How Much?

Lulu bought a pair of Levi's 501 Boyfriends Jeans this weekend. These may be the cutest jeans ever! As cute as they are, I was shocked at how much Levi's cost today, $79.00 for a pair of 501's!
I remember wearing Levi's red tagged 501's when I was in high school, over 100 years ago. On the days I wanted to breath, Levi's were a great alternative to Calvin Klein Jeans. I am guessing that Levi's cost about 15 cents back then. I'm feeling kind of Grampa-ish.

Sleeping Ingmar Bergman Style

My beds before a I saw an Ingmar Berman film.

The necessary ingredients for the proper bed.

Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander

Seeing my first Ingmar Bergman film in college completely changed the way I slept. I immediately fell in love with the Swedish director's featherbeds and the big white down comforters he had in his films. I always have his Swedish aesthetic in mind when I am dressing my bed. Recently, I figured out the secret to a perfect bed, always buy your down comforter a size bigger than your duvet cover. I stuff my king size comforter in my queen duvet and I never have to worry about one side being lopsided. I am also a big believer in a million bed pillows. we have eight on our bed, not including decorative ones.

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange, b.1895-d.1965, was a very influential American documentary photographer. She was hired by the Roosevelt Administration to document the 1930's Depression and the struggles of migrant workers and sharecroppers. During WWII, Dorothea was hired by the Government to photograph the internment of Japanese American citizens. The Army believed her photographs did not convey a pro U.S. point of view and had them censored.

Dorothea Lange was hired by the W.R.A., War Relocation Authority to document the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans to U.S. internment camps following Pearl Harbor.
First graders pledging their allegiance to the United States flag just before they are sent to internment camps. This is one of the photographs that led the U.S. government to censor Lange's photographs. A Japanese American shop owner displays a banner before he has to close down his business.



Dorothea captured haunting images of poverty during the Depression. She did a beautiful series of photographs on Migrant Mothers for the Farm Security Administration.

Golden Age of Illustration

These beautiful illustrations are the work of a little known Brooklyn born artist,
Ethel McClellan Plummer, 1888-1936. She worked during the Golden Age of Illustration in America which lasted from 1880 until the end of World War I. There was a boom in illustrations, as the popularity and demand for newspapers, magazines and illustrated books grew. Technology was also vastly improving which allowed for colorful reproductions of art in mass produced publications. I adore the simplicity of Ethel's drawings, they remind me of of the wonderful work of my friend Vivienne Strauss.

Where Are My Shelter Magazines?

Tired of snow, our horrible economy, joblessness, Octo-Mom? This is the perfect time to curl up with a stack of shelter magazines and catch up on home decorating ideas, but it's getting harder and harder to find those magazines. A year ago I would have been enjoying Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion (my house was featured in it one year ago), Country Home, O at Home, Domino, Blueprint, and Cottage Living, but they have all recently ceased publication.

These magazines were a wonderful source of inspiration and escapism.

Perhaps we could use a new shelter magazine on junk store, flea market and garbage picked decorating.

Enchanted April in Dreary Winter

"Enchanted April tells the story of four dissimilar women in post-war England who leave their damp and rainy environs to go on a holiday to a secluded coastal villa in Italy. Two women who belong to the same ladies' club but have never spoken, become acquainted after reading an ad for villas for rent in the local paper. They find two other ladies to help share expenses. The four women come together at the Villa and find rejuvenation in the tranquil beauty of their surroundings, rediscovering hope and love"


I love the film Enchanted April. It's always a little dangerous for me to watch it, because I start Googling vacation rentals in Tuscany and I try cutting my hair in a bob with craft scissors. I plan on hiding all sharp instruments and spending some time with these lovely ladies on their Italian holiday.

The Wait Is Almost Over

We have been waiting for such a long time for pleasant weather to return to Chicago. It seems like we have had snow on the ground since early November.

This morning I hear birds singing once again! We are expecting temps in the 40's, and that is warm enough to open a few windows. When it's in the 60's I shall frolic in the grass.
I was so inspired yesterday that I painted our powder room a very springy green color. Today, I have decided that it is a hideous color of green and it looks terrible with the french limestone. I don't mind, maybe robin's egg blue today.