How to buy Japanese craft books

If you’ve been reading a while, you know that I love Japanese craft, fashion, and style books. Japanese publishers put out a huge range of well-designed, beautifully photographed books and “mooks” (a cross between a magazine and a book), spurred by the Zakka design movement.
“Zakka has also been described as “the art of seeing [...]

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La Ville Lumière

Guess where I’m going next week?

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A dreaded sunny day, so let’s go where we’re happy

This past weekend, we wanted to get out in the sunshine and go for a bike ride, so we headed to the nearby Mountain View Cometery in Oakland. This is a gorgeous old cemetery established in the mid-19th century, and designed by the same architect who designed Central Park.
It’s not only beautiful, but also [...]

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La la land (again)

We spent last week in LA again, this time in Santa Monica. I love love love the ocean.
One night, we took a drive up Mulholland, stopping along the way to admire the sparkling million dollar views. We played spooky-swirly music ala david lynch.

We ate mexican and caribbean food at some brightly colored restaurants. [...]

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Babycat!

It’s been quite a week.
On Tuesday night, I heard a faint mewing outside our living room window. Kenn and I grabbed a flashlight, ran outside in our pajamas and searched the bushes, finally seeing this little fellow cowering and crying. Unfortunately, he bolted and ran into a tiny crawlspace.
Wednesday morning, we were awoken [...]

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The mysterious button store

For a while now, I’ve been hearing about some super secret button store which is stocked with all manner of vintage buttons. I never understood why it was a secret, because I’m sure such a tiny little business could use the support and customers!
Anyway, I finally found it. Exclusive Buttons in [...]

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Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton

Last night, we had some friends and their kids over for dinner, and afterward settled in to watch this documentary: Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. Originally created for French television, the movie provides a glimpse of Marc Jacobs, probably the most influential and interesting contemporary American designer, as he balances his own line with [...]

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Her lips were like cherries and she was stronger than any man

I’m a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to red lipstick. I’ve been wearing red lips since I was a teenager dyeing my hair black and listening to siouxsie. It seemed every rockabilly, punk, or goth girl I knew was on an endless quest for The Perfect Red.
Though red lipstick has become [...]

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