serge

have any of you seen gainsbourg a heroic life yet? it's showing here in portland at the living room theaters and i'm dying to go see it but i just haven't had time yet.

one of the unfair things in life is that i did not know about serge while he was still alive. i'm happy to have discovered him many years ago but oh to have seen him live would have been amazing. i guess that's another guest for my dinner with anyone living or dead!

by the way, i'm so sorry for my lack of posts lately. the month of august swirled by like a whirlwind and i'm still catching up. i had a great time in nyc that i still need to post about so i'll try to get that done soon.

can you believe tomorrow is the first day of fall? while fall is my favorite apparel season, i'm just not quite ready for the rainy weather to come back. it is still very beautiful here right now so i'm trying to get out as much as possible to enjoy it.

well, it's good to be back and i hope to get back to my blogging as much as possible. thanks so much for hanging in there with me and don't forget to check out my other blog for all things portland.

plus charlotte

well mes amis, i am off to nyc for the next 10 days. there are so many exciting things going on and i can't wait to get back to share them with you.

in the meantime, i would like to leave you with more of the beautiful charlotte.




images from rdujour

beautiful charlotte

i just can't get enough of the beautiful charlotte with child as seen on the film shot by todd cole.


thank you renee over at montmartre's sketchbook for sharing these beautiful images!

coco + kate

i have been meaning to post these great vintage posters from the musical coco, starring katherine hepburn. i found them over on rdujour. don't you just love them? i thought they would look fabulous on my blog!


with the resurgence of all of the coco chanel inspired films that have come out recently, it would be great to see a classic like this, originally starring kate for a brief run before she bowed out of the production.

i guess if i won't be able to see the broadway production any time soon, i'll have to read the book by alan jay lerner.

nina

oh man, i am just dying to listen to some nina right now. don't you just love her? i really wish i had seen her while she was still alive. definitely one of the people i would have at my dead or living dream dinner!

hurry up 5 o'clock!

last tango...

here is a little teaser for you.

i know i haven't followed up on my last post regarding my new short do. yes, i cut my hair, i love it, i just haven't had any pictures taken that are worthy of showing all of my blogging friends. as soon as i have lorenzo take some pics, i'll get them up here. i actually am loving it and want to go even shorter. weeee!

i have been working on a new project that i am really excited about so here is a little clue. as soon as i get it a little more curated, i'll let you all know. oh i can't wait!

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?

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

did someone say souffle?

while reading the english muse this morning, i discovered that the film breathless (a bout de souffle)has been remastered and is being re-released to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. this is one of my all time favorite french films and i can't wait to sit and enjoy it in my favorite portland theatre, cinema 21, when it hits portland in august.


and even cooler, is the fact that rodarte is recreating the famous new york herald tribune t-shirts jean seberg so casually rocks in the film. they will be available at barney's.

i MUST have one of those!

la belle lou

oh i was so excited today when i got on rdujour and found this article featuring my girl lou doillon at home. i already had a feeling that we would be great friend's if only we were to meet but now i am really convinced after seeing her pad. i mean, let me point out the similarities between lou and i.

we could share clothes 'cause you know how much i love the black and white combo (except that i'm not tall, skinny and leggy).


i have wallpaper in my dining room almost exactly like this so we could talk interior design.


lou has a little bulldog and i have a little boston terrier so our babies could have play dates.


our kitchens are decorated in the same haphazard way and my fridge has a collage of prints similar to these covering it. we could throw awesome cocktail parties out of our little kitchens.


i collect day of the dead memorabilia so we could compare our skull collections.


yes, i'm sure lou and i would have a great time together and if her actress/musician older sister charlotte wanted to stop by to hang, even better!

images courtesy of the french magazine l'officiel

sofia's style

i'm planning to cut a few inches off of my hair tomorrow and when i was looking for the style i like, i kept coming across images of sofia coppola. i have always really liked her hip yet classic style. she always looks put together but remains age appropriate and never dowdy. i also really like the way she often adds a little bit of masculinity to many of her ensembles.

who knows if her wavy cut will work with my stick straight hair but i'm going to try my own version of her angled bob. cross my fingers!










oh yeah, and her movies rock, too. i love, love, love lost in translation.

cannes it

the royal couple johnny and vanessa were out on the town while at the cannes film festival. ooh la la!








images courtesy of rdujour

claudie day

i was just thinking that some days i just want to look and feel like amelie. wouldn't life be great if all you had to do was run around paris looking cute as a lady bug, flirting with cute boys, and skipping stones in the canal st. martin? oh yes, i could handle that.

so i was looking for amelie inspired outfits and happened upon this wonderful french clothing line named claudie pierlot. it is the quintessential french/amelie ( be it a more grown-up version) of fashion.


in fact, here is my girl crush audrey tautou wearing claudie pierlot.


and if there was any question that i have fallen in love with this clothing line, i found this wonderful photo with her muse and logo, a little french bulldog somewhat resembling my little girl lulu found over here.


this is a perfect summer look for me, the sundress and boots. i love these boots by the way!



i love the contrast of this long silhouette with the little sailor's hat.


but this relaxed look with jeans and a striped sailor's shirt is more my style.


i wonder if you can find claudie in the us? the search is on.