29 January 2010

My oh my


There are a lot of very bad things that I would do just to have one tiny piece of art from Yves Saint Laurent's vast art collection. But, since this is not a possibility, I will have to settle and get this fabulous book detailing the collection and providing a glimpse into his home and life. One can dream though...click here to view the auction at Christie's.

Easy Peasey

This is one of my most favorite purchases from the last few months. I have never been a big diary or journal keeper; it's just so time consuming and potentially very embarrassing if someone finds it. The Keel's Simple Diary is the perfect solution. Each day has one page of different questions with multiple choice and fill in the blank options. Very simple indeed. Click here to pick out your color.

Industrial strength

I love love love this hand blown glass chandelier from Cleveland Art.

Just in case...



I love books. I love my MacBook. So this just might be the perfect case. Very clever! 

28 January 2010

I Heart Etsy


Tonight I'm posting all things Etsy. I, like millions of others, love Etsy and I am continuously adding more and more finds to my favorites. Pictured above are three things that I am currently loving. Click here for the cowl neck warmer by Knittles, here for the Birds print by Elle Moss and here for the tote by The Craft Pantry.

27 January 2010

Bow Wow



There seems to be a theme to my posts today and I think it is "things I want." These are the coolest dog bed/houses I think I have come across. They are cozy and comfortable and they look great in your home. What more could you ask out of a doggie bed? Go here to pick out a matching bowl too!

Let's Go!



I have wanted to visit Savannah for a long, long time. This store , The Paris Market, makes me want to hop on a plane and go now. 

Fantastic


That is the best word that describes this book. It's been on my wish list for sometime now. I just need a job and it will finally be mine! Click here to check it out.

26 January 2010

A cozy bowl?


Isn't this pretty? This ceramic Knitwear Bowl by Alyssa Ettinger would look great filled with some oranges or some fat red cherries. Click here to check out other fab things at ReForm School. 

Valley of the Dolls


I absolutely love this pill keychain by Jonathan Adler. It holds about 3 pills, which is perfect for when you need an excedrin (or something stronger) and you haven't got your bag. What a perfect place for those lovely little dolls. Ha! Click here to pick out a color combination for yourself. 

Pack your bags


Condé Nast Traveller has come out with their Gold List 2010 of the top hotels and resorts around the world. The list is based not only on design but also on other factors like service and food. Out of the 108 hotels I picked my favorite 3 that I would love to stay in. The top one is the Soho Hotel in London, the second is the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and the third is (like a dream) the Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora. All unique, all amazing and all very expensive. Click here to browse the list.

23 January 2010

Yum!



This wonderful dessert cheese table comes from one of my favorite blogs, Sunday Suppers. Everything looks delicious and the presentation is just beautiful. Well done!

Decisions, decisions


This place is just incredible. Material ConneXion is a company formed to help everyone from fashion designers to engineers discover new and interesting materials for their projects. Their library in Manhattan contains over 4500 samples and swatches of fabrics, metals and everything in between. Imagine having that at your disposal when designing a new chair, planning a building or even when creating a sculpture. 

C'mon Spring!



Oh this dress just makes me wish for spring to come even harder. It is so very cute. Anthropologie gets me again. 

21 January 2010

On the way



Just a pic of the ice skaters in the park and the city. What a lovely night. 

Night at the Museum



I love being able to hop on the train and go to the Art Institute. It was in my top reasons for moving to this city. Plus, Thursdays from 5-8 pm are free and so it only costs the price of the El ticket. Now, the reason for going tonight (besides the price) is that on the 24th of this month they are returning the loan of Caravaggio's painting, The Supper at Emmaus, to the National Gallery of London. This was quite possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this painting in person, unless I hop on a plane to London, because there are really very few Caravaggio works in American museums. Being a huge fan of his (how could you not be?) I had to see this painting before it was gone. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio painted The Supper at Emmaus in 1601 and it is truly a masterpiece. Really folks, a picture of this does not do it justice. The detail, the movement and the contrast of light and dark, all of which he is famous for, are amazing in this painting. In the gallery...

20 January 2010

Braving the cold


Just wanted to share this pic from the park yesterday. It was chilly, it is Chicago after all, but the sun was out and it was actually not so bad by the water. 

Good read!



I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I have to say it was pretty darn good. I have never read anything of John Connolly's before so this was quite an introduction. The Book of Lost Things is wildly imaginative, funny, touching and pretty dark too. When the book begins the scene is of a very real time and place with normal occurances and a normal little boy, David, trying to make his way through, but as life begins to change so does the world around him and he is suddenly plunged into a land where humans are mixed with beasts and everything is turned upside down and he must find his way out. Connolly's approach on the ordeal of growing up and losing our innocence is really brilliant. This was a great read and I am looking forward to picking up something else by this author. 

Sunshine please


Speaking of SCAD, I have been a big fan of their Shop for a while now and have always been able to find a boat load of items that I adore whenever I get on their site. I love that all of the different artists at the school have such a great resource and opportunity to get their art and name out there. Anyhoodle, I found this painting while I was looking around today and I thought it was just so nice. It reminds me of summer and sunshine and how much I am ready for winter to be over and done with. I can just feel the warm breeze when I look at it. 

Squish!


My best friend Sarah absolutely loves moss. This is a particularly good thing since she lives near Seattle and that state is just full of the stuff. And so I just had to post this crazy Lichen Lounge for her that I found on the Shop SCAD site. I know lichen is not exactly the same as moss but it is close and this chair is just plain fun!

18 January 2010

Check this out


If you live in or are visiting New York you must go to the MoMA by January 25th to see their incredible Bauhaus exhibition. It is the MoMA's first major exhibition on the avant-garde art school since 1938 and it includes over 400 works that display the school's remarkable innovations in art. On display are ceramics, paintings, photographs, furniture and graphics, including this print by Marianne Brandt from 1929. 

A swing and a hit?


I have to say it. Kelly Wearstler's projects can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.  I know, she's fabulous and innovative and she creates terribly interesting interiors, but every once in a while she gets a little too carried away for my taste. But then, ahh, she designs a room so beautiful and simple and sophisticated that you forget all of the non-sensical rooms she has created and you begin loving her again. The room pictured above is from a Bell-Air villa that she designed and is featured on her web-site kwid.com.

Take a seat





The brilliant pair of lounge chairs (top) by Ray and Charles Eames from 1946 are currently going for a cool $5800 on 1stdibs.com via the Alan Koppel Gallery in Chicago. I agree that they are definitely worth that, after all, they are Eames chairs. However, if you don't happen to have $5800 to spend then you might try the less expensive yet still wonderful knock off from White Furniture(pictured below the Eames).

17 January 2010

It's in the bag baby


I know it's still winter and only January, but for the fashion world it is time to showcase their pre-fall collections. The gorgeous bag above is from Proenza Schouler's new line and it is just ready to be filled with notebooks and colored pencils and erasers and... Oh, it's just lovely. 

16 January 2010

How sweet it is



One of the coolest public arts projects that I have ever seen is the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program's public art project Love Letter. There is a series of 50 rooftop art murals dedicating their love to Philly and it's citizens. Awwww...

I'll take two please


Isn't this rug fantastic? Designed by Vivienne Westwood for The Rug Company, it is called the Magnolia Ice Wool rug.  Just gorgeous.

Oui, Oui!


I happened to stumble upon this film the other night while checking out the movies on Netflix. Hmmm...Paris + Adam Goldberg + Comedy? What could be better? So I watched it (via the play now option) and it was so good. Really funny and sweet but also kind of raunchy and cheeky too. It was written, produced and directed by Julie Delpy, who plays Marion, the main character. To sum up, Jack (Adam Goldberg), who is an interior designer, travels to Venice for a vacation with his girlfriend Marion (Julie Delpy), who is a French photographer, and after their trip they decide to go to Paris for their last two days before going back to New York. Once in Paris all sorts of odd and uncomfortable and hilarious situations arise until Jack is convinced that Marion has slept with every man in Paris. It's a great little film and I promise you'll be laughing out loud. 

15 January 2010

Oh Barbara...



One of my favorite Christmas presents that I received this year was I Am Not This Body by Barbara Ess. It has been on my wishlist for years now and I finally got it! It is better than I imagined. Not only is it full of beautiful photographs that Ess has taken over the years but it also has some pretty amazing interviews of her, including one by a Mr.Thurston Moore. That's right, the founder of Sonic Youth. Why, one might ask, would he be included in a pinhole photography book? Apparently, and this is something that you will not find in any of her biographies, is that she was at one time the bassist for the punk/noise band The Static which happened to play at the club where Sonic Youth first performed. I know. This creator of haunting, dream-like photographs that seem to whisper to you was, and still is in her new project, Radio Guitar, an ass-kicking rocker. Seriously though, the book is fantastic and a new favorite of mine. (Click here to purchase yours from Aperture) 
 

Art for all

20 x 200 is an internet project launched by Jen Bekman that simply brings art lovers/buyers and artists together. Her brilliant formula was "(limited editions x low prices) + the internet = art for everyone" and she applied that by posting pieces by relatively unknown artists and selling them at incredibly affordable rates. The artwork listed ranges from photography to painting to prints produced using iPhone applications. There is truly something for everyone with prices that fit any budget. I've been pining for the piece above, La Paz, Bolivia by Stefan Ruiz, for weeks now and I just might have to snatch up an 11" x 14" edition. For only $50. Yeah.


Dip anyone?

How fantastic would it be to dig into some dip or a casserole and find this at the bottom? The Six Shooter Long Dish by Cul de Sac Design is oven and dishwasher safe and would actually look just as good sitting atop your coffee table. It comes in a variety of colors but I rather like it in this turquoise blue.

14 January 2010

I have never wanted to own a boat until...

This is the WHY.  The collaboration between the famous French luxury brand Hermès and yacht builders Wally (Wally-Hermès Yachts)has produced this extraordinary home for the super-rich on the high seas. I'll have one please.

Well Hello!

Welcome to ABCD!  This is a going to be a fun little place where I will talk about things that amuse me, places to see, books to read, art to check out and so on and so forth. From time to time I will be checking out and reviewing museum exhibits and gallery openings around my new home of Chicago. So, if you are at all interested in any of these things than feel free to stop by my blog and see what's going on. Thanks!