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Telluride photography

Ask KB FRIDAYS

KB,
Do you have any ideas for stocking stuffers for my very diverse and wacky family?
Cheers,
Wacked out by design

WOBD,
Do not fret! I am here to help!
2 stores my friend.
Great shipping right now too!


A celedon teacup ahhh so sweet... and bacon floss, perfect for brother (urban outfitters)... cocktail forks- so chic... tape dispenser for the old school uncle... a better herbal way for the old hippies at a+R....and cool plastic jewery for the hipsters, and safety first for you know who...

Hey Ruthie can you smell Christmas morning?

Sophia in her Kit gear at her Birthday party...

Picking apricots this fall for Christmas preserves.

More Kit stuff at her birthday.

Get a load of the type writer, you know those things before keyboards...

Kit makes preserves too! I didn't succumb to buying this because I realize I would be projecting my will onto my "poor" child, however...

I got the bed! Putting her girls to bed is one of her all time favorite things to do!

Miss Ruthie!

I think I may have to consider ordering these delights from My Boulangerie for that special morning when Sophia wakes up and sees that Santa has been busy recreating the American Girl Doll dream. She really wants Ruthie, Kit's best friend. I'm not so secretly excited she wants all the 1929 Kit Doll stuff. I love it. The lessons about the Great Depression and tightening one's purse strings will probably be lost on her as her Mother went a little overboard on the Kit bedroom set, jammies and the doll...I'm cutting back on other things..... ya, I really I am.
I'm giving preserves to my friends and neighbors...

Probably not these from my Boulangerie, but aren't they great glasses!

These are one of my favorite candies in all the world! Dark chocolate orange rinds.

Mmmm I can smell Christmas already.

Bloody BrillianT

The Everything is possible, Me in Cancun.

We stayed at the ME by Melia in Cancun for 3 days before heading down to Tulum. It was a concept hotel that I loved and cringed at simultaneously.


The first shot is of the restaurant called Salt. When we were there they had gorgeous white curtains separating the tables - it was very dramatic in the evening!
During the day they had a splendorous breakfast buffet. A buffet to end all buffets! Custom smoothies, crepes, waffles, 12 different kinds of cream cheese for artisan bread and lox combinations, fruit galore, regional Mexican dishes like a tomatillo enchilada that I am determined to re-create. There was every kind of egg dish, omelet bar, toppings for pancakes and waffles, Mexican hot chocolates, juices, pastries...it was obscene. I had to go in with a plan, a strategy reallyso that I didn't eat too much, yet sample as many delicacies as possible....ahhh vacation.
The lobby was magnificently modern. The pool with sculptural bathers was really stunning.

Sophia loved it too. It was good to stay a mere 3 days. Sophia could get used to being the Eloise of ME.




Really fantastic art installations everywhere.

Simple and elegant planters. These were about 3 feet tall.

The giant wood sconces were fantastic. They really glowed.

Cute, and fresh floral displays.

The furnishings were simple, elegant and clean. As you stepped out of the elevator a giant screen played a loop of a black and white version of Sex and The City. Fun.

Both the Me and Ana y Jose in Tulum were very international. We were definitely the minorities as Americans. It was kind of refreshing.

I'm sure many people wouldn't bring their children to this very chic hotel but Sophia would disagree. She loved it, the pool especially.



There were several hokey "concept hotel" quirks. For example, every time we passed a staff member they would make a hand over heart gesture that seemed a bit contrived. As I approached the spa desk after a grueling session on the stair stepper the desk clerk told me it was his pleasure to hand me a towel. Really? A pleasure?

It also seems high end hotels insist on piping in signature scents these days. The Me had a nice scent but it could be overpowering at times. I wish it had been more subtle.

Another favorite of Sophia's is room service. We indulged her one night. She ate bare naked and loved it.









The best thing for us? The hilarious button on the phone....the "Everything is possible" button. We only used it to get someone to come up and explain the remote control but just having it there, made me smirk.

Coqui Coqui

When we were in Tulum, I stumbled upon the most delicious little perfumery right smack on the beach! I bought little candles, bath oil in an agave scent and a light coconut perfume. I also found some beautiful handmade silk ribozas (scarfs that the indigenous women wear for dancing on special occasions). LOVE IT!
The hardware on this cabinet reminds me of something my friend Pam would love. It is her birthday today! Happy Birthday Pammy!!
The shop was so rustic chic! MMMMM, mmmm, mmmm!

To TULUM!

I'll be in Tulum for a while...

AHHHHH I'll post again on Dec. 1st

Happy Birthday MOM!

babes, bikinis and hard drinkin'

The Last time my little one was in Mexico was 4 years ago!

She has been to other beaches since but it's fun to remember...

This time she has a whole arsenal of Spanish at her disposal. She can ask to go to the bathroom, ask to get her water bottle, count to 99, recite her colors and say hello and goodbye. FLUENT! Just like Mama!

4 years ago, A dear friend of mine was just coming off chemo and our families decided to test her health in a nice, safe, germ free third- world environment- clever bunch aren't we!? We had a magical time.

To tie this post in with the whole design aspect I seem to be running with, let me just say, we found some very inspiring finds- 2 beautiful lamps that we drug home for my friend, a weighty cactus wood bowl, and some woven lampshades that I was convinced I'd be using in my new home but never really did-even though we haggled hard for them.

I find the Mexican use of natural fibers to be very intriguing:

Palapas, fencing, floor mats, woven hammocks, coconut shell daiquiris...
maybe it's the "I'm on vacation" lifestyle I enjoy so much....

Near Ixtapa, Mexico.

Modern Musicals

ONCE

Best musical I've seen in ages- fantastic Film....Scott called it "some damn musical from Netflicks," that is until he saw it. He loved it. He's Mad fer it, as am I.
ENJOY.
Notice the battered guitar-love the story behind it and that he still uses it. The best stuff has the patina of personal history.

A little bird told me...

Figs and Ginger! Love this jewelry company. The Necklace reminds me of my friend Heather who has four of the cutest little New Englanders you've ever seen!

I'm thinking of Rob, the pappa- and wishing him health and lung power!!

29 forever...When I was born this was hot!

Lordy! So glad we've evolved!

I think my mom had this bread box!

Me and my mom- thanks for all the hard work- I know I wasn't easy.
What I'm most proud of to date!
I'm usually a little bit embarrassed by my Birthday- don't know why...I could trace it back to my 3rd grade teacher snapping at me about not being so special even if it was my birthday... but...ok I guess I just did.