For Japan With Love

This is an amazing effort -- largely by women style bloggers -- to raise funds for Japan.
The goal was to raise $5500. As of this evening, more than $45,000 was pledged.

Grab the banner and donate here!

The Weekend...

I'm looking forward to staring my new book this weekend -- The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. And, I really want to go to the flea market to search for lovely little treasures to incorporate into the jewelry I'm making at the moment.

What are you doing this weekend!?

(Photo by Aeioux.)

A Tokyo Travel Journal...

...By Rachael Rifat...








So heartsick over what's happening in Japan.

Fantastic Online Magazines...

...LONNY...



...MATCHBOOK...



...RUE...



Lonny Magazine, created by one of Domino's former editors, was the Internet trailblazer, proving that you don't need a printing press to put out a stylish magazine. Following in Lonny's footsteps: Matchbook and Rue Magazine.

The Internet has truly Democratized publishing!

PS: More magazines listed at Realistic Chic.

A few changes here....

No, you're not seeing things...

I made a few changes here at the English Muse! I REALLY changed the fonts and went back to two columns. I ditched my old template for Blogger's standard issue Simple format. I'm trying to get my page to load faster. I hope this helps! Let me know what you think!

(Cute photo by Claude.)

Thoughts and Prayers

I've been thinking so much this weekend about the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. More than 1,000 people are confirmed dead and more than 10,000 are missing. Parts of the country have very little electricity and no water supply. People need food, blankets and shelter.

I've been trying to figure out the best way to donate to the relief efforts. Philanthropy.com has a good list of charities that are responding. HERE'S THE LINK if you're interested in giving too.

(Photo by Masaaki Miyara.)

Parisian Chic : A Style Guide

The new edition of Lonny magazine has a fantastic feature on Ines de le Fressange's book, Parisian Chic: A Style Guide. It's due out on April 5th. I'm pre-ordering on Amazon!

It reminds me, though, I really need a Paris fix.

All Things Jane Eyre

The new Jane Eyre movie opens on March 11 and it looks fantastic. Focus Features has set up
a website with tons of info about the movie and the book. I'm excited to see it!

A Swedish Girl in Paris

I'm so in love with Madelene Lindqvist's photo-diary blog, Le Portillon, about her life in Paris. She looks so charming strolling the streets in her red Marc Jacobs coat.

What are you reading??

I haven't been doing much reading, or blogging or anything except settling into my new job....
I need to get back into my old routine...

Any book suggestions!?


PS: What did you think of Colin Firth winning the Oscar!?


(Photo, above, by Tiny Lights.)

A few favorite things...

Pretty blankets,  an old map, a green radio, a bowl of oranges, cologne in colorful bottles, a vintage typewriter, a globe, an old rotary phone,  a cool sweatshirt,  a postcard purse, a bubble umbrella and a stylish hat....

Panic and run amok

The Keep Calm knock offs are still going strong -- more than two years after the trend started. This one, by madmanincognito on etsy, made me laugh!

Red Hot Literary Quotes

In honor of Valentine's day, Flavorpill has a very clever list of the top 50 literary quotes
for a hot fling.

Here's a sampling:

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”
-- Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”
-- Complete Works by D.H. Lawrence

“I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”
-- Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda.

The rest of the list here.

Happy Valentine's Day!


(Photo, above, by Anna Liisa Liiver.)

Ten Great Years

I love this clever Beatles poster by illustrator Max Dalton. I've been holed up in my new office the past few days and I've been thinking that it would be nice to put some colorful (yet inexpensive)
art on the walls.

This might be perfect! Any suggestions for cool office art?

Obsessed

Have you discovered Svpply yet? It's like tumblr, only for things -- to buy...

It mixes shopping and surfing the Internet! Brilliant! So this is how I'm spending Superbowl Sunday! What game?...

(For sources of things, above, check out my Svpply page.)

The Case of the Missing Pillbox Hat

My friend Faye Fiore wrote a fascinating story about Jackie Kennedy's pink suit, which has been banned from public view for 100 years. It's in storage in a secret locker in Maryland. There's just one problem: No one knows what happened to the pillbox hat.

It's a wonderful, long story -- although somewhat hard to read amid all the ads. But it's worth it. Let me know what you think! HERE'S THE LINK.

A SIDE NOTE: So many talented writers have been cut from the LA Times. The fact that Faye is still there and doing her thing makes me so happy. When I first started at the paper, I used to clip all of Faye's stories and keep them in my writing inspiration file...

Safe and Sound

After a week in the cat hospital, Shoes Lebowski is finally home. The whole ordeal ended up costing nearly $2,000. But, it's ok because...I have a new job! After a year of freelancing, I was offered a wonderful position (with salary and benefits!) at an amazing company. I even get my own office -- on the 24th floor of a downtown LA high-rise...

So here's hoping this is the start of a new chapter in my life -- and an entirely new career...For the next few days -- before I start my job on Monday -- I'm enjoying hanging out with Shoes
and relaxing...

Reading Annie Proulx's Bird Cloud is doubly sweet.

Enormous Pockets

I love this little post-it note, created by Michaela Lynch, quoting "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Pockets are, perhaps, the most functionally charming sartorial element. I love finding ticket stubs (and money) in my old jacket pockets...

Anyway, happy Tuesday. Hope you're having a lovely week so far. I'm finally getting my cat home from the hospital today!

Happy Weekend

Here's my wish list for the weekend:

*Visit Shoes at the kitty hospital (he's doing a little better.)

*Pick up a copy of the Saturday Wall Street Journal (I love the new Off-Duty section.)

*Attempt to make Nigella Lawson's Apple Syrup Upside-Down Pie.

*Read newly found thrift store copy of DH Lawrence's "The Fox."

*Catch up on Cathy Horyn's columns on the Paris Couture shows. (The Dior dresses made me want to weep.)

*Track down a copy of Annie Proulx's memoir, Bird Cloud, about her attempt to build her dream house on a 640-acre nature preserve by the North Platte River in Wyoming.

I'll probably end up just visiting Shoes and reading DH Lawrence, but it's nice to dream!

What are you doing this weekend?


(Photo by Glori Marigo.)

Cat Crisis

My giant kitty Shoes Lebowski -- you guys helped name him after I rescued him over the summer -- has been hospitalized with a complete urinary block, a condition that's deadly if not treated within 24 hours. We caught it in time, but he's not out of the woods...I'm so worried about him.

If you have a male cat, be sure to get educated about this horrible disease. Feed them moist food only (Science Diet is best) and filtered water!!

A Red Typewriter & A Lonely Girl

I have a thing for old typewriters -- usually pink, but red is fantastic too. I LOVE the Breakfast at Tiffany's GIF, by Arlei, and the top photo by Andreia Lopes.

Thank you for all your comments regarding my previous post on boring books. I can never stick with a book if it's dull. And I hate to say this, but the latest Michael Cunningham effort is about to go on the shelf next to the Richard Ford rejects. Oh well...

The Best Boring Books

Guardian books columnist Robert McCrum believes "there are times when dullness is exactly what you want from a book."

Here are his favorites:

1. Robert Burton: The Anatomy of Melancholy
2. Robert Musil: The Man Without Qualities
3. Kazuo Ishiguro: The Unconsoled
4. Malcolm Lowry: Under the Volcano
5. Virginia Woolf: The Waves
6. James Joyce: Finnegans Wake
7. Thomas Wolfe: Look Homeward, Angel
8. William Thackeray: Pendennis
9. Karl Marx: Capital
10. James Woodforde: The Diary of A Country Parson

Do you stick with boring books or give up mid-way through?

(Photo by Uncommon Destinations.)

Saturday Tumblr: Red

(more here)

Have a Happy Weekend!

My to-do list:
Sleep in
Go to farmers market
Plant bare-root roses (Eden!)
Trim pomegranate tree bonsai
Finish "By Nightfall"
Walk around the Rose Bowl
Find vintage papers for collage project
Search for medals and filigree at the flea market
Go to see "The King's Speech"

What are you doing this weekend?


(Photo from here.)

What are you reading?

I found a copy of Michael Cunningham's "By Nightfall" at my favorite secondhand bookstore the other day. I loved The Hours, so I'm looking forward to starting Cunningham's new book tonight!

What are you reading?


(Very clever photo, above, from here.)

The Hollywood Beauty Bar's Silhouettes

I was in Hollywood today and couldn't resist taking a picture of the silhouettes on the doors of the Beauty Bar, a lounge where you can get a manicure along with your cocktail.

I love the lights with the hairdryer shades!

Hope you have a lovely weekend! What do you have planned?
I want to finally go see Black Swan this weekend!

Things inside purses...

Anthropologie is out this month with a catalogue featuring pictures of stuff inside purses. Why am I so fascinated by this? I love blog posts, photos, stories, etc. about the things people keep in their bags. (Is there a flickr group on this?) Anyway, here are a few shots from the Anthro campaign:

Sorry I haven't been posting much...I've been busy working, and -- alas -- I'm not going to Paris. Maybe next year...

UPDATE: I just discovered there is a flickr group called "What's In Your Bag." It has more than 20,000 members. I'm not alone!

Christopher Hitchens on how to make a decent cup of tea

Christopher Hitchens over the weekend wrote a story for Slate on the proper way to make tea.

"It is already virtually impossible in the United States, unless you undertake the job yourself, to get a cup or pot of tea that tastes remotely as it ought to," he complains. "It's quite common to be served a cup or a pot of water, well off the boil, with the tea bags lying on an adjacent cold plate... The drink itself is then best thrown away, though if swallowed, it will have about the same effect on morale as a reading of the memoirs of President James Earl Carter."

Hitchens relies (mostly) on George Orwell's tips for tea making.

They include:

*Always use Indian or Ceylonese—i.e., Sri Lankan—tea.
*Make tea only in small quantities.
*Avoid silverware pots.
*If you use a pot at all, make sure it is pre-warmed. (Hitchens adds: do the same thing even if you are only using a cup or a mug.)
*Stir the tea before letting it steep.
*MOST IMPORTANT: "Take the teapot to the kettle, and not the other way about. The water should be actually boiling at the moment of impact."
*If you use milk, make sure it's the least creamy type. ("And do not put the milk in the cup first—family feuds have lasted generations over this—because you will almost certainly put in too much," Hitchens says.)
*A "decent cylindrical mug" is best.

Finally, Hitchens believes brown sugar or honey are "permissible and sometimes necessary," even though Orwell would probably disagree.


And there you have it.

(Photo by Le Portillon.)

Inspiration Journals

I love these simply fashioned inspiration journals by Victoria at the blog Inmost Light.








The paper and clippings are held together with two simple silver rings.

Lovely.