it's a high-rise life -

not so "hard knock"
if you could ever afford to live in one of these manhattan beauties,
either in construction, or about to be:

i'm already living there.
in my head.

it's like my earlier tenerife posting,
but in soho.

or this amazing feat, started in midtown,
which will cantilever into the adjoining buildings' air space
to provide views of the park to the upper level apartments:

or my favorite,
by herzog and demueron,
boxes of glass stacked randomly in tribeca:

with an anish kapoor sculpture integrated into the building's lobby:

night night.
i'm home:

i endorse and adore : evelyn lee

more adore than anything.

i've worked with her.  i've traveled with her (remind me to tell you about the time i nearly stayed on the plane after they cleared it out because is was hopped up on anti-anxiety meds and she strolled by and yanked the barney's catalog out of my hand, hauled me into the terminal, and fed me).  eaten out with her, laughed with her, held her hand in hard times and kicked her under the table more times than i can count.

when susan wayne told me she wanted me to meet evelyn lee for a position in the department,
i could never predict that the beautiful woman in the tapestry coat and HIGH heels who came through my office door would turn into one of the strongest allies and biggest supporters of my career.

eating out at water bar this past week, i kept looking out of the water,
at the view we used to share at 2 folsom,

and thought that we are gifted certain people in our lives,

people like evelyn who are graceful under pressure,
amazing leaders,
keen eyes of talent,
yet built with a keen distaste for politics.

people who are laughter and beauty and maturity
during times when those three things are undervalued in our world.

and we need to be aware of the times that someone crosses over from "friend",

to "family".

the glory of a mid-fall sixty seven degree day in san francisco -

while it may be dipping to snow territory in chicago,
and new yorkers get to break out their fall raiment,
we here in san francisco,
well,
we get to walk the dogs in short sleeves.

'cause it's STILL sixty five degrees and sunny.  every day. 

calvin klein home (the way it SHOULD be) -

francisco costa,
calvin klein's lead designer,
has the whole "flawless warm modernism" thing down pat:

this also (trend alert coming . . .)
could fit nicely in GRIS MEANS GRAY
for the month.

RE-GROUPING : james tagliani, evelyn lee, timothy johnson, absinthe and me

just a night out at cafe absinthe,
where the best burger in town comes with
gruyere cheese, aioli, heirloom tomatoes,
and a healthy dose of humor.

i love these guys.

james and evie and i kept each other afloat at old navy,
and they have become touchstones for tim and i in this transition of ours.

plus, they FUNNY.

tim's new toy, the volvo c30 -

hey,
every boy needs a rocket.

and tim's is FAST.

in a good way.

never mind.

gris means gray -

no big trend appearing here,
i just LOVE gray.

it's a universal unifier:

from flawless burberry prorsum trench,
(can't you just FEEL this?),
to the finally seductive victoria's secret campaign:

there's finally some romance to the brand,
not so pussycat doll
as bardot lushness.
branding is weak, but photography is lovely . . .

which brings in the boys:

this is blake kutcha.
i've shot with him numerous times for old navy,
he's very all american, and as sweet as hell.
seriously, NICE with a big N.

this shoot of him in gray briefs,
well it's a whole 'Nother side o the boy.

and this gratuitous shot of the guy who plays kirby on lipstick jungle:

because he has gray shorts on,
that's why.

follow me, people, i won't steer you wrong.

let's travel a bit?

the four seasons hotel, i THINK milan,
with grisaille wallpaper,
literally screens of gray paint, printed in layers to create depth and shadow.

and the gray light of the four seasons lobby in prague:

i know,
HOME.

and the perfect violet gray hue
on a vespa in manhattan:

tim and i once painted a home entirely in this color, every room,
based on the vermeer galleries in the louvre.
it was one part violet,
one part gray,
one part camel,
and that made all the difference.

it was the ultimate neutral,
and it was called
eminence.

look it up.  it works.

"MOON" smithers, a true story -

so, this was on televisions worldwide the morning i was born.

pre-empting, of course,
the inevitable coverage of my arrival,
much to my mother's, my grandmother's, and my chagrin.

july 20, 1969
the day the first men landed on the moon.

the same day my grandfather,
eager and helpful,
a huge frank herbert and isaak asimov fanatic,
semi-insisted that i be named
yes,
"moon".

thankfully,
my mother was a "red wine/gin and tonic" girl in the sixties,
not a "hemp/weed" girl,
more jackie O than peggy lipton.

hence,
gregory LANDIS smithers
(i dropped the gregory when i was 19 and interned with three other "greg"s).

but you can feel free to moon me anytime.

do i LOOK like a good girl ?

well, do i?

addition without subtraction takes time -

me:

plus this one:

equals
seventeen years.

rocky, rolly, passionate, and changing all the time.

for everyone who asks me how,
i just say
"there's no answer.  there's just tim."

solve sundsbo and parrots. it's not a riddle.

ok, check this out.

solve sundsbo, one of the world's most exquisite fashion photographer,
just had an exposition of his work.

supermodels?  fashion?  behind the scenes?

non.

parrots. 

this is why i find fashion addictively fascinating.  it is art exploding ever outward, reaching and retraining the mind to see every single thing it encounters in some new way.

have you ever?

pretty girls, all in a row (anne hathaway) -

a post in  homage to the girls
who sometimes
get it
SO right.

ms. anne hathaway :

dreamy.

impractical, effervescent, and perfect

that is a gown.

now go get yourself one.  you deserve it.

grrcrrl -

sleep brings bliss.

RE-GROUPING - tess roering and foreign cinema

gawd,
we love foreign cinema.

we could move into the space, the food is consistently great and changes daily,
(though the curry fried chicken might have to stay on the menu on fear of death.)
so it's only natural we keep returning.

this time, waiting for our old colleague tess roering.

my chic boy,
and the deadly "last temptation, up":

it's pomegranate,
it's tequila,
it's deadly.

tess agreed: