Beauty and her Beasties.

I went to my dear friend Claire's this afternoon...

(she is half of the founding genius behind my
FAVORITE T-shirt line-
C&C California,
and this will not be the last you hear about her,
as she has mad-style and inspires me to no end)

Anyway,
I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with JOY
when I went to use the powder room...

She had (finally) wallpapered it!
(I've been begging her to do it for some time)


And of course her choice was impeccable:
Timourous Beasties'
London Toile.

This BRILLIANT paper
captures the less than glamourous
aspects of the financial capital,
while, somehow, making it all seem so charming.




You can find it at Walnut Wallpaper
on Beverly Blvd,
a GREAT shop with nothing but perfectly selected,
incredible wallcoverings.

Another fairy-tale ending.

xx

I filed my taxes today.
And for the first time in a LONG time,
I don't mind paying them one bit.

Might have something to do with this guy...


xx

How Jenna-rous.

Jenna Lyons, J. Crew's creative director
was featured in Vanity Fair's 'My Stuff' this month.

*Jenna, and her son, Beckett

I am so in awe of her grace and style,
(her home featured in Domino is always in the back of my mind)
and I've obsessed over the brand she's made perfect
since I was a little girl.

Here are a few of her favorite things:
*Converse low-top Chuck Taylors in white

* Vintage 1960's gold Rolex
*Cranes stationary
*Essie nail polish in Mini Shorts
*New Zealand coral peonies
*Amanyara- Turks and Caicos
*Nude, black and lavender

And here are a few of MY favorite things
in her collection this season:


*posie patent leather capri sandal

*sorbet-stripe cardigan

*metallic-linen strapless dress

*canvas atelier jacket


*large metallic leather gallery hobo

I love her work, and find her glamorous sensibility inspiring.
She's found another fan in our First Lady.
And that's a Crew I'm proud to belong to.

xx

Wine don't you?

Last night I watched the movie 'Bottle Shock',
(which is adorable, please do see it)
and am completely obsessed today with going up to
wine country for a mini-break.

I would of course stay at the Carneros Inn...
The little modern cottages soothe me.


My favorite vineyard is a tiny one
in Sonoma County,
off of Russian River Valley Road:
Arista Vineyards,
they have THE best Pinot Noir I've ever tasted.
*THIS is the tasting room!

Lunch in Healdsburg at
Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen...
(I had a foie-gois stuffed cheeseburger here once,
and it hasn't been rivaled)

and a stop at 14Feet,
which has the BEST mid-century antiques
*they have a PAIR of these Knoll chairs- LOVE them.

before heading back to dinner at
FARM at Carneros Inn


where the orange-scented Valrhona chocolate cake
is complete heaven.

I'm a little drunk just thinking about it...

xx

Day(in)bed

I am spending the day catching up
on errands and other such life-stuff,
but would much rather be lounging on the daybed
in THIS nook by
Suzanne Kassler...


reading Deep Play by Diane Ackerman
(her Natural History of the Senses is my favorite book of all-time)


and having high-tea delivered in from The Penninsula
(do they do that? Well, they should.)


Hope you are enjoying a lovely Saturday,
whatever it is you are (or are dreaming about)
doing.

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

The bazaar SLS Bazaar...

Last night I had dinner with my friend Paul
and some of his colleagues
(one of whom was the design manager on the project)
at the SLS Hotel.

After a quick personal tour of the hotel
including the Bazaar- the public restaurant/bar area
featuring 2 from molecular gastronome Jose Andres, who I ADORE-
we settled into the guest lobby's Tres Restaurant.


The cheese and charcuterie plates were lovely,
and I spent one of the season's last cold, rainy nights
snuggled on a gorgeous tan-leather Cassina daybed
(specially made for the hotel of course)
in front of a glowing fire.

Although I hate to say that Starck's work felt
somewhat overdone, confusing, and unwelcoming
and tried a bit too hard to be 'chic',

I was lovestruck over
the Patisserie-
an area of the Baazar focused entirely on-
you guessed it-
DESSERT.


This Alice-In-Wonderland inspired kitchen,
with its white subway tiles, marble counters and glass jars
full of cookies, candies and cakes,
made me feel like a 5 year old on my birthday.



And despite finding the hotel to be a bit too much for my taste,
(Starck's understated-elegance Delano is a personal favorite)
I will be back.

If not for the delicious white-grape Mojitos,
surely for high-tea in Wonderland.

xx