Book love: Allure by Diana Vreeland

Some pretty images to get you through the day, courtesy of the reissued version of Allure by Diana Vreeland. I remember when it was previously published, it was a super-huge tome that ate up coffee table space, but this version is a chic, smaller-format red book...and it has a well-written forward written by Marc Jacobs. What I really like about the book is the selection of photos coupled with Vreeland's memories of each subject--it takes icons like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn and renders them human. They seem like real people, as cliche as that sounds. I always keep it close by for a little bit of escapism into a much more glamorous world.

Anyway, you can get your own copy of the book at Chronicle Books.

-Brie

Back to school...

...decorating school, that is. Tomorrow evening is Jill Vegas's "School of Speed Decorating", where she'll reveal her secrets to making your living room only look as if it's been made over by a decorator. And yours truly gets to be a VIP guest. Above, is an example of an "after" that Jill did for a client.

She calls it the "bombshell bookcase" and she treats it like a focal point in a room. Overall, it'll take a weekend to do (depending on how big your bookcase is, for those who live in dollhouse-sized studios, ahem, it should be less time). Here are her tips, with some of my notes:

- Remove everything you don't need. I mean, I hold on to textbooks I had in college, which should probably go. Be ruthless and get a friend, so you can avoid justifying why you need that copy of "Chairs Throughout The Ages, 1600-1750".
- Put the books back, but vary the stacks. You should do some vertical stacks, some horizontal. I usually do the coffee-table and oversized books in vertical stacks.
- Add a FEW vases, seashells, decorative items, framed photos. Not too many, or you'll be back to square one with a mess. I usually put framed photos/decorative items on top of the vertically stacked books.
- Install spotlights or add string rope lighting, to lighten up the shelves. I like this tip, but I haven't put it in practice. That's because my shelves aren't roomy enough. But it looks very nice, as you can see above, when you are able to do it.
- Extra credit: If you can, after taking out all the books, either paint the back panel with high-gloss paint, or back it with nice wallpaper.

Anyway, class is tomorrow evening, October 11th, at Knoll Furniture, 79 Ninth Ave, 11th Floor. For more info, visit Jill's site here: http://www.jillvegas.com/events.htm

I'll take plenty of photos and let you know how it goes!

-Brie

Let's not, shall we: A word on Entertaining Books

For research purposes, I read more decor-entertaining-advice books than I care to mention. Most of them are forgettable to the point where I wonder if, in fact, I even read them in the first place. And if there's one thing that's true, though, is that I can't stand to read the phrase: "Don't worry, have fun!" I swear it comes up about 30000 times in every book. This is terrible advice, since "having a small and intense panic attack" seems to be part of many would-be-hosts to-do lists.  Having fun is the furthest thing from my mind in that jumpy pre-guest moment where I realize that I have about 2 minutes to get dressed, answer text messages from people who need directions, answer calls about parking, etc etc. And then the cat decides to get stuck behind a dresser. FUN!

Sometimes, though, an author suggests something so far out of left field that I just have to share it with someone. Today, it's this tip from caterer-to-the-stars Lulu Powers, from her book Lulu Powers: Food to Flowers. I will preface this by saying that I actually enjoyed this book, at least from a recipe standpoint. There are at least 15 post-its marking recipes, including one for Chocolate-Caramel Brownies that are not only Bill Clinton-approved, but only use about 5 ingredients (the biggest one being a Devil's Food cake mix). She seems genuinely delightful, naming her doggie Teddy Kennedy, calling afternoon drinks "sneakies", etc.

But here's the tip that threw me:

"For an indoor clambake...buy a bag of sand from a local hardware store or garden center and spread it down the center of a small table like a table runner..."

Just, um, make sure you have a good vacuum and keep the cats far, far away from the table. Lest people start finding bits of "brownies" by their entrees. Say it with me: "Let's not, shall we!"

Drawing on a snow day...

It snowed today and there's absolutely nothing else to say about it. Except that it was inconvenient, and that I looked out my front window and saw a man hitch a sled to a mid-size poodle. Really. The poodle didn't look too pleased about it. I couldn't help but think that there is a husky dog on the Champs-Elysees being fed bon-bons thinking, "There must be more to life than this."

Anyway, I took the time between checking emails (my work has a remote connection system that transports me to the internet, circa 1999) to work on the above drawing. It's the Washington Square Arch, circa 1960 or so. I found the photo of it from Lost New York, a great book for cranky young people (hi there!) who feel that they were born in the wrong time. I have the super-old version, which is only superior to the updated version in that it smells of Old Library.