Dani Padgett's amazing SF apartment (and cat)

Dani Padgett writes on her flickr profile that she's in a creative slump, but you'd never know that by looking at her amazing photos...








The pictures of her cat and friends are lovely -- and so is her San Francisco apartment!

Elizabeth Bennet's Zombie Combat Kit

Are you a fan of Pride, Predjudice and Zombies?
Well...the book's very enterprising marketing team is rolling out a full-blow social media campaign this month that includes an Etsy shop for Ms. Bennet, where she's selling
a Zombie apothecary kit (for $100).

Take a look:

Ms. Bennet describes herself this way on her Etsy profile page:

"I, Elizabeth Bennet, lived a life of peace and propriety in the English countryside until a pustulent plague of unmentionables rose from the earth and began to wreak havoc on dear Hertfordshire. Thankfully, my sisters and I were trained in the most vicious defense techniques: swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, musketry, and sharp wit. Thus, my life has been devoted to fighting off the dreadfuls (as well as the attentions of a distasteful man named Mr. Darcy). 

I hope you will benefit from this zombie prevention kit, as well as a hardcover copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a tale inspired by my family’s struggle to defeat the unmentionables."

The kit includes "Bleed-Banishing Balm, Gnaw-be-Gone Purifying Poultice, Reanimate and Perambulate Smelling Salt."

What is it about Jane Austen that inspires such cleverness?

The Sweetest Little Cottage

I was searching the Internet today for information on renovating Victorian cottages when I came across a New York Times story on this fantastic little house in the Catskills:

It was an old hunting cabin that Sandra Foster
turned into the romantic Victorian cottage she had always wanted.

You even have to use a ladder to get to the sleeping loft!

And look at the front porch:

So cute!

Saturday Tumblr Update

I'm so addicted to Tumblr at the moment! Lots of new stuff on my page!

(Open photo by Abby Trys Again.)

"You're under the lucky star now"

I keep a small lot of fortune cookie slips in an old silver locket.
The lucky star one is my favorite...

Top photo by Look Left and Look Right; bottom photo by me.

Some good news!

I'm very excited to tell you that we got the house!! (Not the one above, that belongs to Mr. Disney)... We got the little Victorian, equally as grand in our hearts!

(Photo by Tatini.)

If we don't get the house...

We could:
1. Keep looking.
2. Take a break from house hunting and clean the carpet in our flat.
3. Go to Paris for three weeks in January.

*

We still haven't heard any news. (The sellers have until tomorrow to decide.)
I'm trying to distract myself.


(Photo by Le Portillon.)

Polaroid Profile: Artist Tina Tarnoff in San Francisco

I was recently in San Francisco where I had coffee with artist Tina Tarnoff...After becoming friends with her through blogging, it was really lovely to actually meet her in person!



It was also great to explore her wonderful neighborhood: North Beach.



With sloping streets of Victorian row houses and painted buildings...



I could understand where she gets her inspiration for
her wonderful papercuts...

See more of Tina's art on Etsy.

Waiting...

We put in an offer today on the little Victorian house...so now we're waiting to hear...
if it's meant to be.

(Photos by Amanda Elizabeth Foster & Claire Prenton.)

My hopes for another chance...

....It's been seven months since we sold our beloved English Tudor house in the midst of this dreadful economy. I went through the summer missing my old garden with all its pink roses....So maybe I should be more cautious. But, I really want another house...
This time I've fallen completely in love with a little Victorian:

It's 125 years old...

It looks so cute on the outside but inside it's, well, a project.
Can I afford to fall in love again with another house?

I really want another chance.

What's your favorite book of 2010?

It's hard to decide between fiction, biographies and decor books. First, I have to disclose that I tend to wait until novels come out in paperback (and show up at my favorite second-hand store) so I can spend my limited book resources on gorgeous tomes like, sigh, the Louis Vuitton trunks book. But I did enjoy the Franzen book in hardcover. I loved the book of letters between Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. I got my hands on an advance reader's copy of Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt and it was wonderful. And then there was that gorgeous Cleopatra biography by Stacy Schiff.

But my favorite book? I'm going to pick something completely indulgent, like a box of multi-colored macarons from Ladurée.

It was Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. for just the pure joy of it.


(Photo by Lola Thomasina.)

Saturday Photos

Happy Saturday lovelies. I updated my Tumblr page, if you're looking for a little visual inspiration. :)

House Hunting

We're starting to house hunt again and I'm falling in love with all the properties redone by
Better Shelter, a group of Los Angeles area renovators who understand
that it's not just about plaster and paint.
Take a look at how they've styled two of their houses:

It makes me want to buy the homes and all the stuff inside them.

Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I just wanted to tell you how thankful I am for all the friends I've met here in the blogosphere. Some of my dearest friends now are people I've never actually met in person. Funny how the New World works!

Thank you for all your support this year, especially with the passing of my dad. Your kind comments keep me going.

xo

(Photo by the amazing Alexander Salvage.)

Someday we'll be famous...

from here and here.

happy list

by pltw.

Dear Mr. James...

A Polaroid appreciation.
(from here)

*

And a fan letter:

(from here)

You never know what you're going to find on Flickr!

PS: Didn't Diablo Cody win the Oscar for writing Juno?...

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone! What do you have planned this weekend? I'm taking off early today to hang out with my bff, who is visiting from Paris. We're driving down the coast for a couple days of relaxation, reading and sunshine. I just got Kazuo Ishiguro's "Nocturnes." I can't wait to start it. I'm also bringing an assortment of fashion magazines
and the latest issue of New York magazine. (There's a really interesting story on James Frey...)

Thank you to everyone who friended me on tumblr (sorry, i know i'm mixing social media terms). Anyway, I've been enjoying all your pages!

Have a lovely, lovely weekend!

(Photo, above, is a snapshot from my tumblr archive. Image credits are there.)

x0x0x

Darcy on Twitter

Ok, I admit it. I'm an Internet addicted Janeite. So here it is, my latest discovery: Darcy on Twitter (created by the lovely Austen Pride.)

The Colin Firth Darcy is the best, don't you think? And I love the bio:  "Currently unemployed, living off my considerable assets. Dislikes: gold diggers. Likes: lively women with fine eyes."

Following 5 people (so typical)
Followed by 125,000
Updates: 17

Retweet indeed!

Giveaway: Patti Smith's "Just Kids" (CLOSED)

In honor of Patti Smith's National Book Award win this week I'm giving away a new copy of
her book, "Just Kids."

So leave a comment here. The winner will be announced on Monday!

AND THE WINNER IS: Someone in Jogja City!