Unsubscribing with a Vengeance

What are you doing to clean the clutter in 2010? I'm beginning with the kind of decluttering I can perform sitting on my bum. Perhaps it's trying to check my email remotely or from my iPhone. Perhaps it's just that there is too much to possibly read during the day. But with the end of the year and the pressures of preparing for travel and the holidays, I'm done with all the lame emails from sites that clearly exploit the fact that they have a mailing list. And yes, I signed up for all of them.

No more annoying GOOPY name-dropping Gwynnie suggestions on where to stay in Morocco when you're wealthy. No more Bon Appetite updates (somehow Domino shutting down has brought me this subscription, which goes straight into the recycle bin - I guess stopping that kind of stuff from happening should be the next decluttering move I make from my desk chair). No more USAirways Dividend Dining Miles (well, I'm working on that one. Even though they seem to email me daily, they claim they have never heard of me, the email address they harass me at, or my miles account). No more twice-daily Tory Burch/J.Crew/name a store free shipping announcements or Neiman Marcus Last Call Fur Sales. No more Facebook announcements via email telling me to go look at my Facebook announcements. Enough. I'm unsubscribing to all this crap as it comes in and it feels good. I cannot wait for my inbox to get back to normal - notes from friends and unsolicited penis enlargement spam. That's all I'll be receiving in the next decade!

Great Etsy Article in The NYTimes

I thought this article was really interesting yesterday. I have this image of the poor knitting girl they describe whipping those needles around faster than Madame DeFarge. I guess the flip side of earning your living via your handmade crafts is that the more popular you are, the more you turn into a machine. It sounds exhausting.

In other Etsy news, I am digging this renewable way ("wrapagami") to wrap gifts in fabric, compliments of Jenn Playford. Check out the Storque article here. Buy pre-made reusable wraps here. Learn how to make your own in this book.

Photo by David Hughes/Hotfoot Studio via Etsy

Real Housewives of Orange County

Couples who are incapable of taking girls' weekend and guys' weekend are dysfunctional, co-dependant, and annoying, and Slade is totally gross.

That's all I have to say about that.

As for Atlanta, rumors are swirling all over town today that Bravo is in town to court Victoria Rowell (formerly of The Young and the Restless), either as the sixth housewife or as a replacement for Nene and/or Kim, who seem to be demanding big bucks to stick around. I don't really understand what they think they are going to do if they don't get what they want, as wigs and writing (even with a ghostwriter) are not talents they possess, but I would miss them if they left!

Victoria Rowell photo from here

Wish List & Jersey Shore News

I don't think I'll have much time to blog between now and after Christmas, but I wanted to do a quickie post and show you these mid-century modern chairs available at Spruce Home.

Also, there is nothing on TV worth talking about, or am I missing something? I am looking forward to seeing the SNL Holiday Special tomorrow, as there's nothing like Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein singing "Away in a Manger."  Aw, that just made me feel sad about Phil Hartman.

In other TV news, MTV will not be showing Snooki getting punched in the face, as they are now complaining that the video went "too viral." When shamelessly promoting something, is there such a thing as too viral? I think not. I think it was what they were going for when they pimped out that scene on every single preview to date, including the "coming up this season" preview. It was fine for them to exploit that footage and get publicity from it, and now act like they care about her assault. Obviously some crazy* group that doesn't like to see violence against women got mad, or Chris Brown really liked it or something. Whatever MTV.

Alright, I must go carry on with my holiday cards. They are lamer than ever this year, but I have realized if I try to write a few paragraphs to each person catching up that I only get through about fifteen of them and then give up. So "Love Becky" is about all people are getting from me this year. At least I'm not sending out a mass newsletter written from the point of view of the dog, bragging about how my kid is "off the charts" and Nobel-prize bound at age 18 months...if you do send those, please don't leave me off your list. My dad and I do dramatic readings of them at dinner every night during the Christmas season and laugh. Our favorites are the one written by the dog, the guy who talks for four typed pages about what he does with the Shriners, and the family where all the names rhyme - Jerry, Larry, Gary, Barry...you get the idea. That Mary Carrie, Perry one is by far the funniest one to read out loud.

* (I hope you can feel my sarcasm on the word "crazy")

image via Spruce Home

It Happened on the way to The Holiday House

Today my friend Kristen and I had a few martinis and hit the Atlanta Holiday House (Kristen is African American. This will factor into the story later). This ridiculous display of wasteful ostentation was a total blast, I absolutely loved every minute of it (except one), and I really liked what a lot of the designers had done. For the most part, the rooms were pretty well scaled. It didn't have that usual McMansion syndrome where a sofa is dwarfed by 20' ceilings and huge room dimensions. Well, the basement room with the pool table looked that way, but I think it was because of the puny pool table.  Now personally, if I had $14 million dollars, I'd buy a real chateau in France where I could ride my horses across my vast acreage. In Buckhead, in a spec builder's pipe dream, this gets you a chafaux on four acres of woodsy ravines with a horse bridal hanging in the basement powder room as a Ralph Lauren-esque accessory. Although, the fact that it had a "Wellness Center" complete with sunken jacuzzi, sauna, massage table and god knows what else was a rather tempting thought.

I took this picture from another part of the house, if that gives you an idea of 22,000 sq. ft.

But I digress. Much as I enjoyed the house, the tour got a rocky start. After standing around a random parking garage waiting for a shuttle for 15 minutes, the driver arrived. Now, this man, (who was quick to tell us that he was in charge of the whole shebang), I guess he was trying to prove how "down" he was. He looks at Kristen and says "Now you've had to sit at the back of the bus for way too long. I want you to sit up front!" He then proceeded to try and get her to sit in the passenger seat of the van, which she politely declined, while she mouthed to me "here's my racist incident this week." Then the guy blabbered on and on about how Tyler Perry lives down the road, and that he had come to look at the house, stayed a long time and written a big check to the charity the house supports. Dude, if you are reading this, retire that joke. I know you meant no harm, but it's just stupid. I'm sure you've used it on every black person that's had the misfortune to get into your van. The reason everyone uncomfortably tries to laugh it off is because they are so shocked and embarrassed for you that it's an automatic, nervous reaction.

*I think I need to start a Becky Dictionary: Chafaux = Wannabe French chateau in suburbs, most often seen on any iteration of Bravo's The Real Housewives

TOP CHEF!

"Please don't let it be Robin, please don't let it be Robin..."

What did you think? I don't want to spoil anything, I think the best person probably won, though I disliked said person the most, though his reaction was so sweet that it made me start to like him.

image via bravotv.com

Tips for Storing And Displaying Jewelry

I'm obsessed with how to better display my trinkets, so I've been collecting images for some time, especially over on tumblr. One of my favorite tumblrers is first home, who has a knack for collecting jewelry display images like this one:

and this one:

this one I found via Anna Spiro loves

This one I found via first home and dwellings and decor

This one is in the latest Lonny magazine

Finally, I made a houzz ideabook using all the jewelry shots I could find over there to show how different people display their baubles:

Ten Ideas for Storing and Displaying Your Jewelry

houzz- kitchen design, bathroom design, landscaping and more

Lonny's Picking it Up!

Wow, Lonny has just hit it out of the park this month. Check out my girl Vanessa de Vargas and her gorgeous Venice Beach bungalow in all its glory in this month's issue. Oh, I am liking this month so much! My only wish was that this magazine existed on glossy pages and arrived via my mailman, but it is a great magazine to experience online, and this will help with my magazine hoarding problem. They have done a beautiful job; Paris and kate spade and schmancy J. Crew stores oh my! Oh, and that one guy that those of you who know me know I can't stand (if you make fun of little people and call my beloved Jonathan Adler a pig on TV, I'm holding a grudge for a long long time. I don't care how many other bloggers love you.) was only in one tiny little photo this month, so therefore, it was a perfect issue!

photo from Lonny mag. I'm trying to find out who the photographer was - if you know, drop me a comment. Photos by Amanda Marsalis.

I LOVE this Blog

It's chock full of delicious fashion photography, and is brilliantly curated. Check it out for yourself here.
WARNING: It will catch you for quite a long amount of time!

If Only...

I had vast means. I would plan an entire room around this chandelier that's at Pieces:

As it is, I just spend over half that on dead tree removal. How depressing is that?

By the way, if you are ever in Atlanta, DO NOT miss a visit to Pieces. It's probably the most inspiring and beautiful store I've ever had the pleasure to peruse.

I'm Smitten

Yesterday I was sorting through my huge stack of glossies for recycling. I was doing this because for some reason I was watching Hoarders on A&E and it terrified me. Honestly, some of these people are so sick and downtrodden it doesn't seem right to televise their plights, even if you are helping them in the end. I have just one word to say: poop (shudder). Of course, by that logic, it's not right to rubberneck and watch the episodes either, but I couldn't help myself. Hoarders is my crack.

Anyway, in my stack of glossies were a bunch of Design New England magazines I tend to buy whenever I am at Logan Airport. I then found Design New England online and started adding images to tumblr like a house afire (it's all Michelle's fault; she explained how easy and cool tumblr is and now I'm totally hooked. Design New England's online format is awesome. It's set up just like the magazine. Go over to the left side and click on the features - that's the main meat of the magazine - the house tours and such. You can flip the pages through all the good stuff right in a row. They have all of their back issues set up in the same way, and they don't inundate you with ads like every other magazine online slideshow I've seen. It's brilliant. Check it out right here.

So back to what I'm smitten with, whew, got a bit off track with the intro there. I'm smitten...with this cozy yet fresh interior shot.

photograph by Greg Premru for Design New England

Cincinnati Inspired Design: VisuaLingual

One of the things I love most about blogging is meeting other bloggers. I stumbled upon VisuaLingual when I saw that it had linked to a post I wrote over at Hatch, and through that blog, I was able to see the city I grew up in through the eyes of an artist transplanted there from Brooklyn. Maya and Michael moved into the transitional neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine and glean tons of inspiration from their surroundings. You've probably seen their Seed Bombs on just about every gift suggestion list known to man this holiday season, but I wanted to show off some of the pieces I've marked as favorites over in their Etsy shop. Vhether you vas ever in Zinzinnati or not, the designs are so thoughtful and striking that they are universally appealing. Here are some of the things I'm coveting:

New! Wild Edibles is a series of 8 prints, each showing an edible plant that can be found in wild places, backyards, or parks. This series includes plants native to the Midwest, but many are also common throughout the United States.

I love this elegant screenprinted pillow. It's a drawing of the Ohio river from a 1766 survey, before Cincinnati was founded:

This is my favorite from a series of three-color screenprintings that combine vintage wallpaper and city pigeons. Bert gave me a soft spot for pigeons, even though every time I go to Europe they poop on me:

Ah, finally, my favorite. The limited-edition serigraph Cincinnati Building Footprint Print. It wouldn't really matter to me what city this was, I just love the composition, the colors, and the Nolli mapping effect and meaning behind it:

To check out these items and a bunch of other awesome stuff, go visit their Etsy shop now! Oh, also, Maya let me take a peek at her awesome pad in OTR over here at Houzz.

Chanel in Shanghai

Speaking of Chanel, I just received an email from them alerting me to the new looks on the website from the show in Shanghai. Wow! It's totally wild, and I think Karl's infatuation with La Lohan must have rubbed off on him, because there are a lot of liquid leather leggings involved. For those of us under 5'10",  these REALLY are not a very flattering option Karl. This was one of my favorite looks, in spite of what I just said. I like the way it's granny's classic Chanel meets rock and roll in the Far East:

To see all the looks, click here.

Sea of Shoes and Chanel

Do you read Sea of Shoes? It's one of my favorite blogs, and Jane is such a talented girl. Her life seems very charmed, though she's really earned it. She's been blogging since she was twelve, and she and her mother both have absolutely killer fashion sense. Some might complain that she has access to expensive clothing and a vast vintage collection, but honestly, she has so much style I think she'd be able to outshine everyone else even if she were on a shoestring budget.

Jane's Chanel Couture

Anyway, Jane was dressed by Chanel for the Crillon Ball in Paris (that thing Lauren and Whitney rushed over to Paris to attend on The Hills that one time), and it's so much fun to look through her pictures and read about it on her blog. I especially enjoyed her notes about her hair disaster, which took place right as she was preparing to leave town.

Jane's Visit to Coco's Apartment

The Killer Boots Jane Took Home

This is just a teaser of a post. Check out the whole story over at Sea of Shoes.

Also, Jane recently designed shoes for Urban Outfitters. Check them out here. These are my favorite pair, though the lace up boots with the open toes are a close second:

You can buy these here.