Tag Archives: Friday Favourites

Friday Favourites (13)

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Happy Friday Everyone!

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Hope you had a fun week. The “June Gloom” revisited Santa Barbara in full force (Hellooo, 3rd week in July…) so I enjoyed the sun stealing back in the late afternoons to create this beautiful light in my guest room.

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I don’t know whether it’s  a good thing or a bad thing (insert quip from husband, here) but I can’t really remember the last time I physically shopped.  So instead, for this week’s Friday Favourites I’m offering up a couple of internet finds, as well as introducing a new weekly feature on Friday Favourites; A Favourite Old Book.

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I feel compelled to start off with one of my ALL TIME favourites “Love In the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I realize that a great many of you have already read this masterpiece, but occasionally  great novels or films can slip through your list cracks. If by any chance you haven’t read it yet, I’m extremely jealous. You have something very special to look forward to.  I can’t imagine  better summer reading than this  incredible love story.

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(Caveat; If you were one of the few people who actually saw the film- please don’t judge by that because I hear it was not good, and I’m being kind here)

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3 Reasons to Invest in This Birkin

- It’s so inexpensive you can own it in multiple colours and say things like ” Ohmigod- now which coloured Birkin did I leave the butter in?”

-If your reusable shopping bag is a Birkin you might not be so inclined to forget to bring it to the grocery store every single time. Or is that just me??

-This Birkin brings home the bacon, instead of spending it all (Ok, sorry, it’s late and I mightn’t be at my most clever :) … I don’t get paid for this you know!)

Anyway,do check out these adorable totes at  Avril Loreti.com

(PS. I hope this isn’t the Avril that I went to school with because she wasn’t very nice to me)

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(Not that I hold a grudge)

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Favourite “Smokes”

Great Literature “To Take Your Breath Away”

Speaking of old books, I love these little classics cloaked in iconic packaging. Finally, something good for you coming out of a cigarette box.

TankBooks.com

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Favourite new download thingy;

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GetInvisibleHand.com

Perhaps I’m late to this, but have you heard of “Invisible Hand” ? It’s kind of genius! Just click on the above link and download it to your computer. I used Firefox and it was super easy and fast.  Then, let your fingers do the shopping. When you look anything up on the internet, if it’s available somewhere else online  for less $$, a thin yellow bar pops up across the top of your window with links to all other less expensive vendors.  What a world. How did we exist shop before computers?!

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And lastly, as I drift off into the Internight…

This is such a cool idea!!  Good luck to Kevin McDonald. It can’t be easy to come up with an inventive idea for a film these days.  I hope thousands of people participate.  I know I’ll be watching!

Click here for : KevinMcDonald’s“Life in a Day” concept.

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Have a fabulous weekend !

Friday Favourites (Special Edition)

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Watch short video clip at the bottom of the page

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From the “Slash” Paper exhibition NYC  (covert photo with my iphone :) )

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Neon Knickers from Barney’s

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image from Tumblr

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Paul Smith rug for The Rug Company

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“La Montana” by Ana maria Hernando  (mounded petticoats stiffened with resin, from a remote village in Peru)

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Elephant on Old Bond St. in London

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Men’s tie section in Barney’s

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Cynthia Rowley

Pantone Paint

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Emma Bridgewater for Aga stove  (for real!)

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Paul Smith for The Rug Company

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Creativi-tea

Jessica Stam

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This is a very important “Friday Favourites” for me…

Have my colours grabbed your attention?!?

Drumroll please…I finally pulled a Blog Roll together!

I’m so chuffed with myself :)   Still haven’t figured out how to run it down the side without the text going thru my photos, but baby steps…

If you go to my heading at the top of of the page, you will find a new tab called “SLIM’S PICKINGS”

You’ll find my List there.  Please take the time to visit all these fun destinations when you have a chance.  Thanks so much again to many of you fellow bloggers that have been linking to me since January.  If I’ve left anyone out, please know my “Pickings” are still very much a work in progress, much like me.

I’ve had SO MUCH FUN playing in this new world and I look forward to getting to know you all better.

May your days be as bright as this post!!

xx Slim

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PS.  If this is ever me, you’ll tell me right??  Pinky swear?

( I kind of love her really- I joke, but I’m having a “Senior Moment” myself- I can’t recall her name :( )

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“COLOR ME CRAZY”A short video by Sarah St. Clair Renard

(Please click- great music!)


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Friday Favourites (11)

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All my Hydrangeas are going gangbusters at the moment, which is great because my roses are at intermission. I took this photo yesterday. They were cut from the garden on Wednesday morning and were still quite perky. I find that the only time to cut hydrangea so they last is at night or first thing in the morning.  I re-cut the stems and splice them but does anyone have any secrets to making them last longer?  My new Favourites are the lacy Macrophyllas.

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Photo Fluvio Bonavia

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It’s time for Friday Favourites…on Saturday!  Friday’s not the Boss of me.  I took Friday off to wash the cars, volunteer at the library, rotate my compost. Oh, who am I kidding? I had a wonderful breakfast with a friend, did some floral arranging, took a design meeting, and then went to see “Get Him to The Greek” with my husband, my son and his friend.  Basically, I’m going to Parenting Hell this time for sure.  My face hurts from trying not to laugh at all the disgusting parts in front of the boys. Thank God there was a woman right beside me, sitting next to her teen-age son and I heard her laughing. What a terrible mother. Although we did inadvertently lock our son in the car and were almost to the ticket line before he rang my cell to say he was still IN THE CAR (he’d been texting in the back seat while we were getting out- his friend didn’t say anything. Teenagers :) )  Still, I think the woman beside me was a worse parent because she was really enjoying the movie  entirely too much.

IMDB Parent’s Warning

PS. Proud to say the funniest scene in the film uses a T Rex song Slim Paley featured in Sept. 2009 :)

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But I digress… back to Saturday’s Friday Favourites;

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Favourite Cappuccino “Souffle” This Week;  D’Angelo’s, Santa Barbara

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Slim Paley photos………………….Or as my friend said; “May I have a bite of your cappuccino?!”

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Fulvio Bonavio photo

I am sooo praying that here in Santa Barbara we are kissing the incessant June Gloom GUH-bye and will be able to enjoy a little quality time at the beach for Father’s day tomorrow.  Of course sand and surf conjure up two of the most dreaded words in the English language; bathing suit, but I won’t be boring and go into the fresh hell that poses for most of us. Everyone knows the secret to looking good in your ‘kini, or Speedo -  (other than exercising regularly, eating a well balanced, nutritional diet blah blah blah) is fake tan.  And what’s my Favourite Fake tan of all time?

St. Tropez Self Tanner It’s the absolute best and most realistic tanner I’ve tried, and that’s saying something.  I’m sure most of you are probably familiar with St. Tropez already, it’s been around a long time,  but the newest blend smells better than ever, or rather, smells less than ever.  Now I’m certainly not saying this product is chemical free by any means…but if you do find yourself in a tanning emergency, and like me, you’re horrified by the idea of  standing butt naked save for a paper g-string, while a complete stranger spray guns every nook and cranny of your being like a second-hand car, you might want to give ‘St. Tropez’ a go.  It’s available at many beauty supply stores, as well as Sephora and Amazon.

Self Tanning Tip: Exfoliating  before self tanning is a must  but I find it difficult to use plastic gloves as suggested. I prefer to heavily moisturize my hands first and then scrape a crescent of soap beneath my nails, quickly apply the tanner and then wash off the soap and moisterizer- voila- no yucky brown stains under your nails.

Note of caution on the “Everyday Perfect Legs” Duo bottle-  The gradual creme is fantastic but the ‘Instant Bronzer’ is SUPER dark. As in ‘Refinish Your Furniture’ dark.

.Normally I don’t like to use photos of myself on Slim Paley, but for this post I’ve made an exception…

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Ok, technically this doesn’t fall in the “Favourites” category, as I haven’t read it yet (It was just released June 8th)  but I’m certainly as fascinated as the other 350 million plus people that are using Facebook as a means to reach out and communicate across the planet.  Should be an interesting read.   “FAN” oops, I mean “LIKE” this???  :)

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Now that we have our glow on, it’s time to slip into something comfortable…  These ridiculously soft “Soft” T-shirts by Joie, feel SO luxurious,  you’ll be tempted to wear them from morning to night, and then to bed.  Available at most major department stores.

Soft Joie T-shirts


And speaking of comfort, these inexpensive white linen pants from The Gap are great.  Bonus; they are lined, although  I didn’t even realize they were at first. I looked at the comments on the Gap website and a couple of people said they are see-thru… they’re NOT.  Obviously those were nuns commenting.  They have faux pockets at the front,  a nice relaxed wrinkled look and are a pretty decent length- I don’t know what the inseam is but I’m 5 8″ and I can wear a low heel with them. They come in a nice natural linen colour too (the natural is not lined) and here’s the best part- they are on sale right now for $44.00 (of course, because I bought them just last week for $59)

Note; they run super big, so get at least  two sizes smaller than you would normally wear.  I  bought them in both sizes – the smaller size is nice for heels and the bigger ones are great for a more casual, slouchy look.  Check them out!

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So, I might not have left you dressed in the sexiest outfit for Father’s Day, but rest assured you’ll be comfortable whilst slaving away in the kitchen, or over the barbeque, not to mention that great tan underneath!

Have a beautiful Sunday and Happy Father’s Day to all…


Friday Favourites is Back! (10)

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Friday Favourite Flower; ENGLISH PEONIES!

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Hello my Lovelies! I’m so happy to be back and reporting in with this Friday’s Favourites as I am SO EXCITED about a couple of finds that I can barely contain myself.
I walked into the Roman pharmacy, close to the Spanish Steps, sadly grasping a lock of my hair and over-enunciating “DRY-UH, DRY-UH, DRY-UH!!” to the woman behind the counter.  She went straight to the shelf, handed me a bottle of Rausch Egg Oil shampoo and off I went. At first I didn’t want to get too excited. I told myself it could just be that Italian water is much softer than Santa Barbara’s ( oh hello- Mussolini was gentler than Santa Barbara water), but when I couldn’t stop touching my own locks in London too, I began to feel a real tingle of hope. Upon arriving home, I couldn’t wait to put the shampoo to the test…Hallelujiah!! (sp??)  This is without a doubt, the best shampoo for dry hair I’ve ever tried. Not to mention it’s mostly natural ingredients and it smells like divinely rummy eggnog on your head. Christmas in June anyone?!  Can you buy it in your neck of the woods? I dearly hope so, but if not, I’ve ordered 3 bottles from a company called SiamHealthgroup.com in Thailand so we’ll see… if their business is still in business after the riots a couple of weeks ago, I’ll let you know if my order arrives safe and sound.

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Check out these branches of bouganvilla…Now guess what??  They’re fake!!  Can you believe it? they look so real.  I found them at Pottery Barn.  I think they are great for putting in a big wicker basket or pot on your porch, in your front hallway, or anywhere you feel like a great splash of colour in or around your home this summer.  How about in your fireplace in place of logs, or wound around a hanging light fixture by the pool?  I even cut some blooms off and put them in the lanterns going up my steps. The colour is so gorgeous against white or any shade of blue. Well done Pottery Barn!

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After my newly replenished supply of Very Berry Smoothies and Reversy Percy Pig gummies from Marks & Spencer’s in London runs out, I will be heading back to Whole Foods to pick up more of the over-priced but completely addictive Bissinger’s Gummy Panda’s I discovered shortly before I left for Europe. Don’t worry- I’m not going all Kelly Bensimmon on you, I just love a little gummy or two before I hit the sheets. It stops me from going downstairs and making popcorn with truffle salt which results in eyelids puffed up like Laduree macaroons in the morning.  These Bissinger’s bed-side beauties come in several flavours; Pink Grapefruit (yum) with grapeseed extract, Blueberry Acai, Goji Guava with Camu Camu, and Pomegranite White Tea.  They are all natural, gluten free and sweetened with tapioca syrup rather than corn syrup.  They are quite tangy and have no after-taste. Oh, and happiness- I just saw they’re now available on Amazon (although not with Prime free shipping yet- $14 for a 1lb. resealable bag)  Antioxidants via candy- what’s better than that?

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Speaking of healthy, regular readers might remember several weeks back I had recommended “Aveeno” face cleansing pads, only to be informed by a friend who is extremely knowledgeable about such things, that they are filled with nasty Parabens.  After speaking with her, and reading more about the subject on her blog, LK’s Grab Bag, I decided to take a ruthless prowl through my teeny, little, wee (barely even there) cosmetic cupboard. Ouch…it turns out my Parabens have Parabens.  Let’s just say that what I’ve bought in the pursuit of beauty ain’t so pretty :(

LK suggested I try an organic facial cleanser called Organoderm that ranks like a flipping Virgin on the “Chemical Free Top 40 Charts”   I’ve been using it for several weeks now and lo and behold…I love it! I don’t look like LK quite yet but there’s still plenty left. The completely organic ingredients include apple juice, coconut oil, cucumber extract, Sweet orange oil, watercress, chamomile and aloe leaf juice. Despite all those yummy sounding ingredients it doesn’t actually smell very good, but it foams like a car wash and your face feels super squeaky clean afterwards.  IF you had, for some insanely slatternly reason, perhaps forgotten to remove your mascara before going to bed I would imagine it would probably even remove that. Just a guess on that one. The price is $22 for 8.5 fl.oz. It comes in a pump plastic container and a very little goes a long way.  This is the only product from Organderm I’ve tried thus far, but based on how happy I am with the cleanser, I will be venturing forth to try a couple more. Perhaps LK might weigh in with a suggestion or two.

In any case, please DO check out her blog and DON’T let her being perfect at everything she does (Oh God- if you only knew the half of it) scare you. We can collectively achieve just a small amount of LK-y-ness to feel better about ourselves :) Posts are once a week and you’re always assured of learning something and having a laugh. Pssst-I’ll tell you a secret; She’s really hideous looking, overweight, not funny, rotten at sports, dreadful at Pilates, OK, well she really does SUCK at baking. Just the worst. (and if I think of anything else, rest assured, I’ll add it later)

LK’S Grab Bag

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Don’t you just love the Sound Hound App. on the iphone?? It’s my Favourite App.  Twice when I was shopping in London I heard a great song that really caught my fancy.  All I had to do was click on Sound Hound and it told me what it was and saved it for me til I was Stateside.  Voila; my new Favourite Cool Song;   Drumming Song by Florence and The Machine

Click above

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Alright,  I know I said I wasn’t going to… but the flesh is weak and the husband is naughty and he saved all The Housewives of NY for me to catch up on, which I did last night so now I have to go watch the finale.  Have gummy bears ever been more appropo for an event?!  “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”  Go Countess!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

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Friday Favourites (8)

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AZU

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It’s that Day already! My favourite place to go right now, and every year at this time, is Ojai, CA. to experience all the orange groves in full bloom.  The drive through the mountains from Santa Barbara is spectacular, especially with all the rain we’ve had. The wild flowers are blooming and the lake is high and oh so blue.  It’s best to go late afternoon on a warm day when the scent is heady and lush and the light is divine.  Last week I drove through the fields and stopped several times to take photos and just immerse myself in the smell-it’s so intense it almost makes you giddy.   If you live anywhere close and haven’t been this year, please don’t miss it!  Stop at Azu for delicious food, a nice wine selection, and great home-made gelato  (“Wine-Down Mondays” includes 30% off your wine selection :) )  Or if you’re in the mood for a fabulous (and I do mean fahbulous) burger, go to the pub at The Ojai Valley Inn, where you can also catch whatever sports game is happening.

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photo from WhiteFlowerFarm

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- As you already know, lilacs are one of my favourites but a Syringa that reblooms?!   “Bloomerang” is a new type of lilac that begins to bloom in May and supposedly continues until the frost hits.  It’s a beautiful purple-y pink colour and the shrubs reach 4-5 ft. tall.  Better Homes & Gardens Garden editor chose it as a favourite pick for 2010.  Good enough for me.  It says zones 4-7 but even though I’m in zone 9 I’m going for it!  I choose to live in the Fast Lane.

“Bloomerang“  can be ordered from Readershopping.com ($19.95 for one $55.95 for 3)

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Slim Paley photo……………The Point, Adirondacks

I’m loving this App for iphones called “Shakeitphoto“  You can take any pic from your iphoto library and turn it into an old Polaroid! It even makes the sound of an old Polaroid camera and develops right before your eyes…just like the Olden Days, only a lot faster. Once the photos are “developed” they drop right back into your library. Very cool!

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Slim Paley Photo…………Greece

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All photos taken with my camera and then “shaken up” on the “Shake It Photo” App. (.99 cents- btw- is there a “cents” key on Macs?!)

These roses were from the farmer’s market earlier this Spring (I couldn’t wait for mine) They were a little too perfect so I took a boring glass vase and wrapped it in a scarf to make the arrangement a little more fun.

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This adorable set of six solid perfumes by Fragonard is absolutely ideal for travel, the smallest evening bag or even just your pocket.  They come in tiny plastic pots, less than 1/2″ high and just over an inch in diameter. Available at “Upstairs at Pierre LaFond” in Montecito (website lists other Fragonard locations)   Mother’s Day anyone?



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Lastly, thank you everyone for all your great comments on the “Denim” post- What a fun trip down “Denimory Lane”!

Happy Friday to you all!

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By the road on the way to Ojai

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