Loved reading about Claude Lalanne, her Parisian panache and artistic pursuits who is (along with her late husband François-Xavier Lalanne and real estate mogul Michael Shvo), behind The Sheep Station installation in Chelsea. The installation consists of 25 sheep sculptures inhabiting a grassy pasture of a former gas station at the corner of West 24th Street and 10th Avenue. The sculptures, made of epoxy and bronze, are by Claude's late husband. Now, at the ripe age of 89, Claude is still going at it with a recent trip to New York to help promote a new venture. At the end of this month, Sotheby's will present a selling exhibition of works by Claude and her late husband amidst a backdrop of moss flooring and ivy-covered walls. Click here to learn more.
A Louisiana Weekend...
...An old invitation I keep in my memento box. Found this in my Grandfather's library after his passing. My Grandparents were very social creatures who loved getting gussied up and especially loved New Orleans. It's fun to think about them attending this event (in 1973!).
I'm Moving In.
This Hollywood Hills home graced the cover of the 2012 December/January issue of House Beautiful and remains to be one of my favorite interiors. Behind the design is Mark D. Sikes who is one of my favorite figures in the design community and also happens to have a fantastic blog. I especially love the way he works with texture, whether it's with a velvet leopard pillow, rattan roman shade, woven jute rug or black lacquered walls, he then layers with a sentimental objet or stack of books. His designs give you a sense of ease and intrigue, all the while looking pulled together in an organic yet sophisticated fashion.
I am drawn to the bookcases that are inhabited with stacks of magazines that seem to look like prized literature. In my room at home back east, I have an antique shoe rack that houses hundreds of magazines I've collected over the years, I think it secretly drives my Mother insane.
As the Roman philosopher, Marcus Tullius Cicero has said, “A home without books is like a body without a soul.”
AERIN
AERIN LAUDER keeps pulling out all the stops. The latest: her collaboration with Lee Jofa on a collection of fabrics, rugs and furniture. I'm currently dreaming of drapes for days in her green "Mirasol" fabric (above) and outfitting a loveseat in her fun leopard "Talmage" fabric. (See the collection here). I can't wait to get my hands on her new book, Beauty at Home now available for pre-order.
About Town: Mason Pacific
Highly recommend this little gem on the cable car line after enjoying a cozy meal last Saturday evening. The neighborhood restaurant was highlighted in 7x7 as a "must-try" suggesting it's the "latest date restaurant" in San Francisco. I particularly enjoyed the Bernard Baudry Chinon ‘Clos Guillot’, a 2010 Cabernet Franc from Loire, France, which paired quite nicely with the butternut squash ravioli with black truffles I ordered for my main course. With the cooler evening temperatures in the city as of late, it was the perfect meal.
Photo credit: Nick Vasilopoulos
Brand NEW
The highly anticipated New album by none other than Sir Paul McCartney was released on Monday. I was excited to listen to the album in full after watching him perform on Jimmy Fallon last week. McCartney worked with four different producers on the album and thus far, it's been very well received. Rolling Stone gives the stamp of approval, noting that it's full of "joyous rock & roll invention" and points to my favorite song, "Queenie Eye" as a "glam-rockish stadium singalong". Get involved and turn it UP!
Bucket List
More than one year ago, Amanda Brooks announced to the fashion world that she was leaving her role as Fashion Director for Barney's New York to move to a farm in England with her family. Escaping from a busy life in New York City, Amanda's days are now full of walks in the fields that surround her farm home, jam-making, horseback riding, tending to carpool obligations and fixing an early family supper to be enjoyed among her rosebushes and pear trees. Recently, she reflected on this transition in a blog post describing some of the fond experiences and thoughts she has cultivated along the way. She says, "I have never been more clear about who I am and what is important to me. There is enough peace and quiet here to listen to myself - my mind and my body."
There was something about her post that really resonated with me. I, too, value the importance of quiet moments that force you to foster this inherent peace and self-reflection and admire her decision to shift gears and try a new way of living. It is so important to learn how to be in tune with what your mind, soul and body are needing and I feel like I learn more about what this means for me, every day. For me, these clear moments often come in nature and can be very refreshing. I hope to never lose sight of them.
I have never been to England (astonishing, yes), but for quite some time have dreampt of taking a trip to the English countryside to truly take in the landscape - a great place for "quiet moments". In conducting research for this prospective quest, I found the National Trust, a UK conservation charity that protects and restores historic places and green spaces, opening them up "for ever, for everyone". Most notably, the organization offers an array of award winning holiday cottages in the UK with names like "Skippers Cabin", "The Dairy Cottage" or "The Chauffeur's Flat" that formerly functioned as shepherd's huts in the Dorset coast, a dame's school in Cornwall, or as a mid 19th century miner's cottage, for example. I can picture quite well days spent hiking throughout the coast, picnicing with a great bottle of wine and a book of poetry and in the evening, enjoying a roaring fire under a blanket with a night cap in hand.
Muted
I've found that sometimes, the things in life lacking color and clarity in one particular moment often bring unexpected beauty and understanding in another moment in time. I've come to appreciate the unknown and uncertainty in life. I love the stillness, intrigue and assertion the above photographs evoke.
Lights, Camera, Vino!
Tonight, I'm headed to the Sundance Kabuki Theater/greatest movie theater on the planet, to see Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass's documentary-style film recounting the 2009 hijacking of a cargo ship by Somali pirates captained by American Richard Phillips, played by Tom Hanks). To date, the film has received glowing reviews.
On deck: looking forward to seeing All is Lost with Robert Redford which will be released October 18th.
Serious Girl Crush
When I saw this photo above snapped at Fashion Week in Milan, I couldn't resist smirking. For a long time, I've adored Viviana Volpicella and her energetic style and contagious allure. The Milan-based stylist and Contributing Fashion Editor for VOGUE Brazil is without a single doubt, on my list of girl crushes. I would love to share a glass of vino with her, dreaming up European adventures only to scooter off into the night in some fabulous frock. Thanks to Garance Doré, you can get to know Viviana yourself and crush away. Ciao!
Images via Tumblr and VOGUE