My Diane Keaton Lady Crush

This morning I stumbled upon the portfolio of Stephen Shandley,

a NYC-based designer whose clients include my fave, Diane Keaton.

Shandley was named to the Architectural Digest’s AD100,

the list of the world’s best interior designers + architects.

I tried but failed to access his website this morning —

perhaps it was just a temporary issue — I dunno.

+ + + + +

Now, then.  What was I saying about my lady crush, Diane?

Remember when she won the Best Actress Oscar for Annie Hall?

Oh, how I love that movie, + when it came out,

I was inspired by Annie’s wardrobe to sew myself a similar blazer + skirt!

+ + + + +

In addition to her highly successful acting career,

Diane is also a home design afficionado + author of this book:

 Next, let’s have a look-see at some photos of Diane’s many** homes,

(**she moves more than we do!)

the interiors of which were designed by Stephen Shandley.

Seriously?  A leather sofa porch swing?  Genius!

People.  This is SO me!  I’ve even sewn pillows with the Swiss cross like these.

 

OMiGosh!  Pillows in a rolling cart!

Check this out (below) — Diane + I also share a love of the “re-arrange”!

I wonder if it provides her the same morale boost as it does me?

I am loving the version at left, with all the colorful pottery.

 I love color, + am growing a tad weary of the trend of all-white decor.

What say ye?

Look at Diane’s inspiration board —  I love it.

And last but not least, here are a couple examples of phrases (stenciled?)

incorporated into Diane’s homes:

I’m not surprised to see that Diane has so many books.  I want one of those rolling ladders, please.

I am feeling a yen for stenciling something on the walls of our house,

since that’s what I do.

Now I have to choose a phrase, don’t I?

Stay tuned!

 

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MARCO POLO in SW Michigan

This past Friday, my friend, Alan, + I took a day trip

 to Harbor Country in SW Michigan.

Who knew?!

A gorgeous, sandy beach — right here in the Midwest?!

That’s right!

It’s only a couple hours drive from Chicago!

Alan vacations there frequently.

Who wouldn’t want to spend the day at that beach?

But wait.  There’s more.

Harbor Country has the coolest antiques stores . . .

 . . . the coolest of which is

MARCO POLO

in Harbert

13565 Red Arrow Highway

Harbert, MI

269.469.6272

http://marcopoloantiques.com/

Marco Polo is in a stunning, rustic/modern building

with board + batten siding + a corrugated metal roof.

Of course, you’ll find yourself longing to live there!  I know I did.

Inside there is a carefully curated selection of mind-blowing antiques.

The stunning, immaculate property also includes a barn,

which, on the day we visited, was filled with discounted pieces.

I brought home a pair of lamps made from old car jacks.

(Disclaimer: please disregard the errant lampshade in this photo!)

Silly me.

I errantly assumed that my new Frenchie-stripe lampshades

 would play nicely with my new lamps.

Sadly, they’re too top heavy for those narrow jacks.

(Stay tuned!)

* * *

While I ponder my lampshade shopping options,

check out these fantastic antiques

(from Marco Polo’s website.)

Wooden 1930’s truck

This truck has been sold, as have all the other items I’m sharing.

I don’t have current photos

because I seem to have forgotten my camera that day.

Switchboard stool

If you find yourself loving anything here, trust me.  You’d love the store!

Parts drawers with original labels

Hickory rocker
I’ve always wanted one of these!

Early 20th c. wallpaper table

Boat house numbers. Seriously. How fabulous is something like this as a statement piece?

Farm pantry cabinet
I love mixing primitives with modern, + I’m super crushing on that white metal stool!

Folky wooden birdhouse

1930’s teal locker

Michigan sign Nobody loves the chippy, golden yellow paint more than I do!

Train porter’s steel stool
with my favorite of all the old paint — red!

Metal 2-piece bakery stand

People.

 These photos are just the tip of the iceberg, if you will.

Their website has dozens + dozens more photos

of amazing antiques.

Go there:

http://marcopoloantiques.com/

Then, go here:

HARBERT, MICHIGAN

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Celebrity Crushes + Sundance Catalog

I like celebrities.

Not so much the Miley Cyrusi of the world,

but actors + musicians who I admire as true Artists.

Especially this guy — Donald Fagen:

People.
Buy this CD.

You might know him as the lead guy for Steely Dan.

I like to call him “my musical genius”.

Look!  He’s got a book coming out on October 22nd!

I’m so excited!  Don’t worry — I’ll be reviewing it!

(Okay — whose eyes just glazed over?  Show of hands!)

But enough about Donald Fagen; I rather like these two, as well:

http://www.amazon.com

In fact, Mr. Baldwin + I were quite the “item” at one time.

OMG! 1-800-PHOTOSHOP!

Here we are together in Santa Monica, California,

just before he left me for a much younger gal:

Perez Hilton

HA!  I, personally, see nothing wrong

with amusing oneself with the celebrity!

SO, imagine my excitement when I opened Elle Décor magazine

+ saw that Cheryl Crowe has the same Pottery Barn rug that I do!

Here’s Cheryl’s.

Here’s mine:

Why didn’t I think to put on a pair of sparkly pants

+ pose for a photo op on one of my dining chairs, like Cheryl?

HA — GOOD X’s.

Anyway, all bad jokes aside, look behind Cheryl’s couch.

I have loved those cabinets forever.

They’re in the Robert Redford’s Sundance catalog.

http://www.sundancecatalog.com

YUM!  No?

I longed for them for years until one day, my friend, Alan,

suggested that I use my old retail store’s postal sorter in my house —

that it was kind of the same thing!

And so I did!

Why didn’t I think of that?

I’ve had that cupboard since the late 80’s,

+ it’s been in every retail space I’ve had since then,

+ it’s been in storage when I didn’t have a shop.

Isn’t it tragic that I never once thought of using it inside my house?

Here’s Alan now! — with me + Chloe the Dachshund
in front of Alan’s late great Chicago store, Patina

Don’t you think it’s a great idea

to have a friend come past the house on occasion

+ make a few design suggestions?

He or she has a fresh eye to see things you hadn’t!

* * *

But back to Robert Redford’s Sundance catalog:

Definitely, he’s another celebrity
who I admire a lot!

I get a Sundance catalog in my mailbox every other week, it seems —

even more now that Christmas is on the horizon.

It’s pretty yummy.

I had a look-see online this a.m.,

+ I just picked the first thing I saw that I wanted:

Bethany Iron Bed
$995-$1495
$350 shipping

Whoopsie.

Bethany seems to be just a tad over budget,

but it has inspired me to think about painting our IKEA iron bed red!

What do you think?

Stay tuned!

EMMY FASHIONS WITH BASEBALL ON THE SIDE

I didn’t watch the Emmys last night because my Cardinals game was on ESPN.

Sadly, they lost to the Brewers

 in Milwaukee’s Miller (as in the local brewery) Park.

Wikipedia

In Milwaukee, the highlight of any game

has to be their hilarious sausage race,

with the Italian beef, the hot dog, the brat, etc.

How could you not love that?

* * * *

Also on the fun agenda —

since Milwaukee’s home to Harley-Davidson Motorcycles,

during each pitching change, some dude on a Harley circles the field.

Awesome!

I just love local stuff like that at the ballpark,

like this wonderful tradition in St. Louis:

The Budweiser Clydesdales circling the field
on Opening Day at Busch (as in the local brewery) Stadium
CBS Sports

I won’t lie — those Clydesdales give me major goosebumps!

I am crazy about the Clydesdales’ theme song (“Here Comes The King”), too!

* * * * *

But let’s talk about the Emmys.

Let’s talk about the Emmys red carpet!

Here’s my vote for Best Dressed of the night:

http://www.eonline.com

Rose Byrne’s (what show is she on?) dress!

 Its simplicity is so gorgeous,

with the fabric, the fit + color being beyond flattering!

Her hair + make up are perfect, too!

Sure, Joan gets ridiculed for her plastic surgery,
but c’mon. She must have a new doctor,
because I think she’s looking fantastic!
Her hair’s always great — pretty blazer + scarf, too.

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t get the designers’ names of these gowns.

My BAD!

I hope to do so tonight while watching the Fashion Police.

* * * *

Now let’s get back to those dresses, shall we?

Here are some of my other favorites:

Michelle Dockery’s (Downton Abbey) gown is so beautiful.

I love the hem of the skirt + the edgy halter bodice.

I wouldn’t have chosen those colors, but they’re striking on her.

Leslie Mann (dunno what show she’s on, either) is sporting

one of several sheer skirt gowns seen last night.

They intrigue me, + I liked this one the best.

I can’t decide if that bodice is too busy or if it’s just right.

Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie + The Sopranos)

is simply stunning in this simply designed gown.

The color is perfect for her!

Once again, I love her hair + make up, too.

Kerry Washington (star of ??? show)

is wearing a style I don’t normally love.

As you can tell, I’m more of a fan of a much more minimalist design.

The appliqued flowers on her sheer skirt are just so pretty, though,

+ I’m loving the juxtaposition of that edgy bodice

with the feminine skirt + fabric.  Perfect!

* * * *

What did you think?

Do you agree with my choices?

Will you, like me, be watching the Fashion Police Emmy special on E! tonight?

Our Dining Room Gets Its FALL On!

 I recently came home with a carload of mums, kale, pansies + pumpkins,

+ next, I added FALL to our front porch!

It was such a huge morale boost that I opted to do something similar inside!

I started with our dining room:

This pair of black urns with the white pumpkins

were flanking our front door, just this morning!

Now they are looking swell inside, accessorizing our pine farmhouse table:

I have had this old Rockford, Illinois wooden box for years:

Why yes, I DO love red stripes!

KATHY + CINDEE oil painting by me, graduate school, 1978

Our bungalow doesn’t have a lot of wall space for large canvases like this,

so I’m using a vintage wooden easel to display my painting.

Here’s a similar look from Ellen Degeneres’ house:

Back to our house — here’s a close-up of that accent wall.

G.O. + I stenciled it together, + we love it!

That pretty wall color — Beeswax — is so warm,

+ it happens to match all the yellow ware that I love to collect.

Here are my tin quilt stencils, marching across the hallway door:

 

Don’t you love our art ledges?  I do.

G.O. made them with an old door casing from our house:

I like them because I can switch things out whenever I please.

G.O. likes them because we’re not driving 100’s of nails into our walls!

Right now, I’ve got a lot of fall stuff displayed with photos + artwork.

Yumm-O for our orange mercury glass votive cups:

Some old glass ware for some sparkle, inside a handmade basket:

Our dad caught this foul ball at a Cardinals game in the 50’s:

Next up: our living room gets its Autumnal make over!

Stay tuned!

Chicago + Celebs, Mid-Century Modern Happiness

This past Friday I drove to Chicago for another fun outing

with  my friend, Alan.

For years, wherever we are,

our favorite thing to do is to ride around + look at houses.

Here I am, doing said-same with the guys from Steely Dan:

My favorite musical geniusi:
Donald Fagen + Walter Becker

Friday, we (Alan + I) drove past this famous guy’s house in Chicago:

Chicago’s mayor
Rahm Emanuel

Over the years, my Al-meister friendship has provided me

with glimpses of the (now former) residences

of a few other Chicago celebs, including these favorites:

Nate Berkus, Joan Cusack, the late-great Gene Siskel

Just imagine if the two of us lived near L.A. or NYC.

It might look a something like this:

I used to be in love with this guy
until he ditched me
for that much younger gal.

* * * *

But back to Friday’s outing.

We enjoyed a bit of shopping, as we always do.

I bought a couple of cool vintage treasures here:

Foursided
on Clark Street in Andersonville

This cool shop carries a lot of Chicago merch,

+ my plans include sending them one of my Chicago pillows:

Fingers crossed they’ll approve of + want to sell said-same.

* * * * * *

But I’m digressing quite a bit again.  Back to Friday’s outing.

We shared some small plates at a Wicker Park restaurant/bar,

the name of which I don’t recall.

The food + vino were de-lish, but my highlight was our waiter.

(I don’t remember his name, either!)

Oopsie!
Another bad photo!

But how could I forget that he’s a St. Louis Cardinals fan?

Look!  He even retrieved his Cardinals cap to share with the class!

Go Cardinals!

* * * * * *

Now let’s have a look-see at Alan’s (+ his partner, Keith’s) mid-Century modern house:

I helped Alan select the dark gray paint for their exterior.

As typical of many mid-Century  modern house plans,

the street side/front of Alan + Keith’s house is quite private . . .

. . . . while inside, the living + dining rooms are oriented to the back yard.

Look at all the glass:

And now, let’s have a look-see at some of the boys’ groovy stuff:

Vintage medical cabinet

Alan’s Swiss cross artworks, displayed with a pair of vintage wooden clamps.

Genius!

I’ve given G.O. the heads up that I love this + that I’d like at least one for myself.

He’s already forgotten, but oh, well.

More grooviness:

People. This art gallery
is devoted to all things canine.

I’m seriously needing something similar
with something of the Dachshund persuasion.

There’s the ADOR-able Sophie the Papillion
in the boys’ TV room

Meanwhile, that signage is pretty radical, no?

But what say ye about the pennant pillows?

Yes, I  made those from vintage pennants.

How could I not give them to Keith + Alan

as a “just-because” gift?