I Love...

My new Mizuna running shoes purchased purely on the basis of their color scheme.

I did try them on before purchasing, but it was all for show. It was love at first sight.

The Frick Collection

Last month I was lucky enough to visit The Frick Collection in New York City. There are so many amazing museums in New York I always feel like I never have time to see it all. If you have even a small amount of free time in New York, I suggest you make the trip. The building alone is well worth the pilgrimage.

The Frick Collection is the personal collection of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), a coke and steel magnate. He built a gorgeous, traditional home in 1913 on the Upper East Side. When he died, he left his house and all of the artwork in it to the public.

As of 1995, The Frick Collection has a permanent collection of more than 1,100 works of art from the Renaissance to the late 19th century. Among the works were pieces by Manet, Goya, El Greco, Degas, Monet, Velasquez and more. I have a particular fondness for Boucher, which The Frick Collection has quite a bit of. My favorite works being The Four Seasons, a grouping of four fanciful paintings portraying the four seasons, of course. Winter, Autumn, Spring and Summer. These are thought to have hung in the dressing room of Madame du Barry, Louis XV's mistress.

We also saw an incredible traveling exhibition called Watteau to Degas: French Drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection. Among the drawings was this by Boucher.

Femme debout, vue de dos, vers 1742

Francois Boucher (1703-1770)

Which bears a striking similarilty to a painting I last saw at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. Inspiration, I presume?

La "toilette", 1742

Fransois Boucher

What I loved most about The Frick Collection was the relative amount of space you had between visitors. No jostling to get the best vantage point, no unruly children. No rush. There is so much to see in such a beautiful environment that the museum cannot help but feel calming.

The Frick Collection

1 East 70th Street

New York, NY 10021

http://www.frick.org/

The Golden Globes 2010

Despite rather icky weather, The 2010 Golden Globes were full of fashionable entrances. Here are my favorites.

Anna Paquin in Stella McCartney

This dress was so FUN. I think a lot of young people who attend award shows try too hard to dress how they think you should dress at such an event. Anna went the opposite direction and wore something youthful and fun, but still appropriate for the Golden Globes. Most important, it was exciting.

Christina Hendricks in Christian Siriano

Wow. This color on her was perfection and I love that she chose a new designer. This lady consistently knows how to dress for her complexion and frame.

Olivia Wilde in Gucci

Amazing. This was so different and so stunning. I love the perfect draping, the clutch, the fact that she chose Gucci. Wow!

Maggie Gyllenhaal in RM by Roland Mouret

The televised awards pre-show commentators seemed to all agree that purple was the color of the night. While I not only find that boring and incredibly last season, I disagree mostly on the basis of the wonderful examples of the color peach worn by several savvy starlets. Witness, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the subtlety and gorgeous fit of this dress blew me away. Love, love, love it.

Jennifer Garner in Atelier Versace

Am I biased just because I suspect my beloved Rachel Zoe probably dressed Jennifer Garner last night? Maybe. But I think this gorgeous metallic number speaks for itself.

Kate Hudson in Marchesa

While I truly love this dress, my favorite aspect of the entire ensemble was the earrings. And kudos to Kate for having the gumption to wear stark white to an awards show.

Penelope Cruz in Armani Prive

Penelope Cruz is one of my favorite actresses to watch on the red carpet. She is so graceful, and could look good in anything. This is an example of how to wear black in my book. She also gets my vote for best umbrella handling. She looked amazingly chic carrying her own umbrella.

Drew Barrymore in Atelier Versace

Drew Barrymore is a red carpet wild card. Probably in no small part due to the fact that we don't ever really know what she'll do with her hair. But last night she showed her fashion chops. I just can't say enough good about this ensemble. It's demure, but sartorially a bit challenging with the shoulder and hip detail. The color looks great on her. Her hair makeup and accessories are perfect. I just love this look. More of this, please.

Marion Cotillard in Christian Dior

I could not find a photo that did it as much justice as the TV coverage did. This dress was just amazing. I loved the cut of it, the fact that it was daring, yet still reverent. Marion Cotillard just really does red carpets well, but this was still so unexpected to me. The color is so original, the shoes are modern, the slip is fun, but not at all trashy to me.

So, that's my two cents. Until the Oscars...

Photos 1-8 via Getty Images. Photo of Marion Cotillard via Style Frizz.

The Blue Room

This is my first foray into home design and I have to say I'm pretty proud of the results. Thank you for indulging me....

Before:

Inspiration:

After:

I used a lot of things I already had including the bed, nightstand and lamp. The mirrored chest is from Horchow, coverlet and pillowcases from The Company Store, new lampshade from Urban Outfitters, needlepointed profiles are thrifted and the curtains are from from Rose Tree.

An Open Letter

Ms. Jenna Lyons

Creative Director
J.Crew
One Ivy Crescent
Lynchburg, VA 24513-1001

Dear Jenna,

First, let me say I am an enormous fan of your personal style and your work at my beloved J.Crew. You are innovative, creative and your shiny natural-looking hair is super amazing. That being said I have to ask, why do you hate me? Every month I make a new resolution not to spend all of my disposable income on your wares and each month I break said resolution. As a new year turns I know the next 12 months will be no different. In no small part due to the fact that I just received your January 2010 catalog in the mail.

I never knew I needed a Finsbury anorak or a pair of sequin chino shorts but now as I peruse your latest catalog and see Erin Wasson wearing them, they haunt my dreams. And what about the yellow cashmere tee on page 16, it would look perfect with 90 percent of the things in my closet. Or the ruffled gamine jacket? It's the perfect length, cut and color. Don't even get me started on the cardigans. And, Sperry top siders? Are you kidding me? As though your deal with Essie nail polish wasn't enough?

What's more is this is only January, who knows what other fabulous things you'll e-mail me via Jenna's Picks before the weather actually turns warm enough to wear all of the above mentioned items.

Please, I beg of you, before you issue another one of your beautiful catalogs, think of my financial future. I would like for my children to one day be able to attend college and I would also like to travel and be able to eat something besides Ramen in the forseable future.

Best wishes,
The Canary Diaries

All images and links via J.Crew

Happy New Year!

I had a very subdued new year's eve that included bubbly, a wonderful dinner with friends and a proposal (congratulations M & T!). Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2010!