LA BELLE ABEILLE

Moth's Wings

2011-06-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

When?

2010-12-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

If Wishes Were Horses...

2010-11-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

"Every passing minute is a another chance to turn it all around." Another cold, blustery day in late November warmed only by homemade soup, sweet friends, and good movies. Oh, wishes... were they horses, this beggar would ride... all the way to the moon.

Voice Like Silver

2010-10-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

A room with a window facing west, toward the sea
You with your hands across your chest, facing me
Sing me a song, your voice is like silver and
I don't think that I can do this anymore.
La la la la la la la.... la la laaaa.

Wrapped Around Your Finger (falling fast)

2010-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Tread Lightly

2010-08-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Lost in the Woods

2010-06-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Summer Star-flower Birds

2010-06-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Home is wherever I'm with you

2010-06-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Too soon parted

2010-06-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I dreamed a dream I saw you.
You were dancing like you do.
Flowers bloomed,
my heart sank
because none of it was true.
The next time that we're near, dear,
I can promise this:
I’ll never send
you off again
without
giving you a kiss.

A reverie indulged in while awake

2010-06-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dear You

2010-06-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

Ride A White Swan

2010-05-30T20:56:00.001-07:00

Poppies On Fire

2010-05-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Wanderlust

2010-05-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Snow Dear

2010-05-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Curious Love Letter

2010-05-11T19:24:00.001-07:00

Every blink is a thought. Every sigh is a memory.
Blink, blink, blink. Sigh, sigh, sigh....

California Poppy

2010-04-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

A year since I've been back in California. The poppy fields are in full springtime bloom, almost as if the hills are ablaze in an electric neon orange fire. So glad to be home. So good to remember New York City. My heart lives on two coasts.

A Trip Around the Sun

2010-04-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Another trip around the sun, accompanied by the moon, the stars, and you. Thank you for your love, your support, and your warmth, dear friends. XO

Stella Page Design

2010-04-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Spring certainly has sprung, and along with it a whole new collection from international handbag diva, Stella Page. Visit her website at www.stellapagedesign.com to shop the fabulous collection of handbags, totes, wallets, lipstick cases, mirrors and more. Stella is a true star (and a dear friend), so don't miss out on her amazing, artful creations. They're pretty. They're lovely. They're sure to make your wardrobe, and your season, complete.
Yours truly, Little Red Writing Hood XO

Picture for the day

2010-04-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

Boom. Thud. Thud.

2010-03-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

so there is this monkey.
no, there are these elephants.
this room full of elephants.
they are troubled elephants and they're in the hospital to be treated for their... aggravation.
don't worry.
they've all been sedated, tranquilized, so they're feeling much better than they did this morning.
what is it you say?
pcp?
yes, these elephants are totally on pcp.
very much so.
but its an elephant tranquilizer, and these are elephants, so it doesn't make them all loopy or drugged- it just makes them normal.
you know what a normal elephant does, don't you?
yes, you do.
you do too know what normal elephants are like.
they are like the elephant in this picture i am showing you.
they are relaxed and they play games and they love to drink ginger lemonade.
mostly they play ping-pong.
they prefer it to croquet or hopscotch.
why, you say?
well, because when they play croquet they get too easily distracted by the birds who laugh
at them from the trees.
the birds are nasty little creatures.
these birds are anyway.
and when they play hopscotch... well, you can imagine.
elephants playing hopscotch?
you can't?
WELL.
elephants weigh a ton.
an actual ton. maybe more.
and when they play hopscotch and they hop.... well..
BOOM. THUD. THUD.
the ground trembles and the china falls off the banquet.
all the lovely rose colored dishes rattle and shake until they fall to the floor in a broken, pinkish, dusty heap.
and then the poor dears (the elephants),
well they feel so badly about this.
it really quite devastates them.
after all, what elephant doesn't love a beautiful piece of china?
so they feel so guilty that they pick up their ping pong paddles and reluctantly ping-ping-pong the afternoon away, hoping someone will come someday soon with a new set of china.
perhaps this time with paintings of little blue flowers on the plates instead of roses, or of grassy plains that remind the elephants of home, of where they could play hopscotch to their elephant heart's content.
"one day i'll go home" they think. and they begin to daydream of simpler times...
but then the orderly comes in to announce that Babar is on, and they all march hazily in to gather around the television.
BOOM. THUD. THUD.
they sit in a circle around the glowing screen, and forget for a moment that they are not home.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

2010-02-02T22:29:00.000-08:00

Sar⋅to⋅ri⋅al

2010-01-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

–adjective

1. of or pertaining to tailors or their trade: sartorial workmanship
2. of or pertaining to clothing or style or manner of dress: sartorial splendor
3. of or pertaining to Scott Schuman, self proclaimed Sartorialist.

Photographer of real life style and beautiful everyday images, Schuman captures glimpses of real people dressed their best around the globe. From the streets of New York to the parks of Florence, from Stockholm, Paris, London, Moscow, Milan and beyond, Schuman finds men and women who are naturally stylish and posts his finds on his blog, The Sartorialist.
I just bought his book (by the same name) and have fallen in love with all the inspired looks it contains. Snapshots of celebrities and fashionable civilians alike fill the pages and send me dreaming of faraway places and beautiful garments, of an effortlessly gorgeous life filled with Holland bikes and easy breezy french style. The book makes for an excellent coffee table piece, and it also keeps me motivated to get dressed in a creative, relaxed, and nonchalantly beautiful way. And, of course, always with sartorial splendor in mind.

More from Schuman

2010-01-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

Dear heart

2010-01-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things happens to be this photo, and that is because it happens to be
a photo of one of my favorite people-my dear friend, Chanel. In her eyes I can see that she is a lover, a fighter, a natural-born-super-romantic, a dancer, a dreamer, and a possessor of the sweetest of hearts. I love you, C. Bon voyage as you journey back to the land of ice and snow on your wintry fairyland journey.
Bisous, bisous, bisous!!!

Arts & Crafts

2009-12-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of a beautiful 2010: larger than life, taking on the world (big cities, small towns), writing our own fairytales, resting our feet on cushions made of peonies and cotton candy. Happy New Year!

Hello, Brooklyn

2009-12-16T20:35:00.001-08:00

November is:

2009-11-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

1. This photograph
2. Satin ballet slippers
3. Co-ed reading parties
4. Baking cupcakes with ten year-olds
5. Au Revoir Simone
6. Homemade chicken noodle soup
7. Dreaming of New York
8. Living happily in California
9. Bright coral red lipstick
10. Icy cold nights filled with shooting stars

And you are starry, starry, starry...

2009-10-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

Follow me to the land of lovely...

2009-07-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

What can I say about Garance Dore (garancedore.fr) except that to a girl like me this blog is a dream come true. A friend of mine told me about the site several months ago and since then I've checked in daily to see what's new in the land of lovely. The whimsical french illustrator travels the world over with a camera and sketch pad, capturing the sweetest things in life: beautiful photographs of fashionable passersby, miniture interveiws with her adored (and coincidentally also fashionable) friends, and her fantastic illustrations (which I have found quite inspiring). When I look at things through her eyes I'm lead to believe that there really is a world where we all live enchanted, sunday afternoon cafe lifestyles. The photos, the art work and the translated text (which is quirky, upbeat, and delightful) take me to another place entirely. Yes, in this place we all move breezily through the city streets of Paris and New York on Holland bikes and beach cruisers while wearing pouty skirts and high-high heels. We always have a bundle of tulips in our bicylce baskets and we're forever be on our way to meet a friend, or a lover, or to a gorgeous outdoor market. Needless to say this site provides me with my morning dose of charm, and then some. Oh, Delicious charm.

We'll stop here along the way...

2009-07-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

TVC 15

2009-06-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

2009-06-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sloane Crosley has been compared to David Sedaris and other masters of quick witted scoundral-ism ever since the release of I Was Told There’d Be Cake last year. I was wary of this diagnosis, as I believe Sedaris to be a genius who I would follow to the ends of the earth (have you ever heard him read his own work on public radio? Ah-mazing!). I did, however, come to develop a special place in my heart for this new, critically acclaimed author.
Crosley is perfectly unselfconscious and even somewhat narcissistic in her writing style. Her stories are seen solely through her eyes, filtered exclusively through her quirky interpretations, and yet somehow they bare a startling resemblance to pieces of our own experiences. Her observations are often a little dark and always a lot funny, and there is a suburban quality to her work that I particularly like (one that reminds me of ho-hum afternoons spent listening to the squeak of empty swing sets swaying over deserted tanbark playgrounds-- does anyone else have this memory?). It is here in the day-to-day that the author finds these lovely poignant moments, the ones that are so special because we've all had them, even if we could not articulate them. In a style that is brilliantly plain and clever Crosley tells the stories we all wish we knew how to tell-- stories of our families, of where we grew up, of who we are, of who we wish we were, and of the plans we've made for our unborn Flemish children. With all this wit there is nothing left for one to do than laugh, reflect, and eagerly read on. It is my humble opinion that Ms. Crosley deserves all the praise she has received.

I've seen love go by my door

2009-06-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

Yes, Sir!

2009-06-15T20:45:00.002-07:00

I would have to say that the east coast equivalent of House of Hengst would have to be, in my eyes at least, Brooklyn's own Sir. Located on both Atlantic Avenue, in what real estate agents might call "Brooklyn Heights", and on Bedford Ave., in the heart of hipsterville (eh hem, I mean williamsburg), Sir is another carefully constructed collection of vintage-inspired clothing being manufactured on a small scale with craft and beauty. The line's designer, Joanna Baum, describes her pieces as having "Parisian sensibilities" and a “pretty, roughed-up look”, which to me sounds just about perfect. Gauzy, sexy, sheer, sophisticated and all with a touch of vixen is what I see whenever I stop into the Atlantic Ave. shop (which is frequently, as it is just around the corner from my house). I imagine Baum's pieces to be wearable either to the office or, with a touch of ruby-red lipstick, out for drinks in the later hours. More so, they are perfect if you want to go for a slightly more worldly version of Maggie Gyllenhaal's look in Secretary. Which, coincidentally, I do. Now, where did I put that pencil skirt?

Don't wait too long

2009-06-15T20:45:00.001-07:00

House of perfection

2009-06-15T19:06:00.001-07:00

It may be old news to some, but I just couldn't fight the urge to write about one of San Francisco's star boutiques, House of Hengst. Though the studio and it's owner (the ever lovely Ms. Susan Hengst) have been a favorite of mine for years, I am continually surprised and delighted by each new collection, and Spring/Summer 09 is no exception. Having been in the Mission street flagship store just last week on a whirlwind San Francisco trip, I was once again wowed by the vintage-inspired creations of Ms. Hengst. The fluid and fabulous 70's inspired dresses and jumpsuits, the high waisted jeans, and the dreamy comfy lounge wear are all hallmarks of a line that is truly unigue and diverse. Some of the pieces are more akin to lounge wear and come in lovely neutral colors. Other styles are more slinky-sexy and fashion-forward, and still others are 100% modern classics (think Audrey Hepburn inspired poufy silk dresses). You can't go wrong here- whatever piece you choose is bound to become a favorite for years to come. The fact that the studio actually makes the clothes on location, and that the decor is made of ever-rotating artists’ creations, makes this indie boutique more of a gallery than anything else. Both the clothing and the atmosphere are truly works of art. Though the designer has relocated to Manhattan (hurray!) in the past few years, she can often be found checking in on her SF studio, no doubt whipping up brilliant creations for next season's wonderful collection.

2009-06-15T13:53:00.001-07:00

Sparkle, shine, and glow

2009-06-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

The 4th is just a little less than a month away and I'm already think-think-thinking about how I will spend it. Where will I be? New York or California? Will I see the sky light up from the beaches in the west or from the banks of the east river in the east? Maybe, if I can't decide, I'll be sure to be on a plane that night. That way, when it comes to fireworks, I can have it all. I'll watch them from above, all the way from one side of the U.S. to the other. And you? Where will you be? On a roof top? A barge? With friends? Alone? In bed, with your head safely buried under the covers? Let's not celebrate our independence independently. It's never too early to start planning when sparklers are involved.

Oh how I've missed you so

2009-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Just like honey

2009-05-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Skeleton me: It's about to get hot, take solace in September

2009-05-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

I know I said I like to try and stay present, zen-like, about fashion. It's almost summer, let's stay in the moment. Let's be here now. Let's dream of what we'll wear when we seep out in the wicked humidity to grab an italian ice, rather than pine for next season's lovables. But then I saw Burberry Prorsum's fall 2009 line and decided I could skip right over all of that.
As far as I can tell this autumn is going to be a total hunk. Prince-charming style. Burberry has got the white floaty dresses like our dear Isabel Marant, but paired with grey tights, clunky boots, and chunky knit scarves that keep warm what the lightweight frocks cannot. Oh fall, when I'm not frozen into a wardrobe-rut or baking into a melted mess, how I love thee. As much as I enjoy the haze of summer, I thrive in the crispness of the later parts of the year. Throwing on extra layers and getting that "all tucked in" feeling just does it for the northern Californian in me. (Sigh)
But back to today, back to Brooklyn: If you're looking for summer shoes, Marais USA (see below) has got some adorable suede and/or patent flats, sandals and heels in poppy summer colors. Though I'm a fall girl through and through, I just ordered myself a pair in an attempt to keep my feet on the ground. Seasonally, anyway.

Head in the clouds

2009-05-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

In my dreams...

2009-05-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

...the summer looks and feels like this- and it goes on and on and on, without ever getting too hot or too humid or too anything.
"Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl. Everyone would be pleased to see me coming. Maybe I would visit with you for the weekend and then suddenly, because I am fickle like that, I would visit with the man from the corner shop instead-- but you would not be sad because you would be eating a cinnamon bun, or drinking a cold coca-cola from the can, and you would never think of me again. We would be happy, like lovers who met on holiday and forgot each other's names."

Why the long face?

2009-05-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

I Heart Bill Cunningham

2009-05-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

Fine. I'll admit it. I watch the audio slide show "On the Street with Bill Cunningham" first thing every Sunday morning. I've been timid about sharing this bit of information because I've been afraid that in doing so I might inadvertently reveal a great secret of mine; one that only a few in my inner circle know. You see, on Sundays, when I open the New York Times (be it in print or online) I skip right over World News and Arts and read: the Style section..... First.
And one of the many reasons I do this is because I have grown to just plain love Bill Cunningham. I adore him as if he were my super fashion-savvy, Reebok-wearing, couture-loving grandfather. Not only do I admire the way he zips through the city streets on what seems to be a super sleek Dutch bicycle (not pictured here), or the way he always has his camera on hand, ready to capture people in their most stylish (or interesting/awful) get-ups. There's more to it than that. What makes me a true fan of Mr. Cunningham is the sincere enthusiasm (bordering on childlike wonder) that he has for his most simple observations. When he notices a whole slew of upper east side women starting to wear coats in November (because it's cold), or that ice and slush are forming puddles and snowbanks curbside in January (because they do) and that this is causing pedestrians to have to (gasp!) step over them, he reports these facts as though they were the most cutting-edge, thought provoking perceptions one could make. In today's piece he reported on skirts with "swooshy flair" for a full three minutes, and then ended by encouraging his viewers to indulge in a skirt that's "a bit sassy, sagacious, and that will maybe cause a little comment", while laughing sweetly all the while. From the sound of him, Mr. Cunningham seems to see the world through new eyes, with a playfulness that makes even the most obvious, the most dull, or the most obsolete trend seem like a delight to observe and ponder. And despite being highly regarded by the highest in high fashion, I have read that he is very down to earth. He seems to enjoy fashion without getting too caught-up in it or taking it too seriously. He just peddles his bicycle around town, happily capturing his wonderment snap shots. This all adds up to him coming across as someone who truly, and lightheartedly, loves what he does. With his sincerity and instinctual whimsicality, my coffee cup and I just keep coming back for more each Sunday morning. First thing.

Little Bee

2009-05-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

"In a few breaths' time I will speak some sad words to you. But you must hear them the same way we have agreed to see scars now. Sad words are just another beauty. A sad story means, this storyteller is alive. The next thing you know, something fine will happen to her, something marvelous, and then she will turn around and smile."

-C. Cleave, Little Bee

Photograph for today

2009-05-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Les Chansons D'Amour

2009-05-19T20:31:00.001-07:00

Take a drizzly Parisian background, a young, quintessentially beautiful french couple (Louis Garrel and Ludivine Sagnier), create a love triangle that manages to be both steamy and blase all at once, throw in a dialogue expressed almost entirely in song, and there you have it: either the worst movie you will ever see, or you new super-favorite. I loved it of course, but I'm hopeless when it comes to blue love stories, bizarre plot twists, beautiful art direction, and so on. And, of course, anything in the tradition of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jaques Demy; 1968) is guaranteed to win over a certain breed of film lover. Me? Hopeless, I tell you. Absolutely hopeless. But I encourage you to have a look for yourself and then tell me, or sing me, what you think.

One sugar or two?

2009-05-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

Keep me in mind

2009-05-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

We could talk about Jean Arp, we could talk about David Shrigley, and surely we could sing the praises of Henry Darger all night long, but why not discuss a lesser-known artist? How about someone fantastic and unique and not quite so lime-lit? How about the lovely work of Donald Mitchell? (See above.)
It was through Creative Growth (an art center in Oakland, Ca. dedicated to providing top-notch materials, instruction, and exhibition/promotion opportunities to artists with disabilities) that I first learned of Mr. Mitchell. I don't know much about him personally, but from what I understand Mitchell's work has made a profound change over the years. His early pieces at CG consisted primarily of what his mentors and critics refer to as "obsessively crosshatched fields of lines". These lines would cover the entire page in a stressed, chaotic fashion and hide any trace of underlying images from the inquisitive observer. Perhaps there was a secret picture beneath the picture? A story within a story? Then, several years ago, Mr. Mitchell started to bring to light the faces and forms that he had buried beneath the lines on the page, and when he did he revealed curious figures that, to me, are a wonderful representation of dark and light, playfulness and tension. They are oddly sweet, like something that might hang in a nursery, but they also feel like they express an intriguing social commentary: a world of similar figures all stacked on top of each other, with each thinking "Hey- you're on my head". Now, after all these years, his trademark has become what his proponents call "a tightly composed, graphically sophisticated page of crowded figures". I find them enchanting up close, beautiful from afar, and his process definitely worth contemplating. No longer on the lesser-known list, Mitchell exhibited his work in 2007 at Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York, and ABCD, Paris. I remain a devout fan of Donald Mitchell for the hidden treasure of his artistry, and of Creative Growth for their dedication to encouraging and supporting the arts for all.

Mine That Bird

2009-05-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dreamy, dreamy

2009-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

I know, I know- The runway shows are always a season ahead. And I, too, love to look forward to the nubby scarves and ankle boots of autumns to come, but not when it's 83 degrees outside. There's something about admiring spring lines in the spring that makes me much happier. It also seems to make a bit more sense, non? So who better to start off my list of this season's lovables than the star of urban chic, Isabel Marant. This collection is, as all her collections are, a seamless dream come true. Floating lacy tops, short-short-short shorts, and silky slip-style dresses (with a little something extra) are all pretty much...well, perfect- without being too soft. My favorite places to indulge in these delicacies? On the west coast it's Nida in Hayes Valley, and in my neck of the woods (Brooklyn) it's all about Bird.

Photograph for today

2009-05-02T09:58:00.001-07:00

We could make such beautiful music together

2009-05-01T12:30:00.001-07:00

Praying together? Hmm... I'll leave that one alone. I prefer to think it's the couple that sings together that stays together. Of course this is by no means a modern concept in the art world. Even without popular or indie music being the area of one's expertise, most of us can rattle off the names of at least a few lovebirds who've crooned together. It's easy to look back and see the sensations that were John and Yoko, Gainsbourg and Birkin, Cash and Carter, and so on and so forth.
But as the tradition continues, winning bands such as Little Joy, The Bowerbirds, The Rosebuds, and many others keep emerging to serenade us with their creative chemistry. Collaborating creatively with your better/other/favorite half may just be one of the best old-new ideas we've always had. Be the artists lovers, siblings, or just dear friends, working together can be the key to some beautiful music, and maybe even the key to a sweet, sweet heart.
Here's to makin' it. Together.

Like this:

2009-05-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Falling softly

2009-04-25T19:29:00.001-07:00

2009-04-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing the lovely mixed media works of Isca Greenfield-Sanders then I would say there is no better time than now (See above).
The artist, daughter of the legendary photographer Timothy Greenfield, has made much of her work from anonymous vintage photographs that she has collected over the years. Applying her mathematical skills (she majored in both mathematics and painting) she uses watercolors and pencils to makes tiny tiles that when pieced together equal the sum of the painting. She then creates whimsical slices of hazy poolside memories, summers long ago, gentle beach scenes, and my personal favorites: parachutes falling sweetly from the sky.

Drawing

2009-04-25T17:51:00.001-07:00

83 degrees. Cher chou-chou, I drew this for you. One handed.

Les Chansons de Barbara

2009-04-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I've come a bit late to the party, but recently I've been totally enchanted by the late french chanteuse, Barbara. Her song, Ce Matin-La (1963), in particular is such a beautiful and haunting tune that it has inspired me to learn more about the melancholic singer. So, being the inquisitive francophile that I am, I did a little research and found that Barbara (given name Monique Serf) was a bit of a left bank darling in the late 1950's.
A poet, musician, and artist in her own right, Barbara had joined french legends such as Edith Piaf and Juliette Greco by the tender age of 27. She was a stunning presense on stage (all raven haired and lanky), and she created art as sensitive and passionate as she was rumored to have been. She sang mostly of lost love and heartache, but often with a honeyed charm that made her music sweetly nostalgic. Sometimes moody, sometimes poppy, but always a joy to listen to, I like to think of her as a slightly shadowy and obscure Audrey Hepburn-esque figure.
Only French.
Viva la France.

2009-04-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Taken from a web of dreams and memories you may have had. Captured dearly by Mark Borthwick.