Quote of the Day

“How we decorate, what we collect is the embodiment of all that we are.”

– Charlotte Moss, A Flair for Living

Jewels of the Louvre

A new book by Adrien Goetz and Claudette Joannis.

This book highlights the jewelry that is featured at the Louvre including pieces in paitnings and sculptures. This book is available January 13, 2009 and is a must have for your library.

For the Southerner in All of Us

A website that specializes in all your monogramming needs!

Find it here!

Towan Island, Englan

This can be yours for 750,000 English pounds. Not too shabby! Considering that in DC 1.4 million us dollars might get you a normal sized house.

I am Obcessed with this...

Metal Commode.Isn't it awesome! It puts me in touch with my German side.

Jonathan Adler Presents...

Some whimsy! A adorable whale pitcher from his online shop jonathanadler.com
$95 and looking for a nice home.

Wooden Money?

I'm so over Oprah but I do love this large wooden penny she has above the door in one of the many rooms of her house.

And this is on my list of things to find- I WANT THAT WOODEN PENNY!!!!! Give it to me Oprah!!!

Beauty in Nature??

You know me... nature rarely impresses me- but the spiral a naturally occurring geometric progression- a piece of nature after my own heart.

And of course snails that inhabit a spiral are beautiful.

Enjoy!

Wood Legs and Nail Head Trim - two of my favorite things.

Beautiful sofa that although it looks current in design it doesn't look like it was bought at Pottery Barn. Plus it's proportions keep it from the current too big furniture that chain furniture stores sell. This couch is from olystudio.com

Chandeliers!

A chandelier that's not too casual without crystals??? Can it be true? Yes! Here are three solutions:

Beautiful flower drop chandelier made of cast resin. $2225 from olystuidio.com

A honeycomb lantern from marjorieskourasdesign.com

And a gorgeous! turquoise bead chandelier priced at $6900. Also available at Marjorie Kouras.

Check it Out!

Two websites with amazing artists- worth the time to check out:

http://thewurstgallery.com/artists/russian_dolls/adam/adam.html

http://www.tobymillman.com/paper.html

And it's directly linked to what I think is cool.

Wooden Boat

My friend recently went to New Orleans and brought back...


This cool wooden boat. It's from a store called Popular Poplar Toys and retails for $36. A beautiful non-expensive piece to add to your collection.
Website: http://www.popularpoplartoys.com/index_049.htm

Ireland

I generally don't consider cool decorative art things to come out of Ireland (and no I don't consider crystal to be good.) but....

This is an amazing piece of jewelry from Ireland. A 1970's blue-gray chalcedony nodule set is yellow gold and highlighted by diamonds. My favorite aspect is the cocentricity of the center set circles and paired with the asymmetry and roughness of the piece overall. I also like this piece because it's rough and it reminds me of the rough terrain of Ireland. This piece represents that beauty in unrefinedness.

I've Bought My Ticket... Have You??

Help out this family in debt! You can buy a raffle ticket and win their house! It's run through a charity organization so if they sell 31,000 tickets one person will win the house and the family has made enough money to pay back the mortgage loan plus 10% to go to the charity. Buy your ticket today! The drawing is Dec. 31 2008.

www.fiftydollarhouse.com

Totally legit. The Washington Post even gave the front page of the Metro section to run a full article about this.

Micro Mosaic

Micro mosaic- one of my obcessions!

These are Italian and are dated 1860 and are currently for sale for $6250.

ADORABLE!

Very cool napkins to spice up any dinner party. A hemp cotton blend from the website: susanfredmanathome.com. $128/set of 6. Expensive!!!!! Alert!!!!

John Derian Costumes

When I went to NYC this October I went to the John Derian store- of course- and came across the most amazing Halloween costumes ever! Here are two images of 2 of the costumes he had showcased. The costumes were made in France and were super high quality. The price: $200 a piece. Regardless- they were amazing. Always aim for the best quality.

Yellow & Black

Julianne Moore debuted this amazing Christian Lacroix dress.

The best part of the dress? The entire thing! I think what makes this dress special are all the elements to it. It is a complex dress with the pieces layered just perfectly so it's not overdone but instead a intricate piece of art. You can always defer to Lacroix for wearable art.

The Killers

The Killer's new CD Day & Age dropped Monday and it rocks! Totally different then Sam's Town but that's what makes it so special. This band is able to evolve and change yet still have a common thread which runs through all their music. If you haven't bought the album already- it's a must!

YSL

YSL has just released this very cool cuff bracelet that is made to look like a letter dipped in gold and wrapped around your arm. They also have a clutch that is way cooler, black with gold script - but I couldn't find an image anywhere. You can get this cuff at any Saks Fifth and it retails for $775.

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers just dropped this month and I highly recommend it. Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point as well as Blink and if you're a New Yorker reader he writes articles for them that are just like his books- just smaller. So go out- get your copy and I say pay full price for this one because Gladwell needs our support.

Wayne Thiebaud

Wayne Thiebaud painted the cover art for the latest issue of The New Yorker. Traditional subject is his traditional sytle for this artist. Wayne knows how to stick with what he rocks best. Good to see he's still creating!

Red Shoes

A cute pair of old- fashioned MJ's for the little girls in our lives! By footmates.

NYC in a Bag???

I am totally unoriginal for putting this item up but I truly love it. It's child's block set of NYC buildings and landmarks put into a bag and sold for $15! Cute right? It's perfect for those of us whose roots start in NY. I bought this for Clem for Christmas and it may end up really being a present for Mommy!

Everything in One Place

The SwissChamp xlt priced at $245 dollars. Includes:

• Large blade
• Small blade
• Nail file with Metal file
• Nail cleaner
• Metal saw
• Pharmaceutical spatula
• Scissors
• Wood saw
• Fishscaler with hook disgorger
• ruler (cm & inches)
• Pruning blade
• Electrician's blade with wire scraper
• Case and Wrench with
• -5mm female Hex drive for D-SUB connectors
• -4mm female Hex drive for the bits
• -Bit Phillips 0 (Pozidrive)
• -Bit Phillips 1 (Pozidrive)
• -Bit Slotted 4 mm
• -Bit Phillips 2
• -Bit Hex 4 mm
• -Bit Torx 8
• -Bit Torx 10
• -Bit Torx 15
• Pliers with
• -wire cutters
• -wire crimping tool
• Magnifying Glass
• Phillips screwdriver
• Cap lifter with
• -screwdriver 6 mm
• -wire bender
• Can opener with small screwdriver 3mm
• Corkscrew
• Chisel
• Universal Hook (also parcel carrier)
• Fine screwdriver 2 mm
• Reamer
• Punch and sewing eye
• Key ring
• Tweezers
• Toothpick
• Ball point pen - also to set DIP-Switches
• Pin
• Mini-screwdriver

Wow! This is design with a function and with the name Swiss Army it is protected by a lifetime warranty and the simple timeless design appeals to even the most picky of design connesouirs.

Sculpture

Beautiful abstract bird sculpture. I just love the pulling and pushing of the strong and then soft qualities of this piece. And of course (no need to even ask) I lost all information regarding this piece... so just know someone did it and they did a great job.

New Species'!

I am not a big nature person and I am rarely amazed by things in nature but in Australia almost a dozen new sea species have been discovered. Read the story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27629200/wid/18298287/?GT1=45002

Sometimes I wonder if there is anything new or worth living to see - but then everyday something amazes me and I am reminded how tiny I truly am.

Marie Antoinette

A necklace that belonged to Marie Antoinette from 1849. It's rubies and pearls and sold at auction at Christies. Oh to be a queen!

French Table Mirror

A beautiful table mirror from France from the 1950's. I love how it's like an easel holding a canvas- your beautiful face.

Fire Tools

Something as mundane as fire tools someone has taken and made into a beautiful piece of functional art. Thank-God for people who think outside the box.

Two Amazing Skirts

From J-Crew kids. Unfortunately they're both way overpriced. The blue of the first one is so deep and regal while the pink striped one feels so French and playful. I wish they made these in adult sizes.

Ryan Wilde

On my recent visit to NYC I stopped into a store in Brooklyn owned by a women named Ryan Wilde. She is a milliner (fancy word for hat maker) and she had hands down the most amazing store/studio I have ever seen. Her store was fanciful and filled with dreamy, inspiring and gravity defying hats. Here is one I especially liked and tried on. This hat has also been featured in Vogue Magazine. Her website is as follows, but truly does not do her collection justice. Next time you're in NY this is a must-see store.

www.ryanwilde.com

Napoleon's Flatware

Napoleon's flatware has been found and is being displayed (don't ask where, I forgot.). Here is an image of the design on the flatware... however the more I look at this the less is make sense.... just enjoy it and don't ask too many questions.

Birdhouse

An amazing 3-story Georgian style birdhouse. Isn't this so cool? I recently saw one of these in Georgetown, a little bigger and more New England style. Only problem? I would never feel like it was really clean of the birds that used to live (and poop) in it.

Another Piece of Josephine's

A gorgeous swan china and gold bowl that belonged to Josephine Boneparte. It's from the manufacturer Darte Freres. Enjoy an amazing piece of decorative art.

Feeling Very Parisian

Another French chateau 1.1 million. Can you imagine that's all you need to buy this???

You Can...

Buy this beautiful French house for 2.3 million. It's 300 miles outside of Paris. Yes 2.3 is a lot - but compared to what it will buy you here in DC- this is amazing!

Today's Special

Excuse the order of this post, I meant for the first image to be last. Regardless this is a watch that belonged to Hortense, Josephine Boneparta's daughter from her first marriage. It recently was put up for auction at Christies and was estimated at $165,000-300,000 but ended up selling for 1.3 million. My favorite aspect of this piece? The arrow on the back. There is nothing more beautiful, rarely used and high style then an arrow.

Lacroix

From Christian Lacroix's website- just thought it was a neat piece that plays with perspective.

Another Piece from my Boyfriend

John Derian and his amazing decoupaged plates (this piece $80). This one is called Blue Suits and is my aesthetic to the T. Enjoy- have an inspiring day today!

A Seat for My Ass

I A*D*O*R*E this chair. It is an amazing piece of art! It's a Sweddish Piece sold through Dienstandotter.com. Enjoy this piece of high style and art.

Musical Chairs Perhaps???

Cool American piece from the mid 20th century. Oil on canvas of an empty stage with musicians chair and music stands scattered. Artist: Robert Springfels. I especially love the negative space and color palette.

Enjoy!