Well friends, I have a big announcement: No, i'm not pregnant.  Unless 'pregnant' means 'I'm curating and selling a lot of my favorite things on Open Sky', which i'm pretty sure it doesn't.  But i was raised sheltered, so i could be wrong.  

So here's the story:  Open Sky  is a shopping site that has experts in all different fields—home, food, fashion, healthy living and kids. You choose the ones you want to "connect" with—like me—and they'll recommend products that they love and use.  

I'm psyched about the first collection which goes on sale on friday; above there is a sneak peek.  

Its all GOLD!!! And by 'Gold' i mean brass, gold painted and gold leafed -  anything that is glitzy in a sophisticated way.  I love it. I need it. It's pretty much a neutral to me. It's what i add to every room to add warmth and the feminine touch.  It warms up my cool blues and grays, and it reflects light to add texture and depth.  I wear it (my jewelry), I drink out of it, (my bareware), I accessorize it (1/4 of my furniture) and i eat it (i'm very rich so sometimes i just eat gold, when i'm bored.  its not good, but it makes me feel very important).  

So starting Friday you, too can own some of my favorite gold pieces - all on sale just for Open Sky followers. Click here to follow me, and then get your glamour on.  

Because you don't have to be rich to be glamourous.  

Remember that one time you were gone for like a month and I was left all alone in Los Angeles with nothing but my overwhelming sadness to keep me company? Yeah, that was lame. Thank goodness you're finally back! While you were gone I wandered around feeling sorry for myself and looking at furniture for our clients, ourselves, and your future baby. 

I found this at HD Buttercup. $1295. Rad, right?

This bench was also at Buttercup. Pretty simple and cute. Just like you!

Do you ever, like, take a picture of a sofa and then you're all "that's ugly why'd I take a picture of that?" and then you see a black leather sofa in the upper left corner of the photograph and you realize you should have just taken a picture of that instead? I have.

I like this sofa, I want it, and I'm not apologizing for it. I know everyone is starting to get super sick of mid-century inspired modern furniture, but I still like it. This piece was $1595.

So I'm not really a fan of black leather, but for some reason this does it for me. It's the chair equivalent of a little black dress. $575.

I've been looking for a loveseat for my apartment. This could do the trick but I'm not crazy about the color...

This is a sexy color for a chair, no?

I never met a wood-arm sofa I didn't love. $1495.

The following pieces were at Cisco Home.

We found this luxurious upholstered headboard for our French provincial client. $2750.

Cisco makes the most adorable poufs. This one is named Oliver and I decided to adopt him and make him my son. We are such a happy family.

These round hangy mirrors are all over the place, but I love them so. From Cisco.

This upholstered sleigh bed is appealing. 

This headboard was an interesting color, but I feel like it could go well in a room with some grey and aubergine... $2750.

I kind of love tufted ottomans. They make such fun, comfy coffee table/footrests. 

The following things we found at Lankershim, our favorite North Hollywood shopping destination. These cute little brass tables were $250. MINE!

Whenever Emily and I see anything that combines brass and birds, we think of our friend Corbett, who we love so much it hurts our hearts to think about her when she is not by our sides. 

This delightful sofa and chair family was at one of the shops on Lankershim as well. $550 for the pair. I'd love to reupholster this pair and put them ON MY FACE.

I like this piece for our French Provincial client. $250.

Friendly little pair of chairs, please come hang out with me. $250/pair.

A little trunk to, like, stick in a corner or something. Why not? $50. 

This happy brass mirror makes me feel so good inside. $350.

Don't these lucite "X" table bases make you feel, like, totally hip and trendy? Like a member of the band The XX. $100/pair.

How chic is this dining set? The upholstery needs to be updated but other than that it's the best thing in the whole entire world. $850/set.

It was, like, totally impossible to get a good picture of this shelving but that doesn't mean it isn't the coolest shelving in the whole world. $200.

This chair is from Pottery Barn. Not bad, eh? $799.

These little brass lamps were on sale for $38. So I bought both of them. Hoarder.

Emily finally got back last week. And it was such a relief. Here are some pictures of us when we were reunited:

Emily

MePhotos by Jill Greenberg Studio

Love,

Orlando

In fact, you should not be surprised if i come out with a romanice novel in 20 years - i've always wanted to write one, i've read 100's of them and i think i could tell an epic love story.  

But Valentines day? meh.  Part of it is my inner rebel that doesn't like to be told what to do, but most of it is sheer laziness.  We normally think about it around 6pm and are like 'did you plan something, cause i didn't'? And then we'll go out to dinner and maybe watch a movie.  But while packing for our move the other night i found this card that Brian gave me 10 years ago that made me totally lose it.  I mean, just writing this again i'm losing it.  Not in the ugly face kinda crying, just the happy tears slowly streaming out of utter gratefulness and yes, love.     

Lets face it, there are a lot of drawbacks of finding your 'person' so young.  We knew it when we met.  We were like, 'ah shit this wasn't supposed to happen for years'.  We broke up twice to help up experience the things we should in our 20's.  

But the good thing about being with somebody since you were so young (21) is that you get to see eachother grow up.  You watch them become different, but the same.  Older but the same. And better, but the same. God this is getting so sappy already. 

Anyway, Brian made this card for me when i was 23 and totally lost career-wise. I was living in New York, bartending at night, walking dogs during the day and taking furniture design classes at Pratt.  I had no idea what i was going to do and i didn't feel like i had the right to identify myself as anything.  So he made this card out of labels, writing all of the things that he thought I already was on them. 

I'm not sure what 'nurse' meant. Or 'fashion model' but he was right with 'black sheep', 'krazy girl' and 'dancing queen'.  Guilty.  It was all my identities. 

On the inside was this:

A loose label with 'artist' written on it was inside, unstuck.  He wrote that he hoped someday I would 'allow' myself to put this on, too.  I remember when i got this card i started crying because i knew that i wanted to be an artist but i had no idea what that meant.  I didn't know how to paint, I didn't have the patience to be a sculptor and i literally can't draw a cube.  i wanted to believe him so very, very bad, but it seemed totally impossible and i refused to believe that I could be an artist.  God just thinking about how frustrated i was makes me cry again.  Today is apparently a crying day, that's cool.  

It's just so incredibly sweet. He was 23 when he wrote this.  He was in grad school for acting at NYU and he was 100% sure of what he wanted to do, and i was 100% lost.  

It's official. 

All grownsed  up.  Happy Valentines, Mr. Von Henderson.  

Thank you for knowing the things about me that i didn't.

And thanks for being hot and nice, funny, talented and smart.  Those all come in handy as well.  

And here come more tears.  :)

Its' not me, it's you. Sure, you are technically in the best neighborhood.  Yes, you have a fireplace.  And indeed you are very cheap (the kind of cheap that people don't believe)  But we are growing and you aren't.  We both work from home and we need an office. We need outdoor space.  We need more from you than you can give.  Bearcat needs a whole room where she can run and play and scratch on things and you simply don't have that.  Where can she have cat picnics with her friends? But mainly you are just too small for us. 

Its over.

Best, 

Emily, Brian, Bearcat and General Meow Henderson

We've been looking for months and months and months.  We've been going back and forth between saving to buy or upgrading to a better rental.  We decided not to buy because then every penny of our savings would go to a down payment and then we would be back to where we were 3 years ago - constantly kinda worried about money.  It just didn't feel right.

Here were our requirements:

1. tons of natural light

2. interesting architecture. Charm somewhere - built-ins, archways, just GIVE ME SOME QUIRK!!

3. three bedrooms OR 2 bedrooms with an office. 

4. In Los Feliz/Silverlake/Beachwood (Everybody in Los Angeles knows its social suicide to leave the neighborhood where your friends live, and i'm anti all kinds of suicide).  

5. No carpeting or bad wood laminate flooring (there is some that's fine and some that feels like its contact paper)

6. Stand alone house or an apartment with a big terrace - some sort of outdoor space.  

7. Affordable - which for the rest of the country (besides SF, NYC will still seem like a TON of money).  Basically we wanted under $2800 for a 3 bedroom.  

What we decided to sacrifice:

1.  Curb appeal - we were way more concerned about the inside than the outside.  Our requirement was that we wouldn't be embarrassed about the outside, but we didn't have to be in love  with it.  

2.  kitchen - a good kitchen is better than a bad kitchen, indeed, but ultimately its less important to us than the 7 things above.  And frankly nothing we could afford had a good kitchen - some were OK, but none were 'good'. So we gave up on that one a long time ago.  

That's kinda it.  Everything else was a deal breaker.   

We looked and looked and looked (probably 25 places) and a few times i liked it, but brian didn't and vice versa.  We became the 'adorable yet pretty passive aggressive' couple in front of the realtors/property managers.  Anything really great  that we both loved was around $3500 which is insane, i know.  

So yesterday as i stepped off the plane, Brian called and said he thinks we found it and we went straight there.

It's a Spanish style bungalow, in Los Feliz, with charm galore.  If fits all of the categories above, so we snatched it right up.  I can't tell you how excited i am to have space.  SPACE!  We've been living in a one bedroom for 8 years (New York and Los Angeles) and before that we were in a 200 square feet studio in the East Village.  Why? Because we are both petrified of spending beyond our means - which is a good thing most of the time, but at a certain point we realized that we were spending under our means and totally on top of each other (in the bad way).  The problem with being a freelancer and an actor is that you never have consistent income and so you are always scared to take financial risks.  

So, thank god for HGTV.  I love me some consistency.  

She has tons of windows and light, but yes, there is A LOT of texture on that wall....i'm in denial of that right now.  (and unfortunately i know how to fix it and its not pretty or cheap).   It's getting a crisp coat of white paint and then a lot of photoshop when we shoot it.  And those sconces aren't actually bad, but they'll be replaced with something dope. 

The flooring is pretty good. 

Here's my office. Its connected to the master by french doors and it's all windows on three sides.  Perfect for photos, perfect for blogging, and perfect for clients (separate entrance, even).  It's going to be such a happy happy room. And if someday i make a human being inside my stomach then that could be where our little alien lives.  Babies need light to grow, so its perfect.  (I know this because i read flowers in the attic and those kids didn't grow because they were in an attic.  fyi.)

Master bedroom.  Totally big and great.  It's the darkest room in the house, but i'm ok with it.  One less set of black out curtains i don't have to splurge on.

One of the bathrooms.  Now here's my thing:  I prefer no renovation to bad renovation, so this bathroom is actually refreshingly original.  It's penny tile on the ground and aqua and white tile on the side. It's not luxury living, but its totally charming and was an easy sacrifice to make.  I'll always sacrifice looks over easy function, i'm superficial like that.   

It has a a driveway for tons of parking, it has a big garage for storage, its walking distance to soooooo many restaurants/bars/movie theaters and our friends.  It has a huge backyard that once we add some design to it will be adorable.  Its just so much better in every way. 

Is it perfect? nope.  But its such an upgrade you have no idea. It's like going from being a hostess to being a waitress with the best section on friday night - we are still shooting to be a bartender someday, but its such a promotion.  

This is just a sneak peak - i'll do proper 'Before' photos soon, i promise.  

Florence Broadhurst  knew that.  She was all 'i got some huge peacocks, yo, i'm gonna put them all over the walls' (except she was australian so she probably added a 'crikey' in there.) and then the best wallpaper ever was born. Nice one, Flor. 

This peacock mural was from the house that the film 'Evening' was shot in which i got the pleasure of shooting with Cindy Diprima (we did the still shoot, not the film, obvy).  This mural was insane.  Guess what is going to happen as soon as Brian and i buy a house....mural times.  I be having murals all over my walls.

There are a lot of them in Los Angeles at houses in the hills that old movie stars used to own, that now new movie stars own, but as much as they love their 1920's chinoiserie murals they don't necessarily like it when i try to go inside their houses and look at them.  Whatever.   

For now i'm on the search for a tapestry or screen or vintage wallpaper  like this bad boy above.  And for those of you who are all 'Peacocks have been 'in' for a couple years now', i say 'yes, because they are always 'in' because they are extremely beautiful creatures that do mystifying things and also some of them are crazy colorful and beautiful and some of them are just stark white which is also fascinating, plus they fan out their feathers when they get upset and become much bigger than their actual size and that is very interesting and makes me want to study them more.'  

Some things are just pretty. Like flowers.  Flowers will always be 'in' in my book. Trust. 

Ready to get your peacock loving mind blown?

Calm down. It's going in my powder room as soon as i get a powder room or figure out what a powder room is. 

That's the pattern, but someone (very genius) had it made in metallic.  And as much as you want to source, i'm still looking for it and i don't really want to give it up because this one is mine, folks.  

Meanwhile i found this stunning painting at the NYIGF.  It was 4'x4' and incredible in most ways.  Trying to convince a client to splurge.....

Can't sleep.  Headed back to Los Angeles tomorrow/today and excited to start some webisodes for HGTV (don't worry not in place of a show, just in addition to).  I'm also going to start some how-to videos for the blog/youtube  and want to know what you want to learn 'how-to'  do (assuming that i know 'how to' do it)

Styling? DIY's? Being awesome?

Maybe how to paint really, reall,y really beautiful and weird paintings like this? 

But design and fashion wise we, like, were totally gnarly.  

This room is screaming "Just look at how rich, expensive and sexy i am".  (which is pretty much the definition of tackiness, in fashion as well). 

You are so pretty. psyche.

Now the carpet on the floor IN A BATHROOM was an interesting choice, but there is something here that i'm attracted to.  The aqua and gold is a good combo, but there are other really bad elements here.  

Also sometimes we did our hair like this:

Speechless. 

And we thought this was Ok:

And its not, although Orlando would very much disagree.  

Neon was hot.  Literally. Figuratively.  HOT.  I actually don't understand how neon wasn't invented until the 80's and if not, then can we invent new colors still?  I shall invent the color 'nurple' simply so i can say it more often.  'I'll take a gallon of Nurple paint please. Semi-gloss'

The 80's have been creeping back for a few years in fashion - i'm not breaking any news stories with that one.

Its' exciting, you can't deny that.  Neon is not trying to be sophisticated and its not trying to be grown-up - its sole goal is to get attention and stand out, and lets face it when you are headed out to a party, why not also  stand out?

If you don't beleive me about neon, then check out the covers of these australian magazines this month:

See? They are foreign, which means they are cool.  Trust.

Implementing crazy trends is a lot easier in fashion because its just a shirt or a jacket or a bangle - you don't need to overhaul your wardrobe and instead you invest in a piece or two.  It's less risky and less commital. You can be fashion forward whilst only spending a hundred bucks.  

So how do you bring it into your home, eh?

Not like that. 

Better.  Individual pieces are good (and both wall treatments are dope) but still a little cuckoo.  

Yes.  Besides the storage boxes under the bed (i wish it was just a plain white platform) i can get behind this bad boy.   It's a simple backdrop - white or pale pink with big hits of hot pink and neon yellow.  

So what are the tricks? 

Go big and statementy combined with a more subtle and sophisticated style.  

Weird and good.  This person is like the friend that seems all nice and conservative but secretly puts decorative stickers on her nipples.  

Ballsy, but i like it. Oh and the beauty of paint is that its just paint.  So, relax - you can repaint it (and you will) - but for the next 3 years you'll be the cool kids.  You'll be totally tubular, radical and perhaps even bitchin' if you are lucky. 

Or bring it in with accent pieces - pillows, throws, vases, books.  We are saving for a house, living in a one bedroom so i can't paint a wall this color - i would need a bigger house and it would be my guest room or a hallway or bathroom. So for now  i'm bringing it in in the accents:

Here are my neon picks for 2012:

Not your grandpa's wingback.  Maybe your weird uncle's - you know, the one that brings you home Day of the dead souvineer figurines from Baja and has an Art Car.  (i can't find who makes these for the life of me, so if you know, please leave it in a comment).

Crazy neon green tutu chandy by Jonis Bohlin via Remodelista  I could put this in a kids room, or breakfast nook.  

Really awesome porcelain vessels and tableware from Maison Sauvage  So saturated; the shapes are whimsical and yet there is something sophisticated about them.  

Neon pipers throw pillows From Christen Maxwell I've loved these from day one.  

I love this version, too:

That grey linen with the yellow combo is ridic. 

i just found these radical neon poufs on Etsy for $65 each:

Pretty little dec pillow from an etsy vendor

I recently bought this Lisa Congdon original for a client - just to bring in that pop of neon pink:

This one is taken (by me), but you could buy some of her prints like these:

UrbanOutfitters is selling some very inexpensive and non-commital close to neon pillows:

This playful pom pom fringer for $24

This one just has a few stripes of really saturated colors so its pretty safe, for neon. 

Neon chorded lights from Etsy:

They also sell custom pendants where you pick the chord:

So it could look like this:

I would add a very simple white drum shade to modern-ize it and make it more sophisticated.

And last but certainly not least, Castle and Things is doing something SOOOO good with neon:

 They have artwork and linen and i would own everyone single one of them.   Don't be intimidated by international shipping - i ordered something recently and it came so fast, plus its free if you spend over $250.

In other 80's news, i'll take one of these please. 

My questions to you, dear readers, are:

Can you handle the neon? How would you use it? And how long do you think its here for?

Dear green, i don't use you enough.  Por qua? No se.  Extra surprising since i'm from Oregon, but from now on green is in da Emily club.  

Like my cobb, Green, you are moody and yet exciting. I should never be a food critic, metaphors like that are career killers. 

Tangerine.  I know, its the 'Color of the year' although i do not remember voting for it. I like how it just gets announced and we all are like, 'yeah, of course, 'tangerine', i've been loving tangerine for like 5 months now'.  Well i'm on the tangerine boat.....with a life-jacket securely on and my finger on the coast guard speed dial.  I'll go along, but i'm hesitant because a little goes a LONG way.  That could be because i look like i'm dead when i wear any tone of orange, and being an apparent narcissist, its therefore a color that i'm not drawn to in general.   

I like it when it goes more red/pink and less yellow.  Perhaps that's because i look better in red and pink and not so good (read TERRIBLE) in yellow (which is funny because my hair is kinda yellow).  Again, with the vanity. 

But then you put it with a deep teal (above) and i'm totally in.  

In these photos i wish there was one less orange thing.  I love the lacquered nightstand, but take away that tangerine pillow and the chinese dudes.  It's too matchy.  The one on the right, however, is hitting a good spot with me because everything else is unpredictable - but i could never live in that room.  When you go all matchy matchy with this one it goes crazy lady so fast, and i like a crazy lady, hell, i am a crazy lady, but i mean like a really really CRAZY LADY, like this chick:

This is why i love the internet; I can google 'Craziest lady ever' and immediately this clearly quite crazy lady pops up.  I do apologize if this is you or a family member of yours, although i think you should concern yourself less with my apologies and my blog and perhaps see an eye doctor.  or an earring doctor.  or a hair doctor.  

Gotta run to the New York International furniture and gift show.  I'm in New York and already simply having a ball.

 How are you feeling about Tangerine? and am i the only one who loves the colors that love me back? 

My 20 Favorite Etsy Pillows.  (NOT a sponsored post, by the way)

I don't splurge on throw pillows.  Now and again i'll see one that i love love love, but i think buying a  $300 throw pillow is never where i'm going to want to spend my money.  Especially when Etsy has a ton of sellers that have pillows that are more interesting, less seen (therefore i'm less likely to get sick of them), and more affordable than the big box stores,  so as i was shopping for a few clients i decided to turn it into a post.   

Happy and graphic: 

 1. vintage kilim chevron pillow $50

2. heart pillow, $50 

3. cross pillow: $42

4. multi-color felt pillow, $150 

kilim's/turkish one of a kinds:

1. Striped kilim pillow:  $59

2. red kilim pillow: $69

3. Pink kilim pillow: $129

4. Kaza Kilim Pillow $63

Blue and graphic

1. blue damask;  $9.09

2. native quilt pillow:  $40

3. anchor pillow $22

4. scallop pillow:  $16 you can customize any color. 

Vintage: *hop on these, there is only one each

1. vintage floral pillow:  $24

2. woman needlepoint $24.99

3. blue silk vintage pillow:  $55

4. bird needlpoint:   $28.00

kids/young at heart:

1. Hooked horse pillow:  $48 

2. elephant pillow:  $49

3. whale pillow:  $49

4. mother and child pillow  $45

Support these businesses, my friends.  They are making my job easier, even though it took hours to scour through and i'm sure i'm missing a ton of great ones.  Do you guys like these roundups? I know i don't do them often but i could start doing more if you are into it......

Happy Monday, friends. 

This piece was the one i was going to buy for myself except shipping it to LA was going to be $200 and the piece itself was $250 so i didn't. Its a vintage English brass and tufted leather stool, otherwise known as 'that piece that will take a room from cool to amazing, the piece that will undeniably set a room apart from other rooms'.  I wouldn't sit on it so much, just look at it, spoon it, take photos of it.  But alas. 

Pretty coffee table - how glamorous indeed.  

Awesome English club chair in the most perfect worn leather.  I have the matching sofa to this that i got at a vintage store here in LA, but almost all of my clients want this right now.

Extremely great stools.  I'm getting over industrial REALLY REALLY fast, but when its combined with warm brown leather and its special, then i can still do it.

The 'it' sofa of the year.  I only wish it was vintage and it would be perfect.  And cognac leather instead of black, you know i don't do black so well. 

I love these, but I hope they don't start turning up EVERYWHERE.  Instead i bought 6 of these for a client:

They are for a dude, with pretty leather and stitching.  And the price (which will go nameless out of respect for other designers) was amazing.  

Pretty pretty vintage fans.  I'm sad i didn't buy one of these, but maybe they'll be at the NYIGF next week.  

Then i popped over to Scott's flea market - a once a month affair in Atlanta.  It was great, but there are no steals happening here - they know what they have and what they should charge so by the time i factored in shipping and my markup, everything got to be very expensive for me and my clients.  But these captured my heart for a couple hours and i was EXTREMELY tempted:

They are 1950's Italian rosewood campaign side tables and a matching coffee table. The wood is insanely beautiful - its a mosaic on top, all hand done and absolutely breathtaking. The scale is perfect, but the price was hard to swallow.  $1500 for the set - not a fortune and totally worth it to be honest.  But since we are saving for a house, i just couldn't do it.  Shipping would be $300-400 and i've never spent so much money on anything before.  I thought about them for days and was seriously worried that i would regret it forever.  

The thing is, i don't really want the set so much as just the coffee table (not pictured).  I wouldn't put them all in the same room anyway and the vendor refused to break them up.  

Luckily i didn't pull the trigger because last week i found my coffee table soul mate at a vintage store for $350. It was like in the fairy tale cartoons when the princess sees her prince and everything else goes blurry except him.  It's love at first sight, they run to eachother and embrace and twirl and kiss.  It was just like that only the R rated version.  

I started freaking out that someone might beat me to it, even though no one else was in the store, so i panicked and walked briskly (without looking desperate) and stood next to it and then called for help to find the price (which wouldn't matter, i was buying it no matter what...well as long as it was under $500 which i knew it would be) and then when he came over i acted cool and was all 'hey papi, how much is this piece?' and it was $400 and i offered $300 and he said $350 and i pulled the trigger.  It's mine.  And i'm so happy.  

It has copper nails, beautiful hardware and its vintage but it in pretty great condition.  I need to move that other gold side trunk into another room, but first i need to have another room.  

That awesome rug is from Rugs USA and i love it.  And that animal in the background is my cat, General Meow, which is constantly looking like she is laying eggs - i swear her head gets smaller and her body gets bigger each day.  So we call her General Hen and she rolls her eyes at us.  Stupid humans.  

Who is all going to the NYIGF? i'll be there next wednesday and thursday. Yes, my third trip this month, but what can you do.  

Off to boxing, that's what you can do.