Mad about Revolutionary Road

If you love Madmen...you'll love Revolutionary Road.

And the glorious Winslet defines what makes an actress great, blazing commitment
to a character and the range to make every nuance felt. Winslet's last scene, as
April prepares breakfast for a husband who can't see the torment behind her
smile, is emotionally devastating. This movie takes a piece out of you.

From: Rolling Stone

I held my breath for more than a few scenes in this movie. Nothing like a hard, intense, emotionally charged movie to make me think about it for days....and not just about all the set details like the perfectly ordinary bohemian blue plates in all the kitchen scenes, or the way she peels potatoes on the very cluttered kitchen table, or the kitschy items on Millie's make-up table...it was the raw emotions, the relationships between the couples, the link between the novel and the arch of the story that really impressed me. The plot details are interesting for their place in history...but the dynamics between people and family life are startlingly timeless.

Tasty and also Tasteless: Dedicated To sweet Nick

Car bomb Cupcakes did you see this post and recipe? Several years ago our dear friend Nick remarked, with intense disdain, that calling a bar drink a "car bomb" was so bloody offensive and incendiary that he couldn't fathom that it could be uttered anywhere in the country much less Ireland... this coming from a man who loves to be...how shall I put this, sooooooooooo POLITICALLY INCORRECT he could make frat boys blush.

I can't wait to make these for him.

consume o'consumer in these copiously cute cups

Love this cheeky and oh , so simple little tea cup by Bailey Doesn't Bark-

These were brought to my attention from the great blog Oh Joy!

So delicate and lovely, no?
I post so many of these desirable little consumer goods, not to inspire wild spending but to cultivate the appreciation of good design, aesthetic inspiration, and to keep my eye on trends and classics, novelty and brilliance... so enjoy.

P.S. These are from my little pet web site etsy...they urge all to make the handmade pledge.

Snow Peek -a boo

This is right outside my office door! I love it!

"8" Great chairs Hi and Lo

HIGH!
$585 Fun find from Eurotrend USA

LOW
From Scotch and Soda around $85 Maybe you like the concept but lack the room...or you have a sunburn and need to stand...more about that later.

LOWEST!

From PB Teen $50! Dorm chic? Family room wit? Comfy, yes!

HIGH

More high concept seating from $500-$600 -Eurotrends USA (top and bottom.)

Also High

Fabulously Low

$284 for 2! I love these! So afforadable...and not just for the dining table! They make great side chairs or desk chairs.


Just Fabulous! 2 for $175!
These can be indoor or outdoor! I just wouldn't suggest tanning in them unless you want fractal thighs....which is a "look" I suppose. Use a high SPF though for heaven sake!

Base desires, perfect banquette seating

Banquette table bases are as varied as table designs in general. The interior above by Frank Roop
is a play on the trumpet style base.
I have a client who will be installing a banquette dining table. She will have the typical built in seat in the back and several chairs in the front and at the head of the table. It may not be immediately clear to everyone but certain considerations apply when choosing the perfect table to create comfortable banquette seating.

This Hicks glass top table works beautifully for banquet seating. It's ridiculously affordable and allows adequate clearance to swing one's legs underneath. The proper table base is key to the "scootching" in factor. The worse thing in the world is to bump your knee on a table leg like the modern farm table below -ouch! (Also by West Elm.)

work and design -

Another beautiful table but painfully wrong for banquette seating arrangements. This one needs to float in a room.

I really love the base on this cocktail table and don't see why the gravity defying base would work for a larger scale dining table. It also has that modern rustic, nature inspired, clean design that delights the shazam out of me!

Branch designed by Ruth Livingston

This very architectural number would also work for knee swiveling action!

Context Furniture

Outdoor In

This time of year...the light is slowly creeping back...but I'm not too eager for spring. I haven't skiied nearly enough or watched my handsome husband shovel the snow with his big muscles, or seen my sweet little girl master ice skating...so I'm enjoying the season's pleasures...slowing down to enjoy the exposed and barren landscape, the empty canvas of white snow eager to make tracks...

Rock with Moss

David Wisemen

I thought the up close and personal version would show unsightly cords and wires. It's simplicity is a marvel-wow.

another clever little coat rack-perfect for the weekend cabin, a typical Colorado mudroom, the ironically themed New york City apartment, a little boy's room-oooh I see it now WPA National Park posters super sized on the walls, boy scout manual on the bedside table, a big faux bois rug, lumberjack sheets and a big flannel throw....

by

Velocity art and design

Fantasy photos for true life

NailPolish

I love Julie Blackmon's work!! She is brilliant and fresh and hilarious and provocative and my new fave!

This one ( above) is called Trampoline from her new work. I found this amazing artist through Please Sir . Thank you Diana!!

Floatie

The Artist's statement:

Domestic Vacations:

The Dutch proverb “a Jan Steen
household” originated in the 17th century and is used today to refer to a home
in disarray, full of rowdy children and boisterous family gatherings. The
paintings of Steen, along with those of other Dutch and Flemish genre painters,
helped inspire this body of work. I am the oldest of nine children and now
the mother of three. As Steen’s personal narratives of family life
depicted nearly 400 yrs. ago, the conflation of art and life is an area I have
explored in photographing the everyday life of my family and the lives of my
sisters and their families at home. These images are both fictional and
auto-biographical, and reflect not only our lives today and as children growing
up in a large family, but also move beyond the documentary to explore the
fantastic elements of our everyday lives, both imagined and
real. The stress, the chaos, and the need to
simultaneously escape and connect are issue that I investigate in this body of
work. We live in a culture where we are both “child centered” and
“self-obsessed.” The struggle between living in the moment versus escaping
to another reality is intense since these two opposites strive to
dominate. Caught in the swirl of soccer practices, play dates, work, and
trying to find our way in our “make-over” culture, we must still create the
space to find ourselves. The expectations of family life have never been
more at odds with each other. These issues, as well as the relationship
between the domestic landscape of the past and present, are issues I have
explored in these photographs. I believe there are moments that can be
found throughout any given day that bring sanctuary. It is in finding
these moments amidst the stress of the everyday that my life as a mother
parallels my work as an artist, and where the dynamics of family life throughout
time seem remarkably unchanged. As an artist and as a mother, I believe
life’s most poignant moments come from the ability to fuse fantasy and
reality: to see the mythic amidst the chaos.





Julie Blackmon

Cupcake

Dinner Party

Green Velvet
This one reminds me of how I usually feel about the canines...however I read the most amazing post on my friend's Art Farm blog. I cried like a baby. Then I read it to my husband. I choked out every word, tears streaming down my face. Her dog story is so moving and heart wrenching. I think she should write a screenplay about her life and her farm- it would be snatched up immediately.

"Time to set aside those childish things..."

This blog is about inspiration. Everyone who creates needs images, words and relationships that feed the imagination.
Today is such a powerful day. Our new president Barrack Obama delivered a speech that I will not ever forget. I find our president to be a most inspiring leader, not because of what he says but because of his deep humility, maturity, sense of duty, integrity and honor. In his inaugural speech today he quoted wise men of the the past, invoked a sense of obligation in our citizens and above all inspired those of us who want our nation to heal, thrive and become true to it's word to do exactly that in our actions everyday.

I am a well of pride for our county right now. Never before have I wanted to hang an American flag in front of my home. I bought one on the day he was elected. I feel it sends a message of hope that all are created equal and our country can become a beacon again of goodwill, safe harbor, and security.

I can see "Courthouse" peak from the Cimarron Mountain Range outside my back door. It is truly a symbol of "purple mountain majesty."

The photos of my little one and her best friend remind me not just of our freedom here in the west but of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream. Today at Sophia's school the staff showed images of African American children being escorted to school during desegregation accompanied by soldiers. At the end of the slide show Sasha and Malia were shown being escorted by security as well. Times have changed. Thank goodness!
No matter your political beliefs, I wish all my readers a happy, and peaceful journey.
The time is now for us all to show civility and compassion. Collaboration often brings about the most interesting new creations!

Mad about behind the scenes!

Oooooooh Don's in trouble! Mama ain't happy! This was a great scene...doesn't she look perfectly petulant?

I miss Mad Men! I'm so looking forward to season 3! Get a load of those cups...I would love to find those somewhere.

I'm still Joan's biggest fan...perhaps I should go red again!

I'm going to see if I can hunt down a behind the scenes look at set design but until then...

Winter Wonders

This ice picture cracks me up! Sophia's school has quite a rink starting to grow in the front of the building...perhaps this could be a new recess activity! Found the photo here.

Modern Rustic at it's best!

I recieved an email today about a Valentine's getaway package at one of my favorite spots on the planet! Dunton Hotsprings is a remote and luxurious hide away.

I wrote my first blog post about our trip there.

It is a ridiculously stunning spot with fantastic dinners, a facsinating and romantic library and scenery that astounds and delights. I can't even begin to express how it made us feel to be the only guests there during a particular snowy weekend. We toured every cabin and soaked in the old school hotsprings tub (back in the day it was an outlaw hide-out...first bank robbers and then hippies and bikers.) We were able to go because some clients and friends decided we needed to...I am eternally grateful!

We did some snow shoeing then but now that I have my nordic skiis.... oh the fun we would have...

A summer view

This wall treatment is so great...the critter on the wall I could do without...

This last shot is called the Well House. The copper tub....one word...priceless.

I Felt the Light! I heard the eco*

Great price, great design! 2Modern is having a fantastic sample sale right now! Have I told you lately how much I love a good bargain?

Felt lighting people! On sale too...you could do these MIO capsules for a while and then pass them on if grow tired of them... or you could buy more and cluster them for a really amazing effect.

My only issue- and it's a minor one, is that they are hung by a white cord. White cords can be clean, modern, whimsical; but more often than not, they look like college or post college home furnishings (obviously cheap). Can you believe I'm complaining at this price though? I mean HONESTLY!

I've saved the best for last. As all of the above these are eco products! Go green...or am I not allowed to say that in '09? Green is still good but I think the buzz word police have banned the term and are opting for simply "sustainable."

The Hightower Gallery Stool is truly brilliant. I'd love to have four. I'd drag them in and outside, stack them like sculpture and even let sticky hands touch them...nothing a quick swipe of zen cleaner can't fix!

Pretty aren't they?