This weekend I'm so....

....blissed from holiday loveliness.  Like this:

A camellia, plucked on a Christmas walk.

Finding a wonderful new blog, the Little Deer, featuring this beautiful photo of a girl in sunlit hallway filled with paintings, drawings and photographs...And this charm to fight the blues:

Saying goodbye to my friend Liss at Daydream Lily. I will miss her during the several weeks that she's traveling...

But I will think of her visiting this exotic and beautiful place.

I love holidays for the simple pleasure of listening to gorgeous music, like the harp masterpieces played by Catrin Finch...

A sample:  Aria Mit 30 Veränderungen ...

The perfect music to accompany an afternoon of reading. Yesterday, I re-read a few of my favorite stories in this book, Interesting Women...

Andrea Lee writes so beautifully: "We pause alongside the back garden wall, where the stone urns are full of yellowing geraniums. From here, on those rare clear blue days that sometimes descend on Turin without warning, one can see green slopes sweeping down to the city; streets and buildings and factories as if in a diorama; and beyond the Po, rising into the sunlight, the snowcapped wall of the Alps."

Love.

PS: I'm very proud to tell you that I took the top photo of the camellia with my iphone camera!

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Xmas in LA

I went out searching today for an open coffee shop to get my afternoon latte. I happened upon this little alley garden. A few snapshots:

The camellias are already blooming, along with the last roses of the season...Hope you had a lovely holiday...

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Happy Christmas!

Sending you warm holiday wishes! Thank you so much for visiting my blog this year. I started English Muse in November 2008, but I didn't really start blogging on it until Christmas week last year. So, I guess it's my blog's first birthday, as well. I'm sending you all virtual hugs for helping me through one of the hardest years of my life. May 2010 be a year of wonderful new beginnings! luv u.

Photo above from the Cherry Blossom Girl's Christmas in Paris set.

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The Holidays: At a snow-covered cabin

We're staying in sunny Los Angeles for the holidays. So this post, my dears, is pure fantasy. Where I'd like to be:



and here....


and certainly here...


Happy Holidays! I'm doing last minute Christmas shopping today -- as usual!! What about you?



Photos and credits listed {here}.

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Lori Shepler: Artist Extraordinaire

In addition to being a fantastic, award-winning photographer, my friend Lori Shepler is turning her artistic abilities to another medium: painting.

Examples of her colorful work:

And one of her celebrity portraits (my favorite!) of the singer Shakira:

Lori was caught up a year ago in the insanity of the ongoing layoffs at the Los Angeles Times. But she, too, is creating a beautiful new life. Her paintings are for sale and you can see her full portfolio {here}!

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Happiness with a dash of indignation

One of my old colleagues, Carla Hall, called me tonight to see how I am. I told her the truth: I'm so happy. Yes, I have moments when I'm outraged and annoyed by the actions of my former bosses. (Like when I read this today.) But I've moved beyond the grief and sorrow from losing my job into this new place of happiness.

I've been re-reading A Moveable Feast. I love how Hemingway writes about the simple pleasure of borrowing books from Sylvia Beach's library. "To have come on all this new world of writing, with time to read in a city like Paris where there was a way of living well and working, no matter how poor you were, was like having a great treasure given to you."

Time, good friends, a life that's my own, a place to write and a stack of books to read. How could I not be happy?


Photo by westsidebeadery {Barb}

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Ta-da!! English Muse Reading List Updated!

A week or so ago, I asked everyone what they were reading. And now, with all your responses reviewed (and savored), I'm happy to announce that the official English Muse reading list on Amazon has been updated! It's in no particular order and there are now more than 160 books on the list. But I think it reflects the breadth and depth of your interests. I feel very, very lucky to have such smart readers.

Many among us are Janeites, of course! But you're also interested in a mix of modern literature, current affairs (like the treatment of women in the Middle East) and the gorgeous and colorful culture of India. My little graphic above -- featuring model Karlie Kloss from the August 09 issue of French Vogue -- includes a list of all the books on my nightstand at the moment.

My wish for you for this holiday is that you have plenty of time to read whatever you find interesting, beautiful and thought provoking.

Here's our Amazon link: English Muse wishlist.

xoxo

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Anthropologie: Winter Solstice

The Anthropologie catalogue this month was one of my favorites...

White washed...

Funky...

Cool...

Definitely saving this one! I keep the Anthro catalogues in a magazine case, along with the Urban Outfitters catalogues. Free little luxuries!

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Handmade Collage Holiday Card

I'm attempting something new this year: handmade collage holiday cards. This one is my first:


I was really nervous about posting it because I've never really tried collage before!
I suppose it's giving a new use to my old magazines.

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When the going gets tough, the tough go to.... Paris

I've been thinking that maybe I need a little break from all this layoff angst. I've decided to take a trip to Paris (leaving on Jan. 20) to sip hot chocolate and stroll through the 7th arrondissement with my friend Elaine, who lives there with her husband, Jean-Loup. I'm doing this on the cheep because I'm watching every dime. I've got a great rate on the plane fare, and now I'm looking to rent a studio apartment. It won't be like the one below. But this lovely pied-a-terre -- in the newest issue of Paumes Appartements de filles a Paris -- has me so inspired.

Have a look:

Can't wait, can't wait!

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Discovered: Fabulous Fashion Polaroid Blog

World renowned fashion photographer Antonio Barros honored me this morning by stopping by my blog and leaving a comment (from the Ukraine) on my snow post. He was kind enough to leave a link to his blog, the Singular, which he started in June...I had to click over and take a look! Wait till you see it!! The blog is comprised entirely of Polaroids that he's taken of models, celebs and fashionistas on his travels around the world. Photos like this, for example:

He explains the blog this way: "One unique polaroid picture. One single moment. An attempt to be out of the ordinary."

Here's the address: thesingular.blogspot.com.

Have a look! You'll love it!

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Snow Day

For about three weeks out of the year (starting around now), I really wish I lived in a place where it snows!

I grew up in Albuquerque, NM on the base of the Sandia Mountains. We could always count on a few snow days during winter. I especially loved nighttime after a snowstorm. The ground and sky were illuminated by a white twilight.


It never snows in LA. It only rains and rains...

What's your favorite snow memory?


Photos from {here}.

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Courage

Hello. I'm sorry I'm so late in posting today.  Somehow the time got away from me.  Some good news: I finished my book proposal and sent the first chapter to my agent.  Some bad news:  there's another round of layoffs coming tomorrow at my former place of employment, the LA Times. It never ends.  There's a very troubling trend developing there:  the majority of the people they're cutting these days are women, in their 40s and older.
  
We're already hearing a few names -- one of them is a 31 year veteran who helped forge the path for the rest of us.  They're being offered freelance jobs, which means there's a two-tiered pay scale now.  The bottom line:  Women are making less money than men, generally, once again in this one paper town.  So I'm thinking of my colleagues tonight.  I saw this photo taken by Susannah [Unravelling] in San Francisco and posted on flickr.

It's a photo of a Maya Angelou quote, carved in stone:  "Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency."  Maybe someday the people who are making these cuts at the money-making LA Times will have the courage to say "enough."


UPDATE: The layoffs went forward this week as planned. Apparently the editors were frantically revising the victims list up to the last moment. Once the dust settled, they had a balance of men and women. Still horrible -- and so close to Christmas. But maybe they heard my complaints about the creation of a pink collar ghetto. Maybe this post -- and your comments -- helped spare other women the horrible pain of not knowing if they'll have the income to keep their homes.

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Bonjour, 1962

These photos are from Tom Palombo's flickr stream, "Paris 1962."

They've made their rounds across the internet, but I can't get enough.

The story goes that they're images from Parisian cafés & nightlife in 1962,

the very same week Yves St. Laurent's first collection hit the runway.

...and the world has never been the same since then...

"photos seen originally on the debonaire blog"

Guest post by Lisi from The Beauty File

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Happy Weekend...

It's cold and rainy in LA, and I just want to stay tucked in by the fireplace -- sipping chai, listening to my new Norah Jones CD and reading...What are you doing this weekend?


(Photo by Thiago Lopes.)

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Advertise on the English Muse!

Hello everyone, the English Muse is now accepting new ads! Please inquire if you're interested. Details here!

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The Creative Spaces of London Fashion Designers

The Guardian has been doing this fabulous series spotlighting one room in the homes of major designers and artists.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Lulu Guinness

Erdem

Alice Temperley

I love Erdem's collage wall! (PS: Don't forget to visit our collage blog The Next Page!)

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Stars like jewels...

This photo, taken by Thomas Shahan, is one of the most beautiful pictures of the Milky Way that I've ever seen.  It's magical.  Have you ever stayed up half the night just to watch the stars and planets move across the sky?  I did it once on a moonless night at Yosemite, with a group of astronomers. It was freezing cold, but we counted over 20 shooting stars and a half dozen satellites. It's one of the best shows on earth, and completely free...

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What books are you reading?

And which books do you want for Christmas?

I figured it was time to update the English Muse reading list....

 

So please leave your answers on this post...

And I'll report back with everyone's favorites later this week!

PS: I usually read a couple books at once....so now I'm reading Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie and Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith...

Photo credits {here}

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Taylor Swift? Is that you??

Tis the season for transformation ...Taylor dons a frothy little Chanel dress in this photo by Raymond Meier for the NYT's T Magazine. The sunglasses are sharp! More {here}. ...

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Arianna Huffington's Book Hallway

Arianna Huffington lives in a beautiful Mediterranean-style estate on Los Angeles' Weststide.  Every time I visit her house, I always end up here, in this hallway where she stacks the public affairs books that arrive daily in her mailbox. (Spotted today: The Wealth of Networks, the J Curve and The Blue Way.)

At the end of the hallway there's a set of French doors:

...covered with postcards...

Love.

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Mod Cool: Aline Weber

Tom Ford cast the Brazilian runway beauty in his debut film, A Single Man.  She looks so chic in her black pencil pants (styled by Madonna's costume designer, Arianne Phillips.) But I'm most loving her hair!

A few more of her photos:

From Italian Vogue:

(Polaroids of models are always interesting...)

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Red

So lovely...I hope you're having a wonderful Friday.

(All from We Heart It, here)....

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Zooey Deschanel? Is that you?

I almost didn't recognize her with the blonde hair. Then I saw who took the photo: the goddess of transformation, Ellen Von Unwerth.

But what do you make of this photo?...(i feel like i'm alone on my blog today. where is everyone?)

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Neville Trickett, Diptych Master

South African artist and stylist Neville Tricket produces the most interesting diptychs. Here he juxtaposes modern clothing tags against old fashioned sewing notions. Have a look:

There are even more on Trickett's blog, Saint Verde Digest.  Let me know what you think!  Creating diptychs seems so easy to the casual observer, yet it's actually very complex. Like mathematics translated into visual beauty.

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