Taking stock of the year past and celebrating the year not yet lived deserves a special moment. Champagne is always a part of it for me. I also have an everyday policy of always having a good if not great bottle of champagne chilled in my refrigerator at home. The idea behind this is that I never know what day will be the day that deserves to be celebrated, it’s also an optimistic way for me to open the refrigerator after a particularly punishing day and instantly change my attitude. When I  see the bottle reserved for the next great celebration it reminds me that tomorrow might just be that day even if today wasn’t. There have been big and small celebrations for me over the years since I’ve begun to stock a chilled bottle. The most memorable was when I headed home before a celebration on the eve of the 2008 election results. En route I realized that Obama would win and that if nothing else i was about to witness a great deal of change  while getting to participate in the most energized election of my lifetime. It brought America back together again. Lucky me, I had a bottle of Dom chilled. It was grabbed and shared when Obama won as we toasted what might be possible.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE & the best 2012 that the world has to offer!

Two great places to snag some small batch and mainstream champers.

Wine.com and Fat Cork

Hello. I’m going to begin sharing some of my favorite things across all aspects of life. Here goes with one of the less glam but most functional things I’ve come across in a long time. I was lucky enough to be the sous chef for a good friend and amazing chef Rob Buono for thanksgiving this year. It really does make chopping 10 shallots a breeze, or a pile of garlic where my hands don’t smell like garlic for the next week.  He had me use this gem of a chopper a few different times, and I now have one on order.

Best Chopper EVER!

I’m going to begin posting at least one art / fashion / home / architecture book a week. I’m constantly inspired and wanting for more, and this is a great reason to dive into what I like to call mini-courses on a subject. Published but a few great companies from around the world and procured from museum stores they make a house a home and give your mind a chance to dream.

This week is Architecture from the 20th century by Assoline, for me this is actually a travel guide after getting the chance to visit a few landmark 20th century American homes over the last few years, it’s a new passion and really lets you see how the geniuses that shaped our world lived and worked. Living Architecture

Fathom has been wonderful enough to publish my travels on their amazing travel site. It’s so fun to collect and write about all the wonderful people and places that I came across. Check out their site and the story. 

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The camera not the dog, while we love us some Quinn, These shots are fro my new favorite toy in action…..the new Olympus E-P3

NOSH • 9/8/11
Yes Sir. Cafe Clementine delivers. This is one of my new favorite go-to lunch spots in NYC to snag food on the quick. Check it out.

how to get there,

where to stay,

what to eat,

and what to do.

Ojai charmed me this weekend.

The landscape combined with the people makes it one of the most enchanting places I’ve been.

It’s the best of America’s small towns combined with the beauty of being connected to a larger world.

I’d go back next weekend if I could.

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TRANSPORT

Ojai is a very beautiful and easy 90 min drive from LA.

2 days is enough to feel like you’ve truly had a holiday.

I’m distraught that I didn’t figure this out 10 years ago!

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STAY

There are 2 great places to stay in Ojai,

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa or The Lavander Inn

We chose the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa and it was as close to perfection as any hotel I’ve stayed at. It’s not cheap but it’s worth it. They’re extremely pet friendly as well, which made Quinn very happy!

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EAT

Day 1

Lunch – Knead

The mother and daughter that run this lovely spot take great pride in their thoughtful treats. We saw them both days and quite possibly spent more time and money with them than anyone else. 5 packs of handmade crackers are a must, right? Now I’ve got to throw a cocktail party now just to use them!

Dinner – Azu

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Day 2

Breakfast – Ojai Farmers Market

Lunch – Boccali’s

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DO

Day 1

Muffler Art

This is on the side of the road and isn’t really a site, but it did provide a first Ojai smile at the idea of art meeting small town America. It was perfection.

Ojai Olive Oil Farm

Ron is amazing; he walked us through the entire process of importing, grafting, and growing the trees. Then sorted through the process of picking, packing, processing, finishing, and bottling. It was a treat to hear about his adventures with Olives. The oil itself is wonderful and worthy of the best from Italy and Spain.

Vista Point

Normally I find these corny, and living off Mulholland in the Hollywood Hills leaves me navigating tourists on a daily basis. You should  stop here, climb onto the stone pillar holding the explanatory plaque and you’ll see the whole valley laid out in front of you. It’s magical.

New Oak Ranch – Lavender Farm

6 weeks a year you can go harvest your own lavender. I chose the cooking variety. In the coming days will attempt to re-create the only pudding on the planet that I can’t get enough of. The chocolate pudding at Perry Street, with crystallized lavender on top…wish me luck!

Visit Larry Carnes – Master Potter

We were headed to lunch when we saw the sign, “the pottery studio” and a quick u-turn later we were back spending the good part of an hour with Larry Carnes. He’s a master potter who knows more about clay than I’m going to guess just about anyone on the planet. His work is entertaining and the vessels are addictive, I walked away with 5. If you’re lucky enough to get to spend 8 weeks in Ojai you can have Larry teach you his secrets.

Bike

There are wonderful trails in Ojai, and bikes can be rented. It’s well worth it!

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Day 2

Hike

The trails in Ojai are many and fine. This is a great way to start your morning.

Farmers Market

The farmers market in Ojai is of very high standards; there are no fakers here. The market is very well thought out and quite diverse, every stall I stopped at was directly farm owned and staffed. I resisted the bounty of beautiful perishable items due to the impending drive back to LA, but still managed to walk away with a good bit of loot….local honey, the best market basket ever from Ghana, more treats from Knead, Sugar Scrub, Organic Herbal Teas and Persimmon Walnut Nougat. Ron is at the farmers market on Sunday’s with his oils, we got the pleasure of sharing a photo with Ron that we’d taken while at Larry’s Pottery studio the day before. It was of some lovely dipping plates that Larry had fashioned for Ron to sell at the olive oil farm. Larry was wickedly proud when he shared his secret. “Ron doesn’t know yet but I’ve got dipping plates for him.” we loved getting to break the surprise to Ron the next day, and hopefully help the venture along with our enthusiastic delivery.

Wander

It’s worth a no destination meander through the downtown area, you won’t get lost and you may just find a wonderful surprise…

Bart’s Books

This place is fab, it’s an open-air bookstore, how impractical. I love it! There’s a sign on the door about how to pay for the books permanently installed on the outside, yes outside of the building. This is a theme in Ojai, there are produce stands spattered about with the honor system for payment, it’s refreshing to think that this is still possible in America in 2010. Bart’s is the best used bookstore I’ve seen, it’s huge since it covers the whole property including the small house that I am guessing was the original structure on the property. There are rows and rows of books on almost any subject you can imagine, I picked up a book I’d never seen before on hand tufted rugs. Tip…if you go, buy the tote that is pictured below.  It’s perfect, and I resisted. I’m still kicking myself! I’ll just have to use it as an excuse to visit again very soon!

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Simryn Gill is an artist that I discovered while on an adventure a few years ago. New Years being celebrated in Australia. I landed a few days prior to two of my best friends who were joining and got to put in some quality time taking in the city on my own.  As a habit I research the contemporary museums in each city I visit, and in Sydney it’s the Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibits were engaging and dare I say less precious than many other major cities contemporary venues. Simryn Gill, a Sydney based artist was exhibiting “Pearls” a project centered around the idea of exploring the objects from other cultures when they end up in a foreign land, and how it is almost impossible to determine their true value, and meaning if you don’t understand the culture they came from. Are they treasure or common object?  With this project Simryn took a book from each participant and in exchange returned a finished necklace to the participants. I purchased the exhibit’s book on my way out, see inserts below for amazing examples of the diversity and example of craft that made me want to go home and rip up some books.

ARABIAN NIGHTS

NECKLACE FROM ARABIAN NIGHTS

MOUNTAINS AND WATER

NECKLACE FROM MOUNTAINS AND WATER

Hear what the Tate in London has to say about Mr. Gil

As we headed toward sending our recent Holiday 2010 collection to market I was compelled to add in an additional layer of craft to one of the GF pieces. I had squirreled away a pillow purchased in Palm Beach, Australia December 2008 for inspirational use someday in the future, and the future was suddenly here. The Geren Ford Los Angeles studio became Tie Dye camp for a few days as we researched the techniques and processes. Jennifer who works with us here in LA really is the master and creator of this project. It was a really fun process to watch come to life. The photos below are of her handiwork and the finished product at the look book shoot! We got our information from Google and You Tube and our supplies from Pearl Paint (minus the gloves – Jennifer had those on her own).