A very Barneys Christmas.

ANOTHER REASON to love Michelle O.

Dude.

It's clear to me that Alessandra Colombo totally stole her look from acclaimed 80s art-house feature film, Just One of the Guys. And I dig it.

Elephants March Through Hotel

Elephants march through hotel lobby after it was built on their migration trail. These amazing pictures show why you shouldn't get between an African elephant and its favorite food.

The animals came in two-by-two: Hotel staff and visitors have got
used to the elephants' impromptu strolls through reception

Let the porter grab your trunk: An elephant wanders through Mfuwe Lodge,
in the South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia happens to have been built next to a mango tree that one family of pachyderms have always visited when the fruit ripens. When they returned one year and found the luxury accommodation in the way, they simply walked through reception.

Now the family group, headed by matriarch Wonky Tusk, return every November to gorge on mangos - up to four times a day. Andy Hogg, 44, director at the Bushcamp Company that runs the Lodge, has lived in South Luangwa National Park since 1982. But in all his years of dealing with wild animals he has never seen such intimate interaction between man and beast.

'This is the only place in the world where elephants freely get so close to humans,' says the 44-year-old.

'The elephants start coming through base camp in late November of each year to eat the mangos from our trees.

'When they are ripe they come through and they stand about for four to six weeks coming back each day or second day to eat the mangos.'

Living in the 5,000 square mile national park, the ten-strong elephant herd are led to the lodge each day by Wonky Tusk.

Migration route: The hotel was built directly in the path of the elephants'
route to one of their favorite foods - mangos

'The most interesting thing about this is that they are wild animals and are certainly not tame,' explains Andy. 'They come through the lodge to eat the fruit.

'There are ten in that herd and it is only that herd that comes through. It is a strange thing.

'The matriarchal in the herd is Wonky Tusk, and she brings the nine others through and they come and go as they please.'

Mfuwe Lodge consists of seven camps and the base camp where the elephants come through.

Employing 150 staff, the management of the lodge are happy to report that there have been no incidents involving the elephants to date.

'The elephants do get reasonably close to the staff as you can see with the pictures of the elephants near the reception,' he explains.

'But we do not allow the guests to get too close.'


Check-in: But it's unlikely the lodge has a room big enough for its elephant guests

'Guests can stand in the lounge are but as long as there is a barrier between the elephants and the guests that is okay,' he added.

'The elephants are not aggressive but you don't want to tempt anything as they are wild animals.

'It is the elephants choice to come into base camp and they have been doing it for the last ten years.

'There are other wild mango trees around and they seem to prefer this one.'

And even thought the lodge was unwittingly built upon the path, Andy says they had no idea the elephants would insist on returning.

'It wasn't a design mistake - no-one really knew they were going to come through,' he says.

'The lodge was built and then the elephants started coming through afterwards.

'We keep people at a safe distance. They are obviously close enough to see what is going on from pretty close quarters but we also make sure we have staff around to make sure the elephants don't get too close.

'But as I said they are still wild and still dangerous. They are huge beasts and untamed.

'We have bricks and walls between the elephants and the guests such as the counter and other barriers to stop them getting to people and if they try to there is enough time for people to get away.'

Naturally, the lodge becomes a busier attraction for both elephants and guests during November time.

'We find that we get more people visiting us during the elephant migration because of the unique experience of being so close to wild animals in an unusual environment,' says Andy.

'But as I said this is a totally natural phenomenon, the elephants come here of their own accord and it is certainly a rare but magnificent sight.

Sand Point Antique and Design Market Dec. 6th

Seattle, mark your calendars. The next Sand Point Antique & Design Market Holiday Show will be held Sunday, December 6th 2009, from 8 AM ($10 early buyers admission) or 10 AM ($6 regular admission) to 4 PM at Magnussun Park in Seattle.

This is generally a very good market. Antiques, paintings, furniture, and good junk. See you there.

Plaster, finally.

Not my house, clearly.

Long ago I mentioned my plaster problem. My walls are plaster, but not the good kind. The have little plaster zits (placne?) thanks to the plaster guy way back when pulling up on the trowell thingy and leaving little peaks and valleys all over the walls. It's like really expensive popcorn ceiling.

I've finally hired a plaster guy to come fix the walls. He's totally crazy. Like, maybe certifiable. He's Irish. He kept telling me, in his charming accent, that the job will cost $2500, but, "It will probabaly come in at half that." Okaaaaay. Well, then, let's pick a number? Can we do that? His total insanity finally proved victorious and I did what I never do. I was like, "Ok, fine. Show up on Monday," without settling on a final price. So, who knows what this will cost, but I am pretty sure it will be worth every penny, because I recently framed a bunch of maps and prints and I am dying to get them up on the walls, but taking that step to finally have things framed just made it worse. They look great but they make the walls look even worse.

Every project in my house is like dominos. I start thinking I want new floors, but then I realize I should fix the ceilings first before all that shit comes crashing down on newly stained wood, for example. And then I am like, well, before the floors, we should probably paint. Everything is like pulling a thread on a sweater.

I think this is why I am like, Whatever Crazy Irish Dude, just come fix the walls. Because I have to start somewhere.

Do you have a project you're eager to start, but it's held up by some other contingent task? I am eager to hear about this. I feel like I have made the slowest progress on my house and it's kind of turning me into a crazy person. And crazy likes company, so spill the beans.

(Oh, and after next week's plaster adventure, we ARE finally getting the popcorn off the ceiling upstairs, and then we are pulling up the carpet to see if we can re-finish, or if we need to do something drastic, like paint the floors white. Either way, we are finally making progress on that front. No word yet, though, in getting the toilet out of the tub. I thought that would be next, but that's going to be a spring project now. My birthday gift to my better half. Those contractors scared me off with their $40k bid.)

Puerto Vallarta Luxury Hotels

Puerto Vallarta is a scenic city of 350,000 people on the Caribbean Sea in Mexico. People have been vacationing in the region for decades to enjoy the white sand beaches, professional golf courses, and world class hotels. Puerto Vallarta luxury hotels have the ability to keep guests entertained for days with their spas, pools, and excursions to Mayan ruins and nearby archaeological sites. The best hotels in Puerto Vallarta are the ones situated on the beach. Most beachside resorts in Puerto Vallarta have snorkeling equipment and offer introductory diving lessons or fishing excursions. Resorts in Puerto Vallarta are known to fill up fast in winter, when the temperatures are ideal, so be sure to reserve your hotels far in advance, but if you don"t mind the heat, looking for reservations in the summer can save you money.

Some Puerto Vallarta luxury hotels are geared toward adults and honeymooners. The Casa Velas is an adult-only all inclusive boutique hotel located next to the Marina Vallarta golf course in Puerto Vallarta. It offers a gourmet restaurant that serves light Mexican fare and Asian food, a luxury spa, several plunge pools, and well-appointed guest rooms. A state-of-the-art fitness center has all the latest free weight and cardio equipment. The hotel is also located on a private beach where you can rent snorkel equipment and kayaks.

Villa Premiere Hotel and Spa is located on Banderas Bay, which is where some of the best hotels in Puerto Vallarta are located. The Villa Premiere is just a few minutes away from Malecón, a boardwalk in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Each room of the 83-room hotel is air conditioned and has a balcony overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Standard amenities include complimentary wireless internet access, satellite TV, and a minibar. Guests can choose between all inclusive plans that include all drinks and meals, or they can pay separately for lodging and dining. This gives guests the option of staying at the hotel to eat or trying one of the restaurants in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Outside of the hotel, you’ll find a pool with a bar and a 40-yard-long beach. Guests of this all exclusive hotel have access to kayaks and snorkeling gear without an additional charge.

Another option for resorts in Puerto Vallarta is the Villa La Estancia Nuevo Vallarta Beach Resort and Spa. Located on Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta, the hotel is a one-mile stroll from Bucerias, or “Place of the Divers.” Bucerias is a five-mile stretch of beach that is lined with outdoor marketplaces and cafes. It is also a short walk from some of the best hotels in Puerto Vallarta. Like other Puerto Vallarta luxury hotels, the La Estancia Nuevo has its own private beach as well as several swimming pools and Jacuzzis. Guest rooms are decorated with marble accents and floors and have plasma TVs and furnished balconies.

There are so many options for luxury hotels in Puerto Vallarta, from small, yet luxurious boutique hotels to all inclusive hotels on some of the best beaches in Mexico. No matter which hotel you choose, you"ll never run out of things to do in Puerto Vallarta.

Warsaw's Luxury Hotels

Not so long ago, Warsaw's luxury hotel scene consisted of a couple of cockroach-ridden establishments that seemed straight out of a John Le Carre Cold War thriller. To say that things have changed since 1990 would be something of a gross understatement. Out went the bugs - both the insect and the intelligence kind - and in came the spas, the swimming pools and the underfloor heating.

As the capital of Poland, Warsaw immediately took the lead over Cracow as a business hub. A cluster of smart hotels sprung up, complemented by a clutch of cosmopolitan restaurants. Yet although Cracow seemed to have the edge as a tourist destination, something changed around 2005, when trendy travel journalists were suddenly leaping to dub Warsaw as the peak of hip.

These days, Warsaw's luxury hotels come in all shapes and sizes. You can set yourself up in an exquisitely restored pre-war classic that's steeped in history, or bask in boutique bliss at one of the city's more diminutive exclusive hotels.

Above: The swimming pool of Le Regina, one of Warsaw's most popular luxury hotels

Top of many traveller's lists will be the Hotel Rialto. Art Deco rules the roost here, and fittingly so. The Rialto is an affectionate tribute to the era when Warsaw was one of Europe's chicest cities. During the 20's and 30's, Poland produced a galaxy of Art Deco wonders following her triumph at the Paris Exhibition of 1925. With its svelte, jazz age style, Hotel Rialto seems tailor-made for vampish film stars brandishing voguish cigarette holders - the place would have fitted in perfectly in Peter Jackson's King Kong. This is the hotel to book for a weekend of fun.

Another boutique style beauty is Le Regina. Winning top marks for luxury, this hotel has made its home in the laid back New Town. We say new, but this part of Warsaw was originally christened the New Town in 1402. Its cobbled streets were amongst the first to be revitalised after the Second World War, and today it's one of Warsaw's most picturesque spots. Le Regina has set up shop in a former nobleman's palace, but there's nothing remotely fusty about the place. Expect cool modern interiors in creamy shades, complemented by a host of quirky furniture. There's a hint of Scandinavian chic about the place, with smooth-finished wooden surfaces and elegant yet unfussy fabrics. Le Regina was voted Poland's most prestigious hotel by Forbes Magazine, and its five stars are well-merited.

Staying in five star territory, but moving to a more traditional incarnation of the luxury hotel, the Bristol Royal Meridien deserves a special mention. This neoclassical belter is one of the historic hotels of Europe, immaculately renovated in 1991. Previous guests have included Charles de Gaulle, Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks, Bill Clinton and pantomime favourite Maggie Thatcher. With its home on the Royal Way, the hotel has location, location, location - guests can step right out into the buzzing heart of Warsaw. This is the grandest hotel in the capital, and it has some presidential suites to match.

Changing the tune again, but remaining in the luxury hotels bracket, there are a number of business style hotels that are also worth a look. The Sheraton offers the first class standards that you'd expect. The Intercontinental also has plenty of appeal. One of its winning features is a swimming pool right up on the 42nd floor. The view is square on the Palace of Culture. In other words, absolutely unforgettable. Another popular choice is the Westin, famed for its space age lift. Next door is the Radisson SAS, another reliable venue for business travellers. Both these hotels boast a handy central location, and travellers with time to spare can discover the Nozyk synagogue just over the road - Warsaw's oldest surviving example.

Given the exhilarating pace of change these days, travellers can count on more luxury hotels in Warsaw popping up soon. So watch this space for news of new additions. Meanwhile you can click on to link to book the finest Warsaw hotels of the moment!

The Hydropolis A self-acclaimed 10-star underwater hotel

Location: Dubai
Designer: Joachim Hauser, Crescent Hydropolis Resorts
Estimated project cost: $500-million

The Hydropolis Undersea Resort, especially designed keeping in mind that we?re around 60% water, endeavors to deliver the serene beauty of the ocean in its true colors. The one of its kind resort will encompass a whopping 1.1-million-square-foot of area offering shopping mall, ballroom, island villas, restaurant, high-tech cinema and surprisingly, a missile-defense system for your security 60-feet underwater.

Tourists can enjoy their stay in 220 theme suites within the submarine leisure complex. It is one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world, covering an area of 260 hectares, about the size of London?s Hyde Park.

The resort is designed with a petal-like retracting roof to organize open-sky events.

Around 150 firms are involved in the project, which is expected to complete this year if all technical, land, and financial challenges are met, but it?s delayed as per the latest reports. Following the line and determined of the success of the Hydropolis, Crescent-Hydropolis is now planning a chain of underwater hotels around the world.

Waterworld

Location: Songjiang, China
Designer: Atkin?s Architecture Group
Status: Concept

This spectacular design by Atkin?s Architecture Group deservedly won the first prize award last year in an international design competition. The 400-bed resort hotel features underwater public areas, guest rooms, cafes, and restaurants. The major attraction is the extreme sporting facilities including a luxurious swimming pool, rock climbing and bungee jumping.

What more to say, the pictures are screaming BLISS. (Photo Credit: TheCoolHunter)

The Hotel Burj al-Arab

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Designer: Tom Wright (WS Atkins PLC), Khuan Chew
Status: Complete
Estimated project cost: $650 million
Cost per person: $1,000 to over $28,000 per night, $75 to have a glimpse from inside

Considered, unofficially, the world?s first and only 7-star hotel, the Burj al-Arab is a truly the most luxurious hotel imaginable and hence we couldn?t help including it in this list of futuristic hotels, which also perhaps triggered architects around the world to look beyond the fence.

The tallest, 321-metres (1,053 ft), hotel, designed as a sail of a dhow, is constructed on an artificial island 280-metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach. The hotel boasts of the world?s tallest atrium, which is 180-meters (590 feet) tall.

The suspended helipad on the top adds to the grandeur of the hotel. The lavish interior skillfully mingles the best of design ethics from both the east and the west. The 8,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf and 24,000 square meters of 30 different types of marbles give the hotel an enigmatic touch.

The 28 double-story floors of the hotel accommodate 202 luxury suites with prices ranging from $1,000 to over $28,000 per night (for the Royal Suite). The hotel also features 8 restaurants, including bars and lounges, latest business, conferencing, fitness and recreational facilities. Carved in the midst of white beaches and the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf, the Burj Al Arab is a dream come true.

The Hotel Burj al-Arab

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Designer: Tom Wright (WS Atkins PLC), Khuan Chew
Status: Complete
Estimated project cost: $650 million
Cost per person: $1,000 to over $28,000 per night, $75 to have a glimpse from inside

Considered, unofficially, the world?s first and only 7-star hotel, the Burj al-Arab is a truly the most luxurious hotel imaginable and hence we couldn?t help including it in this list of futuristic hotels, which also perhaps triggered architects around the world to look beyond the fence.

The tallest, 321-metres (1,053 ft), hotel, designed as a sail of a dhow, is constructed on an artificial island 280-metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach. The hotel boasts of the world?s tallest atrium, which is 180-meters (590 feet) tall.

The suspended helipad on the top adds to the grandeur of the hotel. The lavish interior skillfully mingles the best of design ethics from both the east and the west. The 8,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf and 24,000 square meters of 30 different types of marbles give the hotel an enigmatic touch.

The 28 double-story floors of the hotel accommodate 202 luxury suites with prices ranging from $1,000 to over $28,000 per night (for the Royal Suite). The hotel also features 8 restaurants, including bars and lounges, latest business, conferencing, fitness and recreational facilities. Carved in the midst of white beaches and the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf, the Burj Al Arab is a dream come true.

The Apeiron Island Hotel

Designer: Sybarite

• Status: Concept
• Estimated project cost: $500million

The ?Apeiron? island hotel is a seven star resort with a total floor area of 200,000m. It is 185-m high and boasts of over 350 luxury apartment suites.
The hi-tech futuristic hotel screams of luxury and comfort with its own private lagoon, beaches, restaurants, cinemas, retail shopping, art gallery, spas and conference facilities. Its out of the world design is magnetic enough to deliver a spell-bounded experience to visitors. (Photo Credit: Sybarite)

One last cool hotel to mention is the Diamond Ring hotel which is just a concept right now but looks impressive!

Five-star Hotels, Budapest

Pick the best luxury hotel in Budapest for your priorities based on our comprehensive description of five star hotels in Budapest Hungary. What triggers you as a luxury traveler? Spa baths, massages, ergonomic business environment, romantic palaces? Be informed to plan your luxury vacation, getaway, business travel, family trip or honeymoon in Budapest Hungary for a real five-star stay. Besides the one-page luxury hotel overviews, you can read a short balanced summary of customer reviews based on Trip Advisor, Expedia, Frommer's, Fodor's, Yahoo Travel, Travel Intelligence, etc. followed by the original snippets of reviews.

Paint the ceilings white?

My friend Mara is doing a major remodel and it’s time to start painting. She and her designer want to paint the ceilings colors similar to the wall color of each room. Maybe just a lighter shade. Her husband thinks the ceilings should be white.

Who’s right? Discuss. Let’s settle this dispute before it leads to divorce.

I want this grey.

HERE.

Best stag weekends - Prague, Czech Republic

Need help planning where to go on your stag weekend? You've come to the right place. There are loads of great places to go for your big do, many in the UK, many abroad. Recently foreign destinations have soared in popularity, especially holiday destinations in Eastern Europe. Bratislava, Warsaw, Krakow - all big with gangs of youths ready for their stag or hen weekends. But out of everywhere on offer, one place stands out as the most popualar stag and hen destination - Prague. Located in the Czech Republic, Prague has become synonimous with groups of revellers out to have a good time.

So what does Prague have to offer? Well, everything you could think really when it comes to activities and nights out. The city itself is relatively small which makes getting around nice and easy - a couple of central areas, especially Wisconsin Square where much of the citys nightlife revolves. The city is also extremely cheap - people often talk of 50p pints in the bars and this is true if you pick the right watering hole. This can make for a really cheap night - generally any beer won't cost you more than £1 so a night of 10 pints or so won't be much more than a tenner!

Another key element of many a stag weekend are the strippers! And Prague certainly has alot to offer in this department. There are many establishments that offer this kind of service in safe surroundings. Prices have risen slightly in recent years so don't expect a dance for £2 but prices are certainly fair, and all the clubs have a host of beauties to choose from. Prague is pretty much busy all year round so you should feel very safe entering this kind of place or even just walking around - certainly any of the horror stories you hear about Eastern Europe are very very rare here - the locals are friendly if you are friendly back to them!


Prague at night

The city also offers much more for Prague stag weekends apart from these two things. Shooting, skiing, brewery trips, archery, bobsleds and golf are all on offer nearby Prague. And Prague hen weekends will love the array of shopping on offer!

All in all Prague is certainly one of the best holiday destinations for a good stag or hen weekend. With so much on offer, at cheap prices, the city has pretty much everything you could ask for from an eventful weekend.

Unusually good food and wine pairing:

Kraft Mac & Cheese and Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot.

Just FYI

Best Beach Holidays at Christmas - Natal, Brazil

It's coming up to Christmas, its freezing cold, the rain seems to be unrelenting and its light seemingly for just 5 hours a day. So it's no wonder we all want to get away for a week or two and get some winter sun. And Brazil has got to be fairly high on the agenda for a memorable beach holiday. I previously talked about Fernando de Noronha as a great beach destination off the beaten track off the coast of Brazil. Natal is the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, a state in the North East of Brazil. The town was founded on Christmas day in 1599 and is named "Natal" as this is the Portuguese word for Christmas. It enjoys the benefit of having the best climate in the whole of Brazil - it sees only very minor seasonal vaiations as it is near the equator which means it is perfect for a Christmas holiday getaway.

Natal is growing in popularity as a top holiday destination - foreign tourism has increased by 134% between 2002 and 2005. Plans are underway to build the largest airport in South America and the 8th biggest in the world as a result of this tourism boom. This is for a variety of reasons - for example its climate, and its accessability - the area is the closest point of Latin America from Europe meaning it is quicker to reach by plane than other areas like Rio. Natal is also a gateway for the beaches around the region - some of the most popular include Ponta Negra which runs along the coast for much of the city, and Via Costeira, famed for its clear waters. The region as a whole is blessed with countless beautiful beaches, including Pipa, one of the most famous beaches in Brazil.


Ponta Negra Beach, Natal, Brazil

Natal is not just famed for its beaches - the city has also been named as the safest in the whole of Brazil. Also there is plenty to do aside from lying on the golden white sands soaking up the rays. For example, Natal celebrates a huge off-season carnival called Carnatal which is held in December - so book your flights now for a last minute deal to experience this unique party. Slightly different from the carnivals of Rio, the crowds follow round an array of trucks and floats playing music into the streets. There are also a range of your staple tourist attractions such as aquariums, shops, bars, restaurants and, uh, the largest Cashew tree in the world. For more information on Natal and where to stay, check out www.natal-brazil.com

Overall, Natal has so many qualities that make it one of the best beach holiday destinations in the World. It is still relatively unknown, however its rapid tourism growth should be enough to indicate Natal must have many things going for it. If you are looking for abit of an Easter or winter getaway Natal should be high on your list of destinations to jet off to.

"The coolest person in the room is usually the one who looks like the biggest geek."

Go HERE to read Stephen Drucker's take on the demise of Met Home and his thoughts on design with a capital D.

Here's the short essay for those to lazy to click:


What Is "Modern Design" Now?

With the closing of Metropolitan Home magazine last week, the design world lost a champion of modernism. There has been a great deal of breast-beating ever since: What magazines are left to fight the modern fight?

I salute Met Home and I'm sorry to see it go. But those old battle lines of modern-is-hip vs. traditional-is-stuffy just don't work for me anymore. I've had it with hip. We are drowning in hipness, in the blind worship of gallerylike rooms in glass-walled buildings that are to me the biggest cliché of all. Who isn't hip these days, when there are "next hot neighborhoods" and "artists' lofts" in every city, when everybody is drinking the vodka of the moment to the same thumping bass line in indistinguishable "boutique" hotels?

Now that we're all certifiably hip and modern, maybe we need to rethink what the word "modern" means today. To me, it's not just the lone-chair-in-an-empty-room stories in the T section of The New York Times; it's about the dynamic, original thinking going on across the working design community every day. Modern thinking is there to be found in every style, the traditional as well as the hard-edged ones. It's time we started judging the true originality of all design again, not just design with a capital D.

Haven't we learned by now: The coolest person in the room is usually the one who looks like the biggest geek.

-Stephen Drucker




The funny thing is, I haven't paid much attention to design with a capital D in a long time. I know it's still out there. The fact that W hotels are still invading new cities like Istanbul means the Starkly Modern and Hip program is still being distributed around the world as a kind of shortcut to style. But even though the Lady Blogger contingent may have leaned too far Regency in the last three years, I guess it's good to see that the group of bloggers I follow religiously doesn't do much genuflecting to Starkly Modern and Hip. Noguchi tables and Marcel Wanders and rope chairs for their own sake seem like ancient history. I like Drucker's idea of finding something "modern" in every style of design. I think a lot of this blog's readers here do this. We don't write off granny for the sake of it (unless there is actually a doily on a table, of course...).

But there is the problem, I think, of too much. The response to overly clever and spare design has often been to throw everything together, right? We talked about that HERE.


So here are the open topics:

1. So what is modern design now? Or, more specifically, who is getting it really right? Who's the most exciting designer working today? Post your thoughts to comments, and send in links and photos, too.


2. Didn't anyone at Met Home see it coming? Seriously, unless there is an alternate universe of design bloggers who worshipped at its altar, that magazine seemed really out of touch. Each issue was cold and painfully consistent. It was like eating chicken for dinner every night. Modern fucking chicken EVERY NIGHT. Was no one running around the offices saying, "Uh, we have a problem... Every issue of our magazine is like Dwell, except with no plywood, better hardware on the doors and an occasional Barbara Kruger on the walls. We have to change or die." Can someone with inside scoop give us the story, please?

The heartbreaking thing is that the magazine wasn't awful, and the designs weren't bad. It's that Met Home was religious about its point of view and too tasteful. They needed to put something offensive in there. Remember Elle Decor getting HATE mail over the John Derian feature? I couldn't even believe that people were so furious and offended by tattered furniture. I loved it. I mean, to be outraged over a sofa is so fucking awesome. I wish Met Home had evolved a bit, or even tried to offend its own sensibility now and again, just to keep it spicy.


3. I am not sure how to elegantly tie THIS really pitiful New York Times profile/slideshow to the demise of Met Home, but something is connected here. I think of these photos and the whole sad story makes me think of the reason Met Home lost its appeal to me years ago. The rooms didn't just look empty. They felt empty.

Bitchy commentary at the NY Times:

...and I love it.

The rest of the display looked like samplings from your typical high-end Westchester estate sale: the inevitable framed Henri Cartier Bresson poster, the crocodile purse, the bland dishware from the beach house, some primitive art that the purchasers probably described to their friends as “funky” when they bought it years ago.

HERE.

Google reader roundup:

Oh, Google Reader, how I love thee. Here's a roundup of some of my morning reading:


1. SHE'S moving and looking at fancy houses in Atlanta. I recently had dinner with people from Atlanta. This chick told me that she lives in an apartment and not one, but TWO people in her building have Bentleys. Self-righteous conversations about investing your money wisely and maybe buying a home before leasing a car ensued. Was also told that studded jeans were happening there in a big way. I enjoy thinking that the whole town is full of Real Housewives. Anyway, Atlanta seems like a crazy place. We also heard stories of people buying homes so big and letting them sit empty because they can't afford to furnish them. Atlanta just sounds like another country to me. Fancy with a capital F. Not in a bad way. Just different. But look at this kitchen from a house she's eyeing. Sweet Jesus! It's bigger than my living room. Oh, Atlanta, you know how to roll.

2. THESE ladies have a new home for their blog. The photos seem bigger, which I like. Yay them.

3. Did you see the cover of last month's Canadian House and Home magazine? If so, you saw photos of this basement makeover. Click HERE to see their video about the transformation. It gives me hope for our basement. Someday it won't be full of empty boxes, bikes, and piles of forgotten laundry. Someday we might actually make some rooms down there. Dare to dream. I think THIS is the before of her basement.

Watching this video before I've had coffee in the morning reminds me why I don't watch any HGTV. The forced cheerfulness and the completely awful opening sequence are super irritating. (Found the link to the show courtesty of My Notting Hill.)

Enjoy your Wed.


(Photo at top from HERE.)

Christmas comes early for Decorno.

Mayer Rus is BACK. Thank you Carolyn for letting me know.

Met Home obit.

HERE

Hmm... how will I know how to achieve the cold, soulless Patrick Bateman look without Met Home to help me? (I kid, I kid...)

I used to love Met. Man that was a long time ago. It was starting to get better, but I just never loved the issues anymore.

Is anyone going to miss it?

Budget airline flights to Christmas Markets

The Christmas holidays are rapidly approaching, and all your friends are planning a big trip away to enjoy a nice few days off. But what's that? You can't afford to go away? Well, think again. Because there are so many great low cost breaks to choose from, to some of the best holiday destinations in the world. And a visit to a traditional Christmas market is the perfect choice at this time of year - they offer something for everyone so you can be guaranteed a good time.

Christmas markets originated in Germany and Austria but are now located pretty much everywhere - which means you should be able to find some low cost deals to take you to a destination that hosts a Christmas market. Generally the markets are held in the streets or in a town square, and consist of a variety of stalls selling a range of food, drink, gifts and Christmas themed items. The nativity theme is very popular, and typical Bavarian food and drinks are common, such as Bratwurst, Christollen, mulled wine and wheat beers. People from all over converge to the markets, leading to a real festival atmosphere that the whole family can enjoy.


A Typical German Market

Some of the best markets include Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Dresden and Salzburg although they are now present in many continental areas including , Alsace, Zurich, Brussels and Chicago. In the UK, large markets can be found in Leeds, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester to name but a few. So what next? There are a range of low cost airlines that fly to many of these destinations, so simply choose your departure airport and search for a destination that takes your fancy! For example, from London you can fly out to pretty much all of the major Christmas markets, including those held in Frankfurt, Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Salzburg, Leeds and Edinburgh. Prices are lower than you would imagine too, especially at an off peak time like November or December. So even if your pay rise has been put on hold, don't assume you won't be able to experience the joys of the Christmas market abroad! Check out the latest low cost flights and don't miss out on a visit to one of the best Christmas holiday destinations in the world!

And more Formica..

Karen's kitchen.

Formica to the rescue.

Ok, I asked and someone answered. (Read previous post).

Here we have Formica saving the day:

Before.





And after.


Sarah emailed me these photos and wrote:


So, here is our adventure with laminate. Please note: this project is NOT complete. Still need to paint the door and much more. We are renovating an old home. We plan to stay here for a few years....but don't want to invest in something we will not use for a lifetime. Sort of like a flip, but we are going to live here for a few years. Perfect for our starting salaries (and starting family!) We spent 10k for this entire project (my husband is handy).