happy sunday

haute chocolate

one of the grooviest places to snack in the west village has to be chocolate bar on hudson and jane. as a fellow vintage rock fan, i have to admire how owner alison nelson twists retro-rock graphics and makes them work, with, of all things, chocolate. just note -LOVE!- the cbgb's/ramones style logo. and her full-on commitment to orange and brown as a color combo. nice.

apparently there's an outpost at bendel's uptown as there are some great pictures of the interior on her site, but really, you couldn't pay me to go to midtown, especially not at this time of year. suffice to say, another good stocking stuffer. i'm just feeling so gifty lately, right?

love that rock 'n roll

how cool are these silkscreened posters from etsy's hatin' on spiders? i particularly love the joan jett, since my 13 year old nephew is currently obsessed with playing "i love rock and roll" on his guitar/interactive video gadget. his jaw drops when i tell him that this is music i used to listen to, like, when it came out (!). more to my personal aesthetic style...




the genius behind hatin' on spiders on etsy, also designs non-rock posters found on the site strawberryluna.com a fantastic gift for a child/aspiring designer.

happy sunday

i'm off with carol to enjoy some fall foilage and the last day of the japanese crysanthemum exhibit at the new york botanic gardens...

new alexander henry fabric

how can you not think "cowboy santa" is less than full-on-cool for the holidays? i write this in general, but really in particular to my sister who was not at all enthusiastic when i threw out this recasing idea for the hideously-covered pillows on her sofa. ok, so by the time i come up with a less season-specific option, it will be may. but i think this is a swell christmas decoration idea. and there's lots of yards of it, so i'd better get cracking. other new alexander henry that came with a recent order:


sarah thinks "baby angel" is wierd but i think cute cute. also, less seasonal but very nice for linens, "estee":


and, after buying enough of this one for curtains, i ended up making laundry bags (the best lookin' laundry bags i've seen) out of "pink petals":


with all my giddy enthusiasm, you may not be suprised to learn i am gearing up for a holiday sample sale. details soon.

more books i want

i had to run my off-kilter sewing machine over to hussein at gizmo on 1st avenue this morning for bad behavior. as i glumly walked home i did pop into william wayne on university -- you know, just to see what's in store. this book is too too lovely and i do not have any pics of the inside (er, no way i am paying ww's asking price of $60 when amazon is selling it for $37). but, suffice to say, it's a dress lover's must have. all the great frocks from real life and editorial life. they were also displaying:

for the fashionable scot (or scotophile) in your life. lots of vivienne westwood and ralph lauren as you would guess, and apparently, lots of linda evangelista.

gorgeous french life

oh, i just received this book which was released stateside last week. lovely, lovely pictures and text about the restoration of a 17th century home and property in st. remy de provence. an easy, early holiday purchase for the francophile on your list.