Love, Love, Love Hermes!

There is nothing more chic' to me than an Hermes' scarf.

The colors are so saturated on the rich silk backgrounds. The patterns tell a story. I love to stand over the scarf case at their stores and look at all the colorful folded scarves. It is perfection. They look great tied on a bag, wrapped around the neck, head, or waist, or used as a headband.

I have been collecting them since I was a little girl. For real! My parents had a very eccentric friend named Ariane Sheppard. She was from Germany and would often come to stay with us for lengthy periods of time and to my mother's dismay she would gift me bizarre things that were often far beyond my age. (Reference said scarf.)

I believe I was about 8, maybe 9, when Ariane gave me my first Hermes' scarf. I am not sure how I even knew what it was, or meant for that matter, but I did know it was special. I coveted it and still have it today. It is probably my favorite of my small scarf collection. I also knew to hide the present from my mother.

It stayed hidden until I decided Teddy needed a head scarf to wear similar to the way my grandmother would wear hers. I forgot to put it away when I was finished playing and left Teddy dressed in his "Jackie O chic-ness". My mom, of course, found my teddy bear wrapped in Hermes and she swiftly stripped him and tucked the scarf away until a much later time. Poor Teddy.

My obsession grew when I was a student at Lake Forest College. I would often babysit for a hip family who lived in the town of Lake Forest. The first time I was at their home I fell in love with the way the wife had mounted and framed 5 of her scarves in their Dining Room. I thought it was the most glamorous thing I had ever seen. So decadent.

I have later learned that Hermes' highly recommends against this as the silk rots under the glass, but it looked great! Sometimes it is fun not to be so practical.

So imagine my delight when I heard that Thames & Hudson is publishing the book, The Hermes Scarf: History & Mystique. It has been written by Nadine Coleno, who last year wrote the fabulous book Amazing Cartier: Jewelry Design since 1937, so you know it will be great.

The book chronicles hundreds of their classic scarf patterns and the different colors in which they have been printed over the years. Above is a peak into the book and I can't wait to see more. It is available for pre-ordering on http://www.amazon.com/ for a huge discount. I have already ordered mine!!!

Cheers,

BBS

all images above taken from Google Image

Valentine Blues?

As Valentine's Day 2010 fades into the past, I find myself feeling a little blue. Not because the mushy, greeting card company driven holiday is over, but because I am forced to take down the pops of red and pink that are my Valentine's decorations.

I find I am experiencing the same feeling of "decorative void" that I felt after taking down my Christmas decorations. My house feels a little blah, I feel a little blah.....

So today, while I sniffle and sneeze my way through being home from work with a cold, I am dreaming of all things red, fuchsia, and pink that I would like to add to my house....

And my wardrobe......A girl can dream, right????

Cheers,

BBS


All images taken from Google Image. Top image is credited to AP, Ikat pillow, Lamp is from Christopher Spitzmiller, more on him later as I am mildly obsessed, and the fabulous bag is Hermes Extra Large Birkin in red, ahhhhh perfection.

Can We Be Friends????

The buzz around the studio yesterday was, "Have you seen Jennifer Aniston's new house?" I quickly perked up, as I am obsessed with most things Aniston. I actually think that we could (would) be friends if our paths would just cross.

Jen and I like most of the same things; trips to Cabo, designer clothes and bags, living in beautiful surroundings, Brad Pitt, margaritas....You get the point.

The chatter at the studio was about her being on the cover of the March 2010 Architectural Digest and how great her new house is. I rushed home to see if my issue was in my mailbox. Sadly no, but one of my co-workers was kind to share her copy with me today.

Her home is stunning. It has the feel of a sophisticated, luxury hotel in some remote location, yet is still comfortable and inviting. I began imagining myself hanging out in the Kitchen gathered around the wood burning pizza oven or shooting pool in the game room over-looking the LA skyline. I know, don't you worry, that I will never be hanging with Jen and her pals, but it is fun to dream on this snowy day.

I fell for the fruit wood piano pictured above. The simplicity of the light wood against the dark wood paneling on the wall is fantastic. To see a piano in something other than glossy black or mahogany is such an unexpected pop. The lamp in the foreground of the picture is also amazing. It appears that everything in the house has a story and a place. It doesn't feel staged or put together.

The house was designed by Stephen Shadley, who has done many homes for Diane Keaton and was named to AD's top 100 in 2009. His look seemed very familiar to me when I discovered that he had designed the AD Green Room for the 2009 Oscars. It is pictured above.

Last year when the images of the Green Room were released I thought it to be perfection. The space was actually an interior room with no windows. Shadley created the feeling of being in a highrise looking over the city by using murals.

One item I kept returning to over and over again while I was reading the article on Jennifer's house was her fabulous Hermes watch. Isn't divine? Maybe she will let me borrow it when we become friends.

Cheers,

BBS

The image of Jennifer Aniston on the cover of AD was taken from Google image and photo credits to Peggy Sirota. Image of her home scanned from AD issue and photo credit goes to Scott Frances. Image of AD Green Room taken from Google Image. Image of Jennifer Aniston at her home scanned from AD and photo credit to Peggy Sirota.