What happens when fabulous jeweler June Shin meets wonderful illustrator Jessica Swift? They make perfect jewelery babies pieces together. Last week, June sent us some of the gorgeous items from their new jewelery collaboration, and Cath and I are fighting over loving every piece!

If you’ve followed AsianCajuns for a while, you know we love June. We’ve been raving about her work since May 28, 2008, to be exact. Her jewelry is delicate and subtle without being whimpy, and compliments our style really well.

Below you can see some of the June Shin/Jessica Swift collaborations. We love the whimsy of Jessica’s art with June’s light metal-smithing. These ladies can do no wrong in our book.

Here is the lovely part: June and Jessica are local artists (you can see their wares at this weekend’s Chomp and Stomp), but they both have Etsy stores for you non-locals to peruse. June’s jewelry is also at Beehive Co-op, Sole shoes, Kelly’s Closet and Dakota J’s.

• June Shin’s Etsy store
• Jessica Swift’s Etsy Store

Update: June and Jessica’s collaboration pieces will be up on their Etsy sites November 10 (woohoo!), but in the meantime they have some gorgeous stuff up on their respective Etsy stores.

Cath and I brought nearly identical outfits to mountains last weekend: sunglasses, faux-flannels, skinny cargos/jeans, and Frye boots. You know I own a pair of Northface (ugly) pants and a practical fleece, but the thought of packing practically made my face do what it’s doing in the photo above right.

Here’s Cath’s version of chic mountainwear:

On Cath: flannel and tee from H&M? Blank cargos from Rockit Boutique (but you can also get them at Shopbop), Frye boots, gifted Michael Stars sunnies, gifted Saddleback bag.

My (Lar’s) version:
I have that crocheted poncho draped around my mountain outfit tableau (so natural, I know!) because it’s one of my favorite cold-weather pieces in my closet. Knitted by my uber-talented Aunt Lizzie, it keeps me very warm and puts most of my low-quality trendy clothes to shame.

On Lar/me: flannel and bag are thrifted, jeans are Blank, boots are Frye, sunnies are gifted Michael Stars, and the bracelets are a mix from NOVICA and AE.

Oh and I included this gratuitous shot of my sunglasses below because I love the purple/brown colors on the inside of the frames (the outside is dark brown). I love a little oo-la-la for the wearer.

A few years ago I was a gallerina (the girl/boy who sits at the front desk of a trendy gallery and occasionally pours glasses of wine for potential clients).  As a gallerina I wore a lot of black. I didn’t want to be a cliche, but black was so easy and it never competes with what’s on the walls.

Cath and I attended an opening at the Mercury Art Works pop up gallery in midtown the other night, and I decided I really wanted to wear the antithesis of black. Cath is wearing a gorgeous minimalist outfit, and I am her foil in Laura Ashley-esque print and pink boots.

(That’s us with the sweetest gallery owner in the world- love her dress!).

Cath and I are attempting to take more photos together. This is tricky because we no longer live together and we take vacations apart (boohissy – hope you are having fun in LA, Kitcath!), but that might mean we’ll make more of an effort. We feel less self-conscious when  we take photos together, and we have a built-in stylist that can make sure hairs aren’t going astray and skirts aren’t twisting around.

Invest in a twin. It comes highly recommended.

On Lar: Laura Ashley- esque dress is from TJ Max, boots are thrifted, necklace is from NOVICA.
On Cath: Top is Dolce Vita, skirt is AA (I think), and the shoes are. gorgeous (I’ll have Cath fill in where they’re from. We don’t even shop together any more – sniffle).

This Friday (tomorrow!) at the Hagedorn Foundation Gallery.

So tell me, are you going?! I’d really like to see The Sartorialist, but I tend to be embarrassingly starry-eyed and incoherent in front of celebrities. I was almost thinking I wouldn’t go, but will some of you guys be there? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to meet up and be starry-eyed together!

(photo from here)

Last Friday I was invited to the opening of Atlanta’s new concept Ann Taylor store at Lenox Mall. I was curious to see how Ann Taylor would update its look. I’ve always liked the classic, ladylike quality of Ann Taylor clothing and was worried that the new concept store would end up looking like a J. Crew copycat (sequins on wool cardigans, desert boots worn with velvet dresses, sparkly brooches on denim jackets etc.).

Turns out there was no need to worry. The store is like a more glamorous, more feminine version of the old Ann Taylor. The same great work clothes and wedding-appropriate dresses are still there, but with a bit more flair.

The store had quite a few pearly and sparkly bobbles that were reasonably priced. I was tempted to buy one of the bracelets.

Instead, I took the practical route and bought a pair of black stretchy pants! The pants are like jeggins, but with a bit more heft. The store handed out these cute little tote bags with a sketch on it that says Ann Hearts Atlanta.

Don’t forget Atlanta readers, until Sept. 5 you can get a 20% discount at the new store by saying “There’s a new Ann in town” at checkout. Let me know what you think of it!

Things have been a bit crazy the past few days for Lar and me – a wedding, a funeral, a trip to Montana, and family visiting from Maryland. I have a couple of outfit posts in the works, but for now, here’s a few fun photos from the past week:

A close up of my Toms near an okra plant at Stone Mountain Park.

It doesn’t get more AsianCajun than this: Cafe du Monde chicory coffee sold at a Doraville Asian market.

Our friends’ wedding reception was at Cafe Alsace – one of the sweetest restaurants in downtown Decatur.

Dexin looked gorgeous as a bride, but my bf (who took this photo) was more interested in the French beer at Cafe Alsace, which turned out to taste like a watery Belgium.

We took our aunts out for tea at Dr. Bombay’s in Candler Park.

Dr. Bombay’s might not have the most elegant tea setting, but I love its bird-cage and book-filled interior.

Lar is on her way to Scotland in two days – I’m so jealous! Let’s hope British Airways doesn’t go on strike!

Hello dear readers! We’re glad you all enjoyed our travel guide on Glamour.com. As I mentioned in the previous post, Lar and I have been crazy busy, which means we haven’t been able to blog as much, which means we’ve been cranky. But you know what’s helped? Your comments and the chance to participate in the Little Black Dress Experiment.

Dresses gifted by Ann Taylor. For other outfit details, see the full post here.

For the month of August, style bloggers from around the country have been showing off how to style this gorgeous Ann Taylor dress (psst! the link gets you a coupon) and we were invited to represent Atlanta – woot, woot! Click here to check out our post and the other 19 stylish girls that have participated.

FYI to our Atlanta fashionista readers: a new Ann Taylor concept store is opening up in Lenox. We’re going to explore it soon and will let you know all about it.