A Monument of Kitsch

Waaay back when I turned 30, Greg planned a really amazing birthday weekend for me. We flew to Vegas to see Siegfried and Roy (I should explain the night we first met was on Halloween and my roomie and I were dressed as Siegfried & Roy...she and I looked ridiculous but somehow greg still asked me out. We always joked we needed to see S &R someday). Then after Vegas greg took me Disneyland (hush yo mouth, its FUN! And one of my favorite things.) Finally, our last adventure was a pit stop at the Madonna Inn on our way home. Ahhh, the Madonna Inn! Pink, kitschy...faaaaabulous! Each bedroom has a different theme and it's like a kitsch extravaganza lemme tell you. I feel like this must have been what Liberace's guest rooms might have looked like.




Located in San Luis Obisbo, the Inn was opened in 1958 by Alex Madonna. It didn't turn this flamboyant until after 1966 when a fire nearly burned the whole thing to the ground. Like a mad genius (who believed "Anyone can decorate a room") he wallpapered, shellacked, and ticky tackified this place into the wondrous creation it is today. All the rooms have Theme names ("Barrel of Fun", "Krazy Dazy" "Jungle Rock" etc), which just adds to the fun.








One of the centerpieces of the Madonna Inn is the pink dining room....and I DO mean pink, pets!
How amazing are those round booths? It's as luscious in person as it is in this photo.




Greg and I stayed in one of the cave rooms, which is like Flintstones meets Tretchikoff meets Swingin' Bachelor Pad. Did I mention the rock shower? Awww yeah. You can see the larger suite version of that room in this YouTube video. (seriously, is EVERYTHING on YouTube??)


If you're ever in California you have to swing by for sure. My dream is to do a big vintage photo shoot with my friend Kristen.

Oh Madonna Inn, I love you soooo!

Images: Madonna Inn

I love Tim Walker.

Epic, lush, dramatic. Tim Walker's fashion photography is pretty brill. Here's some pretty eye candy for a happy hump day, my lovelies!

SYTYCD Finale Time

Are any of you guys watching So You Think You Can Dance?? Lord have mercy I looooooove this show. It's so fun to watch—if you're not a fan, then apologies and you can skip around to another post. But if you like this show like I do...then lets DISH! Are we ready for the finale?? I'm still so bummed Jeanette, the firey lil latin dancer, was booted off. On to the dancers:


I love Miss Jeanine. She's been one of my top faves. You can check out Jeanine and Ade here. (I was sorry to see Ade go last week...). Oh and here's Jeanine's solo.


Brandon's last solo? Hello! That was genius. Here is Kayla and Brandon's Contemporary number. And Brandon's bad ass solo to Carmina Burana.


Kayla is arguably the prettiest dancer on the entire show. She's been a little chilly up til now but she really won me over last week. I never care for her solos but she is fabulous in her duets, regardless of the style.
Here are Kayla and Brandon doing that freakin' insane disco number.


Evan has been the dark horse this whole time. His partnered dances have been a little weak but whenever he does his solos he is so fab. Like a lil Gene Kelly. But I don't think he's gonna win. Watch Evan's solo. I love that he's dancing to Sammy Davis Jr. Oh and here is his couples dance with ballerina Melissa. I was sad to see her go too.

Who you likin'??? I'm truly torn. Brandon was brilliant the past few weeks as was Kayla. But then Jeanine is so damn incredible too. Hmmmm. I'm also going to miss Cat Deeley, who is simply one of the nicest and pertiest announcers around (sorry Seacrest). Although she cracks me up when she introduces the dancers after their solos and says "Everyone let's give it up for IT'S JEANINE!" (like their name is "It's Jeanine").

Julia is Kuhl.

I stumbled upon Julia Kuhl's work a few months ago and really like it. Alas, I couldn't find much about her. Julia was born in St.Petersburg, Russia, but grew up in New York City. Her work from a year or so ago has a great quality—spindly inks, watercolors. Take a look and let me know what you think!








Images: Some Donkey.

Vintage Kid's Books: Triangle Water

This book has such fun little pictures...and the story is pretty cute too. The story and drawings are by Adelaide Hall and the year was 1965. I just love the way the water is so geometric and the little strawberry drinkie in the picnic scene is pretty amazing too!

A special little shout out to my friend Pilgrim, who has a super sweet blog, Draw, Pilgrim! She recently posted a vintage children's book saying she was inspired by Strawberry Lemonade (so sweet!), and then when I saw HER post it reminded me of this book (even though her book isn't about a giant, the name Oleg reminded me of a giant which reminded me of this book....and....and....well, my mind works in mysterious ways!). Thanks Miss Pilgrim!

Museum + Wedding = adorable.

Check back in a bit because I have a couple of fun things coming up today, but until then check out this completely adorable wedding. Sarah and Stephen Reynolds got hitched at a guerilla wedding at the Met in New York City. She looks adorable! Watch the clip here!

The Violet Eyes of Elizabeth Taylor

If I were to say to you "Quick! Word association—Elizabeth Taylor!" What would you say? Richard Burton? Jewelry obsession?  Friend of Michael Jackson? Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? White Diamonds?? One thing most will agree upon is that she is a very handsome woman. What many forget (blinded by the White Diamonds?) is that back in the day, Elizabeth Taylor was STUNNING. We're talking jaw droppin', make-Angelina-look-like-she -was-beat-with-the-ugly stick, stupifyingly beautiful. 

Ms Liz was married 8 times to 7 husbands (twice to Richard Burton), she has one of the largest privately owned jewelry collections around, and was the co-founder of amfAR. I love that she looked so lady like and naive, yet she was always extremely feisty, could swear a blue streak and just did her own thing.

Check her out in all her violet eyed glory. 

First up, the young 1940s "national velvet" and "lassie come home" era Liz:

A little older and hair a little shorter, but still so striking. This was the 1950s:

Hello bouffant! La Liz does the 60s in style:

I love this one, I'd never seen it before. She looks so 70s casual.

She looked pretty amazing as she made her way into the 80s and finally the 90s:

Images: This fella, UltimateGraphics, on Flickr has a spectacular collection of Liz photos. I had a lot of these images saved over the years and then I stumbled upon his page and the quality was a million times better than mine! Also, there are sooo many more gorgeous photos. It was pretty hard to choose!