Scrapbookin'

It's a hot Saturday afternoon
I'm on the porch ensconced in my happy place

Baby wants a sip
It's cool and yummy

It's a pretty good issue

I am cracking up! There seems to be a current burning issue about blogging: Oooooo what if all we are doing is computer scrap booking.
A scrap book defined in the dictionary is: an album for printed and written materials.
Mmmmmm. Photos would be considered printed material in the days before digital images on the computer. Bloginistas communicate by writing, thus producing written materials. So photos plus writing collected on a blog, might be a virtual album so to speak. Mmmmmm.
Decor blogs are eye candy for the most part. If you didn't have pretty pictures you would bore yourself and your readers to death. Decor blogs ARE home made scrap books. Unless something has drastically changed in the last ten minutes, scrap booking is a form of entertainment. Entertainment is light hearted. So what's up with making the words scrap booking something derogatory and dirty, and then flinging them in the virtual pretty faces of dedicated bloggers playing with themselves? What's wrong with an album of photos and writing? A scrap book?
I also like to think of blogs as the new magazines. Magazines are defined in the dictionary as: a periodical with covers. While we do periodically, well constantly produce our blogs, we don't have real covers. But I still think we could call a blog a magazine (and I need an updated dictionary).
Our blogs as on line virtual magazines are produced fast, and read even faster. I think it would be a mistake to dismiss blogs as not being as viable as hold-in-your-hand magazines (which really are just another form of entertainment), or to use the words scrap book as a pejorative description of any one's blog.
All decor-lifestyle blogs provide some kind of information. Some of them might be scholarly with its research and footnotes showing; some of them are smart mouth sit com writing with a pretty picture or two; some are PR outlets for the author; others are a heartfelt glimpse into the author's world; most are entertaining and inspire us in some way.
So who cares if a blog resembles a scrap book? If you don't like a blog or its scrap book of bits and pieces, of visual footnotes, of remembrances and stories, well that's okay. Bye bye.
And those bloginistas anointed by the press and doing personal appearances need to lighten up. We know you're special and important; we like you; we read you; we admire you; we like your scrap books - let us have our fun and our little scrap books too. Please.

Indoor Outdoor Living

Well???
Happy Saturday! Maybe you're mowing your lawn, or maybe you're mowing your couch!
Oh yeah, my issue of Domino came this morning. I was out walking the dog, and I stalked the mailman, and made him get it off the back of the truck...

Sex And The City - The Movie Is Perfection!

I hardly ever go to a movie on opening day. But this afternoon we went to see Sex And The City. The theater was full, and you could feel the joyful anticipation from the audience. I came prepared to love it, and I did.
New York City is the fifth star, and she never looked better. You can read about all the plot lines on many other blogs and sites, so I won't rehash it all. Miranda and Steve almost stole the movie, and Jennifer Hudson as Louise is wonderful - that young woman has a career in the movies ahead of her.
There are laughs and tears. There is eye candy galore. Carrie's redecorated apartment is a revelation. Her coming of age is reflected in the decor. She always spent so much visual energy on her clothes and shoes, and her sad little brown apartment never showed that a girly girl lived there.
We went to a 4 PM screening. I love that the movie is over two hours long - as a true fan, I could have watched more. Anyhoo, when we got out of the movie, the lobby was filled with a party! There were cosmos and dressed up girls and boys. It was very festive. The ticket lady told me that every screening had been sold out since the 10 AM showing. We got our tickets this morning on line, and had great seats.
So go and see it. If you didn't like the TV show you won't like the movie, so don't bother. But if you loved those seven seasons, and still watch the reruns, you won't be disappointed.
I hope one of the decor blogs finds and posts photos of the set design by Jeremy Conway sooner than later...so far I can't find a thing. He and Patricia Fields are genius. Michael Patrick King (director and screenplay) really stepped up and made a fabulous film.
Kim Cattrall has sparked rumours that a second instalment of Sex and the City could hit the big screen, after she admitted she would love to be part of it. Kim, who plays sex-pot Samantha Jones in the hit show and film, was blamed for holding up the production of the first movie after rumours spread she was refusing to take part. But now the blond beauty, 51, says there is a possibility the four New York gals could be reunited for another outing if studio bosses agreed. "I hope there is a chance for a second movie. I think if people really respond to this one there's a chance. Although I think the bar will be even higher for us all the next time."

Welcome All Things Bright and Beautiful

If color's your thing, this is your blog

This is really a terrific blog - eye candy, sweet blogger, smart blogger - please have a look HERE
I am adding All Things Bright and Beautiful to Blogs and Sites You Might Like, so you can spend more time feeding your addiction...

This is a portion of an interview with the author done by another great bloginista Hidden In France:

HIF: Felicity, author of All Things Bright And Beautiful, and I live on opposite side of the world but we speak the international language of color. Most of you read her blog already and hers is one of the first I rush to in the morning. She is also the reigning queen of blogging tips. She was kind enough to answer a few probing yet insightful questions for my readers. After this masterfully conducted interview, I feel confident I could apply for a job with CNN or the Washington Post.
Felicity, when I first discovered your blog and praised the scope of your knowledge and research, you minimized it by saying you had nothing better to do than be in front of the computer since you were nursing twins. Needless to say, I was impressed. How many children do you have, and more relevant to blogging, when in the world do you find the time blog?

I have 3 beautiful children under 3 and I am nursing my twin baby girls and I blog when I nurse them--and a little bit more!!

HIF: I have found that expatriates make for passionate bloggers. We see our country of adoption with fresh eyes; we struggle with extended periods of homesickness. I think that blogging is therapeutic to expatriates, a way to connect with the world. Do you think that the fact that you live in Hong Kong is connected to you becoming a blogger?

Yes in a way I do, we also don’t have a TV – so I have to do something to keep my brain active...

Read more HERE

Blogging Tips From The Reigning Queen

I just started this blog in March. It was kind of by accident. The hubs had been asking me to do a blog for years, since they first started to appear. He wanted me to do one using our dog Cholo as the voice of the blog, in my mind's eye kind of like Jackie Susann's poodle Josephine. I said, uh, no.
I was shopping on eBay for something. This always leads me to researching a vintage or antique item. This led me to a decor blog. I was blown away.
I always thought you had to be a professional, or an established personality in order to blog on a specific subject such as interior design. I saw different, and said, well I can do that.
What I didn't know in that first flush of creativity were the nuts and bolts. The templates make it intuitive, and I kind of did the hunt and peck thing. Some bloggers are very generous too, and offered encouragement and help (Cote de Texas, The Perfect Red, Sneaky Chic, Optimism and White Paint). Others are cold fish, or at least they treat me like a smelly fish.
I have a hard time reading tech things, even simple things like manuals or instructions to put together a flat pack piece of furniture. So when I came upon the blogging tips from All Things Bright and Beautiful, I was like wow, I can understand this. She has been described as "the reigning queen of blogging tips". If you are a new blogger, take a look. If you are an established blogger take a look. And Google should hire this person to do blog instructions for the visual vamps out there who blog. I have linked to just one of the blogging tips - there are several that are very helpful. It's like a blogging beginners to an intermediate level class. Check it out HERE

Today Is The Day

We'll talk later!
Enjoy the movie...

Domino June July 2008 Issue - It's Coming!

It's on the way...
go to Domino for a sneak peak

Image from the Domino website
Yet another version of outdoor decor

It's up on the web site with a sneak peak. I'm worried. It looks a little boring for a double issue. I hate double issues. They always do this in the Summer for editorial slackers. I hope there's more than beach houses and outdoor decorating. No one can be outdoors when it gets so damn hot, so why all the ink about outdoor decorating? I shouldn't be so crabby. It's all the waiting around.

Up Up And Away To The Oceana Hotel

Love the Draper style faux bamboo headboard
Yellow bench is perfect
Note the rope trim on the baseboard

Pool side brunch

Love the patio lounge area and fireplace

Indoor lounge area - love the colors and
all the details - pair of tables, sunburst mirror,
toss pillows, green side chairs, pink walls...

This is a suite with your own hip
living room furniture, and
a view of the ocean - right now it's
on special for $100. off regular price

This is a wonderful getaway. I'm sick of everyone staying home because gas costs too much, and airline tickets cost too much. We don't go to Europe anymore because the dollar is so weak. So take a vacation to California and stay at the Oceana. It is tailor made for visual vamps, decorated with the best colors and furnishings. It has great on site restaurants, and room service. It's close to all the best shopping and dining in Santa Monica, and of course the great old fashioned ocean side amusement park on the pier. You don't need to rent a car once you are there, you can make an entire vacation walking around Santa Monica. If you're a California vamp, just take a drive and stay at the Oceana. It's the kind of small hotel that makes you feel like you're living in a chic apartment.
Steps away from the lapping waves of the Pacific waits this oasis of airy luxury. You're greeted with colorful decor and beautiful interior design that speaks to the decor junkie in all of us. Suites are luxuriously residential in ambiance, and the dining award-winning. Every space, from the new Ocean Lounge to the inviting courtyard, will open its arms to you, enveloping you in the carefree style of Santa Monica, California HERE.

Geezerettes I Love - Norma Kamali

From her line in the Spiegel catalog
This jacket is $39.99
How low will the price get at Wal Mart?

Kamali off the rack at Nordstroms
About $140.
Not a Wal Mart price point
but not too expensive

Norma Kamali is a New York-based fashion designer born in 1945. Kamali is credited with inventing many popular designs including the sleeping bag coat, a collection of styles created from actual silk parachutes, high heeled sneakers, and the popular packable, multi-use poly jersey clothing that can be worn in up to thirty variations per design. She also popularized the use of cotton jerseys in daywear in the 1980s. Read her complete bio HERE

To me she was one of the many women I knew in NYC through someone else. You know, you would be at a party or at a club, and you'd get introduced. Maybe you'd swing by her loft and see what she was working on, and maybe buy something. I worked in a hot trendy restaurant in Soho for six years, and she'd come in for lunch.
I wore her clothes. I especially liked her 40's inspired bathing suits. I also loved the ruched leggings with ruched tunic tops. She had a killer perfume at one time. Only she could make church incense in a bottle smell sexy.

The buzz is that she's done a line for Wal Mart and that it will be in the stores by Fall.

Decorating With Style

This is the time of the month when I'm waiting for Domino to come in. I've read last month's magazine at least four or five times, and I've already read the new Elle and Western Interiors. At the supermarket I look over the mag racks, hoping to see something new, or maybe even Domino there ahead of my mail box. I know that the coming issue is the dreaded Summer double issue June/July, but still it should be here already. In desperation I bought Decorating Style, one of those offshoots that Woman's Day puts out quarterly. I try to resist, thinking it is just going to be a waste of $4.99, and the issue is so painfully thin. At the last moment I throw it on the conveyor belt. It sits around for at least a day, and then I crack it open. And it's not too bad.

There's a little of everything,
including outdoor living

This look is doable - these tents are everywhere
and when you dress them up, and use an outdoor
rug, pillows, lanterns, etc. it looks nice

A little guide for buying outdoor furniture

I love this porch and the two large urns used
as the table base with the painted
wooden planks as the tabletop

A nice Living Room - notice the huge silver
trophy with bottled water in it
on the small side table in the left corner

A different take on robin's egg blue
by using wall paper, accent pillows
and the blue glass vase

Trad Dining Room gets a boost
with trendy elements

This Sun Room is so pretty

The mirror table with mercury glass is terrific

There was a page talking about using mirrors
We just saw this mirror from Inside Avenue for $700.

The high priced and low priced

Classic components: sisal rug, nail head trim on
the chair and sofa, matchstick
bamboo shades, dark wood accents

There's a feature on curtains

Love the cobalt blue lamps in
this traditional kitchen

On trend - pink and brown

Mr. Big Builds His Dream House

From Casa Sugar:

Chris Noth, a.k.a. Sex and the City's Mr. Big, and his longtime girlfriend, actress Tara Wilson (and mother of their son Orion), purchased an 1,854-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath Joseph Eichler-esque modernist home in Sherman Oaks, CA for $1.445 million in August 2007. I'm sure the anticipation of his paycheck from the Sex And The City movie made it easy for Noth to fork over a big million or so for the house, and a three bedroom is also the perfect size for his family of three.

Sex And The City -The Reviews Are In

This is the only photo I found with all four
at the New York City premiere -
It's a composite so they are not in the same shot -
perhaps they were each working the carpet on their own

From The Wall Street Journal:

CRITICS ON ‘SEX AND THE CITY’:
TOO LONG, BUT FANS WILL LOVE IT ANYWAY
The “Sex and the City” movie had its New York premiere last night, teeing up the film’s release this weekend. The overbooked event had some fans fuming, the New York Daily News reports. New York’s tourism industry is gearing up to make some money off the film, with hotel packages and tours geared to fans. Meanwhile, box-office watchers are wondering if a film that appeals more to women can make a killing in ticket sales.

As for the movie itself? Reviews so far are fairly united in proclaiming “Sex and the City” too long and slow. But some say it’s sweet and appealing. And even harsher critics admit that fans of the TV show will likely love the movie.

Here’s a roundup of some “Sex and the City” reviews so far:

• Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly: It “taps directly back into the show’s primal appeal, which is the sweet, sad, saucy delight of sharing these women’s company.” [Entertainment Weekly]
• David Edelstein in New York magazine: It “has the delish/insufferable mixture about right… a joyful wallow.” [New York]
• New York Post: “Lethally slow pacing and utterly predictable plot,” though the reviewer notes that audience reaction at the screening he attended was “ecstatic.” [NY Post]
• Bloomberg.com: “Does well with darker themes than the show’s fans will be used to” but “has too many lazy scenes showing Carrie donning her Manolos…” [Bloomberg]
• The U.K.’s Telegraph: “What really grates, now more than ever, is how much time is given over to advertising…it seems that almost every inch of the screen is full of product placements and designer labels.” [Telegraph]
• Hollywood Reporter: “In need of some serious tightening up…flabby.” [Hollywood Reporter]

The Great Houses of Texas

From The Luxist:

The Lone Star State is not particularly known for its architectural treasures. There are some amazing estates scattered among its vast tracts, however, as author Lisa Germany and photographer Grant Mudford reveal in their excellent new book, Great Houses Of Texas (Abrams, $50). The Texan landscape -- "combined with the larger-than-life personalities who were drawn to the brutal hardships of the frontier and the architects who designed these extraordinary homes" -- is the unifying theme of the 25 houses, ranging from the intimate to the ornate, collected in the book. Among them is the beautiful Crespi Mansion in Dallas, designed by Swiss architect Maurice Fatio in 1939, pictured above; and the Nowlin House in Austin designed by Paul Lamb in 2002, which was partially based on Mayan ruins.

For Joni - Cote De Texas HERE

Sex And The City - The New York Party

SJP wearing Nina Ricci

SJP at the New York Premier
Go to Fab Sugar for photos of all the girls HERE

While waiting for the press to come in, I found this about the after party at The Museum Of Modern Art:

From The Los Angeles Times

Word is Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall will walk down a pink carpet smothered in 10,000 sparkling crystals.

At the after-party, at MOMA's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, 500 crystal heart ornaments will hang in the garden's trees while a Blossom chandelier of pink and green crystals will be hard to miss.

There will be a crystal-encrusted sofa worth over $100,000 (no sitting please), and a crystal curtain, crystal lanterns and fuchsia crystals on the DJ booth and a giant Kiosque bag sculpture on the bars. Waiters passing hors d'oeuvres will carry trays with a "Sex and the City" logo made entirely of ... you guessed it ... Swarovski crystals! (We bet they've booked some hot cater-waiters to appeal to all the Samanthas in the room too.)

No coincidence that three signature Swarovski creations are featured in the film: a Nirvana ring, a Kiosque bag and their Era bag. Swarovski crystals are also featured on Carrie Bradshaw's cellphone, wedding veil and wedding parasol.

So that's the big surprise? Enough crystals to choke a herd of horses?

We were kinda hoping for Jennifer Hudson and/or Fergie to sing at the post party. But all we got was all these cascades of crystals.