Midnight In Paris

Two things first:

One- If I could travel back to any point in time, it would be Paris in the 1920's. I mean, Picasso! Hemingway! Fitzgerald! Chanel! Yes yes, this is definitely the point in time towards which I would point the DeLorean.

Two- I have been loving the Europe-set Woody Allen movies of late (Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona).

So, what happens when these two combine? I'm not sure, but I'm really looking forward to finding out.

What about you, Dear Readers? What movies are you looking forward to this summer?

Happy Weekend

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Dear Readers! I have been a horribly neglectful blogger this week. I hope you can forgive me. But I have been a rather Busy Bee, getting everything ready for this weekend's May Fair! I promise to have plenty of pictures for you next week;)

Once the crafty portion of this long holiday weekend is over, I am looking forward to kicking back with a cocktail or two, and seeing if I can do something about adding a bit of color to these skinny white legs of mine. What are your plans, Dear Readers? Are there barbecues and fireworks in your future? Or perhaps an escape to the beach?

However you spend it, have yourselves a Happy Long Weekend! I'll see you Tuesday.

xo

Ballad Of A Thin Man

There are few artists who have an oeuvre as voluminous, as diverse, as lauded, as criticized, as covered, as respected, as influential, or as wordy as that of Bob Dylan.

There are few who changed not to follow the scene, but changed, and the scene followed.

There have been many over the last five decades who have been declared "The New Bob Dylan."

But there is only one to whom the title rightfully belongs.

Happy 70th Birthday, Bob.

xo

                                   

{ps- I'd love to know...what's your favorite Bob Dylan song? My answer is in the comments!}

Cover Me

I am a huge music fan. Like, seriously, mega huge. But. When it comes to cover songs, I could pretty much take 'em or leave 'em. All to often, I find them bringing nothing new to the table. Just re-hashings of perfectly listenable songs in their original form (the recent onslaught of sing-song voiced girls-with-guitars covering The Cure comes to mind).

Of course, every now and again, somebody comes along with a version that completely transcends the original, like Sinead O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares To You", or Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah". And  these two fabulously wonderful, blue grassy Radiohead covers:

Gillian Welch has the ability to pretty much turn everything she sings into pure perfection. This is no exception.

I first heard Sarah Jarosz's incredible version of "The Tourist" on my car radio, and was smitten from note one. It was a stay-in-the-car-until-it's-over moment. And it's been in constant rotation on my iPod since.

Happy listening, Dear Readers. I hope the week ahead holds for you many delights to be enjoyed in new and exciting ways!

xo

Happy Weekend

Happy Friday, Dear Readers! The weekend looms just hours away...what do you have planned?

Me? Well, I'll be celebrating. My little sister turns 30 on Sunday (amazing, really, considering that I myself am only 25...)! It's a decade she plans on ringing in with friends, family, and blood orange margaritas, and I'm only too happy to help!

So here's to you, Dear Readers, and a fabulous weekend. Cheers!

xo

{Photo of Hall and Oates, who unknowingly gave my sister her name.}

Turkish Delights

I am so loving these Turkish bath towels and robes I found on Etsy. Wouldn't they be magnificent to wrap up in after your morning shower?

Robe from Eco-Friendly Beauty; Towels from Bath Style

Of course, wrapping yourself in some luxurious soap suds beforehand wouldn't be so bad, either.



Delicious soap from Sweet Petula

Have a luxuriously delightful day, Dear Readers!
xo



Misguided Angel

When it comes to birthday cakes, the members of my family are all creatures of habit. There's my sister and her carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, my brother-in-law and his white cake (out of a box) with white icing (out of a can), my dad with his pumpkin pie (in June), and my mom with hers from the bakery department of the grocery store, with sugary frosting flowers. And, just like the rest of them, every time January rolls around, I put in my request for an angel food cake.

Funny thing about angel food cake- it's my hands-down favorite dessert, but I rarely eat it at any time other than my birthday. I hold it in high regard- a cake to be eaten only on the most special of days ;)

I've also never made an angel food cake. I mean, I've made one from a box mix, but anything that lists a cup of water as it's only added ingredient hardly counts. And since I had all of those egg whites left from the crème brûlée, I figured I'd give it a whirl.

I went with the loaf pan version, since it called for the amount of egg whites I had handy. I've never had much luck with egg whites...this time was no exception. It seems to be a bit lacking in that light, fluffiness that makes an angel food cake so...angelic. Guess we'll have to call it a chubby cherub cake.

Angelic or not, this little cake elicited no complaints.

Have a light and fluffy day, sweets!

xo

Dress You Up

When I was a little girl, I loved playing with paper dolls. I would get them all dressed up and then...undress them and dress them up again. Much like my Barbies, my paper dolls didn't do very much or go anywhere in particular. It was all about the outfits, which they were perfectly content to just stand around and pose in for hours on end.

My love of paper dolls hasn't really waned in my adult years. I am still delighted by them, and not above buying them if they are particularly fabulous (like the Drag Queen and Martha Stewart sets I've acquired in recent years). I am currently being wooed by these brilliant little numbers from Claudia Varosio:

These are seriously awesome. You've got Margot Tennenbaum with her fur coat and cigarette! David Bowie with his eye patch and platform boots! Squeal! An Edie Beale! And of course, Clint Eastwood makes my day.

Hoping something delightful comes along to make your day, Dear Readers.

xo

{Be sure to check out Claudia's shop. It is just filled with delights!}

Trulli Magical

Monday. Monday, and welcome to it, Dear Readers. I thought it might be nice to ease into a new week with a little trip to Italy.

Now, I have been fortunate to have travelled throughout Italy on a few occasions. And during those travels, I saw homes ranging from modern apartment buildings wedged in between medieval dwellings, to modest farmhouses, to sprawling villas and palazzos. But never ever in any of my travels have I seen anything quite like the magical little round, stone Trulli houses that dot the countryside of Apulia. Did I mention they are round!?

Don't they look like something right out of a fairytale? Living in one must be absolutely magical, with all of those whimsical curves and alcoves.

Have a whimsical, magical week, sweeties!

xo

{images found here, here, here, and here}

Happy Weekend

Joanne Woodward by Philippe Halsman

A hip hip and enthusiastic hooray, Dear Readers, for Blogger seems to have righted its wrongs just in time for me to wish you all a very happy weekend before dashing off to begin my own!

Have a good one.

xo

Doily Love

I have a major thing for doilies. In fact, I have more doilies than I have surface spaces on which to put them.

They are the perfect furniture accessory: they fill in blank spaces, they soften hard edges, they make otherwise boring things look pretty.

I have a particular fondness for the unexpected doily. The doily made from non-traditional materials. The oversized doily. The wearable doily. So join me today, Dear Readers, in celebrating this thing of beauty, The Unexpected Doily:

1.&2.uncommon 3.and furthermore 4.sandmaiden 
5.Ladies & Gentlemen

Viva la doily!

xo

I'm Burning For You

It's so simple, really. Some eggs, cream, and a bit of sugar. A little whisking, a little simmering, and a little while in the oven.

And then there's the bit with the blow torch. How is it possible that it has taken me this long to make a dessert that involves a blow torch?

Have a delicious day, Sweet Readers.

xo

Kool Thing

You know the only thing that can possibly make a  striped shirt cooler? Why, une fille française, bien sûr!



Francoise Hardy. Musical stripes.



Jeanne Moreau. New Wave stripes.



Brigitte Bardo. Sexy stripes.



Jane Birkin. Technically, British stripes.

Le sigh. They make them look so impossibly cool.

Stay hip, my friends.

xo

April In Paris...Sorta

Last week, Philadelphia phestooned herself in a phabulous show of phrippery, transforming herself, just for a day, into Phrance. Specifically, Paris, Phrance.

In the month leading up to this phancy dress day, many of the events going on throughout the city had a decidedly French leaning. PIFA pulled out all the stops, from an 81 foot Eiffel Tower to performers, of the street and stage varieties, dispersed city-wide.

But the Big Show, The Event Not To Be Missed, was the day long street fair that closed out the festival. There were jugglers and mimes, flower carts and a farm market. Food tents offering up frog legs and foie gras; crepes and gelato. There was music. There were trapeze artists, and a Ferris wheel. There was even a mini Jardin du Luxembourg, right there in the middle of Broad Street! So, you ask yourself, how do you top that, and bring this phine event to a proper close?

Why, with acrobats, of course! High flying, instrument playing French men (and women), dangling from a chandelier, lit and dangling high above the crowd.

Bravo, Philadelphia. Bravo.

Wishing you a week full of the delightfully unexpected.

xo

{Dear Readers, lest you think I've gone completely off my rocker, replacing my "f"s with "ph"s, rest assured that it's simply a Philly thing, and I shall return to my regularly scheduled spelling tomorrow.}

Happy Weekend!

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To market, to market...it's the weekend, my dears! Opening weekend for the farmer's market! Local, farm fresh goodness. Music. Kettle corn!

And once the fruit bowls and vegetable crispers have been stocked, there's a bit of treasure hunting to do, and new lovelies to be planned and created. Lovelies enough to fill a sizable custom order I've been working on, and lovelies enough to fill a booth at this year's May Fair!

It won't all be hunting and marketing, though. There's also a bit of merry making in the works...

an 89th birthday to be celebrated

and a mom to fete.

How about you, Dear Readers? What adventures will you be getting up to?

However you spend it, have a brilliant weekend!

xo

Hangin' Around

Ahh, springtime. A time of open windows, line-dried linens, and re-organization projects. It's that last one that's been keeping me happily busy in the studio, creating a few new Pretty Hooks to place upon the shop's virtual shelves. I know I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: I love organzing things, and I love coming up with pretty ways of organizing said things. That's how the Pretty Hook was born ;)

Once it had been decided that some new Pretty Hooks were in order, supplies were quickly gathered. There were plenty of pretty papers and paints and my favorite part, the power tools, but one crucial ingredient was looking seriously low in numbers. Seems my stash of vintage hooks and knobs had dwindled while I wasn't looking. So I "hmmed" and "ummed" for a bit, and waited for a solution to strike. The solution presented itself in the form of little wooden knobs, the sort of which you always seem to have laying about in junk drawers and supply bins in the basement. Yes yes, little wooden knobs! They could be painted to match the wooden part of the Pretty Hooks! Little wooden knobs indeed would do very nicely.

I must say, I'm rather pleased with the way the little wooden knobs turned out. They're like a softer version of their brass knob cousins...a bit more rustic, more charming. I think I'll make some more!

Have a clever day, lovelies!

xo

Charade

My dears, have you ever seen the movie Charade? It's one of my absolute favorites. It's stylish, funny, and set (and actually filmed!) in Paris- crucial bits to any movie I'll watch over and over again. Plus the chemistry between Hepburn and Grant makes the two seem almost giddy to be in one another's company.

If you haven't seen it, well, what are you waiting for? Get on that! The Givenchy outfits (and hats!) alone make it a worthy watch.

Of course, if you were planning on seeing it, well, what better day than today- it's Audrey Hepburn's 82 birthday!

Happy viewing, Dear Readers!

xo

It's All About The Washingtons

This is a dollar bill. It won't get you very much, or take you very far. If you have two of them, and you turn them into quarters, you can buy yourself five minutes on an air hockey table, or a few songs on a jukebox.

This is a lovely glass light fixture that I found during a recent trip to the fleas. This little lovely's a rule breaker: she cost a single dollar.

This is an old seltzer bottle. I love them, as I do most pieces of vintage bar ware dating back to a time when cocktail hour was a daily ritual. And required fancy dress. It's cost? A dollar.

By now, you're probably guessing that these fabulous old shoe trees were a mere dollar for the pair. You'd be guessing correct.

Then, though, there's this wonderful old TV tray that I am currently using as a bedside table. It was two dollars. But I got it for one.

Stay thrifty, my friends.

xo

Mix Tape Monday, Volume Two

Hello my friends, and welcome to Mix Tape Monday, Volume Two. Perhaps you remember about a month ago, when I said I'd like to make Mix Tape Monday a regular feature. Well, it's May, and I'm staying true to my word ;)

Now, this little mix comes to you not as I had intended (seems Computer has a rather naughty side that I will be adressing with him later); but it comes to you non the less. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope your month is off to a marvelous start.

xo