zzzzzumba!

last christmas my sister introduced me to her zumba class CD's, and we proceeded to spend our vaca afternoons rotating (or rather trying to rotate) our hips to the drum beats of latin america and the commands of the zumba god BETO.

well, today my friend judith and i were back at it..ZUMBA! seattle style. and while i realize i am no latina, i had a lot of fun..and meh..i burned some calories...2 thumbs up!

my affair with my boyfriend {jeans}

sometimes everything changes, and other times nothing does. as a kid, i believed there was nothing more important than owning and wearing levis. though my mother didn't really get it. she regularly came home with "jeans" of multilayered panels of contrasting denim without realizing these were any different than the levis i longed for, and insisting these were JEANS dammit!

recently, i was treated to the NEW levis at the boutique near my home. upon darkening their doorway, a sales rep approached me with tapemeasure in hand, and within moments was handing over only 2 pairs of bluejeans.

well. allow me to just say that since then i almost never remove these 2 pairs from my body, and they have become my daily uniform..particularly the narrow cropped selvage boyfriend jean. j'dore! thank you levis. you really do not disappoint.

shreeeedding

back in the day, you were the absolute bomb if you could vadel down a field of moguls. these days the skiing looks a bit diffferent, and the lingo has shifted..but it still stands that if you can shred your way down a maze these babies..you're killing it. today..i showed that i AM worthy. yay me.

L-u-x-u-r-y

seriously..what is this place..champagne wishes and caviar dreams friends..we are ensconsed at the lovely st regis hotel in deer valley utah..and all i can say is tissues a plenty right by the lift!

nice package

my friend pica visited the studio the other day looking for gifts for her family members in mexico. we were able to find some really fun pieces that she went one better with by adding the candied pecans, the cello wrap and the bold JR stickers.
when i saw them this evening..i thought hey pica..nice package!

fantasy cords

thank you AG! i have always wanted a pair of these gorgeous corduroys..and finally you are mine! soft and scrumptious with tons of stretch. these i believe are so good..they make me look blonde.

you're nobody

if you don't have this de rigeur leather wrap lariat from Hermes. This is it for the holidays for your sweetie..OK? you heard it here!

mon mono mania

i have been doing a bang up business lately in monogrammed items..who knew that would be "the next big thing"..so retro in a way..but these things have a way of circling back in a fresh way..so what am i ..arguing? certainment non! so let us review..goyard i believe was the original of this quasi nautical/clubby look with the striping.

then LV and Monsieur marc knew a good thing and jumped on the band wagon..

not to be out done by uber brands here comes Iomoi with a great version..

and erin {gates} was totin' around this lil' tote from Oughton which i think is super..and i think it is a great look (minus the monogram)at a great price well under $200.

last but not least lil ol' me with a version on our classic mug in a great color combo. i think it's a keeper!

it's not easy bein green

i am proud to say that i spend time in dumpsters! how glamorous! i often go downstairs to our loading dock to collect boxes and extra cardboard for shipping out to our stores. i hate seeing perfectly good materials go to waste, and it makes me feel sweetly green to recycle an old box to protect the precious!

if you don't A.S.K then you will never G.E.T

j hill and i went to tory johnson's "spark & hustle" conference for women today in boston's convention cewnter, and i loved when Lena West said this line..if you don't A-S-K you are never going to G-E-T!! you can say that again sister!!

tis better to give..fo sho!

receiving is not one of my better guises. my family in fact has made a fine art of being particularly abhorent when receiving gifts. one family member ( i have an enormous family, and i am not going to name names) is notorious for saying "do you want this?" right back to the person who gave him/her the present..so let's just say it is bred in the bone. i am a terrible person to give anything to. i kind of hate everything. so picky! and trust me..gift giving is no easier..finding the right gift is way too hard. i agonize when choosing gifts for family and friends. having just celebrated a birthday i am particularly aware that it is gift giving season, and i am sending you loads of good luck, good wishes, and good vibes, in the hopes that you will give and receive all that your little heart desires.

o yoga

i am the least yoga-ish person you would ever want to meet. the image above is pretty much the antithesis of jill-esque behavior. i was always more of an aerobics type of girl..my jangly energy matched back better to that style of excercise. nevertheless, i do yoga 5 days a week. i wake up at 5:30 am just so i can fit it in. i know..what a showoff..but to be honest i only do it for @ 20 minutes, and i do it in front of the tv. (o tackiness)..but i figure..that's good enough. this weekend i went to a real class at a real studio (back bay yoga) with one of my favorite friends (hello judy!) who was here from out of town and insisted that we just do it. o yoga. how i do struggle with ye. not only are you hard to do, but one of your most basic lessons ( to stay cool and non reactive when life comes at you at 100 mph) remains well out of my reach. oh well.

red

the other day a client wrote to me asking for a bit of decorating advice. she had bought our red tubers rug for her dining room and it was standing out a bit too boldly in the space, and she wanted to know what to do to make it "blend". what i learned was quite interesting.

as this is not my speciality, i was a bit taken aback..but i went to my handy dandy intra web, and here is what i learned from the experts. your conclusions may differ.

my thinking is that with a bold rug in a bold color you will want to use more of the color throughout the room. so try to incorporate more of the color in your pillow/drapery/ seat cushion accents, or perhaps in your furniture accessories..such as with some books..or pottery that also makes a red statement. i like the more is more school of decorating.

the other thing that i think works well is the use of other bold prints that will complement the one in the rug.

finally, i think that in styling the room you will want to choose artwork that also is eye catching so that it is not just the rug any longer that is grabbing your eye. the eye should be moving around the space with many focal points.

you, of course, might draw completely different conclusions after taking a peek at these pix. c'est la guerre.

you gotta have a gimmick

last week a friend wrote to ask if i had a motto. i shocked myself when i immediately responded..yes i do! my motto is.."you gotta have a gimmick" and it was truly inspired by the movie musical "gypsy" which i am not embarrassed to admit is one of the cornerstones of my existence. if you got a gimmick gypsy girl..you can be a star!
oh. just look and see for yourself.

gabriella de la vega jewelry

this past weekend i was in NYC and so i decided to visit the eponymous brooklyn shop owned by my cousin the enormously talented jewelry designer gabriella de la vega.

she mentioned she had opened a place around the corner from where she used to live, but nothing prepared me for how tots fab the whole place was. loove.

she has a gorgeous assortment of fashion, clothing, and the amazing line of her own hand made jewelry that adorns the bods of celebs like the gossip girls. oh how i long for one of her originals..maybe someday.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

i know that this is a holiday that many find "challenging"..but i believe next to passover, it is my fave. i am thankful for all the blessings i have, and i know they are many. mostly i am thankful for my wonderful, and large loving family!

BUT! let us not forget the little things that i am mighty thankful for..like stuffing..

and gravy. what are you thankful for?

Traditional Home Gift Guide

this fresh piece of press just walked in the door off the pages of Traditional Home's holiday gift guide, and i for one..

..am pretty excited!

Joss & Main Sale!

this week i spent time in studio mate sarah winchester's amazing studio photographing some of our pieces for a Joss and Main Sale!

it is going on the very first week of december, and so of course it is super rush rush.

mostly they will feature all of our rugs pillows and poufs, but they are adding some of the pottery to give it a truly JR vibe.

sarah's space is magical for taking photographs, and she was so kind to share the magic with me.

i like the way that some of these "vintage" pieces look here!

Michelle Willey +Matouk Towels = Perfect

i really love stepping out of a hot bath and wrapping myself in a perfectly cozy white towel.

sadly, most towels are a huge disappointment. well..if you like me have been searching for the perfect fluffy towel..i found it in the south end at michelle willey's wonderfully clean and crisp shop at 8 union park.

she sells the matouk line of milagro towels, and i love them. as we have washed them they have become softer and more and more absorbent. yay to simple pleasures.

Rreeer!

done.

oh i love me some cann-ee

admit it..when your kid is not looking..who has her hand in his halloween candy bag?..you do that's who! well..i do.