Rose

Beautiful girl, beautiful dress. Another gorgeous photo by Chris Nicholls. (See the gallery here.) The Oscars are on Sunday. I wish I could go to the parties in a dress like this!

Lucky Day

What kind of book do you want to write?

From Annabelle, of My Life...In To Do Lists, in Australia: "Haha I love it! I'd love to write a memoir of my life at about 60 years of age, I hope to have lived a lot by then!"

From Sara, of One Long Road,  in Cairo: "A reflective, contemplative autobiography!
one that would represent my culture in the context of being Egyptian :) "

(Photo credit: I Heart It.)

California

Such charming "roadside photographs" by Jen Zahigian of Oakland, California. (They're for sale in her Etsy store.) The palm tree photo reminds me that I need to make a trip to Two Bunch Palms to soak in the hot springs. There's so much to love about the California desert.

Dancing in the Light

This photo by Chris Nicholls for the New York City Ballet made my heart leap. So beautiful! (I so love the ballet...) See the full photo here. I imagine her dancing to Tchaikovsky.

A comment from Charlotte, lovely reader:
"More than any other choreographer whoever lived, Balanchine understood that the fascination of ballet was the motion of beautiful women. That was the glorious vision at the heart of the glorious company he created..."


From Whitney:
"I am a former pro ballerina and wanted to tell you that that photo is in costume for a ballet called "Vienna Waltzes". The music is, I'm sorry to disappoint, not Tchaikovsky but 3 separate composers...Johann Strauss primarily.

Also, the photo looks like the dancer Suzanne Farrell, but as the photographer appears (in his bio photo) relatively young, I don't think he took this at the time she was dancing (60's - 80's). Still, the face is hers I'm pretty sure.

Anyway, lovely blog. :)"

(Thank you!!! I so appreciate your wonderful comments! Tina)

Turquoise and Blue

I'm completely enamored with prop stylist Robyn Glaser's work, often showcased in Anthropologie catalogues. Her interiors are saturated with color. I love the picture of the girl, as seen through a cascade of clear beads. The blue velvet settee with the mismatched pillows is priceless. And I love the stacks of books with the blue china. (Ok, I'm still having my Oscar Wilde moment.) Lovely.

Édith...

Would you rather listen to Édith Piaf on a record player...

Or on a CD? Another beautiful dilemma, yes? I always think about the scene in Bull Durham when Susan Sarandon is blasting Piaf on her turntable. (And Tim Robbins calls her the "crazy Mexican singer.") There are certain singers who just sound more romantic through the speaker of a record player. What do you think?

(Poster of Piaf here.)

Stars, Unlit

The neon lights from a carnival ride, in sepia. I love this photo, found on We Heart It via the fantastically talented Dyxie.

Motto

I have adopted this as my new motto. They're having another round of layoffs at work this week. So many good friends have already left. It's very stressful, but I have to believe that everything will be ok. Somehow. No matter what happens. Right?

Red

Hello everyone. It's been a very long evening of work. I'm so tired that I can't sleep. It's soothing to flip through beautiful photos. I especially love the red elements in this collage. Red roses, red dress, red pom-poms on a hat. The photo of the lights in the snow is magical...The blue china reminds me of Oscar Wilde. How does that quote go again?

So now I'm going to bed...until tomorrow....


UPDATE: Thank you Miranda! Wilde said he was "trying to live up to my blue and white china."
That must have been amazing china. I wonder if it was Burleigh or Spode.


(Photo credits at my I Heart It.)

Les Etoiles

I also found this in my files today. It's a (very large) gift tag. I think it's so cute...xo

Inside My Inspiration File

In an effort to keep magazines and newspapers from taking over my house, yard and garage, I started clipping my favorite articles and pictures for an inspiration file about five years ago. Now, the file has grown to (at least) several boxes. I wanted to give you a little look inside.

Here are some of the things I pulled out randomly today: A story from the New York Times magazine on lipstick queen Poppy King; A photograph of colored shirts (Great Gatsby, anyone?) in Real Simple; My dream desk, flanked by books and Hermes boxes; There's an Elle magazine book page, which is always excellent. The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg is featured. (Bragg once asked me out on a date, many moons ago); There's a picture of Hayden Panettiere in the ultimate Burberry coat and an inspiration board featured in the April 2008 issue of Domino magazine (don't get me started on how much I already miss Domino); From Bazaar, there's a Fashionable Life profile of Isabel Toledo. And my favorite: A watercolor of a pink coat (from a review of "Drawing Fashion: The Art Kenneth Paul Block.") As usual my eye is drawn to anything pink.

If Anaïs Nin....

...had a Nikon D3 camera...

...Her photos might look a lot like Deborah Anderson's. Check out the website of the incomparable photographer, daughter of the legendary lead singer of the band Yes. Deborah's book "Paperthin" is a modern take on 1930s Parisian erotica. Sizzling.

By the way,
the second picture is of Deborah, taken by Dennis Hopper, a subject of hers.
Here's a story I did this week about her work.

Rainy Day in Malibu

My former Times colleague Veronique de Turenne blogs beautifully about Malibu and often takes photographs from her morning hike. There's a lot of wild nature left where Los Angeles meets the Pacific, and not all of it involves stars' parties. It was raining here today and Veronique's photo captures its impact on one of the world's most famous beaches. (More of her photos on Flickr).

Stairway to Heaven

Would you rather have a circular staircase built of iron and stone?


Or a staircase lit by windows?


Or a staircase lined with books? (Or all of the above!) Another beautiful dilemma.

Comment from the lovely Jonathan Gold: "As the custodian of a grand staircase lined with books, I can attest that it feels less like aesthetic triumph than it does like a major organizational failing - I wasn't sure how to react when a friend told me this afternoon how much the house reminded her of the Please Don't Eat the Daisies set, which I suppose makes me David Niven. It does photograph well, though."

(Photo credits: Urban Chill, Stewardesses and Abracadabra.)

Amelie

Here's the Amelie movie poster -- in mulit-languages. The dog wearing the cone around his head (over the bed) made me laugh. My favorite scene in the film: When Amelie finds the treasure box hidden behind a tile in the bathroom. Fantastic! It's a great date-night movie (at least on my idea of a date!)

UPDATE: The paintings in Amelie's apartment are by the German artist Michael Sowa. Thank you Clever Pup!

Did you see the movie? What's your favorite scene?