Kathryn Bentley Jewelry

Yesterday over some macrobiotic cuisine at M Cafe my friend Amy raved about her jewelry designer friend Kathryn Bentley. I promptly checked out her website and became smitten with her rocker cocktail rings, earrings, pendants, and bangles.

Positive Sign stud earrings ($150 in silver, $375 in 10K gold, $1,040 with pavé diamond)

Snake Signet ring ($5,225)

Positive sign ring ($215)

Rosecut Labradorite ring ($3,750)

Jake's Arrow pendant on 20" chain ($125 in silver, $450 in 10K gold)

Livingston + Porter

I'm currently loving Holly Regan's Chicago-based Etsy shop Livingston & Porter. Check it out! Above vintage bird cage ($78); below: vintage yellow bamboo ceramic container ($29); first edition "Kennedy" by Theodore C. Sorenson, 1965 ($20); bucket with hand-painted red cross ($23); vintage scout badges ($11); vintage flower frog ($10).

All Aces

So, the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs is officially going to be our winter retreat. I know I'm not the first blogger to rave about the no-fuss cool-as-ice hotel in the dessert that opened in February, and I'm no doubt not the last. But, wow, they revamped an old HoJo and Denny's and made it into one groovy spot.


Rooms are great! Comfy beds, nice baths, flatscreen TVs, and great patios. Did I mention this one was $85 for a night!?

I love the clipped on art.

The GMC party van is available to take into town, airport runs, and make-outs.

Adult snow cones. Enough said.

This is Linda. She's 71 and leads open-mic night on Tuesdays in the bar. I would describe what went on here, but I don't think anyone would believe me.

The old-school photo booth in the lobby not only rules, but also takes credit cards.

Thankfully the main pool is open 24 hours a day, because we needed a dip after riding a tandem bike back from dinner.

We only had time to grab a few to-go coffees from King's Highway, the Denny's-turned five-star diner—but I was wishing I could have had the chilaquiles. There's always next time.

Ace'in it

Matt and I are headed out to Palm Springs tonight to have dinner with our friend Nicky! I'm really excited because we're going to stay the night at the urban hipster Ace Hotel & Swim Club (rooms start at $85!) which has been getting rave reviews from anyone and everyone since its recent opening. More on the Ace tomorrow!

Ink Posters

This poster ($58) with the Charlie Mingus quote, "Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple." really hit home with me this morning as I spent about an hour thinking about whether or not to use a stupid hyphen on an insignificant sentence. I have enough trouble just leaving the simple as simple—so as far as making the complicated simple—I'll leave that to artists and political talk shows.

Navajos before bros?

I couldn't end the week with a $2500 lamp. These navajo sunglasses are just as cool as any pretentious lamp and will only set you back $11. Yep, $11 gets you pixilated tribal print shades that are UV400 and will literally go with your entire summer wardrobe.

Noich lamp

I want this! Too bad it's $2,500, which is about $2,499.50 more than I have in my random pendant lamp budget. Damn. Have a great weekend!

Dr. Yes Please

Have you guys seen Philippe Starck's new Kartell chair, Dr. Yes ($187) yet? It's a somewhat affordable, stackable, glossy chair that comes in a bunch of colors—everything you'd expect from Starck. I especially like the way it looks from the back.

Feelings about postcards

Matt and I are a little bit in limbo as far as our living situation goes. We're waiting on a few key details of our lives before we settle in a neighborhood of L.A.—especially since it's a commuter town and minimizing freeway time maximizes life time. I've got my temporary office set up which is great, but I'm missing all my paperweights, cork boards, clocks and numerous post cards that are still in a box marked "LG office". Right now I just have the one postcard that my friend Ashley recently sent me and it's neatly resting on my computer. The guy behind the postcard is her friend Justin Kerr of DIY or else. I don't know about you guys, but I personally have solid emotions about calculator watches, I'm for them!

Zub Zen Watch by Matthew Waldman ($100).

The High Line

My friend Kim recently told me about a brand-spanking new park in New York City called The High Line which she promises she'll take me to when I'm back in town, which will be soon! The park is actually elevated (that's the only way I can imagine Manhattan would have room for a new park). It was originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. When all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features are also included in the park. Looks and sounds awesome!

There's also some great High Line merch available like these groovy Trina Turk men's bermuda shorts ($148) and Friends of High Line towels designed by DVF ($75 each).

Smythson of Bond Street

I split my day in thirds today spending the morning in L.A., mid-day in Orange County and ended up having dinner in San Diego. At this rate I guess I'll be in Tijuana by dawn. The highlight of the day was definitely going to the Beverly Hills Smythson store to order our wedding invites. The staff there is extremely patient and took great care of us, even after I completely changed my mind as we were walking out of the store and wanted to start over. I owe thanks to my friend Heather who suggested I check out Smythson (the British stationer) as she used them for her invites which turned out great (thanks Heather!). And for all those stationery fiends out there, if you haven't heard the sad news, Mrs. John L. Strong is officially out of business. :(

Julius Shulman 1910-2009

Legendary photographer Julius Shulman died July 15th at the age of 98. His iconic documentary images of design and architecture helped define the modernist era. A resident of Los Angeles since 1920, Julius Shulman photographed homes in Southern California and across the globe for nearly eight decades. His images of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 (1960) in Los Angeles and Richard J. Neutra's Kaufmann House (1947) in Palm Springs are among the most recognizable and iconic architectural photographs of the 20th century. I certainly knew his photographs before I knew who he was, and I think they helped spark my interest in design.

Road trip log: Day 3

Colorado Springs to Phoenix, check! We had a grueling day of driving yesterday through Santa Fe, Flagstaff and to our stopping destination where the thermometer was registering a whopping +110F. We’re taking a “leisure day” today and living the good life with Matt’s grandparents outside of PHX. Matt’s grandfather used to race Mini Coopers and Alpha Romeos in the 1960s (Does it get cooler than that!?). There are plenty of interesting relics in their home like the above photo of Dr. James Ryel in his 1965 Mini Cooper S after a win in 1967 at the Stardust International Raceway in Las Vegas. Tomorrow we’re going to head back to Los Angeles and we’re really looking forward to grabbing a Double-Double at In-N-Out for lunch! Woo hoo!

Road trip log: Day 2

Kansas City to Colorado Springs, check. It was nice to get the H out of Kansas which has nothing to offer on I-70 besides flatness and more flatness. The jagged front range of the Rockies were surely a sight for sore (and bored) eyes. I even got a little antiquing done in eastern Colorado before a major storm hit!