NO MUMUS HERE

With so many of my close friends becoming parents I was inspired to seek out chic maternity clothing and baby outfits. I stumbled upon a UK magazine for parents called Junior. The glossy featured hip clothes for moms-to-be and the most adorable baby threads!
Pictured above is a halter maxi dress by DKNY.

Floral silk dress by See by Chloe; Brown shoes by Stuart Weitzman; Brown necklaces by Lola Rose (above).Floral dress by Paul Smith; Necklaces by Lola Rose (above). This one reminded me of my mom when she was pregnant-so groovy.

And for when the little one arrives...

(Above) a woven romper suit by Missoni (ages 1-18 months).

(Above) a mustard woolen cardigan by caramel Baby & Child (ages 3-18 months); denim knickers by D&G Junior (ages 3-24 months)-so cute!!

YESTERDAY'S ELEGANCE

Everything old is new again. French and English antique baths are an elegant way to re-design a Master Suite or Guest Bathroom. I came across the Water Monopoly recently and loved their antique designs. The Paris bath is a reproduction of an early twentieth century French tub (above).

The Bateau is a reproduction of a late 19th century French doubled ended bath (above). I love the silver finish. Stand inside this Needleshower reproduction (above) for an overall body shower experience.
Or get lost at sea with this sweet Porthole clawfoot tub in blue lacquer. Wouldn't this be great in a nautical Kid's Bath?

The Dark Knight

I have finally seen the film that everyone has been talking about for months. I have read into the hype and fell into it hard core and what did I think about the finished product? Well for starters it was a little long, but other than that ---it was Effing awesome!!!As most people know I am a big fan of comics and especially Batman. I love the graphic novels by Writer, Jeph Loeb and artist, Tim Sale and I was thrilled to see director Chris Nolan use their material as reference in the new movie. As you know from the trailers that the Dark Knight revolves around the trinity of Gotham's favorite sons; Batman/Bruce Wayne, (Christian Bale) Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and new D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). They have hit hard against the Mob bosses and criminals in Gotham and have received a hard hit back from one of the city's most bizarre, dangerous and psychotic villains ever, the Joker (Heath Ledger). For every action there is an opposite, even more powerful reaction, as the Joker's terror fueled rampage over the city can attest. Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) add their experience to the film as they try to assist Batman in keeping the balance as he finds frustration in the random malicious acts of the Joker. The Joker doesn't want money, he doesn't want power, he is a true anarchist. Throw in a love triangle between Dent, Bruce and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and you've got yourself an epic action adventure. One of my two favorite sequences had to be the kick ass Batman extradition plan to bring a Mob boss back to Gotham and the explosive chase sequence with the Batpod. I also loved that they allowed Batman to do some real detective work as well. (They kind of dropped that element in the first film.)What more can you really say about Heath Ledger's next to last performance as the Clown Prince of Crime, I would say even if he had not passed away I would still be advocating for an Oscar nomination. He truly embodied the nature of the Joker and I truly believe that had Jack Nicholson's Joker been in this film he would have shit his pants in fear at least once. I would also say that Aaron Eckhart also deserves a notice for his heartbreaking turn as Harvey Dent/Two Face. Chris Nolan has truly put together a great adventure dealing with various hero/villain archetypes and then breaking them down. I know people are saying it's the best superhero movie ever but it's just so different from any of them it may have to go in a different category. I loved Iron Man earlier in the year but I find it hard to compare the two films they truly are as different as night and day.I really hope they can make a successful trilogy of Batman films with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and I am looking forward to number 3--maybe they should use the title from Jeph Loeb's and Tim Sale's sequel to The Long Halloween and call the next film Dark Victory. I think it could work. If you haven't seen the movie, what the hell are you waiting for go now! I still want to see it in IMAX and you should want to see it in IMAX, I hear it is mind blowing on the super big screen.



Grade 5 Buckets

TIME FOR MY CLOSE-UP

Marilyn, Eat Your Heart Out!
Enokiworld.com is a fun destination for vintage jewels like these. This sampling is all from the 1950s- I love the classic and girly feel to them!
This Rhinestone Necklace with Teardrop Tassels goes for $205. Happy Shopping!

AQUAFINA

Let's call it a Blue Period, but I am loving teal and aqua and turquoise and robin's-egg blues for cabinets lately. Even doing just the island in blue (like the Plain & Fancy kitchen pictured) mixed with cream cabinets is so chic. The laundry room (pictured left) is a Ben Moore paint color Cabico color-matched to make the cabinetry we feature in the showroom at work. One of my favs! I'd do laundry in a room like that!

Bobby Murcer

Last week we lost another Yankee great, Bobby Murcer. Starting in 1965, Bobby was a Yankee playing with greats like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Thurman Munson. He left the Yankees for a few seasons but came back in 1979. Murcer was a 5 time MVP. When he retired in the early 80's he, like Phil Rizzuto, went into Sportscasting in the booth for the New York Yankees where he has been for two decades.When Yankee Catcher Thurman Munson died in early August of 1979, Bobby Murcer, a good friend to Thurman gave one of the eulogies at the service. Later that day he and his fellow Yankees hopped a plane back to New York to play the Baltimore Orioles. Billy Martin wanted Murcer to take the day off, but Bobby would have none of that. He was determined to play for Thurman and that he did. After the Yankees were down 4 - 0 Bobby took the game into his hands and hit a 3 run homer in the 7th. He then hit a 2 run single in the ninth making another great Yankee comeback one of the most memorable in history. Bobby never played with that bat again he instead gave it to Thurman's widow Diana.Bobby lost his battle to Brain Cancer on July 12. He was gracious and friendly as many Yankee and former Yankee can attest and his voice will be sorely missed.

FASHION RX

John Galliano produced some stunningly romantic pieces for the Paris Haute Couture Fall 2008 show as design director for Christian Dior. Galliano was inspired by the "first supermodel" Lisa Fonssagrives (b/w photo below) who graced the glossy covers in the '30s, '40s and '50s. Despite what the critics say, I love the throw-back style of his collection with the cinched waists, a trend all over the runway again for the upcoming seasons. Plus, these hues are so yummy.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

After walking out of the theatre for Hellboy 2 I kept thinking that it didn't really feel like I was watching a Hellboy movie. You might have heard that director Guillermo del Toro will be tackling Middle Earth for the Hobbit and a Hobbit sequel and it looked like he was filling out his resume with this film.In this sequel, Hellboy, (Ron Perlman) is struggling with his secret super hero status at B.P.R.D., the elite government organization that deals with the occult and of course, giant monsters. His romance with Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) appears on the rocks and he can't seem to get his act together, he has way too many cats, makes his place a mess. He's constantly trying to piss off his boss Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) by allowing himself to be photographed while in the field. The big baddie this time is Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) an elf who is pissed about his station in life. Apparently his kind ruled the earth much like the elves of Middle Earth and because of a pact made with mankind he's forced to sulk in the sewers of New York. Of course we wouldn't have a movie if he respected the pact as he unleashes some crazy looking monsters on the Big Apple. Del Torro has mentioned that he loves Ray Harryhausen and his marvelous monsters, which if you look closely, you can see some nice homages to the monster movies of the past. Wait till you see the Golden Army unleashed, very cool. Also I really enjoyed the Street Fair for monsters it was a little of the Catina from Star Wars with a dash of Harry Potter.Hellboy was good fun much better than the first one. They really allowed Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) to get some more screen time and a little romance with the Prince's sister, Nuala (Ana Walton). I really enjoyed the new addition to B.P.R.D., Johann Krauss, (voice: Seth MacFarlane and John Alexander) a funny German who was once human but now only exists as a cloud in a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea type wet suit. The story wasn't as compelling as it could have been and it still hasn't truly been able to capture the quirkiness of the comic series but it was very enjoyable just the same.

Grade: 3 Buckets

JUST ADD WATER

Consistently classic, effortlessly cool, painted white kitchen cabinetry with an inset door (the door sits flush with the face frame of the cabinet) is the chicest style going in kitchen design. Our design center makes over hundreds of kitchens each year and this is the most popular style we sell. It fits perfectly with New England's architecture too.

The photos at the top are of our York Harbor Kitchen on display at Atlantic Design Center. The cabinetry is by the family-owned, custom cabinetry company Mouser out of Kentucky. I was lucky enough to visit Mouser last fall and see for myself how their beautiful inset, framed and frameless cabinetry is made. The other two photos are more examples of how white inset kitchens can be traditional or contemporary, but still feel timeless.

ARTHOUSE

I couldn't help but smile and fall in love with the work by Leesa Leva when I first saw it this week. The 37-year-old Texan creates such chic watercolors. I love the two-headed Olsen monster (top) and ultra hip rendition of the model titled "I ♥ Lydia Hearst!" Check out more of Leva and shop for prints at www.leesaleva.com

FEATHERED FOCUS

Bird silhouettes are everywhere in design today from bedding and rugs to handbags and stationary. But don't you just love these designs? The lamp is from designer Thomas Paul (a huge bird motif guy), the clock is from UK designer Diana Paisis and the adhesive wall decor is from the UK company Brume. Those Brits love their birds!