4 Days To Go

Four more days and I'll be in NYC with Abigail Ahern.

I'm nervous and excited about what we'll talk about in her masterclass.

It's a deal.

People Magazine will be there.  And a camera crew.  And other press to document the day.

What I'm most anxious about is what going to this class means.

It means I'm doing this.  

No more pussy-footing around.  It's time to put myself out there and tell the universe

I'm ready for more.

Tamale Time

Last week my friend, Addie, taught me how to make tamales.

OMFG they were so good.

They tasted like heaven in my mouth.

We made them small and spicy {fruit roll-up sized} with chicken or cheese.

I liked to drown them in her homemade tomatillo salsa.

The next day she dropped off a container full of her salsa.

Probably because I couldn't stop talking about it...the entire evening.

That night I made shrimp tostadas for dinner and I couldn't believe how much the girls loved them.

They called it their 'favorite dinner ever' and went on and on about it,

and I understood how Addie felt the night before.

Luckily the salsa was too spicy for everyone but me.

I finished it off by the spoonful, eating it like soup.  Like a savage.

Yoshitomo Nara

I was in Madison this weekend and bought this children's book at MMoCA.

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist

who paints mainly 2-D, sulky, angst-filled cartoon characters.

Art critic Sharon Mizota describes his work this way:

"Nara's children, with their oversized heads, milk-saucer eyes and blunt, pawlike limbs look infantile and defenseless, but far from innocent.  They sneak sidelong glances and grimace knowingly, hinting at some secret transgression or imagined subversion."

I would die to have his art in my living room.  

Like this.

 {via Pinterest}

Mick De Giulio

Chicagoan Mick De Giulio designed this years House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year.
It's super glam and gorgeous.

walnut cabinet for pots and pans

butler's pantry

{images via HB}

Ashley Whittaker

This is it.

The perfect peacock blue.  

This is the color I imagine in my family room.

It's so good I want to cry.

I like this wallpaper for my laundry room.

{images via Ashley Whittaker Design}

Ashley Whittaker is such a talent. She makes traditional look stylish and new.

Nuevo Estilo

I spent two hours devouring the interiors in Nuevo Estilo last night, 

a web magazine from Madrid.

The contrasting time-worn feeling of the architecture and modern furniture did me right.

It scratched the itch I've been feeling recently

which is boredom from seeing the same interiors over and over.

Because even if homes have different addresses it's likely they have the exact same kitchen

 with Carrera marble, and matching back splashes, and white cabinets, 

etcetera.

Don't get me wrong...I love classical.  

But when you spend your free time trolling the same websites, blogs, Pinterest,

it's a breath of fresh fucking air to see something new.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

 {images via Nuevo Estilo}

Jonathan Adler

I love the new bath accessories by Jonathan Adler.

They are bold. And fresh. And fun. Much like him I would assume.

 {shop here}

I mean...his beach house says it all.

{images via AD}

La Fiorentina

It's Christmas in July.

Or my birthday and Mother's Day rolled in to one glorious day.

Seven splendid yards of David Hicks' La Fiorentina fabric was delivered to my house yesterday.

I am giddy with excitement to finally recover the chairs flanking my dining room sideboard.

Its been a long road {years} of indecision to finally pick the perfect fabric.

It's just what the space needs to add some spice. 

Thank you Mr. Hicks.  

And eBay.

House of Windsor

I read that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin bought this Brentwood home 

for $10.45 million.

Originally built as a concept house and architecturally designed by Windsor Smith, 

each room is arranged by ten different designers.

This home may be my new #1.

This kitchen...holy shiznit.

 Yes.

{images via Veranda}