la vie dans le technicolor

today my friend posed a clever challenge over afternoon coffee. she asked what an autobiographical movie of my life would look like. i had no answer, except that it would be set over the course of four or five days. so, she suggested that i set out to make the next five days of my life into movie material, just for the sake of vivacity. it sounds like a brilliant antidote for ennui.

(see also: the young girls of rochefort)

les petites huttes

(from top: apartment therapy re-nest, tim walker, debi treloar)

despite everything nuts in this world, i think that people are a part of something naturally quite extraordinary. therefore, i believe in the importance of fresh air, bare feet, and flushed cheeks; and adore these little homes overrun with moss and vines.

(see also: steiner lenzlinger)

les reines de glace

here's one last, fleeting look at winter from john galliano's dreamy paris runway show, inspired by russian folklore. it inspires a touch of nostalgia for glacial, airy nights and it's as though john galliano illustrated my trans-siberian railway fantasies.

(see also: the first "coco avant chanel" trailer)

tous les amoureux

i've been captivated by jules and jim, a hauntingly beautiful movie, since seeing it for the first time recently. where could i even begin? it provoked so many fascinating questions about human relationships - friendships and muses; infatuations, infidelities, and strange bedfellows; the clash of wildly different expectations and the quest to re-invent love - whether possessing or selfless. i had goosebumps from the humming of simple ditties and the narrator's unflappable delivery of lines like "catherine meant different things to each and couldn't please them all, but too bad."

the director, françois truffaut, came across the story of jules and jim serendipitously - while browsing through a used bookshop. the book, in turn, was inspired by a romantic tangle between the author, marcel duchamp, and bohemian beatrice wood. i love that about art - all of the perpetual motion. and i secretly hope to find a worn copy of jules and jim at the strand, underlined passages and all.

(see also: a woman is a woman)

les moustaches magnifiques du monde

in my humble opinion, the word "mustachioed" should be used as often as possible. these mustachioed pencils from atypk make me want to doodle trench coats and intrigue and fog. then go incognito with a little flick of the wrist.


from top:
clark gable, django reinhardt, burt reynolds, zorro, salvador dali

les bon temps

isn't it remarkable when you come across certain movies or records or old soul songs or pages in a library book at just the right moment? i hadn't felt quite like myself for a few days and couldn't seem to shake certain anxieties. this weekend i happened to watch a fantastic movie, hannah and her sisters, for the first time.

woody allen plays television writer mickey sachs, who falls into the throes of an existential crisis after a medical scare. in a particularly moving scene, mickey finds himself at his wit's end. he frantically paces around the upper west side for hours, before slipping into a movie theatre to collect his thoughts. serendipitously, the film on screen is an old favorite, duck soup. he's instantly charmed by the carefree chaos before him, calms down, and notes:

"geez, i should stop ruining my life searching for answers i'm never going to get and just enjoy it while it lasts. and you know, after .. who knows? maybe there is something, nobody really knows. i know that maybe is a very slim reed to hang your whole life on, but that's the best we have. and then i started to sit back and i actually began to enjoy myself."

(see also: somewhere i have never travelled)

¡volare, cantare!

(peggy guggenheim)

i had a comically awful week, albeit one with a marvelous sense of timing. laughing goes a long way. as does dancing. sometimes, though, the only thing a girl can do is run away to spain. so, when a friend pointed out outrageously low airfares to barcelona this afternoon, we bought tickets immediately. it will take a few months to reach mediterranean waters, so for now i'll just dance the night away!

(see also: giulia y los tellarini)