Advice, please.

Hola, friends.

What should I do about the concrete-ish foundation-y part of my house?

This week I am having some burly men come tear up the concrete slab that currently serves as a patio. Then I am going to stack field stones to make a planting bed thing all along the back of the house, but I was thinking, even when I plant stuff, you're still going to be able to see that grey concrete. I think in the past someone recommended I paint it, but really?

Help, please.

Following that, crushed gravel will go in. That might not be the final solution, I may do some hardscaping in a few years, but for now it will beat my ghetto chipped, broken, uneven concrete patio that takes up half my yard. And please don't remind me that the gravel will get tracked into the house, etc etc. I know, I know. So many of you have been kind enough to warn me already, but I have already made up my mind, you bossy freaks! (I kid, I kid...)

UPDATE: Some suggested creeping fig. Click HERE to read more about it.

And speaking of...

So Haute, check out her post on Gary Spain HERE.

Classy.

So, I get an email from Nicole at SO HAUTE and she writes:


So I've been searching for the perfect vintage brass coffee table and came across the craziest piece of furniture I've ever seen while searching craigslist... You will die when you see this coffee table...the base is a bronze naked lady with some sort of collar on her neck and her face all taped up...sort of looks like she was abducted and is fighting to get out from underneath that glass top! She's also wearing black tube socks (why?) and there's all kinds of random crap surrouding her...nail polish, tv remotes, nintendo remotes...vaseline (ew!)... I could not stop laughing when I saw it! There really are no words. Passing it along...

You can see it HERE.

This totally made my day.

Grey Gardens, HERE.

Dan Marty, I think I love you.

Let's discuss the most recent issue of Western Interiors. It's a hot magazine, let me tell you. I wanted to talk to you all about Dan Marty, and I am too lazy to scan photos to post here (bad blogger) so in googling around the interwebs, I found THIS fine blog, which has photos (some of which are posted here). Sigh. Loved the issue (mostly) and really, really loved his place.




HOWEVER, if you have a copy of the current issue, please turn to page 116 and check out that Colorado house and let me know what you think. Little shop of horrors, if you ask me. It's like when you spend your vacations in the high desert of, say, central Oregon and you go to the town of Sisters and you walk into that one place that's like a fake oldie timey general store and there are antlers everywhere and lamps made of animal skins. Just looking at it gave me a PETA impulse. I wanted to pour red paint everywhere not because I am a huge animal advocate, necessarily, but mostly just to make it all go away. Dear god. Michael Wollaeger, you wouldn't sleep there, and you know it. So don't mess with us, man. That's not western design, that's just a costume. Maybe the "most sought after designer in Greenwich" thinks this is what the West should look like, but I would guess most of us don't. Trust me. The lack of subtlety reminded me of THIS treasure.

THIS is really fun to watch.

Italy recommendations.

I am going to Italy this summer for a few weeks (as I have mentioned before), but I really need to get my shit together and make a plan. So I come to you, my friends, for specific recommendations. I plan to go to Rome, Siena, maybe Venice (maybe not.. I am told the place is just a dressed-up sewer), and definitely a lot of lazy time spend on the Amalfi coast or Capri or Ischia. I wouldn't mind trekking down to Tunisia, either, if anyone would recommend that.

I am hoping to get specific hotel recommendations, or any other specific info that might help. Since I will be there about 3 weeks, I am looking for a mix of budget or moderate hotels and one or two ridiculously blow-out fabulous places with a sea view. I have been poring over the reviews on TripAdvisor, but there are just so many hotels reviewed there. Hard to tell which Italian hotel is actually going to be a flea bag with fake antiques and lumpy beds.

You can leave suggestions here or email me. If you have flickr or blog photos to share, even better.

Thanks,
The Management


PS - I am also going to Carmel, CA next month with my mom. Let me know where to eat.