Distant Drummer

It's April and spring is here! Although I've been waiting for the weather to break and consistent sunshine to peaking through my blinds, in a sense I'm not ready... Usually at the end of every season i go through a slight panic. See, I have this rule that I truly try to uphold with my clothes: If I don't wear a garment for two consecutive winters, summers, etc I give it away. So at the end of every season I find myself trying to wear all the clothes that I've neglected. And with March already in the past I'm bit behind. Needless to say, the race is on to wear some of my winter pieces before the weather no longer permits it. This coat is definitely not in danger of going in a giveaway bag since my mom held it captive all winter but its an prime example of my next few outfits, spring with a touch of winter. Wearing banana republic blouse (thrifted), h&m denim and hat, vintage shoes and purse and coat(?).

~Imani

Along with becoming an Interior Designer, I also want to explore the field of set design and finding sets for photo shoots. I have many friends who are developing clothing lines, streetwear brands, and styling groups and have offered to find unique locations around the city for them so they have one less thing to worry about while planning their shoots.

I am a lover of graffiti and think it serves as a great background for any shoot no matter how hard or elegant. It can bring nice contrast to a more soft or elegant shoot, or can spruce up a more relaxed or edgy shoot. Street Art is basically free forms of art for us to appreciate and use as we will.

I walk through this alley daily and never noticed all of the graffiti on the walls, I also never realized that there was access to the roof and even more graffiti! This is a perfect location for any photoshoot!

Straying away from those lovely graffiti covered walls, here is a more minimalistic location, its clean cut yet rugged, but I love it and its appropriate for all types of photoshoots.

I absolutely love this corridor! and this bridge… great location!

I took these photos a couple weeks ago on a beautiful, sunny yet, brisk day. I decided to post them today after having to commute to school in the rain, without an umbrella! Today I needed a reminder that brighter days are coming. Although March and April are rainy and gloomy after they are over spring will be in full affect and then it will be my beloved summer. So if you have the east coast blues hold on because warmth is on the horizon!

I'm wearing a vintage sweatshirt distressed by Dorian, h&m shirt and scarf, zara boots, loft sunglasses and vintage watches and belt. In a earlier post I mentioned integrating more color pieces into my daily outfits. So here is one of my first attempts. I have to think spring and maybe it'll feel like spring faster!

~Imani 

This past year I moved into a lovely Catholic Church that has been standing since the 1800's. I noticed it a few years ago and just thought that it was just a Catholic Church, the moment I realized it was an apartment building I instantly fell in love with this place and was determined to live there one day; I am proud to say that I finally did it!

As an aspiring Interior Designer this was something like a dream to me, to be able to live in a buiding as beautiful as this and be able to have my way with this empty space and make it my own. One of the first things I needed to do was paint the walls due to the fact that I am obssessed with having accent walls in any place I live in. I appreciate white walls, but what can I say I need color in my life!

I originally wanted a unique and bold shade of purple but was disappointed in the selections of purple I was given. One day at Lowes I stumbled upon a shade of hot pink entitled, "Cosmic Pink", by Valspar (excellent paint btw). I am not a lover of pink but I was drawn to this shade of pink like never before and I just had to put it on my walls. So I purchased it and did just that!

Needless to say the paint job was excellent and lovelyI was actually shocked that this shade of pink had worked its way into my heart and turned my once dull walls into a cosmic canvas :-) (Excuse the mess... I was painting!)

Although I was set on creating a purple wall, I made the right decision with going with Cosmic Pink, thank you VALSPAR! Two coats of paint and I was all finished, the primer was included so I didnt have to worry about that either! This pink compliments my artwork very nicely as well!

Artwork by: Sandy Lovitz (Please check her out as well, excellent artist, and she paints on plexi-glass! LOVE IT! Stay tuned for a future post about her lovely works of art!)

As I was going through a large box filled with remnants of the last 23 years of my life, I was pleasantly surprised to find my old key chain collection. My father has always traveled all over the country for work so he started to bring me back key chains from every city state or country he would visit. Instead of keeping them in a box I decided to figure out a way to creatively display my old hobby.

As I thought about what to do with my key chains I came up with a few ideas. First, I figured I could hang them on the wall in some type of design or use them to frame something. I also thought to hang them inside of a homemade or Art-Decor picture frame, you could even make the picture frame into an end table or coffee table to display them in a creative manner. I decided to just hang them on the wall for now, I used an assortment nails, a chunky heeled shoe, since I could not locate a hammer, and my lovely key chains. Don't be afraid to improvise if you don't have the correct tools when being creative in the home. 

Here are the first few key chains I got up there.... I am excited to see how it turns out

I began putting them up in a slanted formation, thinking of making a triangle or just a pyramid like shape. I simple placed the nail where I wanted it and hammered it into the wall with the heel of my shoe, then hung the key chain thereafter.  

I basically repeated these steps over and over, hammering in the nail with the heel of my shoe in the desired position and then hanging the appropriate sized key chain.

GET EXCITED!! because this is finished result, I ended up with a shape I didn't expect but I love it the same. Shortly after completing this I added a little more to it to spruce it up a bit.

So I lied to you, this is really the end result. I added the quote, "You must be the change you wish to see in this world."  This quote is so real, you have to inflict change on the world through example and how you live your life. I fell in love with this quote while watching the independent film, Jesus Henry Christ,in this 1970's based film the boys mother always told him this quote to remind him of the importance of supporting change in the world. Please check it out if you haven't already, and I wrote this quote on the wall in lipstick. Love it! Stay tuned to find out what I do with this old hobby next!  

Recently there has been a serious lack of posting due to some valid excuses like school, interning, and volunteering. But wait no longer because we're back in full affect! Spring break is on the horizon which is giving Distant Drummer ample time to make for up the absence. I won't be traveling this year but a break from school will suffice.

Today was cloudy and with my current hair condition (I'm over it) I had to throw a hat on my head. I'm wearing a Ralph Lauren blazer, Upper Echelon sweatshirt, silence and noise jeans, Aldo boots, purse (?) and my moms vintage hat. I hope your spring break is spent on a beach or at least having some good laughs and good times!

~Imani

Last week my best friend and I went to a Purity Ring concert! It was insanely fun. The music was amazing and the lanterns and lighting combination glued my eyes to the stage.

Comfort was ideal so i wore an Upper Echelon hoodie (cut myself), f21 skirt, zara socks, jeff campbell sneakers and purse from Buffalo Exchange.

The concert was at the Union Transfer Center. One of their best features is that HipCityVeg (a vegan restaurant) supplies food and refreshments in the winter months. This arugula taco is their major feature and it was delightful. They also have a few different flavors of popcorn and deserts! 

About two weeks ago I posted this warm apple cider from Vedge, a vegan restaurant that opened maybe a year ago in Philly. I want to make a effort to promote vegan foods and restaurants because I’ve been vegan for a little over a year. Many people think its extremely hard and its an end to delicious foods but it’s certainly not true! And if your thinking about making the transition to vegetarian or vegan I would suggest an ease into it, don’t go cold turkey.

For main dish I had spicy grilled tofu, gochujang, edamame, smoked miso, yuba cracklin. Honestly, I didn’t know what everything was but it was amazing!

Vedge also had a unique decor and intimate ambiance. The spoon chandelier I knew Alicia would love!

This night was completed by unusual warm weather and beautiful scenery . Wearing thrifted camo jacket, UO dress, h&m scarf, Aldo shoes and vintage bag.

As Usual, Imani and I took yet another lovely midday excursion to our favorite place! The Thrift Store. We were in search of relevant vintage items to inspire us and to add to our collections.

As Soon as I hit the door this was the first thing I laid my eyes on. I am not too sure what it is, but it is a lovely piece for the home. It seems to be some sort of grinder or shredder because of the grooves and gears at the top and the knob on the side of this contraption. I am still doing further research to find out what it is and if anyone recognizes this item please let me know! I can visualize this contraption being used around the home as a paperweight or bookend. It would also be nice sitting on an end table, coffee table, desk, or used as a stand of some sort.

I thought it was only right to present these pieces as a unit. This seashell ashtray is divine and defyingly retro. At first glance I thought this was created in the 1970’s, it was definitely made in 2004. Love that! A modern piece turned retro, ha! The trinket above is a figurine pipe which also serves as a holder of some sort. Either of these pieces would fit wonderfully on any end table, coffee table, shelf, basically any surface it can rest on. You can hold a tiny flower, pebble, seashell, candy, or anything else your heart desires. For all you pure tobacco smokers out there this would be a nice novelty piece to hold your tobacco! Anywho, I hope you enjoyed these pieces as much as I did.

I absolutely adore this Dutch Wooden shoe, “clog”, figurine, I am not sure if it was actually made in Holland, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. These shoes have been worn in the Netherlands for the past 700 years, and they claim they are great for all seasons. In the winter they keep your foot extremely warm and cool in the summer. I think I need to get a pair. Anywho, this figurine would go nicely on any shelf or even mounted on a wall.

So Of course I had to save the best for last, I fell in love at first sight of this beautiful vintage toothbrush holder. It looks like it was from the 1930’s or earlier. The romantic detailed carving on the base of the holder is my all time favorite spot on this piece. It is absolutely lovely! This would be great in any bathroom, it would also fit nicely as a holder of your favorite pens. This is a piece that forces you to be creative when using it outside of the bathroom, Love that!

As you can see these random household items are usable anywhere in the home not only the places they would typically go. Hope you enjoyed the pieces I found today in the Village, It was my pleasure to share them with you.