Zzz

Photo: Patrick Cline

For the past few nights I've been a complete insomniac, awake at the strangest hours wondering what's going on, and pondering silly things like whether to redecorate my bedroom for the umpteenth time, whether I paid my electricity bill, how I'm ever going to fit all my clothes inside my teeny closet, etc. So tonight as I lay restlessly in bed trying to think cozy thoughts, I was reminded of this photo that Patrick took of the John Derian store down in the east village. We were out shooting one day just as it was starting to get dark, and I dragged Pat over to East 2nd Street and crossed my fingers that his photo would do the shop justice. Sure enough it did :) It's one of my favorite shops to visit on gloomy days because of the soft warm lighting and endless curiosities. So tonight while the rest of you are sleeping, I'll continue to count sheep...and bulldog decoupage plates, old love letters, red seaweed, the usual ;)

Special Announcement {Lonny magazine}

Tonight is an incredibly exciting night for both myself and my business partner Patrick Cline, as we've got a p r e t t y big announcement for you ;) Over the past six months as we've all watched our favorite shelter and lifestyle publications come to an end, it has left design lovers worldwide longing for inspiration and wondering what's next for the world of magazines. So Patrick and I decided to do something about it. As a special treat for you, we've rounded up some of your favorite (and boy do I mean favorite!) editors, designers, artists, bloggers and friends, and in September, 2009 we will be launching our premiere issue of an online decorating and lifestyle magazine called Lonny. Please be sure to spread the word, and check back in the coming weeks as we share with you our first ever cover shoot, and more details about the mag ;)

Summer love

Ok so perhaps I'm just itching to go on a European vacation and fall in love, but here's another video that made my hair stand on end :) It's actually a film made from 4,500 still photographs (brilliant!) and I found it on I Heart Luxe.

Thank you (so much!!) and credits :)

Hello! And wow, I don't even know HOW to say thank you enough for all the amazing comments I've received in the past few days! I'm honestly floored, and a tad embarrassed...! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! I've received quite a few questions about various goodies in my apartment so I did a little summary above :) Thanks again- I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Left to right: I love NY more than ever by Milton Glaser, East Village by Rubie Green, Lenda by Ikea (I used clip rings to tuck the tab tops since I like classic pole pocket drapes better;) Peekaboo coffee table by CB2, Silver Half Dollar paint by Benjamin Moore's Natura collection, Estate window hardware by Restoration Hardware (I scored mine at the RH outlet for a whopping $35!), and Painting People by Charlotte Mullins.

A peek inside my home via Real Living

Photos: Patrick Cline for Lonny

For the past few months I've been dying to show you photos of my teeny East Harlem home, and tonight I couldn't be more thrilled to finally do so! When I met up with the kind and talented Real Living team on my recent trip to Australia, I told them all about my current decorating project: a low budget home makeover featuring eco-friendly paints, vintage finds and sustainable materials! They soon hired Patrick Cline to photograph the story, and finally three months later voila- here it is in print! I hope you like it :) and feel free to click here to see the full article ;)

A very special thank you to Real Living and Patrick Cline for making this happen, and Diane & Belinda for sending me the article (or rather a giant box of them...)!

Tastemaker's Tag Sale

For those of you in town tomorrow, you're in for a real treat! Former domino editors Tom Delavan and Dara Caponigro are hosting a tastemaker's tag sale with their editor and designer friends that will occupy 1,500 square feet of Tom's Greenwich Village townhouse! As announced in the New York Times, "Former Domino contributors like Rita Konig will also be turning out their storerooms, as will Wendy Goodman, the design editor of New York magazine; Brian Sawyer, an architect; and interior decorators like Katie Ridder and Tom Flynn, among many others. Deborah Needleman, who was Domino’s editor in chief, will be bringing clothes — a wardrobe that includes Lanvin, Prada and Chloé, she said, “fancy party frocks from a nice former life I happily don’t have anymore.” I'm semi devastated that I'll be out of town until Monday!! (why oh why?!) For those of you who are around, be sure to stop by and take pics ;) Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 13 West Ninth Street (Fifth Avenue), garden apartment; cash only.

Currently loving...

All the Best + Vicente Wolf

For anybody who's ever wished they were able to experience gallery openings in Manhattan, I want to introduce you to the clever new partnership between All the Best and Vicente Wolf. The idea behind their partnership is to use Ronda's blog as a way to showcase Vicente's photography exhibits, and to make them available to purchase worldwide. In a recent post, Ronda writes, "In discussing the exceptional opportunities for partnerships between bloggers, designers and artists, Vicente, Susan Moolman and I were struck by the idea that people all over the globe can now discover artists’ work in ways that simply were not possible even 10 years ago." I share her same enthusiasm and am excited to show you some photos of the event and Vicente's Manhattan showroom!

Vicente Wolf

I love how Vicente chose to keep the walls white in his showroom. I'm a huge fan of black and white photography on white walls. Thomas O'Brien is another designer who often does this too ;)

Here's a pic of Ronda (so great to see you!), my good friend Michael Devine and me!

For more photos of the event, be sure to stop by All the Best, The Devine Life and Tobi Farley's blog!

Rubie Green on the Bright Side Project!

I wanted to let you all know that I've partnered up with the Bright Side Project once again (thanks Tristan!) and will be offering one lucky winner 1 sheet set of your choice for answering this thoroughly complex question: Who was your first crush? Haha. I'm such a hopeless romantic (I'm sure my friends are rolling their eyes while reading this...) that I thought the answers would be fun to read through ;) I'm already up to 230 first crush stories and there's still time to add yours and enter by this Thursday! While scanning through them I spotted one that made me laugh since her first crush was Macaulay Culkin. So was mine! Although I think I simultaneously had a crush on Michael Jackson, so clearly I was not to be taken seriously...

Photo credits

Photo: Patrick Cline for Rubie Green

Hi all! I've received quite a few inquiries from my last post, so I thought I'd pass along the following credit info ;) Dress: Kate Spade. I bought it for 75% off in January! You'd be surprised how often great pieces are heavily discounted over at KS. In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of their 20% off coupon valid from now until September 30th! Chair: Vintage chair from Chairloom, upholstered in East Village pink by Rubie Green. Model: My good friend Amy Crandall :) Stunning.

Happy Earth Day!

Photo: Patrick Cline for Rubie Green

Happy Earth Day to my friends in all corners of the world! I wanted to share something fun and green with you today, so I decided to give you a little sneak peek of my new apartment! As a few of you have already guessed, I had been working with domino magazine (sniff) on an eco-friendly makeover of my little Spanish Harlem home, but after they folded I decided to continue the project on my own, with a much lower budget of course. I'd love to show you the whole thing, but for now I have to wait just a tad longer. Let's just say I've got a few tricks up my sleeve ;)

The inspiration for my new home was the J.K. Capri, but in a sort of 'J.K. meets twenty something Manhattan gal' kind of way ;) When I visited the hotel last summer I was seriously taken by the tranquil color palette and the sophisticated layering of art, photography, books and accessories. If you haven't seen the photos from my original post, click here. It's honestly my favorite post of all time, and I cannot think of a single space that makes me more happy.

To get the J.K. look in an eco-friendly way, I chose Benjamin Moore's new Natura paint which has zero VOC's and is completely odorless! I was thrilled when the line was recently released because it's a great example of how powerful the green movement has become. Just two years ago when I was working on the green issue of domino, we were literally unable to find conventional paints without VOC's! Many forward thinking brands at the time had offered low VOC options, but it wasn't until recently that these new zero emission paints have become widely available. I chose a soft grey for my living room called Silver Half Dollar, and a navy for my office called Kensington Blue. Both look stunning paired with white moldings and furniture and colorful accessories, as is the case in the J.K. below.

Lastly I wanted to send a warm thank you to all my readers and Rubie Green fans in Australia! I continue to be absolutely blown away by the overwhelmingly positive response I have received from down under, and I am working hard to find a way to ship our bedding to you in the future. In the meantime, thank you thank you thank you for your support and your incredible enthusiasm, and a very special thanks to Home Beautiful for including me in the Eco-Chic section of the May issue :) Go green!

'Tis the season

Kate Townsend-Simpson photographed by Max Kim-Bee for Brides

As the weather starts to get warmer and the trees begin to blossom, it feels like love is in the air :) A few of my good friends just got engaged this week (congrats Elana + Bret and Amanda + Alex!!) and I myself am heading to a wedding in Jamaica next weekend! While pondering what to wear in 95 degree weather (no complaints!) I was reminded of an old story from Brides magazine featuring my former boss at domino, Kate Townsend-Simpson! I remember we were sitting in the office one day chatting, and she mentioned that her wedding was published, so I ran back to my desk and googled it and my jaw dropped when I found it. Wow! Kate looks stunning.

For more photos and close-up detail shots, be sure to check out the full story here. As for me, although I'm years away from even thinking about marriage, I couldn't help but fall in love with this dress from J. Crew! I spotted it tonight while searching for something to wear next weekend, and found myself wishing I could dance around in it the whole night instead ;) (dear j. crew, please keep this dress in stock forever. sincerely, michelle.)

Piggy Post!

Photo: Patrick Cline for Lonny

On Sunday Patrick and I headed out to Long Island in search of some sheep to photograph for Lonny! But when we arrived at the farm we couldn't help but fall in love with the baby piglets instead!! Although I'm from Michigan and have certainly seen my fair share of farms, I had never seen a baby pig and had no clue how cute they are! They look like little French bulldogs with funny noses, and they like to race around, climb on each other, and then regroup for mini naps. (like in the photo below!) Click here if you'd like to see some more ;)

Rubie Green in Daily Candy!

I am so pleased to announce that Rubie Green is featured in the everywhere edition of Daily Candy today!! Needless to say, our site is moving like molasses from all the traffic, so please bear with us and try back later if it's moving too slowly :) Thanks DC!

I'm also incredibly excited to announce that I am now working with Ruby Press! (Rubie Green and Ruby Press- how funny is that!) I first met the gals at RP when I was working at domino, and honestly couldn't imagine a more perfect fit for my company. Be sure to check out their blog, and be prepared to leave it with about ten million new bookmarks on your computer! (Seriously, they find the coolest things on earth;)

Kate Spade Fall 2009

Photo: Anders Overgaard for Harper's Bazaar via Diane Bergeron's The DB Files

Last week during our big bedding launch I was pretty much glued to my office chair, but I did manage to sneak out for a quick preview of the Kate Spade apparel debut, and Fall 2009 collection! Here's a little peek of what's to come ;)

Loving the mod look, saturated colors, forgiving silhouettes and attention to detail. (And the bows!)For all of you Tim Gunn fans, you'll be pleased to know that he is hosting a series of lectures on defining signature style. Click here to see a schedule of lectures at a Kate Spade store near you.

Personally, I'm a fan of Kate's creative director, Deborah Lloyd! These photos are from a tour of her Brooklyn brownstone in the February 2009 issue of Harper's Bazaar.

And finally, here's some fun ways to get Lloyd's well-traveled look! Be sure to also check out the Style Court coverage here :)

Left to right: Henry by Lonny, Sunshine Bracelet by J. Crew, Lantern Vase by Jonathan Adler, I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson, Trapeze Top by Kate Spade (better hurry- this baby's on sale!), Coakley Cay Notepads by Iomoi (only $25!), Explorer Series by Steamline Luggage, Mary by Rubie Green, and Easton Stripe Jillian Dress by Kate Spade.