STYLE MUSE - NIKKI PORTMAN

Nikki Portman is the creator and mastermind behind the Columbus Flea.  Before I even met Nikki I respected and admired her for starting the Flea... Nikki is one of those people that act on their great ideas, instead of just talking about it like a lot of us.  After I met her, I could add to that list of qualities I admire and like {not to mention she's just really cool... like, sings in a local band kind of cool}.  

What started as the "Summer Flea" has grown quickly to include a Spring and Fall Flea, thus the name change {and it's still growing}.  All three fleas feature a wide variety of handmade jewelry, original artwork, antiques, vintage clothing, unique crafts, and more!  The Fall Flea will take place this Sunday, October 7th from 11am - 5pm at the Seventh Son Brewing Company parking lot {1101 N. 4th St. in Italian Village}. Proceeds from the outdoor markets benefit Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Thank you, Nikki, for being a L+R Style Muse!  And for introducing me to my new favorite drink {at the Rossi}.  And for my fabulous Flea Bag {modeled by Nikki below}.  It has already made its way to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and my little hometown.  

L+R:  How would you describe your personal style?

NP:  It can be pretty random at times.  I like to mix modern and vintage and I like finding ways to carry my favorite pieces throughout the seasons, so you’ll often find me in dresses or shorts and tights with big sweaters. 

L+R:  Where are your favorite places to shop?

NP:  Ladybird, Madewell, Thrift Stores, and my seasonal flea market events

L+R:  Are there pieces in your wardrobe you find yourself wearing constantly?

NP:  Oh yes.  I have a crazy Navajo sweater that’s become sort of a signature for me.  Every time I see a picture of myself in it, I’m like “I swear I have other clothes,” but it’s my favorite-what can I say?  Also, my buffalo check flannel, and of course, my jean shorts…worn to death, they’re a part of me. 

L+R:  Your favorite fashion "find"?

NP:  I found a black Christian Dior chiffon skirt with accordion pleats at the thrift store for $4.99.  SCORE!

L+R:  Who is your favorite band?

NP:  Calling out a favorite is tough, but to name a few of my current loves: Ty Segall, Kurt Vile, and Beach House.  Oh, and Divine Fits (go get ‘em Sam Brown!).

L+R:  Tell Lovely + Rust readers a little about what lead you to start the Columbus Flea?

NP:  When I was little and we would visit my grandparents in Florida, my grandma would take us to the outdoor flea markets (you know the real classy ones with the airbrush tees and gold plated chain spools) and I LOVED that.  And now I go to New York somewhat frequently, whether it’s to visit my sister and brother-in -law, or my friends , or for work, and I spend time at the Brooklyn Flea or hitting up the various street vendors and the jewelry market in Nolita.  And it occurred to me on one or more of these visits how much I wished that we had a little of this going on in Columbus.  It wasn’t until I was in between jobs during the dead of Winter in 2009 that I found the time to brainstorm what a flea market in Columbus might look like.  I wanted to create an environment that combined the cool, well-curated Brooklyn Flea feel with a hint of the tacky (in the best possible way) Florida markets that I loved so much as a kid.  I like to call it my up-scale dirt mall, and it came to life it August of 2010 with the help of my buds Erica Anderson, Tony Collinger, and Aaron Beck J 

L+R:  What are your favorite spots in Columbus?

NP:  Ace of Cups for drinks and music. The El Camino Inn for chicken tacos (I’m newly addicted). The Rossi for my favorite pizza and cocktail menu in town.

L+R:  Three beauty products you can't live without?

NP:  - YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick (I have 5 shades)

        - Morrocan Oil for my hair and skin

        - Le Labo Cologne in Patchouli

THESE THINGS // THIS WEEK {No. 7}

I haven't done one of these posts in awhile, so I have a lot of stored up things to share with you.

These are just a few of the things I decided to share this week!

I love {no pun intended} this slouchy pullover sweatshirt...

and the fact that it's printed on American Apparel tri-blend makes me love it even more.

I've been eyeing this butter dish from Anthropologie for awhile, and this week it made its way home with me.

I think I need this t-shirt, and I know many people who would agree that I need this t-shirt.

These Asos pants are sold out, but I'm on a mission for something similar.

This hat is calling my name, and getting me excited for fall.

The Warby Parker Winston in Walnut Tortuoise...

When I got my WP sunglasses I really wanted tortoise, but the Winston {the frame I liked} wasn't available in tortoise.

Well... now they are! And I think I need them.

Is it ok to have the exact same glasses in two different colors? 

I loved this post by Kendi about being yourself on your blog...

and this one about learning how grey life is - not black or white, good or bad

{something I would say hit me a few years ago}.

{photo by Heather Gildroy // via Design Love Fest}

And this post by Bri Emery of Design Love Fest about finding your own style.

These gold animal drink stirrers are the coolest, and might inspire me to DIY...

I might have to make this avocado egg salad recipe soon.

This omelettes-for-dummies omelette pan from Williams Sonoma.

What are you guys up to this weekend?

We're hometown bound to celebrate this little girl {our niece, Zoey} turning ONE.

We can't wait to see you April, Matt & Miss Zoey!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

HONEY ROSE & K

Meredith Piccin is the owner and designer behind Honey Rose & K Modage Baubles {and I'm also lucky enough to call her a friend}. 

A little snippet about how HR&K came to be - After following a career path that included visual merchandising and wardrobe consulting, Meredith realized her true passions: vintage finds and design. She combined the two to create Honey Rose & K. Meredith scours flea markets, antique stores, and thrift stores for hidden gems. She then repurposes and redesigns them to be modern pieces with a vintage + whimsical twist. Meredith also sews vintage scarves together to create these beautiful infinity scarves below.

I have a serious obsession with jewelry, vintage, and well... vintage jewelry. So Hr&K is right up my alley. Honey Rose & K is named after Meredith's Grandmother, Honey, who studied fashion design and worked for years as a window dresser in NYC.

This week I made a visit to Meredith's home to take the above photos. Can you tell I liked that blue + green tassel necklace? Meredith could tell, and she very generously gifted it to me! Thank you, M!

Meredith and her hubby {and their two beautiful children} are in the midst of a home renovation right now, but when it's done I will be sharing photos of their home and Meredith's new studio. I can't wait. You can't wait! Trust me... her home is full of wonderful finds. It is curated with that same eye that scours for vintage jewelry, and has that same mix of vintage + modern.

{photos above snagged from HR&K's instagram}

To get a jump on the rest of the ladies, make sure to follow HR&K on Instagram {honeyrosek}, Twitter, and Facebook. Meredith posts her new pieces, and they sometimes sell fresh off her work table {seen below}!  You can also shop HR&K on Etsy, and locally at Rowe Boutique and Thread.

Honey Rose & K has been featured on Pop Sugar, popular blog - I Spy Diy, and in Teen Vogue; as well as numerous local magazines. Go get em, Meredith!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! I'm going to attempt to wrangle the Mr. into taking me to the Ohio State fair. I'll let you know if I was successful.

DESTINATION UNKNOWN 2

I hope you are all having a wonderful fourth of July.

I woke up before the Mr. {and managed to sneak downstairs without waking him, which never happens}. 

I had grand intentions of making blueberry pancakes, but realized we were out of eggs.

Darn it all.

So... our fourth began with delicious pancakes at Bob Evans 

{our visit there - inspired by our Saturday stop at the home of the late Bob Evans himself}.

DESTINATION UNKNOWN

How about those storms over the weekend? The Mr. made it home from work Friday right before the sky turned black and looked all "Wizard of Oz" outside. I feel so bad for all of the people without power, especially in this heat. Some of the folks in Columbus aren't scheduled to get power back until July 7th! And all of the stores with all of that wasted frozen food. Ugh. What about you? I feel oh-so guilty to say that we never went without power. We were are very lucky.

We had discussed taking a little road trip Saturday, and decided to stick with the plan despite the storms and heat. We didn't have any specific destination, just lots of possibilities swimming in our heads. Our only plan was to stop when one of us saw somewhere we wanted to go... antique shops or whatever else we landed upon. When we got to our first exit, we picked East or West, and off we went. Just us and one small straw tote packed with the essentials {like our toothbrushes} in case we stayed the night somewhere. 

We started with lunch in Circleville... and ended back in Columbus by 8pm. Straw bag and packed toothbrushes unnecessary because so many of the towns did not have power, which meant lack of places to eat or shops open. To make it sound like this dampened the day in any way would be wrong though {well, if you don't count feeling awful for the people in those towns}. 

It was a wonderful day spent exploring without any plans or any place we had to be. Like those carefree days of summer when we were young. Gosh, I miss those. 

In Rio Grande, we stopped so I could take pictures of storm damage... trees completely uprooted and blown over. It made me feel sad, and I actually felt bad taking the pictures {but I obviously did it anyway}; it was just too crazy not to!

THE END...

for today anyway. 

Friends, I took too many pictures to not split this up. 

A fun day spent learning to use my camera, indeed. 

STYLE MUSE - MAREN ROTH

Maren Roth / Owner of Rowe - a contemporary boutique in the Short North / Columbus, Ohio

I met Maren Roth shortly after I moved to Columbus. I had never been to Rowe, so I stopped in to check it out - and met Maren. She was really friendly {she always is} and we ended up finding out that we had moved back to Ohio within a few months of each other {she from NYC and I from Chicago}, and that we were the same age. I remember this well because at the time I knew very few people in Columbus, and it was nice to talk to someone else my age that had just left a big city to come back to Ohio. 

You know those girls who are just so effortlessly stylish you want to dislike them? You know - the girls you love to hate. Maren is one of those... but - you can't do anything but love her. She is beautiful, successful, and Columbus' own fashion darling. 

Maren is one of those people that takes full advantage of the city she calls home... making Columbus her own little NYC. She's involved and active in the community in many ways, but the closest to her heart? The Jack Roth Rock N Run - an annual 5K race she organizes in honor of her late father. The race has grown each year since its inception. Not surprising because Maren just makes things happen. 

Thank you, Maren, for being a L&R Style Muse! 

L&R: Who are your style muses? 
M: Stevie Nicks,  Kate Moss,  Diane Kruger, Olivia Polermo, Rosie Huntington Whitley, Rachel Bilson, Lauren Hutton, Julianne Moore... is that too many?  I am constantly inspired by beautiful women in the arts! 

L&R: How would you describe your personal style? 

M: Bohemian with a classic american twist.  I am a hippy at heart, long flowy dresses, big sleeves, fringe, maxi's, etc.,  but also I love beautifully tailored pieces, especially blazers, well fitted pants and a classic button down. 

L&R: What is your first fashion memory...the moment you fell in love with clothes? 

M: I have a terrible memory in general, but this, I remember.  My aunt gave me a white rabbit fur coat at about age four and I exclaimed "Ahhh, my furrst (emphasis on the u and not properly pronounced first), fuurr", I think my mom knew she was in trouble! 

L&R: Tell us a little about your career path, and what led to opening your own store.

M: I knew I definitely wanted to be in fashion after spending the summer of my junior year in New York working for a fashion trade pub called DNR.  It was the men's equivalent to women's wear daily.  After my internship, I was offered a fashion assistant job with my editor at his new job as fashion director at Men's Health; however, I had one semester of school left to finish in order to graduate, so I decided to pass it up.  He understood and was still  extremely helpful in finding me a position, once I moved to New York. But unfortunately, or fortunately - it would turn out, I landed a job at a fashion PR firm instead of at a magazine.  Long story short, I ended my career in New York working for a wholesale showroom, where I got to see the wholesale world. Although I was the PR director for the lines we represented at the showroom, I helped out at trade shows and got to help buyers and really see the ins and outs of the wholesale/boutique business.  After leaving New York and spending a few weeks in LA, I had an epiphany as I was helping some buyers at a trade show I was freelancing at, "I don't want to be selling the clothes to these buyers, i want to be buying them and selling them to the consumers!'  So I packed up my car and drove back to Ohio, where I wrote a business plan and worked my tail off to get the business of the ground.  After a lot of "No's", I decided to take matters into my own hands and start the store anyway.  I ran up a credit card and maxed it out buying small size runs, and got some designer friends of mine in New York to send me merchandise on consignment. A dear friend in Columbus, Rebecca Ibel, lent me her gallery space for a long weekend and I opened the very first Rowe pop up show/trunk show.  After that weekend, I saw it was viable and something people loved and wanted. I kept doing the moveable boutique thing until 11 months later when I opened the the doors of Rowe's permanent home. Two years after that, I expanded the store to the space next to Rowe... knocked a hole through the wall to combine them, re-designed the space and doubled the store!

L&R: Are there pieces in your closet you find yourself wearing constantly?  

M: For a short amount of time.  There are things I like to wear and then put away so they feel like new later on, however, once I wear something once, it looses a little of its luster, so I tend to shop more because I like that very first wear!  

L&R: Your favorite "find"? 

M: It's crazy hard to narrow that down to one item. My best friend, Val, actually finds me the most interesting vintage pieces. She's always sending me beautiful treasures, so I have too many to pick from on the jewelry and accessory side from her. As for clothes, I have this Iro jacket that my friend Rahav gave me at the Iro showroom in New York.  He lets me come and sort through boxes of old merchandise when I come to town to see if I want to buy anything for personal use.  Last summer there was this really cool jacket that I found and he said "you can have that" and I about fell over!  It's a thin cotton but has the most ridiculous chain and turquoise detail all along the arms and a tiny strip of leather with a hook & eye closure along the opening of the jacket.  It's one of those really special pieces you feel amazing in and just about everyone and their grandmother compliments you on!  

L&R: When you aren't wearing pieces from Rowe, where are they from? Other places you shop? 

M: Zara, Madewell, thrift stores and other boutique's I frequent when I travel, like my friend's store - Penelope T. in Tampa. 

L&R: What would your dream job be, if you didn't own your own shop? 

M: Rockstar

L&R: Who is your favorite band? 

M: Again, really hard to narrow down, so I'll give you top 5  right now: 

Fleetwood Mac, Black Crowes, Rolling Stones,Ray LaMontagne & Mumford & Sons

L&R: What are your favorite spots in Columbus? 

M: Rowe, Basi Patio, The LC for a great outdoor show, My aunt & uncle's pool in Bexley, The Wexner Center, Jr.'s Taco Truck in it's parking lot location

L&R: You live & work in the short north, are there any destinations that draw you out of the neighborhood? 

M: Harvest Patio/Curio Bar, I swear I am there like twice a week! 

L&R: Three beauty products you can't live without? 

1. Laura Mercier silk creme foundation

2. Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Beauty Burnt Brown Sugar & Karite ButterBody Wash  

3. Bumble & Bumble Straight Blowdry

L&R: Inquiring minds {like me} want to know, what is your favorite nail polish and lipstick at this moment? 

M: I am terrible at painting my nails because I bite the heck out of them, which is a horrific habit I wish I could break myself of and if anyone has a secret to it I will take it!  So, I will give you 2 of my favorite lipsticks instead.  One of my best gal pal's, Brooke, turned me onto Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for lips & cheeks, it works double duty and always keeps my cheeks looking perfectly dewy while adding just the right amount of gloss to my lips at the same time.  My other tried & true is cover girl lip perfection in flame, it stays on even when you want it gone!

{All photographs taken by me...  I wish Rowe was my closet.}

ps. Maren's shoes were so cute, and I should have made her show them off for a photo. I let you down, lovely readers!

GRADUATION CELEBRATION

Hello there! I had every intention of posting a blog on Friday, but the day got away from me. I spent it running around getting last minute items for the Mr's graduation party, cutting fruit and veggies, mixing up dips, blowing up balloons, and making a burlap banner. While I was flying about the house like a crazy lady, and the Mr was writing his graduation speech {he was chosen by his class}, I walked into our bedroom to see Bailey fast asleep looking quite angelic. It made me pause for just a moment... grab my camera... and take a break. 

Saturday, the Mr's graduation day, came so fast.  It does not seem that long ago that he was making the decision to go back to school for his Master's. Time goes oh-so quickly. In the two years he was in school, we got engaged and married. What a busy two years! And the Mr handled it all without ever getting very stressed... because, well - that is his nature. And thank God for it, because I have enough anxiety for us both.

I can't sum up the emotion I felt listening to him give his speech, or watching him walk across the stage to be "hooded". I would say - it was second only to seeing him in his suit on our wedding day. 

Saturday was a day packed full of celebration. It started early when our families arrived for the ceremony, and didn't end until the wee hours of the night spent with friends. It was a day split into two celebrations. Since it was also our good friend Stu's 30th birthday I bought {I cheated} 30 cupcakes, and the Mr decorated them with little flags with funny sayings. Stu came down from Cincinnati, and our good friends - Laurie-Beth and Brian - came from Cleveland. Our apartment never feels small until its packed full of family and friends, but then again... I suppose I can't complain if that is the reason.

A slight disclaimer: I feel the need to mention some of the pictures of the ceremony are blurry, but I had to post them anyway. It was really darn hard to take good pictures in there! When I used my flash it just lit up the people's heads in the row in front of us, but on manual I could not get the settings to work without the photo being blurry. So - I went with blurry instead of bright heads. I figured it was the lesser of two evils.