Thanksgiving...

Hello everyone. Wishing you a lovely holiday tomorrow. My mom is doing the cooking this year. My only task is to bring the cupcakes for dessert! (Yes cupcakes! It was my mom's request.) I ordered a dozen -- a mix of chocolate and vanilla -- from my favorite cupcake place in San Marino. As usual, we'll watch the Macy's parade on TV, have dinner at 1 p.m. and then watch football (and fall asleep on the couch.) Bliss.


Photo by Consumed by Cake

Amazing Auction of Audrey Dresses

Some 35 dresses, gowns, memorabilia and other treasures will be sold on December 8 at a London Sotheby's auction -- the largest public sale ever of clothing that belonged to the beloved actress. Here's a sneak peak:

This photo by Richard Avedon.

The little black Chantilly lace Givenchy dress Ms. Hepburn wore in "How to Steal a Million."

A wonderful black mod coat.

Her gorgeous white gown from "Love in the Afternoon."

The Fontana Sisters gown she planned to wear to wed Lord James Hanson. (The wedding never happened, and the dress was carefully stored by one of the actress' friends.)
Could you image getting married in her gown?! Wow!

A few more photos (taken by Reuters at the NYC auction premier over the weekend):

The sale is expected to raise tens of thousands of dollars. Half of the proceeds will go to UNICEF, a charity the actress strongly supported.

Oh, I would love to be in London for this sale! I know I always ask you this every time I write about Audrey Hepburn. But I love to hear your answers: What is it about the actress that appeals to an entirely new generation of women?


One last thing: I've watched this clip so many times. I think it's one of life's treasures.

Death of a Supermodel

South Korean supermodel Daul Kim -- who was a regular on catwalks in New York, Milan and Paris -- was found dead after an apparent suicide last week at her luxury flat in Paris.  According to the Daily Telegraph of London, her death was discovered after she left a series of messages on her now closed Blogspot blog -- I Like to Fork Myself -- saying she was lonely and depressed.

So sad. What a beautiful girl she was.  Do you think the fashion industry puts too much pressure on its young models? I've been thinking a lot lately about Gemma Ward, who announced last week that she was taking a break from modeling. The press has been relentless recently in posting unflattering pictures of Gemma,  who gained weight following the death of her boyfriend, actor Heath Ledger. The girl is gorgeous, no matter how much she weighs.

I guess this is a dark subject for a Sunday evening. But it was on my mind, so I thought I would post it.

(Photo above via Lost and Found)

Five for Friday

Happy Weekend! (I'm so glad this week is over...!) Here are some of my favorite landscape posts for a little Friday afternoon cheer:

from Hei Astrid

from Tea for Joy

from Beyond Wunderman

from That Unreliable Girl

And from Little Gray Pixel

I'm looking forward to next week...a fresh start, I hope! Have a lovely weekend everyone.

What is Flickr?

Hello everyone. Continuing with my humor theme today, here's a clip from the switched.com crew, which took to the streets to find out if people know what Flickr is...The photo sharing site seems to be a little better understood among the general public than, say, Twitter. Have a look:

I love the guy who says: "What's liquor?"

Sassy Grandmas

I love these women. When confronted by corporate greed and insensitive bosses with dumb ideas, I suspect they would offer a string of obscenities that mean basically this:   Buzz off, idiots.

Photos from Shechive.com
Have a lovely Thursday!

Girl in the Red Skirt

I love these photos -- this girl with her red skirt and red flats....On a street in Barcelona, perhaps? Posted on flickr by Alvertigo.

What's Twitter?

The switched.com crew took to the streets to find out if people really know what Twitter is. The answers are very funny...


I love people. Happy Monday everyone...

Five For Friday

Hello everyone. I wanted to start something new here on the English Muse: A Friday round-up of some of my favorite posts from around the web. So here goes:

Girls on a train...Bleubird Vintage.

The ultimate thrift store find: A vintage hand-knitted dress -- for $5...Making Chicken Salad.

A lovely living room -- complete with botanical prints and the Virgin of Guadalupe...Daydream Lily.

Mismatched teacups...The Rockstar Diaries.

And Maggie Gyllenhaal as a 1940s siren...via Nellie Loves Vintage.

What do you have planned this weekend? I'm going to have brunch with my friend Elaine at Barneys in Beverly Hills before she heads back to Paris. (We both always end up ordering the scrambled eggs and salmon ... and champagne.) I'm also hoping to open a little boutique on Ebay this weekend to sell some of my own vintage finds! Will keep you posted if you'd like to visit...

xoxo

The Secret Postcard Sale...

At this time every year, the UK's Royal College of Art unveils its annual secret postcard exhibition, which gives visitors the chance to buy a small work by a famous artist for just £40.

This year, more than 700 artists — including Julian Opie, Grayson Perry and Anish Kapoor — have donated 2,700 postcard-sized paintings and drawings to the college, which will sell the works at a giant sale in London on Saturday.

But there's the catch: Buyers do not know who painted which image until after the sale. (They also have to be there in person to collect their tiny masterpieces.)

Anyone in London going to this!? Imagine getting a Hockney for less than $100!

(Photos above from last year's sale.)

Karl's World

These cheeky illustrations by aleXsandro Palombo depict Karl Lagerfeld in all his fabulosity jetting around Paris.

I found them to be quite amusing.

Let's see if we can create a short story about them.

I'll start:

Karl was in agony because he was forced to take the metro because all of the cab drivers in Paris were abducted by aliens.

Now, you!

From the Gourmet Traveller:
Karl is bemused that it takes three poorly dressed workmen to do one man's work, poorly. Sneering, he mutters, 'The background poster is not even hung correctly. Who hired these simpletons?' ... (who wants to write the next part?)

Posted by Lisi at The Beauty File blog

Photos via Fabric Magazine

Paris by Polaroid

I love Emilie79's dreamy Polaroid world...

I always look forward to her new posts on Flickr. Her photos are always unique yet share a common trait: the colors of vanilla and bleu.

Happy Monday, by the way! What are you doing this week?