Everyone was there to congratulate Martyn and PARRRRTEH, including Taylor Dayne (who still has PIPES) and Downtown Julie Brown.  I got so excited during Tell It To My Heart, that I jumped on stage with hunky Martyn and boogied my bootie.   Bravo’s new show Million Dollar Decorator was filming, so let’s “Watch What Happens” and see if I make it to the episode.  Big night, big party, big award and great, big, talented, sweet man.  Congrats.

A few days later I spoke at the Solargy showroom opening party in Tarzana.  The first of its kind in Los Angeles, it’s a good looking showroom room filled with energy effiicient solutions for residential and commercial buildings. My favorite was the HVAC system that has an automated humidifier for those dry winter nights.  And designers, co-owner Gabrielle  is quite the charmer. Make sure to book your tour with him.

Immediately after I popped into the Jean De Merrry Party to talk about my book, say hi to everyone and see Mike Ragan’samazing fabric display.  The Melrose Place showroom is breathtaking and I love the way they transformed the parking lot into a green paradise complete with fountain, sculpture and exquisite outdoor lanterns. I’d expect nothing less from Jean De Merry.

Rounding out the weekend, the SoCalContractor and I headed over toFabrik Magazine’s Arts District Art Walk and visited the studios of some of LA’s finest. Sculpture by David Hollen, Canvas by Robert Reynolds and Photography by Cyril Helnwein were all fantastic. The experience was entirely surreal going behind the concrete walls into studio spaces that were buzzing with energy and unbridled, urban beauty.   

DAVID HOLLEN

DAVID HOLLEN

ROBERT REYNOLDS

CYRIL HELNWEIN

 Beautiful blonde Italian, Gemma Sonego (architect, floral artist, collector of vintage furnishings) and little Elle Bell took a liking to each other and stayed side by side for the better part of our visit.  I fell in love with both her and her husband, Robert Renoylds and will be having them soon for a soiree on the West Side. 

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 Having had our fill of noisy playgrounds for the weekend, the  SoCal Contractor and I , opted for a much quieter play day for Elle Bell and headed to the Bel Air entrance.

Like New York City, UCLA seems empty on the weekends, which was exactly what we wanted.  Established in the 1880s, the campus is home to  captivating, brick buildings designed in the same grandeur as the Ivy League schools you so often see in movies.  Additionally there are world class examples of International style buildings from the north to the south.  My favorite part of the campus still remains the Murphy Sculpture Garden, something so serene and unexpected at a college campus.   We stayed there for a good, long time admiring the beautiful man made structures and landscape.  With a reflecting pond and plenty of space to kick a soccer ball, the trip was a hit with the entire family.

Nothing to do next weekend? Pack a lunch- maybe even sneak in a bottle of wine-and head to UCLA.  For a whopping $10 parking fee you’ll enjoy a few hours of intellectual solitude and some fresh air. Go Bruins!

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 Michela O’Conner, Dwell Media President;Frances Anderton, wunderkind reporter KCRW- – P.S. Frances I will not stop bugging you until you interview me on your show;  Jennifer Siegal, Office Of Mobile Design and Funky Williard Ford, Ford and Ching told us all about their experiences with the new affluent.  Basically they love Apple, the environment and will place  Ikea directly next to a rare antique.  MY PEOPLE!  I also got confirmation that my efforts on Facebook were worth the while, as 87% of “them” are using it.  Now, I liken the FB experience to having a phone number.  You’re simply out of touch without one.  Perhaps the most provoking part of the presentation was the comment from a woman in the audience who reminded us not to forget the design loving,  Chinese consumer, attending the EXPO in Shanghai to the tune of 46 million visitors.  Michela O’ Conner wholeheartedly agreed.  I owe a lot to that lady in the audience- my big public relations meeting the following day took on a whole new direction focusing also on China- NI HAO!

When the keynote ended, I was minding my own business when I walked down the hall by the new ASID office.  There sat the  past president, president and president elect who summonsed me in and told me I had been appointed Editor in Chief of LA Design Magazine, the chapters’ Quarterly. WTF?  So, now I’m an editor of a design magazine -pretty cool.  First order of business: CALLING ALL WRITERS: anyone who thinks they have something to contribute- – Hollah Back at me!

Other things at market that inspired me were the exhibit at Mya Stark’s pop up gallery featuring a massive collection of other people’s old photos.  I seriously wish I had a few hours to really look at all of them (there had to be thousands) because they really told a story of American history without saying a word- although some had some did have informative comments written on the back ranging from racy to ridiculous.  Greg Gorman’s A Distinct Vision was also among my favorites with striking, larger than life (literally) photography displayed along glass walls.   Get over there and take a look before they’re gone.

After a day full of informative programs Janus Et Cie threw… yet another fab party with killer appies, a stocked bar and hip deejay.  Unfortunately for them 3/4 of the regular crowd was gone.  Margaret Russell was up on the third floor throwin’ down one hell of a shin dig for Thomas Lavin’s  10th Anniversary. The SoCal Contractorwas VERY impressed with the Scotch selection, not an easy fete for a man who bar-tended in Scotland. I saw people I haven’t seen in ages including Keith Granet and Lloyd Princeton. I’ve known and loved Thomas from way back and was delighted to see all stars aligning for this wonderful man. Congrats TL, you really deserve it.

Thomas and Lori: Back in the Days Before I Needed Botox!

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It felt like a place you would normally have to pay for entry. One out of towner commented twice about how beautiful the parks of Los Angeles are and that they don’t have anything like that in her city.  (Hearing things like that always makes me feel better about our 10% sales tax.) The dutchess from the South brought it with yummy finger food, fashionable guests and delightful table decorations. Anyone who knows me, knows I love a civilized picnic at the park. (And someone has also being doing pilates- look at those arms!)

         MY LOVELY LITTLE ELLE BELL

Fig jam was the next treat on my holiday at home.  The trees in my front yard are EXPLODING with figs and don’t look like they’ll stop anytime soon.  We had a fig fiesta last week- serving up grilled figs with goat cheese and tri-tip keebobs.  I sent folks packing with figs galore, but alas, those trees kept pumpin’ out more figs.  What better way to thank the editors who gave my book, Green Interior Design, rave reviews than jam made from the organic figs that I grew myself?  I also plan on sending a few jars to the people who missed the fig fiesta like Ms. AGL and  the editors from Angeleno and LUXE.  Since one of the chapters includes ideas about replacing grass lawns with edible gardens to grow  produce that is  free of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, I think it makes sense.  I hope they like figs.

For any of you wondering, it’s pretty simple.  1 part figs to 3/4 sugar, finely chopped lemon rind and a splash of vanilla.  Put it on slow boil for two hours.  Let cool. Cover until next day.  Boil for 15-20 minutes. Let cool.  Put in jars. 

Next we headed over to the Beverly Hills Food and Wine Festival. Christofle has been sending me invite after invite for the last 6 months, so I popped in to finally say hello.  I had no idea that they made jewelry, frames and other amazing accessories.  They served up Bouchon cookies and delicious red wine against a back drop of some of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen.

The SoCal Contractor and I are renovating a hacienda on Laurel Canyon so we decided to mix business with pleasure and head over to the Montage for some inspiration.  I never thought about doing this with our toddler in tow, but we sat down for cappucinos and ice cream in the lobby lounge.  It was so pleasant and Elle was so well behaved that we stayed for dinner: sliders, fish tacos and french fries.  The last thing I expected in a place where the well heeled go for cocktail hour was a chest filled with children’s books.   Very smart boutique hotel.  Darrell Schmidt’s fabulous interior design, a phenomenal jazz sound track, gourmet cusine and NO DISHES, forget a Cabo beach, this is what I call paradise.   We were so elated that we spent $80 on a stuffed cat Elle adopted in the gift shop. ( Incidentally every single item in that shop was something I would want to receive as a gift, simply the best hotel gift shop I’ve ever visited. And Nicole Campbell, at the helm, was adorable too.) 

Our real cat Monkey thinks he’s been sent a mail order bride.

Three more house parties to attend befor this staycation is over on Tuesday.  I’ll keep you posted….

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Hotel DeVille Paris

Two weeks ago I returned from a lovely holiday in France.  The SoCal Contractor and I were invited to a lady friend’s 80th birthday celebration in Lyon, and there was no way we were going to miss that!  We began in Paris- where else?- and were wowed by the beauty that surprises me every time I step foot in the city.  What also surprised me and made me a bit sick were the hundreds of piles of empty, plastic,  water bottles in trash heaps all over the city. It was hot and there were TONS of tourists.  In California and many places I’ve visited there is a 5 or 10 cent value placed on these plastic bottles, so even when lazy people use them and chuck em, you have an army of people who collect them right out of the trash to redeem for cash.  It’s a system that has always left me wondering how the beaches of Indonesia (have you seen those photos???)  can be filled with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of empty, plastic, water bottles.  My thinking: they’re worth money, if for no other reason, how can they be discarded on the beaches that way?  Well, there they were, all over  Paris, on their way to land fills, streams and oceans.  Not so green.  What was green and one of the best ways to see the city was the 10Pm-12AM bike ridethrough every arrondisement in the city, protesting Saudi oil.  There we were minding our business, eating chocolate and drinking wine in front of Notre Dame  when we saw about 200 bicycles cruise by us.  We weren’t sure what was going on and thought possibly France had just won the World Cup. I had seen a similar scene when France won in 1998. (Funny thing, is that France had been long gone from the games at that point.) We grabbed our city bikes and caught up with the parade. A few blocks later we learned we were part of an oil protest, holding up traffic, waving banners and honking our horns at every cafe in the city. I saw parts of Paris,  I never knew existed during that two hours, cheered and exchanged greetings with every type of Parisian. Very Green. 

Pantheon

Notre Dame

Luxemborg Gardens

We stayed in a great hotel a few steps from Musee D’Orsay and right across from the Louvre called Hotel Bellechasse.  Christian LaCroix just renovated it–super funky and right next to a public, bike station. Not too expensive, it’s a great place to stay on a couple’s trip.

Hotel Bellechasse

Lori Dennis Biking around Paris on an Anti Saudi Oil Protest

Musee D’Orsay

Loved Paris, but it was hot, dirty, crowded and we were ready to head to the culinary capital of the country- Lyon.  We weren’t sure what to expect and after seeing the hotels on line, didn’t expect much. There were only three nice ones. We booked one of them and hoped it would be ok.  After recovering from the shock of a $100 cab ride into the city from the airport, we fell in love with the place.  Our hotel, La Tour Rose,  was in the Vieux Lyon-the old city, every room in the hotel decorated  in a different  fabric of the prominent 18th century silk houses of Lyon.  I can not describe how luxurious and simply beautiful our room was with red velvet, silk covered walls, matching bedspread and floor to ceiling curtains.  It was a room befitting writer Alexandre Dumas and he actually stayed there when he wrote the Three Musketeers.    The town lived up to its reputation for cuisine (much more fairly priced than Paris food of lesser quality) and had two sparkling green rivers running through it: the Rhone and the Soane.  People were actually swimming in these rivers and the entire experience was all too civilized.  What was unexpected was that the majority of chefs, like Alain Aleaxnian, were  green food advocates, dedicated to promoting and supporting local producers and organic food and wine.   (Read the next three words in a French accent) But of course…  it makes total sense in a clean environment, surrounded by pristine waters and forests.  For a day, we ventured deeper into the countryside and visited Chamber, witnessing the fields of pure, white cows famous for so much of the region’s delicious cheese. I am so happy to have been exposed to the fantastic wines of the Rhone, earthy and full bodied- yum! 

La Tour Rose Hotel

 So Cal Contractor Roi Yerushalmi and Lori Dennis Rhone River, Lyon France

Cooling our feet at the Soane

Beautiful Lyon

Lyon City Square

Chambery France

We wrapped up the trip with a two day layover in London- unfortunately most of it was in the airport due to faulty British Airways planes.  In Heathrow airport, terminal 5, green is alive and well.  On one of our last eating and drinking extravaganzas, we were served a bottle of Belu Water.  This company donates ALL of their profits to clean water in places where people don’t have any.  Belu has successfully created the world’s first carbon neutral bottled water, launched the UK’s first plastic bottle made from corn not oil, promotes PVC-free bottle caps and provides over 40,000 people overseas with access to clean water. 

So we wrapped up the trip with a nice green, ribbon and came home to see our sweet little Elle Bell.

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We spent the past weekend planting our succulents, the beginnings of an herb garden and painting the patio fence.  The SoCal Contractor even made  three huge planters for the patio. 

We found the perfect spot with the right combination of shade and sun for the orchids and figs will be ready in a few weeks.  Can you say edible garden?

It feels like the garden of Eden and I can promise you I won’t screw it up by planting any apple trees!

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BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Fresh, green goodness! Enjoy.

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Alcie Cooper Lyrics

Platinum records for the Platinum loft

 Thursday night, across the street from Genghis Cohen and behind a secretive, black curtain Rethink Development unveiled the rock n’ roll lofts at the Cherokee Recording Studios LEED Platinum Lofts Showcase benefitting Habitat for Humanity.  We (Lori Dennis and Brook Casey of the Dennis Design Group)  were in charge of the Alice Cooper pad and took our assignment very seriously, literally dressing the part.

Dennis Design Group gettin' down in bed?

Our shock rock loft never could have been possible without the generous donations of our many vendors and time from our interns, Sara, Rob and Natasha. Plus it’s not really a party if Tony of Francois and Roy from the SoCal Contractor aren’t in tow.  In the bedroom Heritage Draperies fabricated and installed our padded, chained window treatment and Mike Ragan of Rags put together this amazing patchwork, padded wall with fabric from Jason Asch of  Diamond Foam.  The stars were out in LA on Thursday night and two showed up at our event: Jodie Sweetin , who we all know and love as the old Stephanie Tanner from Full House and Calico Cooper, Alice’s daughter and former co-star of his stage show.

Calico Cooper representin' for Papa

Lori and Brook Nailing

Still nailing...

and finally it was done.

 I was afraid Brook was going to hang himself. But he stuck it out and we even finished the lyrics on the bathroom wall so Tony from Francois could learn them and sing along. 

Don't do it Brook!!

 

When the doors opened at 7PM we all took a shot of Skull Vodka and welcomed our guests to Alice’s Lair.   Francois provided the Gothic mantel in the living room, serving as the perfect backdrop to the snake skin bench from Bausman and Co. and upholstered chairs from Cisco Brothers.  All the kitchy 60s, 70s and 80s accessories from Retropia and the original props from Alice Cooper’s show gave our loft an authenticity rarely seen in staged showcase homes.  Big Red Sun even landscaped our balcony in a true, desert decor representative of the golf courses in Phoenix that Alice so dearly loves.

Alice's Lair

You'll never guess what these balls are for!

Cooper Gang in the Loft

Green bondage-stay in and save gas!

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