Prada

It's nearly midnight here in Los Angeles and I'm up, combing the wires for every image I can find from the Prada show in Milan. I'm just going to say it straight out: I'm a Prada junkie. Not that I can afford it. I can't. But Miuccia captured my heart when she rolled out that 1950s Ivy League, college girl collection a few years back. (I drove 120 mph to Beverly Hills when I got the call that there was still one Milano souvenir skirt in stock.)

Prada had me through the jewel brooch stage, the robot stage and now this: the bad-ass boot stage. I guess they're called waders, these gigantic boots. They look big enough to eat a Mack Truck.

I don't care. It's all beautiful. I just wished the models looked happier. Maybe the actresses donning the new collection will be more cheerful.

Cathy Horyn, as always, is brilliant on the subject in the NYT {here}.

Seven things about me...

I was tagged by the gorgeous Lolita to list seven random things about myself. So, well, here goes:

1. I love pink cotton candy and carnival rides that spin.

2. I prefer wearing ballerina flats instead of heels.

3. I keep the slips from old fortune cookies in my vintage Japanese jewelry box.

4. I always carry my passport and 50 euros in my change purse. That way I'm sure I'm going back.

5. My favorite piece of clothing is a pink Jacques Fath cape with leopard-print lining, bought at a second-hand store in Paris.

6. I'd rather read the news in a newspaper than on the Internet.

7. And I'd rather be Maud than George, because we all know Yeats loved her best.

I pass this on to:

rummage
paper & pins
un envie de sel
Daydream Lily
The Clever Pup
Cafe Cartolina
and
giulia geranium
Oh, and pugly feet too. that cutie.

And anyone else who wants to answer!

(Photo from Amelie)

Sunday Collage

Hello. Happy Sunday everyone. It's a beautiful day here and we're getting ready to visit the Huntington Gardens. But first, I wanted to share a little inspiration collage with you. I love the color of the old phone. See you later tonight!


(Photos and link backs on My Heart It.)

Vogue

I love these photos by the legendary fashion photographer John Rawlings (1912-1970). It's hard to pick a favorite, although I'm very fond of that leopard print coat. Has anyone seen François Truffaut's film "Bed and Board"? There's a line in the movie that will forever change the way you look at leopard print...

The Key

I know this little photo, by Jackie Young, has been making the rounds out there on We Heart It and other locales. I wasn't going to post it, but I can't stop thinking about the sentiment expressed with just a few typewritten words. I've been thinking a lot about loss lately, I guess. So here is your key.

UPDATE: From Jackie, the creator of the key picture!!

hi.
i made this key image about a year ago after (you guessed it) my boyfriend of 6 years and i called it quits.
i never sent it.
eventually, the key went back on my keychain. the tag attached to it sat in the cupholder of my car for about 3 months. finally, it was so yellow with coffee spills that i threw it away.

sigh.

i'm glad you all like it. i almost didn't post it, but i'm glad i did.
xo.
j.



(You're famous, girl! Bloggers around the world are talking about your key note! xoxox)

Friday Night Treasure Hunt

All the goodies found tonight at the Blue Bell Bazaar on Etsy. I showed tremendous restraint, I think. I only bought one of the glove molds for my tremendously ridiculous collection of clunky costume cocktail rings. Someone grab the toy phone!

Friday

By the way, happy Friday everyone! What are your plans this weekend? I'm hoping to make a visit to the sprawling, beautiful Huntington Gardens in the tony town of San Marino with my Polaroid camera. So many lovely trees are in bloom -- many of them pink. The tulip trees are my favorite.

Of course, I'll be blogging all weekend. (It's my preferred form of recreation, really.) So please stop by!


Above photo by the fantastic Corrie Bond. (No, that's not me in the little pink dress and white gloves. But I really wish it was.)

PS: I was just over visiting Abbey Goes Design Scouting.  Abbey reminded me of the outstanding work of photographer Francesco Lagnese. For a little respite, flip through his online portfolio {here}. The photos will make you swoon. (Also visit Abbey's site. Gorgeous, babe.)

xoxo

Anarchy on Anarky

The latest installment in my "writing on the wall" series: Finally a copyeditor has arrived on the scene.


(Photo by andric via design for mankind.)

Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien

I have a new French blog on the Blogs Abroad roll! It's called Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien. And it's fantastique.

(Thank you to What Possessed Me for the find.)

Photo by Tim Walker via Le Divan...

QUESTION: What would this girl have on her bookshelf (besides herself, of course!)? Any ideas?

World, Jewel-Box Sized

The vanilla and blue world of Emilie79*, as captured through her various Polariod cameras. From her Flickr set. Haunting. Lovely.

For Lennie

I think about one of my former editors so often these days. She left the rat race to study pastry making at an incredibly prestigious baking school in Paris. She now works as a pastry chef at the sweetest little restaurant on the edge of the Arroyo Seco. She creates the most divine cakes, breads and sugared cookies. This photo reminded me of the possibilities and opportunities you can find in places you don't always expect, like colorful little pastry cups waiting to be filled with the stuff of a happy life.

On days like this, I think about Lennie. It makes me think of warm buttered bread and calm. And I'm sure that everything will be ok.


(Photo by the fantastic Jen at My Polaroid Blog.)

Assemblage

I happened to stumble upon Suzanna Scott's Etsy store, Sushipot, this evening. She's a collage artist in Manhattan, Kansas, whose inspirations come from "all things old, chipped, cracked, worn, dusty, used, found, buried, designed, loved, pieced, intricate, aged and transfigured." I think she's found the recipe for treasure.

Late Winter Light

The weather was beautiful here today, balmy with wispy clouds. I decided to get out of my office and get some air. It was so lovely to watch the sun dip into the western sky from my spot (sitting on an old palm tree stump at Pasadena's Central Park). Here are a few of the Polaroids I took during my little outing: the clouds, the palm trees, a leafless willow and one of the turrets at the glorious Castle Green -- across the street from the park. (A very hardy old rose bush is still at it, despite the season.)

Reading...

Hello Everyone, I love the Penguin UK edition of the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. (Their cover design is always marvelous.) The story was originally written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of my all time favorite authors.

Meanwhile, I wanted to tell you that I put together an Amazon list of some of the books you're reading. Thank you all for your comments on the "Got Books?" post. You inspire me!

Your list here!

And the original post. (Let me know if you want to add any books to the list.)

Girl, Interrupted

It's very hard not to be fascinated with Edie Sedgwick, Warhol's muse. Here's a fantastic video by the Velvet Underground -- found by Eyemurmur on YouTube -- that captures the glamour and tragedy of Sedgwick's life. (She died much too young of an overdose). The clip is set to the song "After Hours," written by Lou Reed and performed by Underground drummer Maureen Tucker. More info about the song here.

New Etsy Crush

I'm quite smitten by D. Kim's wry illustrations on Etsy. Above: A jumble of glass lanterns, a new take on the silhouette and subway entrances. (I need directions to the station that takes me many moons away!) Kim is a Brooklyn artist, with humor, talent and an edge. Bravo.

White. It's the New Black!

Hello everyone. It's very late here but I'm wide awake. They were serving chocolate martinis and trays of Godiva bonbons at the Elton John party. I've had way too much sugar. And now I'm on the Internet and watching Oscar recaps on TV. So, what did you think of the Oscar fashions? The colors were very neutral this year, with fewer diamonds. Bling is out. White is in. Everyone looked like a bride. I'm longing for the days when Nicole was wearing chartreuse. 

Tonight

Loves, I'm going to do a little Oscar party hopping tonight. First to Pacific Palisades, then over the Beverly Hills. I'm hoping to cap the evening at Elton John's Oscar party, his annual bash to raise money to combat AIDS. (UPDATE: The event raised almost $4 million! Here's my story about the parties.)

There have been many charity events here over the past week for a number of worthy causes: like helping widows and children in the Darfur region and now the Congo: raising money for the victims of the Australian bushfires; assisting women with cancer; keeping up the pressure to end global warming. George Clooney -- who was in Chad with a UN delegation last week -- once said that he viewed fame as a platform to raise awareness about the troubles of the world. Bono perfected this. Others are now trying to do the same. I'm very proud to know some of them. Taking care of those who are suffering is all that really matters in the end.

Have a wonderful evening!


PS--I'm wearing a long black dress. To paraphrase Kate Winslet, you can always tell when a woman is not feeling exactly skinny by her decision to wear, well, black. hah! (I so enjoyed all that Valentines candy though!)

xoxo

PSS:
Ha! A comment from the clever Clever Pup: "Holy Moly, sounds like you're going to have a fun evening. I'll be thinking of you on my IKEA couch."

(Normally I would be sitting on my IKEA couch too! I honestly believe that blogging is bad for your figure--at least it's been for mine...T.)



(photo credit: here.)

Kate's Moment?

I loved Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and she was brilliant as Clementine in the Eternal Sunlight of the Spotless Mind. (It was horrible the way people criticized her for gaining a few pounds after Titanic.)

She looks beautiful (and charming while crying during acceptance speeches.) Can't wait to see how she does tonight. She has stiff competition though. What an amazing group of actresses!


Comment from the talented Tina Tarnoff: "She is just amazing, so strong and vulnerable at the same time. I loved the interview and the amazing photos of her as Deneuve in the December Vanity Fair. Here's the link. I do hope she wins!"


(Photo credit and lovely Kate wallpapers: here.)

Oscar

Here are some wonderful old photos of Audrey, Grace and Elizabeth with their Oscars, always the most popular guy in Hollywood this time of year. Are you watching the Academy Awards tomorrow night? Who are you rooting for?


(Photo credits: Life images.)