doggoneit!!!

well, nothing craps on your excitement for spring plans faster than snow coming! don't get me wrong though i do love the snow, mostly because here in the south it's a bit like a mysterious character in a fairy tale; elusive and rare. i'm sure if i had to live with perpetual snow and cold like they do in northern climes i would be pretty pissed at this point in the year. well OUR weather report calls for snow tomorrow. i have a feeling this time it's actually going to happen. call it a witchy sense but i feel it in my bones. that's ok though, because true to atlanta fashion it will be gone the very next day and most likely 70 degrees the day after that. i will post pictures though if it does!!

on your marks, get set...SPRING!!

walking outside to put a check in the mail this morning i was struck by how refreshingly spring-like it was! it put a little kick in my step as i hopped back up the stoop to my door. and then looking around my stoop and door and grass (or lack thereof) etc... i noticed just how horrible it all was!! moldy porch roof, dusty porch floor, smell of cat shit next to the hose (that's where our cat maggie relieves herself-we figure its better than the jute rug in our living room as she obviously finds a litter box repulsive), not a potted plant in sight!! all this was decidedly UN-springlike and took the kick out of my step to be sure. well it didn't take long to find a few beautiful images to inspire a project or two. and a book to boot!! check it...

here are a few spring projects i have in store in the next few weeks...cleaning and re-organizing my pantry a la see through jars and containers.. i want it practical AND pretty! cleaning and re-organizing my laundry area a la see through jars and bottles...again practical AND pretty! cleaning the windows in my house- inside and out (which will also include scraping away rotted wood im sure-my house is almost 100 years old and so are the windows), scrubbing the porch ceiling and floor and as a reward planting loads and loads of flowers and herbs!! i can't wait. makes my heart flutter with excitement!

i want you very badly

you are a sofa. a beautiful, new and very expensive sofa. two grand expensive. but i saw you today in the crate and barrel window and you were so perfect looking i had to come in to flirt a bit. i sat on you and could tell by your give that you enjoyed it too. i am afraid this picture does not do you justice. in person you looked less white and more natural. but your pinched edges gave you just the deconstructed look that a girl like me always dreamed of in a sofa. i love your thin arms and low proximity to the ground. you would look so good in my tiny living room. sigh.
heave. sweat. i could do sooo much with you...lay, eat, sleep, 'it', watch tv. farewell my (washable) slipcovered hot bitch! i won't give up on you though. i will not.

i'm liking this...

i love the color of the house with the turquoise window frame. and that grid fence is just calling for some lovely sprawling vine like morning glory or moonflower. my own house looks a lot like this in style, and layout. but it needs a lot of work to look like this one. paint, landscaping etc...i am thinking of this as a possible option though..any thoughts?
*do click on the flowers above to get the overall visual.

lets get right to it shall we?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

weekend at sophia's? is someone behind her holding her up? props on the body though. 74 people...74.

and there are no words to describe my disapointment here. no words. other than HAAAATE!!!!!!!!

kate...you look 10 years older than you are. which is 34. so basically you look 44!!!! i'll bet if you touched that helmet it would feel like a...helmet.

and there is effortless good like this-

and there is effortless bad, like this-

even that guy in the background is wincing. thank goodness she changed that awful dress for the vanity fair party but her hair looked worse!!! is it possible?...

yes..it is.

and slit at oscar is bad-

so are extensions alicia. especially ones that look as if they came out of the box, curls still intact.

and heidi you don't get off that easy either...model or not that hair is fucking awful and you should be slapped. it looks as though someone glopped two palmfuls of gel in their hands, saturated your hair with it and then went to town with a flat iron. i hate them and i hate you for looking like euro trash.

miley and marisa, i'm not sure how i feel about you. at first glance your dresses are fabulous but then i feel like i lose YOU in them. too much dress for such small people. the jury's still out...

angie and annie...pretty...but that's about all i can say really. i can't really say boring b/c i think boring often gets confused with simple and pretty. but i do think angie is a bit on the boring side, more so than annie. love the green rocks though!! that punch of jade with that black works a treat.

ok so on to my two favorites. first penelope. so so so pretty. she is a cut above everyone every single time. that dress, BTW, is 60 years old! and she picked it out 8 years ago. how is that for confidence? the hair is perfect too. she manages to combine cute, sexy, beautiful, playful and elegant like no one else. this is a gift. not something you can buy or hire. well played..PEN-EL-OPE. sjp you look fabulous. the hair is great. albeit a bit too perfect. i would have liked to have seen it a bit softer in the curl department. but the dress is super duper. its mint green. MINT GREEN! only sjp can do mint green. it's classic and modern all at once. and it suits her so well. the second picture shows the mintiness better. now if we can just get her portly husband to go on a bit of a diet they might make a handsome couple.

ok...on to the worst of the worst. we have already discussed kate's misstep. and jessica biel's satin sheet sack glob of shit. but lets move on...

first to the scary...

will you eat something..please? if i saw her in person i would pick her up and throw her across the room just to prove a point. which is...that i COULD pick her up and throw her across the room. (this is at an awards party. obvi)

despite the orange scarecrow inside it the dress itself is gorgeous.

this is not so much scary as it is wrong for a girl her age. the hair is beautiful. the dress is not. it is hackensack-new-jersey-prom-dress bad.

all she is missing is a crab shell purse and some seaweed wrapped in her hair. and not only does this dress suck, but it doesn't even fit her!!!! she needs to be punched too.

and last but not least...drumroll please....

ok...so it's not so much the dress as the trainwreck inside it. madonna has finally joined the circus freakshow. too much exercise does NOT do a body good and haven't you seen enough pictures of nicole kidman and meg ryan to know that altering your face like that is not pretty?!

i hope you have enjoyed my catty oscar bashing। it took frightfully long to do, but it was enjoyable nonetheless। if you ever get a chance to go to the oscars you call me and get my input। or else end up getting slapped, thrown or punched.

spring cleaning

while images of powdery scrubs and lavender water are indeed dancing through my head from the post title, the spring cleaning i am referring to is an internal one. i feel its time people. a glass (or 2) of wine almost every day and LOADS of butter are starting to take their toll...that extra 5-10 lbs, my skin, general overall loafishness. while i could not and would not EVER do a master cleanse (unfortunately insulin dependant diabetes prohibits it, that and the opinion that it might be far worse for you than loads of butter) i WOULD do a strict diet-y type cleanse thing-y.
gwyneth "goop" paltrow has a blog too called....goop. her initials or something, although i can't for the life of me figure out the "oo". olivia octavia? anyway...she talks about this cleansing diet she went on based on dr. alejandro junger's book clean. not so bad really. actual food, albeit no traces of dairy, sugar, caffeine, wheat, and processed foods (soy included). it lasts for 7 days and i will definitely have to adjust my insulin, but i am going to give it a try. i've asked my husband to do it with me. we'll see who lasts longest. truth be told i think its a pretty even playing field. he hates to lose weight and i hate being hungry.
so here's a link to the diet- http://goop.com/newsletter/15
plan to start march 1st. hope i don't kill anyone.
will keep my 4 readers posted.

sea view

love this idea. if you don't have an ocean view...create one damnit! LOVE it!!

hubba hubba

can somebody please tell me when kate winslet became so frigging gorgeous? i mean she has always been pretty and i am sure in person she has always been a knockout. but by hollywood standards hasn't she been...well...a little average looking? just like the rest of us?

well not so anymore...holy shitstain!!!

(this one's for my husband who is probably stroking his phase shifter as we speak)

not so average anymore.

house beautiful

the new issue of house beautiful is out now and i picked it up today. this is a good shelter mag, it's just that its insides are bursting with the homes of the insanely rich. i mean apart from the custom made everything, when i see 3 hu-normous bottles of jo malone on any sink i think...sick rich. good for them though. i'm not hating any woman for proudly displaying her 3 gorgeous bottles of jo malone anything. i digress...the point here is i generally can't see myself in any of these homes b/c they are just too perfect and expensive. make no mistake though they are beautiful. anyway...i found a few images inside that gave me great inspiration plus a recipe that i will definitely make and a mortar and pestle that i covet.

i defy you to find a cooler mortar and pestle anywhere.





this gorgeous montecito home (hello oprah-town) belongs to...rich mcLoaded...no not really.. someone named christina rottman. she is a designer and she clearly knows what she is doing. i love her creamy, pale neutrals. my own house is pretty neutral . and i never tire of it. isn't the last picture of their "loggia" (here in the south we call it a porch) amazing? i want to go to there.




and this lavender sea fan is sooooooooooo pretty. i think lavender is my favorite color. well gosh darnit it is now!!!!



and this room, done by interior designer jeffrey bilhuber ,while it goes against my usual love of pale neutrals gives me a bit of a boner. i love dark walls too and this sooty black works a charm with those golden chairs.

and as promised here is the shrimp salad recipe (a la ina garten) i mentioned. the shrimp is roasted to give it a bit of extra flavor. i can't wait to make it.

ROASTED SHRIMP SALAD
Serves 6
2 1/2 pounds (16 to 20 count) shrimp 1 tablespoon good olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup good mayonnaise 1 tablespoon orange zest (2 oranges) 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoon good white wine vinegar 1/4 cup minced fresh dill 2 tablespoons capers, drained 2 tablespoons small-diced red onion
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and devein the shrimp. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and toss together. Spread the shrimp in one layer and roast for 6 to 8 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, orange zest, orange juice, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. When the shrimp are cooled, add them to the sauce and toss. Add the dill, capers, and red onion and toss well. The flavors will improve if you allow the salad to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Otherwise, chill and serve at room temperature

isabelle bryer

aren't these gorgeous?

her name is isabelle bryer and she is from france (of course). there's more greatness here.

paint it black part 2

so i took a picture of the house i spoke about HERE and....here it is...





and i know my camera is the suckiest in town. i want this one. so if anyone out there is in a charitable mood..i'm just sayin'.

in case you were wondering...

the title of the blog comes from this...

paint it black

in honor of the black broom post yesterday and the fact that black is really a neutral color AND there is a house here in atlanta on north ave. that is painted black and it rocks, i thought i would show YOU all just how chic a house painted black can be.


that green foiliage looks awesome against the black, no?

this one below evokes a cameo brooch with its opaque blackness and white frilly looking trim. lovesies!!

can u love a broom?

i sure as hell can. this one is...cool!

root problem

ok so i have bleached blonde hair. i have ALWAYS had bleached blonde hair. highlights, lowlights and all over. every shade too, white, gold, butter, honey, brass and even 'sun-in' orange. it was high school people. but the one draw back is those damn roots. they are serious when they come back! and i am the worst about going back for a touch up. i wait until i look like someone waiting in line at the cvs to buy bic razors, pop-tarts and vagisil wearing slippers with socks and shorts. and then i realize i don't have enough money to go and will have to wait another week and a half to get in at which point i may as well sign up for jerry springer. but lately i have been noticing beautiful, rich women celebrated for their trendsetting ways sporting major roots. take a look and weigh in...personally if these women are ok with it..then i am too. of course that could also be just an excuse to make myself feel more cool than dirty whore.


this picture of gwyneth is pretty much where i am at exactly. although her hair here is about 3 inches longer than mine.

personally i think cameron actually had her hair colored at the roots to that point on purpose. this is extreme but i actually think its pretty cool. but this is cameron diaz and she pretty much could smear shit on her face and look amazing.

boden turns it OUUUTT!!!

one of each please. i feel these items would best be appreciated in capri.

go HERE for your own.

white hot love

you're welcome.

for my mom

i know she loves this...

happy valentines day mom!!

room of the day

as if you needed any more proof that floors painted white looks awesome...
i think my heart just skipped a beat.

room of the day

ok, so its not a room. its a hallway. but it makes me happy.

its so popular its poufular!

i like poufs. they are certainly comfy looking and most of them are aesthetically pleasing. these are a definite favorite and a best. they come from christien meindertma , a dutch designer. and while these poufs are pouftastic it's this rug that is about the most awesome thing i have seen in a long time. it's like a floor sweater. it's handknitted and probably 30 million dollars.

thanks to bodie and fou for the discovery.

viva terra

win a 2,000$ shopping spree HERE

love this

a friend of mine took this photo with his phone. beautiful, no? i want it blown up huge and framed for above my sofa (if i had the wall space that is). his name is jeff silirie and he is a cool dude.

new uses

i love it when something that isn't practical but still pretty can be put to use in a new way...par example..

you can get this HERE

this little bit of clever cuteness makes me VERY happy.

summer buffet

no, not potato salad and deviled eggs. a new look for my dining room buffet. ultimately i want to paint it glossy white but for now will just reassemble it with summery things...here's what i am thinking....

first i need to retire the cheap ikea lamps that were a temporary solution. and i love my geese and swan candles from anthropologie but it's time to put them away until next christmas.

and yes, the keep calm and carry on poster needs to retire too, but until i find the perfect piece it will still sit atop the boo-fay.

this lamp i found on bodie and fou and i love it. it might be a bit too bedroom-y though. i love the smoky looking glass base. so pretty, no?

here is what i am thinking for accessories...

this basket for napkins and flatware or candles, maybe?

i cannot afford these antique bottles but they are so pretty and summery i think they would make a welcome addition to any surface. but alas, i will have to find a less expensive version.

am i supposed to like this stuff?

i am not a fan. this is the orla kiely stuff for target and quite frankly i think it's sub par. i just returned from target and saw a few of these pieces up close and personal and this picture does it a better justice than is deserved (thanks apartment therapy for the steal). the fabrics are horribly scratchy and hard and the colors (some of them) are a (very) subtle shade away from baby turds. the lampshades weren't there. most likely snatched up rather quickly since they are the cutest thing in the bunch. but i gotta say...i don't really get all the hype anyway. i think its kinda lame when you can look at something and go..."OOOOH is that an orla kiely?!?!" much less "OOOOH is that an orla kiely for target?!!?!" whatevs. kind of like those vera bradley bags that everyone here in the south seems to carry. you just know you'll find a bedazzled cell phone inside too. right next to the baby wipes and the H2 keys. no thanks orla.

marion cotillard

today i want to look like her...



who do YOU want to look like today? or did you wake up looking great? (blech!)

new dining tables

this is called table fabulosity. yes, please.

this little beauty is from HERE

this one lives HERE

and go HERE for this one

any thoughts on a favorite?

i want to go to there

nothing gets me going more in february like the promise of a spring vacation in southern france!! this place is a dreamy option, no? unfortunately it is pretty cold there until about may..so drats on that...but a girl can dream. i can see a grown up gathering here in the evening drinking loads of wine just after our dinner that i cooked after gathering loads of fresh vegetables and meats at the local market...

i mean come on!!!! LOOK at that place!!! that's somebody's house. someone owns that place and they get to stay there and shit and i wonder if they know just how lucky they are? rich bastards!

*fyi the picture you see is but a backyard pool house thingy. the main house is up the hill. and yes, that is a fireplace in the middle there flanked by built-into-stone beds and benches.

promises from a flip flop

this morning in atlanta it was a frigid 21 degrees. here in the south 21 degrees is somehow different than 21 degrees in say, chicago or new jersey. it is colder. the air is cold and humid and it feels like it will rip your face off. now i spent the first 16 years of my life in the midwest so i KNOW cold. and i am telling you there is a difference! atlanta cold SUCKS! ok, so i go to the mall after dropping off my unrecognizable little girl (due to heavy coat, hat and scarf) at preschool this morning b/c i have no sweaters or anything warm and i need these things today!!! why don' t i have these things? because as cold as it can get here it will be 60 degrees the very next day so we tend to not own as much cold weather stuff as warm. well my usual good sweater sale stores (jcrew, gap, madewell etc...) are loaded with only spring clothes. its like a citron and blush explosion. and when i happened upon these little beauties i was instantly smitten and couldn't wait to get my first spring pedicure and wear them. the pale pink camellia is so sweet i can't stand it! its like jewelry for your feet!!! now while i know that it is clearly not flip flop weather...it will be soon. what's today? wednesday? yep...should be able to wear them this saturday.

kitchen envy (p.s. i know i am not the first to talk about this kitchen but since i love it so and my blog at this point is relatively new i need to)

this lovely bit of kitchen equipment is called the meneghini la ghiacciaia fridge/freezer
it is the one nigella lawson personally chose for her show nigella express.
every week i watch nigella express and feasts (respectively) on food network. and every time i watch i am left drooling over her awesome kitchen. don't know if its hers really, could be a studio near her house for all i know. but i sure do love it. she has loads of christmas lights strewn everywhere (she calls them fairy lights-as do most europeans...aussies too for that matter) and i mean EVERYWHERE!. i love its mix of industrial chic and modern country capsule. did i just make up a phrase? anyway it kicks major ass. it is also nearly impossible to find pictures of it. but here are some, all apologies for their quality. (oh...and try to conentrate on the kitchen not on nigella's squeezable rack)

jme collection

yes. i want this stuff for my own kitchen. unfortunately it is unobtainable in the US. and even if it were it would probably cost twice the price just to ship it. it is called coco dinnerware and it is from jamie oliver's new collection. see last post for more info on the latest from j. oliver.
i don't know, i mean there is a ton of white dinnerware out there and lots of it is cute but this is cooler than most i have seen. the fact that its bone china helps its cause. i LOVE LOVE LOVE the white rice bowls shown here to the right of the cup. the cereal bowls are the same only bigger. the price for 4 dinner plates is 40 pounds (about 90 dollars). sigh. champagne taste on a beer budget.