I love you Mommy Dearest

Mommy Dearest: Madonna and daughter Lourdes "Lola" Leon

Wow, they grow up fast!!!

Lil Lourdes Leon is a Madonna-impersonator in the making. The Material Girl’s 12-year daughter has recreated her mother’s famous wedding dress pose in the 1984 hit “Like A Virgin” for the pop legend’s new music video. Lourdes, whose dad is actor Carlos Leon, displays some impressive breakdancing skills in the first release of the music video for “Celebration.” However, it’s this image from a rumoured second edit of the video that has Madge Lovers squealing.

Via: Pop Crunch

Fall Color Palette: Golds, Nudes, Camels, Tans

L.A. does not have seasons!!! That's officially on the record coming from a 2nd generation Angeleno who is obsessed with change. I am probably the only person in L.A. complaining that it's too damn sunny here! I like clouds, and rain, every now and then, and I especially like wearing coats, scarves, boots, and structured clothes. Being that the Indian Summer continues well into the winter (winter what is that?), I've decided I am thankful that at least when the cold weather finally hits L.A. open toed heels, bare legs, and wrap dresses are still appropriate and the rules simply do not apply to us on the Left Coast. So, here is my current color obsession or lack of color:

Courtesy of: Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Missoni, Gerard Yosca necklace, Banana Republic bracelette

Michele Deco Baguette Watch

This watch screams LADY with it's sleek, slim shape, refined diamonds, and interchangeable bands (I'd roll mine with a black alligator band)! I can see this with jeans, a blazer, and casual T-shirt, or dress it up with a cocktail dress for a night out on the town! The point is, it's a hybrid watch, can intermix with your whole wardrobe, is classic, timeless, and serves a function which to me = good design!

This living room by Jamie Bush is super cool! Check out that piece of art!!! It epitomizes chilled out beach pad in Venice and even though there's a lot going on in this room, the color palette still makes it easy on the eyes.

A tufted gilded gold bed frame is screaming my name! It looks so refined, yet so fun! I think it would be perfectly accented with a crystal chandelier, clear lucite bedside lamps, and a bucket of bubbling champagne!

Sharon Stone, as the dangerously fierce Catherine Tramell tears it down Basic Instinct style!!! She epitomizes femme fatale and I love how the costume designer juxtaposed her character's dark personality by dressing her in golds, nudes, camels, and tans.

Halcyon Days of Yore: Hotel Bel Air Closing

If you want to grab a drink in the Champagne Bar at L.A.'s legendary Hotel Bel Air, Tuesday night is your last chance for a few years. The hotel is closing its doors for major renovations (a facelift is more like it) and 220 of its employees will soon find themselves out of work.

Famous piano man for more than a decade, Antonio Castillo De La Gala, will also be playing one last time for a jam packed crowd.

The hotel has hosted Presidents and Hollywood royalty like Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe.

Happy Friday

Instead of pulling on my brown riding boots this weekend, I'll be tying the bikini and hitting the beach one last weekend! Love me a good Indian Summer...enjoy yours!

Why don't you...

Skip and go naked!!! Mix a 12-pack of cheap beer... with a 1/5 of vodka...3 limes and that's it!!! Have fun! The perfect cure for the sweltering hot September weather we are having in Los Angeles!!!

Note: Recipe courtesy of my buddy Derek Williamson

Photography: Tom Watson

Good-bye summer...

Before & After: Antique Buffet Sideboard

I inherited this antique buffet sideboard from my parent's after evaluating that I needed storage space for serving platters and an area to serve drinks when we entertain. Considering they had 3 sideboards in their house, I asked if they wouldn't mind giving one to me - I remember many years ago my Mom saying she was saving one a piece for each of her 3 daughters. They have owned it for 30 years and it came all the way from Jackaman's in London, making it about 100 years old, antique enough for me!

So my first instinct was to paint it black, much to my Mom's chagrin. After looking at finishes, I decided a dark espresso would be more appropriate, considering it is an antique and I wanted to keep the integrity of the wood piece alive. My Mom and I embarked on the task of sanding it, applying many coats of dark stain, and sealing it to protect from water damage.

The end result was better than I anticipated! The wood has been brought back to life, it's rich, dark, elegantly rustic, and works perfectly with the rest of my furniture.

I truly believe furniture should be collected over time, not like it was all purchased as a set from one store or from a popular catalog. Mixing the old with the new brings life and personality to one's space and it's the pieces that we pass down from generation to generation that truly make it special and meaningful to enjoy for year's to come.

Little Fluffy Clouds

What were the skies like when you were young?

They went on forever

And they -- when I

We lived in Arizona

And the skies always had little fluffy clouds

And they were long and clear

And there were lots of stars, at night

And when it rained it would all turn

It -- they were beautiful

The most beautiful skies as a matter of fact

The sunsets were purple and red

And yellow and on fire

And the clouds would catch the colors everywhere

That's -- it's neat

Because I used to look at them all the time

When I was little

You don't see that

By The Orb

Photography Naudia J.

Bonobos: Awesome Fitting Trousers

I LOVE fashionable men. Lately, I've been spending lots of time in the Men's Department shopping for suits, trousers, and shirts with my husband...I also LOVE a great Fall sale (it seems when I buy clothes, I buy 1 piece at a time, when my husband shops it's practically for the whole year!) The one thing I keep noticing is the way pants fit or don't fit my husband. They're either too tight to be comfortable (European styles) or too baggy to look good (saggy diaper-butt dad look is more like it). Until I read about BONOBOS.

Bonobos was created in 2007 by Brian Spaly and Andy Dunn while they were roommates at Stanford Business School.

As legend has it, Brian began altering pants for himself using a girlfriend's sewing machine until Brian and Andy's friends liked the pants so much that they demanded pairs of their own.

Their Signature Fit has a had a large role in their success, but they don't just make better fitting pants—they also provide a far better experience as well.

Bonobos is an internet based company offering free shipping, easy returns, and customer service they refer to as expert "Ninjas." Starting this October you'll be able to visit the Bonobos Fit Lab, headquartered in Manhattan, is a unique retail space/Man Cave filled with all of your favorite things—pants and polos, of course, but also beer, snacks, and two giant TVs with the full NFL package.

Why don't you...

...Start a photo collage wall!!! I just love pictures, tons of them, framed with nice white mats, in all kinds of frames, hung perfectly on the wall. I must admit one thing, I hate clutter but I love pictures, which is why a photo collage wall is the perfect place to store all your memories neatly without taking up space on surfaces. You can even switch out your pictures every couple of months, if you like change like I do.

A photo wall allows you to constantly change without having to re-do everything, exudes personality and evokes memory, and is visually stimulating for you and for anyone who enters your home. To me it says: I've got heart, I've got warmth, I've got soul!!!

I just love the pastels in this room and the light wood frames. Art work takes on a life of it's own in this space. I just want to plop down on that sofa and listen to the birds chirp outside, it's that serene.

A dining room becomes more conversational with tons of framed photos on the walls and stacks of books. It just breathes conversation and mental stimulation!

The blue hallway above and the bathroom below is courtesy of Schuyler Samperton in Domino. She's a pretty cool chick who knows a thing or two about photo collages. Check out the "bong water" poster on her bathroom wall....this photo collage reminds me of my bedroom walls in high school!

This is a photo wall of matchboxes courtesy of Erika over at Urban Grace Home. What a clever idea for displaying matches you've collected over the years! I have hundreds of these that could be put to good design use!

Model Crush: Doutzen Kroes

I first laid eyes on the lovely Doutzen Kroes (pronounced Doubt zen Cruise) accidentally in the June 2007 issue of Vogue. Initially, I was drawn to the article about Lapo Elkann (another style crush), and was quickly distracted by the beautiful counterpart with the never ending legs in each of the "take me away" images.

A view of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio, Grand

Shake your moneymaker

It seems after I read that story, countless magazine covers, fashion shows, editorials, and VICTORIA'S SECRET were to follow with, you guessed it, my new model crush: Doutzen.

She's from Holland, is known to be a super cool chick who's into DJs (she's dating DJ Ruckus), and she actually works out and has womanly curves!!!

She was on the cover of Harper's Bazaar July 2009

Modeling for Calvin Klein (I want this white power suit for warm L.A. nights on the town!)