I Am DWJ | I Am DWJ

Hobo Warehouse Sale

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:23 +0000

DC, Maryland and Virginia ladies, the Hobo Bags Warehouse sale is June 2 and 3!! YOU. NEED. TO. GO. SERIOUSLY.

I’ll be out of town that weekend, otherwise I would be there but the prices are insane! I went to their Warehouse sale in November and picked up this gorgeous red leather satchel that I adore – you always need a great red bag in your accessories wardrobe. I even picked up two clutches for my sisters and a gorgeous cobalt blue leather shoulder bag for my Mom for Christmas. And did I mention I bought all four bags and a leather belt for under $250? Yeah, the sale is that good so you need to go. And if you do, tell me what you buy!

A Little Mustache

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:15:27 +0000

Last night I did my weekly manicure (Essie’s St. Lucia Lilac) and decided the pale lilac mani needed a little flair. So I added a mustache to my ring finger. It’s the silly little things that make my day. Happy Monday!

3 Things

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:19 +0000

I don’t pull my DSLR out as much as I’d like to and I don’t carry it with me everywhere (I really need to buy a cool camera bag/purse or get a wrap for my camera for when I throw it in my purse). Fortunately, I capture some fun moments, meals and pieces of life on Instagram so I thought I’d share a few of this week’s gems.

My refrigerator and pantry are pretty low and I’ve been craving breakfast for dinner a lot lately. I whipped up a great potato and bacon hash the other night and poached eggs and had biscuits for dinner. So hearty and good. And did you know IHOP has red velvet pancakes? I ordered their short stack of two to try them out on Wednesday night and they’re not bad at all. A nice sweet treat…although I’m still craving blueberry pancakes.

I also got a fun delivery this week, a yarn swifter and a winder. The week before last Joann’s had a 40% of sale and I grabbed both of these items for about $50 (score!). I am now a yarn winding fool.

This weekend I’m going to the Preakeness horse races out in Pimlico, MD. Perhaps I’ll wear one of my fascinators? It isn’t as fancy as the Kentucky Derby but why not have a little fun with it? Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Are You Ready? New Colors of bareMinerals READY™ Eyeshadows

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:04:30 +0000

I’ve talked about how AH-Mazing I think bareMinerals Ready shadows are before, so I thought today since I was sent the new colors that came out this month I should share some looks. It’s the right thing to do. There are seven new READY Eyeshadow 2.0 duos ($20) and two new 4.0 quads ($30) and these colors are just as great as the first batch. From left to right you see The 15 Minutes (pink and burgundy), The Soundtrack (camel, gold, bronze and olive green), The Last Call (bright shimmering blue with a sparkly navy), The Cliff Hanger (dove grey and shimmery charcoal).

From left to right above: The Hidden Agenda (camel and grey), The Phenomenon (lavender and copper) and The Alter Ego (shimmery light green and purple).

I thought I’d show you my four favorites in the bunch.

Top left is The 15 Minutes a very soft neutral shimmering pink and burgundy shades. I like this when I’m trying to do something soft and neutral for a subtle glow.
Top right is The Soundtrack Quad. This is a great set of metallic gold and olive green shades. Perfect for summer with a bronzed cheek and nude lip.
Bottom left is my favorite, The Last Call. I have a thing for vivid blue shadows and this duo is definitely a statement maker. LOVE IT.
The Alter Ego is a soft celery green with a gorgeous deep shimmering purple. You didn’t think those two colors could place so nicely together did you?

I really do love the texture and feel of these shadows and they give great pigment. They also blend wonderfully on the eye and last. I also use a primer with any eye shadow and these babies will be definitely be on from sun up to sun down. So have you tried any of the new Ready Shadows? Which ones are your favorite?

A Labor of Love

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:17:15 +0000

Six weeks ago I started a ‘Knit Your Own Baby Blanket’ class at Fibre Space in Alexandria, VA. I’ve knit a blanket before but I wanted to learn how to construct them and create my own patterns to make unique gifts for my friends. Six weeks ago I started off making a white, pink and purple blanket for a baby girl (anyone want a half of a blanket, you could say it’s for naps…) and then found out that my new goddaughter-to-be was really going to be a godSON!

I ran back out to the store and picked a palette of apple green, orange, teal and navy blue for the border – something boy but still fun. Heck, I’d give this to a little girl perhaps without the navy border. I’d even knit one for my own house since it matches it so perfectly. I knit the body of the blanket in a staggering 10 days so that I could be where I was supposed to be in class when I learned how to add a border to a completed blanket.

I finished the border last night, wrapped it up along with some other goodies I picked up for baby boy and gave it to my girlfriend for Mother’s Day. She and her husband were very impressed and I’m eager to see baby boy wrapped up in a blanket knit with so much love for a little person I haven’t even met yet. Another girlfriend of mine asked me yesterday if it was hard to give up the blanket after so much work and the answer was no. When I knit a blanket for a baby I’m happy knowing it will keep someone warm and cuddly when it’s cold out, it can become their security blanket and that it will always cover them in love. I spend all that time knitting something for someone special, it’s hard not to infuse it with a bit of love and isn’t that the best part of giving a handmade gift?

Blanket details:

Yarn: Red Heart Soft Yarn in Guacamole, Tangerine, Teal and Navy
Stitches: Basket weave (green), Moss stitch (teal), Double lattice (orange)
Border: Completed using this technique from the Purl Bee blog

I’m Fascinating for We Heart This

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:51:46 +0000

I’m pretty fascinating, no? Check out my post today on We Heart This about two very fabulous D&Y Fascinators and how I styled them up!

Drink More Water

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:00:15 +0000

We used to have this huge water container taking up half of the main shelf in our refrigerator. Then the other week at brunch the waiter brought our water to the table in tall glass bottles and a light bulb went off for my husband me. So we popped over to the Marshalls down the street and found these glass bottles on clearance for $3. Water storage has been reduced in size and now brightens up my fridge. A perfectly colorful way to get more water!

An Ikea Upgrade

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:00:25 +0000

Over the weekend my husband and I took a trip to good old Ikea and picked up the Liatorp Sideboard in white to house our wedding china. We had previously stored it in this Ikea piece that I bought in one of my first apartments. I’ve hated it but we hadn’t felt like buying something new but it was finally time. (Don’t you love the look of frustration on his face reading those directions?)

Our china is white with a platinum rim that has a very small heart pattern around the top. My husband actually picked it out because he was not happy with the butterfly settings I kept picking up. It was a compromise. Since the sideboard is white and my china is white, I decided that I needed a pop or color or a pattern for the back of the piece.

At first I was going to spray paint the pieces apple green to go with the rest of my house color scheme but I had a brilliant idea. Why not use gift wrapping paper instead?! I bought two roles of this orange, red, gold and green wrapping paper from Marshalls for $3 a roll and wrapped away.

I have a large orange wall in my kitchen (you’ve seen me take outfit photos in front of that wall before) and loved that this paper happened to incorporate a lot of the warm colors in my house.

The end result? Dishes that have a nice pop of pattern in the background! I couldn’t be more pleased. What did you do over the weekend? Any home projects?

Keith Haring & How I Became an Artist

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:15:41 +0000

(image via Google)
I squealed with delight this morning when I saw the Google Doodle this morning honoring Artist Keith Haring’s birthday. I have always loved Haring’s artwork. Always. In high school I mimicked his shapes and characters a lot. I used to design t-shirts a lot in high school and I totally used his faceless figures style to create cheerleaders, wrestles and football players to illustrate high school athletics.

Did I also mention he did a small collection for Swatch? Yeah, I wish I had one or two of those watches. There’s also an exhibit of his work going on right now at the Brooklyn Museum. I plan on going back up to visit Jessica and check it out.

I never considered myself an artist until recently. I’ve always drawn and been artsy. I painted in high school (acrylic) and college (watercolor) and have always been surrounded by and loved art. But I never thought my art was good enough to consider myself an artist. A little sad but true. It wasn’t until a friend of mine from college told me that everyone’s art is unique and that I am an artist if I would just embrace it and I think he is a brilliant artist. So I’ve been embracing my talent lately. Whether it’s through my endless doodles of shoes and lipstick tubes, my knitting, or even how I apply my makeup, I’m an artist who doesn’t have to be perfect. And if you haven’t checked out Keith Haring’s work, you should, it will bring a big smile to your Friday. Have a great weekend!

I’ve Got a Brand New Bag!

dwj@theartofaccessories.com (Dana Williams-Johnson) — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:00:27 +0000

I am always looking for a new handbag. Always. I know it’s a horrible habit and that I already have several really great handbags but I change my bags constantly and am always looking for something fab and new. Last week I sent Jess an email about the Deux Lux Sample Sale I saw them tweet about. Despite the fact that I’m totally jealous that she gets to have sample sales galore at her fingertips I figured if I can’t get something good at least she should. You might also remember I bought a canvas Deux Lux bag earlier this year after featuring them in my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide.

Jess told me the sale was great and that there were bargains a plenty and she’d show me her bounty when I came to NYC on Saturday. Little did I know that she picked up a bag for me! YAY!

I came back from NYC carrying this gorgeous teal hobo bag (it most closely resembles the Bowery Hobo on their website). What’s even more insane – she said she paid $25 for it!! Um…why do we not get sample sales in DC?! Insane. Jess also picked up for herself the Biba Fold Messenger in grey with a fluorescent pink lining and an adorable Gigi Zip Wallet. I was laughing when she told me at one point she looked up and had 6 bags in her hands and had to calm down. What’s funny too is last week I was lusting after a gorgeous teal shoulder bag I saw a woman with on the street and I thought that should be my next handbag color. Clearly Jess knows me too well! And clearly this teal bag makes me love Deux Lux even more.