color me rouge and blanc and noir

i came across this book cover on rdujour yesterday. i just loved how it captured my rouge blanc noir obsession.

i'm looking forward to this new year and spending more time on all of my blogs (here and here). this one is definitely my favorite because it encompasses all of my favorite things.

i wish you all a very happy new year and look forward to sharing more of my happy thoughts with you next year!

xoxo hawthorne girl

scary swan

lorenzo's daughter and i did most of our holiday shopping yesterday and then decided we would go to see the movie black swan.

i had been wanting to see it but then after reading reviews thought that it may not be my thing. i absolutely cannot watch anything weird or creepy without freaking out at a later time when at home by myself trying to go to sleep. and anything gorey...forget about it.

well, i thought i would give it a shot since all of the images just looked so beautiful not to mention the fabulous costumes designed by rodarte. and it was a visually stunning film.

however, the story line was just too intense for me. i still can't figure out what it was trying to do. yes, i get the whole evil twin/split personality thing but what was up with the fingernail obsession? i mean yuck and double yuck!

as i left the theater, i said i was very happy that i went to see it but even happier that i will never have to see it again!

a feel good holiday movie it is not. i'm going to have to watch love, actually twice now!

happy holidays everyone. what movies are you going to see this holiday season?

it's a rough job...

one of my favorite musicians, diane birch stopped in the store again today. i just love her music and listen to it non-stop while commuting to work.

she is an absolute sweetheart and gorgeous to boot. she has a cute new bob too!

i can't wait to check out her new album.

oh joy!

i blogged about this over on my portland blog the other day and then i thought that you my loyal rouge readers would probably love to hear about it as well.

my bff sent me the pink martini holiday cd for my birthday and i am loving it. i've listened to it everyday since i got it and i'm playing it in the store right now too!

those pink martinians have really put together a wonderful holiday album and gave it their own twist. it's very diverse and worldly, you know, just like pink martini. check it out, i really think you will like it.


ps. i don't really track my blog analytics very often and i hopped on today to see where my viewers are from. i could not believe how many people have been reading lately. i have readers from all over the world! thank you all so much, this definitely helps motivate me to keep the posts coming. i love this little blog, it's really just my journal of all the beautiful things that make me happy.

here kitty kitty

i'm loving the holiday ad campaign for cartier that i found over on rdujour. isn't that the sweetest baby ever?




the last thing we need is another critter over at our house but that baby leopard is pretty darn cute. she would definitely give little lulu a run for the money. lu's favorite past time is hunting for kitties!

i hope you all are doing great and having a fabulous holiday season. it's getting pretty cold here in portland but just a very light dusting of snow so far.

somewhere when?

and speaking of sofia coppola, when is her new movie somewhere coming out? i see that they just had the premier in new york, so hopefully soon.

i just love sofia's movies for their dreamy, ethereal quality. i mean the virgin suicides, lost in translation and marie antoinette are some of the most visually stunning movies i have ever seen. weren't the interiors in marie antoinette just amazing? i really, really want to see lost in translation again, too. it's been a while. i think that may be one i need to add to my collection.

what movies are you looking forward to seeing this holiday season?

sofia's style

there is a great style file on rdujour right now of another one af my favorites, sofia coppola.

don't you love this great navy and red frenchie boatneck? i recently tried to buy one like this at free people but they didn't have it in my size.

if i didn't have a job to go to, i seriously could wear striped shirts everyday. i love them that much!

p.s. i'm getting very excited for sofia's new movie "somewhere" that is currently in the works and is promoting in the picture.

style sisters

yesterday on rdujour, there was a style file on my girl charlotte. there were tons of great photos of charlotte in her trademark jeans and boots and also a lot of great red carpet looks.

go to rdujour to see the complete article on charlotte.


and a few weeks ago, there were more beautiful photos of her sister, lou on rdujour. this time at the chanel runway show.

what do i love about these sisters the most? i think it's just their understated way of being fabulous. they always looks great, but not like they're trying too hard. they must have definitely inherited this quality from their mother. maybe some things are just ingrained, i don't know.

i do believe that sometimes when it comes to fashion, less is more!

oh wellie!

i'm pretty bummed out that my favorite toile rainboots are on their last leg. i pulled them out last week and my once cute boots are now discolored and sad looking.

so obviously this means one thing--i've got to get those hunter wellies that i've been wanting forever.

one cool thing about living in portland is that you can actually wear wellies on a regular basis and not look bizarre in the least bit. well, once i was wearing them at work and the president of my company didn't quite get why i was actually wearing them inside, at work. oh well, we all know they are in fashion.


i think the hardest part of getting some new boots is deciding on the color. i love the classic black.


but the red is sooo cute too.

which color would you go for? oh how i hate these decisions!

so bomo

happy sunday! it's a perfect portland sunday morning...i've got my cartalk in the background, little lulu on my lap and lorenzo working on the computer next to me. oh yeah, and it's absolutely pouring outside.


i was thinking this morning that for an interior designer, my blog seems to have been in fashion mode lately, and not home fashion mode. i think that's because i am avoiding all of the work i need to be doing on the house and it is so much more fun to look at pretty clothes.

but getting back to interiors, i wanted to recommend one of my favorit design books to you, bohemian modern. if you haven't come across this book yet, check it out. it's all about the funky designs of homes and businesses in silver lake, california.


since discovering this book, i've become fascinated with silver lake and absolutely must go there. unfortunately, one place my work never takes me is la, so i will have to make this work on my own. i'm starting to feel a girls weekend coming on.

any suggestions for my visit to silver lake? any great places to stay? i'd love to hear from any of you who have been.

and have a great fall sunday.

and still more...

lou has been out on the town in paris. here she is at the h&m champs elysees opening as reported by rdujour.

here in portland, we are anxiously awaiting the opening of our own h&m!

cat in the hat

the cutest girls from bollman hat company out of pennsylvania came into the store today after a meeting and let the girls and i pick out hats from their samples because they don't like to carry them back home on the plane.

i'm not generally a hat girl but i couldn't resist what i call the "sienna" hat because i've always loved this style. i don't know if i can carry it off with my stick straight stringy hair but maybe after some product, i'll give it a shot.

thank you so much to the bollman girls, that was really just so sweet of you to let us shop your samples.

look for the hats at opening ceremony coming soon.

more lou...

here's my girl lou making an appearance at paris fashion week as reported by rdujour.







isn't she fabulous? i just love her!

wine!

i might not have ever mentioned to you that i have had a HUGE crush on jason schwartzman ever since rushmore. there is just something so funny about him,
just watching him is funny, even if he's not doing anything. the faces he makes and his comedic timing is just too much.

have you been watching the new season of "bored to death"? oh i just love little ray!

also, any man that can consume as much white wine as i do and justify it the way his character can is truly a kindred spirit of mine.

what is your favorite jason schwartzman film? have you seen the short film he did with natalie portman as a trailer to the darjeeling limited. i think it's called "hotel cavalier". you should check it out if you've never seen it.

got spots?

so tomorrow is the first day of fall and while i'm not quite ready for the rain to begin full-force, i am looking forward to some new fall clothes. this year it is going to be all about black, camel and turquoise for my fall wardrobe (but yes, i will forever love you red, white and black).

and this little leopard baby is setting the tone! isn't it gorgeous? the fabric is the softest cotton velveteen. it's made by my amazing friend tasha polizzi, who spent many years honing her craft for a guy named ralph and is now making these beautiful creations on her own.

oh i can't wait to wrap up in this beauty. happy autumn everyone!

september issue

last week my coworker and i were talking and she said she was so excited because all of her september issues had begun coming in the mail and it was like christmas at her house.

i must admit, i do have a carrie bradshaw day when my issues start coming in where i sit at home and take them all in without ever leaving. i just love to see all of the new fall lines and ad campaigns.

then i started thinking that i need to rent the september issue again because i really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes making of vogue's september issue. i highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.


so i just about died yesterday when i was on rdujour and saw the anna wintour and grace coddington dolls! these are so funny. it really does mean that you've made it when a doll is made in your honor.


of course my favorite is the grace doll. i love her simple style and crazy red hair. she really does make vogue what it is.

the cutest thing EVER!

today over at one of my favorite blogs, erin ever after, she posted one of the cutest things i have ever seen.

it's about the adventures of a little girl and her doll in paris called kiki and coco. the photos are just so sweet as you travel around paris with kiki and coco.

oh what it would be like to do this as a little girl. i must admit i'm a little jealous my doll dorothy and i never got to do this when we were little.

oh well, at least there is kiki and coco to do it for us!

go here for a slide show of stephanie rausser's beautiful photos.

maybe lulu and i can do this one day.

design your life

at my desk, i have written a quote that i must have found somewhere on a design blog. it goes like this, "your life is your biggest design project. get off the couch and start designing your life exactly how you want it."

sometimes i sit here and ponder this quote. most of the time, i have a pretty clear idea as to how i want my life to be but from time to time, my mind wanders and i think what if it could be so completely different than it is now?

today i'm thinking about things like this.


lorenzo and i would somewhat resemble margot and richie tanenbaum and coordinate our outfits accordingly.


except that i would look more french like diane birch here. not to mention looking fab in a big floppy hat like this one, i just can't carry off a hat like this!


we'd live in a beautiful falling down old brownstone, a la holly golightly.


and drive a great big black vintage mercedes station wagon.


we'd have wonderful friends like harold and maude.


i'd spend my afternoons watching french films like the 400 blows with the crushy jean pierre leaud.


in the evenings i'd sit with coffee and cigarettes and ponder.


and late into the evening i'd write dark novels like the bell jar, making a terrific salary in which i could support this lifestyle.

what would your life be like if you could do whatever you want? let's start designing it that way.

the selby

have you guys heard about the amazing website called the selby? i had heard about it quite sometime ago and just filed it away but then this week, my coworker reminded me of it and i was like, that's right! it's such a cool site.


todd selby, a portrait, interiors and fashion photographer began posting his photoshoots on his own website and he has garnered a huge cult following. the photographs are generally of famous and not so famous creative types taken in their own environment whether it be their home or their studios, whichever best represents how they work and how they are inspired for their work.

hmmm... what would my living space say about me? a family who has a hard time getting rid of things, some pretty cool artwork i might say, and a few misbehaving animals thrown in to stir it all up a little. my own private grey gardens (only without the huge hampton house.)


there is also a book called the selby out right now that i really want to get. they are currently selling it at anthropologie. the book has photoshoots that he has not featured on his website, one being of my girl lou doillon's home so now you know i really must have it!

gazpacho libre

all day today i was craving some gazpacho, probably because it was so hot outside.

when i lived in albuquerque, there was this great bbq place across the street from my house that made the best chunky gazpacho, i think the restaurant was called geezamboni's. they served it in a big bowl topped with home made tortilla chips, yum!

well of course, i can't even think about gazpacho without paying homage to pedro almodovar and those crazy women on the verge for introducing me to the traditional spanish sope to begin with. mmm gazpacho...

i've never made gazpacho myself but today i found an easy recipe on epicurious that i tweaked a little to my own taste and it turned out to be a fast and easy recipe for dinner but i know it will taste even better for lunch tomorrow after marinating over night. lorenzo made some home made crunchy garlic bread that was a perfect complement to the soup as well as having a nice glass of white wine to go with it. i thought the haagen daz dulce de leche ice cream would make the perfect easy dessert.

here's my simple recipe:
1/2 white onion diced
2 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2 pounds of cored, peeled and diced tomatoes
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/3 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 big dashes of hot sauce (i used frontera)

puree first four ingredients in a food processor, then combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, cilantro and tomato paste and blend leaving it somewhat chunky. season to taste with salt and pepper and hot sauce. transfer to large bowl and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

as a garnish, i topped it off with a little more olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. it was delicious!

ooh lou lou

yesterday over at rdujour, they featured another great post about my girl lou.



aside from this great article, they listed almost every other article i have seen written about her. if you go here, you can see it all.

lou rocks!

happy birthday hem

since i've been MIA from bloglandia the past few weeks, i've missed out on some very important events...like hemingway's birthday on july 21st.

hemingway is my all time favorite author. i could read a moveable feast over and over and i usually find myself reading it in the summer. but there are so many others like his notorious book the sun also rises which upset all of his friends because he discussed their bad behavior while in spain for the bullfights.

i really hope to go visit his homes in key west, ketchum and cuba one day. i hear his house in key west is over run by feral kitties that he insisted be allowed to remain at the house. how cool and grey gardens of him.

happy belated birthday hem!

checking in

hi everyone, i just wanted to check in and let you all know i'm still alive and well. i'm still recovering from the big move and now i'm traveling for work. i hope to check in periodically when i can and then i'll be back at the end of next week with more regular posts. thanks for hanging in there!

feliz cumpleano

i absolutely cannot believe that i was too distracted yesterday to wish frida kahlo a happy 103rd birthday. she is one of my favorite style icons and has influenced me so much as a person. so frida, salut to you, this one's on me!

live forever

i don't think i've ever mentioned to you that if i could go back and do it all over again, i would study art history and travel the world, buying and selling fabulous artwork and amazing antiques. all the while, documenting my adventures a la indiana jones. however, i don't necessarily have an eye or penchant for fine art.

i do however, like what i see.

several months ago, i wanted to mention one of my favorite artists, elizabeth peyton. i tried to put together a post on her but it just wasn't coming together and i just wasn't finding the best images of hers to show. i just filed it away for a later post.

well, yesterday, i was doing my usual quick walk-through of anthropologie and found a book about her and her artwork called live forever. it was a really cool book. i didn't purchase it yet because, to be honest, it was pretty pricy and i'm trying to behave myself right now but i cannot wait to get it. her illustrations are just so rich and amazing. i really feel that she paints my colors, whatever that means.


i just love this one from the book called "elizabeth and liam"


and this is the first piece of hers that i ever saw and fell in love with. i just love poppies.

so while it may not be fine art, it just fine by me!

go rafa!

can't wait for tomorrow's match. good luck rafael!

pin it forward

today is my day to participate in sf girl by bay's pin it forward event. i'm so excited to have some new people over to my blog, rouge blanc noir, which is basically a place for me to share some of the things that inspire me most (which happen to be somewhat frenchie). a big thank you to victoria of sf girl and pinster for inviting me to participate.

this is a perfect post to work on today as yesterday i moved out of my city girl apartment of 8 years and in with my guy and his daughter. let me tell you, merging two households is a pretty daunting task and i'm just trying to figure out what home means to me in my new country place.

well here are a few things to begin with, then i'll just have to figure them out as i go along!


now home means to me family and seeing that we all are taken care of and happy. i'm so lucky to have found such amazing people who share their lives with me.


home means coming home to my little girl lucie, who has brought me much happiness and entertainment.


home means to me cooking big sunday night dinners for my friends and family and preferably dining al fresco if weather permits here in the northwest.


and a happy sunny kitchen to prepare these meals in.


after a long day of work, nothing makes me happier at home than settling in with a glass of wine to watch a french film.


home means being surrounded with books, which remind me of my childhood and make for lazy afternoons of reading and relaxing.

there are so many things that mean home to me, these are just a few that i wanted to share with you today. thank you for joining me here at rouge blanc noir. be sure to check out yesterdays's post over at the hidden list and tomorrow's over at hey lucy.

and be sure to check out my dear friend, brooke's post over at pretty and yummy. we have been figuring out this blogging thing together which has been a lot of fun and a great way to stay in touch with one another. thank's brooke for telling me about the pin it forward event.

and a great big shout out to my friend alissa for setting me up with a brand new banner for the event today.

i hope to see you all again soon!