Parisian Chic

Speaking of Paris, I wish I had Parisian Chic before my last trip to Paris.  Ines de la Fressange's guide to style and the city of lights is packed full of insider tips on what to wear, where to shop, places to eat, and hotels in which to stay.  I was a little disappointed to find that the book does not contain the side by side photos of Inez and her daughter Nine d'Urso.  They were published in French Elle and are très chic!  I've included them for you.  Enjoy!

Photos of Ines and Nine by Benoît Peverelli

Love .... (More) Old Books

Eat My Words

These fabulous rooms give a whole new meaning to having an appetite for books!

Bookish Pleasures

Every picture tells a story!

God is in the Details

If you were a fan of Domino magazine, then you remember Lili Diallo's amazing styling skills.  I'm very excited that her new book Details: A Stylist's Secrets to Creating Inspired Interiors has just been released so we can all learn from the master.  Also seemed like a good time to revisit her Brooklyn loft.  It's like the American version of Loulou de la Falaise's Paris apartment.  Enjoy!

The Holidays are Here, and so is Rustic Elegance

If there is one thing I always associate with the Holiday Season, it has to be snow. And why not? The Holidays are smack in the middle of snow season, at least up here north of the 40th parallel. 'Tis the Season for swooshing down the mountains on skis, or boards...whatever works for you. Whatever you choose, there is always the anticipation of a warm fire and a mug of something hot waiting at the end of the day.

When I received a copy of the new book, Rustic Elegance, written and photographed by Ralph Kylloe, I knew I was in for an armchair getaway to some of the most perfect Winter settings in North America. And what perfect timing! I could curl up in front of my own fireplace, Chai Latte in hand and dream a little snowbound dream.

Rustic Elegance is a collection of beautiful log cabins, all creations of Larry Pearson AIA, set in gorgeous country in states ranging from Montana and Wyoming to Colorado and California, and everywhere with snow in between. Larry Pearson has been recognized a a leader in rustic design for some time. Small wonder when one first sees the almost fairytale character (when I say "fairytale, I am talking Tolkien's splendor) of the log cabins...and when one ventures inside to stone fireplaces blazing, candles burning, and cozy down comforters calling.

What I liked about this beautifully put together book, besides the obvious full bleed gorgeous photography and heft of the 12"x11" 256 pg. thing, was the way the chapters were organized. Each chapter shows a different house, inside and out, every room including kitchens and baths. It is full of wonderful ideas ....for example, built-in bunks are a popular way to bring in more guests to share the fun.

If you are looking for a perfect armchair travel book for that mountain loving friend or family member, Rustic Elegance would be the one. Who knows, it might even inspire them to get out of that armchair and hit the slopes! Or at least don a pair of snowshoes and a backpack full of cheese, bread and a bottle of wine. It all sounds good.

All photographs from Rustic Elegance, written and photographed by Ralph Kylloe. Reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith 

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and don't forget to enter my Holiday Give Away for another little something to keep you warm!

Working Girl

"If you produce one book, you will have done something wonderful in your life." - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

There are not one but two fabulous new books that chronicle the more than two decades that Jackie Kennedy Onassis spent as a book editor.  Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence which you can read an excerpt from in the January 2011 issue of Vanity Fair and Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books by William Kuhn.  For most of her life, Jackie was defined by the men in her life but it wasn't until she started to work that she really came into her own.  Jackie was said to have nurtured her authors, many of whom left Doubleday after her death because they couldn't bear working there without her.  I was surprised to learn that she worked with Diana Vreeland on her book Allure which was recently rereleased.  Vreeland's grandson, Nicholas Vreeland, remembers Jackie coming over to Diana's apartment to work on it.  I can't wait to read both books and see what else she helped to publish! 

Diana Vreeland and Jackie Kennedy Onassis

The Art of the Scrapbook

I could spend a week discussing Cecil Beaton.  He was a photographer, set designer, costume designer, interior designer, diarist, style icon, and probably more.  Among the highlights of his career were the sets and costumes he designed for Gigi and My Fair Lady as well as the wedding photos he took of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  If you really want to really learn about this intriguing man, then I suggest picking up Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook from Assouline.  I will warn you that the volume is a bit expensive and quite heavy.  I could barely lift it off the shelf to leaf through it but it's definitely worth it.  Looking through the pages of images is like looking into Cecil Beaton's mind and creative process. "Beaton’s scrapbooks allowed the artist to play with pictures he had taken (and perhaps those he wished he had) in the dreamspace of artifice that was always his favorite setting."  Definitely makes me want to start a scrapbook but then again, my blog is my modern version of a scrapbook. 

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." - Cecil Beaton