Thursday, April 30, 2009

Still Running!


Good afternoon darlings! I'm still running like a mad woman...I promise to slow down tomorrow and do a proper post. In the meantime, please enter the drawing for the lovely plaque by Lisa Romero (post below)! Will pick a name shortly after midnight tonight PST. xoxo



(Photo by DS Brennan.)

Thursday Giveaway!



Hello everyone! I'm very happy to announce this Thursday Giveaway: a lovely plaque painted by the fantastic San Francisco artist Lisa Romero at Paper Bullet. Lisa specializes in turning found objects into fantastic art with colorful acrylics. I love this piece. So very cute.

To enter to win this little plaque, please leave a comment here anytime today (Thursday). Also visit Lisa's Paper Bullet Etsy store!

The winner will be announced on Friday morning. Good luck darlings!

UPDATE!!! AND THE WINNER IS.....DISGRUNTLED CUSTOMER!!! (I hope she will not be disgruntled about winning the prize). Thank you all for entering. There will be another fabulous giveaway next Thursday!!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Running

running

Hello everyone. I'm running like crazy today! (Sort of like the girl above, but probably not as graceful). There's so much going on: Bono is in trouble for saying the F-word, Bill Clinton is coming to town, there's a Congo event tonight, followed by a gala to raise money for women in Afghanistan. And I'm so behind.

I did manage to put up a post on Ms. Muse about Brad Pitt. Check it out if you have a moment. Meanwhile, I'll meet you back here, late late tonight...

PS: Please visit the sites of my lovely new sponsors (to the left)! I love them!

(The photo above is by Complejo via We Heart It.)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Inspiration

sieff

On the days when I'm at a loss for inspiration, I find it in the photographs of Jeanloup Sieff...

sieff

PS: There's one more over {here}. I couldn't resist!

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday. I'm busy working on my column today. I've been closed up in my little office...

Monday, April 27, 2009

Monday in Beverly Hills

beverly hills
beverly hills
off rodeo
There are many beautiful, expensive things in the shops on Rodeo Drive. But the view of the sky and the buildings is free.

I know I should try photographing something other than the sky. I guess it's my muse.

Talented Ms. Tarnoff

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My friend Tina Tarnoff, a fantastic artist and blogger in San Francisco, has recently been commissioned to do a mural in New Orleans' gorgeous Garden District! I'm so proud she is going to be a part of the ongoing restoration of an amazing city. I spent a little time this weekend browsing through her paintings, above, on Etsy. I love them. Her silhouette papercuts are really special too. (My previous post on those!) And here's the link to her blog, Thought Patterns.

I hope everyone has a lovely Monday! Such a busy week ahead. I'm heading out to, where else?, Beverly Hills.
xo

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Ads on the English Muse

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Hello everyone. I'm very excited to announce that the English Muse is now accepting ads! If you're interested, please email me at englishmuse (at) yahoo (dot) com. And thank you for visiting my blog!
xoxo

Tina


(PS: Photo by English Snow.)

Pink Coat!

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The illustrator goddess Maira Kalman posted an update to her New York Times blog! My cousin Heidi flagged me on this, knowing how much I love pink coats!! This made my Sunday. (Thank you Heidi. Love you!)

Pink it is, indeed.

(PS: My previous Kalman posts and a photo of my beloved pink cape.)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Lavender

lavender
lavender

Lavender is blooming like crazy in my garden. The bees are so happy. (Not so much my husband, who was stung on the foot the other day.) I took these pictures this afternoon. Check out the weird little thing on the upper-right-hand corner of both photos. What is that? Polaroids always surprise me with their strange little spots.

As I'm blogging this, I'm sitting on our new Ikea sofa, with a very practical khaki denim slipcover. It's not as mushy and as comfy as the last sofa, but it's lovely all same. I'm wondering how long it will be before it's shredded by our two beastly cats.

Poor Cat

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This is Kali. She's the devoted cat of my 10 1/2 year old daughter, Isabella. Here she is pictured wearing a lovely blue silk scarf. (Photo taken by Isabella in her very green bedroom). Kali has been photographed wearing crowns, pink feather boas and bead necklaces. And still she endures more. She's such a good sport, really.

Saturday Clouds

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...turn to blue skies. The perfect weather for shopping for a new couch -- at Ikea!


Hope you're having a lovely day.

Friday, April 24, 2009

A Peaceful Weekend

peaceful weekend

I love this photo by Margolove. It's so calming. Reminds me to breathe. I'm so glad it's the weekend!

We're going to the Los Angeles Times Book Fair tomorrow. (We're also looking for a new couch!) What are you doing??


PS: Margolove has an amazing photostream on flickr, for a little respite.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Nest

nest

I've been meaning to show this to you. It's a little nest I found in one of my climbing rose bushes this winter. It was abandoned and empty. I filled it with beads and put it on the fireplace mantel.

Maybe I should have left it in the bush? Would the little birds have come back?

Beverly Hills at Dusk

beverly hills
Good morning. I had such a lovely evening in Beverly Hills. I'm working on my column now about all the going ons this week. Will put up the link as soon as I'm done. A little preview: Tony Blair is so funny! I had no idea!

...xoxo


(PS: Photo on Polaroid, extra saturated.)


Here's the link! Blair gathers with Hollywood types this week to raise money to combat malaria.

ALSO:
A new Beverly Hills photo on Ms. Muse. Let me know what you think!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Majblommor

mayflowers

It's mayflower season in Sweden. I noticed one of the little paper flowers on my girl Katarina's Lolita blog today. I wish I could import this tradition to Los Angeles. Every year -- for more than a hundred years -- Sweden's Mayflower Charity Foundation has sold these little flowers to raise money to fight child poverty. Their website has a lovely catalogue of all the flowers -- dating back to 1907. The idea was started by Ms. Beda Hallberg from G̦teborg. "Her simple but brilliant idea was that everyone could contribute by buying the small flowers from children Р'Children helping children'," according to the website.

Brilliant and beautiful!

I hope you all are having a lovely Wednesday. I'm going to a charity event in Beverly Hills tonight. I was thinking about leaving a little early to take some Polaroids on Rodeo Drive. If I don't return, you can probably find me still wandering around the Prada store.

Breakfast, Anyone?




The fantastic Jennifer Causey of Simply Breakfast posted this week! And pictures from Paris, no less! Her blog is such a treat, even if read in the middle of the night. (Ok, 1:06 am. Now I'm going to bed. xo)



PS: Thank you All the Mountains for the tip!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Monday, April 20, 2009

Bella Ms. Bello

Hello everyone. I'm so busy today, running from one event to the next. There's a conference here this week of African first ladies. The gorgeous actress Maria Bello helped kick off the festivities this morning. She's such beautiful person -- inside and out. Here's a story I wrote about her last week. Check it out if you have a chance! Hope you're all having a lovely Monday!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

De-stress

garden

Palm Springs this weekend was out of the question...But Huntington Gardens was a lovely alternative...

garden

Amid this serenity I reached an important conclusion: I'm ditching the damn Sitemeter. Life is better lived without it. It's more productive watching the clouds move across the sky...

gardens

How are you?

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Saturday Color

color

Illustrations that warm my magpie soul...

color
...on this sunny Saturday morning.



I love these watercolors by illustrator Bella Foster (a frequent contributor to the NYT)...Bella, bella indeed!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend! I'm getting ready to get my hair done. (yay)


PS: I'm crushing on the plate wall and the green couch. And the mismatched bowls are beyond fabulous.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Happy Weekend

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5211

I can't believe it's friday already. This week was a blur with work. What are you doing this weekend? My plan: Sleep! (And get my hair done..)




Photos by Camilla Ã…krans.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Ms. Muse

ms.muse

Well, I decided to do it: I started another blog! (A companion blog, if you will, to The English Muse). It's called Ms. Muse and it's all about "life, love & beauty....and an occasional celebrity encounter." My first "encounter" is with Colin Firth. I met him in London over the summer. He was charming, as you would expect...but he had some surprising things to say! Here's the link: http://ms-muse.blogspot.com/

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Ms. Muse will include a daily dose of large photos, like the one above of Ms. Moss. The English Muse will include everything else lovely.

xoxo

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Petal covered paths...

petals

It seems all of Los Angeles is in bloom this week...

flowering trees

with yellow silk...

flowering trees

and pink velvet...

flowering trees

Trees that refuse to be upstaged...

flowering trees

By any other flower. Even if their beauty is short lived...

grass

(PS: Photos taken with a Polaroid Sun 660.)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

If happiness had a color...

yellow
yellow
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...It would have to be yellow...

Reminds me of this song: Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you...



(PS: click photos for linkbacks).

UPDATE! This comment from the lovely Ms Reread made me laugh: "Love that colour, especially when it's light and creamy like lemon gelati ... but Chris Martin makes me want to stick a fork in my eye."


What is it about Chris Martin? Either love him or hate him?! I think he's a hot-tie!

xoxo

First Dog

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Bo, a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, has joined the Obamas this week as the newest member of the First Family. The floppy-eared, black-and-white dog was a gift from Sen. Edward Kennedy and his wife.

The Obamas had hoped to get a rescue dog, and in a way they have, according to The Washington Post. Bo had been living with another family, but it wasn't a good fit, so the Kennedys gave him to the Obamas. Ha! A regifted dog! He was originally named Charlie, but the Obamas decided to call him Bo, as in Bo Diddley.

I hope he gets along better with the press corps than Bush's dog Barney. This video of Barney biting a reporter always makes me laugh. (I know, that's terrible of me. It seems White House dogs are under as much pressure as their masters!)

Have a look: