Orange You Glad?

Blame it on the weather. It's barely spring, but the unseasonable temperatures have me thinking less about April showers than about what comes after: summer. And nothing screams summer quite like the color (and flavor) of a ripe, juicy orange. I'll admit to the irony of that sentiment, given the natural growing season of your average navel spans the winter, as opposed to the summer, months. We can thank Florida orange growers for my seasonal confusion.

Blood Orange Tart from Smitten Kitchen 

Smitten Kitten is nothing short of amazing. Their cream biscuits are the ultimate breakfast food, and they're even better consumed under the covers, watching Community online. So yes, this blood orange tart is purple, but it's so pretty. And I'll bet it tastes divine.

Kaweko Sport Fountain Pen at Spartan

Good design with a quirky edge makes me weak in the knees. Kaweco has been around for more than ninety years, when it originated in Germany, making this blindingly neon pen's pedigree even more formidable. This is one that will never get lost at the bottom of your purse, although why keep it hidden away?

Tangerine Tango Brush Set at Sephora

Pantone is a design geek's dream. I've been eying their Press Sheet Poster in Blue for a while now, but their new collaboration with Sephora--featuring tangerine-dream nail polish and this brush set--is on a whole new level. There's a sort of 1960s feel to these guys, with their clear Lucite handles and cheery, monotone vibrancy. I can imagine a young Sophia Loren using them to apply her cat-eye makeup.

Edy's Tangerine Fruit Bars

I am a certified Popsicle queen. I will eat any flavor, any time, and if you give me control over an entire box, it will be decimated. Eating one at the beach or near the water is the height of summer perfection. The greatest commercially produced flavor happens to come from Edy's, and it happens to be tangerine. Seriously, go try them. I'll see you poolside.

In Stitches

I frequently see things in shops or online and think, "I could make that!" no matter the scale of the project. Olympia Le-Tan's book clutches inspire just such a pioneering can-do-it mentality, because honestly, I can't spend $1,500 on a little bag (or anything else, for that matter). There's something so handmade (because they are!) and approachable about these guys, in spite of their price tags.

Olympia's adorable niece Dizzie Le-Tan modeling her auntie's Valley of the Dolls clutch. And rocking a blue raspberry tongue to boot.

I've written about Penguin books before, and they just won't stop amazing me. This past fall, they released a series called Threads, in which an illustrator (Jillian Tamaki) embroidered vibrant, colorful covers for a number of classics-Emma, The Secret Garden, and Black Beauty-which were then reproduced en masse (substituting the actual threads for raised, trompe l'oeil designs) for these $16 gems.

This spring, artist Rachell Sumpter takes on three more in the children's classics canon. The Wind in the Willows, The Wizard of Oz, and Little Women are all getting the stitching treatment, and I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Ohhhh goodness.

The whole embroidery thing gets even cooler (who ever thought I would type that?!), though. Olympia collaborated with Spike Jonze, of Where the Wild Things Are fame, on a film entitled Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side). Olympia's made no secret of her love of The Smiths, a holdover from her DJ days, so here's a little pop-culture playfulness:

"To die by your side...is such a heavenly way to die!"

Oh Morrissey, you emo lovebug you.

If you like randy skeletons, stop-motion animation, and/or star-crossed love, this one's for you.

We know from Parks and Recreation experience how impossibly frustrating animation can be, so the folks at PES films have my undivided admiration. Pick-up-stix spaghetti, yarn cheese, and bubble wrap boiling water are just a few of the myriad delights in this movie, but this is also the only place on the planet with Pizza Pac-Man, a crying baby peanut, and marshmallow Peep fireworks.

Yes, thank you.

Architectural Digest

Maybe it was living with an older brother - and his awesome wooden train sets - but there's nothing quite like a primo architectural model - or building blocks, or Lincoln Logs, or this rad dollhouse from brinca dada - to ignite the nostalgia flame.

Now, of course, I have to be interested in the built environment and its social implications, and these two structures - so completely different in purpose and construction - perfectly illustrate our evolving responses to our living spaces.


A theatre collective in Amsterdam constructed the unceremoniously-christened Redneck Mansion (top) for an avant-garde production of Ivanov. Seems an interesting locale for a doomed Russian wedding...the rusted railings add intrigue and danger.


Habitat 67 (bottom), in Montreal, was architect Moshe Safdie's master's thesis while a student at McGill University; he strove to connect the greenery and fresh air (or not) of the suburbs with the design and concept of a high-rise urban apartment.


Both are stacked like, well, blocks. 

Dylan's Candy Bar.

For Valentine's Day I'm hoping for a little sugar with my building blocks. I certainly haven't outgrown Legos (not by a long shot). But I'm not sure how these guys stand up to the elements.

Palm Reading

No doubt due to the news of Mad Men's return on March 25 (at last! hooray!), I've been itching for spring. Palm Springs, that is.

Mira Loma Hotel in Palm Springs, 1960s

Nostalgia is a dangerous beast, but it's not a secret that poolside lounging (or just dreaming of a little 1960s style magic) is incredibly relaxing. Seems Don Draper and his kids knew that, too.

Sally and Bobby at Disneyland! Wonder if they ran into Ryan Gosling?

David Hockney's Pool paintings serve a similar purpose, particularly in the middle of the January doldrums. They evoke a beautiful, eternal summer free from mosquitoes, humidity, and sunburn. Just chlorine and peace.

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972

Twenty-something years after this series, Hockney also painted the Southwest. His huge, expansive paintings of the Grand Canyon give the viewer the sense of standing just at the edge of the massive ravine. They are tense, evocative, and beautiful.

A Closer Grand Canyon (top) and A Bigger Grand Canyon, both 1998.

The red, oranges, and pinks reference the colors in Georgia O'Keefe's Southwestern landscape paintings, connecting these images to our art historically-conditioned notions of the way the region must look.

The Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona (boasting an impressive architectural pedigree) recently opened to great excitement: the rates are low, the food is excellent, and the style: unreal. I can't wait to check in. It's got Hockney's paint-smeared fingerprints all over it and looks like it came straight from 1960s Palm Springs.

The pool at the Saguaro Hotel. Oh boy.

Around the Water-color: Pick 'n' Choose Three

An homage to Leanne Shapton.

© Kino Lorber

I've made no secret of my love for the Old Masters, and I'm dying to get my hands on a copy of The Mill and the Cross, which reimagines Bruegel's Way to Calvary as a living tableau alongside the story of the painting's creation. There's something so haunting about the trailer: it's both tense and serene, and I can only imagine how amazing the actual movie is.

All images © Patti Smith (courtesy the artist and Robert Miller Gallery)

Annie Liebowitz's Pilgrimage has been making some serious waves recently; I feel like I've been reading something about it almost every other day. More obscure but no less completely poetic is Patti Smith's Camera: Solo, an exhibit (and accompanying catalog) currently on display at the Wadsworth Atheneum through February 19, 2012. Both photographers are interested in revealing the internal characteristics of the seemingly inanimate objects upon which they turn their lenses. There is something both timeless and nostalgic about these images.

These are not candles. They are wax figurines, part sculpture, part completely unnecessary object. Utterly French and oh so beautiful. (Cire Trudon)