Riviera View

While roaming through Maison Luxe in Manhattan Beach, I ran across these beautiful belt buckles from interior designer Kelly Ivaska of Kiva Kreations . Kelly begins each buckle with a vintage brooch or keepsake then embellishes it with gems, shells or beads to create one of a kind, hand-made designs. Cowgirl or not -- they are fantastic. You can learn a bit more about Kelly by clicking here and then going to the "Design Team" link.

Knee deep in wrapping paper, sticky tape and ribbon right now. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

It may be too early to decide but this Bella Pilar Christmas card sent by my cousin Jessica outshines the rest. Two years and counting Jesse. You can see and read a bit more about Ms. Pilar here .

I think it's fair to say I've obsessed over buying a new sofa ever since my last one arrived ten years ago. It's hard to believe but, drum-roll please, the new one is ordered and on its way. Tweaking the Rachel Sofa from Crate and Barre l helped to create the look I was going for: a modern-lined sofa with a bit of Belgian/Shabby Chic-ness. Instead of the fabric offered at Crate I upgraded to this lighter and softer antique white linen shown here on the Lee Industries website. I also changed the original three over three seat cushion configuration to a three over one, a.k.a., a bench cushion. It's going to be great...I think. More pictures to follow once it's in my living room.

image from Apartment Therapy L.A. Looking for home office ideas? Check out this, and then this , on L.A. ex-Pat now a Vancouver transplant, artist Sharilyn Wright.

What happens when you want a thing so badly but the universe doesn't comply? If I could make a wish-list and publish it for the world to see would it be embarrassing or brave? On the flip-side (and being a Libra there's always a flip-side) what makes me think that I need more than exactly what I already have in order to be happy? I'm sure there's some psych term for it but I haven't the slightest idea what it is. Life speeds by so friggin' fast and yet some wishes remain elusive. For today I'll just be thankful for the basics: my family, shelter and Friday night pizza.