shake your boontje

when i first saw the midsummer light lamp by tord boontje (check this out) a few years ago, i jumped all over it. except i didn't have an overhead fixture in my room, so i passed on it.

and then it burst onto the lighting market and could be found everywhere, including our favorite local japanese confection shop. and some people hate it. and i can see how it could look ulgy when not in the right context. but sometimes it can look totally awesome, in multiples, as a bold statement in a big art display.

tord also previously designed the garland light and the blossom chandelier. the garland light, i'm not such a big fan of. but i love the blossom chandelier, at least the concept of it.

his moulded plastic nest chair is pretty cool too. for a cute urban garden.

but what got me taking another look at tord boontje, was a recent dwr newsletter. it highlighted floor coverings by nani marquina, who commissioned tord to create his little field of flowers rug last year, which would be lovely to incorporate into my home somehow. but even the small size (about 8' x 5.5') is a bit large for my needs now.

red carpet @ 59th annual emmy awards

a little late to the game, but figured i'd share my thoughts on the red carpet at the 59th annual emmy awards anyway

all-around favorites were jennifer morrison (house) and portia de rossi (guest of ellen degeneres). each had great hair, makeup and dresses.

jennifer morrison in an elie saab gown

[ side note: also loved her dress at entertainment weekly's 5th annual pre-emmy party the night before. haven't found whose dress it is. ]

portia de rossi in a gown by azzaro by vanessa seward with boucheron jewels

honorable mention goes to marcia cross (desperate housewives). her hair and accessories were rockin, but i wasn't really feeling the dress.

marcia cross in georges chakra gown, lorraine schwartz earrings and bangle, and lambertson truex clutch

least favorites would be: ali larter (heroes), kristen bell (veronica mars), felicity huffman (desperate housewives) and hayden panettiere (heroes).

ali larter (in reem acra) and kristen bell (in yigal azrouel) both looked like they were wrapped in fancy bath towels.

felicity huffman (in david meister) showed too much breastbone as usual and was not age-appropriate. hayden panettiere (in marc bouwer) wasn't very age-appropriate either; she could have gone with a cuter, more form-fitting dress, instead of looking like she were ready to hide some stolen awards under the skirt.

in the male category, milo ventimiglia (heroes) was looking quite dapper. a rumored budding relationship must be the source of his allure. along the same vein, there's a sadness in the eyes and posture of jesse spencer (house); looking kinda sloppy, must be the recently announced broken engagement.

maybe i should just split this blog into two: one for food- and friend-related stuff and another for stuff you guys aren't as interested in (design-related stuff) ... yes/no?

. . .

well, no feedback apparently. but i went ahead and did it anyway.

blue, blue, blue suede shoes

... or gray, gray, gray leather booties ... either or ... i'm really liking all the dark gray accessories out for fall/winter: iron, steel, smoke and dove and all those other fancy shades of gray. i'd really like to find the perfect pair of gray pumps though. that'd be hot

and yes, those gray patent boots are from the same fall/winter 2007 miu miu collection of brogue specator shoes that i've been talking about for the past five months (here, here, here and here). and yes, this will be the last entry about them. well, that is, after i purge a little. can't find the middle one in my size, but oh well, they don't fit so great anyway. and the other two have such classic coloring. i'm pretty sure i'll compliment whoever i see on the streets with any of them. (unless she's a size 5, then i might just find myself attacking her.)

and since i've got my feathers all ruffled at the moment, i might as well complain about a current trend i'm so not digging. exposed zippers. why would designers ruin a perfectly pretty dress with a completely exposed zipper, meaning even the edge of the tape is exposed. crazy and silly.

these are a few of my (current) favorite things

a beautifully intricate rug by "floor to heaven" in germany ... (i think i'll add a little area rug to my room)

laser engraved wood veneer invitations by oslo press. i just freakin flip over anything laser-cut and these happen to be super pretty. maybe i can order them for like a housewarming party or something. because, you know, that's probably more likely to happen sooner than having a some silly party with cake and a pretty white dress.

a felt doily (by donna wilson) that i just had to have (found at eden & eden), even though i had no idea what i needed it for.

super cute cards by bumble ink ... this is one of their "i'm sorry" cards that says "i suck" on the inside.

fresh in-season and flavorful fruit ...

so close, yet so far away

still waiting for those dumb miu miu shoes to hit saks. won't it be so sad if they don't have my size or if they're (even worse) uncomfortable? yea, it'll be pretty sad.

i asked like two different sales associates and neither knew the arrival date. i'd so pre-order this one if only the ruffly part were detachable. is it? doubtful.

sorry, it's not likely i'll stop obsessing until i get them. actually, i was in the general vicinity of saks this weekend, but figured i didn't need to make a stop lest i be disappointed yet again by another clueless SA. bah!

everything's coming up "acorns"

fall/winter collections are always so much nicer than the spring/summer collections. well, at least i think so. sure, girls like summer because they get to dress all cute and pretty. but fall is when you get to wear the more tailored clothing with more substantial, richer fabrics. love it!

and fall items have been trickling in recently. a couple weeks ago, the first coats hit the floors. saw this dvf coat that i tried on in both black and ivory. i would have bought one in each color but then i saw that it was prominently displayed at neiman, saks and bloomingdales so you'll probably see this coat all over the place. well, not exactly all over the place since it's $695, but you'll see it around.

and besides, i'm in the market for a charcoal gray coat. i've got enough black and ivory ones. no need for more, although it is rather cute.

and oh(!) the anticipation for miu miu's fall shoe collection continues. i saw this lone shoe sitting among the prada collection and freaked out!! i flagged down a sales associate to see where the rest of the collection could be found. he said that this flat was the first and only miu miu shoe in so far.

you can be sure i'll be checking every day for the pumps to come in. i think i'll skip wearing the socks with them though.

and oh oh oh. ferro items at bv are being snatched up as quickly as they're getting into the store. i'm so all over that too.

little miss muffet's tuffet

another element of my room! in addition to a huge floor mirror (i've decided to get something that actually exists and is readily available, yet still somewhat similar: from west elm), i think i'll get a custom barcelona stool.

this stool but in the sand color.

i was thinking all last night whether to get a matching chair made as well, but the chair would set me way past the budget i've set. but then if i decide to get the chair in the future (which i likely will), then i'm running the chance of the two pieces not matching. what to do?!

man, oh man. i'm so excited to put this room together. although the pièce de résistance is something i have yet to mention and i'm pretty sure it's more than double my entire budget. so i'll have to think of a way around it. hmm, maybe up my budget?

and oh, as for the mirror, i thought about getting the west elm mirror and applying zebrawood veneer to it and framing it with chrome molding. but i looked up the veneer and i haven't been able to find the right length or grain. and plus, zebrawood apparently stinks like nasty when working with it. so, yea, i dropped that idea. and then i thought of doing a faux paint treatment to mimic the grain of zebrawood, but knowing my history, i'd probably mess it up. so a plain mirror it is!

gonna dress you up in my love

super cute dresses at net-a-porter but i don't feel like ordering online since dresses tend to fit me funny anyway. i'd definitely try them on in person though, if i come across them.

i'm a big kid now

whoa! west elm has grown up! their bedding lineup for fall totally reminds me of the likes of dwell and amenity. very nice.

ok, this one is old, but i still like it

mirror, mirror, on the floor

so i decided that instead of waiting to decorate/design my room until i move out, i'm going to start now and hopefully be able to transfer it to my next place.

first item of business, i really really want a zebrawood floor mirror. williams sonoma home has a 32" x 42" wall mirror in zebrawood for $395 but it's much too small.

they also have a 38" x 84" floor mirror in the same family, but it doesn't come in zebrawood. maybe i can special order it, but then again it is a whopping $1,095.

i don't know why i'm bothering to ask, but does anyone know where i can find a similar floor mirror in zebrawood, preferably but not necessarily a little less expensive?