Loving...On A Thursday

Lauren Manoogian's beautiful new line. And the lookbook is just beyond...

Studio loveliness at Small Trade Company via Renee and rows and rows of white books...

Oh and a close up of said books via Small Trade Company for your ogling pleasure.

And one more from Renee in the form of this Araks midnight blue whisper of bra via Anaise (or bralett if you will). Pretty, yes?

Chic girls in the snow at Milan fashion week via The Sartorialist. I have never, ever looked that chic in the snow (but then again, I'm not sure I've ever looked that chic in perfect weather...just sayin').

Santa Maria Novella Rosewater via Rip and Tan. I'm on a major rose kick right now. I just snapped up some rose oil and lotion at the Whole Foods, and I'm about to pull the trigger on the Le Feu de L'Eau Rouges candle via Michelle. So, so good...

Julianne Jones and Didier Murat and their dreamy Vermont bakery, Vergenes Laundry, on The Selby... And can we just pause to marvel at Julianne's arms for a moment. I need to get some of that arm action. Then again, that would require actually exercising...but more on that later.

Caitlin's lap weaving. I'm telling you friends, weaving...it's gonna happen. Full stop. 

Outtakes, Creative Collaborations, Falls, and Amazing Women...

"The hardest part of writing is writing." 

Nora Ephron

After spending the better part of the weekend writing, writing, writing, in an attempt to finish the Spring issue of D Moms, hearing the above quote by the late (and utterly brilliant) Nora Ephron during last night's Oscar telecast was especially poignant. I mean the woman is a freakin' creative genius, and she was vexed by writing. It's comforting somehow, really... So comforting, in fact, that upon hearing her say it, I may have taken a giant gulp of wine, yelled out, "AMEN SISTER," and then started laughing maniacally.

Suffice to say, Bryan and Audrey were frightened.

Due to the aforementioned writing fest, there are no weekend snaps to share on this fair Monday. There are, however, a few snaps from the D Moms shoots we did last week. Said snaps happen to be filled with a cadre of smart, creative, funny, amazing women like, say... (my D Moms partner in crime) the amazing Jamie Oliver, oh and Susan O'Brien and Mindy Bryd and Brittany Winter and Maureen Dalton Wolfe... and even my sweet Millie.

I am a little fried, I'm not gonna lie. But man do I feel lucky to work alongside women like these. And the fact that my daughter gets to be a part of it, to see what a collaborative, fun, challenging, rewarding work environment looks like? Huge, huge bonus. Despite minimal sleep and losing 7 inches of skin off my left knee due to a crazy spill I took on the street outside the shoot, I still walked away from the two days completely blissed out. Injured and tired but blissed out nonetheless.

It's good stuff.

Loving...On A Wednesday

Lee Radziwill's perfect Paris office... I want this office. Bad. (via I Love Your Style).

And this shot of her and Jackie via The New York Times... I love this image on so many levels. It's just so lovely and sweet and intimate.

Inez and Vindooh's images for Miu Miu's SS13 collection -- major still-life goodness.

And speaking of spring/summer... Last year's entire spring/summer collection from O'2nd. I am completely smitten with this line.

Ceramicist Valentine Schlegel's bedroom via Apiece Apart. The light...oh my.

The marble chair of my dreams by fashion (and furniture) designer Rick Owens. Just completely and utterly stunning. Done and done.

Some Scenes From The Weekend...

As weekends go, this one was a bit of a doozy. I'll spare you the grand details, but let's just say that there were 12 loads of laundry involved. Oy Vey.

In between laundry fest 2013, there were, however, some (immensely) bright spots...like, say, Friday afternoon's impromptu "grab the girlies early from school and join up with Janet and H for a road trip to Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden" (Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden being pretty much the coolest place on earth, full stop).

The daffodil extravaganza would have likely been enough to offset the mounds-o-laundry, but wait, there's more... I also received a belated valentines gift from the hubs in the form of a kickin' Breville Juice Fountain. That bad boy and I have become fast friends, and I'm now churning out kale/cucumber/celery/green apple/lemon/ginger juice like it's my job. It is just pure goodness.

Last but not least, there was a quick Sunday afternoon trip to Zara to make a return. Millie accompanied me, and, on a whim, we decided to try on some new duds together. My otherwise staunchly tunic over leggings-sporting girlie chose a pair of grey skinny jeans, a blue and red embroidered top, and a scarf (very Isabel Marant), and, after pulling on the ensemble, looked in the mirror and oh so nonchalantly proclaimed, to no one in particular, "I'm very stylish."

Indeed you are Millie. Indeed you are. Suffice to say, we bought the outfit.

Hope your weekend was splendid friends!

A Few Random Bits

First up, The Gentlewoman...or more specifically the latest issue of The Gentlewoman with Beyonce on the cover. Love. Just bought. Can't wait to dig into that bad boy. The Gentlewoman is by far the smartest, coolest, most inspiring mag on the market. Full stop. And Beyonce...sigh. The whole thing is making me very happy. (Clearly, I have a magazine problem.)

Second,there's the matter of presence, or more specifically my lack of presence with the girlies of late. Now in all fairness, it has been a particularly challenging week... Bryan's been traveling for work for the past five days, and I've been trying to get the Spring issue of D Moms done + working my pieces for the March/April issue of D Home and the blogs. I'm not complaining...at all. Woman do the work/home juggle every. single. day. And they do it with far less support and far more nightmarish schedules, but this particular week has been a doozy, and the casualty was my ability to really focus on my children, and it's making me feel like a dirty dog.

Earlier this week. one of my contributors over on D Moms daily, the (very wise) parent coach Galit Birk wrote a piece about ways to be present with your children. It was just what I needed. I'm planning to unplug as much as possible tomorrow and Sunday in an attempt to try and reconnect a bit with the girls. Thanks for the reminder Galit.

And finally, umm...the Ken Price retrospective currently on exhibit at the Nasher Sculpture Center(!). I can not wait to go see this show in person. Holy awesome.

Ok, that's it friends. Have a splendid weekend!

Loving...On A Wednesday

Ter et Bantine's graphic goodness at Maryam Nassir Zadeh and the gorgeous shorn-haired beauty donning it who, it should be noted, reminds me an awful lot of my beautiful friend Lucia...

Früute's cookies as art. Best. Packaging. Ever. Then there's the matter of their clever quotes:

"Some cookies are good with milk, others demand champagne." 

Yes please.

Works by artist Steven Tye Culbert. Love. His daughter emailed me and shared that he raised her on jazz and tales of Big Sur. That's my kind of parent.

All the serious print goodness happening in Kelly Wearstler's spring collection. I'm typically not a print gal, but I'm all over that blouse above.

Everlane -- The designs, the concept, the brand philosophy...all of it. And I'm especially loving what they did on Black Friday last year:

-- Buy Less, Buy Better -- 

As a business, we appreciate holiday shopping, but we feel the excess around Black Friday has put the focus on quantity over quality.

Because we want to help people consume less by creating fewer, longer lasting products, we decided to shut down the site today.

Have a wonderful holiday and we'll be back tomorrow.

Awesome, yes?

The feature on Rue's fantastic new site about Michele Janezic of the beautiful San Francisco shop Mill Mercantile.

The genius Ladies & Gents spotted via Molly and Sally... It's sort of a Sartorialist for the pint-size set created by Estee Stanley and Jenni Kayne. (Oh Jenni Kayne, you can do no wrong...sigh.)

Some Scenes From The Weekend...

Some peeks at Achlee's new shop, Vieux...

It was Valentine-O-Rama this weekend. We made them, we frosted them, we ate them -- specifically we churned out 70 homemade numbers for the girlies' classes and decorated some heart day inspired sugar cookies at a sweet Saturday afternoon event at The Front Room at Hotel Lumen. The v. kind chef Nick Amoriello encouraged the kiddos as they made their creations. It was a pretty cute deal. Suffice to say, there was lots of pink over the past two days... but I'm not complaining. (I am a closet pink lover.)

Bryan and I also managed to eke out a dinner date on Friday evening (i.e. our chance at uninterrupted adult conversation) and did a little brunch action here at the house with some of our buddies. But, by far, the highlight of the weekend was seeing my friend Achlee's completely awesome, totally ready for prime time, vintage shop, Vieux.

I've mentioned Achlee here many times, but I just have to go there again. She's my oldest and dearest friend in Dallas. I met her a few weeks after I moved here (she lived on the other side of our duplex) almost 15(!!) years ago (How have I lived in Dallas for 15 years??), and we became instant friends. She is my soul sister. She's been there for everything -- wedding, babies, moves, jobs, family, joy, pain, crazy...all of it. And the fact that she's finally realizing a dream just makes me beyond happy. The fact that what she's created is so utterly and completely amazing, however, is no surprise, as the woman has the best eye and taste of anyone I know in real life. Full stop.

I'm so proud of you Ach.