Alejandra Laviada

Love love love her work! Some info about Alejandra Laviada and her gorgeous work - click here 

Hong Kong House boat

Check out this awesome house boat from HERE

Random Bits of Yellow

Here are some random bits of yellow for today. This image is a like a Dali painting - love the pineapple behind those impossibly high heels. Spotted on Coco + Kelley.  

Sunshine Cleaning was a fantastic film, Conor and I saw without knowing anything about it. We both loved it. Funny, great acting, and uplifting. 

I love this map of manhattan I came across in NY Magazine archive section from 1969, in this issue a writer was lamenting the rising cost of rentals in Manhattan, stating,"even the upper west side is out of control with costs for 3 bedrooms on central park west hitting the sky rocketing price of $2,000"  - this one is for all the new yorkers out there. 

A fantastic idea...and a new way to get around the city. From here. 

I came across these lovely images HERE, I really like the stripes in the bathroom and the rattan curtain. It all kinda works. 

This one is on my book list. 

Tennis anyone?

Wimbledon 09 has officially started!

As tradition, the All England Club, has an all white dress code, but that doesn't stop the players from being very stylish, check out Serena's jacket and Sharapova's Tuxedo top. From AP.

Chris Evert was one of my idols growing up. Photo from here. 

The Borg V McEnroe matches were amazing to watch back then, now the showdowns feature, Nadal and Federer. Photo from here.

Book Club

I have always had this love affair with books, they have always been there for me; on long plane rides, bus journeys,on rainy days, sunny days and in strange foreign places. I can remember clearly where I read certain books - I recall reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being, while traveling with my sister through Europe one summer -what an impact that book had on me! I know exactly where I was when I read Any Human Heart and I recall even where I sat in Burma and read Burmese Days. So, here are what I consider some good reads for this rainy weekend. Oh and Happy Friday. xoxo

Bel Canto is one of my all time top of the list books. What a story. 

What I Loved was what every good book should have: a compelling protagonist, and a gripping narrative. 

This one is on my list...I've heard good things about it. 

Any Human Heart is one of my favorite all time books - please read it. You will laugh, you will cry and wont be able to put it down. 

I think I read this one in two sittings, a real page turner about loving someone and what that all entails. 

This is the first in a trilogy entitled "Zuckerman Series", pick them all up, you wont be disappointed. 

The Road was so engaging, and what an ending. 

Small treasures

I love how these images of small treasures are collected & curated, they are like works of art in themselves. They are part of a photographic collection, entitled, Things Worth Knowing, by Sivan Lewin.

Spotted on The English Muse

A gorgeous house

A drool worthy house from HERE, spotted on From the Right Bank to Left Coast

-there is a great post on lamps there today. 

Love the stone like pillows in the corner

A skylight in the kitchen and the open shelves = fab

Love the whimsical pop of yellow here with this bright lamp

And a house after my own heart with a teepee in the back garden!

Love. This. Deck.

Venice and a barge

Swoon, an artist from Brooklyn and her "merry band of anarchist" have moved in on the Venice Biennale on a barge made entirely from New York City garbage. What fantastic fun. 

My Mum's style

Last May I flew up to my hometown of Toronto,to spend time with my parents for Mother's Day. My mum has been an interior designer for many years, she has a specific style, a lovely feminine balance and she can work a budget like no other. I took some (rather poor quality, sorry) iphone shots of the little areas and vignettes my Mum creates all over her warm and stylish home. 

I love how the bookshelves are reflected in that gorgeous mirror

Mum has books and books all over the apartment, and she has always had lots of plants in all the houses we've lived in, which add to this exotic look

I like this corner so much

A simple look, just a chair, but to me it is very chic and pretty

The Highline

The Highline in New York has opened! From their site; "... built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park." What a fantastic idea. And it looks amazing too! Check out these photos from the past and present..

out of commission

me lately. down and out with the flu - hoping to be back soon. 

A look back on East Timor

Several years ago I had the very unique opportunity to visit East Timor, just a year after their charismatic leader, Xanana Gusmão, held their first election after gaining Independence from Indonesia. The brutality they faced from their occupiers was everywhere. Children played in burned out buildings, make shift schools were their only educational offering. It was heartbreaking. But the people had a real grace about them and were so hospitable to us. Here are some images from that trip. 
My caption for this picture would be smiling haunting. The boy on the far right looks haunted from the war, his eyes betraying him. 

This caption would be little angel. 

My caption here would be Morning Coffee. 

Caption here would be SMILE.