outside in

one of the best things about my marriage is the way that mitchell and i see eye to eye on most of the big stuff, but we have such different approaches to things small and large, which makes each of us better. he often comes up with solutions that i would never think of, and vice versa. when consulting each other on challenges we're facing, we often stare incredulously at one another's suggestions, as if to say "i never would have thought of that." it makes for good teamwork and the occasional "spirited debate."

so this weekend, i plan to employ one of mitchell's strategies for cleaning and organizing...my closet is more or less verbally asking to be organized so i must oblige. i think some of the items you see above literally threw themselves onto the floor our of frustration. it's a multi-part process, for sure, and i've been inspired by these great closet photos (minus the atrocious one directly above) from nicole of making it lovely, so i'm using them as my driving force. i'm thinking if she can do this all with a freestanding ikea wardrobe, i can make sense out of my small walk-in closet.


mitchell's smart idea is to remove everything and then organize and purge as you bring things back in and place them neatly where you want them. here's what i mean kids - i never would have thought of that. i would have been crammed in the closet with barely a foot to move around, sweating, cursing, wishing i had never started this damn project.

mitchell's plan makes a bit of a mess of the room temporarily, but overall is a much more effective strategy, i've found. it also forces you to assess the ways you're storing things and all the tools bought over the years - special hangers, boxes and bags and forces you to consider a new formula. to start, i've stocked up on hot pink bins and baskets on heavy sale at bed, bath and beyond and i'm ready to strike.

and now that i've seen nicole's lovely little chestnut of a plan (above), i'm cooking up my own. i love me a good plan.

what are your weekend plans?

images from making it lovely

funny girl (and she cooks!)

i'm kind of loving jessica seinfeld these days. gone are the days of being accused of stealing the fruit puree idea, and here to stay is her fab personality and great, healthy ideas. when i was home from work for a few weeks, i joined the oprah-watching world and there jessica was - comfortable, self-assured, and much-adored by jerry, her proud, watchful and totally not overshadowing husband.

in today's goop, jessica and her new book are featured. watch the video gwyneth links to - one of many short, supereasy looking ones on jessica's new website, originally shot for jessica's friend who wanted to learn to cook. and also read the short interview with jessica for some excellent tips and a glimpse into her world.

i love how in the video, jerry is just hanging in the background looking like a hungry husband wondering what's for dinner. nary a close up of his face nor a peep out of his hilarious genius of a mouth.

want the book. for me and for gifts. want her to be my friend. and jerry too.

image from seattle times

bringing it to the table

i'm starting to think about thanksgiving decor thanks to my expert hostess mother who's letting me do the flowers...my head is dancing with images of pumpkins and fruits and flowers...oh my!

in the last issue of real simple, they had a great story on different holiday tablescapes based on the dishes you already have. i thought it was so useful and savvy - just like the mag itself. here are the ideas they offered.

if you have white dishes, go mostly monochromatic but add a pop of an energizing color:

if you have blue and white dishes, mix two different patterns and throw in soft, nubby textural pieces for an unexpected twist, then add some gilded fruit for added glam. this whole look would work just as nicely with the more traditional spode-style blue and white set.

if you have gilded china, real simple suggests mixing it with dark and moody textiles and "undone" autumnal elements like loose squash and indian corn.

for earthy ceramics, they suggest layering organics to achieve a warmed-up scandinavian aesthetic.

and for a "vintage mishmash," just embrace it and go with the chaos, toning it down by having the backdrop be crisp white linens. they're all gorgeous, but this tablescape just makes my heart sing.

to me, that's what holiday decor is about...finding the exact combination of elements that embraces tradition but brings new excitement and joy to the table as well.

top image from martha stewart, all others from real simple

candy coated

i never tire of a party with a really well-executed color scheme. how pretty is this one? it builds even further of my love of pink and orange discussed here, but in a wonderfully muted way.

i even love the way the ribbons hit at varied lengths on the wall...it's such a good counterpoint to the order and perfection of everything else and lends it a certain handmade with love feeling that feels just right for a sweet celebration.

these images are such keepers for my inspiration files.

image from green wedding shoes

spare pair

these last few rainy days in new york have illuminated how great the "spare pair" is that i picked up at target a few weeks ago (not to be compared with this spare pair, also interesting).

they're a foldable pair of flats that come with their very own carrying case - how cute! thrown in your bag, they're a quick change agent for heels, rain boots, sneakers or flip flops and perfect for traveling, commuting, or just as a fallback for ambitious shoe-wearers. they're like the popples of shoes. hear me when i tell you they look just as nice as their more rigid flat brethren when worn. unfortunately, they're not available online so you have to make the trek. or...

similarly, the gap has city flats in several colors and textures, including my two favorites, the velvet flat in phantom purple and the leather flat in perfectly on-trend camel. also see them in the punchy, rich lasalle red.
i love the range of colors available in the city flats, and if you want even more options, you have to check out the collection at yosi samra. they even make bridal ones!
to me, this concept is pure genius. women have been carrying spare pairs since the dawn of time...(okay, maybe not the dawn of time, but you get what i mean), it's just never been this easy or cute!

all images from linked sites

nighty night

nightstands are kind of like a little apartment within your home, right? they're self-contained, just a lovely little tableau of whatever happens your first and last moments awake each day.

here's what's on mine:

-an alarm clock i've had since high school
-a small crystal bowl my grandpa gave me which holds rubber bands and odds and ends
-a glittery silver box for my rings
-a bottle of lavender and vanilla pillow mist
-a box i painted in mexico to hold my inner child - story for another day
-a face-shaped box from my grandma which holds q-tips
-a book or two and my blackberry
-anywhere between one and four water bottles at varying levels of fullness

i'm curious to know...what's on your nightstand?

image from house beautiful

at our fingertips

i'm loving the essie winter collection - such an improvement on last year's winter collection to my mind.

one of the things i like is that some of the shades are sort of evolutions of some of the essie fall collection. take for example these:

going incognito, above, is a jewelier play on fall's army-chic sew psyched, while hot coco, below, seems to a cross between between a moodier take on fall's little brown dress, which i have fully enjoyed, and the slightly older mink muffs.

luxedo, below, seems a lot like fall's velvet voyeur, which i'm wearing at this very moment and loving, deeply (it's so shiny!!). i'm interested to see how luxedo differs.

i'm also really excited about masquerade belle, below, described as black ruby (yes please!) which bodes well, since the aforementioned velvet voyeur (indeed the holy grail of fall manis, like i thought it would be) is described as "intense chocolate amethyst"...they seem to share some DNA in being really dark black/brown with a hint of a deep, jewely color.

not sure how silken cord differs from the bounty of great reds, long stem roses being my personal pick, so we'll see when these hit nail salons (should be soon, but shoppable now here and in abbreviated form here).

and then there's smokin' hot, below, described as a stone-cold fox gray. while the slightly older chinchilly doesn't work for me, i'm hopeful that this deeper, darker, browner gray will fit the bill.



any early favorites?

baby it's cold outside

so today seems like a fitting day to talk about my latest cold weather accessory obsession, the faux fur leg warmer/boot cover. i wish there was one agreed upon name for the genre, but there isn't.

i love these because it means you don't have to buy a pair of faux (or real if that's your thing) winter boots, you can instead wear the same ones you've been wearing for years and use these as a wintry, warming add-on. also, if they get a little too shaggy from snow and rain and sleet, you're not dealing with a $300 pile of wet shag to feel guilty about.

i'd say the pair at the top from lulu's ($41) is my number one choice, though these wonderland warmers ($32) are pretty adorable as well (in white, black, gray or coffee):

oh, and these "chinchilla" ones (ami clubwear, $about $40):

although i don't find the furry shag boot covers i found on amazon quite as luxe looking, i think they're great in that they come in so many colors and so cheap ($18) that you can get a few and match them to the rest of your outerwear ensemble which is, in itself, kind of luxe, don't you agree?

and while we're on the topic of luxe, i just want to make sure you're aware of rachel zoe's faux fur vests on qvc...here are my two favorites, in silver and red fox (otherwise known as give it to me pleeeeease), both around $80):

okay and one more thing in the faux fur arena...check out this faux fur flagstaff jacket ($118) available for preorder at fred flare:

and since you're already there, see the buckled miwok vest ($60) as well - on trend, but a little different because of the buckles:

did somebody say head start on holiday gifts? okay i'm done.

except for this, for the dreamers. meet j.crew's mongolian lamb vest($800). nighty night.

if you're so inclined, check out the post i did at SHEfinds about this vest, or the whole fur wardrobe you can get for the same price.

stay warm.

not so itsy bitsy spider

i have to show you these crazy flowers my parents have at the bottom of their driveway - they're called spider flowers, or cleome. they grow like crazy, really tall and strong, and what i love about them is how much they have going on. the bloom itself is bright and spiky and then there are these long tendrils coming off of them.

at the end of each tendril are these long pods that i can't help expect little creatures to come out of. each part is just so perfectly formed and even in person, they look more like a beautiful photograph than they do an actual living plant.

and then the stem itself, the one that holds up each flower, is adorned with hundreds of perfectly aligned leaves. they look like a beautiful origami sculpture. amazing.

note: thanks to reader amy for clarifying that these flowers are not in fact bee balm.

trick or treat

not to be messagey about something as innocent and fun as halloween, but i've given it lots of thought this year. i don't want to ignore it (like our crazy neighbor who thinks kids shouldn't worship the devil), but with obesity an epic epidemic in this country, especially in children, i've decided to make this year's candy bowl at our house full of everything but candy. add to the equation that i'm two weeks off a gastric bypass, i would find it a strange message to be doling out funsize snickers while i can still hardly bend over. feel me?

i hope my little trick-or-treaters will be pleased, and if not, maybe when they're grown-ups they'll remember that they have options the way i remember the people who gave out nickels and spider rings.

image from therabreath

bowls in bloom

i love the idea of fresh flowers in a low or footed bowl, rather than a traditional vase. first, because i think it automatically creates a different shape and proportion than we're so used to seeing, and also because it provides the opportunity to use such a wide array of special pieces. it's such a great thing to be able to use a family piece of silver or a rarely-used soup tureen or serving bowl from a beautiful set of china.



of course it's a great chance to use great thrifting finds as well. so often, when i'm at tag sales or antique shops, i see a really gorgeous bowl, but i hesitate, often because they're so much fancier than what i use at home. but when you think of it this way, it's a whole other world of opportunity for the special bowls of the world.


images from house beautiful, real simple, katie-writes, country living, a rose is a rose florist, garden party sisters, k bella designs, wedding flowers and reception ideas, my home ideas