Pimento Cheese Spread

Why haven't we heard of this on the West Coast? Apparently this is a traditional Southern comfort food that hasn't caught on in many parts of the country.

I just returned from visiting family in Nashville, and just about every market and cafe/bakery has this delicious spread.

This last time I was in Nashville I had a grilled pimento and cheese sandwich and it was the best thing I've ever tasted! Not the processed variety, but the real "made from scratch" mixture with fresh cheddar cheese, pimentos and mayonnaise. I googled "pimento cheese spread" and found hundreds of different recipes to choose from. Do any of you have a favorite recipe? I'm obsessed!

Vintage Vogue Magazines

Vogue, November 1968

On Friday I was at an estate sale here in the City and was prowling around the garage. A fellow antiques dealer had stumbled upon stacks of vintage Vogue magazines from the 1960's. He let me look through them and wow...just gorgeous! Why were fashion magazines so much classier back then? Just look at some of these covers! The first image (above) is the cover of the November 1968 issue which I looked through. I love the photo of Verushka with an armful of blue enamel bracelets and baby snake rings. Great match with her blue eye shadow!

Vogue, December 1968

Vogue, January 1962

Needless to say, I was disappointed that I hadn't discovered these magazines first! The good news is that the web site, Paper Pursuits, has a huge selection of vintage fashion and design magazines, print advertisements and sewing patterns. They list the contents in each issue and show photos of some of the pages. Check them out here. I may have to buy some issues...

Vogue, May, 1962

Vogue, April 1963

Vogue, rare addition of Audrey Hepburn, November 1964

All photos courtesy of paperpursuits.com

Rachel Ashwell's New Shabby Chic Blog

For those of you who love Shabby Chic, you'll be excited to visit Rachel Ashwell's new blog. Some lovely photos and stories. You can check it out here.

Photos courtesy of Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Blog

Cecil Beaton Fabric

I was thrilled to find out about the Cecil Beaton fabric collection available at Liberty of London. Beaton, the famous British photographer, costume designer and diarist had a keen eye for all things fashionable.

I am in awe of his artwork and have a small collection of his first addition books. Now what a treat to be able to purchase his fabric and wallpaper. All of the designs in the collection are reproductions of Beaton’s original work from 1948 and produced by Beaudesert in England. They are checks, florals and stripes on silk, cotton and wallpaper. You can see them here.

Photos courtesy of cecilbeatonfabrics.com & Harper's Bazaar

La Shana Tova!

Incredible Flowers!

Today we had a photo shoot at the house. Look at the incredible arrangements the magazine editor brought for the dining room table! I love how the fresh asparagus form a vase around the deep red flowers. The other has grapes in the base of the vase with luscious deep colored flowers that look like velvet. The best is that they were kind enough to let me keep them!

New Luxury Boutique Hotels: The SLS Beverly Hills

Boy was I excited to find out about the latest chain of luxury boutique hotels called "SLS." The SLS chains are run by entrepreneur, Sam Nazarian, and affiliated with the Starwood's Luxury Brand. This is exciting because I recently obtained an American Express Starwood credit card that earns reward points toward hotel stays (thanks for the tip Jen). What a great card! Now when I travel I can stay at one of these great SLS affiliates, as well as other great hotels that the Starwood program offers! Much better than my United Mileage Plus card.

Back to the SLS hotels...The first of the SLS chains is opening October 28th on La Cienega in Beverly Hills. The SLS Beverly Hills has undergone a 230 million dollar renovation of the former Le Meridian Hotel. Philippe Starck designed the look of the hotel. Luxurious bedding, 40" flat screen TVs, spa services, culinary delights from award-winning chef José Andrés, and more, I can't wait to stay here on my next trip to So. Calif.

Also, be sure and check out the interative website of SLS Hotels here. Look at the swinging chandelier. It's so charming!

Photos courtesy of slshotels.com