Love in the Time of Cholera...and Oprah

So many of my Memphis friends are aware of my efforts to meet Ms. Oprah Winfrey back in November. When I say meet I mean get tickets to her show, sit in the front row, and be such a good audience member that she would immediately ask me to have coffee after the show and she, Gayle, and I would become BFF.

I sent a mass email requesting that someone, anyone who read Love in the Time of Cholera please contact me and give me the full run down. When no one responded I went as far as to contact all the local bookstores in Memphis to see if they had the Cliff's Notes (felt like high school).

You see, I had been trying to get Oprah tickets for 3 months. As soon as I booked my flight I began my search. What I found was Oprah tickets are about as hard to find as a shower caddy at Target (and that's a whole other story). So the day before I left they posted on her website that they were looking for audience members who had read Love in the Time of Cholera. And I was PUMPED, it never crossed my mind that I had never read this 300+ page book or that I was having a party at my house that night (no time for reading) or that I had to write a detailed description on her website about how my life relates to the book. I actually had a way to get on the show!

Within the next 24 hours I recalled another Oprah book I had read, A Million Little Pieces. Remember that one? Remember what happened with that one? Ms. Winfrey got pretty mad at the author of that book, and for what? Lying!! He claimed his story was 100% true and when it turned out he took a little more poetic liscence than initially thought...Oprah got mad. And here I was, crafting a lie to meet my best friend who hadn't even met me yet. The guilt set it. Truthfully, it was half guilt, half fear. I mean, she was really mad at that guy. So I bailed on my plan and spent the day at the Chicago Art Institute instead, where I got to see some really tiny doll house rooms that were very cool and Picasso's old man playing the guitar painting!

So the point of this email was not to talk about my predicament. It is to tell Oprah, in the event she is reading my blog today. I don't think anyone has ever read my blog, but I suppose Oprah would be a good start. I want to tell Oprah that I have read Love in the Time of Cholera, unfortunately not before my Chicago trip. What are the odds of my book club picking that book the month after my trip? Oprah, call me, my book club meets Monday. Bring Gayle.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

....these are a few of my favorite things. So I have had the good fortune to be assigned to look at design magazines the past two days. Literally, I sit, I flip, and I tab things I think would work well for a project we're working on in Washington State. And for a few moments I am wildly aware of why people say "oh that sounds fun" when I say I am an Interior Designer.
So back to the things I love. Keep in mind, I fall out of love with the change of the weather, which we all know happens weekly in Memphis. But I'll start with those I am more dedicated to and make my way down to the just a crush list.

1. It's been about 3 years now and I'm still in love with the large scale damask. Grandma's love it, Anthropology loves it, Louis the XVI loved and why shouldn't we. It's a tried and true classic touch.

2. Now on to classic chairs- I know that's kind of broad and you're probably thinking, hmmm...I've got Nana's old wing back chair in the basement, but that's not the classic I'm referring to. I'm talking Eames, Saarinen, Corbusier. It's like the good purse of Interior Design. You're whole house can be budget, but if you've got that one chair saying "look at me, I know good design" the whole space will follow suit. Now I'm still working on my Coach purse of a chair. Unfortunately I am sporting a shameful alternative...a FAKE Wassily chair. And for those of you who did not study design, it's the equivalent to sporting a faux Louis Vutton straight from the back alley's of China Town.
3. Rocks and I don't mean the one's that bling. I remember a couple years ago I went to a jewelry party in Nashville hosted by a designer friend of mine. She lived in an old rancher on the East side of town. When I was putting my coat in her bedroom I noticed she had small stones lined up in front of her bathroom tub and I was like "what the heck, you've got rocks in your floor". And now these small stones are everywhere, adding a little splash of design to wherever you can throw them.


4. And sticking with the nature, I love sticks. That's right, sticks and stones, the future of interior design. Remember where you heard it! . I think Neiman Marcus may have started it all, but now it's about the easiest DIY project I can think of . Sticks, check. Spray paint, check. Design, check.

5. And my crush of the week...drum roll please...Animal Heads...gasp! I know, how non-PC of me. This week I got a Daily Candy email talking about Natalie Portman's new line of vegan shoes and I am posting I have a crush on Animal Heads. Well now that I've said it, it's out there. PETA please forgive me. Here is my earth loving twist. I am not in favor of going out and shooting a living animal for it's head. Although I hear in TN they have to shoot deer because they will overpopulate otherwise. But what I'm thinking is there have to be hundreds of perfectly good animals heads going out in garage sales, up on Craig's list, Ebay? It's recycling, and every good person should recycle..and thus we have justified Animal Head decor.