The Book, AND SO IT IS

 

Well, today is the day. The day I share with you another part of my life… A part that you have not seen. I feel like I have been holding out on you but I wanted to save this particular moment in my life for a very special reason… The Book.

 

I know that I have been talking about his stupid book forever but I have finally finished it. I started writing the book four years ago because I wanted Gracie to have something solid to remember this experience. But now, the book has morphed into something else. How could it not? Four years ago I was a different person… Sort of. Having ALS is a tricky disease… You keep who you were but a stranger emerges and you have to learn how to cohabitate. Sometimes you like your new roommate, sometimes you don't. Sometimes this new person teaches you a thing or two.

 

This book that I wrote, AND SO IT IS, is different from the blog. It is tougher, sadder, and sometimes surprising. It has taken me all of these years to write because every time I start to proofread a chapter, I start crying like a baby and then I stop for a few months to fucking collect myself because life with ALS is so brutal that is it surreal.

 

So, I am warning you that this is not an easy read but I think in the end it is an important read. Not to be full of myself but I think that a lesson or two can be learned. What do I mean? I mean that ALS schools you about who you are, who you were and who you need to be. These are lessons that I did not necessarily want to learn. I was perfectly happy going about my ignorant existence before ALS. However, I did not have a choice but to learn how to adapt to my new life.

 

AND SO IT IS is a big book, almost 200 pages. It is not about decorating, it is not about cooking, it is not about annoying French people, it is about the hardcore past six years of my life. The book starts with the lead up to my diagnosis while I was happily living my life in New York and ends with some brutal honesty and what I think my legacy is. The 26 chapters delve into every aspect of my life that I have not really discussed in the blog, if you can believe it.

 

Yes, I discuss my childhood. Yes, I discuss my relationship with my family. Yes, I discuss my past. Yes, I discuss my feelings and I also answer all of your questions, however tough they may be, including your sex questions. I have not kept anything from you because I am all about transparency, even though I hate to use that word but it is the only way that we are going to learn from this train wreck called ALS.

 

By nature, I am an optimistic person and I think that this trait has served me and saved me but there have been times of utter despair so dark that I do not know how I came out of it… Maybe I am still in it. Who knows? All I know is that I can say that I have survived ALS. I know that that may sound strange, but let me explain…

 

ALS did not take me before I had the time to create memories with Gracie and David, reach milestones, tell my friends that I love them, accomplish a thing or two, prepare for the future, and learn life lessons. I hope the book allows all of you to take what I have learned and incorporate it into your own lives.

 

I could tell you more about the book but I feel like I should just shut up and let you experience the book on your own. Let me warn you, you are going to cry and laugh and have some moments of clarity regarding life… The good, the bad and the ugly. There are some definite surprises in the book like Chapter 19. Okay, okay, I will shut up.

 

So, here we go, the book, AND SO IT IS. There are three versions… A giant hardback coffee table version, a softback version and an ebook version.

 

For the large coffee table version, CLICK HERE.

 

For the softback version, CLICK HERE.

 

For the ebook version, CLICK HERE.

 

As always, a portion of the proceeds will go towards ALS research.

 

I hope you like it.

Once Upon A Pillow

Very exciting news today. My friend Rebecca Vizard has written a fabulous book called Once Upon a Pillow and it is officially available today!

You may remember I did a blog about Rebecca and her drop dead gorgeous pillows. If you didn’t see it you can read it HERE.

Rebecca is a girl after my own heart. We both love pillows, tapestries, antique fabric and trim but she is the foremost expert on all of it. Her company, B.Viz Design, is based out of Louisiana which creates the pillows that top interior designers covet and her pillows have graced the covers of national publications such as House Beautiful, Veranda, Elle Decor, Traditional Home and Architectural Digest. Look look look…

Rebecca scours the globe sourcing her textiles and the result is nothing less than fabulous. What I love most about her pillows is that there is a subtle chicness. She chooses just the right blues, just the right oranges, just the right beiges and knows exactly the perfect embellishments. When Rebecca visited me in Paris, she brought me a very special gift. Take a look…

This particular pillow could not have been more perfect for me. That heart with the sunburst with the sword and the perfect silvery beige velvet! Every time someone walks into my apartment the first thing they ask is, “Where did you get that gorgeous pillow!” Pillows are always the icing on the cake, no, make that the cherry on top of the icing on the cake. I like to keep things neutral and then pop with a pillow and Rebecca’s pillows are just perfect for that.

According to the press release, “Once Upon a Pillow features a study collection of pillows all designed by Rebecca. Celebrated for her innovative use of rare antique textiles— from the embroidered metallic threads or ecclesiastical vestments to Venetian Fortuny and Central Asian suzanis-her designs present a perfect balance of art and material culture.”

A perfect gift for yourself and perfect gift to give for Christmas! Sweet, generous Rebecca has donated a pillow that will be available for the December Have Some Decorum Home sale and 100% of the proceeds will go to ALS research in honor of Rebecca’s friend who has ALS, like me. ALS is apparently the “It” disease of the moment. :-)

To purchase Once Upon a Pillow, click HERE.

To purchase Rebecca’s pillows, click HERE.

Rebecca is having a few book signings coming up. Check out the dates on her website. If you go and see Rebecca give her a huge hug for me!

*Something you don’t know about me? I still have a huge surprise to share with all of you but I have to wait until it’s a done deal so I don’t jinx it. Trust me, I’m bursting at the seams to tell all of you. It’s killing me, killing me not to be able to tell you guys. But soon, soon soon soon.

Summer Series: La Piscine

Seeing as though it is smack dab in the middle of summer, I thought it would be fun to do a summer series. Everything about summer… Pools, beaches, swimsuits, alfresco dining, gardens, recipes, houses, travel and I’ll try to throw in a little culture as well.

Let’s kick off this summer series today with a look at some jaw-dropping pools, vintage pool paintings and stuff to buy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Follow my Pinterest board, La Piscine, HERE.
 

 Vintage painting...The Azure Sea Repineado

 

 Circa 1920 Painting...People at Old Cement Swimming Pool

 

 Painting by Samantha French...Purchase HERE.

 

 

 Turkish Foutas Pool Towels. Purchase HERE.

 

 Acrylic Stemless Pool Glasses from Mark & Graham. They have great monograms like the Didot font created in the early 1800s for the Didot family in Paris. Purchase HERE.

The Springboard in the Pond coffee table book.

Find this great coffee table pool book and all of my other favorites HERE.

 



          

The current "It Girls" of pool toys, The Giant Swan and The Giant Pink Flamingo.

Purchase HERE.

For other superchic pool toys visit Funboy.com

A toute!

 

 

*Something you don’t know about me? I’m sorry if I haven’t answered emails, comments or my phone this past week. Yesterday was the three-year anniversary of my sweet little brother’s suicide so it’s always a weird week for me. I thought about it yesterday and I don’t know really how I feel. I think it’s a combination of feelings… Anger, sadness, confusion, relief and absolute grief. The good news is that Gracie spent yesterday with all four of his darling children, Noah, Aiden, Olivia and Gabriel. If you would like to know about my brother, Matt, you can read my blog post that I wrote on his birthday HERE.

 

 

Jill Kargman: Thermos!

We are a TV family. We have a TV in almost every room. We eat dinner with the TV on and go to sleep with the TV on… yup, we do. We have Netflix, Hulu, HBOGo and our beloved Apple iTunes. We can even watch live American TV from here in Paris by the grace of God and the magic of Sling TV. My husband watches mostly creepy murder movies so he’s not allowed to watch TV in our bedroom near me because that stuff affects me and I usually have to turn on an episode of the Barefoot Contessa to calm me down. My daughter mostly watches Broad City because she’s cool. I, on the flip side of cool, mostly, strictly watch reality TV. And on top of that, I usually only watch the Bravo Channel if I’m not watching the E! Channel where I watch the Kardashians and get my news. Speaking of news, I also watch every night Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, BBC and CNN. So, if you have any questions regarding the current state of affairs in the world… Come to me. I can answer all of your questions about bank closures in Greece and its austerity policies, Pakistani Nobel peace prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai, inaugurating her first school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon on her 18^th birthday, Harper Lee’s second book, Go Set a Watchman, after To Kill a Mockingbird, and on top of that I can answer all of your questions regarding any of The Housewives of New York (Ramona Singer in the yellow bikini in the heels in the Turks and Caicos, Bethenny Frankel imitating Dorinda… All part of my health and wellness package towards curing my ALS). Trust me, I know my TV.

So, it is with great confidence, that I can recommend my new favorite show on Bravo… Odd Mom Out.

If you have not seen the show, your homework over the next few days is to watch every back episode. Don’t worry, there are only six episodes as the series just premiered. Go ahead… I’ll wait…

Odd Mom Out is a new Bravo channel scripted series written by Jill Kargman. Who is Jill Kargman? First of all, she is definitely somebody I would want to be friends with because she is smart, witty and self-deprecating… my favorite combination. Let me give you some facts before we continue…

 

Jill Kargman

•             Well-educated… Spence, Taft, Yale (graduated in three years with honors majoring in art history) and BADA (British America Drama Academy) at Stanford. So there.

•             Is a New York Times best-selling author and has written 10+ novels.

•             Has written hundreds of articles for all of our favorite magazines.

•             Her father is Arie Kopelman, former president of Chanel and avid historic preservationist, whom I happen to think is one of the most elegant and gracious men. I have met him a few times as he is a friend of my friend, Diandra Douglas. He also said that he loved my shop, Circa, in Santa Barbara so obviously I’m a huge fan. :-)

•             Her sister-in-law is Drew Barrymore. Cute.

•             She shares a mutual dislike of cilantro with David Foster.

•             Had stage III skin cancer and thinks humor is the best medicine. Moi aussi.

•             She hates summer and loves stationery.

I first started to think, “Who’s that girl” when I saw her on my favorite design video series, Stylish Shopping with Susanna Salk via Quintessence Blog. Watch…

 

Okay, are you with me? Now that we have discovered Jill’s background and she has proven her street cred… Let’s discuss her show…

 

The running theme behind Jill’s novels and new show is something that I am slightly familiar with… The Upper East Side of New York and all of its idiosyncrasies. I used to live smack dab in the middle of the Upper East Side on 68^th St. and Park Avenue. Half of my friends live in the vicinity and are the subject of Jill’s humor. If you don’t know what I’m talking about read Jill’s book titled, Momzillas. Jill’s satirical half joking/half not joking portrayal of the uber-wealthy residents of Manhattan’s elite neighborhood is spot on. You find yourself thinking while watching the show, “I can’t believe she just said that!” And then you laugh hysterically.

My two favorite characters on the show are Jill’s best friend, Vanessa, played by actress K.K. Glick and Jill’s mother-in-law, Candace Weber, played by Joanna Cassidy. When Jill’s mother-in-law uttered the phrase in the last episode, “French third-base” I nearly spit out my vanilla soy chai latte.

Even though some critics say that the show is geared towards a niche market of the “1 percenters” and argues that not everyone can relate… I don’t agree. First of all, why does someone always have to relate to something to get it? Secondly, more subdued versions of these Upper East Side families exist in every community, across every continent…. Don’t fool yourself.

So, if you need a little humor in your day, go binge watch Odd Mom Out. Two words: chocolate starfish.

You can order all of Jill’s books HERE.

Visit Jill’s website HERE.

Follow Jill on Instagram HERE and Twitter HERE.

A toute!