Elena Nuez - Amazing Grace

Do you know Elena?  You should check her out.  Here.  HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

Art of the Moment

cuz when the sun is scarce

and the skies are gloomy

when the winds are chilly and

the days are short........

ART IS THE CONSOLATION!

(all pics via Seed Capsules)

Neighborhood Flavors L.A. - Kardashians vs. THE OARFISH

I have to do these posts.  To remind myself AND you

 (Photo:Catalina Island Marine Institute at Toyon Bay)

that glam and glitz comes in all different shapes and colors in L.A.  That Los Angeles is a desert city right next to a vast ocean.

This was what was left of an 18-ft. recently deceased oar fish that was towed from deep in the ocean two Tuesdays ago by marine science instructor Jasmine Santana after she spotted it while snorkeling in Toyon Bay (Which I'm assuming is a off Catalina Island.  I've never been there though I can see Catalina everytime I take off from LAX.)

How often in the course of your day do you think about something like this wandering around the same ponds that you swim in?  Moi?  Well practically NEVER!

Video and more here.

*  Postscript:  how worried should we be that another of these fish has washed up dead this week, further along the coast here in California.  They usually hang hundreds, if not thousands of feet under the sea.  Why are they here?  What is killing them?  Are they a sign of something that we should be concerned about?  I'll let you know what I find out!

California Colour for the Weekend - Just in Case You Need a Little Pick-Me-Up

Have a lovely

weekend!

Remember summer?

It'll be back

But not

soon enough, I know.

Still, we can dream...........

Ben Pentreath - Cool Colour, Cheery Chic

I'm a little overwhelmed over here at the moment

in all the best ways.  So please, while I lie a bit low

enjoy the lovely colors and sophisticated choices made by

Ben Pentreath for his London home.

Some of these things, or at least, samplings of Ben's cheery chic are available in his shop online and on Rugby Street in this lovely neighborhood.  Have I mentioned that he is also an Architect, Master Planner and (you guessed it already) Interior Designer.  A busy guy!

 (All photos, Ben Pentreath)

Canny Classicism

A LOVELY story via Spitalfields Life,

will answer your questions about the WHO's, the WHY's and the HOW's

of these mosaics, made by more than one person for a public space in the East End

of London.  They remind me that seasons are changing.....are you ready for what comes next?

What Katie Ate - Amalfi Coast and Capri

A little sunshine for an Autumn weekend from:  What Katie Ate.  Do you know her?

 Positano

Bologna

Capri

Yeah, I thought you might want to.  Hope it's a really great weekend everybody!

Echo Park, Part One - Who Do You Want To Be?

O.K. little neighborhood....no wait, I'm sorry, not so little really, are you?

Just because you are named after a jewel-like park tucked into a little hollow a little over from downtown L.A.,

does not mean that you aren't sprawling, rolling hills...and raw, rollicking, rusting streetscapes that stretch out along Sunset Boulevard for well, miles.  You are full of surprises and history, one of the oldest neighborhoods in L.A., just up the hill from Chinatown and Olvera St. where the Pueblo began...and right next door to Chavez Ravine where the Dodgers are struggling as I write this, and where I'm reminded that the more things change....the more they stay the same.....

(the Rolling Stones' last Spring inaugurated their Summer tour in that building to the right, now known as the Echoplex.)

......you can trace your ancestors back to beyond the "beginning" of what we now call that great left coast conurbation, Los Angeles.

You are famous in L.A. for your gangs, your local police precinct that has sometimes conducted itself no better than a gang, as an incubator for generation after generation of artists, writers, musicians and actors and lately, for your restaurants, for Maria the goose

for your CULTURE COLLIDE which took place last week.

I don't know you very well, Echo Park

but I love the way you embrace me.  (And for your Chinese take-outs, Cambodian groceries, Korean drycleaner.)

Easier I guess, for you to grab a hold of me and tuck me under your arm

than for me to to accommodate your vastness and possibility in my own.

You are so much to so many.

(anybody you know here?)

and, I'll say it again.....full of surprises!  Have I reminded myself that your namesake park is full of yes, LOTUSES?

Anyway, just wanted to say....I've got time to get to know you better and truly, I look forward to that!

Life is Sweet - In Chiswick

I used to live here.

(well not in that house, exactly, but the top flat of a similar one)

So did Hogarth, the Redgrave family, Pissaro, Hugh Grant, Richard Briers....Mary Fedden......

(Why can't someone make me one of these here in the U.S.?  Why not?)

It has always been cozy and green.

Colorful and flowery.

Perfect for walking.

With lots of nice pubs.

Gourmet and antiques shops.

(La Trompette on this street gets great reviews for years now but - sad face- I've never been)

Good restaurants with LOTS of pizza options too...

(Franco Manca - nice!)

Don't let me forget: great bookshops!  And did I mention......

antiques shops (The Old Cinema)?  And.....The Soho House.

Would I ever move back there?  IN A HEARTBEAT!!!!!  Ever been?  I recommend it.

How's the weekend so far?  (Yes, Chiswick is great place to spend a weekend.)

Tangled Up in Blue Friday

 (John Derian's shop, NYC via Ben Pentreath)

It has been quite the eventful week over here at Passage Paradis.  You don't even have the time.....!

 (Gesbi via St.Tyl‎)

.....for me to relate all the ins-and-outs and developments......and honestly, I've so surprised myself!

(not sure - probs from someone's Pinterest page but you can see the House Beautiful watermark)

Anyway, some bursts of blue for the week's end for you.  Somehow, living in California makes me love this color more and more. 

Oh and also, great cause for celebration this week:  Alice Munro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature!!!!!!  I adore this writer, so happy about this in so many ways.  Here's a link to a summary of LATimes reviews of her short stories (she only has published short stories) that couldn't describe her better.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Kings Cross - Crossroads, London Town

Wouldn't it have been nicer if the weather had been sunnier?  But it was just English.

Despite appearances.  (I know, this looks rather French, no?  And aren't those tree printed hoardings brilliant?)

("Across the Buildings" by Felice Varini)

The WHOLE AREA behind Kings Cross Station is being REDEVELOPED.

The good thing is the canal remains, and the prospect of walks alongside it.

Some old buildings have been preserved, and entertainments for the young have been provided.  (And seats for the oldsters looking out for them.)

(They are calling this Granary Square)

There is art.  There are restaurants.  

(with celebrity Chef Bruno Loubet heading up Grain Store - lots of veggie options!)

There is an ART SCHOOL.  

Central St. Martins (a very cool school, methinks) whose alumni include Stella McCartney, Zac Posen, Jarvis Cocker

How thoughtful!  Covered bike storage!  (Remember all the bikes at Paddington?)

Here's a roller skating rink.  (Small by American standards, but the Brits DO try.)

(view from Shrimpies)

It's a different place from the old Kings Cross which was a little depressing, industrially hulking.  Before "industrial" was cool.

Now it looks cheery and light-hearted and a little like Legoland.  It's a neighborhood that is going places!  (If I told you what this neighborhood was like before this, you would NEVER believe me.)   It will be soooo interesting and probs very expensive when it's all done.

What recession, Kings Cross?  That was then......THIS is NOW!