Pillow-tastic Sample Sale!

I'm so excited about this! One of my favorite stores is holding a massive sale on their pillows. I vouch for them personally because I own several (purchased at the higher prices GRRRRrrrr!).

Check out the gorgeousness they're offering at 50% - 70% discounts with the added bonus of free shipping on orders over $50 by clicking on the banner link below.

In all seriousness if you're looking to spice up your interior with some beautiful accent pillows now is the time to pounce. I'm going to pick up a couple more myself. Just cause.

was $60 now $30

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Beauty of Nature

After the rain...

Japanese Maple- Front Yard

Gimme...

Please gimme...

This

and this

and this

and this

and these

and this

and this

and this

lots of these

Please.

Giveaway Alert

Update: Giveaway Closed!

Christy of A Lil' Welsh Rarebit is a wonderful blogger with one of the most incredibly beautiful little babies you've ever laid your eyes on. However, this isn't about her delicious child. It's about a delicious giveaway.

Guess what it is? That's right a rug. An indoor/outdoor rug (pictured left). So why not jump over there and enter for a chance to win this fabulous prize? Click here to enter.

Excuse Me Sir, Do You Have Any Grey Poupon?

No but, I do have Dr. Singha's Mustard Bath!

In traditional medicine, mustard is renowned for its stimulating, cleansing and rejuvenating qualities. The warmth of mustard gently opens pores and assists in the elimination of impurities.

The bath contains certified organic mustard seed powder, essential oils of eucalyptus, rosemary, wintergreen & thyme and gum benzoin in a base of Sodium Carbonate.

All I know for sure is that if I'm sore or under the weather a good soak in this usually makes me feel a whole lot better.

Dr. Singha's Mustard Bath is available here.

WTF?

No, this is not a joke.

According to the commercial:

"Your Chia Obama is a symbol of Liberty, Opportunity, Prosperity and Hope."

"Your Chia Obama makes the statement I'm proud to be an American."

Is it me, or is anyone else out there not exactly filled with American Pride?

Last time I checked the 'Proud to be an American' thing did not have me feel quite so nauseous.

Cherry Popping

What to do with a 1/2 bag of cherries that got lost in the back of the fridge and are not quite at their peak but certainly still good?

Make a cherry compote!

Cherries, washed, halved, pitted
3/4 cup-ish water
Juice/zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup-ish sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Bring to boil, reduce and simmer until juice begins to thicken and get syrupy. Skim off foam, let cool, remove cinnamon stick and pour over pancakes, ice cream or anything else you can think of. You can even add it to a mixed drink. I've never measured the ingredients. I've always just guesstimated. I suppose less is more and add accordingly.

See how my camera lens started steaming up in that last photo? Sorry I didn't show you the final product but after it was made we were too busy poring and flipping pancakes on the center burner. When they were done all I could think of was eating.

Pictures? What pictures? Oink.

McQueen Will F@ck a Bitch Up...

Alexander McQueen Knuckle Duster Patent Leather Clutch
$1,595- here

Collectors- Herb & Dorothy

According to Herbert and Dorothy Vogel you don't have to be a Medici or a Rockefeller to collect art.

The documentary film Herb & Dorothy tells the extraordinary story of Herb, a postal clerk, and Dorothy, a librarian - an ordinary couple of modest means who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history.

Herb & Dorothy Trailor


In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Thirty years on, the Vogels managed to accumulate over 4,000 pieces, filling every corner of their living space from the bathroom to the kitchen. Their apartment was near collapse, holding way over its limit. Something had to be done. In 1992, the Vogels made headlines that shocked the art world: their entire collection was moved to the National Gallery of Art, the vast majority of it as an outright gift to the institution. Many of the works they acquired at modest prices appreciated so significantly that their collection became worth several million dollars, yet the Vogels never sold a single piece to breakdown the collection. The Vogels' discerning taste and magnanimity changed the face of contemporary art collecting. In 2007, James Stourton, the chairman of Sotheby's UK, included the Vogels in his acclaimed book, Great Collectors of Our Time: Art Collecting Since 1945. Stourton placed Herb and Dorothy among the top art collectors in the world, alongside Getty, Rockefeller and Mellon. While there are countless films that feature artists, there are few about art collectors. Herb and Dorothy provides a unique chronicle of the world of contemporary art from two unlikely collectors, whose shared passion and discipline defies stereotypes and redefines what it means to be a patron of the arts.

For more information and to see where this incredible film is playing please visit herbanddorothy.com

Can't Touch This

Mandatory viewing material...

,

O.k. so this was a pretty hilarious and not exactly the most fashionable use of gold.
To see some fiercely sexy gold the way it was meant to be check out Marian Kihogo's post on it here. I WANT those Louboutins!

Birds Of A Feather

For the 9 months of her life that Sophia spent outside taking care of her brother Paw Paw she became quite 'fond' of birds (R.I.P. dear feathered friends). These days she hords anything that is feather related. So when I was choosing items for this posts she requested that they be bird and or feather related.

I must say she did a good job. Very pretty pieces and crazy low prices (good girl!) so everyone can get in on the fun.

I've already order the Gold Feather Bracelet and the Teak Wood Necklace, we had some words over the inclusion of that one. I had to point out that wood is from trees and it's in those trees are where her beloved birds live. So she reluctantly allowed me to include it (which is good because I'd have hated to have to pull rank on her first day).

Floating Feather Bracelet in Gold $12- from here

Rich Teak Statement Necklace $21- from here

And One Flew Over Necklace $9- from here

Paradise Charm Necklace $16- from here

Songbird Locket $15- from here

(I suppose she'll be wanting me to put a picture of her in this)

Mews & Purrs- Sophia

Illustrator- Kevin Dart and his creation Yuki 7

I was looking for a new illustrator or artist to feature since I haven't in a little bit and I stumbled upon the work of Kevin Dart co-owner of Fleet Street Scandal and one of his creations Yuki 7. Well, it blew me away.

Take a look at this theatrical trailer for 'A Kiss From Tokyo' -

Here's a little background on how Yuki 7 came about from Kevin's blog:

"While I was in London working on the BBC Olympics commercial, I was soaking in a lot of new inspirations and thinking deeply about where I wanted to go next with my art. When I returned, I was simply struck by an idea: creating a globe-trotting female superspy. In my head she was incredibly cunning, beautiful, and always impeccably dressed. As she came to life on paper, she felt very familiar. She embodied a lot of qualities that I’d been trying to capture in my work for some time.

Looking for more inspiration, I combed through some folders of reference I had collected over the last few years, immersing myself in campy Euro-spy film posters, 1960’s Thai pop music album covers, and mid-century modern architecture. I went back and re-watched some of my favorite spy films like You Only Live Twice and discovered new ones like Deadlier than the Male. A world slowly started to form in my head and I could feel hundreds of backlogged ideas and unfinished stories suddenly collide into one cohesive mass. Later on, I realized Yuki 7 had been building for years even though she arrived in a flash of insight."

As it turns out Yuki 7 has a cult following. She's got her own Facebook page and many fans (established artists in their own right) have done their own versions, tribute artwork if you will, of Yuki 7 that can be seen on Kevin Dart's website I urge you to take a look at some of his other incredible work. He's got quite the resume (Disney, Cartoon Network, Pixar, Warner Bros., to name a few).

One of my personal favorites is this artwork he did for No Doubt.


I'll leave you with some additional Yuki 7 images to enjoy:

Gratuitous Cuteness

Meet Sophia, today she's taken on the roll of official catributor at the 'A Townhouselady's Life' blog (I'm still the editor in chief).
She's decided that for now we'll share a desk this way she and I can work closely on today's posts.

(photo taken approx. 2 minutes ago)

Lusting for...

I've always had a thing for items made from shell and horn (as evidence by The Takashimaya serving set a few posts down). These glamorous bags are all made from 100% recycled shell and horn by Urthbags. I paid a small fortune for my abalone clutch. I really wish to hell I'd known about these. They're such a low prices for such high end materials.

Which one would you get?

Sandra $56-

Cynthia $51-

Tina $54-

Melissa $45-

Stella $42-

Listening To- Mos Def

from the 2004 archives

I love the smooth flow, horn charts, and sexy jazzed out flute on this. It's music to freak to.

Warning- Explicit Nudity (don't say I didn't warn you)

New York, New York a Helluva Town...

I love New York. My husband and I are both New York natives. He was born and raised on The Lower East Side of Manhattan (or the L.E.S. as it's known). I was born in the burbs but clocked the majority of my years in Brooklyn.

We often watch old films that were shot in New York and play a game where we "guess that location". It's a challenge as this is a town that is constantly evolving. Buildings go up, store fronts come and go but usually you can pick up something in the architecture that's a tip off. My husband usually wins. There is one location however that few people in the world wouldn't recognize, Times Square.

$48- for a set of four at New York First

Imagine how happy I was when I found these coasters. Each one depicts an image of Times Square, as it appeared in each of four decades, 1920, 30, 40 and 50 and are embedded into tumbled Botticino marble.

I'm picking up a few sets. I have a few parties coming up this summer and I think they'd make the perfect host/hostess gifts. While 2 of the hosts are ex-NYers the others just love the city like we do.

Another Free Rug Giveaway!

For those of you that wished you could have won the rug featured in Lucinda's giveaway here's a chance to win another.


Merida is a distinctive textile company that fuses a longstanding, 31-year commitment to sustainability, design and craftsmanship into our natural fiber rugs.

Merida Meridian is having a FREE RUG CONTEST . Each month they're going to be giving away a different rug. This month they are giving away a 5x8 Malabay Bark Abaca Area Rug (pictured left). To enter the giveaway click here.

I'm A Weiner!

Lucinda of Chateau de Lu held an amazing giveaway last week for a rug from CSN Rugs and I won! My prize arrived this morning and I wanted to share it with you.

Ohhh...the anticipation...
Bellissima!

Hmmm...now where to put it?

B.T.W. The quality of this rug is great. If you're in the market for a new rug (or just want to perk things up at your chateau I'd recommend checking out the selection at CSN Rugs it's good stuff, and right now they're having a promotion:
Use code Shopper20 at the checkout and you'll save 20% off your order! Oh, and did I mention, free shipping!!
How sweet is that?

Again, many thanks to Lucinda!