Playin' hooky...

Getting hitched and going to Argentina. Back in November!
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Mick + Andy

This has to be one of the coolest correspondence letters in rock history (via Swiss Miss). Click the image to make it larger if you can't read it.

Feather boutonnieres

I'm planning to do a big wedding post detailing some of the design elements and vendors we used once the big day is behind us, but, I'm so excited about these boutonnieres that my florist, Danielle Rowe Zunt, and I made last night out of feathers that I had to post about them today. All it took was a quick trip to Necromance on Melrose to get a few 80-cent guinea feathers and a delicious Peruvian seafood meal at Mario's, and ta da, feather idea becomes reality. I showed it to Matt last night and he loves it.

Man totes

I love these Chester Wallace totes ($95) made to look like a combo of a tote and a tool belt.

Mister Bow Ties

Stumbled onto this great little bow tie resource, Mister Bow Tie where seven out of their collection of eight bowties are $89 (one is $85). They are sold online and in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires.

Allan Adler Silver

I'm in love with some of the Allan Adler silverware and holloware available at Zelen Home (8055 Beverly Blvd. L.A.). It's a Southern California family Silversmith that is still hand-pounding and hand-polishing designs from the 40s and 50s. Insane. Bonus, it's all 20% off for the month of October!

Mobiles by Joanna Bean

So cool! Get it right here ($225).

Patch NYC

Items that rule from Patch NYC: Ship tote ($182), Hat pillow ($120)—which you may recognize from this house tour; and boot candle holders ($225)—all available right here.

Baggu Bags

Baggu is my new favorite reusable on-the-go grocery or whatever bag. I especially love how many colors and patterns there are to choose from here. They hold the contents of 2-3 plastic grocery bags and up to 50 lbs.
$8.00 each / 3, 4 or 5 bags $7.50 each / 6 or more bags $6.50 each. Not bad.

ORK heart poster

Matt asked me to help him with a little office decoration for his workspace at a company that focuses solely on cardiology. He said it was the least I could do after publicly humiliating him for his hording tendencies in the L.A. Times. I guess I agree. So I thought this new ORK heart poster ($18) would the perfect little guy for the job. ORK makes many more city posters than they did a year ago, so check them out if you haven't recently.

RIP Gourmet

Bummer of the month: Gourmet is no longer. They got the axe today along with Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. The above issue (July 2006) is one of my favorites, it's sitting on my desk right now.

In honor of Gourmet, here's the cover recipe, one that I make all summer long.

Angel-hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce

* 1 small garlic clove
* 3 lb tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 lb dried capellini (angel-hair pasta)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

* Accompaniments: finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)


Mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife.

Core and coarsely chop two thirds of tomatoes. Halve remaining tomatoes crosswise, then rub cut sides of tomatoes against large holes of a box grater set in a large bowl, reserving pulp and discarding skin. Toss pulp with chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar (if using), and pepper. Let stand until ready to use, at least 10 minutes.

While tomatoes stand, cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately add to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with basil.

Ta Ta!

Taking a long weekend from the bloggie. Back next week.

L.A. at Home

If for some odd reason you'd want to read more LG blogs, you can catch me at The L.A. Times' Home blog most days writing about deals around town. Some online deals of note that have recently gone up are here, here and here.