Do You Pinterest?

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's become my favorite hobby of late. Members create boards of images, categorized by subject, and share them for other Pinterest users. It's a lovely, appreciative community of creative people. For some, Pinterest lets them collect images from around the web, while other people use Pinterest as a source of inspiration.

However you use it, you'll be amazed at the number of beautiful things in the world.

Here are images from some of my boards:


A floating couch.


A French apartment in Moroccan style.


Ingredients.


Dutch bike!


A sweet lil' face.

Re-Gift Prevention

Here's a clever idea for personalizing a book. And bonus! It should aid in preventing your gift from ever seeing a garage sale or the musty inside of a thrift shop.

Idea came from where else? Martha Stewart.

Getting Ready for a Trip!

I'm headed back to Ireland next month. Super duper!! I recently joined pininterest, so I've found myself distracted by pretty pictures for my boards. Here's a photo I pinned:

I originally saw these old travel posters way back in 2007 in a hotel called the Slieve Donard in County Down, Northern Ireland. Then I saw reprints at a LOVELY spot for breakfast in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Oh man is the food good at The Yard. And the adjoining art gallery is swell, too.
You don't have to fly all the way to Ireland to buy one of these prints. You don't even have to buy a print advertising travel to Ireland. This site has prints for sale for other destinations, including Scotland. I'm talking to you, Katherine!
Enjoy!

p.s. hey! I just noticed the tiny photo on that site was taken in The Yard. Huzzah!

p.s. again. I think I really like exclamation points today.

Going to My Happy Place

Today I am wishing I could spend the day here curled up with tea/hot cocoa/coffee and my new Nook.

I found this particular photo on the lovely blog, desire to inspire. It originally appeared on the website for the Swedish company Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör . I highly encourage a scroll through desire to inspire to see more images like the one above. Sigh.

Pretty Much the Cutest Idea for a Wedding Cake Topper. Ever.

First, can I just say how much I love blogs? I learn so much and feel as though I travel to beautiful faraway places each time I check in with my favorite bloggers.

Saw the above image on A Cup of Jo, which is one glorious wee corner of the web. The image is originally from a blog called Sweet Paul. Apparently Paul is chasing the sweet things in life. Wise man, that Paul. Original post is here. Another gem from sweet ol' Paul and reposted by Cup of Jo is this clever idea.

I'm currently making a list of wonderful things to see and do in LA for my friend K. She visits next week, and I'm very excited. I'll share that list with ya soon. LA can be confusing and spread out and overwhelming, but it really is a lovely place to explore.

Window Into Another World

I found myself talking about The Satorialist several times over the past weekend. At one point, I commented on how alike the patrons of Intelligentsia in Venice and the people of The Satorialist, frozen forever on street corners, were. A quick scroll through the blog offers a glance at so many fascinating stories--snapshots of people taking risks, people making statements, people blissfully unaware.

The above picture has become a favorite, an image I share with just about anyone who comes by my desk for a chat. I adore that wee boy's half smile, the way he tugs at his shorts, the pom poms on his socks. He reminds me so much of all that I love about Madrid: the classic architecture, the vibrant personality of the city, and the constant juxtaposition of history and present-day.

Image found here and taken by this very talented gentleman.

My Dreams Are Built On This

Wow. This picture pretty much sums up the substance of my dreams: stories. And I'm not just talking about the dreams you enjoy while sleeping. I daydream about characters I've met in novels, writing my own stories, and piecing together the stories of everyone around me.

Want to make sure all the credit due is given for this photo. I found it on Style Me Pretty, a wonderful blog that centers on weddings and happens to be a great source of inspiration for design. The photo was taken by the talented people at Mango Studios in conjunction with the clever people at One Fine Day.

My Fashion Icon Cooks a Mean Irish Stew

On Sunday, "60 Minutes" aired an interview with Anna Wintour, the matriarch of the fashion world. The interview was interesting and safe. Ms. Wintour is an incredible editor--no doubt about that. She is perhaps the only woman who could tell Oprah Winfrey to lose 20 pounds and not get slapped in the face for it.

Every month Ms. Wintour tries her hardest to persuade me that someone like Giselle Bundchen, with her linguine legs and flat tummy, should be my fashion icon.

This morning, as I was pulling together a few cookbooks for a coworker, I chose my fashion icon. When I lived in Belfast, I watched Rachel Allen's cooking show regularly. Ms. Allen is from Ireland and teaches at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork. In each show, she was laid back and often cooking with pink pots and spatulas. Even though I've never met Rachel Allen, I felt her clothes said a lot about her personality: detail-oriented; conscious of style without being obnoxiously trendy; feminine; authentic. I couldn't tell you what kind of personality Giselle has (she's usually photographed sans top).

So I declare the Irish chef Rachel Allen to be my fashion icon.


(I found this photo at nydailynews.com)

For Lack of Something Better to Say

I'll admit it--I have tried to write several posts in the course of the past two weeks but haven't actually finished any of those drafts.

So in the absence of wit and stories of interest, I am posting several photos from my phone. Hopefully this will suffice for the time being.


Ain't that the truth.
(Photo taken at Dylan's Candy Bar in New York. I highly recommend it)


A beautiful exhibit now on at LACMA in LA.


Delicious goodie-goodness, served nightly at El Cholo.

Top 5

A friend recently asked me to list my top 5 can't-live-without albums for a project. Have you ever tried to pick just 5 albums that you couldn't live without? It's hard. Really hard. Especially when you love music as much as I do.

1. Billie Holiday – Greatest Hits (Sony). Sure her vocal range was limited compared to other powerhouse female vocalists, but Billie had the ability to possesses a song in such a way that I swear she lived it. She tailored melodies to suit her—lagging behind the beat just a bit and using inflection to transform the stalest lyric into a scrumptious morsel. This album is my favorite collection simply for the fact that it includes “The Very Thought of You”, a simple and beautiful representation of her talent.

2. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. Most likely, deserted islands come standard with this classic album. It is an intimate body of work, perhaps due to the fact it was not a rehearsed body of work. It comes alive, somehow, each time I play it. And it always sounds different, as though Miles and his band (John Coltrane!) are jamming together inside my stereo for my own personal enjoyment.

3. Van Morrison – Moondance. The first time I went to Belfast, I half expected to be asked to recite the lyrics to this album before being granted entry into a pub. The stories woven through this album are ingrained in me: I want to be the object of affection documented in ‘Crazy Love’; I hear the fog horn he sings about on ‘Into the Mystic’; I feel the rain pounding down on the county fair in ‘And It Stoned Me’.

4. Foy Vance – Hope. Foy tells stories through his songs the way Leonard Cohen tells a story—so detailed and personal they seem more like personal memories than stories. My favorite track is ‘Indiscriminate Act of Kindness’. Much the way I can see the room Leonard sings about in ‘Chelsea Hotel’, I see the characters Foy creates in this ultimately uplifting song. And that voice! This guy can sing.

5. The Beatles – Rubber Soul. My two favorite Beatles songs live on this album: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) and Girl. I’ll never tire of hearing John Lennon sigh in the chorus.

What are your top 5 albums?

Looking VS Reading

Might I be lazy for a post and direct you to several things I found today on the brilliant World Wide Web? All of these items are courtesy of The Penguin Blog maintained by the kind folks at Penguin UK.

First. A site of book covers. Penguin book covers to be exact. I believe my favorite to be this cover of Jane Eyre:


1,024 more beautiful covers can be found at: http://bookcoverarchive.com/?startrow=0

Second. A wonderful article on design and reading called "In Defense of Readers" by Mandy Brown. Copyright issues probably prevent me from re-posting the entire article here (not to mention the length of the article would dwarf all of my posts), so I shall only include an excerpt.

"The best readers are obstinate. They possess a nearly inexhaustible persistence that drives them to read, regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. I’ve seen a reader absorbed in Don Quixote while seated at a noisy bar; I’ve witnessed the quintessential New York reader walk the streets with a book in hand; of late I’ve seen many a reader devour books on their iPhone (including one who confessed to reading the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy while scrolling with his thumb). And millions of us read newspapers, magazines, and blogs on our screens every day—claims that no one reads anymore notwithstanding."

There is a bit about the difference between looking at something and reading something. Very interesting.

(my thanks to Mandy Brown, wherever you are)

To read the rest of this article, please visit: http://alistapart.com/articles/indefenseofreaders

It's really very good.

Two more covers to appreciate:

Another year, another Moleskine

Ah, the first of the year. Time to put away twinkle lights, say "oh no!" to desserts, take up early morning jogging and make declarations of balancing checkbooks and writing more lists on a regular basis.

I say boo to all of these things.

Some people relish the close of the holiday season, but I do not. I adore twinkle lights and using the excuse of December as reason enough for a nice dinner out. I also don't mind partaking in dessert AND jogging.

For me, the start of a new year is celebrated by turning the pages of my new blank (and black) Moleskine diary/calendar. The promise of a blank calendar! After carefully slipping the cellophane off my new calendar, I quickly scribble in important birthdays and anniversaries. Then I flip through the months, anticipating Saturdays spent with coffee and the NY Times, trips I may take, and the adventure a new year can hold.

I also try to begin a new book at the start of the year. I'm boring, so why not? I finished off '08 with "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (many thanks to Katherine for the recommendation of that title while pouring over the classics section at Waterstones).

I'm starting off '09 with "The Reader." It's quite a somber book -- described as morally complex, haunting and philosophically elegant -- but somehow that seems appropriate.

Its subject matter, particularly the relationship between the two main characters, is dark and not for those with a weak stomach. In fact, I have a hard time thinking of people I could recommend this book to who would not find great offense in its explicitness. But I enjoy the challenge of being stretched and questioned by characters who make decisions I would not make myself.

I am promised by the back cover of "The Reader" that the book is ultimately hopeful. Sort of how I imagine my blank Moleskin to be - ultimately hopeful.

I Heart These Posters, and U Will 2.

I stumbled across The Small Stakes site a while back and since then I've been dreaming about covering my walls with these flippin' gorgeous posters.





The Small Stakes lives here: http://thesmallstakes.com/gallery.php?page=1#

Taking Back My Cardigans

If you're anything like me, your life is set to music. The album you listened to everyday in the car on the way to your first job. The song that played incessantly on the radio during the summer between your sophomore and junior years at university. The break-up song, the make-up song, and on and on they go.

A couple of years ago I got into The Cardigans. Not that poppy song from Romeo and Juliet, but one of their albums in particular called Long Gone Before Daylight. I noticed a song title called "And Then You Kissed Me" on a friend's iTunes playlist at work and was intrigued.

The album, I found out, was poetic, a bit dark and emotionally raw. It was as if I was reading diary entries written by a more articulate version of me. I loved it and played it constantly. And then a boy was rather unkind to me. The album became my refuge. I would plug in my iPod and walk up and down the beach in Santa Monica after work, listening to it again and again. This album was what I wanted to say to this particular boy, but couldn't quite muster up the nerve without turning red in the face and stammering. So I just listened to the album until I was ready to shake the dust off my sandals and move on.

Every so often since that time, one of the songs would appear in my shuffle list. Sometimes I fast-forwarded, sometimes I didn't. But I couldn't listen to any of these songs without going right back there to that foggy time. About a month ago, however, I decided enough was enough. That boy was a punk and who was he to mar this beautiful collection of songs I had come to treasure?

So I took back my beloved Cardigans CD. Now I listen to it often and form new memories with each song: Autumn drives in the mountains, finding my courage again and locking myself in my sister's old room to write every night.

And let me just say, this album is too freaking good to let a few not-so-great memories ruin it. If you haven't listened to it yet, here is my shameless plug on behalf of this group of Swedes. Get it. Listen to it. I think you'll like it.

What to look for in the record store:

A Tourist Trap Worth Falling Into

OK, so this may sound so obvious as a destination for your future trip to Ireland ('cause I'm counting on your coming down with the emerald fever), but I have to give big, big props to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. It is - in a word - amazing.

The tour is self-guided and is spread over several floors of an old building probably once used for creating that delicious stuff the Irish sometimes call black gold. Once you have paid the 15 Euro fee (for adults), you follow the large black arrows into a dark room. It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dim lights and for your senses to kick into overdrive as you wonder, "What is that smell? Is that a waterfall I hear?" That joyous smell is of barley, one of the four ingredients used to make Guinness. And yes, that is a waterfall you hear, sort of. It is a ginormous (I'm acting like that is a real word) display of water falling over a glass ceiling that you will walk under, my friend.

There are videos and loads of photos and old artifacts. An entire wing of an upper floor is devoted to old promotional items and adverts.

I save the best part of the tour for last, though. When you finish your leisurely and very educational tour of the Storehouse, you will take either a lift or a flight of stairs to the top of the building where you will be greeted by a FREE pint o' Guinness and this magnificent view:



The waterfall feature:


An old poster on display:


The grand finale:


Promise the next post related to Ireland will not be on the subject of beer or places where you can get beer. In the meantime, if you want to see more of the gorgeous Guinness Storehouse, go here: www.guinness-storehouse.com

Keep Calm and Carry On

My head has been swirling with thoughts of places and people in the UK and Ireland lately, presumably in preparation for my trip at the end of the month.

I am including an image of this fantastic print created by a UK artist. The slogan serves me well on a daily basis.



The print is a reproduction of a poster produced by the UK ministry of information in 1939. The slogan also appears on T-shirts and bags created by this artist and all items are sold through an online shop.

You can find out more about the artist and the history of the poster here: http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/pages/history

Cute Enough to Eat!

How do I love etsy.com? Let me count the ways.

If you have not discovered to joy to be found at etsy.com, may I please take a moment to unabashedly promote this online storefront for literally 100,000 artists selling their handmade wares. Oh I how love it.

Take the photo above, for instance. It is of a satin cupcake that is not only cute but also poses no threat to upgrade the size of your jeans. Who knows why the heck you would ever need a satin cupcake, but it is nice to know that satin cupcakes are out there somewhere in the world.

Here is the link to the artist's site: eatmenot.co.uk. To buy, visit: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5068220

May I also proclaim my love for the etsy site for Luxedeluxe: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=62605
Oh my word how I love this Edinburgh artist and her gorgeous affordable jewelry. If you've got some time to kill, please take a look at all of the pretty, pretty things.