i don't really need to make a case for leather, do i?

no.

i do not.

 

don't get me wrong...there is BAD leather furniture.

 

and i mean bad....

 

that there's gen-u-wine I-talian leather.

 

 

but then there is good leather furniture.

 

oh so good..

 

 

 why am i so obsessed with leather sofas all of a sudden?

 

well, it could be the cat pee crime scene that happened on my slipcovered sofa recently.

or it could be that they are just pretty to look at and durable to boot.

arguably getting better with age...you can't say that about a fabric sofa.

 

 

whatever the reason..

i aims to find one that looks like one of the above,

 

or this one..

 

that sound you hear is the sound of angels weeping leather scented tears.

 

i think part of the reason i love them so is their versatility.

 

they are at home in any type of decor.

 

just look and see for yourself...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 find me one please.

 

 

good day to you.

 

 

 

 

did someone say september?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

september is just kind of an exciting month, no?

 

i think it's national change-shit-up month.

 

i am painting my bedroom the most amazing shade of deep green-blue i've ever seen.

and i can't wait til it's done so i can shows you.

 

i wanted to say thanks for all your sweet compliments yesterday..

i think it's important for you to know that genetics play a large role in my physique.

i DO work at keeping the belly pudge off since i am at that age.

but i've always had very little cellulite and the legs are a gift from my dad.

that said..

there are some things i have learned over the years in terms of beauty

and i am going to compile a list of those things and deliver it to you right here..

such as my fave products, swear-by rituals, how to maintain good eating habits and what i do for exercise.

 

cool?

 

 

images via house and garden, elle decor UK and world of interiors via zinio

 

 

fuck yeah vacation pictures!!

aren't you excited!!!????

i know i get so excited looking at other people's vacation pictures.

especially babies in hats!

 

before i blow your mind with awesomeness...

i wanted you to know that i was able to sleep last night wo the use of narcotics.

if this is your first time here that last sentence might seem strange..

so go read this and then come back.

i laid there in a state of anxiety (anxiety over not sleeping. which is the dumbest form of anxiety bc it is essentially anxiety over anxiety.) for a while but it was crucial for me to get through the night on my own even if it meant i didn't sleep at all.

after a sweet back rub from mike i relaxed a lot and drifted off to the land of ever flowing scalamandre zebra wallpaper and unlimited access to kelly wearstler's closet.

doesn't every girl dream of that?

and some of you guys i'm sure.

 

thanks to those of you who gave solid advice yesterday...

except the person who recommended i count backwards from 400 in increments of 3..

i couldn't get past 397.

 

oddly enough singing gotye's somebody i used to know over and over again put me out..well...it put me into a state of catatonic-ness.

 

ok...

time for the best worst thing in the world...

OTHER PEOPLE'S VACATION PICTURES!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the end.

 

 

 

 

 

ernsermnia

folks i have had a nasty case of insomnia for the last 2 weeks.  

most nights cracking into the xanax after several hours of lying there awake.

xanax is usually what i turn to after the natural remedies fail me.

for me insomnia is a total domino effect..

i am tired...i read...as i am reading i start to nod off...

i put my book down and then turn out the light.

i roll over into my sleep position (on my side with a pillow between my legs if you must know) i say my prayers (don't laugh) and usually...USUALLY i am asleep before i finish "god please help all the homeless baby animals and cancer children"...

but lately...my prayers are interrupted with worries and a racing heart.

there is no one thing in particular that is on my mind..

the thoughts are usually random and nothing that i can't rationalize and move past from.

 

and yet, there i am at 2:00 AM wide awake...like the machinist...

 

in fact much of the time i have to get this image out of my head.

(and now you do too)

if you haven't seen this movie...the machinist...

DON'T.

it's a horrible movie i saw 10 years ago and it's about a man (christian bale) who hasn't slept in over a year and thinks he's losing his mind.

and every time i get the ernsermnia i fear that i too won't be able to sleep for a year and i will go crazy and die.

 

 

 i believe the reason i can't sleep..is because i can't sleep.

does that make sense?

this is the domino effect i am talking about..

 

it usually starts off innocent enough...

the night before a trip.

adjusting to the new school schedule.

worrying about an audition in the morning.

all enough to create a little insomnia for the sanest of people..

but then there i am in bed, on the night after a sleepless night ready to sleep..

 i doze off, put the book down and the worries of 'am i going to sleep tonight?' plague me.

and guess what?

hahahahaha i don't sleeeeep!!

 

 

does anyone else suffer so?

any tips and tricks you care to share?

i've tried every herbal remedy in the universe.

plus hot baths and tea...and xanax works better for me than sleep aids..bc i am not NOT tired..

i am anxious.

 

i am on a slow boat to insaneville people...

help me.

 

 

melatonin farts,

 

 

cows at the beach and stuff...

 

hey everyone!!!

i'm alive, home and still the color of a ghost...actually i am whiter than a ghost...i'm like a carcass that's been washed ashore...whatever that color is??  blue? green? white? all of the above?

 

we had about 4 minutes of sun at the beach and a whole lot of flooding.

in other words we were holed up in the condo for much of the time.

how i managed to not eat my own weight in pawley's island fudge is beyond me.

but it was glorious just the same.

 

but then not so glorious...

we came home to a dead kitten and about 4 gallons of cat piss on our sofa-

don't worry the kitten wasn't ours!

we just feed all the neighborhood strays.

but she died in our yard.

 

and

our cat sitters opened the french doors to the living room that i had shut and our cat naggie peed her little heart out probably 22 times in the same spot on the sofa.

 

thank goodness for my gallon jug of URINE DESTROYER.

if you have cats you need this on hand.

 

anyway..

it's always good to be home after time away, isn't it?

 

so i posted about the woes of beach rental properties and even made a mood board on vacation.

 

i spoke of the power that a cowhide possesses in looks and durability..

 and a few of you knuckleheads were like-

cowhide rugs at the beach make me disconnect with cows and sand...or something.

i guess you just think cowhides only belong in the country...like iced tea in mason jars and mullets. 

 

 

 

i stand by my 'hides are acceptable anywhere there is a floor' rule of thumb.

 

even the floor of your beach house.

 

 

i shows you...

 

ok this is probably not a beach house but it could be...

 

 

 or this...

but again, it could be.

 

 

 a bright colorful one like kay douglass used in her lake house would work too.

 

 

ok this one is an acutal beach house.

 

 

more kay douglass.

in fact i think this whole lake house is EXACTLY how a beach house should look.

clean, simple and not a lot of shit but still super chic and luxurious.

 

 

 

 this is an acutal beach house too.

it's fantastic.

 


 

 this one is too.

and zebra hide works just the same.

 

 

not sure if this is a beach house or not but it sure could be.

and the winning combo- hide, slip-cover and leather.

 

 

ideal beach house even if it's a lake house.

 

 

here's to your labor day weekend.

probably at a beach house somewhere.

breathing in the dust of a thousand bodies.

and wrapping up in the same comforter that someone died in.

probably not a kitten though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

the beach condo...let's talk about it.

  hello from the south carolina flood lands.

the sun said ha ha fuck you i'm outta here..

so i have had some time to hang out in my hasn't-been-updated-since-1992-condo a lot.

 

let's talk about the beach condo for a second.

why are they so ugly?

why is every wall painted egg yolk yellow?

or the color of sand (i.e. beige)?

or "sky" blue?

yeah,  i GET it...bc we're at the beach.

 

 and if they aren't those colors they are those bright yet unsophisticated shades of the carribbean..

i.e. child vomit peach,

teal

and

neon yellow with a wave pattern stenciled as a border.

or worse!!  painted freehand!

 

 

and carpet?

why with the carpet?

carpet is scary when it's in a condo that thousands of people walk on and probably pee on over the years.

 

if i had my own condo i would keep it really simple.

sturdy, indestructible fabrics and finishes.

cowhide.

leather.

slip-covers.

brass.

simple, well made pieces of furniture that i could paint.

inexpensive, colorful posters framed.

super good looking.

 

 

 

see?

so cute.

throw in a few more slip covered slouchy chairs for gathering round the flat screen on rainy days and it's all this room needs.

 

i think if you have a rental condo that people use besides you you need to keep it simple.

(seriously there's a 3 foot tall cement cherub in here. right next to a fake plant.)

white walls, wood floors or if it's possible polished concrete is major!

throw some cowhides all over the floors and/or some jute or sea grass.

seriously folks in case you haven't caught on cowhides are the cockroaches of rugs.

they can't be stopped in terms of durability.

 

but perhaps more important than the superficial looks of a rental condo are the amenities...and keeping shit clean.

i don't want a toilet rug anywhere near my feet when i am peeing.

that thing is so super gross i have been tempted to throw it in the trash.

also, and this might be weird to some, but have a stash of lower watt light bulbs handy so that i can change the face melting 75 watt bulb you have in the bedroom to a 25 watt bulb.

and do we need SIX 75 watt bulbs in the bathroom?

that's 450 watts of surface-of-the-sun type light.

when i get up to pee in the middle of the night and turn on the light you have now successfully woken me up completely.

 

it might be nice to keep a few cleaning products around too bc the cleaning crew you have coming to clean is only changing the trash and making the beds, FYI.

i still have to clean my husband's pee off the bathroom floor every day so that i don't step in it.

and i don't need to see pictures of your kids and grandma next to the fake plants.

keep that shit at home or lock it up for when YOU come and then you can take it out and look at it to your heart's content.

 and you should know..at some point some sick fuck is going to jizz all over their faces.

just sayin.

it could happen.

 

when it comes to decor...less is more in a rental...but you can't have too many useful kitchen supplies.

here are some things i think every rental must have in the kitchen but are so often never there..

1. a salad spinner.

2. a set of steak knives that my 7 year old can't bend in half.

3. a large colander.

4. no less than 3 types of skillets.

- a large non stick.

- a grill pan.

- a saute pan.

5. a decent chef's knife.

6. something to make brownies in. (DUUUUHHHHH) 

 

i have always wanted to decorate a vacation rental.

i would pay attention to so many details.

a cabin in the mountains, a beach house, a lake house...you name it.

the bottom line is you would be pumped to stay in one of my rentals.

 

ok, spill it...what are your vacation rental do's and don'ts?

 

 

sandy butt farts,