Deconstructing music, art, and my kid's skirt

Have you heard the KCRW's Guest DJ Project? FANTASTIC. The premise is having non-musician type celebrities share 5 of their most influential songs...I think most guests come in with 20 or so and have to painfully whittle away at their list until they get it down to 5. Great project, great stories. Jennie Lewis and the Watson Twins are featured on Ms. Silverman's list and Loretta Lynn's "The Pill" is on Sarah Vowel's.
What would yours be?

My favorite guest DJ's are 1st and foremost, Sarah Vowel and her hysterical and smart musical choices, then Janeane Garofalo, Sarah Silverman, and even the oh-so-cutey batootey John Cusack, who can take himself a tad too seriously.....

On another note entirely.....

Bettina Hubby , who I read about originally in the New York Times Magazine, makes the most amazing clothes/artwork. I especially love her deconstructed jackets. She did a necklace made entirely of designer clothing tags. From her site:

All of Hubby's work is one-of-a-kind. Each piece is made from a garment that
already exists. She works primarily on a project-to-project basis and enjoys the
challenge of presenting work in new ways. Hubby’s practice revolves around
recycling loved garments from her client's wardrobes and reinventing pristine
vintage and concept for her collections.

I recently finished making an A line skirt for my daughter that is so bad it's good...it's still pretty because she is bewildered by anything other than that. The teenage girls at her school, "the tall girls" as she refers to them, sometimes wear clothes that don't match and that are often "humongo." She keeps asking me why in the world they do that! To her they are pretty girls who CHOOSE to wear tight brown leggings, sneakers and greenand black tops...some of them even wear preposterously small pony tails in short hair! Her favorite babysitter would be perfect except that she insists on sporting holes in the knees of her jeans...can you imagine?

I surprised her by bringing out a few photographs of my outfits from the eighties...oh the horror! She liked the prom dress but that's about where it ended.

These days you should see the joy in her eyes when I actually wear a dress...it's almost worth the trouble.

So wish I'd thoughtof it...

Gorgeous evening shots from the brilliant photo blog
3191

The whole idea of this makes me swoon.
Two friends, the span of a whole country separating them, and beautiful side by side pics of mornings and evenings. A perfect way to communicate, and connect.
Divine.

Best...of 2009!

I can't do it anymore...we're moving on to 2009!
Best Travel Article:
The New York Times ran a really great travel article about one of my all time favorite Japanese novels! The Tale of Genji. I love it not only for the story but for the history. The Lady Murasaki, who wrote the first novel in her own invented written language, is a true inspiration.

I been yearning to go to Japan lately...I love reading the adventures of David Sedaris in this wildly intriguing country. I also read the whole of Anthony Bourdain's hilarious Kitchen Confidential during the holidays (Finally! I'd only read excepts before.) Near the end of the book he discovers the exotic culinary pleasures of Japan. He wrote in a way that made me crave fish and noodles for breakfast....

Best Radio Showof all time: This American Life

Best facial expressions! My kiddo!

Best new idea: I finally added the subscibe to this website feature!! AHHHH still learning so much. AlsoI accidentally wiped out my last favorite blogs feature...so I'm slowly adding them back.

BEST of 2008! Brilliance in Water and Fire!

BEST FIRE!

Best inspiration for sure! Fire features These two photos truly warm my little heart. Sculptural, Goldsworthiesque, and brilliant.

Best Bath

I love this tub. I have one more like the one pictured below. The problem is, without some sort of traction I could easily slide into next week. It's beautiful, modern, deep, but by the time I fill it with enough water I am so bloody buoyant, I find it hard to relax.

Best faucet. This is fantastic. It's perfect for odd spaces, small spaces and it says "low profile" and "modern" without making a big statement...let's let your back splash or appliances do that...

Best high: Target's 75% off Christmas clearance. I found some steals!

Best Miniseries: HBO's mini series John Adams. It was riveting. I learned a lot too. Laura Linney is an amazing actress. They did her make-up perfectly- usually none. It mde it feel so authentic- real flushes of cheeks, a complexion with, gasp, flaws.

More best tomorrow!

I'm Back!

I have been without a keyboard for several weeks of holiday time!
This is a sampling of the holiday festivities...
You'll notice Sophia holding the arm of her friend Emma....that led to Emma's assertion that Sophia had "saved her life."
While we were at the Christmas tree farm we took a tractor/hay ride out to the trees. I made sure the girls linked arms to secure them on their seats. When the trailer tipped in a rut Em almost spilled out...good thing they were linked!
Tomorow...The best of 2008!

Local talent!

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!