thank you

while i've been busily pulling together the last pieces of this wedding. some of my favorite bloggers have been busy putting together virtual wedding showers for me. i've recieved amazing haul, incredible feasts and lots of blogger love. cote de texas, mrs. blandings, stylecourt, pigtown designs---thank you all! my friends of the blogging world. i am so honored!

and so it begins--for like ever....

about 3 years ago, on a warm night, a neighbor and i were drinking a glass of wine when she suggested that we walk down to the local, salty dog bar.

not being one to hang out in bars, i hesitated. actually, as memory serves me i delivered some snotty comments on the whole idea. but, whatever, i had no match.com dates that night so i decided to go. i mean look at this hole. can't you just smell that skank of 80 year old sea air and stale cigarette smoke? NICE.

immediately upon arriving i bee lined it for the *ladies* room. when i came out, there sat my friend with two guys hovering. there were beers and shots lined up at the bar. i crossed my arms and explained to the guy standing closest to me that , ' i don't drink beer nor do i do shots' he sort of guffawed and asked what i was doing out with such a big chip on my shoulder. i surveyed him, half lidded eyes, smirk on my face.

he looked to be about late 20s early 30s. cute. really good hair, frat boy thing going on. wearing an evil knievel t-shirt...that was wet. and sand all over his legs. i asked, 'what's going on with you tonight? you look like you literally just rolled off of the beach' he then told me he had just jumped off of the pier. (see first photo)

people die doing this. no, i didn't think, 'wow that's so hot. i want to marry you' i thought, 'what a douche. who would do such a dumb-ass thing?' in fact, i also probably said this.

nutshell: we ended up talking until 2 in the morning. mostly about our dogs. he has a beautiful lab named 'george' i have a stinky mutt named 'milo'. eventually i gave him my phone number . to which he responded, 'why would i call you, you're sort of bitchy'. but you know how guys are. a bitchy woman is intrigue. he called 2 weeks later. we went to dinner and we've never been apart since.

nick arquette (nee 'my S.O.') is the most incredible person i've ever known. i knew after that first dinner, that if anything, i needed to keep this man as a friend. his spirit for life was infectious. his leadership in the community had me wowed. nick who lost his mother to cancer at a very young age has, in turn, started a non-profit mentoring program for families who are going through cancer. (walk-with-sally).

this is nick with his mentee, michael

nick is a giver. he's so patient and kind. he's one of those people others gravitate toward. he's always the life of the party. he's incredibly funny. he's street smart like nobody's business. he believes there are no excuses in life if you want to reach your goals. he's one of those people who is always optimistic. he lives, into his creedo of "always being a man of integrity". he's taught me to take my ego out of situations (god, have you ever tried this when arguing? not easy) so that i can see things for what they are.

he's taught me that life is short. really short. this is it. there is no time to feel sorry for ourselves, to be angry because things don't look the way we thought they should. he's taught me that i am so incredibly blessed and have been given to.....generously. and most of all, he reminds me that this life was meant to be lived having fun. it was given to all of us for this short time....to ENJOY.

last june, in true 'nick form' we drove up the coast to big sur for a quick weekend (a very ambitious trip for such a short amount of time) there, on bended knee, he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. how could i say no. (oh, and a spider bit me on my eye that night so the next day i awoke cyclops style-thanks nature)

we're leaving on wednesday to go to mexico where nick and i will be married saturday night at the home of a friend, on the beach surrounded by 50 of our closest friends and family.

(i had to use this picture someplace )

initially i wanted to create some kind of wonderful image board but then realized this isn't that kind of a blog (i'll leave that to the incredible talents at snippetandink) but i will be posting photos from the week and of course the wedding.

stay tuned: for the photos of my mexican wedding!

peace out

borrowed, without asking, from wise craft (a very cool blog)

suzan fellman showroom

if alice in wonderland grew up to be a designer with a beautiful shop, i imagine, it would be just like suzan fellman's showroom/shop on south cloverdale (here in la-la land). the woman is a design renegade. i have yet to see her follow someone else's trend.

as a frequent visitor to france she brings 'home' so many interesting pieces to her unique and aesthetically, lovely shop. i dropped in a few days ago and she has revamped the space into a celia birtwell haven. the shop has a beautiful new coat of farrow and ball 'citron' paint giving it a fresh vibe.

i've always wondered if birtwell was inspired by vanessa bell. her work reminds me of a groovier version of the bloomsbury group. celia and suzan teamed up to create this lucite chair. it's incredibly substantial (i'm so over the louis ghost chair. but this i love) so whimsical and elegant.

birtwell created this fabric in the 60s, while living with david hockney in malibu. the print is timeless.

as always, suzan has the most wonderful pillows....

fellman used the fabric on these perfectly suited chairs. more pillows (look how great this one looks against the wall color)

a patterned lamp shade......yum!

btw, celia birtwell hand silk screens all of this fabric. can you imagine? i love these little elephant place card holders and knife rests: these "naja & merveille" spoons are exquisite. hand made in france by artist, Jamgotchian Nadia. i like the idea of using these with a salt cellar at each place setting....so old school and elegant. (she's getting 2 more styles next month)

i love the way a magnifying glass looks sitting on a table. who doesn't want to pick one of these up and start examining things?

the suzan fellman showroom is a must-see if you're in L.A. suzan is a joy to talk to and SO knowledgeable. and i promise, you won't see what she's doing anywhere else in town.

suzan fellman showroom 678 south cloverdale los angeles 1-323-936-7759

resin d'etre

resin accessories have been everywhere for the past year or so, but i love their look and i love how affordable they can be. 1. oly, faux bois floor lamp 2.oly, pippa lamp 3. urban outfitters, brimfield birdie base 4.oly, lily mirror 5. west elm, koi lamp (my favorito)

behold: insect as fashion muse

a lot of things inspire me to 'design' and i am not lost on the perfect design nature presents to us everywhere (fibonocci, the golden rule,et al) what is more perfect after all?

however, i think i've just found my newest muse inspired by those crazy children of high fashion design. uncle tim,

christian,

be on alert....

silver fish making your skin crawl and nose itch? turn that frown around and admire the beauty of the feathery gray nuisance (i personally have the chills right now)

the green mothra becomes a gorgeous flowing gown (this, i actually understand a bit more)

oh my. this looks like pig entrails (which was just offered to me in the form of a mexican soup called 'menudo') i've always wanted to drape a millipede over my back. just. like. this. i love beetles . i love their iridescent qualities. but i don't really like the thimble, helmut head couture that this has inspired. the jacket, looks like it could be interesting though. it's all fun in the name of creativity. but to this challenge i say, in my highest pitched heidi voice, "insects? you are NOT the winner, Auf Wiedersehen" bus-bus thank you trendinista for these compelling comparisons

"i hate perfume", scent is life

i'm a smell person. i love a beautifully scented candle and i love perfume. what i don't love is smelling like everyone else nor do i like that weird, synthetic after smell of a lot of the over-the-counter (department store) perfumes. certain scents remind me of people i've known, experiences or eras of my life (both good and bad)

'norell'= the closet of my childhood friend's 70s-hip mom

'gorgio'+ 'spritz forte'= the hallways of the kappa house

'love's baby soft'= 7th grade roller skating on friday nights

"fried food"=the neighbor's house when i was a kid, around 5:30 p.m.

"pinon wood"= aspen at night in the winter

"new doll face"= christmas mornings of my youth

ralph lauren, "tuxedo" perfume= my older, teenage sister circa 1976

'baking bread and chamomile tea' = my mom's kitchen

'garlic in a hot wok/chinese 5 spice'= everyday around 2:30, my house in san francisco (the area restaurants, readying up for dinner as the fog rolled in)

we all have smell association. some weird, some good but always a memory or emotion stirred. smell is one of our most primal olfactory 'connection' instincts.

"CBi hate perfume" owner----artist/perfumer/nose , christian brosius, has created this beautiful and eclectic collection of scents that are reminiscent of, well, exactly what he says......"i am a dandeloin', 'wild hunt', 'fire from heaven', 'greenbriar 1968','memory of kindness' and more, many more what does 'black march' smell like?

"Rain Drops, Leaf Buds, Wet Twigs, Tree Sap, Bark, Mossy Earth and the faintest hint of Spring Flower Bulbs as pretty and bright as rain drops on black twigs in March"

or what about "at the beach, 1966"?

"Coppertone 1967 blended with a new accord I created especially for this perfume – North Atlantic. The base of the scent contains a bit of Wet Sand, Seashell, Driftwood and just a hint of Boardwalk. The effect when you wear At The Beach 1966 is as if you’ve been swimming all day in the ocean."

i think that this may be my favorite of the collection (although how do you choose?) "Delicate spring flowers (hyacinth, daffodils, jonquils & crocuses), green shoots, wet dirt & a bit of moss"

In the words of brosius:

"Scent is the record of your own special life – it’s your experience.My mission is to capture that experience. I bottle it so you can have it, use it and love it whenever you wish. I can give you scent experiences you never dreamed possible. I create perfumes as unique & individual as those who wear them. And I use a great many scents never before thought of as “perfume”. But I know these are just the scents that really hit us where we live – they’re the ones we remember and love. These scents are life."

CBihateperfume

peace out

Rosy, originally uploaded by *Kumi*.

yearbook blogger party! bring it

erin at design for mankind is hosting a blogger yearbook party. a visual compendium of bloggers with their present and past visages. vintage pictures and current photos sent by you (if you are a blogger) will be compiled into a virtual yearbook.

mmhmm. that's home gurl and her man. Tanorexia in full swing

Here's what she needs from you: An old high school yearbook photo (can include senior portraits, 'voted most likely to...'s and anything you don't find potentially incriminating). A current portrait photo (can be self portrait, but do your best to make the shot clear and hi-res) Your vote for Blogging Homecoming Queen and King (among others: class clown, best dressed and most likely to succeed).

can't wait to see this.

public service announcement

when i ordered my wedding stationary a few months ago, the cost of the reply cards was tallied in automatically.

to which i said,

'whoa wait a second reply cards? are you kidding? this is insulting. my friends were raised to know better (hi i'm megan and i'm a snob) they do NOT need to be hand held through the very basics of polite communication. reply cards are tacky and for rubes' *sniff* i mean, why not just blast one big, sweaty e-vite to everyone. now THAT'S making it easy.

an uncomfortable silence hovered as the gal started closing up the stationary books, clearing her throat.

and then realizing that i may have offended, i pleaded...

'i mean, is that the norm? people order reply cards? what the hell happened to etiquette in the written form?'

i was told, yes, 99% of the people ordering invites, order reply cards.

and this, my dear friends, is an abomination. i've even taken surveys among my peers. and do you know, only one of them knew that there was a format to responding to wedding invitations? 99% of my peers were clueless. i know. it's news to you too i guess.

i also called up my mom, gave her the ' can you believe this?' rant. to which she replied, ever the even toned diplomat, 'it is insulting to those who know better. but the reason these have become the norm is that nobody knows anymore. and if you don't send one, you'll spend weeks tracking down people to get the response' so i buckled and i did the response card thing. blah. so evite-ish.

so, here is my PSA to you: tuck it in your brain as useless minutiae if you must, but maybe you could start bringing back the beauty and gentility of written communication to this busy, busy TOO-busy-to-sit-down-and-write-a-simple-note, world. to this i say, 'yes we can' . it sounds like 99% of you could start by getting something like this: turn to this page: using your favorite stationary ( my favorites are william arthur, cranes and of course mrs. john l. strong) pen a lovely, short and to the point reply. lick, stamp, mail box and you're done.

now for the rest of you who received the reply card....where is it? i practically did ALL your work. all you have to do is color in the circle, lick it and stick on your mailbox.

key to my heart

The New York Times recently ran an article about a new romantic ritual in Rome inspired by Federico Moccia’s recent book, Ho Voglio di Te, and its extremely popular movie adaptation. In the book, a young man wins the heart of a woman by taking her to Rome’s Ponte Milvio wrapping a lock and chain symbolic of their love around a lightpost, and throwing the key into the Tiber River.

since the movie came out, throngs of people in italy have been duplicating the gesture. see? locks and chains can be romantic afterall.

roman holiday

in a few weeks, as a newlywed, i will be running around rome and venice with my "husband". there is nobody with whom i'd rather have this adventure. but i need some helpful advice. i mean, i know we need to wear a toga, some comfortable sandals and a laurel wreathe upon our respective betrothed heads.

but other than that....anyone have any fantastic snippets they'd like to share with us? we haven't settled on hotels yet so that would be enormously appreciated. think: opposite of youth hostile.

(and thank you, karen for setting us up so right with your recommends)

eye cookie

i'm so late on the cookie trail. i have never seriously checked this magazine out. the other day, at the gym, i grabbed a stack of magazines to quell my boredom as i climbed my way to no where. after hungrily devouring "OK!" and "intouch", i moved on to "cookie" , in it i found these little crumbs to nibble. the loft of designers and shop owners (the apartment), stefan boubil and wife gina alvarez . they live stylishly, here, with their two children.

the fabulous wallpaper, reminiscent of a rorschach test, is by timorous beasties

and i love the two bed frames pushed together to create one giant long bed. overhead is an ingo maurer chandelier with poems and doodles dangling.

what a great dinner party kitchen. the red chairs are from ikea.

this shot was taken to the right of the long dining table. the epoxy artwork on the wall is by artist alex echo. each one has different shape with a different phrase. the desks were salvaged by alvarez's mother from a philadelphia schoolhouse.

they call this area 'the family garden'. the 80s sofas are from ebay

and a SWING. bejeesus. this is my dream loft. if i lived in nyc. this would be the only way to do it.(yes i'm aware of the price of real estate. i'm just sayin')

i love that this place was pulled together with a mix of ikea, ebay finds, designer furniture, fixtures and wonderful artwork. proving that just because you have kids, does not mean that you have to live in a lifeless hovel.