Moving on up...

Dear lovely readers,

     Happy Memorial Day weekend! Aren't 3-day weekends the best? They give us a reason to go on.

     I'm so sorry I've been missing in action.  Several legitimate reasons, and the biggest one has been our move! We have been frantically packing, cleaning, purging, dusting, hiding balls of laundry in closets for our open house for the old house this weekend, and also shuttling back and forth for all the final details of our new house. Which there are SO many, especially in this crazy market. 

Have some of you been going through this process, too? RIDICulous.

    Anyway, here are some pictures of our new digs! We're so excited and maybe a little nervous. It's a bit of a change from condo life. But let me give you the virtual tour.

     It's an original Spanish style house from the 1930's. This is the front courtyard, where we first fell in love with the house. When the sun is shining, it just seems like your own little secret garden . It's surrounded on 3 sides by by bougainvilleas and has the most adorable running fountain in the middle, where, apparently, birds love to bathe and frolick in. 

     UH HUH. It's a little like the beginning scene from Cinderella.  

OOTD and return to Mothership, just couldn't help it!

Whaddup girlfriends,

     Today was awesome. I got to see my bff Jen for the first time in months. But ONLY after I was struck by the inspiration to...cut my own bangs in 3 minutes! See the dramatic and life-changing results below. 

let's all go to india!

Let's be clear--I do like the clothes in the new may catalog, but even more impressively magnificent is the setting where the new items were shot.

Have you ever seen anything more intricate, mysterious, colorful, vibrant and awesome than India?

I am in AWE. If Anthro ever decides to start selling the door in this below photo, I will be FIRST in line. 'Course, I'm not sure if they can sell actual historical artifacts of India.

If in fact they can, or if this is just the door to some abandoned foreclosed home, I will camp out overnight in a line that wraps around the block and sings old Madonna jams long after 3 am.

btw, end table about 200, coffee table about 400 bucks. 

This sitting hammock completely charms, reminiscent of a beautiful woven spiderweb.

And who doesn't want strings of marygolds strewn across their path like a welcoming citrus path?
I certainly do. Hubby needs to make note of that, ok? great, thanks.

ps. knotted melati hanging chair 500 bux, ocean's offerings rug, 600. 

If ever a ceiling could be tastefully lined in bright but tasteful colors, this would be it.

Also, would love to take some of these pillars home over the weekend and just insert them neatly under our living room ceiling. They are incomparable.  

Umm, so breathtaking. Which to look at first? The chandeliers? The amazing scalloping of the doorways? or the utterly gorgeous curly design (carved?) echoed in the second layer?

Turtle paradise hammock ($98) and Diving sea turtle pillow ($78).

How great is the multi-colored lining of the shelves along and above the bed? It adds so much depth and interest to the room. 

Not to mention you wake up and suddenly you're in a flowery gray/yellow haven.

This Distant Voyage Quilt (200 bucks, plus or minus depending on size) is so vibrant! How many colors are collected on this quilty? and still just stunning. Can't wait to see it up close in the store.

I love this quilt--and quilts in general.



Ok. I also loved the Anthro From-the-Waves shower curtain, $118. The colors, the tree motif, all feel like you've come in from a refreshing dip in the ocean. The tree coral towel, $18 also fabulous. You can almost smell the sea breeze.



Just a little what-if scenario: Anthro offering an international tour of places they have shopped for their wares? And where they've photographed their catalogues? How many people would be interested?
Ummm, WHO WOULDN'T??

so much leafy goodness

can we just chat for a minute 'bout how amazing, truly AMAZING anthro's visual team is?
check out this leafy rainforest overlay floating about an embroidered pillowed heaven.
i'm thrilled at every turn in anthro's store.

wow! it's just burlap wrapped around wiring. um, easy enough? i'll just whip it up while watching glee tonight.

aaaaand, look how it matches the window paintings! what's this? am i suddenly in the amazon rainforest?

a few days ago, i saw them constructing this and was wondering how the cat's cradle would turn out. again, totally in line with anthro's commitment to design with simple elements, like having 12,000 used tea bags hanging from the ceiling in london.

oh, also found in the london store? apparently a LIVING. WALL. OF PLANTS.

i'm not usually one to notice everything all at once, but everytime i go into anthro, i become increasingly aware seems that their aesthetics are so interesting, curious, whimsical and intricate, made of eco-friendly, everyday materials.

makes you want to save up all your coke cans and arrange them artfully into a large, elaborate wall rosette.

addendum: ooh! guys! guys! check it out. have you ever seen something so eliza doolittle on LSD in your life? THIS is what i should have worn to my senior prom!
gah!! (sound effect of gagging for that skirt)

sweet smells of home

i usually merely visit the el segundo (southern CA) store whereas i regularly haunt the one in del amo (torrance, CA). yesterday though, i happened by el seg and had to cruise through their sale room--big BIG scores, to be had!

good assortment of pillows outside of the fitting room area. the perfect place for the hen-pecked, i mean, loving, attentive husband/bf to hang out and check football scores on his ipod.




but one of the most beautiful items i saw was the collection of candles from bali basket. the tins are so bright and elegant! to be honest, i find them so appealing and decorative, i really don't care THAT much what they smell like. and no one expects them to be as great as the ol' volcano.




also loved these vases which i couldn't find on the website yet. something about that beautiful red and gold intricacy is elegant and timeless. and could easily store a LOT of grape jolly ranchers.

jennifer, the fitting room sales associate remembered my name 3 hours later. as in, the second time i had visited the store THAT SAME DAY.

reason to get more cable channels

one of the people i hope to meet in life is keith johnson, who buys homewares for anthro.

he had/has? a documentary style show "man shops globe" on sundance, which i never saw the entirety of, since we don't get that channel. but here's a quick clip.

i spent a very happy sunday afternoon playing all the 2 minute clips on youtube. the guy is genius!

a good kind of volcano

one of the most unique traits of anthro's stores is the distinct fragrance. i immediately heave a big sigh of relief when i step across that big oak door and capri blue's "volcano" perfection wafts past the ol' nares.

it is unmistakably "anthro": classy, bright, warm. and along with the mellow jazz/indie grooves my del amo store has been jamming, it makes forever 21 seem tinny, frenetically loud and juvenile.

in order to bring some of that lovely peace and tranquility home, i caved in and bought my first volcano. it was 28 bucks.

i light it up only at night and try to sit near it and sniff it as much as i can, like a broke high school kid trying to make the buzz last longer.

sidenote: also the forest and aqua colored felt coasters surrounding the candle. got them for christmas from someone who noticed we seem to dribble alot. thanks, nalynne.

HOWEVER. i did find a similar fragrance the other day while browsing through world market. the french cassis was a lot more floral and nowhere near as bright as the volcano. but still an undertone of citrus, and $3.99 for 25 tea lights ain't all that bad.