Miami Vice.

Another cloudy day in Sunny SoCal.

A very dear friend of mine is visiting from Miami,
we are meeting up for dinner tonight,
and I can't help but feel sheepish about the weather.

Afterall, Miami is SO delicious this time of year...
(save for the occasional hurricane)
and I'm feeling a little silly bragging about my amazing California Coastline.

Makes me think maybe I should have headed HIS way...


To lay around on the beach,


and stay at the Kelly Wearstler-designed
The Tides South Beach



for some much needed R&R.

This hotel makes me SWOON,
I find it just absolutely perfect.

I imagine myself laying poolside, with a very large straw sunhat,
sipping some fruity beverage,
engrossed in some terrible girly novel
in my polka-dotted bikini.

It's no mistake that my favorite hotel in Miami
was designed by an Angeleno...

I guess even on vacation, there's still no place like home.

xx

C, I tooled ya.

Flipping through last month's C Magazine
(still catching up from a whirlwind month of March)
I came across the greatest spread
of 3 of my FAVORITE Los Angeles designer's offices,
but even better,
a list of some of their 'Tools of the Trade.'

Behold, the secret weapons of the minds of genius...


Peter Dunham:
* a magnifying glass that was Billy Baldwin's
*personalized stationary from Tiffany
*Vintage globes for far-away inspiration
*Vintage decor books for clout
*drawing by David Hicks, to be surrounded by the work of true genius
*The original chair from How to Marry a Millionaire for heritage


Barbara Barry:
*Glass carafes instead of water bottles
* Lamp light in place of overhead lighting
*Clean white surface as the presence of absence
and the potential therein
*Drawing tools for ideas that come in an instant
and need to be captured
*Bulletin board for tacking up images, to see
the connectedness in things


Kelly Wearstler:
*Wooden trays allow for play with a variety of colors and textures
* Cashmere throw
*Bold accessories to keep creativity flowing
*Prismacolor turquoise pencils
*Digital camera to photograph EVERYTHING
*Hermes notebook

Looks like I've got some shopping to do.

xx