Splurge.

"Knowing when to splurge is an art. There are just two rules: Splurge on the most classic item in the world. You will have it forever. Splurge on the most insane thing in the world. You will have it and cherish it forever." - Isaac Mizrahi

What's your insane thing?

Belize Vacation Slideshow - Nancy Newsom and Jim Pravetz - California, USA - December 2008

Regarding page 76 of this month's domino magazine:

...my friend emailed me this:

"Some examples of chinoiserie are borderline racist, and I did feel pain for any Asian reader seeing that. It's got an "Uncle Tom" quality....It looked like something executed in tempera paints on a day care center wall.

Honestly, I think I will let my subscription to domino lapse when it expires. Whenever I read it, I feel like the tired old uncle, babysitting the 7-year-old nieces as  they run around shrieking and hitting each other with My Little Ponys."



And then there was THIS post over at Style Noir about Sheila Bridges "Harlem Toile de Juoy" wallpaper.

So, here are the questions today, kids:

1) What do you think of Mary McDonald's room with the parasol-toting Asian figures painted on the wall?

2) Is Sheila's "Harlem Toile" wallpaper bad news?

Fake plastic trees.

I posted in December about DEBORAH SILVER and her landscaping. Some of you hate the uptight boxwoods, but I love them.

I particularly liked these crazy ball boxwoods:



Anyway, Deborah emailed me today saying that she's seen the post. She also sent a few more photos my way.




She wrote, "Attached are more photographs of the boxwood ball garden property-including a grass amphitheatre/sculpture I did. I also sent a picture of my client with her daughter-she has great style in addition to a great garden. I have been very lucky to have her as a client all these years. She has pushed me to be the best I can be."

This ampitheater. Seriously, can you even stand it? Amazing.




In her email to me, Deborah also gave me a good ribbing about my stubborn stance against fake flowers.

"I think fakes can be fine foolishness. Even beautiful. At any rate, they are evidence of my hand-which is very real." Fair enough. And given the look of things she creates, I would take her fakes any day.



Deborah Silver & Co.

Her store, Detroit Garden Works

Remember when Madonna was awesome? (Part Two.)

I am not sure how I found my way to PLANET FABULON, but I did, I was rewarded with vintage Madge excellence.



(PART ONE), if you're inclined.

Taste.

Why are some people good at putting a room together and others aren't? Did any of you have clumsy (or downright horrible) style in clothes or design and somehow find a way to sharpen your eye and get better at the whole game?

Are some people born with good taste?

Thoughts on the subject, please.

Our Tikal Explorers - December 2008 - As seen in Star Wars Movie

If you think you have seen this before, Tikal location was used in filming for the rebel base on the jungle moon of Yavin 4 in Star Wars: A New Hope.