Chateau Getaway

Doesn't this sound divine? Kaari Meng of the French General is planning a girls getaway this summer to a chateau in Southwest France!! Let's go!!!

Last chance to win Pitt hat!

Hello All,  Don't forget to register for the great Brad Pitt "Make It Right" hat giveaway!  (Details here!)  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced here this evening! xoxxo

UPDATE: Random Moments is the winner! Thank you all for playing. Stay turned for more giveaways!! xoxo

Pansy Lane

I'm so smitten by Pansy Lane's apartment set on flickr.  I love the way she's grouped the photos over the couch.  And the mismatched chairs around the dining room table warm my magpie heart. And the wallpaper! Where was this apartment when I was looking??? 

Camellia Season

I always look forward to camellia season.  But this year,  it surprised me. I was so busy with work, I almost missed the early blooms.  One afternoon, I looked out my bedroom window and saw the saucer-sized flowers--pinks, reds and white. 

Photos

Top: white camellia on my dresser.

Middle: from the always beautiful Liquid Sky Arts.

Bottom:  from Akaitori

Kat Macleod

Blogger Oh Joy! reminds me, with her weekend post, of the charms of Australian illustrator Kat Macleod, who mixes up her drawings with bright watercolors and bits of interesting fabric, touched with sequins, ribbon, string and other found goodies. It's assemblage for the chic set, and I simply can't resist it.  I first learned about Macleod's designs while browsing in one of my local bookstores. There, on the shelf, was a pink cocktail book, "The Cocktail: 200 Fabulous Drinks." Not only were the recipes a delight (an entire section on Champagne cocktails!), the illustrations made it clear:  This was not your dad's bar guide.  It was, to borrow the name of one of the drinks, a Flirtini. (Of course, I had to buy the book and the followup cocktail deck).....

.....Besides the cocktail book,  Macleod has a full portfolio, with works appearing in magazines around the globe. (The umbrella illustration appeared in Real Style. Afterall, those editors know real style when they see it. ) A number of her illustrations are also available for viewing on the website, Jacky Winter group.  And, according to Oh Joy!, Ms. Macleod has a new book, called  "Like I Give a Frock", coming out in the spring. Like her art, her bio on the Winter site includes colorful details. "She finds fashion, textiles, new art supplies and old books inspiring."  Plus: "She enjoys hot chips, talking on the phone and her cat." In other words, she's someone you could meet for a Yacht Club Punch, garnished with a maraschino cherry. Cheers! 

Ranuncu-whatever...

I'm spending the evening catching up on my blog reading.  Design*Sponge this week did an interesting story on one of my favorite flowers, ranunculus. (Ok, I can't really pronounce it.)  Lovely, all the same....

(PS: don't forget to register for the Brad Pitt hat giveaway, two posts below. xoxo)

Malibu

I'm probably one of the few people who prefers the beach during a rainstorm. The colors are so moody:  The ocean blends with the clouds and the air is fresh.  I love these photos of Malibu, posted on flickr by imagebysp, a seascape photographer extraordinaire. The last picture is fantastic: the surf forms the median between air and sea. Gorgeous. 

Brad Pitt Hat Giveaway!

Dear All, I'm giving away one of my Brad Pitt "Make It Right" newsboy caps! I purchased it in New Orleans during the launch of Pitt's effort to rebuild the lower 9th ward.  (See Pitt, above, wearing his version of the hat.) To win, simply leave a comment on this post OR sign-up as one of my blog followers!  (See sign-up link on the right. Please join the lovely Urban Muse--my first follower--in tracking my latest posts!) The winner will be announced here on  Monday evening! xoxxo

UPDATE: Random Moments is the winner!!!  Thank you all for playing. Stay tuned for more giveaways!

Home

It's so nice to be home on a rainy Saturday morning with all my favorite things  (and people and animals.)  It's supposed to rain for days, one of the hallmarks of winter in Los Angeles.  I love it. I have a stack of books, new magazines (what do you think of that New Yorker cover?) and a new recipe book. Bliss. 

Kennedys

I'm back in LA after a long flight from Washington! The plane was packed with inaugural revelers, toting souvenirs and donning Obama buttons. (I brought my daughter an Obama jack-in-the box.)  I thought a lot about our previous presidents this week, especially JFK. I wish he and his brother Bobby could have lived to see this day. How far we've come.....

(Bobby is in the middle picture, by the way, jogging with his dog "Freckles.") 

DC Row Houses

I spent the day walking through the streets of DC, from the Jefferson Memorial up through Chinatown and over to my little rented apartment on 12th Street, where I've been filing my blog from the basement laundry room. (It's the only place in the building where I can get on the Internet. )  I wanted to share with you this picture taken by RonnieR. (His DC set on flickr is wonderful.)  Tomorrow I'm heading home to LA, where (alas) marble buildings and row houses are in short supply. I'm looking forward to thawing out my toes. 

Bunting

I love glossy red doors. But a red door topped with bunting? Fantastic. I spotted this door at a firehouse near Thomas Circle in Washington D.C. today. The city is still decked out in red, white and blue for Obama's inauguration. Flags are essential for such celebrations, of course. But bunting is like a party dress trimmed in grosgrain, only unwrapped for the very best occasion. My friend Carla Hall shares my love of these billowy banners. (I've known her for 18 years and never knew this about her until this week, when we were traveling down Massachusetts Avenue in a cab.) She said: "The loops of fabric remind me of a more gentle time in our history."  Bunting is charming, to be sure. But there's more. It's an atavistic elegance.

Obama

I love this illustration by Richard James (for Women's World Daily).

All That Jazz

What better way to celebrate the country's first African American president than with a concert (or two) featuring the country's first authentic art music -- Jazz! It's woven into the fabric of our culture like a colorful silk thread. Martin Luther King Jr. called it America's "triumphant music." Tonight, at the Kennedy Center in D.C., some of the greats of jazz, including Dave Brubeck, gathered to sing and celebrate. I put together a little collection of photos, posters and album covers. I LOVE the one of Josephine Baker. And the one of Ray Charles makes me smile. I saw him nearly 20 years ago at the Ventura Theatre, complete with the Rayettes donning sunglasses. So much cool. 

(PS: please click on the English Muse homepage for an exciting giveaway:  A Brad Pitt "Make It Right" newsboy cap!) xoxo

Lincoln Memorial

There are moments in your life you cherish forever. This was one of them. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to see the concert for Obama at the Lincoln Memorial  up close today. This is a picture I took of Bono telling the crowd -- via big screen -- "let freedom ring."  Amazing.  (To learn more about the preparations for the event, here's my column!) 

The Week Ahead

Hello everyone. I'm here in DC for the inauguration. I'm staying at a lovely rented apartment for the week. I wanted to get a hotel room, but they were all sold out by the time I started looking (the day after the election.) They were also incredibly overpriced. My apartment is wonderful (on the top floor of an old brownstone.) However, there is one major drawback: The Internet is a bit spotty. I'm here, posting on my blog in the basement where I've managed to find an open line. (Thank you to the person who has AT&T nearby.) I spent a little time today at the Lincoln Memorial watching the rehearsals for tomorrow's opening concert. (More on that later!) In the spirit of the week, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite Washington images and art for sale on Etsy at the moment. Enjoy! xoxo

(1. Michelle Burnett Fine Art.  2. Daogreer Earth Works  3. Jan Morales Photo.  4. Cherie Lester Photography & Mixed Media.  Kalika Designs.  6. Allison Ostertag.  7. BlindeyePhoto.  8. Jetset Paper.  9. Allison Ostertag.)

DC Bound

Dear All,  I'm heading to DC for the inauguration! Will be posting pictures and updates! Stay tuned! xoxo

  

Young(er) Obama

I love these photos, posted on Facebook by KCRW's Jeremy Sole.  It's amazing how much of this cool the new president has retained. 

If You Please

Awhile back, while browsing at Anthropologie, I noticed a flood of new etiquette books. They seemed to be on every shelf and table: How to write a letter; how to spiff up your boyfriend; how to throw a party; how to slip away from a one-night stand (leave quickly).  And perhaps the ultimate:  What would Jackie do?...

I wondered: What did the etiquette books look like when our grandmothers were debutantes?  With the help of eBay, I found a number of interesting vintage tomes. 

Here's a sampling of the advice:

✒On smoking (from New American Etiquette, 1941):

"Smokers far out number non-smokers in every type of community, in every class of society...Non-smokers have a right to refrain but they must learn to put up gracefully with those who do -- otherwise they must retire from social activities." (Hah!)

✒On diet (from Personality Unlimited, 1943):

"Cut down on the intake of fatty foods! Use less fatty meats and no fried foods at all. But do eat an abundance of fresh fruits and at least one salad a day." (A book ahead of its time.)

And finally...

✒On dating (from New American Etiquette, 1941):

"If a girl is a nice girl, with a sense of true proportions and a desire for things in good taste, she will remain a nice girl despite her new freedom. She will probably safely end up with a good husband, nice home, and clever children...If she is a cheap girl , she will have future hours of deep regret." (But a lot more fun.)

PS: The wonderful folk artist CJ Metzger created the illustration (above) for a story I did on this subject! Check out her website! 

Oh, and thank you!

xoxo

Enchantments

I was so enchanted by isphotography's photos --  found at Poppytalk's online Valentine store this week -- that I wanted to investigate further.  The photos are the work of Montreal-based photographer Irene Suchocki, a lovely "purveyor of little poems for the eyes." If you have a chance, check out her website. The images above remind me of winter, warmed by light.