The February 2008 Domino; (rightfully) pouty cover girl Zooey Deschanel; and the $3,500 pair of sconces featured on page 25
Domino, the plucky Conde Nast decorating title, will curtsy its way off the shelter mag stage with its March issue, joining Country Home, Cottage Living, O at Home and a slew of others when it does so. It wasn’t a lack of readers (its circ—exaggerated or not—was around 800,000); nor a dearth of substance (the ideas and photography were generally bar none). What’s the issue, you ask? Click MORE for my turn on the soapbox.
This kid walked straight off the streets of Berlin and into my heart. Not really. Truth: he was shopping with a friend and we tore him away for a Video Look Book!
It didn’t make the clip, but this newly signed model (and Obedient Sons and Daughters intern and Parsons freshman) told me that his dream would be to photographed by Hedi Slimane. In his Dior Homme days, don’t you think Hedi would have been head-over-heels for Nick?
On the Christina, right, DIY polka-dot eyeglasses—a girl after my own heart.
Sasha and Michelle Obama; first daughters, Malia and Sasha
The sartorial surprise-hit at today’s inauguration? Not Aretha’s hat or Michelle’s dashing Isabel Toledo getup but the effervescent color donned by Obamettes: Sasha and Malia. Back in November when the Obamas took the stage at Grant Park, I was crushed to see little seven-year-old Sasha in head-to-toe black. Girl, you have your entire life to don basic black, but only in your youth can you rock out in pink and orange.
Clapboard homes in Fordlândia, circa 1930
Last night, Evening Music host David Garland brought my attention to Fordlândia, a new work by Johann Johannsson. The Icelandic composer/producer explores the utpopian town that Henry Ford built in Brazil in the late 1920s. Determined to control a major stake on rubber, which he needed for tires for his endless parade of vehicles, Ford created a little slice of America in the Amazon, replete with hamburger lunches, square-dance parties, and prohibition laws. The project turned out to be a big ol’ wreck: the rubber saplings didn’t grow (but mosquitos did) and machete-wielding local workers revolted, chasing managers from their white clapboard houses. Just when Ford thought he’d nailed it, scientists perfected super-economical synthetic rubber. But there’s one good thing to show for it—a stupendous album that invokes the triumph of nature over the machine.
The incredible, inimitable Home Hotel, Buenos Aires; photo courtesy of Home Hotel
New York: 12 degrees. Buenos Aires: 84 and sunny. This month Connecticut Cottages & Gardens published a story I wrote about the jaw-dropping home decor and contemporary art scene in the Argentine capital (call it ‘BA,’ baby). Click here to read.
Banana bread in bundt molds
A new life for a misshapen mesh tea infuser: fill it with confectioner’s sugar and gently tap it over cookies, pastries and breads for an oh-so-fine dusting of sweetness. Click MORE for pics plus the hands-down best banana bread recipe.
Before & After: Yard sale chair
Thank you to my friend Matty, who has graciously funneled the savvy, eco-conscious readers of his Mother Nature Network (MNN) green living blog over my way. Check out my Articles page where you can read how to transform your living space with construction paper and second-hand picture frames or read about Heath Ceramics, one of the chicest ethical and sustainable businesses around. Or browse the blog which is—and will be—chock-a-block with DIY decorating ideas, such as this $18 flea market find that’ll be included in my spring spray-painting primer. And if you’re not reading MNN—“the CNN of green”—it’s time to start.
Nymag.com videographer Jonah and I meandered through 30-degree Soho for 90 minutes yesterday before finding these two—Haluk, an artist and hat collector (he’s wearing a Philip Treacy) and Stacy, a curator at the National Arts Club. Thank goodness. Their fabulousness enabled us to end our mission and eat Calexico tacos and go home.
Personalized rubber stamp
The best presents I gave this year were personalized rubber stamps fit for stamping social stationery, business cards, notepaper, and more. I chose a decorative font from My Fonts, saved a file of the recipient’s name as a jpeg, and uploaded the file to Simon’s Stamps, an A-plus shop that delivers in a jiffy. I rounded out the gift with notecards, envelopes, and an ink pad from Paper Source (which I love) and presto, a gift that for less than $20 every time.
Wishful springking. Cherry blossoms, April 2008, Toyko
