Tag Archives: my home

The Homies 2011

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The Kitchen Fireplace, Sun Valley

 

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It’s that time again!

I know we’re just fresh off the flush of the Golden Globes and all, but THE HOMIES are ON over at Apartment Therapy.

What’s that you say??  Hey-I didn’t know either, until one of my readers was sweet enough to nominate me today, but  it’s already been going for 3 days!

Nothing like arriving at the Beauty Pageant late, with your wig all askew and pantyhose on backwards, but there you go…

SO….

I’m asking for my very first shameless favour from you since I started Slim Paley – If you wouldn’t mind taking the time to register a vote for me, I would be ever so appreciative.  I won’t pretend it’s easy (OK, maybe it’s easier if you haven’t had a glass of wine)

This is what you have to do (to be my best friend forever…or, until the most popular boy in class likes you better than me :) )

First go here:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/the-homies-best-home-design-blog-of-2011-submit-your-nominations-137078

Scroll down to the bottom of the page (WAY DOWN – cause Helloooo- alot of other people got here first) and click “register to leave a comment” (or Sign In if you are already registered at Apartment Therapy).

After you have registered (and confirmed your email) OR signed in, please leave the following comment EXACTLY as it appears below:

Name: Slim Paley
URL: http://slimpaley.com/

Click Submit Comment.

DONE! YAY!!

I realize this takes a few steps and a few minutes out of your precious free time, so I THANK YOU  IN ADVANCE so much!!

xx Slim

PS. Most of those other contestants- they stuffed their bras…I’m just sayin’  :)

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Roses & Apples from my garden

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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 (9) On Saturday :)

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Roses from my garden this morning


Happy Friday on Saturday to everyone!   I am supposed to post Friday Favourites on Saturday morning right??! :(    Shoot- I was trying so hard to be consistent too.  On a personal level I’ve had a bit of a crazy week, but as volcanic ash still settles over Iceland, the Arizona debate rages on and oil creeps ever closer to the coastline of my beloved New Orleans,  I’m sure we’re ALL united in being incredibly thankful the Times Square bomb was found in time, and gobsmacked that someone so  stupid he couldn’t set a clock properly got as far as he did with his heinous plan.  Normally I try to stay away from politics or serious news events on Slim Paley because my intent was to create a little  respite from all that – God knows we have enough sources for bad news and people commenting on it at our disposal.  This week though, I want to make an exception and  start my Friday Favourites with a big shout out to Lance Orton Jr., the T-shirt vendor in Times Square who is not only a Vietnam war vet, but also our Hero of the week in acting so quickly when he saw the suspect car in Times Square.  Mr. Orton downplayed his quick actions (and declined dinner with the mayor) but how lucky for us all that Lance has now been a true American hero twice.  He and and his friend Duane Jackson, who helped to alert the police,  received a well deserved standing ovation at the Met’s game last night- how great!!  Thank you for helping to keep us safe Lance. Where do we buy our T-shirt Hero T-shirts??!

What a wonderful photo- I’d say it’s FATHER’S Day in the Orton household tomorrow!

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OK, I’ve been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to think of an appropriate segue from something as serious as the Times Square incident to roses and d’you know what? There isn’t one, so I’m just going to dive right in! Inspired by a good friend who is in the process of installing a brand new rose garden, I am recommending  two THREE of my favourite roses this morning.  I’m such a rose fanatic that it’s difficult to choose just three so I decided my criteria would be ‘slightly unusual colours’

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“Distant Drums”

1)  “Distant Drums” starts off as a beautiful peachy blush colour which eventually unfurls to a pale blush with almost a mocha, no, more of a latte centre.  The leaves are rich,dark glossy green.  Gorgeous!  The bushes are high,about 5′, and  quite long lasting when cut.

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“Hot Cocoa”

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2) “Hot Cocoa” is another beauty whose colour is out of the ordinary- Unfortunately my Leica has a mind of it’s own and refuses to believe that a rose can be almost brown/rust/orangey-red at the same time, so please note that the real colour is not actually as vivid as it appears in these photos.  A rose catalogue would probably depict a more accurate tone, but I’m going to a wedding this afternoon and I don’t know what I’m wearing yet so I’m rushing :)

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“Honey Dijon” in my garden

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3) “Honey Dijon” is the most unusual coloured rose of all.  Some people might not care for it as it is so “off” and I must admit it is not particularly pretty in the garden, but brought inside and mixed with burgundy, chartreuse or lavender, I find it quite spectacular. This is a big rose bush that grows to over 5 ft and blooms continuously all summer. The hues range from ‘Coleman’s Mustard’ to  ‘Overcooked Salmon’ to ‘New Workman Boots’.  How’s that for romantic??  I think I hear David Austin contacting  me to help write catalogues right now :)

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Slim Paley photo…………. PS. If you were me, wouldn’t you return the middle vase to West Elm because it’s so much clearer than the other two?? (even though they’re only $14?)  That’s what I thought-  don’t tell them I put water in it.

PPS. I should add that none of the above roses have any scent to write home about- they’re all about the colour.

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Slim Paley photo of Louloudi’s “Moo Cards“

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Favourite business/calling card company; MOO Cards (originally from the U.K.) are not new, but they are to me, and I think they are so cute! Not much bigger than a stick of gum, I first saw them just a few weeks ago- in the form of these business cards by LouLoudi Designs (A great Santa Barbara- based custom event floristry company)  You can order up to a 100 different photographs on really nice, good quality, hard stock card for a very reasonable price- Adorable!!  As soon as I get an extra moment I’m going to pick  25 50 100 favourite photos and have some made (I told you I find it hard to make decisions…then I’ll probably take forever deciding which card to give out!!)

LouLoudidesign.com

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Lastly, I’d like to share this funny new commercial my sister sent me;.

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Now I best go think about what I’m going wear this afternoon…

Wishing you a wonderful Friday/Saturdayish!

and Happy Mother’s Day to all you amazing Moms, young and younger,  taking time out of your busy schedules to read my blog :)

Slim Paley photo taken at the Met. NY

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Chartreuse Sunset

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It was another gloriously sunny day in California, though I must admit, the day came with all it’s Monday Might and left me a wee bit worse for wear. My antidote was to take a walk around the garden this evening with my camera (and a glass of chilled white wine :) ) and let Mother Nature still my spirits. There’s nothing quite like the beauty of an unfurling rose, or even a mere fern leaf to help bring a certain stillness back to the soul.  When the sun sets at this time of year, the entire garden takes on a glorious chartreuse hue that never ceases to enthrall me no matter how many years I’ve lived in this house.

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Euphorbia

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Flickr

Chartreuse is the name given to the wonderful colour created when green and yellow are combined (or in actual fact, when the absence of green and yellow combines, if we are to get technical)  Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery of the Carthusian order, located in the Chartreuse Mountains just north of Grenoble and is most famous for being the producers of Chartreuse liquer, which has been around, believe it or not, since the early 1700′s. (God I’m good…Dan Brown eat your heart out )


Drunken Monk Hang-Out

 

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Agardenerinprogress

“Green Envy“ zinnias add a great dose of chartreuse to the garden, last forever in arrangements and are super easy to grow.

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Martini Time…

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Speaking of green with envy…Pierre Hardy clutch

 

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Wallpaper from Wallpaperspace (website further below)

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“Bells of Ireland”

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This is a gorgeous dessert cookbook!

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Apperlai Sandals

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Did you know that as well as being the birthstone for August, Peridot is designated for the 16th Wedding Anniversary?

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Slim Paley photo……………Fresh asparagus in a Parisian cafe

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Wallpaper from Wallpaperspace.co.uk

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Elizabeth & James cotton gauze shirt from Diani Boutique, Santa Barbara.  Etro scarf, necklace from Maison K, Montecito

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Noritaka Tatehana

 

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Cote Sud photo

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Matthew Williamson

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Wishing you a Blooming Good Week!

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Friday Favourites (7)

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The roses and the snowballs have bloomed!

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Compiling the various pet photos for the previous post left me in a good, but slightly wistful mood.  I drifted back through so many fond memories as I’m in the midst of transferring all our old, hard copy photos into digital and then onto DVDs (Dear Lord, please help me to be a faster, more organized person soon. Failing that, which I’m guessing will be the case, if You’re really listening- just a little more sleep would be good :)   )  I never did find the great photos of our 15 year old cat that I was looking for. She remains an enigmatic beauty, even in print.  Not so elusive however are the pack of marauding raccoons the size of sheep that have chosen our porch as their personal drag strip at night.  Oh MY God! They are bold and they are ginormous.  I’ve opened the door to find eyes just staring defiantly up at me, indeed they mock the blast of an air-horn (don’t ask). Raccoons Without A Cause.  Which leads me to late last Saturday night, sitting downstairs at my desk where I could hear them disgustingly heaving themselves up the trunks of my wisteria to the porch above.  I banged on the windows, I flicked the lights…to no avail. Finally, I went up to the porch and yelled at them.  Five minutes later they were back.  “What did you tell them?” my husband asked me (I swear to God- like perhaps I said the wrong thing) “Well, of course I told them to GO AWAY!”  I replied. The good news was that the elliptical machine is in that room so I thought- I’ll show them and make some noise myself. So on it I jumped and turned on Saturday Night Live and laughed my butt off (I hope) for 23 minutes, which for me is a miracle!  I wondered what the raccoons made of this crazy lady bobbing up and down, laughing away, through the window. Then, and this is the best part, I left the TV and the lights on in the gym all night just to piss them off.

Therefore…I’m adding SNL to my “Friday Favourites” list this week because what’s 23 minutes on an elliptical machine equate to? Like around 2.3 pounds??

For some inexplicable reason, perhaps my run-in with midnight exercise, most of my favourites this week were food or drink related,  so apologies for the next few photos to anyone dieting right now. :(

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The West-side highway for raccoons

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The roses climbing to the second story porch!


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These snacks, from Target, are SO GOOD!!  I tried to keep the bags from getting totally empty before I managed to get a photo- I barely succeeded.  Ingredients in the S’mores; white chocolate covered peanuts, pecans, graham squares, chocolate chunks and coated marshmallows.  Tex Mex; Spicy peanuts, sesame sticks, salsa corn sticks, almonds, chile bits & pepitas. Chocolate Cranberry Crunch; chocolate covered cranberries, almonds, walnuts, raisins, sweetened pineapple and soybeans. Genius!

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The “Pinks” (Dianthus) are also out like crazy.  These smaller, hardier and prettier relatives of the carnation have been around since the Middle Ages! Although not particularly glamorous, ‘Pinks’ , such as “Summertime” above are extremely easy, profusive and realiable in pots or front borders and the strong clove-scent is quite lovely in arrangements. The name probably derives rather not from the colour, but relating to the deeply serrated ages- as in “Pinking Shears”.

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Photo from The Hungry Cat website..


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My Favourite place for a Lobster roll, onion rings and absolutely FANTASTIC fresh cocktails in Santa Barbara is  The Hungry Cat (Santa Barbara & Hollywood)

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Photo The Hungry Cat

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Nuvo L’Esprit de Paris “The World’s First Sparkling Liquer”

Speaking of cocktails- What girl in her right mind could resist this packaging?! A blend of premium French vodka, French sparkling wine and natural exotic fruit nectar. It says to serve on ice, but make sure it’s super cold before-hand as the ice removes the sparkle pretty quickly. $20 at Costco!

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Favourite new TV show? 9 By Design Have you seen it? It’s great!  A young couple, self-taught designers in NY with 7 children including a brand new baby, flip fabulous houses they’ve renovated.  My husband knows all the children by name already.although admittedly,  they do have rather memorable names (including the fifth boy named “Five”) and he noticed when they changed the voting paddles on “Dancing With the Stars”…but that’s another story.  The wife is beautiful and has the patience of Jobs and the husband is very …husbandy.  Check it out if you haven’t already.  Tuesday nights on Bravo.



Lastly, I leave you with a fun old song in memory of Malcolm McLaren-  His rendition of  “Madame Butterfly”

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Happy Friday!!