With Habitually Chic 's and my trip to Paris fast approaching, I've been thinking about what to pack. Naturally, as an architect, my sketchbook is one of the first things I thought of. Now, warning -I am not a gifted sketch artist, I'm obviously no PVE! Rather, it's a way for me to work out what I'm seeing and take time to concentrate on the details - whether it be ideas in my head, something I'm seeing in my travels or sometimes even an image from a magazine.

In this month's issue of Vanity Fair magazine, the regular 'my stuff' column is from Michael Smith. I always love these little peaks into fascinating people's lives (probably why I read so many autobiographies) and especially into the life of our favorite designer!
Some of the highlights:
Outfit - Rolex or cartier with Levi's jeans and converse sneakers.
Scent - Santa Maria Novella Melograno
Hotel - In DC, the Hay-Adams of course, across the street from his most famous client!
Inspiration - friends, boyfriend, his dogs & Tina Fey ( I LOVE the Tina Fey reference!)
*HINT* - click the picture to open larger to read Michael's picks!

The Hello Kitty Castle, that is. Located in Shangai, China, a rabid fan built this in honor of his favorite character and operates it as a museum. Surprisingly: A popular museum! I think I would put this up there with world's largest ball of twine....The pink living room. What is that shade? bubblegum? strawberry ice cream? Can you sleep in a room this pink? Scientists want to know.After seeing all of that sweetness, do you really want to sit down to dessert in the dining room?The backyard is a relief in its lack of pink! Can you believe this is in Shangai, it could be Omaha, Nebraska or the like by the looks of the yard. I hope you enjoyed the travel-log!

I've been obsessed with fountains lately. I loved the video feature on the iphone because I collected 10 second clips of every fountain I saw! It was the start of a beautiful collection. Above is the huge fountain in the Memorial park in Crystal City, Virginia along Crystal Drive. Below is the fountain in the garden of the Chicago Institute of Art.


For those that asked, I had to get rid of the phone because it did not pick up an AT&T wireless signal in my apartment -in the heart of the city!

Many thanks to the Midwest Bonsai Society for choosing a photograph (with permission) from my post on the National Bonsai Museum back in April. It was so exciting for me to see this photograph in use! Who said blogging wasn't fun......
If you're in the Chicago area, stop by to see the 33rd annual exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden later this month, August 20-22nd.

I saw these creative cufflinks on Ebay and thought they were so clever! Architectural measurements of the actual cufflink of 3/4" x 1/2"; they even got the script right! Yours for only $45 on ebay HERE (PS: I have no affiliation with the seller at all).

Rainbows are a reminder that tomorrow is always another day. (bonus points if you name that movie!)

While at Poplar Forest this past weekend, we were suprised by a group of antique cars in the parking lot as we left. I have to admit to not being a 'car' person, I don't even own one as I live in the city, but I do appreciate the design aspect.
This one reminded me a bit of 'chitty chitty bang bang' - love that horn!