Winter Vacation

Such a Winter eve. Now for a mellow fire,

some old poet's page, or else serene philosophy.

H.D. Thoreau

Candy Canes and Sugar Cookies

It's Christmas Eve, the letters have been read,

the elves have done their job, the sleigh is loaded 

and on it's way.

I love the way the tree looks tonight,

the lights seem brighter and warmer,

the packages primed for opening. 

 The true  joy of Christmas,

is never really under the tree,

it's what we share with others,

the love and the laughter, comraderie,

and what we are grateful for,

our health, family and friends.

Merry Christmas

2010

xo

Calgon Take Me Away

We're in the thick of it here, you know,

wrapping, scrambling, stashing and dashing-

aren't we all? 

How does this sound...

a long weekend on the edge of the ocean...

relaxing, being lazy

and simply stopping to listen to the waves

outside your bedroom.

No ribbons, tape or scissors,

no flour, sugar or baking sheets.

It could happen, probably not-

but it could. 

Last night I had a vision:

Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach,

it may not be 5 Stars

but at this time and place, 

does it need to be?

Do I hear a January or February?

xo

Quote of The Day

One wish enjoyed at a time is 

more satisfying than many granted
at once.

Fooling The Eye- Doubled Exposed

Pakayla Rae Biehn  is a very talented San Francisco artist

with a new take on realism. 

Her paintings(!) look more like double exposed

photographs meet an edgy Andrew Wyeth...

with a bit of romance for good measure.

Check out Flavorwire for the slideshow.

Her work is part of a show at the 

 Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles with several 

with at least two shows already in the works for 2011.

xo

Quote of The Day

If Winter comes, 

can Spring be far behind? 

Shelley

Quote of The Day

A gift is a precious stone

in the eyes of he who hath it.

Old Testament, Proverbs xvii,8

Beyond Conventional Cinema

MoMA NYC

Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures

December 19, 2010–March 21, 2011

Depending on your point of view, Andy Warhol is the greatest American artist of the second half of the 20th century or a corrupter of art who destroyed painting and took us down the slippery slope of postmodernism.

Among Warhol’s cinematic oeuvre, the black-and-white silent films are the most daring and experimental in their selection of subject and theme, psychological acuity, rhythmic pacing, and sheer beauty of form.

Although these films were originally shot at sound-film speed (twenty-four frames per second), Warhol specified that prints be projected at a slower speed of sixteen frames per second, a rate used in the projection of silent films from the 1890s through the 1920s. For this exhibition, a selection of Warhol’s films made between 1963 and 1966 has been transferred from 16mm film to DVD at the speed of sixteen frames per second, and projected onto screens and monitors in a gallery setting. Thus it is again possible to see the works as Warhol intended, and to appreciate the ways in which he challenged and provoked both subject and viewer in his manipulation of moving images. 

Andy Warhol. Kiss. 1963–64. 16mm film (black and white, silent). 54 min. at 16fps. © 2010 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved

. Film still courtesy of The Andy Warhol Museum

via MoMa and NY Times

xo

Frosty and Festive

No matter the holiday weather- warm or icy cold,

the temperature is always right 

 a festive cocktail like this.

And Thursday is, the gateway to the weekend!

Cranberry Margarita

• 1 1/4  cups  cranberry juice cocktail, divided
• 1/2  cup  sugar, divided
• 1 1/2  cups  (6 oz.) fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed
• 3/4  cup  fresh lime juice
• 3/4  cup  tequila
• 1/2  cup  orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau
• 3  cups  coarsely crushed ice
Preparation here...

                                                                                               Cheers!

Just For Fun

Life is too short...

to not surround yourself with fun.

Certainly all of these 'toys'

would be at home in somebodies

toy box or bedroom floor (staircase, bathtub...)

but, I love mixing them in, on top of a living room bookshelf,

 with table decorations,

the element of surprise, the juxtaposition.

And you never know, that inner child

may just be dying to jump out.
via Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store

xo

Quote of The Day

Cheerfulness, sir, is is the
principal ingredient in the
composition of health.

Emerson

A Life of Elegance and Creativity

Scanned from T&C
Yes, of course we are familiar  with the 

Gloria Vanderbilt who grew up

with immense wealth and privilidge,

And well, yes, most of us are familiar with 

the young woman who has sat for all

of the major fashion photographers,
the jeans, the son, the social scene,

 although, it is the decorating, the art- the self exploration
 of Gloria Vanderbilt that I find so intriguing.

Yet, now, a new book from one of my
most favorite editors, Wendy Goodman
brings to light so many aspects...
'heiress, painter,muse,designer,model,writer, entrepreneur, 
actor, socialite, survivor and icon'
that we've yet to meet...

A true 20th Century legend.
Spectacular, dazzling, yet so familiar-
 Gloria Vanderbilt.
xo

Quote of The Day

Nobody cares if you can't dance well,

just get up and dance.

Dave Barry

Charmed I'm Sure

Lawerence Jeffrey

After seeing this bracelet in a photo

from the Fall Antiques Show, 

it reminded me how much I love 

charm bracelets. Not the kind

where you add a charm a year

or add souvenirs from far off travels.

No, I like the kind that come fully intact

and preloaded. Mind you, I only have one

right now (Banana Republic), but thanks to 

some of the many vintage stores, virtual or otherwise

I wander through, a collection could be just 

around the corner.

Connoisseur Antiques

Etsy (Affordable!)

Now on to the happy hunting.

xo

Quote of The Day

All creatures have their joy

and man hath his.

George Herbert

Connected and Reconnected

One of the best gifts we can give ourselves any time of  year,

is getting in touch, being in touch and 

staying in touch, with friends from all stages of our lives.

The power of sharing of memories, laughs,

commonalities and different life experiences

cannot be underestimated.

Seeing and sharing this past weekend 

has reminded me, the simplest joys

are the best ones.

xo

Quote of The Day

The only things we keep

are what we give away.

Louis Ginsberg

10 Christmas Party rules

10 Christmas Party Rulesby Anna Dello Russo
 "Now begins the critical period forPARTIES to celebrate CHRISTMAS.
 They involving not only the family andfriends, as well as formal events.
 I'm going to remember you my10 RULES to be always on TOP! 1. Don't wear RED or GREEN outfits.
You will look alike a  Christmas tree.

2. Forget any COATS(also if outside it's only 5 degrees).
You should make a big impactjust with your dress.

3. Choose a GOLD.
You will emphasize the ideato be a Christmas GIFT to unwrap.

4. Go to the hairdresser, facial,manicure and pedicure.
Don't be worry to be OVER-DONE! 

5. Choose between HAT and MAKEUP,
if you wear a hat keep fresh faceotherwise you will looks like a transvestite.

6. Wearing lots of JEWELLERY.
the sound of JEWELLERY banishbad thoughts and bad ghosts.

7. Focus on the SHOES.
Generally at Christmas party you spenda lot of time seated on the sofa.

8. Shoes have to carry all the magicalatmosphere of Christmas:
Choose sparkling, shiny, eccentric, metallic, decorative, precious, brocade, extravagant, color-full, magnificent, enchanting, ... PAIR OF SHOES.

9. Don't be worry about your BAG,
you immediately will forget it on some chairs.

10.  Don't throw yourself on the drinksand on the food.
It's not POLITE! via adr

xo

The Tempest

Scanned from Vogue

I love a good period movie, add the talents of

 a cutting edge director and an award winning 

costume designer, and lead actress and you have the 

makings of a great escape from the madness

of holiday Shopping.

The Tempest, 

directed by Julie Taymor (Lion King, Across The Universe) with costumes 

by Sandy Powell (Shakespeare In Love, The Aviator, The Young Victoria) looks to be a twisted 

version of Shakespeare's mystical thriller: an exciting mix of romance, tragi-comedy, and the supernatural. 

  A duchess, a shipwreck. a beast and revenge...dark yes...

but sometimes a fantastical voyage trumps it all.

xo

,

Quote of The Day

The face is oftentimes true index 

of the heart.

James Howell

Curating Life's Treasures

Old timey candy.

Lisa Congdon is an artist and 

illustrator from San Franciso.

Last January she started a projec,

A Collection A Day 2010

documenting one collection, everyday  for a year.

Most of the collections are real,

and those she photographs; for those which

are still only imagined, she illustrates or paints.

How clever, right?

It goes without saying, she really has a keen eye...

and her passion for arranging, 

organizing and displaying just may be 

infectious for all. 

Tiny vintage plastic and metal toys.

Vintage Japanese brushes and brooms.

Vintage packaging (part of a larger collection).

Vintage wound thread/yarn.

This is so much more than hunting and gathering.

I may not look at clustered items the same,

ever again.

xo

Quote of The Day

Dreamer of dreams, born out of my due time,

Why should I strive to set the record straight?

William Morris

The Day The Music Died

Ethan Russell's tribute to John Lennon ends with a special offer of signed prints to support PAX "Real Solutions to Gun Violence."

The Day The Music Died

By Ethan Russell

If you've worked with the famous and the very famous, as I have, who they are can seem defined by the moments when they've touched your life, and it's easy to lose perspective that, really, you only have a tiny glimpse of them. 

But I'm grateful to have known, photographed, and filmed John Lennon at times that were pivotal for him: when he was falling in love with Yoko, during the last days with the Beatles filming and recording Let It Be, and then in New York City in 1980. 

My story with John begins when I walked into a flat on Montague Square in London in 1968 and took my first pictures of him.  I was barely a photographer, and that I was there was unlikely beyond measure.  But I was already - like it seemed all of my generation - entirely under the influence of music, which at this time was the music of the Beatles and the Stones.  (My particular immersion into rock 'n' roll began with Elvis and Chuck Berry. Later I would learn this was the identical experience of John Lennon and Keith Richards.  But as I stood on John Lennon's doorstep, Elvis had been pushed so far back into the shadows as to be invisible.)

The rest of this reflection at Huffington Post

Like An Old Friend

Tray 

 Three of my favorite things;

Letters, Words and Decoupage-especially when accompanied by  air of old school nostalgia.

       Enter John Derian.

Since 1989 his handmade goods 

of edgy, old school collectibles and designs have always been a go to

 for the perfect addition  or out going gift.

Trays, platters, paperweights and coasters... 

Paperweight

without a doubt, there is always something here to fit the person and occasion.

Tray

John Derian: innovative nostalgia, bringing simplicity and wit

all together.