j'dore adore?

omg it's a time machine back to 2008. ah the sweet memories of a ginormous blog tear drop falling when domino folded.

well now there is an aussie mag called adore that takes u right back to the domino days. talk about copy cat chic.

i guess things take longer 2 travel down under & they haven't gotten the 411 that everything they adore is kind of over.

still kudos (kudos?) 2 them 4 faithfully recreating & ripping off domino. it is so nostalgic.

they have a green story, steal this look shopping pages, travel stories, young girly designers, cute office stories. gag.

they love all the things blogs hate now, orchid plants & sunburst mirrors.

it's summer on the other side of the equator (look it up u dweebs), so it's kind of weird to 2 see summer shit when we r gushing about cashmere.

they don't mean 2 b funny & gwd doesn't mean 2 b mean, but this mag is hilars.

so trip down memory lane, back 2 the carefree days of trellis & foo dogs.

count the trendz we all luv 2 hate. antlers, words as art, black kitchen (yes there's one in this issue!), art groupings on walls, cute girly office stuff. bloggers could do this mag with eyes closed.

thank u adore home! can't wait 4 the next issue.

go here to get that warm dejavu feeling.

ps the new issue of lonny happens 2 rock. we r evolving. here

lady blah blah - guest blogger

this came over the transom.
lady blah blah is guest blogging & shares her daily grind in her life as a lady blogger...


7:00 AM - Wake, curl into fetal position, and weep silently into my pillow as I face the reality of another day without Domino.

8:00 AM - Make coffee—organic, free trade Honduran, of course. It’s the least I can do for the environment. Too bad I have to drive so far to the nearest Whole Foods to get it. That reminds me, I need to gas up SUV.

8:10 AM - Admire how edgy I am for painting kitchen black. It’s not like black kitchens are all over Domino, Lonny, and other design blogs. I am by far the edgiest married, mid-30s blond in this entire middle class subdivision.

8:30 AM - Contemplate breakfast. I’d love toast and bacon, but raspberry jelly is hell to get out of my carrara marble counter tops. And I’m not scrubbing bacon grease out of white subway tile and grout again. Besides, the family loves Pop-tarts for breakfast—they’re so delightfully retro.


9:00 AM - Boobear and The Angel Baby are off to grandmother’s house. My husband hates it when I refer to him as BooBear, but I’ve told him over and over that ALL the coolest lady bloggers call their husbands by a nickname—I can’t just use his name. If I have a second brat, I guess I’ll have to come up with another nickname for him, but it’s not gonna happen any time soon—I’m not letting that bastard husband touch me again until he agrees to let me re-paper the powder room. Yes, I know I just did it, and that it cost $5,000, but Imperial Trellis is SO out.

9:15 AM - I hope that brat of mine stays gone for a while----I get so sick of him whining about how much more fun he has at grandma---I don’t care if she doesn’t yell at him for sitting on the sofa---HER couch isn’t covered in white linen (Belgian, of course), and I’m sorry that he wanted Bob The Builder bedding---a Bob the Builder bedroom ain’t gonna get me a feature in Lonny.

9:30 AM - Dress. Should it be Target dress, J. Crew shoes and Anthropologie cardigan, or the Anthropologie dress, J. Crew cardigan, and Target shoes?

9: 35 AM - Life was so much easier when I just had to decide between which color Juicy camel toe track suit.

9:36 AM - Shit, just tripped over stack of Hermes boxes artfully arranged by closet—dented one. Must order replacement from Hermes box supplier on e-bay.

9:45 AM - Apply makeup from selection of Chanel cosmetics artfully arranged on python tray. Sight of artful makeup tray on carrara marble reminds me of Domino. I weep.

10:00 AM- Repair makeup.

10:30 AM - Client Consultation. Well, actually I’m just off to my sister’s new place to help her unpack, but my readers don’t need to know that. I need to think of a name for the project….BoHo Condo? It certainly sounds better than flea-infested hellhole efficiency in an Atlanta ghetto---I told her a fine arts degree was never gonna pay her bills. Thank god, I’m married and don’t have to work.

12:00 Noon - Lunch. I spent all my cash on a metallic cowhide to drape over my kitchen island (the last surface in my home not already covered in a cowhide), so I guess it’s off to Mickey D’s for a value meal. I’ll tell my readers I stopped “at a trendy little bistro in the commercial district for a working girl lunch of "flilet de boeuf en sandwich and pomme frites.”

12:30 PM - Stop by Toys R Us. Need to find plastic blinking toy to bribe The Angel Baby for another “candid” photo shoot. After the last “candid” child shot took four hours and I got mascara in his eyes—it’s not my fault his damn lashes don’t photograph well—he’s been resisting a photo session---how else can I prove that gleaming dark floors, Lucite furniture, silk draperies, and bright white linen upholstery are completely child friendly without posting occasional shots of angel baby engaging in chocolaty, muddy frolics----note, need to replace garden nozzle so can hose him off before bringing him into mudroom shower for double cleansing. Thank god Liz taught me photo shop so I can superimpose chocolaty face into my kitchen without having to risk it next to, did I mention they were carrara?, marble counter tops. This time, I remembered to bring measuring tape to make sure toy will fit into Ikea baskets---only Domino/Lonny approved artisan wooden toys can be seen in photos.

12:45 PM - Pull SUV over to the side of the road. As I thought about going through another long day without Domino, tears began to blind me. Sobbed---why can’t Nick Olsen be here to hold me?

1:00 PM - Home. Exhausted. Being a design professional (I’m gonna get paid one day, so maybe that bastard Boobear can stop bitching about having to work overtime to pay for my decorating HOBBY---This is my passion…why can’t he understand it? Maybe he should get his own passion It’s not my fault his band never made it, and he’s now too old to rock) God, I could use a drink, but I don’t want to disturb my bar setup, and I've forgotten to buy extra Tanqueray, Pimm’s and Maker’s Mark---I’m not actually sure what cocktail you could mix with these, but according to spread after spread in Lonny, these are the liquor bottles to own…




gwd - thank u lady blah blah

2 b continued...

the girly domino lonny backlash

lately many bloggers r bitching about the overly saturated girly decor, as in it's everywhere & been done by everybody, the look domino lived & died by & lonny regifts, & the look once loved by girls everywhere, and girly guys 2.

house beautiful had a girly may issue cover & alot of us didn't dig it.

is it finally over & out, r the girly domino lonny clones on the ropes? can anyone with small talent & a blog polyvore shopping list put together a look that was once so fresh & exciting & then get it published on the f-ing cover of HB?

r we ready 4 more grown up well designed, non gender specific spaces?

10 year roundup -part 3

more memories of the past 10 years.

who can pronounce ikat? this was a fabric explosion that rocked the last 10 years & looks like it is here to stay.


all white was in, a hold over from shabby chic days. & frames & more frames.
vessel sinks. so the first decade of 2000.
typeface as art. this says: swedish style is out. white slipcovers followed us from the 1990's into the new decade. organizing books by color.
lampshades over chandeliers, or just a lampshade and a bare bulb. quick easy style everybody could afford 1 way or the other. butterfly art.
mora clocks. everything old & swedish for the trad girls. brown walls-the new beige.
suzani. first cousin of ikat. & the iron canopy bed.
color. everybody tried color.
domino magazine 2005-2008. anyone seen ruthie somers?

more later...

what to do with all those old domino, metropolitan home, southern accents, house and garden magazines

In gift wrap emergencies when you've got the present but need some wrapping, here's an idea for turning a magazine page into a bow. (There may be better ways to stick this thing together, but I used what I had on hand: staples and adhesive glue dots. Double stick tape would work, too.)

Cut a magazine page lengthwise into 9 strips, 3/4" wide. Leave 3 of the strips full length. Cut one inch off 3 of the strips. Cut two inches off 2 of the strips. Cut the last strip down to 3 1/2" long.

Twist each strip to form a loop at both ends and staple it in the center. Shape the last, short strip into a circle and secure it with a glue dot.

Layer the 3 longest pieces on top of each other, spacing them evenly and securing each with a glue dot. Add the next two groups of pieces, doing the same. And finally, stick the loop into the center.

Use other papers, like a map of your city. Here's Chicago. Anybody see your street?

from How About Orange here

i'm hanging it up

does ur closet look like crap?
can u relate to a small cluttered mess?


if u clean ur closet, how long before it gets to be a big fat mess again?

domino loved closets. a lamp & a mirror make it a room.


this closet has gone to the dog.


domino again. really could u keep your purses looking like this?


so many celebs have a closet photo shoot in a magazine. this is nicole richie. it looks real.
go clean ur closet!