If there is a Heaven, it would look like this

The Viceroy in Miami is officially, without question, the BEST place I have ever been in my life.  No matter where you look, you are surround by such divine luxury, that it's hard to breath.  My visit capped off a glorious day of visiting all the vintage and antique shops that Miami has to offer, a few glorious examples to be seen below.  How insane is that horse lamp!!!!!!

Trust me when I say that there is no better way to end a day than cocktails and a bite at The Viceroy.  I was the biggest dork snapping pictures like a tourist, but I didn't care.  These pictures can't even begin to explain the decadence.  

That fireplace is roughly 15' high, and why, exactly, don't I dip all my furniture in rubber!?  It's ingenious!

Can I get married again just so that I can have my wedding shower here?

I'd like another cocktail please, and can you just rub this sun block on my back?  Oh, it's time for my spa appointment?  Well, you know, a woman's work is never done...

This is the river of joy... what more can I say?  Well, this... that chandelier ~ no less than 15 FEET across and lemon yellow.

So, imagine, if you will, a day spent browsing some of the most phenomenally designed furniture of the last 60 years, having lunch with daytime wine,  more shopping, followed by this feast for the senses, yummy dinner, inspired cocktails and, let's not forget, riveting conversation the whole way through, provided by my fabulous MIL Rena!  Hey, Rena, when are we going to see that Taj Mahal Opera?

Do it again, ooh, ooh, do it again!

Would you know what I meant if....

...I said, "I wish my life more closely resembled Rachel Getting Married?  I mean, without the dead brother and the alcoholism and the fighting and the car accidents, of course. I want these guys to be playing "Here Comes the Bride" every time I leave my house to go to the grocery store.

And these guys to serenade me while I am doing the laundry (as infrequent as that may be) And lastly, I would like this cake every Sunday following brunch on the lawn with a ton of crazy people in jewel toned saris dancing and paper lanterns every where.

Is that too much to ask? 

Back in the day...

Bing Crosby with Phil Harris and Bob Littler listening to record player, Seattle, 1956
This lovely vintage chesterfield sofa is a piece of Seattle history. Littler's was an upscale clothier from 1931-1996. This is where you would sit to admire you gentlemen or lady friend as they tried on some of the finest attire Seattle had to offer. As the picture above clearly implies, it's entirely possible that Bing Crosby actually sat on this couch! What? You say that's a quite a stretch? Aah, what do you know.

It's such a shame that cigarettes are out of fashion, doesn't this lovely lounger make you want to relax in your silk peignior while sipping a manhattan and smoking a, why maybe, a Chesterfield?

(not that I condone smoking, bad dirty habit...)

Suburban Outfitters

So I follow Revival Home and Garden on twitter. (See how technologically advanced I have become? (twitter is new to me)) Anyhow, last night Leah, the owner, tweeted that she wondered about Urban Outfitters home, or rather apartment, decor items. As I have been a fan of finding the cheapest possible furniture available for quite some time, I do have a few of their peices in my house. I can't speak to the quality of their case pieces (probably crap), but the stuff I have, I really like.

The headboard, lamp and lampshade are from Urban. They are in my little Leah's bedroom.This is in Abigail and Leah's bathroom. I suck at taking pictures, but the mirror is Urban as well as the light fixture. Actually the light itself is some halogen junk from Ikea, but the "crystal" fixture around it is from Urban.By the way, Leah, if you didn't get my comment response to your comment on my blog, I am super flattered and thrilled that you have even seen my blog, let alone like my stuff. I love your store and can't wait till you get settled into your new location, where ever that may be. I am the dork that voted for Bellevue.

The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair.

and that's all I need.

I'm trying desperately to clean my house. Can't you tell how much cleaning I am able to get done while typing! It's such an overwhelming task. Until this month, I felt a compulsive need to keep EVERYTHING, in case I might need it one day, you know.

Well, one of my other personalities has decided to push it's way to the front after decades of being suffocated in the back by all the crap I surround myself with. Ooh, I'll have to come up with a name for this new personality... more on that later. Anyhow, now, for the first time ever I am purging. I mean seriously purging. If I came home and everything was gone, I wouldn't be upset. Well, except for my china. My china and my Fifi Soufois painting. My china and my Fifi Soufoiux painting and Jimmy Choos. My china and my Fifi Soufois painting and my Jimmy Choos and this chair...

This dude looks just like my dad in the late 70's, in case you were wondering

Which, of course, you obviously were.
So I have become completely obsessed with Pandora while trying to clean my f*&#% house. I love all the new music I am being exposed to. Stuff I never would have heard before.

This is how I roll (now).
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZK7YKO/?tag=savagebeast-20



One day when I am less of an idiot, I will figure out the right way to put songs in the blog. That day has not yet come.

I have spoken, and someone listened...

Just as I was lamenting the lack of "designed" computers, I find this. Maybe a ming vase doesn't jive with your decor, but just imagine the possibilities! What if your Jonathan Adleresque gourd lamp was also your CPU! Maybe your monitor can be a white lacquered rococo plasma panel mounted on the wall next to it that display digital art when not in use. The days of unsightly grey plastic junk littering the landscape of our lives are numbered. I can't wait till my technology doesn't dominate my aesthetic surroundings. There is still the matter of all the other garbage and mess that I surround myself with. Which brings me full circle back to lamenting the lack of housekeeper. Check out the specs on engadget