Category Archives: Creative

Slim Paley Daily #1

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Mini Monday

Welcome to the launch of “Slim Paley Daily” !

The plan is to share one fun thing a day for a week just to shake things up a bit.

Think of it as a “Friday Favourites” facelift (remember those?? Favourites, not facelifts)

As it happens, my first share is something I mentioned waaay back on Friday Favourites but never ended up doing myself…

until just recently

890A7901and boy, do I love my Moo Cards !

890A7894Half the size of regular business cards,they’re really inexpensive, easy to create and the Moo service is great.

and they’re funny, those Moo folks. Always a plus in my books.

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Simply pick whatever images you wish to print, drag them to the templates on the create page and off you go.

If I can do it, YOU can do it.

They have a multitude of combinations for fonts and background colours (though they could use more font choices) and the best part? They print on both sides!  Choose a matte or glossy  finish and load up to 100 images.

YES- 100 IMAGES People!

  I picked 100 of my own photos, most of them from previous Slim posts.
890A7884and went with a matte finish because I didn’t think my card case needed any competition. Ahem.

I think I ordered 400 cards because that seemed to come out to a ridiculously good price.

FYI- you can also create regular sized business cards, stickers, and other fun stuff.

moo.com

Check it out.

PPS. This mention is only with affection, not affiliation with Moo-nies.

~

See you tomorrow with Tuesday’s… thing.

Opulence Moroccan Style

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Though we enjoyed the hotels we stayed in during our visit to Morocco ( more on those later) for future reference and to satisfy our FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) we spent a little time in Marrakech checking out some other options.

Put your velvet seatbelt on

for the “Royal Mansour” located in the heart of the Medina.

Image 16 Where behind every gently wafting silken drape…

890A6794another gasp awaits

Image 46The attention to detail at Royal Mansour knows NO bounds

Image 83It’s how you spell luxe and then some.

Screen Shot 2013-03-25 at 1.35.26 PMOne could wear the newest Dior dress I love so much and not feel overdressed.

Image 14“Le Bar” to end all bars

Image 75with walls panelled in reverse glass rose gold leaf

Image 13Photos do not capture the depth and beauty of the rose gold panels.

They glow like the gossamer veiled cheeks of an exquisite young virgin bride marrying a dark, dashing Sheik at desert sunset

(think young Omar Sharif without the gambling habit)

Image 2Are you getting the idea yet??!

890A6864 copyThe chandelier in the interior courtyard

Image 79We enjoyed a cocktail or two here in quiet awe, just listening to the birdsong, the tinkling of ice cubes and the heavy rustling of palm fronds in the wind.

Image 32“La Grande Table Marocaine” restaurant, with blue marble floors, is presided over by celebrated French chef Yannick Alleno.

a52e5292fd046c653bc822bbc73ace3eI would probably choose this little number from Armani Spring 2013 should I be so lucky as to dine here.

Image 34Cool marble, embroidered water-silk taffeta, feathers & inlaid rosewood…cuhraazy

Image 25I don’t even know how to begin to explain the coffered ceiling in the “Chimney Lounge”

Honeycombs conceived by bees drunk on silver.

Again, the photos don’t do it justice.

Image 22The Chimney Lounge, so named for the transparent glass fireplace that allows you to gaze upon the gardens through the flames while sipping your cognac.

Did I mention it’s a wood burning fireplace ??

Come ON.

Screen Shot 2013-03-25 at 4.16.03 PMPhoto via Royal Mansour

I need this in my next life as a Persian Princess.

Image 21Hand tooled leather walls

Image 12and rugs.

It just doesn’t stop.

Image 27“La Grande Table Francaise” Royal Mansour’s French restaurant preparing for the evening.

I can only imagine how beautiful it must be by candle lightImage 29A gecko candle holder, one of many crystal creatures crawling across the walls of the restaurant.

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Screen Shot 2013-03-25 at 3.56.33 PMAs dusk descends (yes, we stayed that long!) the hotel becomes even more magical

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There are no “rooms” at the Royal Mansour, just 53 private riads.

As you’ve no doubt deduced by now, this is not where you would choose to stay if you’re counting your dirhams.

 Ahem. It’s splurging to be sure. I don’t know if it would be my choice if I were bringing children with me either, but for a romantic and decadent getaway for couples? Hell ya.

There is also a gorgeous spa and a divine little shop.

But of course, you knew that!

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For more information on Royal Mansour

~

All photos (unless otherwise credited) by Slim Paley.

Heads Up

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Cameos are cool again.

Just thought I’d mention it, in case you hadn’t noticed.

262756959478882278_n29eMAmB_cThen…

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Amedeo

…and Now

150659550005429546_eW6SAjFL_cCameos & tats, who’da thunk it?!

890A4843Italian Vogue

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Victoria Hardstone via Fourtane

Screen Shot 2012-06-16 at 3.32.20 PM

muse-china-12-e1335986433479Arizona Muse via Vogue China

Old photo cameo

IMG_2071Amedeo  on Lexington Ave. in NYC is the place to buy cool cameos.

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.46.04 PMThey even customize.  A loved one, or perhaps a favourite pet, or just beautiful initials.

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.46.45 PMBoth images via Amedeo

Screen Shot 2013-02-17 at 9.42.34 PMThese are not your Grannie’s cameos

618_uktv_downton_abbey_s02e05_7BTW, shouldn’t the Dowager have a cameo on her collar?!

IMG_2075

890A1716A most beautiful head in the Palace of Versailles

marlon-brando-julius-caesarand the most beautiful head in movies.  No contest.

Marlon-marlon-brando-30617224-1259-1107right??

Heads are in-house too.

383208-Stile_BK

383210-Stile_BKRugs by Stiles BK

the-libertine-magazine-campaign-january-2013-yatzer-patrick-gilles-and-dorothc3a9e-boissier-at-home-in-thier-flat-in-paris-3via The Libertine magazine

The trick is to keep a cool head.

19492210857161511_Mgihgi4v_cTumblr

and don’t let it get all stuffy.

photo

Axel Vervoordt

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lanvin09Lanvin

Go big or go home.

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Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed….

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Screen Shot 2012-11-21 at 11.12.18 PMLanvin

tumblr_mi1hfcBV4i1qd8ajzo1_1280

287315651197294231_q7VgiVIX_fcredit unknown

Just don’t lose your head  (Sorry)

L1080258and make sure to have fun with it.

~

Hey-How about that last episode tonight?

What the…  :(

Still, we must soldier on. We’re British after all (caught up in the show much??)

Try to have a good week all the same.

~

(Buttons top photo, my own. Green desk photo via Pinterest)

Whimsical Gardens (Part I)

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OK, first things first.

 I’ve made it into The Finals of “The Homies”! (YAY!!)  Thanks to you!

Now  I need your help just once more to win.

I’ve already fallen behind (BOO) but voting is even simpler this time.

Just click HERE

and you’ll see this:

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Easy peasy.

omg-can you tell I never got picked for any sports teams??

And now, without further pestering, the post;

editorials-garden-of-delights-carolineTim Walker

I don’t know about yours, but my garden looks like a dog’s breakfast right now.

Other than a few wildly optimistic blossoms on my pear tree that never grow pears (the eager date who shows up way too early-sweet, but it’s like never going to happen)

 I’ve got nada. Zilch. Strike out.

Not only that…but more of this happened …

IMG_2876My last big willow bit the dust.

@$^&*(*%$#

Willow trees in Southern California are undoubtedly beautiful but let me tell you-they need a lot of supervision and attention.

They grow super fast, uproot easily, turn your back and they attract pests, and don’t look so great for a few months every year.

Basically, they’re the teen-age boys of the tree world.

So now I have about 10 of these wonderful stumps sitting around and I’m trying to decide what to do with them.

The Silver Lining is a dead tree turns into a beautiful ______ (Fill in the blank-don’t worry, this isn’t another contest :) )

I’ll put a few back in the garden as stools but I’d love to hear your suggestions on what to do with the rest.

I  love pretty much everything with a touch of whimsy, but particularly in the garden.

Nothing more boring than spaces that take themselves too seriously. Life’s too short.

Screen Shot 2012-11-04 at 10.03.20 AMAnna Williams

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Screen shot 2011-06-24 at 12.54.17 PMboth images via Pinterest

One of the reasons why I love gardens that incorporate “rooms”, no matter how small, is that they allow you to come upon hidden surprises, which is often the best way to add a sense of whimsy to your outdoor spaces.

l1090996One magnificent example of this is the incomparable Ninfa Gardens in Italy, which contains several ‘rooms’ as well as the pristine Ninfa river running through it.

l1090989Ninfa

L1040414Another is the garden created by Japanese silent film star Denjiro Okochi, located in the Sagano district of Kyoto, open to the public yet not wildly busy.

A stroll through the small, stunning gardens ends with a steaming cup of Macha in the tea house.

L1040410Speaking of teen-age boys…my younger son kicking it at the Okochi gardens.

Screen Shot 2012-11-04 at 9.59.57 AMMoss gardens or simply allowing any ground covering to rule also add a lovely sense of whimsy.

IMG_2849a fuzzy pic of my ground cover

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Manolo Blahnik

I wish these were in my garden

 One of the most effective ways to create a whimsical effect is to place items normally found indoors, outdoors…

L1100410This “room” at “Lunuganga” in Sri Lanka (more of this garden and house in an upcoming post-It’s truly beyond)

L1100422Some of the arches are mirrored, some are not. How flipping genius is that?!

L1100418See me??

Screen shot 2011-06-27 at 6.01.47 PMChanel

Garden-MirrorOf course outdoor mirrors can be applied in much smaller gardens and apartment terraces

120119515032177572_Nijg0ekB_bboth pics via Pinterest

I’ve used mirrors outside in many outdoor scenarios.

Which I can’t show here.

Because  I’ve got “Save It For A Book” Fever now.

Screen Shot 2012-07-07 at 2.15.00 PMGiambattista Valli 2012

L1100455Another glimpse of “Lunuganga”

heligan-2Tumblr

The very best thing about applying whimsy to the garden is that it’s utterly boundless.

And almost inevitably, you’ll get a helping hand from Mother Nature.

Whether you wanted it,IMG_2876or not.

Happy Grammies, Downton Abbey (almost over :( ) and to those of you on the East Coast-stay cozy!

xx

~

Blog Love

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The only privately owned version of Edvard Munch's The Scream is to be sold at auction in New York

We have been without internet in our house for 2 days now.

TWO DAYS.

I don’t know why, but OMG. Seriously. I mean it’s one thing if you’re on holiday and have no service, but the unimaginable INDIGNITY of no service in your own home-WELL, let me tell ya… the entire household is in an uproar. While the mystery of the downed service remains unsolved, I hate to suggest things are getting testy but, at one point, even my bill paying skills have come under suspicion (FYI-it isn’t that)

So, right now I’m sitting in my parent’s kitchen hijacking their internet (apparently they pay their bills :) )

The upside of the situation is as I don’t have access to my photo files, it affords the perfect opportunity for me to have a little ‘brag moment’ and share this ;

Screen Shot 2013-01-24 at 5.18.53 PM

Needless to say I was both honoured and excited to participate in this blogging article for HouseBeautiful.com.

It wasn’t easy to narrow my ‘Blog Crush’ down to just one blog (story of my life) but that was our mission should we choose to accept.

I hope you have as much fun as I did discovering some new design blogs here!

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Link to story HERE

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Wishing everyone a lovely, cozy weekend. I know it’s very cold in many parts of the country.

I’ll be back as soon as the Internet Gods allow. In the meantime, I’m at the mercy of my iPhone ( I love you iPhone)

xxSP

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