A few important notes:

Yes.



Yes.



YES



Yes.



Yes.



Hell yeah.



The free overnight shipping still blows my mind. It shouldn't. But it does.

Leah's latest:

Miss Leah of Revival Home & Garden has got new tricks in store now:


"Drum roll, please... MetroSofa has arrived. What is MetroSofa, you ask? A fabulous company that finds and refurbishes vintage furniture frames and, with the help of their upholsterers, transforms them with fabulous contemporary fabrics and finishes.

Last week we received our first shipment from them, what I'm sure will be the first of many, as three of the pieces are already being held for customers. We are currently the exclusive Seattle retailer for MetroSofa, which makes us even happier to have them in the store."

You can read more HERE and get directions to the store, or contact info if you live in, say, Philly, and need her to arrange shipping for you.

Loving this blog:

Trick My Brick

Flameless candles - yes or no?

My good instrincts say no. But last weekend when hanging out in my backyard late into the evening, the candles kept going out. Hmm. A dilemma.

See candle HERE.

The mystery remains.

Where is Agathe?

Fashion bloggers are addicted. You might remember here HERE.

But she's gone.

Maybe not gone (because someone reports below that she's logged into Facebook and approved some friend requests), but she's not blogging anymore and has basically gone missing.

Style Bubble
Eye Eclectic
Fashion Haley
The Coveted
Since we are decor freaks more than we are fashion freaks, I thought you would enjoy THIS post of hers, since it combines the two loves.


I hope she just gave the finger to blogging for a while and is doing just fine.

Almost gone.

An institution is closing its doors. Great article about it HERE.

Jamie Mears is NOT happy with you, Kristin Van Ogtrop.

Jamies Mears is NOT HAPPY. Read it HERE.

Or just read it here:

read this letter written by kristin van ogtrop from the june real simple. (click on image to see full size...)

and then think about what she just wrote. and published. in a magazine.

if i really was ignorant enough to do this, i’d be embarrassed to tell it.

kristin. its 2008. we don’t fill up dumpsters with "stuff" until they are full, and then RECOMMEND it to others as THRILLING.

you're not a construction worker. you aren't demolishing something. its not ground zero. there's no rubble to remove.

there is absolutely no excuse for having enough things you cannot DONATE, RECYCLE, REUSE, or otherwise do something else with- to fill up a dumpster in your driveway.

its so irresponsible.

an editor's letter sets the tone for the issue. its a (much sought after) forum to offer advice, set an example, and encourage your readers to apply the things found in the magazine to their own lives.

kristin, if everyone of your readers filled up a dumpster, do you know how much shit would go sit in a landfill?

where do you think it goes? or does it not matter, as long as its not in YOUR basement.

the whole article is sickeningly bourgeoise.
i'm not suggesting she go hug a tree, but really?
(or maybe those were tossed out too in the scorched earth clean up)



I heart Jamie. But I would NOT cross her.

Serena... listen up:

General notes for the Gossip Girl crew:

Lydia Hearst: GET OFF MY FUCKING SHOW. Gossip Girl doesn't need you. You look like Nellie on Little House on the Prairie and there is NO WAY Chuck Bass would ever go for your skinny white ass.




Chuck: You wear more foundation than Ru Paul. Tell make-up to go easy on the Ben Nye foundation. Seriously.




Serena: You have the southern California version of Madonna's fake accent. What the fuck is up with your voice? And as much as we are all supposed to love your Kate-Moss-inspired wardrobe, guess what? I don't. Don't love it at all. What was up with that 70s yellow carnation of a dress you were wearing? Dumb. And the gloves? Come on. Also: you're super boring.



Eric van der Woodsen (Connor Paolo): Every time I see you on screen I think, "Good fucking God. This kid MUST have learned to act in NY where every young actor overacts like they are on Broadway, or God forbid, an episode of Fame. Guess what? I was so f-ing RIGHT! Tone it down, cupcake, or Los Angeles will never come calling.



Blair. You are horrible, rotten, no good, bitchy & conniving. Keep up the good work! The way you cut down that imposter bitch was FAB.U.LOUS. You are Heathers reincarnated. Love it.


I don't love much television. But I *really* love Gossip Girl. Good work, team.

If you like to cook or want to learn...

you MUST get THIS book.

Lovely. Just one photo & cooking tip per page. It's like a fine culinary text for ADD types.


Oh, and I cannot wait to get THIS one. I love HER RADIO SHOW. Love, love, love. If you're the kind of person who, like me (and JJ) who can kill about an hour on a road trip just talking about our favorite fried foods (fried Snickers? Battered and fried green onions...) then you will love her radio program. You can probably even find it on the internets.

White hot.

From the always perfect Vogue Living Australia.

I had to have them.

And now I do.

Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure

How many of you have read this?

Did you like it? Was it useful?

(Update: So the reason I asked this is because we know that the author is also the guy behind the Apartment Therapy website. I guess I expected this book to be kinda cheeky and smart, but I am astounded how poor the writing is. He writes about things like he's an alien who has just landed on Earth:

"Apple's products for computer music are terrific." Yes, he wrote that.

I refuse to believe he's not a cool guy. I am sure he is. I just wish the book had a little more personality.

Nevertheless, it did inspire me to start purging my house. I started with my closet. It's scary. Scarier are the things I have been holding onto. Red cowboy boots? Those should have been burned 4 years ago. So embarrassing.

Anyway... I know I am like 3 years late, but I guess on am doing the "Cure.")

What one thing could you do before labor day....

that would seriously change your life?

Here are 3 things I am going to do:

1) See a specialist to fix pesky problem on my foot that makes walking difficult (seems like a dumb thing to keep putting off, no?).

2) Use more hairspray. Not kidding. My friend Tracy has glorious hair. It is coarse, thick, and stunning in its honey-colored goodness, but above all... it's perfectly styled ALL THE TIME. I asked her the other day, "How do you keep the perfect (I am talking-red-carpet-ready) loose curls in your hair all day?" She answered: "Hairspray. Lots of it. I did my hair YESTERDAY."

That sealed the deal for me. In order to keep my kinda wimpy hair in check, bitch is gonna spray the shit out of it. In fact, I am rocking some pretty fluffy chic hair at the moment, thanks to Salon Grafix Freezing Hair Spray, the modern girl's Aqua Net.

3) Lose 10 pounds. I would like to lose more. But honestly, when you have a big goal, you need to start with manageable chunks. So 10 lbs. in a month. I can do this.

That's all. If I do those 3 things by Labor Day, my life will be much better.

I mean, the hair already is.


So what's your thing gonna be?

Armchair traveler.

Vernazza, Italy.

I am an excellent armchair traveler. When I need to get my travel on but I can't exactly leave the country in a moment's notice, I go to travelblogs.org, where you can find all kinds of blogs from regular people who have traveled around and documented it all on this site. You can search for nearly any country or city and find it here. The photos are often quite impressive.

Another cool travel site is couchsurfing.com where you can sign up and find people in cities all over the world who will host you in their home towns. You sign up for whatever level of "hosting" you can manage... everything from offering up your couch for a night, to just meeting up with someone for coffee and showing them around your city. It's a very cool project.


Santorini, Greece image found HERE:

Let's go.

Let's go here.


From NYTimes.com travel section...