>> I heart your style

Major book crush on Amanda Brooks' chronicle of how to define and refine your personal style. The photos (like the above Sabrina Guinness in a floral print dress on a date with Prince Charles circa 1979) and smart commentary are both top notch. Pick it up here ($14). I heart this book.

current obsession >> old VW buses

I'm weirdly kind of getting into these.

>> dinner at my place

This is the coolest music video I've seen in a long long time. Prague-based designer Pavel Fuksa custom designed 178 matchboxes for The Navigator's single "My Place". LOVE! (via Oh Joy!)

>> red rocks

Matt and I drove into the Mojave dessert yesterday for a little day trip to Red Rock Canyon State Park, a much needed mini escape from our computers and cell phones. It's about 2 hours east of L.A., and the hike is pretty amazing.

All of these ridges were under water ten million years ago.

You can get misted post-hike at The Jawbone Country store.

A few souvenirs.

>> simple summer goodness

Fair trade fire sticks ($4.50) handmade in Guatemala from the stumps of Ocote trees; recycled enamel bbq ($195) akin to a traditional west African cooker; recycled glass storm lantern ($11).

>> lost & found is online

Good news for non-L.A. people: Lost & Found, the home, men's, women's and kid's store on Yucca that I live dangerously close to just launched their online store! Check it out!

>> current obsession: broken bells

Matt turned me onto Broken Bells (Danger Mouse + The Shins' James Mercer) last weekend. Can't get enough of this song, The High Road.

>> "wooden crate"

It looks like wood, but it's aluminum! Italian artist Andrea Salvetti's Ortofrutta collection including the above wooden crate ($1,215) is created by making a negative mold in sand using slats of wood, from which a positive mold in wax can be created. The pieces were then cast in aluminum, and highly polished.

>> straight from 1970

Check out these scans from The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement! Gotta love the fact that there is no irony, referencing, or over intellectualizing going on here, it's just the straight dope from 1970.

>> cocktail hour at the pool

Campari soda (recipe); The Savoy Cocktail book ($20 new); 1950s Italian bar cart ($2,400); Kisses 7" single ($7) or here on iTunes; red Supergas ($70); Spaghetti stool, 1979 ($335); Perrier tumbler ($12); beach blankets ($48); Bird-Electron portable speaker ($80); paper straws ($3); Gaucho boardshorts ($58).

>> mirror man!

Has any one in L.A. seen the street performer Mirror Man!? We went looking for him last weekend at Griffith Park with no luck. I really want to find this dude! Photos by SilverSky.

>> chanel paper bag

Clever.

>> counterpoint books

We took a stroll down to Franklin Avenue this weekend and stopped into Counterpoint Records and Books where I spotted a first edition copy of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon. I'll admit it, I really just wanted it for the cover and the Royal Tenenbaum-esque interior illustrations.

>> father's day gift guide

seersucker bowtie ($89); linen flag pocket square ($75); Nike natural wood tees ($9 for 50); Insight trunks ($68); world cuff links ($57); Huf X Adidas Rod Lavers ($90); Caddyshack on blu-ray ($17); The Pulverizer tool ($40); Kartio tumblers ($20 for pair).

>> wedding certificates

These You+Me wedding certificates ($15) made me smile. They also have a cute birth certificate ($15). Fun keepsakes you could frame.

>> balloon shakers

LOVE these hand-blown balloon s+p shakers ($80 for two) that you can also use for spices. Designed by architect Masayuki Kurokawa and produced by a Shotoku Glass Co., who originally created lightbulbs in Japan. Coolness.

>> arrowed

The arrow saga continues. Think I gotta have these mid-century brass arrow bookends ($145), and obviously this hat—all from Paris Hotel Boutique.

>> six month long exposure

This dream-like photograph shows each phase of the sun over Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge taken over a six month period. Believe it or not, the image was captured on a pin-hole camera made from an empty can with a 0.25mm aperture and a single sheet of photographic paper. Photographer Justin Quinnell strapped the camera to a telephone pole and left it untouched between December 19, 2007 and June 21, 2008—the Winter and Summer solstices. Gorgeous.

>> vintage swiss flashlight

I spent part of my childhood in Switzerland where my brother and I would go walking through deep mossy woods and build forts. Once in a while we would (no joke) run into the Swiss Army or better, one of their forts—which, as you can probably imagine, were the most incredible things to lay eyes on, well, especially if you were a six-year-old fort enthusiast. So, unsurprisingly, I had a major freak-out when I came across this vintage Swiss Army flashlight ($25) complete with red and green sliding filters from the 1950s or 1960s.

>> sakagen florist scissors

These florist scissors ($28) are recommended by Jeff Leatham, the florist and artistic director at The Four Seasons, Paris. They're Japanese-made teflon-coated carbon steel blades with thermoplastic elastomer handles. Really sounds serious, doesn't it?

>> old green books

I seriously wish I had about 300 more of these.

>> paging Neil Young

Harvest Moon; Gibson Les Paul ($8,235); Guinea feather ($4); Panama hat ($58); customizable brass lighter ($30); Natural American Spirit tobacco; Chambray work shirt ($68); Acne Studios belt ($289).

>> go lakers!

You're looking at the 1947-1948 Minneapolis Lakers team portrait. I still can't believe they didn't retire the #24 after Herm Schaefer. Tough break, Herm.

>> deer path inn

I recently heard my hometown hotel, The historic Deer Path Inn, was being renovated— and not just new carpeting and thinner TVs, but renovated by Monica Pedersen, an HGTV Designer. I emailed her a few questions about how she would take on such an quaint hotel that people love for its charm and refusal to modernize.

The hotel opened in 1929 and quickly grew to become one of the most popular pastoral escapes for Chicagoans willing to make the 30-mile drive north. Modeled after the mid-15th-century Manor House, a half-timbered and stucco Tudor home in Chiddingstone, Kent, England, the inn features authentic detailing, including stone fireplaces, leaded windows, beamed ceilings and an extensive collection of antiques and artifacts that evoke the atmosphere of an English country estate. But to me and my family, it's all about heading downstairs to the White Hart Pub for a beer and burger.

LG: Have you done hotel design before?

MP: No, this is my first leap into hotel design.

LG: What is the plan for the hotel and why the renovation now?

MP: The plan is to update the hotel’s guest rooms, bathrooms and some of the public spaces not only through décor but also by offering guests updated services such as WiFi. We are doing it now for a couple of reasons. 1 – It’s long overdue – the décor is feeling a little tired. 2 – We need to stay competitive with the other hotels that have recently popped up in the area.

LG: Any modernities that are going to be added to the British Country decor/design? And if so, how do you walk that fine line of upgrading in style/technology without downgrading the classic integrity of such an old hotel?

MP: The design will still reflect the classic look of an English Country House. Given the architecture and history of the Deer Path Inn doing anything but that would be a crime.

LG: One of my favorite things to do when I’m in town visiting my parents is to go to the White Hart Pub in the basement of the Deer Path Inn, any changes in order down there? (Please say the cast-iron baked feta will still be there, it’s my favorite!)

MP: Yes, the cast iron baked feta will still be there. We also have sushi from the former sushi chef from the Peninsula Hotel. Next time you should try the Pub Burger, it’s the best burger on the North Shore. Nothing is changing about the White Hart Pub (did you know it has a sister property in England that it was modeled after?). But the Hunt Room next door has been completely redone – tufted leather seating, nailhead trim, lots of bar space, great energy – it’s getting great reviews.

LG: What items will you (the hotel) be splurging on and where can you cut corners on such a large project--and how can that be applied to any home renovation/remodel?

MP: We splurged on bedding from Anchini, natural stone in the bathrooms and durable grasscloth wall coverings. The bedding is extremely comfortable and luxurious, the tile work gives the bathroom instant luxury and everybody appreciates a great bathroom when they are traveling. Since the hotel is old, the weighty grasscloth wall covering hides some of the unwelcome signs of aging. You can always find a deal on art frames – if a frame is beautiful, the artwork inside will look more expensive. Also, you don’t have to have different art for every room. Once great piece can be digitally reproduced on the cheap. There is also this great website that I am working with, MasterCard Market Place, which is open to all MasterCard cardholders. The site offers deals and coupons from thousands of merchants I love like Home Depot and Target.

LG: Will you be adding any vintage/found/flea market sourced items to the hotel? If so, do you have any strategies when looking for those sorts of objects d’art, etc.?

MP: Yes, I have filled many of the bookshelves with old pewter pieces, serving trays, and antique books that I’ve found at these kinds of places. When I shop at thrift, flea market or garage sales, I keep three things in mind. Is the item something that I can cash and carry? Is it versatile? Meaning, can it be moved into different spaces? Is it priced right? You would be shocked at how many people walk off with property that belongs to the hotel like pewter jugs, plates and old books. If I don’t spend a lot, the loss isn’t as great.

LG: Do you have an absolute favorite possession in your home? What is it and why?

MP: My four poster California king Farmhouse Collection bed. The distressed finish takes the pretentious appearance out of a four poster bed and the fact that it is California king makes it comfy for me, my tall husband and cat Hal.

>> suki cheema placemats

Dope. Available as tablecloths and napkins here. More soon!

>> fort knox sunglasses

My friend Zinzi lent me For All Man Kind, a documentary about the Apollo space program, this weekend. We watched it last night and I had to take a photo of one of the scenes where a Draper-esque aeronautics engineer is not only wearing Fort Knox sunglasses ($60), one of my and Matt's faves, but he's wearing them INSIDE! Late 60's NASA techie, the height of cool.

>> cinespia

There isn't much that's better than watching a Hitchcock film outdoors as the moon rises, that is, until you've tasted The Foodinista's Bourbon-Molasses Chicken Drumsticks.

above photo by The Foodinista