This is a drawing my seven year-old daughter did in English at school. She had to draw a picture of a word that is a noun. She drew apartments.

Here is what she wrote:

"I decided to do apartments for my noun picture, because I think they're so cool and a little tall. The people that live there means more friends."

I felt exactly the same way about apartments when I was a little girl!

What I love about this drawing:

• I love how each apartment is a little different.
• I love that there is a clothes line! Where has she ever even seen that? Notice there are not clothes on it, so maybe she doesn't know what it is really for.
• My kitty-lover had to include at least one happy kitten.
• No "gron-ups" allowed!

Nick Drake+Christo=AT&T

What I love:
-The music: Nick Drake... also of VW Cabrio spot fame

-The way the fabric just rolls and rolls and the light reflects on it

-The clever take on coverage

-The reference to the artist Christo

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin

Swestie and family had so much fun on Spring Break this year! I hope you enjoy our video. To watch it, don't press the play button here... click on the photo and it will take you directly to You Tube to view the video... (Maybe one day I'll figure out how to make it work the right way!)

My Kind of Art

Yesterday, walking through the lobby of an office building, I saw an art show being hung, and I had to stop and take these three pictures...

This is not my artwork, and I take no credit for the creation of any of these pieces.

I do however, love them! The top two are just beautiful to me... large... colorful... graphic... accidental... I would buy either/both of them with any expendable income I had... if I had it...

And the third one, is curious. I looked at this classically posed woman with a modern haircut and earrings... then I noticed the title, "Self-Portrait as Bacchus." Then I knew that I loved it. I might have to create a "Self Portrait as Bacchus" one day myself!

What's Beautiful: The Fan in Richmond, Virginia

No long explanation of urban life today... just some nice photos of a beautiful old Richmond neighborhood called The Fan, and Ten Things I Love about this place. When I grow up, I want to live here!

It appears to me that part of the video screen is chopped off of the right side. If you want to see the full screen, DOUBLE CLICK ON THE VIDEO SCREEN and it will take you to a page that doesn't chop off the side... if you have any ideas on how to fix this, will you e-mail me please?

10 Things I love about the fan are:

1. Crumbly brick and stone sidewalks
2. Stone masonry and detailing on many of the homes
3. Dappled sunlight making its way through the trees
4. Signs of life from a different time, mingled with the thoroughly modern
5. The stately old buildings, all in such close proximity to one another, which encourage a built-in sense of community
6. The delicious corner cafes and quirky little stores that have served the neighborhoods for years; I just show Kuba Kuba, but there are really so many
7. The walkability; The Fan is so conveniently situated that you can walk to take care of much of your business; it scores 86% out of 100 on the Walk Score web site
8. Its diversity... families... students... singles... couples... all ethnicities... rich... poor... in The Fan, you've got it all
9. While maintaining a general character, each home in The Fan is unique; this is very different from today's "planned communities" with three different house plans circled around a "pond" with a "fountain" and too many poopy geese that probably belong in Canada anyway.
10. The little gardens; really a postage stamp of a yard is all I really need.

Richmonders, do you have a favorite house in The Fan? Let me know!

TGIF! Have a great weekend!

A Recipe I Love

Okay. I know that the tagline of my blog is "Being healthy, and loving life."

So I'm saying that this recipe is "healthy" because it brings "balance" to my diet... so I'm not so 100% focused on eating raw fruits and veggies all of the time... (Writing that sentence really did make me laugh...)

Anyway... I found this recipe in an Oprah magazine years ago and I still fix it because:

• it is easy - under ten minutes
• it tastes delicious
• it is a nice change from what everyone else usually brings
• I can remember the recipe without even having to look it up! (best of all!)

Warm Brie with Honey and Pecans

Ingredients

• one wedge or round of brie
• some pecans, 1/4-1/2 cup, depending on how much you like them
• few tablespoons of honey
• about a tablespoon of buttah (because brie NEEDS more fat... right?)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

What to do

1. Put your brie in an ovenproof dish. I love these kind that are metal but not silver... oven to table, you know...
2. Chop the pecans and toast them 5-10 minutes, just until they get that toasty flavor and crunchy feel.
3. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in toasted pecans, honey and cinnamon.
4. Stir continuously for a couple of minutes until the ingredients meld together. Don't let it burn!
5. Pour this over the brie.
6. Put the brie in the oven until it gets just warm enough to be soft, but not runny. I actually put it back in the warm toaster oven on the "warm" setting at about 200 degrees. This way, even if I forget about it, it hasn't melted into a puddle.
7. Serve it with crackers or bread to the people you love the most (lucky ducks that they are!)!

Thanks, Oprah!

Fancy: Paul Smith

After my last post, my friend over at Shelter asked me if I was back, and I suppose I am. I've been wanting to draw up the VPL cartoon for a long time (well, since I started wearing white pants this spring, actually... and I'm happy I finally got that out of my system... and FYI, I'm not telling you which camp I'm in. (; )

Anyway, I was cruising around on The Selby (read my post on The Selby...)when I came across the name Paul Smith. Being into the wearing of clothes but not the designing of clothes, I must admit that I had no clue who he is. So I went to his web site. Go ahead. Go there.

I'm waiting, and I'll be here when you get back...

SEE! I told you! Isn't this collection awesome?

What I love:

• the mostly subdued color pallette with punches of vibrancy; is seems so Euro to me; I love the way nothing quite matches

• the brightly colored toes peeping out from the peeptoes




• the classic tailoring, throwing back to more genteel times, but twisted




• And I saved the best for last... the high socks (leggings?) and high gloves (armings?)... simply LOVE LOVE LOVE this look and will somehow, someway find a way to pull it into my fall

(Non)Guilty Pleasure

DIVAN LUST

Okay, I know that technically this is not a "divan..." But I DO lust after it! I could/would decorate a whole house around this sofa.

From Anthropologie: Jayne Sofa; upholstered in a rich mahogany print by Josef Frank, this curvy hardwood couch teems with Pacific island wildlife; supported on lathe-turned, mahogany-stained legs; tufted with buttons; mahogany finish; eight way hand-tied seat construction; kiln-dried hardwood frame; 38"H, 77.5"W, 35.5"D; Seat: 18"H; Handcrafted in USA

For the sale price of only $2600 - down from $3500...

A girl can drool - I mean dream, can't she?

I'm Walking on Sunshine: Top Ten Things I'm Loving Today

10) Pink dogwood trees, blooming on a street corner near you.

9) Dark flesh toned nail polishes... perfect for a dash of refinement without the hassle of fading color. Just touch up and go!

8) Espadrilles, in all shapes and colors. I didn't realize I had such a fetish for these classic shoes until I was pulling the spring things forward in my closet... I have about five pair, plus several others derrived from the classic French style (Read more abut the long history of the shoe here.)

7) Denim jackets are perfect for this weather that is freezing in the morning and nearly pleasant in the afternoon. My current favorite is one that is styled like a slightly trench coat: fitted, about mid-thigh lenghth with a belt and biggish collars... just be careful about mixing your denims!

6) Long, deep conversations by a warm and snapping fire in the cool of an early spring evening... throw in a few cosmos and we can just call it Heaven.

5) Ecstatic flowers blooming everywhere!

4) Augusta, Georgia, as it gears up for The Masters! Will Tiger pull off another win? Or will someone else break through?

3) Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes... boys with fresh haircuts, and long full eyelashes... okay... not so much the eyelashes, but, we're talking Easter clothes here people! Get out your Easter bonnets!

2) Stinky, er, I mean pungent cheeses and fresh loaves of bread to go with #6. Most recently infatuated with Humboldt Fog and nice generic white goat cheeses.

1) Walking barefoot in the grass (or at least the anticipation of it...)!