As many of you may know, I've been helping out my friend Shelah with her store, The Foundrie for the past couple of years.  And, even more so since she opened full time last April.  It's an amazing store that focuses on handmade and vintage items from local artists and designers.  Well, drum roll please.........I'm officially co-owner of The Foundrie!!  Read more about it here!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  That is never more true than when you transform said picture into a personal work of art for all to enjoy.  Enter, my latest Make & Take project, recently held at The Foundrie in Chesterfield Mall.

This project was a major hit when I demonstrated it on Great Day St.Louis last month, so I decided to give the people what they wanted!!!  We had a fantastic turn out, and I'm already cooking up more ideas for future projects.  Let's craft together soon!  

I was going to try and be witty with this post and give you the Urban Dictionary definition of "lady date".  But, much to my dismay, lady date has yet to be defined in Urban Dictionary terms!  I guess this means that many of you out there have not experienced the thrill and elation of said lady date.  Or, perhaps you have, but have yet to reference it as such.  Fret not, my lovelies.  Right here and now, I am offering up to you, a detailed description, pictures and all, of what a super rad lady date is all about.  

Pictures first, you say?  Okay then.....

Is the suspense killing you yet?  Alright, alright.  A "lady date" is just the term of endearment I use for quality time spent with my first-class friend, Shelah. (Side note: I used thesaurus.com for a synonym for "good" because "great" kept bringing up words like ample, immense and voluminous.)  So, my first-class friend, Shelah (of the equally first-class The Foundrie), and I, set out on a work/play day of eating, shopping, antiquing, eating and drinking.   Oh, did I say eating twice?  My bad.  

We met at Upcycle Exchange, which I'll write more about next week, for a quick look at their new space.  However, the hunger pains became too much to bare, so we quickly made our way down Grand Blvd. to Basil Spice Thai.  It was delicious and beautifully decorated.  Then it was on to Fabric Nosherie, a hip new fabric store in Webster Groves.  Again, more on that next week!  But, a lady date with Shelah would not be complete without antique shopping at Treasure Aisles Antique Mall in Maplewood.  This is where the oddities come in.  Never a dull moment, but always good buys.  Sarah Bosse, our Chicago hostess for all things Renegade, met up with us, and oddity ensued....... 

Finally, as any quality lady date should, we capped off the night with dinner and fresh brewed Kölsch at our favorite hang, Schlafly Bottleworks.  I recommend the mac & cheese.  

Look at those sassy models at the top of this page!  This is my first blog post at justliv.com, and I thought my Just Liv beauties Tobi, Kirsten and Shannon set the mood pretty well.  This blog is meant to be a fun, behind the scenes look at what Just Liv is all about!  There's a lot of hard work that goes into what I do, but I also have a blast most days; and even the worst day designing Just Liv is better than my best days working for "the man"!  

That being said, my first post is dedicated to ringing in the new year.  2012: The Year of Black Dragon.  (At least that's what my google search said when I typed it in.)  I usually take a low key approach to the new year, but 2011 was a rough one, so I felt the need to send it off with a swift kick in the teeth.  

An all inclusive private room at Sub Zero seemed an appropriate setting for some inappropriate behavior!  So after a lot of back and forth "should we or shouldn't we", my good friend Emily set it all in motion.  We were joined by some of my other favorite people:  my husband Jon (usually referred to as "the hubs"),  Emily's husband Jeff, Katrina and Chad (visiting from North Carolina), Michelle and Rich, and a plethora of other good friends that I'm sure you'll hear more about as the months go on.  

Always looking for an excuse to put together a bossy outfit, this occasion was no exception.  I purchased a simple black tulle dress from H&M and kicked it up a notch with a satin peter pan collar and vintage scarf bow tie.  The vintage fur jacket is real ($5 at my local thrift store!), which is more than I can say for my luxurious golden locks and lashes out to there.  But, with a name like Black Dragon, I figured 2012 deserved nothing but the best.  

And so.......this happened......

Bring it on 2012.