Shop Girl

Reading the Sunday paper and your blogs, just kicking back staying out of the heat. Found a few little tidbits to share with you.

Eat Pray Love: The Shop in New Jersey

What did Elizabeth Gilbert do with all that money she made from selling the movie rights of her best selling book "Eat Pray Love"?

Well she opened a shop in New Jersey of course! You can read all about HERE

Have you ever been a shop girl (or shop boy)? Most times I love it, but on these hot rainy days in New Orleans, the day can be lonely, and then poof it could get exciting when Sandra Bullock might walk in the door.

August either goes too slow for some of us with unrelenting heat, and watching the hurricane season calendar come into high alert, or too fast with many kids already going back to school (in August???? This still boggles my old fashion notion that school should start post Labor Day). I wonder how you all are keeping calm, cool and collected.

Tonight, crank that AC up and watch Mad Men, and watch the final three of HGTV Design Star finally get to do an individual challenge (those group challenges were the worst format decision the producers made). HGTV Design Star is the train wreck of a show so bad it really isn't all that much fun to watch except for fellow blogger Emily, The Brass Petal, still hanging in there.

Mad Men style air conditioner

Or maybe you might deal with the heat by lopping of your locks in favor of a Jean Seberg style haircut.

Jean Seberg looks so cool

Another thing I'd like to share with you is a nice little custom made surprise in my mail box, HERE








And one more thing I found interesting, a story about the Greenbrier, the classic West Virginia hotel with the famous Dorothy Draper interiors HERE

The Greenbrier interior design by the society designer Dorothy Draper done in the 1940s
Described as: "Nothing seems to match, and that’s the point.
The result is something Lily Pulitzer and Laura Ashley
might have dreamed up together after following Alice down the rabbit hole."
Sounds perfect for a blogger meet up!

In my minds eye I see a fantastic blogger meet up here, all expenses paid so everybody could come.

We could talk and eat and drink and give each other workshops.

The Writing Room at the Greenbrier

There is a writing room at the Greenbrier, a place set aside, to gasp, actually hand write letters!

I would get an old school nun to come and give us a workshop on penmanship, and Letitia Baldrige to come and school us on the art of writing a social letter.

With age, and computer use my handwriting has gone down the toilet, so I would need to practice, practice, practice.

Sister Wolf could give us penmanship classes

Letitia Baldrige could teach us the art of social letter writing

And of course Alberto and I would love to give you all a tango workshop in the spectacular ballroom!

Alberto & I would give bloggers Tango lessons in the Greenbrier ballroom

And just on more link..

My friend Jessica Hack is an expert fabric conservator. You can read about her in Inside Out Magazine HERE

Jessica Hack sitting in front of a vintage Carnival costume in her studio
She does museum level fabric conservation

Jessica Hack has been in the textile conservation business for 31 years. Unlike restoration, which aims to bring pieces as close to new as possible, conservation seeks to stabilize the existing material and repair damage to prevent it from spreading.

Meticulous fabric conservation by Jessica Hack

Washing an important flag in the studio of Jessica Hack

Stay c00l and have fun going down the rabbit hole of links!

Peace, Love, And Misunderstanding

Eat Pray Love Italy

This weekend THE Summer chick flick is opening, which is "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts. I am late to the book party, and am just now trying to finish the chick lit book of the same title.


I'm bogged down in Bali, and wish she would just do the guy already.

Eat Pray Love
Hubba hubba Javier with Julia

Italy was of course the best part, and if you could have Javier Bardem in that part be her lover it could have been a book (movie) unto itself.

Eat Love Pray India

India (in the book) was okay, and by the end of slogging though it, I ended up liking this part of the book more than I thought possible, and trying on her mantra to see where it will take me.

Eat Pray Love Bali

Bali is bogging me down, and I feel I will never finish this book. I think this book reads like a self serving series of blog posts. I'm not totally in love with it (or her), but I still come back for a daily post to see what happens.

But heads up: There is another movie that will be out next year that looks wonderful too, and I'm starting the buzz. It's called "Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding".

Jane Fonda in "Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding"

Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener are teaming up for a little "Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding," a multi-generational indie film to be directed by Bruce Beresford.
The production designer is Carl Sprague.

BCDF Pictures is producing and financing the picture, which is shooting now in New York's Hudson River Valley.

Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski wrote the script, which centers on a conservative lawyer (Keener) who, after her husband leaves her, takes her son and daughter to the house of their estranged, hippie grandmother (Fonda) in Woodstock, where they each find love in unexpected places.

Jane plays an artist and took painting lessons

Jane also took pottery lessons
Go to her blog and read all about what she does to prepare for a movie!

A couple of months ago the fabulous Julia from Hooked On Houses, did a weekend links post that led me to the Jane Fonda Blog. I cannot thank her enough for this connection, as I have been enjoying Jane's blog ever since, and I urge you to add it to your blog list, and read it frequently.

Peace, Love and Misunderstanding is filmed on location near Woodstock, NY
Which still looks like 1967

I've gathered a few pictures from Jane Fonda's blog to show you the set design for Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding. It's pretty fabulous. It's being filmed on location in upstate New York near Woodstock.

The production design, and costume and hair and make up are spot on for the era. Jane's wigs are incredible.

This is Jane's character's car! You know I want it!

The women doing a full moon dance in the movie
Did you ever do this????

Jane documents her life of movie making, taking tons of behind the scenes photos, and telling you all about the process, and the people she is working with.

Prop girl Annie is the chicken wrangler too!
This scene is in Jane's character's kitchen
Hippies had chickens way before Martha ha ha

She looks fabulous and seems to be working alot. She just finished a film in France, where she spoke French and learned to dance tango!

Jane Fonda dancing tango!
Look at that 70ish year old body!

From Jane's blog: "I have arrived in Paris to begin work on a French film called “…Et Si On Vivait Tous Ensemble?” (“And If We All Lived Together?”) Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie’s daughter) is the other woman and the men are all iconic French actors, beloved here. Guy Bedos, Claude Rich, Pierre Richard. I love how the French are loyal to their stars even when they are no longer young. The young German actor, Daniel Brühl, who was in Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards” is also in it. He and I have some lovely scenes together. He plays a graduate student studying the lives of seniors in France and how the population relates to them.

It has been 50 years since I made a film in French. Fortunately I have remained fluent though on the days when I have several scenes with a lot of dialogue I will be tested, for sure."

The Kitchen Set for Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding

So we have two incredible Jane Fonda movies to look forward to!

The Dining Room Set Design
Is that a Suzani on the table?!

This is a photo in the actual house they are using
The little dog is Jane's dog Tulea who she takes everywhere with her

The Living Room Set
Note the drum coffee table (which I love!)

Here's another Living Room Set
Not sure where in the house this is

Here's Jane with an accordion that the set designer added

It has the character's name on it (Grace)
This kind of attention to details thrills me!

Here is Jane The Hippie Queen!
She's sitting in her magic bus

Check out the sunburst mirror(s) on the ceiling of the bus!
Suzanne Kasler make a note of this ha ha

We'll probs see this in the Anthropologie catalog in the future

Here's the exterior of the magic bus
It actually belongs to someone at the location
Ever taken a ride in one of these?

Here's Jane with a couple of the local artists providing things for the movie

Stevie Nicks eat your heart out!!!
Jane Fonda as Grace in Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding

Jane's web site also has a store where you can get her book, her fitness DVDs, and her "Mug Shot" merchandise.

Proceeds from the store go to benefit my Non-Profit the "Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention" (G-CAPP). For more information please visit the web site GCAPP.org

Mug Shot clutch HERE
I am so getting this AND a shirt too!

I hope you enjoyed my little compilation from Jane Fonda's blog. There is so much more there to see, so take the time to explore it. She is a very good writer, and very accessible in her approach. This is no fake celebrity blog written by flunkies.

Happy Weekend! And tell me what you think of Eat Pray Love (the movie and the book).