It's after three,
The clouds are closing in
The angels are rumbling overhead
The maple tree is dancing
And you, my dear, are almost home.




I had high aspirations for a day of shopping with Jess at the Brand New H&M, but they fell far short of reality (reality being something about huge store opening, ten million or so shoppers picking over the goods, nothing left but extra-small for my healthy chest, I don't know, something like that). However I did manage to find this sweet hat and will be trying to channel Micheal Jackson in all the glory of his Smooth Criminal days.



How much do I love that man? He puts the beat in my soul and I just gotta dance!



I would have so fallen for him back then. Let's all breathe a little sigh of sweet memory for MJ.

"Show 'em your funky,
Strong is your fight,
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just Beat it."

illuminating the path

i have been craving illumination these days; just one clearing of the twigs entwining my ankles on this intertwined path we all seem to be stumbling down...some ambient glow to gently guide the next baby step - to capture me in all my jumbled thoughts and bring me to the sea of wisdom and serenity (pilfered goldfrapp lyric).

The following are some favorite etsy finds:

i love the contrast with this cobalt vase - wouldn't it look divine in my place?

or this one? i love the green with the brown/orange birds - this would certainly illuminate either of our living spaces with sheer joy and creativity

i love the simple tranquility of this design

this orb is so deliciously captured in the photo - i could stare at its atmosphere for some time

i have had this on my etsy favorites for a while now, but i really love these hanging orbs.

the following are from lit shades, a lamp boutique in our very own Pioneer Square, Seattle.

loving the birds on the lamp

ahhh, the peace that comes from a grove of trees

so kitchy

i bet you could seriously design the shit out of a lampshade

loving this whole table, but especially that middle lamp

And for the grand finale (which joelio found and sent me this morning)- you are going to flip. Here, the gifted designer Jonas Samson has brought fourth light-emitting wallpaper!

oh the words that could hatch while sitting here!

oh, what art could be born while leaning against this illuminated wall!

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.

~Leonard Cohen

~your partner in illuminating the path,
mme. bookling

more of "what i would rather be doing"

little hints of the bachelorette photos april greer took.

i hope you know that i am most alive

when

i

dance.

~happy anniversary.

Bazaar July Issue

So I am a huge, huge fan of the magazine. It's like perusing the internet, only you can be in the bathtub! I hope it's no secret by now that I do almost everything in the bathtub - eat, sleep, drink, smoke, read, cry, look at magazines...

And yesterday, along the other gifts that came in the mail, my Bazaar came as well. I devoured it in the bathtub last night - the water was even getting cold, but I had to turn that last page.

It is also no secret that this girl loves FALL above any season - and especially in fashion. Of course, I hate thinking of fall when I am still thinking of my summer wardrobe, but oh dear, the fall lines never fail to melt my eyes with their sultry, smart, romantic, and intelligent hues and shapes.

It's like fall reminds me of the professor of British literature at Oxford that i was meant to be.

oh the dark tights paired with camel colored mary janes! i feel weak.

Chanel's fall campaign is grabbing my attention because of these gorgeous tights. how unique and still classic. also this cut and color is just exactly suited to me!

(you can see the full 08 runway if you click the picture)

(please excuse the crude tear-outs, but i kind of like it!)

also, Missoni is really catching my eye. They had a fabulous ad in Bazaar and the runway is equally stunning. Such a color combination was surely intended to be worn by YOU!

biel with calvin klein

In other spreads, Bazaar was SPOT-ON with an idea to have a model dance with a designer while donning their couture, but dear me...who the HELL chose Jessica Biel? I can think of a zillion reasons to choose anyone else, but oh the idea!
(you are obligatied to look at the whole spread by clicking on picture)

biel with von furstenburg

beil with vera wang

Oh to be Jessica Beil - but not so lame. :)

The best spread of the magazine was an Olympic Fashion Show featuring Lucy Lui - who, ever since her role as O-Ren-Ishi in Kill Bill, I have just adored her.

unbelievable pose (click for full spread and info on designers)

can you even fathom this dress!?

if i were to redo my wedding, this would certainly tempt me to walk down the aisle in! oh the neckline!

I hope this inspires your Friday, missy mine. I am feeling fine and praying I will die and wake up in that Chanel dress.

Heaven = Haute Couture.
~mme. bookling

Into the East

Can we please spend another day dreaming of foreign lands? Yesterday I needed that breath of quiet as a means of escape. Today I hope to use it as means of inspiration as I step through the doorway out of the shade of my melancholy into the light of a renewed spirit.



From Penelope Loom (above) and Sarah Jane (below).



It is no great secret that my soul does not belong in America but rather in the Banyan trees and rice fields of the East. I know the history there would seep up through my toes and a connection far older than my 28 years would be completed.



A picture of quiet (above) and serenity (below).



What do you say Mme.? Will you sail away with me for one more day? Under a blue sky heavy with thunder, in a boat big enough for two?

the escape artist

Provence - Mas des Ruches

Provence (France) - Bastide des Platanes

Paris - Maison Ranelagh

Paris: The Quartier Delacroix

Italy - The Almafi Coast

a little Vignette
of everywhere else i would rather be~

here's to escaping,

~mme. bookling

"Work it, own it"

Ok, after I got called out with the photos (and then begged pretty-please-Melissa-can-we-see-your-glamorshots) I thought I would post a little picture of me from way back in history (or several years ago, depending on how you look at it).



And that got me thinking about walking a runway. And then I found these images from the Istanbul Fashion Lab. I don't know what the deal is but lately I have been simply OBSESSED with any and all dresses that portray "filmy, flowy, ground-sweeping, fluttery, fairie, and fabulous."




This one looks like it was designed just for you Mme.



And the back, I love!



Well my dear, I must away to prep for tonight's adventure: swinging a golf club and sipping scotch (and not just in that order). Clinksies!

And Melissa, I will be thinking of a some type of incentive for showing us your Glam,'cause we NEED to see them!

what my spam brings me.

good morning, umberdovely. (do you like your new nickname? i am rather proud of it!)

Well, often my visual inspiration for the day comes from my email updates, and I really enjoyed two of the entries I came across recently.

Entry No. 1-

I got an email last night with one of my favorite ladies, the popular ms. maggie gyllenhaal.
(i hate to brag, but some beautiful gay man in savannah mistook me for her once! oh, what delight was mine that day. you should have seen my strut.) Did you know her middle name is RUTH?!

So I decided to go perusing for pictures of her, but found some shoots sadly lacking. She will probably be on every cover everywhere b/c of the batman movie, but still.
LOOKIE.

such a lovely, poised, and unpretentious woman.

Entry No. Two-
I got a second email this morning from bcbg - an update about the fall line. After a quick looksie, I found some jems indeed. I do have an admited affinity for bcbg as most of my dresses come from their sale racks. I rather appreciate the cool colors and flow, but also the simple and classic structure. I feel comfortable and very candace in their peices.

Here are some tidbits to ease your eyes this monday morning after a rather busy weekend. Go peruse the lookbook of the Fall 2008 campagin, if you dare.

i love the pants that i highlighted via red box

These colors and shapes are just so subtle and shifty - just like me. :)

After eye candy such as this,

perhaps I should rethink my spam filter.

au revoir, until 1pm for a bday lunch.

~mme.