to my friends here in the west..

be merry & silly !!

wishing y'all in the east..

have a most gluttonous and drunken holiday!!

double rainbow

may be the best thing that has come with the endless weeklong downpour that we have experienced in LA.  it appeared around 5 pm today.  my kids and i were amazed and snapped photos galore.  we were so excited that our hands were trembling.  here are a few out-of-focus pix.

it was incredible that we could really distinguish the colors in the rainbow..

gehry for tiffany

sorry frank, this really doesn't cut.

dear santa

just making sure you don't get me the wrong presents like in previous years.  to simplify matters, i'm offering you two choices:

1.  necklace cum bracelet by van cleef & arpels

ingeniously zip up into a bracelet

"Van Cleef & Arpels first made jewelry based on the design of a Zip at the proposition of the Duchess of Windsor Simpson in the 1930's.  The latest iteration is the Diamond Zip and is made of white gold accentuated with diamonds.  The Diamond Zip can be worn as a necklace when opened and when closed can be worn as a bracelet."

2.  a 2-person ladder tree stand

one is a little pricey but a breeze to carry.  the other is cheap (single-seater only $18.40) but a monster to lug around.  so.. your choice between the two.  please don't come up with a third!

love, vanessa

ps.  heed my request and you'll enjoy extra-delicious homemade cookies filled with valrhona 75%!

x'mas decor

every year, we haul back an 8-9' douglas fir.  it breaks our wallet, kills our backs and diminishes yet another tree.  this year, inspired by the image of the ladder x'mas tree i posted previously, our 8-year old daughter and i spearheaded the project.  after a quick run to 99-cent store yesterday and a stop at target today, here's the outcome.  please give us a like, yikes, or cool.  (thanks for your prompt response, jillian is getting a big kick out of it!)

we started with a vintage wooden ladder and coiled 2 strings of lights around ($20 total).  then hang ornaments galore.  here's a close-up.  (nutcracker in the back, $12.99).

an extra strand of big bulbs ($12.99) renders a new look for our red acrobat's pole by the front door.

size matters!

a lovely gift from mk.

simplicity = beauty

by jillian.

baby poinsettias from 99-cent store dresses up our powder room.

5 baby poinsettias in the bread basket.

delfina delettrez

some of mark walsh & leslie chin's designs definitely bring to mind delfina delettrez.

stunning.  but can it be comfortable with all those skulls rubbing between your fingers?

gold and diamond skull ring, $52,100.  available at CoutureLab.

victorian x picasso!

visage choker, $10,750.  CoutureLab.

yes, the world is in your hand, miss delfina.

my world bracelet, $3,500.  CoutureLab.

you have to give her credit for balancing punk rock + elegance so effortlessly.

gold, diamond and pearl skull earrings, $46,700.  CoutureLab.

simple, modern and effective.

button down silver collar necklace, $2,050.  LuisaViaRoma.

a limited edition of her signature hand bracelet, $3,975.  LuisaViaRoma.

dali-inspired?

silver salome double ring, $475.

i prefer this piece to loree rodkin's anyday.

special order skeleton hand bracelet, $25,600.  LuisaViaRoma.

delettrez is a fourth generation fendi, but she seems to have really made it on her own.  she launched her first collection in paris at age 20, in 2007.  though not every piece is my style, i'm attracted to the youthfulness, fun and carefree spirit, and fearlessness in her work.  qualities that cannot be faked.

mark walsh & leslie chin

created rodarte's "unseen" jewelry for fall 2009 collection.  walsh and chin designed some haunting and interesting pieces for the mulleavy sisters which never made it to the runway in time (how very strange and sad).  here are some pieces from the collection.

fan of OC

i'm a fan of opening ceremony so i check out their website frequently.  these are the pieces i clipped today.

i'm not wild about animal print, but this is a pretty clever idea.

Lahssan, $1,365

nice!

Phosphorescence, $275

well done on seamlessly incorporating the little AH ribbon logo into the historic barbour jacket.

Barbour x Anya HIndmarch, $525

simple and bold.

Mark Walsh & Leslie Chin, $550

punk!

Mark Walsh & Leslie Chin, $800

another amazing art piece by rodarte.  what i really love though, is the cool haircut of the model..

5 available

this email came in yesterday.  i love the color of the font.  if i could, i would have gotten the pair in black with gold speckles.  great shape, great color, cute arrow on side.  but "ONLY 5 PAIRS OF EACH AVAILABLE!".  why???

gift idea #5

in the style of good ol' siskel & ebert on their movie reviews, the Like & Dislike Stamps emphatically announce your thumbs up or thumbs down.  what started out as a rubber stamp to attack each others' paperwork at the Nation Studio became a hot item selling to people all over the world, "including one to the man himself, Mark Zuckerberg".

available at jailbreak toys for $12.99 a set.

i have to say however, that the old prototype (when the product was purely a studio joke) in the old fashioned rubber stamp with a wooden handle was much nicer.  the thumb was more digitized, not smoothened out.

it's actually a good and economical project to design your own rubber stamp with a funny, quirky message or image.