Summer is drawing to a close and the incorrigbles are in preschool, which means, wait for it, some time to actually write! Los Angeles is enjoying the last sweltering hurrah of summer heat and as a result I’ve been looking for some cool looking fans for the kids room. If Oliver has one more night of tossing and turning night adventures I may no longer be held accountable for my actions. So  - Apartment Therapy has a wonderful post featuring their pick of modern fans - but the standout for me has to be the Vintage Vornado Fan. Sadly on their official site it is only available in charcoal not this wondrous green pictured above, but I’m still searching for the classic.

As if there weren’t enough stores designed to lighten our purses with hot baby chic paraphanalia - here comes another one from the fabulous folks over at Weego Home. Weego Baby is also on Main St in Santa Monica, it is beyond cool. The website isn’t extensive, but if you are looking for THE IT stuff for your well-heeled new-born this is the place for you. They also have a registry and Stacy who works there has been beyond helpful to me in sourcing some gear for my wee ones.

I had a long and protracted battle trying to source the wall designs you see pictured in my previous post from the Venice House & Garden Tour. I was sure they were decals, but discovered they are actually a wallpaper series from  Loui Loui and the wallpaper is Amelia. I just love these designs! However I was certain to have seen something similar in a store in Venice. So I hunted high and low - thinking it was in A+R - but no,  the source was Weego Home, a very cool design store on Main St, Santa Monica. Check out more of the lovely designs online. Of course, they won’t really work in my house now - but I enjoyed tracking them down nonetheless!

Addendum: Cerentha is writing about decals too over at This is a Design Blog - check out her cool find from Byrdie Graphics available through Etsy.

C & I went on the Venice House and Garden Tour this weekend - what a great time. I love Venice, with it’s eclectic mix of folks from such a wide variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. Every time I go on one these tours (this is my third year) it never ceases to amaze me the number of hidden gems there are - architectural beauties you would never know exsited hiding behind nondescript hedges and fences. This year they mixed it up a bit and there were a fair few new properties which was cool. The tour centered on the golden triangle, the beach and the canals. No walk streets this time. Here are some of my favorites - enjoy.

I know it is almost over but I wanted to blog about light. Sal and I have been so obsessed with lighting lately. I just bought a Noguchi pendant (from Tortoise) for the dining room. But I also just read a lovely piece about a woman who turns off all the lights once a week in her house. They eat, read, play by candlelight (I found these unscented candles at West Elm) Her kids love it. I think mine would too. I just have to convince my husband it’s a good idea…

What better way to celebrate than a browse through hand-made specialist store Etsy’s eco-friendly collection. Enjoy!

Love this pendant from West Elm - I think it’s too neutral for my dining room which is badly in need of a splash of color, but it’s gorgeous all the same. I may just go for the Jonathan Adler Capri Genie pendant light - available in multiple colors its very reasonable $195 online, but $120 at my local Adler store.

SAL: LA has a vibrant artistic and cultural community, but too often in our hectic, toddler-chasing days we just don’t make enough of an effort to get out there. So this week my husband and I are making that effort to go and check out a new exhibition opening at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City. Chris Anthony’s photographs are haunting, sometimes disturbing, but distinctly fascinating.

Sal will be pleased to know I stumbled across the Conran shop. And a lot of their stuff overlaps with Habitat UK. It’s not cheap but, boy is it good. Well worth a trawl. I love this pendant light. Achille Castiglioni designed it in 1964. So chic.