Book Lust

I LOVE this picture of this ADORABLE Gent and his
 beautiful gem of a bookcase, that is
so perfectly personal...

Hope you all can get in some reading time
this weekend, with a GREAT book...
 

Photo Unknown- if you know please do tell.

The Art of the Mess?

Some of you might consider these rooms a mess, others, not so much.

I like my home to feel organized and clean, 

or I start feeling a little insane. On the other hand, 

I like my home to feel like a home, not stark and cold, and

not like a catalog,  I like a little clutter.

When I moved out on my own, I lived in a TINY apartment 

in San Francisco with beautiful windows like the ones in the top photo, 
and I decorated it with exotic fabrics and mostly cheap crap that 

I made look cool. I scoured the thrift shops, and painted old furniture, 

I had beautiful rugs that I found at garage sales, and made all of my 
own art. 

I had NO money, and was living on refried beans and rice, and hot sauce 

that I would "borrow" by the handful every time I went to the local 
burrito place. But I still found a way to make my apartment look great...

In my efforts to get back to that place of feeling a bit more unstructured,
or dare I say "looseness", with my home, I have some thoughts...

Some of my most interesting, and talented friends have homes that are

sometimes cluttered with books, and magazines, art, and interesting 

collections, of all kinds. It can be a cheerful, arty, (and always clean) mess, 

or a moody, exotic, bohemian mess, a civil war era- taxidermy-ish mess, 

or a glammy green, blue and gold, with books and 

matchbook collections, mess.

I am not talking hoarders here, not even close, maybe I would call it 

authentic living? 

There is no hiding who they are. There are no bookshelves with 

fake seashells, and pretend books that are never read. There is no 
false life that they are trying to present to the people that enter.

Some people that I have known in my life that have 

EXTREMELY thought out homes, can be neurotic, (although I think we 

all are somewhat neurotic), or fearful of the unknown.

I might even say, unadventurous, sexually inhibited, timid and maybe 

even a bit of a bore...

I know these are massive generalizations, and I think that the complete 

opposite of this can be true, but I LOVE the idea of maybe inspiring 

someone to break from the mold, or venture out of their comfort zone, 

or even toy with the idea of it... 

Here is to the freedom, and the ART of the mess...

Clink-Clink

No Title Needed...

Princess Yvonne and Prince Alexander.

Cherry Blossoms Budding?

Beyond The View No. 5 (2009)
Photograph (c) Helen Sear

The Cherry Blossom trees all around my house are slowly starting to
bud, and it is making me very excited for the colors to come.

Happy Valentines Day

I made this for my husband for Valentines Day last year, and framed it for our wall.

While some of you may think it is a strange gift, we value humor in our relationship

big time, and have a great relationship because of it. 

Hope you all have a love to share your sense of humor with, 

and if not, I hope love will find you soon...:)

Shop to Visit : Totokaelo

We are so lucky to have this amazing boutique in Seattle, which in 

my opinion, is one of the most perfectly edited collections,

of clothing, shoes and accessories in the WORLD...

There is no garbage here, and the skank factor, that many 

boutiques feel the need to mix in, is non-existent.

I would wear EVERYTHING in this store. 

In my opinion, the pieces here are for the girl 
who is very secure with herself. 

It is where the smart girls go, the artists, and 

the cool girl, that DOES stuff... and looks amazing doing it......

The jewelry collection is unbelievable...

WANT THE ABOVE>>>>>BAD

The ring is now mine...:)

 Jill, the owner, who I think is a genius at helping you 

find the the most flattering outfit for 

your body type, and is honest, and insightful, 

about what does NOT work. 

Holy Motherload, is all I have to say...

I know we are all tired of the term, "Girl Crush",
 but c'mon, if no one has offered this girl a
modeling contract yet, you really need to get on it.

To get all of the pricing and details of any of these pieces, 
visit  Totokaelo .
Totokaelo is expanding soon and going to be adding
a collection of furniture and more!


Have a GREAT weekend! 


Images by Jennifer Ament Art and Totokaelo.

Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne

Surrealism in the 60's. As far as sculpture goes, this period has got to
be one of my all time favs. Loving these amazing pieces from 
Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne. Elegant baboons, Hippopotamus, 
Rhino's, Duck beds, and coiled snake bean bag chairs. 

Do I smell a Target knockoff coming soon? 
Maybe if they see this post? Hope you are having a great week. 
Hey, and just to check if anyone is out there, is there 
anything you would like to see more of, on my blog? 
More art, more interiors, or something else? Would love to hear from

you! Thank you so much for following! 

The Art Of Decay

The Theatre Series, by Andrew Moore

One of my favorite photographers EVER,

Andrew Moore’s work is in the collection of the 
Whitney Museum of American Art, Yale University Art Gallery,
the Library of Congress, the Israel Museum, the High Museum, 
the Eastman House and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. 
Recent exhibitions include The Queens Museum, Columbia University 
and The Museum of the City of New York in conjunction with 
a retrospective on the legacy of Robert Moses. 
Moore has had recent solo shows in Minneapolis, Moscow, Paris, 
San Francisco, and Nebraska.

Have a Cozy Weekend!

Wanting to experience massive amounts of coziness this 

weekend, and that might possibly include, some serious 

fort making. I hope you all can do what makes you happy 

these next couple of days...

 Via- www.designspongeonline.com

Black Swan : Uncovering the Women of Art In IRAN

See her website here 

Image: Parastou Forouhar. From the Swanrider series.

Taravat Talepasand, born in 1979 in the United States to Iranian parents during the Iranian Revolution. Taravat received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006 and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001. She lives and works in San Francisco where she shows with Marx & Zavattero Gallery. She is the 2010 recipient of the Richard C. Diebenkorn Fellowship and recently featured at the Yerba Buena Contemporary Arts in San Francisco. She will be featured in the 2010 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art. In addition Taravat has exhibited in solo and group shows around the country and Europe. She is a featured artist in Different Sames: New Perspectives in Contemporary Iranian Art, edited by Hossein Amirsadeghi.

Taravat stays in contact with her family in Esfehan, Iran. Her was in 2007.