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I can hardly wait to see what my lovelies look like in their victorian inspired finest....custom pet portraits at Hot Digital Dog. Amazing.

Gwyneth "The Everywoman" Cooks Chicken

For the record, I DO NOT pay money to subscribe to GOOP. For those not in the know, GOOP is Gwyneth's weekly newsletter in which she gives advice about everything from mothering her oddly monikered children to the restaurants she frequents in cities around the world to the playlists on her ipod. It is largely an attempt to shake her ice princess, name-dropper, "I'm so much better than you" image she has cultivated so well over the years.

Let's just get this straight. Gwyneth is NOT an "Everywoman." From the Hollywood royalty she comes from to the films she chooses (let's just forget Iron Man, shall we..), Gwyneth is an elitist bitch. And I love her for that. Or used to at least. Until she tried to convince me she's just like me.

I say if you can be an elitist bitch and truly own it, then by all means, go for it. And if you can call Steven Spielberg "Uncle Morty" to his face and almost marry Brad Pitt, you are not like me. So stop trying to be. I liked you when you were elusive and snooty and looked down your nose at me from atop your Balenciaga heels as you stole my table at Balthazar only to consume nothing but champagne and a green salad sans dressing.

That being said, I might just make the roast chicken she is peddling as her completely elitist (Love!) version of "fast food" in her latest video blog on GOOP. And l have some serious issues with chicken. Our rocky relationship began with a serious bout of food poisoning when I was 12 and hasn't really improved much since that fateful night. The level of anxiety I experience while attempting to cook chicken is legendary among those who know me well. By the time it hits the table, if it ever actually makes it there, the poor bird has been subjected to no less than 3 temperature readings (from 3 different thermometers mind you) and a "flashlight test" to check for pinkness. Even if it passes all these tests, I still let my husband eat it the first night and if he doesn't get sick, I might eat a little the next day. It's bizarre, I know. I should definitely seek therapy.



But Gwyneth seems like such a nonchalant "chef". She is ever so calm about touching the chicken, and then touching other things without bleaching her hands clean first like I tend to. And when it comes out of the oven, it goes straight to the plate without a thermometer in sight. Such confidence! And it does look really good.....

So I guess I can forgive her just this once for effectively Goop-ing me. Now if only I could stop her from saying "tater" in that weird voice about midway through....

Coco Avant Chanel

I have been anxiously awaiting the American distribution of this film for what feels like forever, and finally it appears the time has come. I adore Coco Chanel, would say she is my ultimate style icon, and think there is no one better suited to portray her than the lovely, ethereal Audrey Tautou.

In my opinion, the only way to see a film like this is with a good girlfriend after dinner at a charming French bistro (my favorites are La Poubelle and The Little Next Door, both in Los Angeles) and a few French 75 cocktails (not too many though...you do have to stay coherent enough to read the subtitles :)).

Julius Shulman Continued

Frey Residence, Palm Springs, 1953, Albert Frey, Architect

Case Study House #22

Portfolio #11, Freeman House, Los Angeles, Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect

Julius Shulman: A California Icon

Case Study House #22, 1960, Los Angeles, Pierre Konig, Architect

I struggled  for longer than I care to admit about creating an appropriate first post in this blog. I felt inundating a reader with my general design sensibilities seemed too forward for a first go, but then a random recount of what inspired me from this month's Elle Decor seemed both abstract and generic as well. It struck me while reading the brilliant architectural photographer Julius Shulman's obituary in the LA Times last week that he would be the perfect subject to highlight as the first of many posts in my new attempt at self-expression.  

I  became aware of Shulman's work at the age of 12 on a perfect sunny day during my very first trip to Los Angeles. While the extreme significance of that trip in my life is best left for a later post(s), I would be remiss to say I wasn't captivated, or possibly spellbound might be a better adjective, with the City of Angels. It was during this trip that I saw  Shulman's most infamous photograph, "Case Study # 22.", pictured above. In my mind, this photo quintessentially defines the romanticism of Los Angeles in it's most golden age, the middle of the twentieth century. 

It was an image so evocative that it made me decide one day, without question, I would move to Los Angeles. I wanted to be that girl perched high above the blanket of big city lights below. And now, all these years later, to some extent, I am some version of that girl. 

Shulman came to define in his iconic photos of mid-century architecture what would later be coined "California Modernism."  His work made architects like Richard Neutra, Charles Eames, John Lautner and Pierre Konig household names. The depth of his photos would also illustrate what makes Los Angeles and California in general unlike any other place in the world. 

Shulman died last week in Los Angeles at the age of 98. To learn more about his life and career, check out Taschen's amazing book Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered.