I can't tear my eyes from the Brooklyn wedding reception of Jessica Hische and Russ Maschmeyer. From the florals, invitations, and palette to the overall romantic gastropub sensibility, this is an event that will inspire entertaining and decorating and ideas for months to come. I'm already rethinking my approach to the Valentine's Day party I have on the books...
Of course it comes as no surprise, since the bride and groom are leaders in the graphic design industry—and their planners Sugar & Fluff are one of the most avant garde events and styling houses you can get your hands on. Keep your eyes on these guys. With their combined ambition and creative spirit, it won't be long 'til they're doing runway shows for Givenchy and Dior.
But I digress. Here are my action items after oggling the wedding photos on 100 Layer Cake yesterday. I'm going to pull out my drapiest maxi skirt and wear it with tissue-thin tees, big knits, and gold necklaces. I'm going to think twice before I relegate that buttercream shade of yellow (even for roses!) to my 'tacky' pile. And I'm going to double up my handwriting practice post haste. There are Valentine's Day invitations to pen, after all!
Let's talk Valentine's Day. We either love it, or we love to hate it. I've always fallen into the latter camp. However, I think it's been due to sour grapes, 'cause nothing has ever lived up to those elementary school parties with heart cupcakes and paper bag mailboxes. So this year I've decided that come hell or high water, I'm going to make V-Day awesome for myself. And I'm starting at Baba Souk.
Baba Souk is an online shop from Montreal (love me some Canadian compatriots!) with eclectic and exotic design gems. If you crave pompoms, wovens, one-of-a-kinds, and the handmade, it's so up your alley. The sensibility is a part Moroccan bazaar, part papercut collage, all fantabulous fun. In other words, it's exactly where I want to find myself come February 14th. Meet you there!
You know how a great DJ makes a party? How it's not just about one or two good songs but rather it's the mix, the flow, the way the tracks comes one after another after another until there's no choice but to get out of your seat and hit the dance floor? Well, interiors are the same way. A stellar piece—a to-die-for lamp, a custom sofa—can't shine if everything else in the room falls flat.
The tricky part is mastering the mix. Two who get it right every time are Brian of Brian Paquette Interiors in Seattle and Kelly of High Street Market in Philidelphia. Their style defies definition. It has gender neutral appeal, incorporates both old and new, layers tones and textures with aplomb...in other words, I want Brian and Kelly to make all my decorating decisions henceforth. I wonder if they offer portable purse-size versions of themselves for flea market trips...?
Last fall I took three work trips to New York City. Most of my time was spent in meetings or at the computer. That is, other than the temperature and the time zone, life on the east coast was pretty much the same as it was on the west! But it's always necessary to squeeze in as much playtime as possible when on the road, and I was thrilled to meet with my friend Sean from the blog *fruitpunch.
I asked Sean to suggest a place for us to grab a bite, and he didn't hesitate in his reply: "Bakeri". Sure enough, this Brooklyn bakery was made for tête-à-têtes over tea and cakes—or in our case, pistachio cakes, peanut butter cookies, mini apple pies, brioche bread puddings, and chocolate chip scones. Yes, I have moderation issues when it comes to the bounty of the oven...
But it was the holiday season. A snap of cold was in the air. I was being served by robust counter girls in 1940's-era Rosie the Riveter jumpsuits. Not only was Sean egging me on but so too was my dear pal Emily Johnston Anderson, who shot these photos. I cannot be blamed for my pastry excess. The point here is if you're in Brooklyn, go to Bakeri. Try a bit of everything. Blame me. I can handle it.
Today is Martin Luther King Day. It is also the day that the United States celebrates the inauguration of Barack Obama as its 44th president. The significance of this timing is lost on no one. As strident as the lamentations of bipartisan deadlock in which we find ourselves are the reminders of Dr. King's proclamation that 'hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that". For me, the duality of the occasion reflects my current preoccupation with the idea that as much as we crave the order of left and right, love and hate, there are no absolutes. There is no hard and fast. Life is one big grey area.
I'm not sure how this realization escaped my notice. (Yes I am. I've spent my life to date comfortably ensconced in the refuge of the black and white.) Lately I find myself dwelling daily in ambiguity, a word which translates directly from the Latin for 'to wander'. Indeed, my mind wanders 'round and 'round: Am I doing right by my family, my friends, my community, my self? Should I give more of my time, my energy, my emotion? Am I thinking too much? Not enough? Would it be easier to eat this avocado toast with a fork than with my fingers? Extend these questions beyond my personal life to the challenges that face our world at large and my brain coughs, sputters, chokes like a manual transmission at the hands of a fretful student driver.
Yet with connection comes comfort, and my brain can't stop seeking both. At a not-so-long-ago inauguration ceremony, when Martin Luther King Jr. still lived and when the entering electee faced a country severely divided—he'd won by even more narrow a victory than President Obama did last November—the poet Robert Frost recited his poem 'The Gift Outright'. It is a compact piece of verse. Sixteen brief lines embody the American Revolution, its unfinished story, its uncertain legacy. The President who asked Frost to speak at the inauguration would be dead less than three years later, his own legacy a mix of unfinished stories and uncertain character.
The chorus of patriots and pioneers, poet laureates and Presidents tunes my clamorous thoughts to a single quiet note of solace: These celebrated scions of history didn't have the answers any more than I do. Their ambiguities, though manifested on a more grand scale, were no less grey. So even when the fog seems most thick, we must never stop wandering. Wondering. Coming 'round to the words of Dr. King: “Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.”
I recently sold some old clothes at a secondhand store. The shopgirl summed up the pile of and black and grey castoffs with the comment, "You're not from around here, are you?" Indeed, even though I'm technically a California girl, I can't shake the East Coast upbringing or the post-college Brooklyn years from my aesthetic. Charcoal, onyx, ink, midnight—these are all just synonyms for 'happy' in my book.
Because black isn't just black. It can be glossy or matte; it can be pebbled or smooth; it can be inviting or repellant to the touch; in fact, it can be all those things at once, and more. To anyone who claims black is boring, I say, the complexities of black fill it with infinite possibility. So do me a favor. The next time your sweetie asks, 'Do you really need another black sweater?' simply reply, 'Yes. I do. I'm shopping for infinite possibility.'
It's time to get serious about furnishing my new apartment. I moved in mid-November and I still don't own a single chair or table. I know the effect I'd like when I'm done—here's a collection of images that convey the feeling—but as for the individual pieces I should select to create this tone-on-texture mix of wood, leather, brass, black and white? Well, I'm stuck in blank slate paralysis. But I'm excited to share the journey here with you all, because isn't that half the fun? Stay tuned, friends...
Do you believe in angels? I do. I'd like to introduce you to two in my life. Their names are Kevin and Danielle Snelson, but they operate under the professional title The Why We Love Photography. They entered my life at midnight on March 1, 2012. I was standing in the middle of the street dissassembling a janky four poster IKEA bed so I could return it to the store. They didn't know me from Eve, but they spent two hours helping me wrangle stripped screws and disappearing Allen wrenches. We laughed our butts off the whole time. In the ten short months since then, we've worked together, played together, cried together. We are family.
Angels enact miracles everywhere they go, regardless of the trade they choose. Kevin and Danielle happen to be photographers, filmmakers, artists. Storytellers. Their vocabulary is the smile of a mother who gazes upon her newborn, the light in a bride's eyes when she looks up at her groom; their grammatical rules are the laws of love, nature, humanity. The remarkable aesthetic beauty of their work springs from the deep, soul-abiding spirit that Kevin and Danielle see in and share with the world.
I'm telling you these things now in particular because The Why We Love Photography is having a pop-up shop on 100 Layer Cake. I would recommend their wedding, elopement, engagement, and family photography on any day—but the fact that you can book them now at a huge discount is an incredible opportunity to invite these two into your life. I can't promise they'll let you crash at their house for three weeks while you look for a new apartment (they're still restocking their cereal supply from when they did that for me) but they will be the best investment you make in a long time. And I mean really, how often do you find angels for hire?
More info on The Why We Love Photography and the special discount pricing at their 100 Layer Cake Pop-Up Shop. Some extra details that you won't find: Danielle loves stocking up on tank tops at Target, speaking in fake spy accents, and singing Mariah Carey badly. Kevin thinks that hotdog salad is a real food, that a gentleman always holds a door for a lady, and that he IS Ron Swanson.
January. Blech. The holidays are behind us. Spring is months away. It's that time of year when we look at the calendar and sigh a big, collective, 'Well, I guess we're in it for the long haul.' The seasonal limbo combined with the freak weather the country is having—twenty-eight degrees in Southern California last weekend?—means we're in need of some serious pampering.
Here's what I mean by serious: Set a consistent routine. Whether this means ten minutes before bed each night or one hour every weekend, there's nothing more valuable than having time for yourself with a few favorite lotions and potions. I look for products that are gentle but still really effective (I've been loving the exact Perricone MD and Dr. Jart+ regimen above) and they also have to smell amazing. Tell me: What are your favorite winter sinkside and shower indulgences?
Happy Friday! As I write this I'm huddling on my bathroom floor in front of the heating vent. I'm almostnotquitebarelyready to drive north for The Lab Event in Sonoma, where I'm modeling gowns in the bridal fashion show. Life has conspired against my plans to leave bright and early; however it worked out for the best as I stumbled on this piece of inspirational writing by Cheryl Strayed, author of the book Wild. So while I pack my bags and hit the road, I please read it. Out loud. To anyone who will listen. And pass it on. Then have a phenomenal weekend filled with light, love, and laughter!
