No Surprise

song pairing for this post: Goldfinger
The world has a funny way of reminding me of people in my heart.  
Case in point, a recent visit to one of my fave San Francisco spots, MOMA. 
 ( I have become a little nutty for art museums )
 I think it's the surprise factor and 
it's no surprise that I love surprises 
( you know the interesting and beautiful kind, not spider in the bathtub kind ). 


Every turn of every corner yields a wonderland of absolutely crazy beautiful, strange and fascinating things.   

 & stuff like that just floats my boat !

So, at the turn of this particular corner,  something stopped me in my tracks.  
It was a larger than life, Jeff Koons gilded porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson and his monkey friend Bubbles 

photo by lisa golightly

 Even though it reminds me of some giant tchotchke
from my grandmother's house, 
 the wonderful thing was 
It brought a friend to mind
I instantly laughed and blurted out her name.

(  it was gold and she loves MJ ! )
and I know she would have gotten a kick out of it 
( great job Jeff ! )


........................................


Then,  I go upstairs to the rooftop 
Blue Bottle Cafe 
to see what beautiful art inspired desserts 
they had .... and  there it was  
The 
"Jeff Koons White Hot Chocolate"
 with cardamom, lemon zest and gilded lillet marshmallows


Again, I exclaimed
"OMG ! That is SO _______ !!!" 
( she's a total sweet tooth  )


isn't this lovely ?



photo by lisa golightly


So who is she ???
more hints ...

 She lives in the city she loves, San Francisco.
She  has an online boutique bursting with the most 
amazing array of incredibly glamorous 
antiques around. 


Has been in several publications including this one ( and yes, this issue !) ...

 We first met 11 yrs ago, during "The Ebay Days" 
when my painting mentor, Georgia Hanson, and I were selling paintings and signs.  It was a brand new concept of painting for an online audience, and to have her as a customer?  
Well I have to say, we were thrilled ! 

The cool thing about her is she has so much reason to have a huge ego, 

but is instead, the nicest, down to earth person you can find

Who is she  ?  


It is,
 none other than 
Lynn Goldfinger
of the
Paris Hotel Boutique !

Tell me ....

What unexpected & unique things remind YOU of a certain friend ?


I would love to know !!!


xoxo,
lisa

Packing my Fancies ...

For this Sunday's Alameda ...

There will be
goodies galore

from
glamorous glassware,

paintings
furniture

burlap pillows
both in brown and now
winter white

to
dreamy sweets wrapped in vintage ribbon and feathers
( so good with champagne ! )

Stop by and say hi ... I would love to see you

and wish you merry merry in person !

XoXo Lisa

*** I will be posting my exact location tomorrow or Sat ***

~ EXCITING NEWS ~

Christmas has arrived a little early for me this year ...
Just found out here that the
CINEMA sign along with other
Paris Apartment Boutique goodies
will be appearing on primetime television
this Sunday night
( still can't say which show just yet )

So thrilled to be a part of Claudia's boutique.
As she would say, " I'm over the moon !" ;)

Where o Where

Has Lisa been ?

So sorry everyone for my big vast gap in posts. Had way too much on my plate the last few weeks, and a few things, including blogging had to go on the backburner.

So here I am coming up for a little air, and saying ....

Hi !

and announcing that after Sunday,

I will no longer be
an Alameda vendor virgin

Yes, this Oct 4th will be
my very first
Alameda Antiques and Collectables Show
6am - 3pm at Alameda Point
( I'll be in touch with the exact booth location )

If you are in the Bay Area and love antiques, you already know what this is.
Everyone else, it's one of the best outdoor markets that's held every first Sun of ea month.
Over 800 vendors and it's attended by over 10,000 people !
ok, I'm a little nervous now, you will be gentle won't you ?

Here's a little sneaky peek for you ...

There will be some paintings ...



decoupaged goodies ...


Furniture ...

an antique champagne riddler from France ... horse show ribbons ...
a princess 300 typewriter ... etc etc etc etc etc

Come say hi if you can !

a MOMAtherapy

Beneath the fog and under a huge glass ceiling,
such magic awaits ...

Why do I love getting lost in SFMOMA ?
Because that is exactly what happens

... I get so wonderfully lost.

Schedules and responsibilities
just disappear
( at least for a little while )
And I am free to explore all the surprises inside.
Beautiful and often
unconventional inspiration
at every turn
on every floor.

( now if they would only let me roller skate in there)

Suzy Parker in Dior and Robin Tattersall at Place de la Concorde, Paris, Aug 1959

Too much goodness to squeeze into
one posting, I'm going to spread this out into at least 3 courses.

Today I'd like to share what's on the 4th floor ...

A celebration of photographer
Richard Avedon

Photographing Sophia New York, 1966


Featuring more than 200 photographs
along with a selection of vintage magazines,
this exhibition presents work spanning Avedon's entire career,
from his earliest street scenes
and breakthrough 1950s Paris fashion pictures
to the haunting portraits of celebrities and non celebrities

Marella Agnelli 1953 (Sold at Christies last year for $85,000)

His time in Paris was the inspiration for the movie Funny Face
starring Gene Kelly and Audrey Hepburn

Dorian Leigh, Paris studio 1949

Dorian Leigh in Piguet evening dress, Paris Aug 1949

Dovima, Van Cleef & Arpels pearls, New York 1953

Dovima in a Dior evening dress, Paris, Aug 1955

Shocking to even the french, a scandelous story of Suzy and Mike gallavanting in Paris through Avedon's eyes in the 60's


Did you know models Dorian Leigh and Suzy Parker were sisters ?

Dorian had quite a legendary social and love life.
She was close friends with Truman Capote
and some say she was his inspiration for his
charactor Holly Golightly in
Breakfast at Tiffany's

I never knew that, did you ?


This stunning exhibit just blew me away

Twiggy 1968

Until we meet again ...
Au Revoir , Mon Amour



If you love fashion are in the bay area before Nov 29th,
this is a must see !

To learn more about SFMOMA go here
More info and images, visit the Richard Avedon Foundation site

You just have to laugh

view of Coit Tower from the Ferry Blg ( NOT b/w ! )

So I'm in San Francisco yesterday,

black turtle neck & trench coat, jeans, boots, and yes, gloves.

I hear this conversation between 2 men.

" Hey, what's that tiny bright dot in the sky ? "

"I don't know, I think that's what some people call the sun ?"

I know stranger things have happened
but I'm still laughing


Saw some amazing things ... more to tell !

SF MOMA Bookstore

... is a place that I affectionately call, "The Land of Retinal Delights". Pure visual eye candy is what you will find at the SF Museum of Modern Art's Bookstore. Mon - Fri , I spend countless hours looking at images on the internet for work, but there is just something wonderful about a beautiful book that you can hold in your hand, and I still consider it a great pastime. I spent over 2 hrs there last Sunday and I could have been there longer ! An unbelievable selection of books to peruse not only on art, but on all types of design ... typography, fashion, landscaping, packaging, interiors .... IT'S HEAVEN I TELL YOU !!!

This is a view of about 1/3 of the store

Here's some of my favorite books du 'jour ...

inside Playful Type ...

I just had heard of this book last week through the Paris Hotel Boutique's blog
I was happy to find it ( great photos of a sad situation )


Whoever is the buyer for this store ... hats off to you !!!

Don't forget, there's still a bit of time to sneak into tomorrow's giveaway !
( until midnight tonite PST )

J'dore San Francisco !

There was something very special in the unusually warm air this last weekend in San Francisco. Everyone seemed to be in an especially good mood ... as if they were all part of the same grand soiree. Including me.

My holiday weekend was kicked off with a lovely afternoon of lunch, laughs and shopping with friend, Lynn Goldfinger of Paris Hotel Boutique and my new blog friend Claudia Strasser of The Paris Apartment ( who came all the way from Miami to SF!) Had a blast with you girls... hope we can get together again soon ! Paris, Philly, NY ? ( you know I'm voting for Paris )
If you haven't checked out their sites or blogs ... you need to stop by and take in all the glorious goodness ASAP !

( left to right: me, Lynn and Claudia )

Monday, I woke up and discovered Trouble Coffee and Coconut Company in the Sunset for a cup of coffee and THE YUMMIEST cinnamon toast you will ever have ...

then to Ocean beach where we found hundreds of men, women and children with garbage bags and gloves doing their part today cleaning the beach. My picture doesn't quite capture the scope of the beach and the number of people cleaning. It was such a beautiful site !

The cherry on top of the weekend ? Another spectacular sunset ... but this time it wasn't just marking the end of an amazing day or weekend, but the end of an era and the promise of a new one ! I can't wait !