I love nothing more than the authentic sentiment of a homemade gift. How delightful are these homemade fire starters via Jenni Kayne? The starters make for perfect hostess gifts - simply gather an assortment of cedar, fir, cinnamon sticks, pine, rosemary, or any other holiday foliage or herb, wrap with Kraft or newspaper and tie with twine. I cannot wait to join my family by the fire at home and something tells me I might put this project into action.
Out in the Elements
Rain, rain, & more rain here in San Francisco. Cooler temperatures and precipitation beg for outerwear, incessant Uber surge charges and a quick doge from point A to point B across the city. Above are some of the leading ladies in Paris doing what they do best in such climates. Photos via.
A Note on Cary Grant
That cliche dinner party question: If you could invite four people to dinner, passed or living, who would they be? Among my guests would be the late Cary Grant. When he was alive, he exuded nothing but that classic Hollywood allure. The rainy weekend in San Francisco lent to a great deal of enjoyment for me, as I spent an evening revisiting some old films such as To Catch A Thief (1955) and A Touch of Mink (1962) and was reminded of how taken I am by him. If I dined with Cary, I'm certain I'd spend the entire meal blushing and gushing. I'd ask him about his on-screen smooches with Grace Kelly and Sophia Loren, get all the scoop on his five subsequent real life marriages and inquire about the "charades" with Audrey Hepburn on the slopes in Switzerland. The stories he could tell!
Click here for a sampling of one of my favorites...
A Very, Merry, Warhol Christmas
Andy Warhol's Christmas Tree, drawn in 1954. Estimated USD 6,000 - 8,000. More here.
Christmas Invitation Design. 1956. Estimated USD 7,000 - 10,000. More here.
My personal favorite that lends to my affinity with cherubs.... A Warhol Christmas Cherub. Estimated USD 3,000 - 5,000. More here.
Fifteen Christmas Fairies. (I wish I had fifteen Christmas Fairies!) Estimated USD 8,000 - 12,000. More here.
Pine Sprig. Estimated USD 4,000 - 6,000. More here.
Another personal favorite: "Holly Man" circa 1956. Ink on paper. Estimated USD 7,000 - 10,000. More here.
A Christmas Topiary. How could I resist! Estimated USD 3,000 - 5,000. More here.
Now until December 12th, you can bid on a wide range of pieces from pop icon Andy Warhol online with Christie's Auction House. Visit here to see the entire collection accompanied by the respective details of each lot item.
A Classic
An old standby of mine in college, Graphic Image's Desk Diary is a true classic, sewn together with such quality craftsmanship, beautifully formatted and is able to be personalized with your initials. The above crocodile embossed calfskin leather is a C&C favorite, however the desk diary also comes in other leather varieties, including python and pebble grain leather. It would make a fun and functional gift for the holiday. See here.
Thank You
I try to use this blog as mostly a platform to share my musings on lifestyle topics and the things that inspire me, however today I'm going to get personal. Given the US Thanksgiving Holiday, I want to take the opportunity to thank my readers, friends and family for your support, friendship and loyalty the past year. So far, I've endured a significant year of personal change, hardship, triumph and working toward some life goals. I've shared adventure and deep conversation with you, I've cried with some of you on the most painful occasions, and I've spent a great deal of time laughing with you and looking forward. I've witnessed one of my best friends get married, another have a baby, my parents migrate to a new home and my sister follow her professional passion. Love, family and friendship truly make the world go around and I am eternally grateful for each and every one of you in my life. Hug everyone a little tighter today & as my Father Salty would say, Gobble, Gobble!
xx,
Caitlin
The Kids Table
Often when we would host or attend dinner parties and holiday events with my family, my sister and I would be stationed at the "kids table" away from the adult chatter. As the oldest cousin, I absolutely hated this tradition. I wanted to be part of the adult conversations and thus, spent my time at the "kids table" eavesdropping on the conversation nearby. (To this day, I don't miss a trick). I always found adult conversation so intriguing - the political and economic debates, the neighborhood gossip, the sexual puns and nearly all the subjects they "thought" were shielded from youngsters not in the main show. While I am in support of this tradition now in my adult age, I do think the Thanksgiving Holiday begs an exception. The beauty of the holiday, in my opinion, is literally getting everyone together to enjoy each other's company. It is time to relish in the organic havoc that might occur at the dining table, a time to converse with someone you wouldn't ordinarily interact with, and a time to reflect on your collective experiences, triumphs and failings in the past year. This year, nix the kids table.
Take Me There
If I were to be gifted with the superpower of teleporting, well kids, this is where you'd find me. The light might be darker and the room would be illuminated by the flicker of candlelight. James Brown, Stan Getz and all my favorites would sooth me during a long soak while I watch a glimmer of the cityscape from my windows.
Image via.
Young At Heart
My Grandmother loved reading - absolutely loved it. I have vivid memories of her reading to me (usually fairytales and poetry), and as a result, the hand-written letters she would write to me from time to time, were quite poetic and tender. I think I've inherited her knack for loving words, although I don't find myself having the time to immerse myself in books as of late, I still make time to put pen to paper and write to others, or even to myself. I still cherish the letter my Grandmother wrote to me just days before she passed away. It's stained with tears from my emotional reflections and folded in four equal parts, from being tucked away in one bureau to the next. On holidays, she would often gift me with a new book with a sentimental note, always inscribed in the front cover explaining why it was important that I read such text, or why it reminded her of me. Perhaps this is why I love giving books as gifts to this day...
I was so delighted to find the release of the large-scale fairy tale books from Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. I think these would make spectacular gifts for anyone who grew up with these magical children's stories. Purchase here.
'The World's Most Important Car Company'
Morgan Stanley has called Tesla Motors 'The World's Most Important Car Company', that is, the company that has ~$28B in market capitalization. The Model S, the seductive sports sedan released in 2013, can be seen on the daily in California, quietly whipping around the steep hills of San Francisco, on the 101 headed to its driver's post in Silicon Valley, or perhaps on weekends, whisking a couple away to a winery in the Mayacamas. No matter where the car (and driver) finds itself, heads continue to turn. The year the Model S was released, it earned the distinction of Motor Trend Car of the Year, outselling the Mercedes Benz S Class, the BMW 7 Series, and every other large luxury sedan. Impressive stuff.
As the company is still a topic of fascination for car fanatics and the business world, Business Insider released an article about Tesla Motors in early November of this year. The article is rather provocative in content, detailing what many argue is the real origin of the company, which involves a date in Disneyland, a New Zealand-born race car driver and an embarrassing NYTimes article...read the article in full, here.
Above: Elon Musk (Co-Founder & CEO), celebrating Tesla's IPO.