new obsessions
We just got this life-sized mirrored skeleton from the French-based design collective Domestic, and I'm nuts for it. Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Belgian cult duo Studio Job are behind the 5-foot-5 laser-cut Perspex wall decoration. The influential pair have worked with ceramics heritage house Royal Tichelaar Makkum and fashion avant guardians Viktor & Rolf.
Also love the "I Love Me" hearts by graphic designers Ich&Kar. The pair have given their whimsical take on fashion, food, music, design and architecture--and now these laser-cut mirrors. It's a grouping of individual mirrors that can be configured in whatever pattern you desire.
Now if I can only figure out where to stick them all in our house!

The Charming Charms are the bonafide bijoux of summer--their $22-$40 price for 3, being part of the appeal. Dutch designer Tord Boontje and L.A. studio Artecnica collaborated on this brand new collection of charms, plated in 18-karat gold or sterling silver and dangling from a black cotton cord. Loop them on hoop earrings, off a metal chain or silk ribbon, or from your purse. Each group contains 3 charms, and there are 4 different groups to choose. I love all 12 together, and knot them individually on a cord so they can be seen better.

what's in store?
July 10, 2008 10:00 AM  (go back to main view)
Land of Awws: These Boots Were Made for Rambling
Un-Corked: Up the path from our cottage...and civilization
Traded in the strappy YSLs and sparkling knuckle dusters for a pair of hiking boots and the Ring of Kerry, which actually isn't something you slip on a finger at all but a loop around Ireland's scenic south-western Iveragh Peninsula. This was a first for Andy and I, and we still can’t get over how magnificent this country is (or how gorgeous the cheese tastes!).
On the breathtaking (or breathless?) trek to Bolus Head

The kicks weren't bad either. Picked them up a few nights before the trip at REI, an ankle-protecting pair of Vasque-made Gore-Tex boots in light grey that fit the rest of my slate-colored hiking wardrobe. My new cork-handled walking stick also trumped any other necklace, belt or other accessory I stuffed in my case. Boots and stick made the tramp out our front door and up to the peak of Bolus Head a helluva less harsh for this townie, for sure.
Purple Reign: Wild foxgloves are everywhere
Maybe it’s the rain in July or the lack of smog, but everything appears in Technicolor here. The hills are blanketed in Kelly green; the flowering thistles and foxgloves, both wildly growing weeds, a luxurious fuschia. I can’t get either color out of my head, and want stockings and patent shoes in either hue, and lipstick in the latter. I found the blues and purples of the fishermen’s nets and the beached jelly fish similarly irresistible.

We started our adventure in Cork, spending the better part of the early gray day at the English Market, a 200-year-old foodie paradise, where we stocked up on leek and rosemary sausages and plum and calf’s liver pate, brown soda bread and a bag full of locally made, mouth-itching cheeses. We also lunched on a stinky selection, as well as a plate of colossal oysters and chunky hot stew in the upstairs atrium café, Farmgate, which sources much of its menu from the various vendors downstairs.
Inside Cork's old English Market

No boy's club for the modern fishmonger.

Andy among the organic veg. You can smell the earth.

Can't get more direct to the source than that!
Did make the requisite stop to kiss the Blarney Stone. And we did share space along some of the narrower roads with more than a few tourist buses. I did mention this was a scenic route, right? So this means plenty of picture-perfect villages that, despite their lack of Disneyfied commercialism, still appear on the postcards sold at shops filled with shamrock-printed golf balls and thick fisherman sweaters. But we also managed to spend much of our driving time in relative isolation. And our very humble cottage, which belonged to a titled lady with whom my spirited sister-in-law Nikki has known forever (horses, of courses), was a serene piece of Eden in what felt like the middle of nowhere.
Another World: View from my bed.
A tropical corner, also right outside my bedroom.
It felt like we were on the road to nowhere in particular a few days later, as Andy, acting like a lead-foot Steve McQueen, navigated some of the twistiest, single-lane roads in order to get us to a seafood bistro he’d read about and still make our flight to Liverpool. We arrived at the Fishy Fishy Café in Kinsale at 6:45 p.m. Our flight was leaving Cork International Airport, a good 45 minutes away our waiter warned, at 9:20.
Love and Hake at the Fishy Fishy Cafe
Every last, slowly savored bite—the oysters, the smoked trout salad, my crispy-baked crab bowl and Andy’s hake—were well worth the white-knuckle whip alongside the roadside hedges, any potential scratches on the rental car just part of the ride, I tried to reason. Proof, I guess, we’ll push to the ends of the earth, or at least a far-off hamlet in Ireland and really off our scheduled itinerary, for a good meal.
Blog Comments (1):
Posted by lalala on July 29, 2008 7:14 PM
i love your blog its rad also loved your pics my mam is from cork an i havent been in a long time you should visit during the jazz fest anyway love ya stuff keep up the awesome job
Add a comment
Name
E-mail
snapshot of the moment
Sky-high Balenciagas courtesy of Magda Berliner
la vie en rose on le town
Welcome to the A+R Store
Style.com
NotCot
MocoLoco
The Foodinista
The Sartorialist
TreeHugger
Coolhunting
Dwell Magazine
Apartment Therapy
Design Sponge
Gen Art Pulse - The Entertainment and Lifestyle Navigator
Beauty Bar ~ Cocktail Lounge
  1. TOGEL HONGKONG
  2. DATA SGP