outdoor bathing. maybe later

one day, when we have that great little house by the water..there will be the outdoor shower. there is nothing like bathing in the open air (summer of course, unless you live in palm springs a bit more year round).
i took this shot recently at the ace hotel, palm springs. they converted an old howard johnson motel, into this modern, casual and welcoming trendy hotel (a bit too trendy for my grandma pace).
props to their design team....they actually made this cinder block wall a bit softer by painting it white, and functional with a shower next to the pool. you would think a practical option, but the pool was not chlorinated, so the whole weekend i did not see one person partake. at least it was nice to look at.

the race is on...how neutral can i go

i'm a sucker for the bark, dirt and straw pallet. i know...everyone keeps telling me it is tired, but i promise to never tire of it.
i'm officially on the hunt for that great woolly blanket with the wide stripes in neutrals. its so casual LUX to me, but i'm not sure if i could be any more broad in discription.
lets take a moment and take note of the wonderful fern as well...our SPLASH of color.

the best cab ride of my life

i'm back from a long haul to asia. everyone said i must take as many inspiration pictures as i could.....well, there was no time at the end of the day, but i have to say everything i could dream of was in a taxi ride to a show room in Hong Kong.
i mean does this guy get it or what. he is bringing some sunshine and life along with him at work. the way he has this old plastic bottle fastened to the dashboard with an old piece of wire is perfect, and then his little bouquet of flowers doesn't get any better.
the best cab ride ever....his vibe was good and he was playing some patsy cline on the radio.
sorry about the dark quality of the photo...it doesn't do the feeling and emotion justice. used the old cell phone.

its all about the chairs

can you imagine having 4 french, leather chairs in your living room?? this room is so great!! love the wooden crate coffee table too.

you could lock me in here....

all day and all night. i don't think i would have to go outside as often if i had this space. the windows are amazing and what is even more amazing is that the open.
trying to not be too dramatic in how i would describe this room, but i have to say "too die for"

when in doubt, brown bag it

someone delivered a great little bunch of peony's today. (thanks Loops) and they were in that typical brown paper that i tend to hoard and use for wrapping up things.
this time i just decided to wrap an old jar and tie it up with some twine.
brown paper = (free to me)
twine = $1.99 a roll
look = priceless
this is one we can all do and do it well. if you don't want to take the time to wrap up a sheet of paper you can just get a small brown bag, scrunch it up into a ball then..un-scrunch it, roll the top down a few turns (to give it a rim) and use any vessel you want to put inside and drop in the flowers.
(2nd shot an attempt at artsy)

best prop in the house

i couldn't resist. i do have to say B-Mo blends in well with the house...neutral.

primative picnic

this is so quaint and charming.... and if i ever have a great old painted canoe like this i am going to try and re-create this atmosphere. cheers to all of you following the traditional memorial day bbq.
gourmet july 2008

perfect weekend vacation

or should i say long weekend vacation. i get to stay home for 3 days and couldn't ask for a better little vacation retreat. its great being home with no plans. i get to do what i love the most...get up late, dig out magazines from the last year, hit the flea & farmers markets in between naps.
ha...

2 new loves

my first new love is this camera i just got as a gift. tonight i decided i needed to see what 7:45pm lighting would look like on film (no flash). not bad for getting a quick shot this late in the evening. its a great point and shoot...auto everything. just my kind of camera.
but, the real focus is about these olives. i'm not a huge fan of stuffed olives, but i was at the farmers market near work and this vendor from central california has this sea of olives for tasting. i got a little closer and realized half of them were stuffed....but she begged (ha) me to try this blue cheese stuffed olive with fresh fig glaze. um...can i say i am in love. these are by M & CP farms. if you are in SF, you can get this at the UCSF campus flea market on Wednesday's between 10-3.

kitchen envy

don't we all have some sort of kitchen envy??? i know i do and it is almost every day. we landed this great appartment almost 3 years ago (rental) that has all its original details except for the kitchen cabinets (i think they are low-end home depot) otherwise the place has all the charm you could ever want. actually, i have some major issues with the bathroom too...but i'll hit that one another time.
every day i want to take the matters into my own hands and pay for the renovation...but have to contain myself and remind myself that i cant pack it up and take it away...at least that seems like the kind of move that would break you down. heee...
heres the real reason why i am posting this one and i will have to sound a little juvenile in this posting: i want that cabinet, i want that table and i REALLY want to taste that olive oil in that great bottle.
This is from interior designer Amanda Mahoney's french and belgian-inspired kitchen and 18th century armoire. found in Australian vogue living

Late, Late, Late

a photo my father took of my mother back in the 60's. i have never framed this one, but just keep it floating around my place leaning here or there.
its a late happy mothers day tribute to one of the most beautiful women i know, and it is hard to imagine that her heart is more beautiful than this photo.