more about the solo sale

solo sale

If you're in the San Diego area over the weekend you must visit Solo's annual sale. Solo is a co-op with about a dozen merchants under it's roof. My favorite merchant is Jennifer Price Studio, a collection of found and re-purposed wares from a different time and place.

If you go, slip across the street and visit my favorite nursery, Cedros Gardens.

parisian chic

Iconic supermodel writes the book on Parisian style

April 22 - Before anyone gets the wrong idea, Ines de la Fressange would like to point out that you cannot just spend your way into becoming a Parisian.

"I do think it's a state of mind," says the original French supermodel turned designer and fashion consultant -- and, more recently, and much to her surprise, best-selling style book author.

"There are people who want to buy a lot. I'm the one saying, 'Don't buy a lot -- buy the good things'."

Since it came out in France last fall, "La Parisienne" has sold well over 100,000 copies, entertaining readers with its chummy, cheery prose and prompting an English version -- "Parisian Chic" -- for an Anglo-Saxon market crowded with finger-wagging what-not-to-wear guides.

"French women generally say they're not really interested in fashion, so when I was told that it had sold more than Harry Potter or Keith Richard's autobiography... it certainly was a surprise."

Conceived like a Moleskine notebook with a burgundy cover, it draws on De La Fressange's lifetime in fashion -- and her habit of making lists for advice-seeing friends -- to explain what it takes to truly look Parisian.

To hear her tell it, it's effortless.

Six rules apply: Mix styles and never coordinate. Reject bling. Explore new labels. If it feels right, wear it. Worship no fashion idols. Beware good taste.

Then stock your closet with a blazer ("belt it!"), trench coat (Burberry if possible, but not necessarily), navy sweater ("more sophisticated than a plain black sweater") and tank top ("a classy supporting act").

Not to forget a little black dress ("not simply an item of clothing, it's a concept"), the "perfect" jeans ("like salt, they go with everything") and finally a leather jacket ("guaranteed to save any overly-conventional look").

From those basics, accessorise as you wish. Keep your wardrobe minimal and regularly clear out what you no longer wear. Oh, and smile. "You can carry off anything with a smile," she writes.

Being of a certain age herself, De La Fressange devotes a few pages to those over 40.

"Never neglect yourself," she writes. Don't get stuck in a style you wore in your 30s, otherwise "it will age you instantly." And for those over 50, steer well clear of fur, unless you want that "wrinkled trophy wife" look.

Ironically for a style consultant at Roger Vivier, the Parisian accessories house whose eponymous founder invented the stiletto shoe, De La Fressange favours flats over heels, and raves about Converse sneakers.

"There are a lot of women who think it's not possible to go out without high heels," she told AFP in an telephone interview from Normandy, where she was on a pre-Easter break. "It's incredible... If they put on high heels just because they think they are too short, well, nobody cares that much."

For shopping, De La Fressange namechecks Monoprix, an unassuming French department store chain not unlike K-Mart or Marks and Spencer.

She also recommends venturing into the menswear department -- "it's usually very good, or sometimes too much for men but perfect for us" -- or dabbling in the children's section.

"I'm a shopaholic but I know you don't need that much to look good," she explained. "It's better to invest in some pieces like a nice handbag and nice shoes. For clothes, you can manage with cheaper things."

Ines with her daughters

De La Fressange is the first to admit that her vision of Parisian style "totally, absolutely" reflects the well-heeled, intellectual Saint Germain des Pres neighbourhood where she lives. But she concedes that if she lived in any other city, her signature look would no doubt be different: "Personally, if I'd lived in London, for instance, I'm sure I would have a much more crazy style."

by Robert MacPherson

Copyright © 2011 AFP.

life in topanga

The deer are back! There's two of them. Can you find them? A hint: look for the white on their tails. Now if they'd only stay down in the canyon and quit coming up to eat my plants!

we've gone solar!

About a year ago, a postcard from Sungevity, an Oakland-based solar sales company, ended up in our mailbox offering a free $500 iPad if you signed up for a solar lease with them. After a few bumps in the road and six months waiting, we finally got our solar panels installed last week.

The up-side is that it's a lease with NO upfront costs. Sungevity not only deals with all the permits and installation but also all the rebates and tax incentives. They also, free of charge handle all the maintenance.

The down-side is that it's a lease, so in the long run it's more expensive than if we had bought the system out-right. The lease is for ten years with no ability to add to the system or upgrade it as technology improves - so they say.

Sungevity uses subcontractors to do the installations. Progressive Power out of Garden Grove did ours. It turns out, we could have done a lease through them as well. I don't know what the price would have been but at least we would have been dealing with a local company. But no free iPad!

Our inspection with LA County Building & Safety is tomorrow. Then we can watch our meter run backward!

earth day 2011

Today is Earth Day. But everyday should be Earth Day.

Every time you recycle, you keep existing materials in motion. You're also saving an abundance of energy. No matter how small the effort, it makes a difference.

on gough street

Someone imbedded this little gem of rusty metal in the sidewalk in the first block of Gough St off Patterson in Baltimore. Ironic that I was visiting from California.

housewerks in baltimore

On a recent trip to Baltimore, I visited Housewerks, an architectural salvage company.

Housed in an historic building, Bayard Station, which used to be known at its opening in 1885 as The Chesapeake Gas Works, it is chock full of treasures.

Housewerks has an ever changing collection of architectural and industrial artifacts, garden antiques and unusual decorative objects.

"We are out to save as much architectural history as we can," says Tracey Clark, along with partner Ben Riddleberger.

Definitely visit them if you're ever in Baltimore. In the meantime, check out their website here.

wool dryer balls

Undyed & Natural - set of 4 eco friendly balls - $20 on etsy

Looking to go 'Green' with your laundry? These wool Dryer Balls are a money & time saving alternative to chemical-laden dryer sheets! A MUST for cloth diapers!!

They do a number of wonderful things:

1. They are an eco-friendly alternative to the conventional dryer sheet.

2. They do more than a dryer sheet by pulling the moisture out of your clothes so you don’t have to run your dryer as long, saving you time and money.

3. They reduce static just like dryer sheets do.

4. They soften your clothes like liquid fabric softener when they’re bouncing around your dryer. Fabric softener has harsh chemicals that make your clothes soft and also increase the flammability of your clothes putting you at risk of a dryer fire - not fun!

5. They’re wonderful cat and dog toys when they “accidentally” make their way out of the dryer!

6. They’re made of 100% wool so they’re safe for babies to learn about colors and as a counting tool, they love the texture!

7. They’re absolutely WONDERFUL for cloth diapers! They keep them soft and clean without the harmful chemicals in conventional dryer sheets.

Get them here.

mlk jr died today

Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

wikipedia


I Have a Dream Martin Luther King Jr. by Radicalreels