Thursday, April 21, 2011

Victorian Die Cuts

die cuts
I love Victorian die cuts, of course. But these are just so good....Look at the guy in the wild hat!! Wow...

This little collection was put together by Ginny Branch Stelling, of the blog My Favorite Color is Shiny.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Gracia & Louise

The collage creations of Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison...






The two artists from Melbourne are the publishers of zines and books,
spotlighting their compositions of curious and colorful things.
Their art is the visual equivalent of marzipan.

LOVE!!!

(Even more on Gracia & Louise's Flickr page.)

What I'm reading....



I just started "The Man Who Invented the Computer," by Jane Smiley (yes, that Jane!).
It's fascinating so far.

I'm such a computer geek. Of all the profiles I've written, one of my favorites is about Michael Heilemann, who created WordPress' Kubrick theme. I love the backstory of the Internet.


What are you reading this week?

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Wuthering Heights -- A Family Tree...

wuthering heights- family tree

Although I know from previous comments that some you absolutely hated Wuthering Heights, I wanted to post this illustration by Lizzy Stewart. I think it's so charming and I love how Catherine is in sepia.

Have a lovely Monday, everyone!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Keys to the Castle! (Rather, the little house)

Draw Some Keys
We're out of escrow! We just got the keys to the little house. The books are all packed and we're ready to go. I'm taking the camera over today to get pictures for you. I need lots of advice on how to turn this very plain (but cute) house into a really lovely cottage...

More later!

(Illustration by Mellanie C.)

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Mortimer/Gaghan Library



The April issue of Matchbook Magazine is out and I've been poring over every page. There's a wonderful story about Minnie Mortimer (her family is considered New York royalty.) She's married to Oscar winning writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who did Syriana and Traffic.

Their Los Angeles home is amazing, but their library is beyond wonderful. It's stylish, but in the way true bibliophiles' collections are stylish--an arrangement that evokes both care for the books and their frequent use. Stacking is the tip-off!

(Photo from Matchbook Magazine.)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Can't walk away...

...can't quit...

Last night I had made a decision to close down this blog. But the truth is, I just can't. It's too important to me for reasons
I know all of you understand. I'm sorry about the drama.
Come what may, I'm here to stay.

If I'm Dooced, oh well. I've been unemployed before.

Thank you for reading.

(Photo by Parpadeo.)

Monday, April 11, 2011

We got the house!



Now comes the hard part: Packing all the books...

Maybe I should have opted for a Kindle after all!

(Photo by Liis Klammer.)


Thursday, April 7, 2011

A new place to call home...



After a year of apartment living, we put in a bid on a little cottage in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The house is tiny but the yard is huge -- and I'm really looking forward to starting a new garden.

We're hoping to find out today or tomorrow if we have the house.

Please keep your fingers crossed it works out this time!

(Collage by Little Gold Poppy.)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

What's Your Favorite Book?



For me, it's still "A Moveable Feast," maybe because I read it every time I go to Paris.

What about you?

(Photo by Sabino Aguad.)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Lunch at Louie's: Dining on Blue Macarons

There's a restaurant two blocks away from my downtown LA office
that has the most amazing macarons...




The blue ones are filled with chocolate and taste like candy.
For a moment today I felt like I was at Ladurée.
Sigh...

Penguin Foodie Books





This is why I could go broke buying Penguin books...

Beautiful illustrations by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

The Great Food Series on pre-order here.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunday at the Flea Market











Plein-aire paintings, vintage glasses, theatre programs,
old skateboards, wire flower frogs,
plastic bead necklaces,
rose quartz and sodalite,
and me, on the run,
trying to do
the Pasadena City College flea market
in an hour!

My score of the day:
A Victorian cameo brooch.

(More on my flickr page.)

Friday, April 1, 2011

It's Spring: Time to redesign




Hello! I have made a few changes here this morning on the English Muse. I have a new header, by
the very talented artist, Lori Langille.
One of the joys of life is redecorating (blogs in included!)

What are you doing this weekend? It's like summer here and I'm going to the flea market to treasure hunt!! Will bring back pictures!

PS: I'm still tinkering with the background. I'll probably change it 20 more times. Do you do this sort of thing too?
Maybe I'm looking at my blog too much. :)

(Illustration, above, also by Lori.)