TGIF!

What a crazy week. I'm still stuck in glasses while I recover from my pink eye/allergies/I have no idea, we got a new student who screams bloody murder and kicks really hard, and I'm ready to spend a couple days relaxing with my cute husband.

So, an update?

Saw a production of "Parade" last night in Fullerton, about the Leo Frank case. It was really really well done. The cast had amazing voices and the story was really moving. There's nothing more frustrating than corruption and lies when you're seeking justice. A very sad story, but excellently told.

Bought peonies for the first time! Usually I just buy mums and admire other people's peonies, but I vowed to buy some this year...and I LOVE them. They're so huge and fluffy and pink. I wish they were in season longer!

Is everyone following this Amy's Baking Co. thing? It's such a spectacular train wreck! I'm not one to harass crazy people, but I keep visiting their Facebook page to check out the madness. Stolen photos, claims of hacking that clearly didn't happen...it's all so crazy. 

Tonight Craig and I are seeing the Duke Ellington Orchestra, so that will be a nice way to end the week! Hope you all survive Friday and have a beautiful weekend!

A Tease of Summer...

Yesterday it was 90 degrees here in sunny southern California, and today's it's supposed to be 80. Just a little taste of the summer ahead of us. Yes, our bedroom gets a little swelteringly hot, but dreams of swimming and shaved ice make me so so so happy!

'Becca'lise the Flapper

I've had a longstanding fascination/obsession with the 1920s. It started around 10th grade (4th picture) when I discovered Louise Brooks and devoured every book I could find about her. That led to my love of silent film (it's always movies, isn't it?) and the fashion of the time period. In my junior year of high school my notebooks were covered with photos of movie stars of the period...Louise, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, etc. While no longer rocking the flapper look, I love to resurrect it now and again, and I love reading anything about/set in the period. I recommend The Chaperone, Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin, and of course The Great Gatsby! We're seeing Gatsby tonight (I love going to the movies after a work day!) and while I'm not expecting the BEST MOVIE EVER, I think it will be a visual feast! Can't wait!

Chad Sell Comics/RuPaul's Drag Race

If you know me at all, you know how much I love "RuPaul's Drag Race." I wake up on Tuesday mornings at 5:00 so I can watch the previous night's episode without cutting into my regular morning routine. Crazy? Maybe. But I will never miss an episode!

Artist Chad Sell does amazing illustrations of the Drag Race contestants and their fabulous looks....might have to snag a print or three to display my love for this show in my boudoir somewhere!

Do you watch the show? Who are some of your all-time favorite contestants? Who are you rooting for to win Season 5??

Update (aka The One With Richard Armitage, Stud Muffin)

A thousand apologies for not updating...my health has been not so great, and it's all I can manage to go to work and then pass out on the couch during a movie. I've had a severe sore throat for a week and a half now, and I'm barely starting to recover from the worst ever case of pink eye. It was seriously disgusting. Blech. But! I'm determined to update this thing!

Last Sunday Craig and I went to Disney's California Adventure to check out all the new stuff, including Cars Land. I can't really stand the Cars movies, but the new ride was really fun! Here's a little video I made of our day.

Watched lots of new-to-me movies...some were really great (La Havre, the Anne of Green Gables miniseries, First Position) and some were pretty godawful (No Strings Attached, ugh). And this morning I just finished watching the miniseries "North & South" starring Richard Armitage, and oh my god, you guys.

HOTTIE. Can you believe he's Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit?

Tonight we're hosting a Wes Anderson theme party so hopefully we get a decent turnout. Pictures soon!

Interior Design Books I Love

While I don't necessarily aspire to be an interior designer or work in that industry at all, I love love LOVE looking at pictures of carefully stylized interiors. I love decorating wherever I'm living and having free rein to get creative.  As a result of this love, I've found myself with more than a few books that inspire me to get decorating!

Yes yes I know these aren't interior design books, but they each touch on the subject at some point, and these were the first books I owned (back in high school!) that sparked an interest in the subject for me.

I absolutely adore a good dose of kitsch. It gives me life! These books have some straight-up wacky interiors!

Jonathan Adler was a good bridge for me...quirky, kitschy, colorful, but more grown up.

Then I went nuts.

In the last few years I've started reading a looooot of blogs, including Design Sponge, Apartment Therapy, and decor8, and I find myself like cleaner and more grown up spaces, but always with fun color, vintage elements, and yes, a healthy dash of kitsch. I have a long list of decorating projects I want to tackle in the new house (moved in last July) and I'm excited to revisit all these books for inspiration!