Gracia & Louise

The collage creations of Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison...






The two artists from Melbourne are the publishers of zines and books,
spotlighting their compositions of curious and colorful things.
Their art is the visual equivalent of marzipan.

LOVE!!!

(Even more on Gracia & Louise's Flickr page.)

What I'm reading....

I just started "The Man Who Invented the Computer," by Jane Smiley (yes, that Jane!).
It's fascinating so far.

I'm such a computer geek. Of all the profiles I've written, one of my favorites is about Michael Heilemann, who created WordPress' Kubrick theme. I love the backstory of the Internet.


What are you reading this week?

Wuthering Heights -- A Family Tree...

Although I know from previous comments that some you absolutely hated Wuthering Heights, I wanted to post this illustration by Lizzy Stewart. I think it's so charming and I love how Catherine is in sepia.

Have a lovely Monday, everyone!

Keys to the Castle! (Rather, the little house)

We're out of escrow! We just got the keys to the little house. The books are all packed and we're ready to go. I'm taking the camera over today to get pictures for you. I need lots of advice on how to turn this very plain (but cute) house into a really lovely cottage...

More later!

(Illustration by Mellanie C.)

The Mortimer/Gaghan Library

The April issue of Matchbook Magazine is out and I've been poring over every page. There's a wonderful story about Minnie Mortimer (her family is considered New York royalty.) She's married to Oscar winning writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who did Syriana and Traffic.

Their Los Angeles home is amazing, but their library is beyond wonderful. It's stylish, but in the way true bibliophiles' collections are stylish--an arrangement that evokes both care for the books and their frequent use. Stacking is the tip-off!

(Photo from Matchbook Magazine.)

Can't walk away...

...can't quit...

Last night I had made a decision to close down this blog. But the truth is, I just can't. It's too important to me for reasons
I know all of you understand. I'm sorry about the drama.
Come what may, I'm here to stay.

If I'm Dooced, oh well. I've been unemployed before.

Thank you for reading.

(Photo by Parpadeo.)

Tuesday Media Bits

Three smart -- and beautiful -- newspaper articles:

Wall Street Journal: A Chanel Tweed or a Ladylike Existence?

New York Times: "Rooms with a View" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Wall Street Journal: The season for bitter orange perfume.

(Photo, above, by Thereza Rowe.)

We got the house!

Now comes the hard part: Packing all the books...

Maybe I should have opted for a Kindle after all!

(Photo by Liis Klammer.)

A new place to call home...

After a year of apartment living, we put in a bid on a little cottage in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The house is tiny but the yard is huge -- and I'm really looking forward to starting a new garden.

We're hoping to find out today or tomorrow if we have the house.

Please keep your fingers crossed it works out this time!

(Collage by Little Gold Poppy.)

What's Your Favorite Book?

For me, it's still "A Moveable Feast," maybe because I read it every time I go to Paris.

What about you?

(Photo by Sabino Aguad.)

Lunch at Louie's: Dining on Blue Macarons

There's a restaurant two blocks away from my downtown LA office
that has the most amazing macarons...




The blue ones are filled with chocolate and taste like candy.
For a moment today I felt like I was at Ladurée.
Sigh...

Penguin Foodie Books

This is why I could go broke buying Penguin books...

Beautiful illustrations by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

The Great Food Series on pre-order here.

Monday Media Bits...

A little round up of interesting links:

A Glimpse of Maira Kalman's Home Office

T Magazine features the lived-in look.

Was the new Jane Eyre movie too tame?

A look inside Nico Magazine.

(Photo above by illustrator Lizzy Stewart.)

And now, I'm going to bed because it's actually almost Tuesday!

Sunday at the Flea Market

Plein-aire paintings, vintage glasses, theatre programs,
old skateboards, wire flower frogs,
plastic bead necklaces,
rose quartz and sodalite,
and me, on the run,
trying to do
the Pasadena City College flea market
in an hour!

My score of the day:
A Victorian cameo brooch.

(More on my flickr page.)

It's Spring: Time to redesign

Hello! I have made a few changes here this morning on the English Muse. I have a new header, by
the very talented artist, Lori Langille.
One of the joys of life is redecorating (blogs in included!)

What are you doing this weekend? It's like summer here and I'm going to the flea market to treasure hunt!! Will bring back pictures!

PS: I'm still tinkering with the background. I'll probably change it 20 more times. Do you do this sort of thing too?
Maybe I'm looking at my blog too much. :)

(Illustration, above, also by Lori.)

The Inspiration Journals of Rachel Duarte

I love finding inspiration journals on flickr -- like little windows into other people's creative souls. This one was created by Rachel Duarte. Her "rules for being human" are so lovely and true.

Clever Bookshelf...

I love this little bookshelf. It seems perfect for bedside reading. My nightstand is stacked with so many books and magazines at the moment, there's barely room for the lamp...


Photo, above, from here. Bookshelf, by David Design, for sale here.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

Paris, East and West

I just read the most extraordinary story about Paris by writer Amy M. Thomas in the New York Times. Her prose is so beautiful, it made me want to pack my bags and go! Thomas spent two years living in Paris and currently is at work (in New York) on a book about her time there. She did the NYT story as a little prelude.

A snippet:

"I made my home in the center of the Right Bank, off the Rue Montorgueil. On an amazing market street filled with patisseries, fromageries and boucheries, nothing made me happier, or feel more Parisienne, than meandering up and down the pedestrian blocks, inhaling the irresistible smells of roasting chickens, stinky cheeses and warm, yeasty baguettes.

"On more occasions than warranted, I’d treat myself to a crème-filled pain aux raisins from Stohrer, one of the oldest bakeries in Paris. Not too far away in the Marais, at a bread stand inside the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the Cornet Vegetarien — a sandwich of fresh greens, grated carrots and fennel, marinated onions and thinly sliced avocado, dressed with olive oil and honey and dusted with chives and lime zest — was like nothing I’d ever eaten. And the man who prepared it, Alain, a barrel-chested maestro who was given to bursts of song and dance, always made my day."

This story made my day.
(How much is the NYT Internet subscription? Sign me up!)

UPDATE: I just discovered that Amy Thomas, the writer of the NYT story, has a blog, called God I Love Paris!

Photo, above, by Imke Klee

Black Swan Controversy

There was lots of buzz this weekend about Natalie Portman's body double -- ballerina Sarah Lane -- claiming she did most of the dancing in the movie Black Swan. Portman's face, Lane says, was grafted onto her body by film editors.
(Example of the movie's very cool special effects above.)

It's another interesting twist in the making of this fascinating movie. The Wall Street Journal has a Q&A with Lane HERE...

Do you think Lane's claim diminishes Portman's Oscar win?

The weekend...

Happy Friday everyone! I wanted to sign off for the week with a link to this interesting New York Times story, headlined "Gadgets you should get rid of (or not)."

In sum: Dump the desktop, keep the books (with one exception-cookbooks???)

Have a lovely weekend!

(Illustration by Vivienne Strauss.)

A South Bronx Sanctuary

I admit it: I love vintage clutter. This South Bronx house, featured in this week's NYT, is especially fantastic.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/realestate/20Habitats-south-bronx.html

Elizabeth Taylor

Brave and beautiful.

My small tribute on tumblr.

I Capture the Castle...

I'm rereading I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. It's such a charming book. I would love to live in that old rundown castle with its mismatched furniture. (I think I'm longing again to have a house and garden.)

Smith wrote the book in the US in 1948. But these days it seems to be enjoying a Renaissance, especially in the UK.
Have you read it?

The book's main character, Cassandra, has a conversation one evening with her sister Rose about whether Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë is better.

"Which would be the nicest," Rose asks, "Jane with a touch of Charlotte, or Charlotte with a touch of Jane?"

"Fifty per cent each way would be perfect," says Cassandra.

(Notice: there's no mention of Emily!)

Photo illustration, above, by Julie Kwon.

Team Emily or Team Charlotte?

As the latest Jane Eyre movie opened in US theaters earlier this month, filmmakers were busy putting the finishing to touches on a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

"The debate of 2011 is shaping up to be: Charlotte or Emily Bronte?" says the Daily Beast's Jennie Yabroff. "Ever since the release of Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights within months of each other in 1847, the Brontë sibling rivalry has been an epic war of words."

So here's the question of the day:

WHICH SISTER WAS THE BETTER AUTHOR?

(My slightly off kilter interpretation of the sisters from here.)

Retro Photos, Redone...

Photographer Irina Werning has long been fascinated with old photographs, especially the ones that capture the goofy poses and dated interiors.

"Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today," she explains on her website. "A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future."

Her subjects dug out their old photographs, and -- with a little creative staging -- allowed Werning to recreate their past.

The result is amazing:

GAHH, people are so funny! I love them.

Werning -- who took most of these photos in London and Buenos Aries (where she's living at the moment) -- has more photos like this on her website.
ALSO:
She looking for new subjects for her Back to the Future II series.If you're in New York or Boston (in May) or in Europe (in June)
and don't care about reliving your past,drop her a line!
BTW, she has a hilarious set of photos that she took of her friend's hairless dog, Chini.

(Via Better Shelter Blog.)

Monday Media Bits...

Here's a little round up of some of the things I found interesting and inspirational around the Internet this weekend. Have a lovely Monday!

Links:

Op-Art: Scenes from the Tsunami

Could this book kill the Kindle?

Unearthing treasures at Paris vintage clothing stores

Stylish homes of Berliners

Anthropologie adds home design studios to 12 stores

Collage illustration (above) by Lillianna.