Le Love

From the blog Le Love. So lovely...

Postscript from Elizabeth, one of my dear readers:  The quote is from a page in a book by artist/author Brian Andreas.  You can find more of his work here. 

Chinatown Treasures

In honor of the lunar new year, Dylan & Jean from Ladies & Gentleman  have a charming post (via Poppytalk) on all the treasures they've found in Chinatowns from Seattle to Los Angeles.  The little coffee pot is very functional, but I prefer the pink plastic cake stands. Frivolity in plastic. Pure bliss. 

John Updike 1932-2009

My small tribute to John Updike:

From Rabbit Run:  "Men are all heart and women are all body.  I don't know who has the brains. God Maybe."

(And I also love "The Witches of Eastwick.")

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year.  We've left behind the year of the rat (take that Bernie Madoff). And now for the year of the ox, a symbol of strength and good luck.  I love visiting Chinatowns in various cities--Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and, last week, Washington D.C.  I can never resist the mooncakes. Gong hei fat choi!

(top photo: liquid sky arts.)

My DC Holga

I just got my film developed from my trip last week to DC for the inauguration. I wanted to share with you some of the images I took on my Holga camera at the Jefferson Memorial. The middle picture is of the ice and frost on the Potomac River. It glistened like diamonds. Please visit my flickr page to see the entire set!

Home

Hello everyone! My friend Susan has been encouraging me to post more photos of my house. I've been hesitant because, really, I find other people's houses more interesting. Anyway, here's a little collage of a few spots around the house. The bald poppet wearing the crystal necklace on the perfume tray is one of my favorite things, for reasons I can't entirely explain.  

Old Magazine Covers

Which one is your favorite?  I love the top one. I always feel I like I'm walking on a highwire (but not quite with as much style.)

(Source: AllPosters.com)

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).