(Inspired by) We Were an Island

This summer, I'm looking for styles that remind me of a crisp and quiet New England summer: rocky shores, empty stretches of coast, oiled leather and sailor's knots. Some of my recent finds (and one item I'm still desperately on the hunt for) above.

Clockwise: 1. Cooperative Linen Sundress 2. Rebecca Minkoff Laptop Case (If you can find this...help!) 3. La Mer Bali Stud Watch 4. Sailor Knot Bracelet 5. Tiny Rose Necklace 6. Deena & Ozzy Canvas Menswear Tote 7. Kimchi Blue Knotted Sandal
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Now if I could pick the perfect place to live out this fantasy summer, it would be Placentia Island in Maine, the setting of one of the sweetest and saddest real love stories I've heard in a long time.

While checking out Bird and Banner earlier in the week, I learned about the book, We Were an Island, about a husband and wife (Arthur and Nan Kellam) who lived on the otherwise uninhabited island for 35 years. From a New York Times article about the Kellams:

One of the great love stories of the last century played itself out, alone, off the coast of Maine, unknown but to a handful of people who included the rich and powerful, like David and Margaret Rockefeller and C. Douglas Dillon, as well as the community of lobstermen and their families in the vicinity of Mount Desert Island.

Arthur and Nan Kellam, an aviation engineer and his wife, moved to Placentia Island from California in 1949 and lived there, without modern convenience of any kind, its only tenants, for 35 years.

The Kellams were 38 when they arrived. They built a house by hand in a clearing, with a porch and a swing, and a ''bandstand'' with a view of the sea, for picnics. They pressed their footprints into wet cement just inside their front door -- his left, her right. When they went separate ways for the day, they wrote each other notes -- one, signed ''B L Bear,'' thumbtacked to a wall. The ''L'' is encircled by a heart.

At the very least, I encourage you to read the full NYT review (of an older book about the pair)-- it's fascinating and beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.

(The Kellam's notes and footprints pictured below)

Finally, as I dug further and further into this post, I remembered a post I wrote last summer that featured "rugged nautical style" in interiors. Some highlights:

'Lost at Sea' Fiber Arts show in NYC

If you are in New York right now, I highly recommend heading over to Gallery Hanahou to check out the fiber arts "Lost at Sea" show, where the work of some of my favorite fiber artists (including Jessica Marquez of Miniature Rhino, Knitalatte and Lou Lou and Oscar) is on display.

While all of these are beyond gorgeous, I am obsessed with the pieces from Miniature Rhino, which were inspired by sailors' use of the night sky as a guide. The sampler has two layers -- the bottom piece features the constellations, and spins to match a real night sky. So brilliant. You can learn more about the inspiration behind the pieces here.

Some of the amazing pieces below.

Miniature Rhino:

Knitalatte

Lou Lou and Oscar

I Must Get Back to the Sea Vol.1

This unexpected heatwave has left me feeling like this -- I must get back to the sea. It's funny because (being 5'2 and just over 100 pounds) I tend to get rocked by the sea -- it does not embrace me back, that's for sure.

A usual day at the beach for me involves spending an hour on shore nearing heatstroke, letting the delirium from the heatstroke coax me into the waves, enjoying myself for five minutes, getting smacked face-first by a wave and, finally, spending the next ten minutes picking sand out of my teeth, trying to avoid a wardrobe malfunction and poorly timing my mad dash to the shore.

But somehow a day at the shore restores me in a way I can't describe. The brown tinge on my skin and salty smell in my hair leave me feeling...whole. So even though DC is a land-locked city, I'm going to try to give us a weekly dose of images that take us back to days spent at the sea -- starting now. Enjoy!

Rugged Nautical Style

(Love the minimalist white walls, modern furniture and vintage sealife prints left unframed. I imagine it as light-filled artist's studio.)

I am really digging the rugged seaside looks often featured in Coast (UK). I adore almost all beach house looks, be they New England nautical, tropical brights or California breezy, but I admit they can get a little generic at times.

These rooms however, give off a more masculine and industrial vibe, which I haven't seen much of before. I think this would be a great option for city dwellers who want to escape to a beach house, but don't want to trade in their usual minimalist aesthetic.

Continuing with the studio vibe, I can picture this room as a study for a sea captain penning his great "tale of the sea." Adore the weathered walls, vintage typewriter and hurricanes.

I love the low-key splash of coral on the seat cushion here. Coral is horribly overexposed right now, but it really is beautiful. A tiny accent like this could be a great way to incorporate the colors and pattern without overdoing it.

A great way to pull in sea glass colors, and how cute are the messages in the bottle?

Couldn't resist this heart made of driftwood...

Check out Coast UK for more photos (that and British Country Living are amazing!)

The Anatomy of a Breaking Wave

If you'll be so kind to let me indulge my ego, I imagine some of you have been wondering where I've been the past few weeks. The answer depends on the day, but it ranges from the rocky Atlantic beaches of Cape May, to the less picturesque, sixth floor of a K Street office building where I bask under the glow of fluorescent lighting, and most recently, a veritable smorgasbord of airports, airplanes and taxi cabs.

So when I decided to put up a post about one of my recent adventures, I thought I ought to go with the beaches of Cape May...after all, you all have your own, exciting cubicle jungles to explore.

One of my favorite beach side past-times is to plant myself in the sand with my feet resting where the waves advance the furthest and then recede. Much to my family's annoyance the majority of our vacation photos are close-up shots of my feet, sand and water. I can't help myself, there is simply no more relaxing visual on this planet then the path of a breaking wave.

Here is a series of photos I snapped of a wave breaking on Sunset Beach, famous for the quartz pebbles also known as "Cape May Diamonds" that wash up on shore.