We go together. Pen & Paper.

Perfect pairings for Spring and seasonal giving.  For

the Francophile, traveler or collector...and all those

who gift lovely things.  Little Brown Pen's "Paris in

Color" original photo series: set of 9 images + chunky

little Paris seek & find books.  There is a whole

series of Paris colors + Paris themes from which to pair. 

A daily dose. Whis[key].

We go together. Sneaky flowers.

Tretorn for J.Crew / Monaco Grey fabric by the yard

A daily dose. 88orange.

Andy and Heather found us. I opened the body butter sample and swooned. I logged on to the website and heard Bill Withers "Lovely Day" and knew we were a match. 88orange has arrived and it is simply perfect. Eau de parfum, body butter and soy candle. It has taken a long time for me to find "my [new] fragrance."

For years, it was Fracas. Then a private label scent for Barneys called Clean [not that Clean]. Moved to Boston's Exeter Street and turned the corner to find the original fresh store and became hooked on Hesperides. Did a short stint with Jo Malone's Lime Blossom. Then fresh became a part of our shop's assortment and Sugarbath Lemon has been it for years [it even weathered a love-loss with fresh, now big and corporate and not-so-nice].

Now "it" is 88orange and I have Andy and Heather to thank. Think sweet tangerine & fresh pressed Organic orange blossoms, touched by cool water lily and clean lilac. The scent reminds me of summer trips to Santa Monica with my grandmother. The body butter is dense and rich. The eau de parfum is crisp. The candle is, well...summer. 88? The ideal size of an orange to take to market. The packaging is built to give.

Postscript. It seemed only fitting to find out that Andy [in CA] and I share a mutual friend, Lori [shopgirl like me in NJ]. Lori is half of the dynamic duo at Little Cricket Antiques & Vintage Inspired Goods.

Pillow-Envy. PillowTalk Shop now open!

PillowTalk Shop is now open! semplice is launching a series of online "pop-up" shops in 2010 featuring our favorite categories & current obsessions. Since we are loving ikats & stripes for Spring, what better way to bring them to you than in pillows. 3 sizes. 36 fabrics. FREE swatches. Delivered direct in 2-4 weeks. Just in time to open the summerhouse!

A daily dose. Smokin'.

Life After Billy Crudup. Life on Mars.

Saw Charlie Mars open for Griffin House at the Highline Ballroom in February '09 and loved this song then. Don't spend a lot of time these days watching music videos but this one seems to fit. Good to see Mary-Louise Parker on the carousel of love again.

postscript : After first posting noticed the odd coincidence of my previous post as Shopgirl...a fave melancholy movie with Claire Daines. "So, I can hurt now, or hurt later." Such a beautiful little book written by Steven Martin.

Shopgirl in a Sunny Chair.

Just sitting in a sunny chair in the shop and truly enjoying A Year of Mornings...a year of photos from two bloggers 3191 Miles Apart in Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes. The cover alone gets me...lovely matte images with a textured white pin-dot "bellyband." Feels good in the hand and is pretty on the eyes, for a leisurely afternoon when the sun does shine.

PillowTalk Shop.

Our Spring online "pop-up" shop is all about the perfect pillow. The season's palettes and patterns. Ikats we love. Stripes we adore. Better yet...free swatches direct to your mailbox for mixing, matching and mulling it over. Look for our alert on Twitter and Facebook.

Summer Pillows. Anguilla Style.

As our upholstery collection rolls in from LEE Industries here at semplice, neutral linens are the fabric of choice this season. A dose of sunshine today, after being Jersey-soaked, got us thinking beachhouse. Pulling the Spring/Summer pillow assortment together, my memory was drawn to a favorite spot...an unexpected coral sculpture "garden" down the beach from Bankie Banx's place on Rendezvous Bay on my favorite island, Anguilla. ...and there it is, a pillow palette coming soon to semplice.

Hundreds of fabrics, dozens of sizes, just a bit of inspiration required.

Today's departure. Spin Local.

Indoor cycling has long been a staple of the class schedules of large gyms. Today, it makes the list of current fitness crazes, with specialized indoor cycling studios popping up in major cities and local suburbs. Indoor cycling devotees are fanatics...there's the gear ($200 shoes and similarly priced heart-rate monitors)...there's the bike in class you must always have...and there are the instructors that you will wake up at the crack of dawn for just to reserve your spot in class. I would count myself among the fanatics.

Last Monday, my dear friend, trainer and indoor cycling guru, Daniela and I headed into the big city for back-to-back sessions at the NYC studios getting lots of press. First stop, Flywheel Sports in the Flatiron, recently opened by Ruth Zukerman and Tiki Barber. Then, a quick cab ride to Tribeca for a Bands class with Clare at Soul-Cycle's newest location.

Flywheel Sports wins raves for amenities (including free shoes and bottled water), stadium-tiered bikes (not a bad seat in the house), and state-of-the-art equipment that lets you monitor both your torque and RPMs. Downside, the studio's much-touted TorqBoard that lets riders compete against each other was not functioning. The studio was a bit too dark and the soundtrack was quite uninspired.

Soul-Cycle Tribeca gets kudos for its bright and airy design, warm staff, and the welcoming candle scents that waft through the open door. The SoulLab Bands class was intense, with interval cycling and upper body workout with rubber bands suspended from the ceiling...the heat we generated made the session a bit like Bikram-on-a-bike. Clare was crazy-fun, but the bands hang in your face while cycling...an unfortunate distraction. Both studios are pricey for a single class at $30 and $38, respectively.

Would certainly recommend both NYC studios for different experiences...and will likely return. But, at the risk of embarrassing my indoor cycling guru, I choose to "spin local." Finding the instructor for you far outweighs the bells-and-whistles of a press-darling studio.

Daniela Costanzo is just that good. She may not be for everyone...her 60-minute class means 65 minutes of serious cycling...and her followers get a bit aggressive over bike posturing and waiting lists. But, her sprinting speeds and powering hills build endurance quickly...her class soundtracks are incredible (available to all at SpinWithD). At a fraction of the price at the local New York Sports Club and the very popular 3Sixty Cycling Studio, Montclair's indoor cycling scene is just as press-worthy and, more importantly, body-transforming.

A daily dose. Shapely.

Just arrived from LEE Industries. Made in the USA.

A daily dose. Cool beasts.

A daily dose. Squared.

Interior Design by J.Crew

I've previously shared my belief that a home could be designed straight from the pages of the J.Crew Catalog in my column, The Inspired Home. Mickey Drexler's genius has made this mallSpot a truly inspired place in American fashion and design. In the age of mall-melancholy, this sparkling jewel continues to be one of my leading indicators of where home furnishings trends are, should be, and are going. The color palette(s) alone get me weak in the knees.

So, when I happened upon the home page profile of J.Crew designer, Molly Carey...there was yet another interior design palette in that amazing piece of art adorning her neck. A few clicks forward led me to Molly's one-of-kind repurposed pieces...and this starting point for creating a beautiful room.

Postscript. J.Crew's brilliant In Good Company gives all indications that this so-smart retailer is moving in the direction of a full lifestyle store. Could CrewHome be far behind?

A daily dose. So krafty.

A daily dose. Oh, sugar.

Whimsy & Spice delivered fresh from Brooklyn. Yum.

A daily dose. Turquoise.

A daily dose. Smooth [tunes].

semplice online shop re-opening soon!