Hangin' From The Chandeliers

I just love anything in Chandelier print - it's just so baroquely lovely, put it in a light or bright color gives it a modern twist. How gorgeous are these tags from Orange & Blossom? I want a whole printed set - stationary, cards, notebooks! Do you think you can get away with them on a wedding invitation?

And take a look at this tabletop set from Rosanna, Inc. They make the most amazingly whimsical grandma chic tableware that come in the cutest hatbox style packaging. It would make a great shower gift - and the packaging is so cute, you don't even have to wrap it! (BTW my sister @ The Silver Spoon Store sells a lot their stuff on steep discounts - check out this set on her Amazon storefront, while her site is being built.)

A Study in Contrasts Part 2

It starts off ok - not at appealing as the Barcardi ad but I was willing to let it go until this: "A group of people who can visit Paris repeatably and still haven't managed to see the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa or the Arc de Triumph." What the hell is that supposed to mean?

So the people who drink Tanqueray are so cool that can't manage to do anything as pedestrian as visit the most historically monumental as the Mona Lisa? Or the Arc de Triumph?

What are they too busy drinking they're cocktails with organic juice wearing tights, stripes and cardigans to do anything as touristy as visit the freaking Eiffel Tower?

And what does that say about everyone who has? That they are just don't make the cut? Should they not be drinking Tanqueray? Are they purposely trying to alienate a whole consumer base?

Ok, maybe I am overreacting but I have never seen a freakin ad that was so elitist, condescending and patronizing!

Now go buy some Barcardi.

A Study in Contrasts Part 1

I love this commercial - it gets the point across perfectly. Barcardi gets the party going, since 1862. It's fun, classy, and upbeat. Now go look at the Tanqueray ad.

Post No Bills

B'genius. Courtesy of Yossi Belkin - not sure if he took it or just ripped it off.

Headbands Anyone?

Aren't these pretty? From Old Heart New Soul.
And really reasonably priced to.
Don't you hate when people charge 100s of dollars for scraps of ribbon and lace?
Via Cup of Jo

Last Night Totally Made Me Think of This Song

Thanks DK, RC & RLH for a great night!

The Fruits Of My Labor - GYMIES Postcards

How cute are these? Graphics by my enormously talented friend Jennifer.

Oh and you can check out our new site - www.gymiesgym.com
(And so what if I'm shamelessly plugging my clients - it's a great gym!)

Just Beachy

Missing the summer already! How great are these pics from Time Magazine photo essay entitled "Life's A Beach"?

Is she the quintessential girl or what? Wearing the itsy bitsy teeny tiny pink polka dot bikini and screaming at the seagulls!

At a sandcastle contest.

And how neat is this beach in Albania (literally!)? Do I sense a little OCD?

Is It Weird That I Want This Couple To Adopt Me?

They just look so cute, and hip and sweet - and they made a pretty damn awesome vid too.

My New Year's Resolution

For me the new year really begins in September... summer is over, school is back on, time to be bigger (not physically) and better. I am making a resolution to expand my book reading horizon. I love to read, but find myself reading the same type of books over and over again, you know all the NYT bestsellers that every one is talking about, the ones that end up on Oprah's Book Club, just generally popular fiction. This year I want to go out of my comfort zone and really experience other types of books.

Anyway, my sister's friend Iris made a list of her top books, that are mostly out of my usual range, and I resolve to make my way to the end of the list by next June, and post about each one. Here's what is one the list:

1. Time and Again
2. Prince of Tides
3. Atlas Shrugged
4. The Tender Bar
5. The Color Purple
6. Water for Elephants
7. Bel Canto
8. Shadow of the Wind
9. People of the Book
10. The Mistress of the Art of Death
11. The Kite Runner
12. Clan of the Cave Bear
13. Memoirs of a Geisha
14. The Alchemist
15. False Memory by Dean Koontz
16. The Handmaids Tale
17. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
18. A Thousand White Women
19. Seabiscuit
20. The Alchemist
21. 1000 Splendid Suns

Did anyone read any of them? What did you think?

I just ordered The Tender Bar and The Handmaid Tale.

I'll let you know what happens!

How Many Ways Can You Say Gorgeous?

Isn't this dress gorgeous? From Vera Wang Spring 2009. (so what if I'm two seasons too late?) I'm so passed the overly frilly cream puff pridal gowns - and on to simple, elegant, with one major touch of "wow".

What do you think?

Art & Copy - Whose Coming?

My indispensable friend CL the photographer told me about this advertising documentary called Art & Copy, about how some of the most famous ad campaigns got made. Things like Geico gecko, Got Milk?, Just Do It - the preview looks unbelievable!

Since, I've been seeing and hearing about it all over the place - on the consumerist, and NYT had an article about it. Its playing in NYC on Friday, Aug 21 - Tuesday, Aug 25.

Anyone want to come see it?

Un-Freaking-Believable

Ok, this is seriously serious. Are you listening? Sitting down? Good, here we go:

You must must must, and I mean must, go read "And the Pursuit of Happiness" written and illustrated by Maira Kalman for the New York Times. Funny, brilliant and inspiring.

Here's a little taste:

Photog Extraordinaire: Chana Lewis

Meet my friend Chana, an amazing photographer and artiste. I am constantly astounded how she perfectly she captures not only the personality of the subject but the whole atmosphere and mood. She did a lot of the shots for the Wolf & Lamb website - the restaurant that my brother manages.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

How cute is this guy?

And apparently she has a thing for mirrors.

When People Are Genius And I Wish I Was Them

Meet Sophie Blackall. She makes pretty pictures about missed connections in NYC. Takes an old (but, cute) craiglist idea, and makes it art. I'm in love. (With her art, not with Sophie,ok fine maybe a little bit with Sophie too.)

It says:

"Saturday, July 18, 2009 - m4w - 20 (m train)
you had on a blue dress an brown boots on i was a purple shirt we were waiting at myrtle an wyckoff ave at like 2 or 3 am for the m you were just amazing looking an i wanted to talk to you but i was having a bad day an looked offal so i didnt even try then you got off at central well its a long shot or your probably seeing some one but you seemed like a nice person so maybe."

Oh and here is her other blog.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

A lot of the blogs I follow have been talking about (500) Days of Summer and how much they've liked it. See DesignCrush and ARoomSomewhere. Like Ummm, What? These blogging giants just shrunk a little in my eyes.

How can they not see through that "ooh, oohh, I'm so cool I'm hot" facade? Like, of course we'll have Regina Spector playing in the opening credits - Kapow! Instant Edginess. Oh, for G-d's sake it takes place in freakin' LA how punk rock awesome can that be? The whole things just lacked authenticity.

On one of the blogs a commenter writes: "Loved it, so quirky and fun" No, lies, it tries to be quirky and fun, but is neither. And if you missed that...

I am not impressed.

Flobots - Handlebars

In Tribute to my fav sis M - welcome back sista!

The Most Perfectist Blue In All The Land, Its Like the Cinderella of Blue

Did you ever see such cocky blue walls? Their swagger just appalling! I love how they are not fading into the background like the usual pastel blues do, but really adds to the character of the room - but without being overpowering. It is not a electric, blinding royal blue - but it's more gentle, sensitive artisty brother not-so-royal-blue.
What do you think it's called?

Via DesireToInspire

Donna Griffith - The Canadians Do It Again!

Remember the Fallen Princess series by Canadian photographer Dina Goldstein? Well here is another Canadian photog who really brings the bacon (what a phrase for a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn). As much as we like to make fun of our Northern neighbors, photography is one thing they can do. Check out this collection from Donna Griffith:


Via Desire To Inspire

Think Pink - It Makes Everything Taste Better

Via MaBelle

And I want that couch.

The Shaving Cream - Shave Off

For some reason I've been spending a lot of time at drugstores this summer. And spotted this shaving cream by Eos. Yes, it is actually a cream, not a foam, or gel that turns into a foam, it is an actual cream that goes on like a lotion. It promises to "shave closer and leave your skin smooth long after you shave." Sold! I just had to buy it.

My sister came home last night with a similar shaving cream by Skintimate. This morning, spotting the two creams standing side by side, I just couldn't resist doing a little unofficial experiment. Here are the results: Packaging: I love the Eos packaging. It is modern and smooth without being overly simplistic. Comes in a variety of scents/colors that look awfully pretty on the pharmacy shelf (I bought the boring unscented one because between my mousse, deodorant and perfume I don't need any more competing scents). My favorite part is the way the material feels - it is a semi-hard plastic that is sorta squishy (for lack of a better adjective), very cool and different.

Packaging Score: 5 out of 5

Product: So-So, yes my skin is smoother that usual, but that might just be because I've been using plain ole soap before this, so I'm not convinced this is better than the old shaving cream foam type thing. And you have to use a lot of the stuff to get full coverage. But it does feel kind of nice.
Product Score: 3 out of 5

Price: $4.99 - I have to say that is a pretty perfect price. I think it looks more expensive and they could've got away with a higher retail, just because the packaging look so much better that the competition (below). But it is nice that they didn't.
Price Score: 5 out of 5

Overall: I like the product. Probably would purchase again.
Overall Score: 4 out of 5

Eos Total: 17 out of 20

Packaging: In comparison to the Eos packing, Skintimate fails miserably. I can't stand that companies like Skintimate thing that anything in a pink package automatically appeals to the femme masses. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the color in general, just the assumption that pink = wild female success! Add the "flower" nozzle and I'm transported back to the eighth grade. I think I'm actually getting insulted. Are they targeting teenie bopper Jonas Brothers fans? Or the modern working woman (ok did not mean to sound like I'm from the 50s but oh well)?

Also, from a marketing perspective they are introducing something "revolutionary". They should make it stand out from their line of shaving product, not blend in so well.
Packaging Score: 2 out of 5 (and I'm being generous)

Product: Like Eos, I don't see a major difference from the average shaving cream. And I abhor the smell - matches the packaging perfectly. That sickly sweet flowery scent that reminds me of an old age home. BUT it does give you better coverage than Eos.
Product Score: 4 out of 5

Price: $3.99 - Great price, again I think they could have got away with higher, especially if the packaging was better.
Price Score: 5 out of 5

Overall: If it comes out in unscented I would definitely consider switching despite how bad it will look in my shower.
Overall Score: 4 out of 5

Skintimate Total: 15 out of 20

Conclusion: Eos is the clear winner - at least until Skintimate gets a makeover and goes unscented.

BTW my dream job is to review products.

Kids These Days

Meet my niece Sara. Yesterday, she tells me:
"Chanie, chanie, move! You are stepping on my eye shadow."

Gray Wedding Dresses

I keep spotting gray wedding dresses - and can't make up my mind about it. Do you love 'em or hate 'em?

By Vera Wang:

From Jcrew.com:

Spotted on Lucky Me:

Susan Boyle's Harper's Bazaar Shoot

Were you as excited as I was to see these photos? I think they did a fantastic job at dressing her up, but keep her looking like herself at the same time. Here are my favorite shots:

And here is my least favorite:


A) She looks better in sleeves
B) It totally emphasizes her midsection - not her greatest asset
C) It makes her bottom half look really small in proportion to her top half.

Picture ripped from Harper's Bazaar.

Pretty Tops @ Jcrew.com

It's Wednesday! Almost There!

And don't ask me what this picture has to do with it. I just like it.
Via Design Crush.

New Band - Gomez

Just heard this band Gomez on The Tonight Show:

Do you like them as much as I do? I'm going to Pandora them to see what comes up.

This Is What I Want RIGHT NOW!

There are a lot of things I miss about San Francisco (besides all the people I love, of course).

I miss David my hairdresser at Cowboys & Angels.
(isn't he cute?)


I miss the gals over at the Benefit BrowBar.


I miss the Blue Danube Coffee House. (and no, the picture is not crocked, that is exactly how steep the street is.)
But, being lunchtime, what I miss the most is Vital Vittles bread. While I chew on the dry, tasteless cardboard of Mezonos Maven Whole Wheat bread, all I can do is close my eyes, tap my heels three times and wish that I was in my "old apartment" munching on the hearty goodness of hand milled, honey delicious Vital Vittles Real Bread. They will even ship it to New York, but @ $12.59 a loaf (including shipping) I am having a very hard time ordering some.

Totally Awesome Chalkboard Paint Ideas

So you might have noticed that I am slightly obsessed with chalkboard paint.
Check out some new chalkboard paint ideas from Design Sponge
all using colored chalkboard paint from Hudson Paint.

(500) Days of Summer

Am I the only one who sees a striking similarity between Pushing Daisies
and (500) Days of Summer?(Except Pushing Daisies is like, way, way better.) The same quirky, slightly psychedelic style, the boys in cardigans, the girls in ribbons and bows (and thick bangs). They even have the similar narrators with those deeply male voices.

It's like Pushing Daisies is Days of Summer cooler, smarter,
more sophisticated older sister who Daisies always wanted to be exactly like, except it can never be, at least not until is stops being Daisies and starts being Summer. Does that make any sense at all?

And, tell me that Zooey Deschanel doesn't look EXACTLY like Anna Friel