44th

Obama is the 44th president in the year I'm turning 44.  Is that good luck? I hope so.  I'm leaving for Washington on Friday to attend the inauguration.  Can't wait! 

PS: I found these prints by Marisa Allegra Williams on Etsy tonight!   xo

Inspiration

 I'm completely awed by Poppytalk, a Canadian site dedicated to all things beautiful and handmade.  This week, these awesome design girls have opened their Valentine store. (See sampling above.)  I love the "Take Me Homeware" plate and the "Isphotography" glittering lights. Click on Poppytalk for the links!  xo

Domino

This dreadful recession has taken a toll on everyone, especially print media. My favorite fashion magazines are almost as skinny now as the models they feature. With all the troubles at Condé Nast and worries about more magazine closures, I wanted to highlight one of the jewels of my mailbox: Domino. The February issue (featuring the home of Zooey Deschanel) arrived yesterday. I think I've saved every edition of the decor magazine since it started publication three years ago (and I know some of my girlfriend bloggers have done the same.) It's become a cult favorite with the trendy set. Above are some of my picks from the "Best of Domino" slideshow on the magazine's website.

(PS: The pug painting is by Jessie Mott, via Dominomag.com!)

UPDATE JANUARY 29:  The word is out. Domino is closing. March will be the last issue. Sigh.

Which Do You Prefer?

Parisian Hot Chocolate??

Or Roman Coffee???


What's better:  the delicious morning jolt of coffee at a Roman café? Or the afternoon elixir of a Parisian hot chocolate? 

(Photos by flickr members Dan Taylor, Niyantha, Songbird_fra, and Edith and Wim.)

Happy Weekend

Dear All, I'm going to Beverly Hills for a cocktail party (more on that later). Everyone have a wonderful weekend! xo

UPDATE 1/14:  Here's the link to my column about the cocktail party! Turned out to be an amazing gathering of young Hollywood.

(Photo by Michael Cole.)

Holly Golightly

The Cherry Blossom Girl has done a fabulous  job of capturing Holly Golightly's  life at the make-shift  New York City apartment she shared with the nameless cat.  I've often thought about the tasseled earplugs and satin eye mask and wondered where to get replicas. Here are Blossom Girl's suggestions :  Fredflair sleep mask, JenGen tasselled earplugs. (So much nicer than florescent orange foam) and 3.1 Phillip Lim white shirt.

Style Icons?

For reasons I can't entirely explain, I find Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen fascinating.  Maybe it's the Wallis Simpson motto:  A woman can't be too rich or too thin.  Or maybe I've watched too many Full House reruns. I always look forward to the various fashion weeks to see how the twins will turn up. Here's a review from last year.

 

(Photos from People, Instyle, Justjared and Elle.)

It's in the Post

The Royal Mail on January 13 will issue a set of first class stamps commemorating ten British design icons.  Among them:  The Mini car, the mini skirt, the red telephone kiosk, and (my favorite!) the orange and white Penguin book cover.  I have a confession:  I once had to buy an extra suitcase because I was hauling too many UK-issue-only Penguin books home from London.  US customs was not amused. Neither were the baggage handlers. 

(Illustrations via Cup of Jo via Automatism)

Another Yummy French Blog...

The Cherry Blossom Girl.  Fantastic. 

Paris Snow

Ernest Hemingway famously wrote in A Movable Feast how he dreaded autumn in Paris. He and his wife Hadley would leave for the mountains and return once the city had "accommodated itself to winter."  "When we came back to Paris it was clear and cold and lovely."  Makes me long even more to be there, especially this week with a blanket of snow. Maybe it's because I live in Los Angeles, where enchanting weather only comes in the form of sunshine.  Alas.

(Photo by Gregory Bastien.)

Anthropologie

It's always lovely when the monthly Anthropologie catalogue arrives in the mail. But this one was especially wonderful, simply because of the cover shot of the circular staircase. Beautiful

Boyfriends

I find all of Austrian graphic designer Mareike Auer's illustrations charming. I'm especially intrigued by this one. Granted, I've been watching a lot of the Disney Channel with my daughter, but this print -- called "Boyfriends" -- makes me think of the Jonas Brothers (grown up).  The middle one would definitely be Kevin, yes?

Vintage Vogue

I was reading the UK magazine, the World of Interiors, this week when I spotted an ad (above) for the new compilation book of Vogue covers. I thought about my mother and the afternoons we spent flipping through her Vogue magazines and listening to Frank Sinatra records on the stereo. As a child growing up in New Mexico (long before Hollywood discovered Santa Fe), magazines became my window into the larger world. It surprises me now how the old covers take me back. 

Private Internet Sales

My best friend Elaine, who lives in Paris, is always on the lookout for stories in Le Figaro that her friends in America would find interesting. This week, she recommends the magazine piece "Bien dans sa vie en 2009" about living well and smartly in a time of recession. There's also an interesting story posted on the paper's website detailing France's growing love for Internet designer discount clothing.  Some of the sites French women click on for private sales? Brand Alley, Vente-Privée, EspaceMax and Bazar Chic. There. The secret is out. 

(Illustration by Ivan Soldo, Le Figaro.)

January Favorites

✒Pink Moleskine: It's the legendary notebook of Hemingway, although I'm sure this was not his color. Moleskine seems to confirm it: Pink is the new black.

✒Lucy Barlow Hand-knit Cloche: From Barneys New York.

✒Jonathan Wright Beauty & Friendship Medallion: From my favorite stationery shop in Los Angeles. Wright makes beautiful valentines too.

✒Jeweled Pouch: By Eventide. For opera glasses, lipstick and 2€ coins.

✒Christopher Elbow Chocolates: Made by the artisan chocolatier from Kansas City. (He ships!)

✒Chantecaille Glamour on the Go: Lipgloss, blush stick and other goodies from French beauty alchemist Olivia Chantecaille.

✒Snakeskin-embossed Ballerina Flats: Silvery leather with rouge lining. And under $100.

✒Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Re-read the Picture of Dorian Gray before the movie comes out, starring Colin Firth as Lord Henry Wotton.

✒Kate Spade Rain Boots: Also in red!

Garance Doré

I adore street fashion blogs. Bill Cunningham.  The Sartorialist.  But Garance Doré-- named after its creator, an impossibly chic Parisian fashion illustrator  -- is my favorite of all.  "A friend of mine won't look at Garance Doré because he says it fills him with a longing he can't bear," Virginia Heffernan wrote recently on the Satorialist. "I feel nearly the same way, though I don't stay away; I'm pleasurably overwhelmed." A reminder of the dazzling power of fashion. 

(Illustration by Garance Doré.)

The Road Ahead

Author and blogger Mary Pols  took this beautiful picture while hiking today in Marin County.  It offers the perfect perspective for the new year. Mary sums it up this way on her blog: "Focus on the sun setting on the old and the road ahead in 2009." Well put. 

Barking Christmas Gifts

Kali, black house cat, with no patience for the obnoxious barking pink plastic contraption.  (Although I love the color!)

The Violet Hour

There's a certain time in Paris in the early evening that my friend Elaine calls "the violet hour."  It's when the sky gives way to twilight and the lights of the city start to flicker on.  The beautiful white buildings turn bluish-purple.  Elaine's husband, Jean-Loup, teases her about this "violet hour."  He jokes: "Elaine is the only one who has ever heard of it." But I think Elaine has it aptly described. Recently on the Rue Violet, pictured above, Paris' violet magic was at work. 

Spiral Staircase

There's something wonderful and even a little mysterious about spiral staircases. This one was in the apartment building where I rented a little flat recently in Paris. The morning light was coming in through the windows above. Later, in the evening, I climbed all the flights to see what the view was like from the top looking down. Beautiful. (more photos on my Flicker page.)