Cluttery office. Charging cords, stacks of receipts from NYC, printer…you know, stuff.
This fits right in with my thoughts about living in a space, a home, that reflects who you are, not what you think you should be. There are too many styled interiors on Pinterest, Instagram and blogs. I know I’m not alone when I look at some of these very pretty pictures and think to myself, “Does anybody live there?”
I’ve written about this before, so I don’t need to belabor the topic. On our excursion yesterday, I found a lovely book that beautifully illustrates that very idea.
It’s the book in the upper left hand corner, Life Unstyled by Emily Henson. Beautiful photos of interiors that are real, funky, imaginative and not styled within an inch of their lives. I’m a bit more than halfway through it and I’m really enjoying it. And Emily is a stylist! (I’ve also written in the past about the book Undecorated, which covers this same subject. It’s in my personal library.)
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit was recommended to me by Sarah, Darko’s assistant. Sarah and I have worked together before and we both love books and reading (Sarah’s mother is a librarian.) This book has been a beacon for Sarah during this period since the election. Our local independent bookseller had a copy, so I snapped it up.
I picked up The Creative Cottage when I was staying in NYC a week or so ago. I’d seen it last year and found it absolutely charming, so this time I bought it. I love the cottages that the author has chosen to highlight – all of them artistic and individual. All of them the kind of place where you walk in the door and know that you will not see this anywhere else because the space absolutely reflects the owners’ tastes and passion.
I also found Inside the Dream Palace on the shelves at the bookshop. It’s about New York’s famous and storied Chelsea Hotel, a place that has always fascinated me. So many artists and musicians and writers have lived there over the years.
Don got a book about the history of the railroads in our neck of the woods.
We had lunch at The Commissary, where this message was on the wall next to the cash register:
Indeed.
I had the Tofu Pocket – oh, so tasty! And vegan hot chocolate, of course.
It was 60 degrees and sunny here and everyone was out on the streets, lapping it up. College students in t-shirts and shorts, people carrying their coats rather than wearing them, happy, laughing and crowded, as it’s a three-day weekend.
I’m feeling a bit under the weather today. Coughing, stuffed up, not at all fun. But I trust it will all go away in the next 24 hours or so. In the meantime, I’m taking it easy.
Thank you so much for your blog birthday wishes yesterday! Here’s to ten years.
Happy Monday.
I do hope your stuffiness clears up. I get stuffy sometimes and hope it is not the used bookstores I am wandering in, because that could cause me to sit down and cry! Maybe I could just wear a dust mask when I am in them.
And I love to hear that people are enjoying the wonderful weather. We get that here (PNW) when we see the sunshine. Never take it for granted.
We’re not taking it for granted right now, either!
I know you enjoyed the day! Books, good food and a lovely walk. I had lunch with some friends and it was so good to get out and enjoy living again. Today more Dr appts for Mom and a trip to the store. Life is feeling good today. Hope you feel better soon! Hugs.
Thanks, Linda. Feeling pretty cruddy right now.
We have a beautiful day here, so we’re planning an outing, too. Hope your stuffiness resolves itself. Your bookstore visit looks fun! Wish we had one close by. It’s been a long time since I got lost in a bookstore and I miss it.
Have a good day, Shanna!
hej, claudia … hope you are feeling better soon!
your day sounds lovely. may you have more and more just like it. thanks for the mini book reviews. all four sound interesting .
and belated congratulations on ten years of blogging! i know it takes a lot of time to create posts (come up with a topic, take photos, write, edit …). thank you for taking your time to post all that you do; i find so much inspiration in your words and images!
hope you and don have a great week ahead!
kathy in iowa
Thank you for your kind words, Kathy. I’m so glad you’re here!
I am so tired of (a) looking at blogs and the rooms are all styled perfectly with new items that are supposed to look old (b)the farmhouse look (c) cottages that are nowhere near being a cottage.
I always come back to your blog photos for inspiration and reality.
Hope you get to feeling better soon!
I’ve never really taken to mass produced items that are new that are supposed to look old and I laugh at some of the descriptions of ‘cottage’ there – 2500 square feet, 4 bedrooms….Really?
Thank you, Chris.
I’ve been wanting to ask you about your walls- are they drywall or plaster?
Drywall.
Happy Blogiversary a few days late. I hope you know how much we all enjoy your posts and appreciate all of the work it takes on your part to post daily! And I am sure having all of the information about your collections, your reading history, the dollhouses, your work history, other purchases, etc. is great to have in your archives. I do journal, but as you said, it is so hit & miss. I miss a lot more than I hit!!
I was just watching a morning news break to catch the weather forecast (which, by the way, has been fantastic here ~~ in the 60’s!!!! In February!!!), and I literally was yelling at the TV about what I was seeing regarding our government, or rather LACK THEREOF. I’m home alone, and the dogs both sat up looking to see who was here….. surely, they thought, she can’t be talking to herself. ugh.
Hope you have a lovely Monday. When do you head back to rehearsals??
It was in the 60s here yesterday and it’s supposed to hit 67 on Thursday! I can’t look at the news…it makes me crazy. Although I yell a lot at what I see on Twitter!
Hi Claudia, just now getting caught up on some blogs. We’ve had gorgeous weather in the 60’s these past few days, too. Absolutely glorious. I’ve been washing windows today before it rains.
Thanks for the book recommendations – I’m going to check them out.
I’ve been consciously trying harder to eat more vegetarian meals. It’s hard for me, as I can’t digest beans (except for a couple of small bites) and I stay away from soy because it’s highly GMO (unless organic) plus contains phytoestrogens. So, I’ve been eating a lot more veggies and for protein, nut butters, nuts and eggs. (I know you avoid eggs because of going vegan.) Tonight for dinner, I’m making “dirty rice” using leftover rice, a lot of chopped veggies, and scrambled egg.
Happy blogging anniversary! Your blog has always been one of my favorites. :-)
I have to be careful with beans as well. Too much and my tummy gets upset.
Thank you so much for the anniversary wished, Melanie. I’m so glad we met through blogging!
Just found your blog and I am thrilled.I love your “solitary person who is chatty” line,as I can identify. Book lists are always welcome,although I live among stacks waiting to be read.You have a soul sister in Northern CA.xo
Hello soul sister! I’m so glad you like it here, Annette. xo
I’ve been reading Hope in the Dark, too. It does help.
Oh good! I haven’t started it yet because I don’t feel good today and I simply can’t concentrate on it. But I will!
Hope you are feeling better! We just got home from a 5 day road trip we went hither and yon….just exploring. And funny enough…the news just keeps following us….oh my word…is there no end? But, it’s good to come home…always nice to travel…but home seems more special when you get back. The weather has been extraordinary…and I hear our cranes are back already! That’s a sure sign of Spring! Now that I’m back, I’m going to check out a couple of those books you talked about! ;)
Yay for the cranes! I heard one of the mourning doves the other day and I don’t remember hearing one in winter before. A good sign?
Even though I already have a jillion decorating books, I’m going to check out that “Life Unstyled” book! I know we share a view on this – we both like homes that actually look as though human beings live there. AKA – a little clutter is a good thing. Makes a home look like a home – not a pristine showplace. One good thing, I’m starting to see more photos in magazines, books, even on real estate sites that feature pets. Cats curled up in velvet wing chairs, dogs lying on kitchen floors etc. Maybe this is a good sign? I know it’s probably a sign of climate change, but it’s still hard NOT to like it. So enjoy the “Springtime in February” week ahead. Peace. #Resist
I will, Janet!
Hate to brag but we’ve been in the upper 70’s and have flowers and trees blooming. I have twin g’daughters who will soon be 13 and they spent last night and today with me. What a delight! They love going through my old records and they knew almost all the songs on “Sound of Music”….I was impressed! They take my mind off all the awful news and make me realize how wonderful the ordinary events in a day can be. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
It’s going to be 67 here on Thursday. That’s awfully warm for February!
Nice day you had.
Despite the rain here, we drove into the city today…end day of a holiday weekend, in the rain, RX for potential nail-biting. But I had a cousin fly in from another state; haven’t seen him for years; met him half way from where he was in Orange County and had a great visit. Just worried so much about my dog being left for too long inside the house, but she was fine. We’d planned and strategized it (you know how THAT goes, of course).
And I really do love Los Angeles…this was near Century City/Culver City, our meet-up spot…fun to drive by some of the big movie studios like Sony Pictures (houses Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems [used to be MGM in the 1920s and onward; very art deco] and it is a huge, huge complex, like over 40 acres; gorgeous from the outside; has multiple sound stages; Sony spent millions of dollars renovating the place; I’d love to tour it one of these days).
Also passed by Center Theater Group’s Kirk Douglas Theater (they also have The Ahmanson and the Mark Taper Forum at L.A.’s Music Center; downtown L.A. – where the Walt Disney Concert Hall is located; CTG is a “resident” company {along with the L.A. Philharmonic and others} of the Music Center AKA Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County). I was reading about the Kirk Douglas after we got home: “The theatre was created by transforming a historic 1940s movie house into an intimate theatre venue of 317 seats. In its short history the Douglas has had three works move to Broadway ( including) the revival of William Inge’s Come Back, Little Sheba.”
All in all, well worth the traffic. Again, so torn about the metropolis…feels so ALIVE in a big city, yet the teeming numbers of people (and this is NOTHING of course like what you encounter in NYC) become suffocating to me sometimes. I guess that’s why in any big city, people seek out city parks , fountains; anywhere tranquil off the clogged streets and sidewalks.
The traffic on the return trip home was brutal, 10mph when we were lucky, bumper to bumper in either six lanes or seven lanes of a zillion cars (I’m talking seven lanes going north, and seven lanes going south), lots of horn honking and people on edge on the slick freeways. Has left me exhausted although my driver-husband took it in stride. I could never be a commuter on that scale.
Maybe I’m a little like you, Claudia. The city is exciting but it’s always good to get home to the country (or, in my case, small town).
Sounds like you had a good day! Don has performed more than a few times at the Taper. He lived in LA for years (before I met him.) I am like you. I love being in the city, but it’s also tiring – lots of sensory stimulation – and I’m happy to get back to my quiet little cottage!
Oh, wow, that’s impressive to me; I didn’t know or realize Don had been in productions up here as opposed to The Old Globe in San Diego! I guess I’ve forgotten that Don knew L.A., too.
I’ve only been to the Mark Taper once, years ago but I had season tickets at The Ahmanson for a couple of years; SO much fun but , gosh, a long time ago now. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at The Music Center in L.A. is the largest venue of that Music Center quad, even more than the Disney, which I’ve yet to experience (the architecture alone doesn’t thrill me). I’ve always thought the Dorothy Chandler is so beautiful with its plush carpets and stunning chandeliers; it seats over 3,000. I’ve also seen a few productions at The Pantages Theater, an ornate/luxe place from the 1930s in Hollywood (it was at one point owned by Howard Hughes – sometimes the Oscars televised from there, I think in the 1950s); its focus has always been musical theater. I saw a production of “Phantom of the Opera” there which was spectacular and Mom really loved seeing “The King and I” in the 90s with Yul Brynner (I think it was Yul Brynner…many guys have taken on that roll over the years although Yul Brynner did it thousands of times…and that they’d brought the Broadway revival out West). But I think one of The Pantages’ longest-running shows has been “The Lion King” (or “Wicked”) in recent years.
“Sensory stimulation” – perfect way to describe city buzz!
I saw Yul Brynner in one of the tours of The King and I. He was up there in age, but very compelling!