Hot and humid summers

Median Property- $78,627
Median Family Income- $55,958
Median Age- 31.9
Population- 1,351,305
Crime Rate- (the national average is 100, the lower, the better)
Personal Crime Risk- 7
Property Crime Risk- 72
Restaurants- 3,754
High temp in July ° F- 94.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F- 39.0°

via welcome to the city, wikipedia,

moving up!

Recently Paperwhite hit a milestone, there are now 100 followers of this blog (and 120 who subscribe on google reader). Paperwhite has readers in 69 countries and 48 states.

Top five countries visiting Paperwhite:

1. United States

2. Canada

3. United Kingdom

4. Australia

5. Poland

Top five states:

1. Michigan

2. California

3. New York

4. Pennsylvania

5. Texas

To honor this milestone and to thank ya'll (I am practicing for Texas) for reading my blog, I am having a giveaway. Leave a comment on this post to have a chance to win the gorgeous blue cloisonne earrings. The giveaway will close Friday night.

grammy round up

Here are some of my favorites from the Grammy Awards last night. Who was your favorite?
Jada Pinkett Smith- this dress makes me think of the roaring twenties.

Selma Blair- arguably the best pregnancy dress of the awards season so far.
Julianne Hough
Heidi Klum
Jennifer Hudson
via Yahoo! Music

city comparison: tyler, tx

Another city comparison. We are getting down to go time as far as decisions go. My husband is flying to Texas for interviews in a week, we are hoping to have a job tied down and a location chosen in the next month or so. Now on to Tyler!

Pros:

Warm climate
Low cost of living
Serious potential for Friday Night Lights vibes

Cons:
Appallingly low test scores. So low they are negative test scores.
An hour from a major metropolitan area.
Regional airport only


Median Property- $133,148
Median Family Income- $53,984
Median Age- 32.7
Population- 96,500
Crime Rate- (the national average is 100, the lower, the better)
Personal Crime Risk- 7
Property Crime Risk- 46
Restaurants- 388
High temp in July ° F- 93.6°
Low temp in Jan ° F- 37.3°

via MacKev, tschaefer, wikipedia, JBEwing