WeeklyDevotional: Valentine's Day

I can't speak for cities, but in the land of big-box stores, the insane commercialization of all holidays and the availability of cheap manufactured goods from overseas has made Valentine's day an overall party and less of an exchange of romantic tokens.  Which I think is for the best, although environmentalists might disagree.  I love pink and red together.  And flowers and chocolate.  So I am celebrating the wide availability of those things.  And the general excess of it all.  Although, since I'll be home eating a Trader Joe's chocolate mousse cake, "celebrate" might be pushing it.   

This is almost a fashion tour rather than a house tour, but its good.

from Tales of Endearment

And Tales of Endearment is a solid blog with good clothes and photography if you want to poke around (I recommend the Dating tab--good  online dating stories.

Ooooo......tea at the new Laduree Soho is on my list for "next trip to NYC".  Habitually Chic posted some Instagram eye candy:

photos via Habitually Chic

It's been a while since I checked in at The Selby....my loss.  I'm still catching up, but here is a sampling of how you can waste your afternoon:

Home of Bronagh Staley

Home of Rita Konig

Home of Marie Beltrami

Home of John Derian

(All photos by Selby, obvs).  I wonder how much Mr. Selby commands these days...it would be fun to hire a photographer like that--I feel like my home would look way cooler than it is.  But if it didn't--yikes, what an awkward reality check.

I linked a tour of Christine's basement before, and here is the rest of her house.  I'm digging the kitchen.

from Style me Pretty, photo by Ashley Capp

Caitlin Wilson has turned some of her popular textile designs into rugs.  I'm digging the chevronish, arrow thing on the right.

I saw links to the Dallas sportscaster's comments about Michael Sam in my facebook feed all week and didn't want to bother to click over.  Stuck in a waiting room, I randomly did and it probably does deserve the social media play its getting.  So nice when an old white guy from Texas has good things to say on social issues--it made me feel all warm and fuzzy about America.  If you missed it, here.

And if it isn't my old friend, Whitney English.  Her booth at the New York Gift Fair (which sounds like a totally awesome thing to go to, right?) was pretty awesome.  Makes me itchy to get those crepe paper flowers underway.....

via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Photo by Carolyn Roehm