Colicchio, Cross and Spartan... (Or, you guessed it, a few random bits)

photo by Stephanie

This photo makes me immensely happy.

It's clean and calm and orderly -- pretty much everything my life is, well...not of late. I promise I won't bore you with too many "complainerish" (yes, I made that one up) details, but the quick version is that I ended up at the emergency room on Tuesday evening with a tooth infection that was quickly spreading upward and had become a staph infection in my eye. Suffice to say, I was looking rather awesome. Yesterday I went in for an emergency tooth extraction which, combined with some super strong antibiotics and some pain meds (hooray for the pain meds), has me on the road to recovery.

Oh and they're putting in our new travertine tile today, the wood floors should be finished next week, my friend Achlee just gave me six killer Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs, kicking off a little refresh of our breakfast room, and our pool should be swim-ready by Sunday. Friends, we're on a roll, the tides are turning, I can feel it.

But back to that photo above. It was taken by my dear friend Stephanie at an Ovarian Cancer Research Fund awareness event hosted by Electrolux in NYC. (Tom Colicchio was at the event giving a little cooking demo...sigh. Have I ever mentioned that I have a deep and abiding crush on Tom Colicchio?)

This initiative by Electrolux is truly fantastic. They do good work for sure. Go here to see how you can get involved...

Next, in what is clearly a trifecta of awesome, my amazing friend Lucia is curating a show at the fantastic Bows and Arrows focused on Jonathan Cross' beautiful, sculptural pots. (See...so much goodness.)

The show entitled, "Formation", runs from June 18- July 2 and will feature over 70 small, unique, hand-built pots by Jonathan. Per Lucia:

"Cross’s structured ceramics cull from his background in printmaking, asserting highly graphic qualities over the common curvilinear functions of a ceramic pot, referencing geological formations: cliffs, plateaus, and icebergs, as well as man-made, architectural formations such as towers. In that, Cross’s work, though small, suggests the monumental, resonating with a rigid and formidable presence that echoes back both nature and technological might."

I am a huge fan of Jonathan's work (and Lucia...and Bows and Arrows)...if you live in the area, you should definitely make a point of visiting the show.

images via Arrow and Arrow

And finally... These recent photos of (perhaps my favorite shop of all time) Spartan, which are making me want to jump in the car and head to Austin stat for some retail therapy. Spartan's owner, Currie, has perfect taste. Spot-on in every way.