The Legend of Sleepy... ME.

Happy Halloween!!

I couldn't decide which fete to attend tonight,
and to be really honest,
I wasn't sure what I felt like dressing up as...

(I was thinking of going as a Mad Men era glamourpuss-
my grandmother was a style MAVEN
and has given me the majority of her remarkable dresses)

Upon checking in with myself and realizing that
1) I am tired
and
2) feel too old for the Los Angeles crazy Halloween Party madness
I decided last minute to just stay in,
make some chili,
and knit,

with the dogs and some Halloween movies.

Now I'm not really one to handle scary horror flicks-
(especially alone on a chilly Halloween night.)

So tonight's viewings were

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown


and Sleepy Hollow.


These films make me happy in SO many ways.




The fabulous party...
Linus sitting in the patch, waiting patiently...
I remember watching the special on TV as a kid,
with my mom, all curled up with some popcorn.

I've always thought Charles Schultz was such a brilliant man,
and since he lived, wrote, and cartooned in
one of my FAVORITE places on earth,
Sonoma County,
I cant help but love him.


*It is said the scenery for the infamous Pumpkin Patch
is meant to be in Sonoma

Then on to Sleepy Hollow,
a film I find to be one of the MOST
remarkably art directed/production designed
(not to mention costume designed-
HELLO Colleen Atwood= GENIUS)
films ever made.

*Can you PLEASE look at how GOOD the
deer heads are? GASP.

I love the sets, the cinematography,
even the old world New England accents
(not to MENTION Johnny Depp's every feature)

*He's kinda handsome

It makes me want to pack my bags
and move to New York State,
buy a farm, raise chickens and cows,
and make cheese.

Course, I guess moving alone, with the dogs,
to a place like Sleepy Hollow would
scare me even more than the madness of Los Angeles.

*And I cant imagine the men are anywhere near as delicious as Ichabod Crane...

At the VERY least there are no Headless Horsemen here.
Not that I've seen recently at least.

Guess I'll stay put.

xx

Home again, Home again...

It's good to be back.

I needed a little time to reflect,
take a couple of mini-breaks,
and regroup.

After a long, hard summer,
it was time to turn within,
and get back to nature.

A trip home, to the cottage on Lake Michigan,
was just what the Doctor ordered.



I also made a stop at Sequoia National Forest,
and said 'hello' to General Sherman,
a 2200 year old, 275 ft tall, 36.5 ft round
tree.

*thats him.

He was lovely.

There was of course some work sprinkled in there...

I planned a cocktail party for Claire
using my favorite caterer:
Love Catering.

Jonathon is a DOLL
and they are nothing short of tremendous to work with.

I recommend the mini Niman Ranch burgers,
and the pizzas...


The Lavender Lemonade cocktail was a hit,


and their famous bittersweet chocolate brownies
were just YUM.

I also assisted my friend Katie Fine
with a charity design project for the Skid Row Housing Trust;
we designed an apartment as part of a
design showcase fundraiser
in a record 2 day install.

*It turned out so beautifully, I'd want to live there...

What a blast, but PHEW was I wiped!
Katie, were there cameras, or did it just FEEL like we were
on a reality show? ;)

A few dinner parties,
a couple of great movies,
and one delicious date,
(he took me to buy a watermelon),

have brought me back,
revitalized and ready to focus
once again on my true passion.

Sharing the world of design,
and all the things I find remarkable,
with you.

xx

Summertime... and the livin' is LAZY...

I got this from a friend today...

*Muffin-Man

Look how healthy and happy he was,
sweet little bear.

Things are good.

I have been working quite a bit on random projects,
but am mainly focused on
enjoying some last-days-of-summer fun.

A trip to Disneyland,

*yes, those are PINK ears with a crown...
I had my name embroidered on them and everything

A BBQ or two,

*at a lovely soirée in Laurel Canyon for Labor Day

and the last peaches at the Farmer's Market.

The dogs and I have been going for walks every night,
it's really the only time I can bear the heat.

I have been reading a ton too,
and have so many snippets of magazines
ripped out to share with you...

But I just cant seem to muster the energy to scan them,
and then talk in detail about
the essence of color therapy.

Don't get me wrong,
I love my work.
Love my career, my passions,
all of it.

But its been a long doggy-day summer,
and I'm a tired girl.

I'm gonna soak up these last days of heat,
these last days of being able to laze through,
and will get into the more interesting stuff again soon.

The Interior Designer,
Florist,
Writer,
Event Planner,
TV Host,
Traveller,
will be back.

Soon.

For now, she's calling it in,
from the patio.

Stay tuned.

xx

Take me home to the ball-game...

Summer.

I cant believe it's almost over.

At least the calendar is gentle this year, and Labor Day comes
a little later than normal.

I have had a great summer,
really I have.

Despite the challenges, it has been lovely
to take the time to slow down
and do the things I did as a kid.

And in typical child-like fashion,
I am finding myself making a mad-dash to
get in a few more summer-fun activites
before the official start of the 'school-year'.

(even though I haven't been in school
for nearly a decade,
my brain still focuses on
freshly-sharpened pencils
and starts preparing my annual
Pumpkin Carving party at Halloween,
while my hands start leafing through cookbooks
looking for roast recipes)

One of these such immediate summer activities
was to go, without notice,
to the Dodger game on Sunday.

(ok, well NOT a DODGER game,
really a CUBS game, but dont tell my fellow
Angelenos that that is REALLY why I went)

I remember summers in Chicago

(we didn't live there, but it was my first introduction
to a big city, and is still, minus the weather,
my FAVORITE in the WORLD)

when we used to slather on the sunscreen,
grab a hot dog,
and watch the Cubbies at the most perfect ballpark in history:

Wrigley Field.

*wow

I was overcome
even then,
by the amazing aesthetic of such a remarkable place;
you could SMELL the history in the wooden bleachers,
and I was spellbound by the romance of
the 1913-built field,
with its ivy-covered outfield walls
(planted in 1937)
and un-duplicated anywhere in the league
rooftop seats,
making it, to me, like a very large, magical, back-yard.

*the nearby apartment building's rooftop seats
have always seemed like a special club to me,
and I fantasized as a child about living there someday...

I was pleased to see that the architect's name was
Zachary Taylor Davis
(mine is Ryann Taylor Davis,
preceded by my Grandfather, Carmen Taylor Davis)
so maybe I am connected, somehow,
to this great legacy,
and my cells just KNOW they belong there...
(my grandfather WAS an active part of the Teamsters
in the Chicago area, afterall.)

I hadn't been to a baseball game since I was 12,
and being back, watching the first all-American sport
was a coming home.

I had a wonderful time,
even if we WERE at Dodger Stadium
(which is actually very beautiful as well.)

*Gordy, a Dodger fan, and I, at the game...
he was mortified to be seen with me in my Cubbies regalia...

It has to be noted
that as we arrived late to a tied game,
Dodgers/Cubs 1-1...
the second I sat down at the bottom of the 3rd,
hot dog in hand,
the Cubs started to win.

And they did.
3-1.

Guess they knew I was 'home'.

xx

Visions of Sugar Plums...

So I'm finding myself getting back to ME today.

Grief is a funny thing,
it comes in these gentle waves
(which I've found best not to resist)
and I'm surprised to find that what is really coming up for me
is gratitude,
not sadness.

I picked up Benji's ashes today.
They came in a little handmade oak box,
which is now sitting on the bookcase
in front of my vision board.

I have a vision for my life.

It includes
love,
peace,
abundance,
prosperity,
health,
loyal (well-behaved) animals,
honest, dear friends,
a strong, spiritual man,
delicious children,
a beautiful place to live,
and an abundance of
delicious food,
laughter,
interior design,
writing,
TV hosting,
and travel.
(to name a few)

And although this week has presented a great deal of loss,
I am aware of how blessed I truly am.

And am grateful
for the fact that I am living my way
into my vision,
right now, in real time, today.

Despite the challenges,
the loss,
the changes.

I have it really good.

Also on my vision board
is a photo of George Clooney,
in a bathing suit,
on a Chris Craft boat,
at his villa in Lake Como, Italy.

*Hello, Sugar Plum.

Hey, a girl's gotta have vision.

After the Agony, the Laundry...

So, he's gone.

Tuesday morning I woke up before dawn,
and sat outside with him as the sun came up on his last day with us.

It was a chilly morning,
and we snuggled together listening to the birds start their day,
enjoying our last moments together.

It was hard. To watch him leave us.

But he handled it beautifully,
and I sang to him and rubbed his ears as he gently passed away.

The last couple of days have been weird.
No herbs or pills, no rushing home to make sure he's alright.

It's been calm.
And I know this is what he wanted for me.
To have calm back in my life.

He thanked me, with his eyes, as he went.
For all that I had done,
all the love we shared,
and for making him comfortable these last weeks.

And so as sad as I am,
as hard as it is to not see him wagging his tail
when I walk through the door,

there is peace.

And he is ok.

And so am I.

And so, now, with a new appreciation for all that I have,
all that I am,
and all that I do,
it's back to life.

I am grateful.
For my health and heart,
"The Farm",
the sweet cottage on Hudson,
a fridge full of food,
fresh laundry (with new sheets on the bed),
my incredible life's work,
and the amazing people in my life (including YOU).

And although we all miss him,
"The Farm" is thrilled to have 'me' back.

*Pippa Squeak, Cricket Magoo, and Figueroa

*Marmalade

It's good to be 'home'.

To Benji-man Button,
wherever you are:
Thank you for being a part of this family,
for making us smile every single day,
and for leaving us with such grace.

*angel

We miss you.
Rest, my love, in peace.

xx

You're too much.

So today, we went to the beach.

I couldn't let him go without saying goodbye
to one of his favorite places.


I wondered if taking him was a bit too much.
If I was just willing him to be better than he really is.

I was stunned at the way his energy perked up
the second we arrived,
and how he dragged me, pulled me, down the beach
further and further
until I inevitably had to carry him back to the car.

*"MOM, lets GO..."

Sitting there, on the beach with him,
the cloudy sky holding us both in the breeze,
as we snuggled close,
was a moment I will never forget.

*Priceless.

I realize now that it was the best thing for him,
and for me,
to get out, see the vastness of the ocean,
witness its natural ebb and flow,
like life,
and feel comforted by the warm sand under my toes,
and the life breathed into my boy
for that short time.

For an hour, he was a puppy again.

And I am so grateful to have witnessed it.

THAT is how I will remember him,
how I will hold him in my heart.


I made peace with losing him today.
Watching him lay in the sand,
with the breeze on his face,
content,
is how he will always be to me.

And a great lesson was learned:
It is never too much
or too late,
one is never too busy
to take the time
to create the memories we hold most dear.

And I'm forever grateful.

xx