reading frenzy

as most of you know from previous posts, i love books and book cases. so why can't i find a good book to read?


it seems that lately every book i pick up, i read a little and toss it aside. nothing has really caught my attention in quite some time and it's driving me nuts.

what are you all reading these days?

i generally like biographies, historical stories, anything based in exotic foreign locals. one summer, i read everything i could find on picasso and another time i read all of hemingway's novels one after the other.

help!

guess who i have tickets to see...

oh yes! my girl crush charlotte gainsbourg is playing in portland at the wonder ballroom april 15th. i will be one of the groupies there early in the day to get a good spot up close.

now that's my kind of tax day!

drop me a line

i was checking out one of my favorite blogs, erin ever after, and came across this beautiful image of a clothesline.

i have always loved clotheslines and take pictures of them whenever i see them. when i was in italy, it was like clothesline heaven. the italians take clotheslines to an art form and have many crazy contraptions to make them easier to use. my hostess in lucca had the coolest one that would be perfect for any apartment dweller. i really wanted to buy one but the thought of dragging a clothesline across italy and france seemed pretty ridiculous at the time. next time i'm there, i'm shipping one home!

oh these whitewashed walls with the bright laundry. jane lake, erin ever after

ancient venetian laundry. times union

the chaotic neopolitan lines. wikimedia commons

simple turkish style. media melon

beautiful, rundown cuba. felice willat, tools with heart


does this inspire some spring cleaning?

i can't wait to get the new...

rustic kitchens

lately i've been pining away to buy a house so i've been looking on various real estate sights. the other day i found the cutest little farmhouse and now i'm dreaming of decorating it. i think the heart of most farmhouses is in the kitchen so that is where i would start.

here are some great rustic kitchens that i found. i think there are elements of each one that i could incorporate into my dream farmhouse kitchen. i would definitely start with a clean white palette and go from there.

open upper shelving is a must for me in my dream kitchen. and i love the large stove. living etc.


the clean white walls and simple design of this kitchen is great. and i absolutely love the black cabinets with the cherry trim. daily mail

this is a great big open kitchen. that wall is to die for as well as that big farm table. marie claire maison

this one is just cute, simple and rustic. marie claire maison

what a perfect little nook of a kitchen. this one was designed by one of my favorite designers, thom felicia. he has such a good eye. the white cabinets are perfect and i've always dreamed of an open staircase. except mine would be a spiral. domino (rip)

out of all of the kitchens, this one is my favorite. it's simple, rustic and the pop of bright colors is definitely more my style. and again, i love the rustic farm table. marie claire maison


which one is your favorite?

i'll keep you posted on the house purchasing phase i'm in.

le pop pop

i'm dying for some of this chanel nail polish. this is a perfect color pallette for spring.

i do admit, i love my gun metal grey nail polish. one time when i stopped to get gas, the gas attendant asked me why women loved black nail polish. he said his wife favored this color but that he did not like it at all. i just explained that it was a trend and that it too will pass some day. but secretly i hope not!

i suppose this pastel grey can get me through the warmer season until i can go dark again.

cafe paris part deux

i had to post this as a follow-up to my cafe post from yesterday. i was on the sartorialist and found this shot.


what a great photo. the way her hat is tipped on that big pile of hair. and those tights! i must find those tights.

cafe paris

the cold grey day we are having in portland has me dreaming of sitting outside of parisian cafes.








what are you dreaming of today?

credits
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indochine nyc

many, many years ago, i ripped a page from a magazine (probably vogue) of an article about what restaurant staff wore at famous restaurants in new york city. at the time i was working in a restaurant and i thought it was fascinating that restaurants would clothe their servers in designer pieces which reflected the atmosphere of the restaurant. i mean what a concept to really complete your dining experience. enough of the old black and white!

well, one of the restaurants mentioned on the page was indochine. i absolutely loved the dress the server was wearing. it was an olive colored floral print dress with covered buttons up the side. in addition to this lovely dress, the photos of the restaurant were beautiful--black, cream and red with big banana leaf accents.

i never imagined i would dine here but a few years ago on a business trip, i arrived into town and called my coworker to see what our plans were for the evening. i almost died when she told me we were going to have dinner at indochine, i had completly forgotten about it when on previous trips to new york.


indochine is very unassuming from the outside as many new york restaurants are. you only know you're in the right spot by the red light above the door.


oh my gosh and the interiors did not disappoint. i just sat there enjoying our amazing meal and taking it all in.


so when i talked to my friend (and coworker) the other day who is currently in new york on business, i asked what she was doing for the evening. when she said "dinner at indochine," i was so bummed that i wasn't with her. i'll need to make another trip there soon because now i'm really craving it!

and i can't believe it but indochine is celebrating it's 25th year of business this year.

indochine is located at 430 lafayette st. 212.505.5111 and reservations are recommended.

photos courtesy of belle vivir.

boy crush

i know i'm always talking about my girl crushes like charlotte, lou, eva and juliette but today i'm thinking about one of my boy crushes, johnny. are you going to go and see alice and wonderland? i can't decide but it's showing here in 3d at one of my favorite theatres. i'm just not big on johnny in all that makeup. he's perfect just the way he is!

here's a little eye candy.




top photo courtesy of beer drinking report.

oscar notes

i hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. it's beautiful and sunny today in portland so i hope to get out and enjoy the weather a bit later on.

are you planning to watch the oscars tomorrow night? who are some of your picks? of course a few of my favorites are nominated up against each other, like penelope cruz and maggie gyllenhall for best supporting actress so i'll be happy if either of them take the win.

here are mine in no particular order:

jeff bridges and maggie gyllenhall, crazy heart

carey mulligan, an education

colin firth, a single man

helen mirren, the last station

costume design, coco before chanel

penelope cruz, nine

foreign language film, un prophete


and an honorable mention to inglorious basterds, which i also enjoyed very much.

i hope you all have a great weekend!

quelle bonne surprise

i haven't been able to participate in the french language community lately as much as i would like to. other than helping lorenzo's daughter with her homework, i'm pretty out of touch. i do think that i am going to have to head to france soon for a two week immersion class to get me back in line. what a bummer!

however, today during my lunch, i was scrolling through my favorites and clicked on the french word a day blog.

if you are even remotely a francophile, kristin's blog is a must. complete with the most amazing photos of the french country side and cities.

well, it seems mrs. espinasse just held her first reading at the famous bookstore shakespeare and company in paris. oh what a dream, could you imagine doing something like that? and what a charming post, i could just feel the butterflies she must have had.

it looks like she is out promoting her latest book and shakespeare was one of her stops. i'm just so happy for her. she truly is amazing.


kristin espinasse was raised in phoenix, arizona and quotes such memorable places as metro center. i liked her right away because of her upbringing, which is very similar to mine in the southwest. she then met her future husband and moved to france in 1992. she now lives in the south of france with her wine-maker husband and two adorable french children. what a rough life!

so go and check out french word a day. you will love it.

liberated

i found out the most exciting news yesterday over at one of my favorite blogs le train bleu. it looks like target has done it again by teaming up with another great retailer, liberty of london.

perhaps it is due to the many years that i adored holly hobby but i've always loved floral and calico prints. i don't think i will ever get tired of wearing floral dresses. i wish i could wear them everyday but it may not look appropriate during our cold grey winters here in portland. but spring is almost here so i will be in line at target on march 14th to make my purchases from this beautiful collection.

here are a few of the pieces that i really like.

art deco was one of my favorite design periods and i love this art deco print. it works for a dress or for wallpaper!

oh and peacock, i LOVE peacock prints. again, this one is perfect for a dress or i would wallpaper my entry way in a print like this.

oh and i will definitely be purchasing some of these flip-flops and lucie better keep her little teeth off of them!

my anthropologie cereal bowls are starting to look a little sad so these may be the perfect replacement.

i'm not much of a tea drinker, coffee for me, but this teapot would be a cute accessory in my kitchen. i went through a sunflower phase when decorating one of my many college kitchens and this is a much cooler updated look for the sunflower with it's bold black print.

again, the peacock theme. aren't these pillows great? i think part of the reason i will never have an all red, white and black home is because i love the peacock motif too much to give it up.

and this peacock bandeau will be perfect for our summer dips at our favorite little swimming hole on the tualatin river.


so what do you think? pretty amazing isn't it. i can't wait to see the collection in person and i'm counting down the days.

back and ready to decorate

i'm back from my work project out at the portland spring home and garden show. it was a great but very busy week. so much so that i needed a couple of days to decompress to clear my head.

the main thing i took away from the show is that i am ready for spring. a few sunny days here in portland and that's what happens to us. of course the rain will come back again soon but in the meantime, i hope to get a little pre-spring decorating done at home.


and nothing says spring to me more than the beautiful and artful home accessories by tord boontje. i have wanted something of his for several years so hopefully, this year, i will make it happen. i love the way he incorporates nature into all of his designs.

i would love a set of these...

these panels could work for curtains, wall hangings or even a cool shower curtain.

he does the most amazing lighting fixtures.

how long do you think it takes to cut this out?

this pendant would be so perfect for my dining room.

ooh, maybe these dishes instead?

his version of "toile" wallpaper?


what do you think? don't you just love it all!