Bello Mr. Bello

I took a stack of magazines -- including some old issues of Gourmet magazine -- with me to the hospital when I was visiting my dad. I was reminded of the gorgeous photography of Roland Bello. His website is positively luscious. (A sampling of some of his interior photos above.)

And a few of his food photos over here!

Desert Dreaming

Hello everyone, how was your Tuesday?

I just got back after spending the day at the hospital with my dad. He had another surgery today. We hope to know tomorrow when we can bring him home. Generally, he's doing better -- but the hospital is so dreary! I found myself daydreaming about the desert. I love to go to Two Bunch Palms to soak in the hot springs. Just thinking about it makes me relax.

One of my best friends is in town from Paris and I'm thinking about dragging her out to the desert for a spa getaway, if everything goes ok with my dad.

(PS: I took this photo on Sunset Boulevard the other day. It reminded me of Two Bunch -- big bushy palm trees mixed with tall ones under the desert sky. ah...)

Cherry Red Scooter

I was in West Hollywood today and spotted this little scooter parked in an alley...


...It's so cute. I wonder who it belongs to. Maybe a girl with a closet full of vintage dresses? Or a guy who prefers seersucker suits? It reminded me of this...




Bliss!

Roses

My climbing rosebush Eden is in full bloom, like a bouquet outside the front door. Eden is one of the French "Romanticas" roses, recently hybridized in France. Unlike the roses of David Austin, the Romanticas are generally unscented. Still they are dazzlingly beautiful.

I started growing roses about ten years ago and now have more that 50 varieties in our garden. For inspiration, I love to visit the rose garden at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino. The David Austin roses there grow so large that they could swallow an entire house whole.


(Here's an earlier post on the first rose of the season.)


PS: My dad is doing much better! We hope to have him home from the hospital in a few days! xoxox

The Art of Lori Langille

I was exploring Lori Langille's fantastic blog, Automatism, the other day when I found the link to her illustration website. Wow. Her work is so wonderful. (Sampling above) The woman with the pot and pan hat is fantastic and I love the one with the men dressed as butterflies. There's even more {here} at lorilangille.com. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Texas Monthly to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Whimsy and fantasy make a clever blend!

Cool Blue Calm

I love these blue photos from Paris photographer Nicolas Vandeven's "Dark Blue" flickr set. They're so calming to look at. It's a perfect visual respite after a frenzied week. It's sprinkling here and I'm so glad. I hope it really rains. I'm looking forward to a weekend of rest.

Thank you everyone for your kind messages of concern about my dad. I read him your comments in the hospital today. It made him smile. And me too. He's doing better.

Ah sigh....

xo

(PS: One more blue photo here.)

A Deep Breath

It's 12:30 am in Los Angeles and I just got home a little while ago. This evening we rushed my father to the hospital for emergency surgery. He's doing ok now, and I'm very relieved.

I was feeling very blue, and then I found all your sweet comments on my Thursday giveaway post. It just lifted my spirits. Thank you. Thank you.


UPDATE. 9:23 am.
I getting ready to go to the hospital to see my father. He's doing much better!!! I just wanted to thank you for all the lovely notes! I'm so very touched.

I'll be back here this evening. I'm so looking forward to a restful weekend! (I will be posting lots of gorgeous Polaroids.)

I wanted to show you what all the running was about this week!

I had three columns:
Bono's potty mouth;
Bill Clinton raising money for his foundation;
and Obama is coming back to Hollywood for - what else? - money.

Also, on my super-sized photo blog Ms. Muse, I found a gorgeous photo of Kate Moss (accompanied with details of an interesting celeb sighting...)

AND..... thank you Kevin for the amazing mention on LA Observed today!!

See you back here later! Hope you have a wonderful Friday. xo

(Photo by Nicolasv)

Still Running!

Good afternoon darlings! I'm still running like a mad woman...I promise to slow down tomorrow and do a proper post. In the meantime, please enter the drawing for the lovely plaque by Lisa Romero (post below)! Will pick a name shortly after midnight tonight PST. xoxo



(Photo by DS Brennan.)

Thursday Giveaway!

Hello everyone! I'm very happy to announce this Thursday Giveaway: a lovely plaque painted by the fantastic San Francisco artist Lisa Romero at Paper Bullet. Lisa specializes in turning found objects into fantastic art with colorful acrylics. I love this piece. So very cute.

To enter to win this little plaque, please leave a comment here anytime today (Thursday). Also visit Lisa's Paper Bullet Etsy store!

The winner will be announced on Friday morning. Good luck darlings!

UPDATE!!! AND THE WINNER IS.....DISGRUNTLED CUSTOMER!!! (I hope she will not be disgruntled about winning the prize). Thank you all for entering. There will be another fabulous giveaway next Thursday!!

Running

Hello everyone. I'm running like crazy today! (Sort of like the girl above, but probably not as graceful). There's so much going on: Bono is in trouble for saying the F-word, Bill Clinton is coming to town, there's a Congo event tonight, followed by a gala to raise money for women in Afghanistan. And I'm so behind.

I did manage to put up a post on Ms. Muse about Brad Pitt. Check it out if you have a moment. Meanwhile, I'll meet you back here, late late tonight...

PS: Please visit the sites of my lovely new sponsors (to the left)! I love them!

(The photo above is by Complejo via We Heart It.)

Inspiration

On the days when I'm at a loss for inspiration, I find it in the photographs of Jeanloup Sieff...



PS: There's one more over {here}. I couldn't resist!

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday. I'm busy working on my column today. I've been closed up in my little office...

Monday in Beverly Hills

There are many beautiful, expensive things in the shops on Rodeo Drive. But the view of the sky and the buildings is free.

I know I should try photographing something other than the sky. I guess it's my muse.

Talented Ms. Tarnoff

My friend Tina Tarnoff, a fantastic artist and blogger in San Francisco, has recently been commissioned to do a mural in New Orleans' gorgeous Garden District! I'm so proud she is going to be a part of the ongoing restoration of an amazing city. I spent a little time this weekend browsing through her paintings, above, on Etsy. I love them. Her silhouette papercuts are really special too. (My previous post on those!) And here's the link to her blog, Thought Patterns.

I hope everyone has a lovely Monday! Such a busy week ahead. I'm heading out to, where else?, Beverly Hills.
xo

Ads on the English Muse

Hello everyone. I'm very excited to announce that the English Muse is now accepting ads! If you're interested, please email me at englishmuse (at) yahoo (dot) com. And thank you for visiting my blog!
xoxo

Tina


(PS: Photo by English Snow.)

Pink Coat!

The illustrator goddess Maira Kalman posted an update to her New York Times blog! My cousin Heidi flagged me on this, knowing how much I love pink coats!! This made my Sunday. (Thank you Heidi. Love you!)

Pink it is, indeed.

(PS: My previous Kalman posts and a photo of my beloved pink cape.)

Lavender

Lavender is blooming like crazy in my garden. The bees are so happy. (Not so much my husband, who was stung on the foot the other day.) I took these pictures this afternoon. Check out the weird little thing on the upper-right-hand corner of both photos. What is that? Polaroids always surprise me with their strange little spots.

As I'm blogging this, I'm sitting on our new Ikea sofa, with a very practical khaki denim slipcover. It's not as mushy and as comfy as the last sofa, but it's lovely all same. I'm wondering how long it will be before it's shredded by our two beastly cats.

Poor Cat

This is Kali. She's the devoted cat of my 10 1/2 year old daughter, Isabella. Here she is pictured wearing a lovely blue silk scarf. (Photo taken by Isabella in her very green bedroom). Kali has been photographed wearing crowns, pink feather boas and bead necklaces. And still she endures more. She's such a good sport, really.

Saturday Clouds

...turn to blue skies. The perfect weather for shopping for a new couch -- at Ikea!


Hope you're having a lovely day.

A Peaceful Weekend

I love this photo by Margolove. It's so calming. Reminds me to breathe. I'm so glad it's the weekend!

We're going to the Los Angeles Times Book Fair tomorrow. (We're also looking for a new couch!) What are you doing??


PS: Margolove has an amazing photostream on flickr, for a little respite.

Nest

I've been meaning to show this to you. It's a little nest I found in one of my climbing rose bushes this winter. It was abandoned and empty. I filled it with beads and put it on the fireplace mantel.

Maybe I should have left it in the bush? Would the little birds have come back?