As usually happens with the best things, I discovered this Hermes scarf by chance.
Passementerie by Francoise Heron! Since you all know I love a tassle or two, I had to share this silk square of perfection. It may be a little granny but I love it all the same.
In the event you need a little holiday gifting inspiration, a gentle reminder from the maison that the best holiday Presents come in Orange Boxes:
Filed under: Holidays, Shopping | Leave a Comment
Tags: Hermes, Paris, passementerie, silk scarf
h prints
I was on the hunt for a specific image and as a byproduct of my random and varied searching, i stumbled upon h prints – chock full of fabulous fashion and lingere prints, ads, drawings and photos. The few favorites belows doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. Enjoy browsing for all the people on your holiday list…
She asked for Falke and Wolford.
She wants a perfume from Paris.
Fa la la.. Loves La Perla.
Will there be Louis under the tree?
She’s a party animal on the weekends…
But loves a good period drama on weeknights.
Filed under: Home, Vintage | Leave a Comment
Tags: art print, holiday, sexy girl, vintage
Design Files.. Yum yum
There are so many blogs, magazines, sites and pinboards out in the universe that occasionally I forget about one and it takes a while to circle back. The DesignFiles Blog is just such a site.. I can’t believe I haven’t looked at it in so long!
Although it was a completely different feature that drew me back, I just had to share the apartment of Australian graphic designer Zoe Murphy. As you may expect given her metier, the colors and patterns are bold and enticing. Click through to the Design Files Blog (here) for the full feature.
The formal dining room.
Green glory!
Well cultivated books and accessories.
Missoni linens in the master bedroom and a really spectacular door color..
Lesson learned? When you find sites you love… Subscribe!
Filed under: Design, Interiors | Leave a Comment
Tags: australia, Design files blog, west elm
Date a girl who reads
After essay writer Charles Warnke wrote a piece entitles “You Should Date an Illiterate Girl,” Rosemary Urquico wrote the rebuttal “Date a Girl Who Reads.” One is a tongue in cheek call to not settle, the other is a flat out demand to live a life of passion. Two very different approaches, same goal. May your day feel a little more literary…
Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.
Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
Or better yet, date a girl who writes.
Filed under: Books/Resources | Leave a Comment
Tags: charles warnke, literature, rosemary urquico
Polly loves polka dots
I’ve never been one to shy away from an awesome polka dot. So it comes as no surprise that I lust over these gilt armchairs with the big, bossy polka dots.
A great apartment styling by Studio Marcus Hay.
A great photo of his apartment entryway.. He has mastered the art of groupings on walls.
Marcus also has a fun design focused blog.. History, heavy hitters and unusual projects he’s worked on. Check it out!
http://marcushayfluffnstuff.blogspot.com/
Filed under: Design | Leave a Comment
Tags: gilt, Marcus Hay, NY, polka dots
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope each and every one of you enjoyed a day of family, friends and turkey!
A few tablescapes to remind you of how nice your house looked before the dinner…
Sleep well… the holiday season has officially begun!
Filed under: Holidays | Leave a Comment
Tags: holiday table, Thanksgiving
Sometimes shoes don’t fit. You try them out, wear them a little and they give you blisters or don’t work with anything you own. After one wear they get tossed to the back of the closet. Other times, there are shoes you love, that fit well, and maybe even sparkle when you wear them – they can sometimes pinch you heels or make your toes bleed if on too long, but all in all you keep coming back to them. The rub goes away, the bleeding stops and you want the sparkle again. Paris is like that for me. The pair of shoes I want to wear all the time. Reality makes me take breaks and put on different, more everyday shoes, but it’s the pair I just cant get rid of..
The city is one of my favorite places. So I left feeling so, so pleased I was able to spend some time there. Despite the bloody toes, frozen fingers and a tearful last walk through the city (maybe caused by a bit too much wine) I captured a few of my favorite random moments just for you. Sorry, no major sites to see or a recap of the fabulous things I ate and drank. Just snippets of the moments in between. Enjoy!
Palais Royal
I’ve never seen this garden in the winter. It’s quiet, idyllic and the great place for a breather in the center of the city. Being there at dusk is awesome.
The holiday windows!
The grands magasins Printemps and Galleries Lafayette are in the holiday spirit with decadent window displays. Something I never make time to see at home. A fairy tale is not a fairy tale unless there is Prince Charmant, a Dior couture gown and a unicorn hanging about.
The Louis Vuitton penguins. Winter chic.
I got a tour of the Pierre Frey textiles archives.
This was so awesome, it will get its very own post.. Stay tuned. I think after the 100th squeal of delight the archivist was ready to toss me out.
Tamping down on my enthusiasm = fail.
Musee des Arts Decoratifs: Van Cleef & Arpels – L’art de la Haute Joaillerie
If you’re a fan of jewelry or history this is a great expo to see. Catherine Cariou, director of the heritage collection, spoke on the impressive archives of the company and how VCA preciously guards this bit of their history. Check out the jewels on display.. they are mind blowing. The room has been made moody and dark, all the better to highlight lots and lots of very brilliant diamonds.
Kiliwatch – Les Halles
64 rue Tiquetonne
Purported to be one of the largest vintage stores in Paris, the selection is enormous. Skip the millions of scarves instead focus on the jean. Millions and millions of jeans. What I was not expecting? So many fur coats, vests and capes! I know where I will go before a trip to Russia…
Hermès
24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8e
17 Rue de Sèvres in the 6e
I had a great meeting at Hermès on Rue du Faubourg.. it’s a big store but cozy and inviting. Check out the carriages suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the stairwell. I wanted to stay for days! After my meeting, they insisted I go visit the boutique in Saint-Germain to have tea. (It called for a dress and I froze my ass off.. brr.) The boutique in the 6e is now their largest one in the world. A great interior, airy & contemporary, it was not at all what I expected. Be sure to check out the floor (it was the building of a former swimming pool… you will see some wild details), stop and smell the floral arrangements and plants for sale at the entry and have tea on the main level.
If you ride horses, aspire to own an Hermès saddle one day.. they’re worth every single penny.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like only in Paris would you have an editorial on the nature of being the lover or the beloved. If you read French, check it out (here) in the Nouvel Economiste.
Pin-up Graffiti
Trophee Eric Bompard
Part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series there were many great and memorable moments in this competition. However, nothing compares to the screaming hysteria of the ladies in the audience when Fabian Bourzat stepped onto the ice in red vinyl pants… It was like a screening of Magic Mike, on skates, in France. Hysterical.
Paris, tu me manques déjà.
Filed under: travel | Leave a Comment
Tags: design, Paris, travel
