We asked our friend Jim Williamson to tell us what he did during Thanksgiving vacation. As usual, he doesn’t disappoint. On my recent trip, instead of me bursting into flames, we saw a car burst into flames on the Pacific Coast Highway. Yes, for real. We saw flames, explosions, and a helicopter land in a mustard field. It was like watching the filming of an action movie.
Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported from the drag race gone bad. And we were a safe distance away on the terrace at the house in Malibu. Also great: our travel experience to California was better than our prior one to NYC. No delays, no packed dirty subway, and upgrades make for one happy man. And when Jimbo’s happy, everybody is happy.
Other than driving a lot—it is LA, after all—we enjoyed lots of great food, good wine (okay, lots of good wine; our host would say lots and lots of good wine), and of course, time with good friends. While we were out dining and doing some shopping we just happened to see a few Hollywood types, which I secretly love. I’m not into all the autograph stuff or shoving my iPhone in their faces to get a pic, but I do like the random sightings. We saw Carol Burnett looking amazing at Sunset Tower. We also saw what looked like George Clooney’s new gal pal Stacy Keibler at Cecconi’s, home to some particularly excellent pasta. The general consensus was that if the world were to end and we had enough advanced warning( like in Melancholia), our last meal would definitely be pasta. We also saw some comedian I was supposed to know (but whose name I forget), while shoe shopping at Barneys.
Oh, and how could I forget! We had drinks with the BPOG (Brad Pitt of Greece)! After dinner at The Terrace with our funny and fabulous friend T, we decided to go back to her place for a nightcap. As we sipped Champagne and talked about LA, architecture, and gator wrestling, the doorbell rang. Who should walk in but Alexis Georgoulis. You may remember him as Poupi Kakas from My Life in Ruins. Or not. Anyway, I was kind of starstruck, but he was super nice and very down to earth.
So how am I going to tie my trip into a blog item about design? I’m glad you asked. We also went to LACMA to see California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way.” It is amazing how these designs are still so influential today. Many things that we think of as modern and new are actually rooted from this time period.
Which brings me to this shiny and happy image by artist Patti Heid. Many people know her as Cheech Marin’s ex, but as an artist, she stands alone. In addition to being lovely to look at, Patti creates lovely things. She works in a variety of materials—from concrete to glass. This is part of her Haute Couture Paintings—airbrushed digital paintings with hand-sewn silk threads, feathers, beads, Austrian crystals, sequins, pearls, gold and silver bullion, and more. You can see her work here.
So there you have my Thanksgiving recap. Full of fun, sun, and happy creative people living—as Patti put it—”a postcard life.” My own personal postcard might closely resemble a brick wall, but at least I can enjoy other people’s postcards. And for that I am truly thankful. Happy Friday!
