a labor-less labor day

happy friday, everyone! 

i can't believe that it's already labor day weekend and that tomorrow is september 1! this summer flew by!

unfortunately, i have come down with a nasty summer cold and all i want to do is recuperate in bed with some snuggles from titus (and the boyfriend, too.)

here's my would-be agenda:

reading: the innocents by francesca segal and restaurant man by joe bastianich

my library card has been getting a lot of action!

wearing: l.l. bean slippers, j.crew tortoise-button sweatshirt

cozy feet and slouchy stripes!

watching: something's gotta give and downton abbey

an old favorite (that house!) and preparations for season 3's UK launch next week!

looks like heaven. now i just have to wait until the end of the day, and then i can spend all weekend recovering :)

happy labor day weekend!

booking it

bookcases:

simply viewed, a place to put books. 

designly viewed, a place to display a carefully curated collection of books and other things.

between home decor magazines and design blogs, everyone has taken a stab at the bookcase!

one design blog i love, i suwannee, has a "bookcase of the day" series featuring, obviously, beautiful bookcases - this is one of my favorites:

while the color-coordinated bookcase is a pleasing visual aesthetic, it would drive me insane because i actually use many of my books and have no idea what color any of them are!

this is designer minnie mortimer's library/living room

sidenote: i went to high school with her! well, she was a senior when i was a freshman and i am sure she has no idea who i am, but i love what she did with this room!

[via vogue]

love this room in general, but the bookcase is organized and yet appears real.

[via the art of doing stuff]

while i continue to decide how best to work with our giant floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelf in the living room, i do know that i would love to add some (more) beautiful books to my collection!

here are a few that i have my eye on:

design*sponge at home / good bones, great pieces / paris versus new york / the painter, the cook, and the art of cucina / the perfectly imperfect home / vintage cocktails / momofuku / the cheesemonger's kitchen

any others i should have on my radar? 

an aside: an entire cookbook about CHEESE! clearly, i need it.

currently reading...

... and i can't put it down: shantaram by gregory david roberts. SO GOOD. it's the story of a convict who escapes from prison in australia and flees to bombay.

i had the opportunity to travel to india a few years ago, so it is particularly compelling to have a visual reference for some of the places described in the book.

a busy street in bombay (i think this was near the train station, Victoria Terminus)

the colaba waterfront

lin, shantaram's protagonist, befriends a local guide and moves into a hut in one of the city's massive slums, where he quickly learns the language and opens a free medical clinic. the book continually remarks on the vibrant, optimistic demeanor of the slum inhabitants, who are incredibly poor but have an incredible sense of community.

 during my trip, we visited a pavement school in dharavi, one of the bombay slums, and i, too, was struck by how happy and welcoming the people were. these pictures don't really do the experience justice, but needless to say, it was eye-opening in the most positive way. 

a pavement school in dharavi

students from the pavement school

laundry hanging out to dry in the sun

all photos (except for the book cover) were taken by me.

bookworm

sorry for the lack of post yesterday - i was feeling a bit under the weather :(

like so many others, i have fallen down the hunger games rabbit hole. i am not usually into trendy literature (like twilight. ugh. sorry vampire fans, that stuff just does not appeal to me!) but these books are totally addictive. they're one part lord of the flies with one part fahrenheit 451: a futuristic dystopian society with an olympics-like televised death match for teenagers. 

even better, the movie comes out in less than a month! i love film adaptations - i like to see if the director's rendering even comes close to what i have envisioned in my mind's eye. notable successes include the entire harry potter series and the girl with the dragon tattoo. most notable failure? tom hanks as robert langdon in the davinci code. so tragic. 

the writing in the hunger games pays incredible attention to detail, particularly on the fashion/clothing side, and one of my comedic favorites, elizabeth banks, is playing a high-strung PR person with a wacky fashion sense. there is already a tumblr dedicated to the movie with sneak-peeks, and an OPI line featuring miss banks:

elizabeth banks as her hunger games alter ego, effie trinket. 

the hunger games books are super quick reads, so if you are looking for a little downtime this weekend (or you commute like i do and need a new book) you can blow through the first one in a few hours... and then you will be dying to get your hands on the other two!

happy friday and have a great weekend!