Tail of the Yak

One of my favorite things I ever bought was a role of tape that says 'je t'aime'. I still have it. I bought it at Tail of the Yak in Berkeley, near the intersection of College and Ashby. Berkeley...

Creative Couples

It is safe to say that the tone to my day is set in some way by the influential images and easy writing of both The Sartorialist and Garance Dore. They are a couple. They are amazing. The best word I can think of when I look at this photo is Harmonious.

FALL is HEAVEN

Simplicity at its best. I love this outfit so much my heart is racing.

Image from Araks fall show.

Best of Spring 2010 *In no particular order.

VANESSA BRUNO

MARK FAST

STELLA MCCARTNEY

ISABEL MARANT

PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND

DURO OLOWU

TRUSSARDI 1911

MARNI

ALEXANDER WANG

THAKOON

my FALL song

Mostly 'Starstruck' but also the entire album.

Unknown Legend

I don't know if I've heard this song 5 times or fifty times, but each time I have loved it. The lyrics speak to my life's experience, or life's philosophy, I'm not sure which.

If you've seen 'Rachel Getting Married' then you may remember the scene where the groom sings this song to his bride. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The thoughtful moment of real time. When I saw that scene, I thought to myself, 'THIS song. THIS song!" Just beautiful.

graceful fumbling.

Some of my favorite mornings are those where I wake up earlier than expected, for no particular reason, and throw together an outfit that ends up being perfect, an outfit I'd never pick out with more time or more important places to go. This typically happens on a day off, usually during the odd weekday off, no shower, maybe some eyeliner and I'm out the door.

I tend to spend days like this running errands. Fun errands. Could be a trip to the post office, could be a stop for a coffee or tea. A random purchase (Stationary? A gift for a friend's baby)? The idea is to be blissfully, if subconsciously, disheveled. An armful of packages and last minute letter decorating supplies, like tape, worn as a bracelet. Two different bags for different reasons. One pen here, one magazine there, messy hair, and who gives a rat's ass?

When I am on the go with nowhere to be, I am always at my best. I may be holding up the line a little, I may be carrying too many things at once (something I am oddly drawn to do), but I can guarantee that I am happy.

P.s. Jane Birkin is that girl

The Easy Wedding

I love people who do it all. I love admirable women who do it all, who appear thoroughly creative in every avenue they pursue. Milla Jovovich is one of these women. Mother, singer, actress, model, fashion designer. I love her somewhat throw-away, layered, thirties gone seventies glamour style. She seems to experiment her way through life, and I find that inspiring.

p.s. look at how smiling & happy the people are in the background

*Top photo by The Sartorialist from style.com

Airstream summers

The other night I went to a spa party. Have you ever been to one? I never had. This spa party was about 6 girls gathered together at a place called Moondance Botanicals. In between applying cocoa face masks and drinking champagne, we all closed our eyes and made a wish and then shared our wishes. Everyone except me wished for some version of a country life. Each wish included the words farm, animals, garden.

I definitely have my own bucolic reverie. I am habitually conjuring my future with varying shades of wellington boots, messy ponytails, and chipped nail polish all set in a modernized farmhouse surrounded by pine trees and wildflowers.

There I am baking bread, barefoot, waving down a long dirt driveway. I dream of throwing huge parties where the guests stay in random Airstreams and tents that are scattered around the property (hopefully by a lake or pond). At these parties there is loud music blasting, tables lined with food, a trampoline, dogs...

Sometimes I have a coastal Maine vision. An open grassy field with an elevated wood-plank walkway that cuts trough from the gravel parking lot to the house. There might be a barn, boulders in random spots, a windmill? Other times I see vague images of the house from Housesitter with Goldie Hawn and Stever Martin, the one with a separate house for the bedroom.

Then there is the what-could-actually-happen-dream. In that dream I am surrounded by high ceilings and big windows. Hard wood floors made of wide beams. Somewhere a long and heavy wooden table. Lots of natural light, color, and a balance of open spaces and cozy. I want an entire cabinet filled with beautifully aged quilts for guests and for winter. I want a fire pole. I want an outdoor shower.

Isn't there a freedom to the country that you can't find anywhere else? I think that the silence of the country is what can be the most uncomfortable for people. Time has a different value when you are living closer to our historical human experience. The silence of seeing things differently. The weight of time lifted by the freedom to live the way one chooses. With or without a rowboat.

Fever Ray

Ooh, didn't this just come at the best time.