City of Angels: Margaret Russell at WS Home

The beautiful Margaret Russell of Elle Decor at WS Home

Hi all! I am back from Oregon (more on that later!) and ready to tell you my LA stories! I have to say I made the mistake of not making plans sooner for my trip, as I could have fit more in, but the trip was busy and informative none the less!

West Week was in full swing at the Pacific Design Center, and there were Keynote Panel discussions being held to discuss the rise of social media as it pertains to the design industry at large and to print media in particular. I wanted to attend as many of the panels as possible.

I arrived at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel Tuesday afternoon in time to freshen up before Christian May of Maison 21 picked me up for a party at WS Home for Margaret Russell of Elle Decor. She was in residence to sign her wonderful book, Style and Substance, The Best of Elle Decor (which I posted about HERE).

Before I go further, I just wanted to give you one of the best pieces of news I had during my stay in LA! Margaret Russell told me that Elle Decor now has officially launched their new website!!! (previously Elle Decor was part of the point click home website) The new website is full of exciting new features including a comprehensive LookBook with photos from all of your favorite editorials. You can also explore design destinations around the globe, and get expert design advice in the Home Design 101 section. There are sections on Design, Remodeling, Shopping, Celebrity Style, Entertaining, as well as a Resources section. I am told there is much more to come as well. So have fun checking it all out!

So...back to the party! It was such a fun evening for many reasons. I had not been to a WS Home store in a very long time. There are only two in California: Beverly Hills and Palo Alto. It was a treat to see everything in person and very nice to know that the catalog and website show off how beautiful the inventory is in person. The other reason the party was so great is that I finally got to meet blogger friends from all over the country, and in one case from overseas. I did not get as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few people you might recognize:

Moi, Monelle Totah (Vice President of Design for WS Home), Patricia Shackelford (Mrs. Blandings) and Christian May (Maison 21)

It was such a pleasure meeting Monelle Totah of WS Home. She was charming and so very gracious. She is the reason WS Home has such beautiful things! You can check out Monelle's beautiful San Francisco flat on the Elle Decor website HERE! Such a great home!!) And Patricia of Mrs. Blandings was out from Kansas City. She was just like her blog: so nice and welcoming, smart, interested and savvy...not to mention classically beautiful! And Christian May of Maison 21...the perfect host: handsome, witty and so much fun!!!! He made my stay in LA the best (more with Christian later!).

Ronda Carmen of All the Best, Scot Meacham Wood of Tartanscot, me again, and Christian May

Ronda Carmen of All the Best was there all the way from the UK. We time for just a quick "hello" but there were so many people, it was difficult to chat. Next time! My friend Scot from Tartanscot was down from San Francisco looking as debonair as usual!.There were so many there that I could not get pictures of! It was so great to get to meet Andrea Borda Stanford, Design and Style Editor for C Magazine in person as well. She is chic, down to earth and beautiful all in one!
(BTW....the latest issue is fantastic...you might want to run out and get it before it is gone....just sayin').

As the party was winding down, I was chatting with Megan of Beach Bungalow 8, and who should walk by but Eddie Ross and partner Jaithan. We gave each other that immediate warm blogger hug that bloggers in touch over the years give upon first sight. We all decided to go to dinner so we could continue the conversation. As per Megan's fantastic suggestion, we went to El Carmen...home of the best tacos and tequila in LA (250 kinds of tequila at last count!). If you are ever in LA, you have to stop in.....if for no other reason than to see the interior, which houses the best collection of Mexican Wrestlers painted on black velvet I have ever seen. Killer. Kudos to Megan as our guide. It was a riot!

El Carmen photo via Yelp

El Carmen photo via Yelp

After dinner, this girl was off to the hotel to rest up for the Keynote panels the next day. Stay tuned!!!

Pritzker Prize 2010

Announced!! Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima!!!!

(I feel to need to end everything Japanese with exclamation marks!!!!!!!!)

water monopoly

New website find of old-timey bests! Especially a fan of this outdoor/greenhouse-y bath mmmmm:

Teak bath

Copper bath

Paris bath

Porthole bath

Empire on Fleur de Lis feet

Marble top basin on legs

Bow fronted basin on frame

Bow fronted double basin

Thomas Crapper lavatory pan

Original blue and white lavatory pan

All images: Water Monopoly

Missing You!

Hi all!!

After the whirlwind LA trip last week...you would think a few days at home to get life back in order would be the game plan. Not in the cards. After some very productive client meetings on Friday, it was time to repack the suitcase for a trip on Highway 5...but headed North this time.

I am in Oregon for a little R & R along the Rouge River. I have been thinking of you all and am gathering up lots of inspiration for you which I will share when I return!

Quilted Old-lady-bed!

Lauren got an awesome new quilt! So in addition to the eraser bits, binder paper detritus, stinky feet, drinking chocolate stains, and toots usually on our bed from our sweet friendses, Superbed is quilted and extra old lady! I want to make tea every time I look at it!

Trip to LA: Arrival

The Farmer's Daughter Hotel

I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts this week! I have been away in Los Angeles for West Week at the Pacific Design Center. So much was packed into two days, and I have so much to tell you!

I drove down from Sacramento with a bit of nervous anticipation...sort of similar to how I felt when I drove down for my high school reunion only a few weeks before. After all, I would be meeting a passel of blogger friends in person for the very first time. What would they be like? Would they be just like how I imagined from their blog persona's? I had been corresponding with many of them before my trip to make plans to meet up.

Christain May of Maison 21, Megan Arquette of Beach Bungalow 8, Patricia Shackelford of Mrs. Blandings, Ronda Carmen of All the Best, Eddie and Jaithan from the Eddie Ross blog, Lisa Borgnes Giramonti from A Bloomsbury Life, Brooke from Velvet and Linen , the Style Curator and Scot from Tartanscot were all there, not to mention all of the design and media stars (Here a name, there a name....just dropping everywhere!) . I have to tell you, it felt as if we had really already met and known each other. It has seemed that way for all of the great bloggers I have met before. Chalk it up to one of the many benefits of blogging!

I have so many pictures for you. First, let's start with checking into the hotel where I stayed: The Farmer's Daughter Hotel. It is so called because it is right across the street from the old Los Angeles Farmer's Market. I remember going there as a kid and being fascinated by the taffy pulling machines. It was always such a treat. It is so different now with major shopping like venues like the Grove popping up in next door in an area that was once old bungalows.

Check-in

I had looked at hotels close to the PDC and The Farmer's Daughter seemed fun and in the right "price range" pour moi. I totally got a kick out of it! It was very "urban farm " with concrete floors and reclaimed lumber. Rustic contemporary with a splash of color.

Lobby

It has a very relaxing vibe as soon as you walk in the door. It seemed as if I had teleported to the Napa Valley wine country. It was fun and low key. Quite perfect for families.

Patio between the hotel and Tart restaurant

The Farmer's Daughter goes all out to provide a down home feel. Lemonade and BBQ potato chips are available in the Lobby anytime. There was wine and cheese service in the evening. It shares a patio with the Tart restaurant which was so cute! And generous to boot. They share their recipes online for things like Fried Green Tomatoes and Bourbon Berry Cobbler. They also have their own blog HERE.

Lemonade in the Lobby

I got to relive my childhood memories when Christian from Maison 21 and I walked over to the Farmer's Market for a glass of wine before he whisked me off to the first event of the week: the William Sonoma Home party for Margaret Russell of Elle Decor.

More on that next time!

chartreuse!

Since sweet Anastasia accidentally broke my french press (it vos very funny), I had an excuse to replace it with this cute chartreuse one! Yes for clumsiness! :)

Also, LOOK AT HER. What a lovely way to feminize the bomber jacket. Will only set you back $4,550...

nice knob

Other than full on refinishing, perhaps the best way to revive or refine an old chest/commode/desk/vanity:

Liberty Hardware 1-3/8 In. Double Beaded Knob, 3.79, Home Depot

Liberty 30 MM Victorian Glass Knob, 3.99, Home Depot

Sea Blossom Knob (mother-of-pearl), 10, Anthropologie

Silhouetted Zinnia Knob, 8, Anthropologie

Cinquefoil Knob, 2.95, Anthropologie

still want this

Pictorial Webster's: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities
John M. Carrera
$35
Chronicle Books
512 pp
1,500 b/w images!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Window to Another World

Window to China

A couple of weeks ago, you may remember I drove down to Pasadena with Mom and Daughter in tow. We had a chance to visit the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens. Time was short, but one of the things we wanted to see was the new Chinese Garden area. It is simply stunning. Absolutely transportive.

Bie You Dong Tian

The garden has been named Liu Fang Yuan, which means Garden of Flowing Fragrance, referring to the large numbers of scented flowers and trees. One enters through the Main Gate, or Bie You Dong Tian, Another World Lies Beyond.....and truly, it does.

Here are just a few of the photos I captured that day.

Jing Yun Bi, The Wall of Colorful Clouds

Tea House: Yu Ming Tang, Hall of the Jade Camellia

Plantain Court: Ba Jiao Yuan

Paving Detail in Plantain Court. So Beautiful!

Fretwork Detail at the Tea House

Bridge of Verdant Mist, Cui Xia Qiao

Paving Detail of path leading to the Bridge

Pavilion of the Three Friends (Very appropriate for the three of us!)

Detail of the ceiling in the Pavilion of Three Friends

Terrace of the Jade Mirror, Yu Jing Tai

Love for the Lotus Pavilion, Ai Lian Xie

We wished we could have spent a full day here, but the park was closing, and we had to go.

I encourage anyone planning a trip to Southern California to make a full day plan to visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens. There is so much to see, and it is truly one of the treasures in the area.

For more information about the Chinese Garden click HERE. To learn more about the next phase, click HERE.

Speaking of boba, there's a new tapioca place on Irving! And they're so much cheaper than Wonderful Foods. Jo and I of course went to WF to get tapioca first and decided to walk over to the new place, which occupied the old Tutti Frutti space. Everything was in Chinese/legit. I read "small" and "red" somewhere (suckaaaaaaa!!)

Tried Ginger Tapioca. Initially too sweet, but once the ice melted, grew on me and pleasantly bitter. I didn't watch it being made, but I suspect they don't use any fresh ginger. Disappointing because what I want is the fresh kick and spiciness, herro-o?!

Definitely does not top Almond Tapioca - all time favorite!

Oh noes is this turning into a WF boba review?!

While I'm at it then: I've had Taro a few times but absolutely no taste recollection. Maybe I just get it because I think it'll turn out pretty. Avocado Tapioca is so thick! Seriously a meal. Honeydew too watery.
What else? I'm curious about other odd[tapioca]balls... perhaps durian is next?

KUMQUAT!

I've-been-traveling-all-day rant

I was rummaging through our art supplies drawers at home in SF. My old room. What was my senior yearbook doing there? Had to have a flip-through.

One of the most depressing half hours of my life. I read autograph after autograph. Of the legible ones, largely the same message: woot! what a great time...faith in the future...see you around, I'm sure.

The thing is, all the signatures are entirely illegible. So all the "glad I got to know you. Have a good time in SoCal. I always appreciated your dirty jokes" entries get blurred. It doesn't make a difference who signs and you have no idea who you "got to know better." Not to discount the friends with whom we've maintained close ties post Lowell, but I'm so tired of acquaintance-building.
You should do it though. This is a part of cautious Emily. I can't really help it, but you should help yourself to some.

In some ways, I'm almost looking forward to what will probably be a rather solitary, if not very lonely, summer in NYC. You know what I mean: you miss people so much (so much!), but if you ever have to run into anyone you know (who pretends not to recognize you) from high school at any fucking boba place on Irving...

Apparently really melodramatic today,
E. Mo.

Happy Weekend: Spring has Sprung.....

The weather has taken a turn and the flowers have been showing their appreciation the last few days. Our Cherry Tree is in full bloom! My youngest daughter took the camera and spent some time creating a few little masterpieces for me. I hope you enjoy the blooms and your weekend!