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PW TLC Gift Basket

2009-11-10T09:37:00.001-08:00

I met Priscilla of PriscillaWoolworth.com yesterday for delicious lunch at Ammo and then she handed me the most awesome housewarming wedding package...ever. I almost didn't want to open it because of how great the palm card looked wrapped in twine.
The contents are a recipe for maximal comfort and coziness:
one bag of Himalayan Bath Salts
one very Soft Black Blanket/throw
one Hotwater Bottle
one Icepack
one Aromatherapy diffuser
extra Soy Tealights for the diffuser
one Head Scratcher

You can also find all these products sold seperately at PriscillaWoolworth.com
Thanks P-Dubs! xx

I love the packaging on this one!

Rory McGrath Swatch watch

2009-11-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

People have been asking me recently what I purchased while in Argentina, especially given the low low prices down there. The truth is: nothing much. I feel like I shop for a living, so when I was down there all I really cared to do was walk around, eat, drink wine and take pictures. Shopping was really the last thing on my list despite the deals to be had. However, I do have a little habit of picking up Swatch watches at International airports. I had just recently lost my clear Swatch I bought with left over Yen at Narita, so I bought the Rory McGrath special artist edition Swatch at the EZE airport am lovin' it. Pick it up at your local Swatch store for $60.

custom Maptotes

2009-11-06T08:31:00.001-08:00

While I wait for the photos to come back from our wedding, I'll try and keep posting with photos I have here and there. We put together little welcome bags for our wedding guests using Maptotes' Palm Springs bag (retails for $15), which they created just for us. They were stuffed with a chocolate bar from Matt's favorite coffee maker, some savory and sweet goodies from Hadley's, Excedrin, water, some sun screen, lobster gummies, and some In-N-Out pencils and sticky notes. Maptote is now also making Map Notes—check 'em out!
Above photo via The Foodinista

Yellow Owl Workshop STDs

2009-11-05T09:16:00.001-08:00

And here come the wedding posts. First: STDs...that's an obvious abbreviation for Save-The-Dates, right? Anyway, I was turned on to the San Francisco artist Christine Schmidt of Yellow Owl Workshop by our freaking-awesome wedding planners Kelsey and Alison of Alison Events. Working on the STDs was really fun, I sent over Christine an "inspiration board" of what we were looking for and she designed the final product and screen printed it herself in her studio. Yellow Owl is really blowing up (or has blown up?) and are stocking some of the coolest store's shelves in the country. I'm hoping to snag some holiday cards from them this year before they run out. Bonus: they print on 100% recycled paper.

Ikebe Shakedown

2009-11-04T08:45:00.001-08:00

The Brooklyn-based afro-beat/funk/soul band that played our wedding, Ikebe Shakedown, just put out their first EP, Hard Steppin'. They RULE! To get an idea of their sound you can check out this YouTube clip or go to their website where you can get their new album for $10!

Faena Hotel

2009-11-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

From a design perspective the five-year-old Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires' Puerto Madero district is quite a scene. We didn't stay there, but we definitely checked it out while we were in town. It was designed by Philippe Starck, who used the color red like a crazy man. Naturally, to fit in to the design, the first thing I did when we got there was order a Negroni.

It was about to rain, so we huddled/cuddled with our drinks and some olives by the pool before dinner, it was tré romantico.

We originally thought we'd eat at this schmancy restaurant inside the hotel called The Bistro, but we opted for the cozier restaurant, El Mercado. Plus we were on a full-on empanada rampage, so we couldn't resist.

Plus, check the ceiling! So cool.

Garden Buenos Aires

2009-11-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Matt and I just got back to reality last night from two weeks of insane over stimulation and way too much fun. I'm going to get into the wedding posts soon, but had to start with the absolute coolest bed and breakfast we stayed in while in Buenos Aires, Garden Buenos Aires. It was recently featured in the New York Times. Luckily the owner, Pamela Murphy, is the first cousin of one of my bestest friends in the world, so we were pointed in the right direction. The B&B is located in a bohemian hood close to lots of antique shopping and great restaurants. The rates are very attractive too, our stay was $125 US and that includes free hangouts with their two enormous golden doodles. Absolutely worth a visit if you're planning a trip to BsAs.

Playin' hooky...

2009-10-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Getting hitched and going to Argentina. Back in November!
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Mick + Andy

2009-10-16T08:37:00.001-07:00

This has to be one of the coolest correspondence letters in rock history (via Swiss Miss). Click the image to make it larger if you can't read it.

Feather boutonnieres

2009-10-15T09:50:00.001-07:00

I'm planning to do a big wedding post detailing some of the design elements and vendors we used once the big day is behind us, but, I'm so excited about these boutonnieres that my florist, Danielle Rowe Zunt, and I made last night out of feathers that I had to post about them today. All it took was a quick trip to Necromance on Melrose to get a few 80-cent guinea feathers and a delicious Peruvian seafood meal at Mario's, and ta da, feather idea becomes reality. I showed it to Matt last night and he loves it.

Man totes

2009-10-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

I love these Chester Wallace totes ($95) made to look like a combo of a tote and a tool belt.

Mister Bow Ties

2009-10-12T09:10:00.001-07:00

Stumbled onto this great little bow tie resource, Mister Bow Tie where seven out of their collection of eight bowties are $89 (one is $85). They are sold online and in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires.

Allan Adler Silver

2009-10-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with some of the Allan Adler silverware and holloware available at Zelen Home (8055 Beverly Blvd. L.A.). It's a Southern California family Silversmith that is still hand-pounding and hand-polishing designs from the 40s and 50s. Insane. Bonus, it's all 20% off for the month of October!

Mobiles by Joanna Bean

2009-10-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

So cool! Get it right here ($225).

Patch NYC

2009-10-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Items that rule from Patch NYC: Ship tote ($182), Hat pillow ($120)—which you may recognize from this house tour; and boot candle holders ($225)—all available right here.

Baggu Bags

2009-10-07T08:37:00.001-07:00

Baggu is my new favorite reusable on-the-go grocery or whatever bag. I especially love how many colors and patterns there are to choose from here. They hold the contents of 2-3 plastic grocery bags and up to 50 lbs.
$8.00 each / 3, 4 or 5 bags $7.50 each / 6 or more bags $6.50 each. Not bad.

ORK heart poster

2009-10-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Matt asked me to help him with a little office decoration for his workspace at a company that focuses solely on cardiology. He said it was the least I could do after publicly humiliating him for his hording tendencies in the L.A. Times. I guess I agree. So I thought this new ORK heart poster ($18) would the perfect little guy for the job. ORK makes many more city posters than they did a year ago, so check them out if you haven't recently.

RIP Gourmet

2009-10-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Bummer of the month: Gourmet is no longer. They got the axe today along with Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. The above issue (July 2006) is one of my favorites, it's sitting on my desk right now.

In honor of Gourmet, here's the cover recipe, one that I make all summer long.

Angel-hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce

* 1 small garlic clove
* 3 lb tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 lb dried capellini (angel-hair pasta)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

* Accompaniments: finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)

Mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife.

Core and coarsely chop two thirds of tomatoes. Halve remaining tomatoes crosswise, then rub cut sides of tomatoes against large holes of a box grater set in a large bowl, reserving pulp and discarding skin. Toss pulp with chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar (if using), and pepper. Let stand until ready to use, at least 10 minutes.

While tomatoes stand, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately add to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with basil.

Ta Ta!

2009-10-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Taking a long weekend from the bloggie. Back next week.

L.A. at Home

2009-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

If for some odd reason you'd want to read more LG blogs, you can catch me at The L.A. Times' Home blog most days writing about deals around town. Some online deals of note that have recently gone up are here, here and here.

Sawhorse table legs

2009-09-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to really wrap my brain around decorating our new apartment yet as I've been busy stress-eating and pacing, but I started to get slightly into the idea of working on it when I came across these classic angular iron table legs ($38). I love the vintage-inspired olive paint job. And we can get a great little tabletop of our choosing (the legs come with pre-drilled holes at the supports for easy affixing to any table surface). This seems like the perfect project for Matt. And guess what? It's from Urban Outfitters (huh?)--where by the way they're waiving the shipping fee for everything over $75 until October 5th.

Roberta Roller Rabbit

2009-09-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Current obsession: Everything at Roberta Roller Rabbit, and it's pretty reasonably priced. Big cata pink pillow ($40).

turquoise quilt ($125).

Picnic throws ($125 each).

Francesca placemat ($12 each)

Flavia napkin ($8 each)

Hardoy Butterfly Chair

2009-09-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Steven and Jeff, the owners over at Circa50, emailed me this weekend to talk about the famous Hardoy Butterfly Chairs. It was so funny, because we were just then deciding if we were going to use them at our wedding. They are placed around a firepit at The Parker where we will have our cocktail hour. I think they look great and would be fantastic for a small group, but we decided to take them out in the end to give people more room to schmooze.

The chair was first produced in 1938 by designer Jorge Ferrari Hardoy who sent just three pre-production models to the U.S. at the request of the Museum of Modern Art. One is in MoMA's collection and one is at the Frank Lloyd Wright house Fallingwater, but no one knows where the third went (your garage?). In 1947, Knoll produced the Butterfly chair, but four years later after losing a copyright infringement case against a competitor, they dropped it from their line. From that point on, millions of butterfly chairs were sold.

2010 Calendar

2009-09-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for 2010! I just bought this really cool Crispin Finn 2010 calendar ($16). I can't wait to hang it in our new office and fill it with OTHER PEOPLE'S WEDDINGS. Yay!

Paul Smith for Rhodia

2009-09-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Woah.