When I met Mitch Owens a few years ago in the offices at Elle Decor I did not know that he was the author of the esteemed design blog, An Aesthete’s Lament.  I did not find out until a few months later when another blogger casually mentioned it in an email.  It immediately made sense that this blog, which reflected a near encyclopedic knowledge of design, was the work of a seasoned and talented interior design writer. Mitch is currently Special Projects Editor at Architectural Digest and Ms. Russell has made an honest man of him.  No more clandestine meetings on the blogspot – Mitch is blogging as The Aesthete on Daily AD.  And, in case you’re worried that I’ve outed him, I have not; he casually steps from behind the curtain in his first post.  I will be looking forward to more.

Hey, remember this piece on The General Store here in Kansas City?  I thought that felted skull pillow was pretty terrif.

Then, last Sunday, I was lounging around reading the paper and a piece in the House and Home section by Stacy Downs caught my eye.

Seems that bony guy was the brain child of local Lauren Zabaneh, owner of Alice’s Pocket.  She is whipping up these graphic accents from fabric made of recycled plastic bottles, so you can feel good all the way around.

You can find these pillows and more at alicespocket.etsy.com.

If you are down to the wire do remember,

in romance it is the thought and effort that matter, not the expense.

Images of the always-delightful window at George, 315 E. 55th, KCMO.

I took my oldest son to see Eames; The Architect and The Painter last night and we both loved it.  If you need a dose of passion and creativity you might enjoy it, too.  Screening locations and DVD purchase available here.

 After my big city friend moved to New York and we began visiting regularly, I confessed, “I can’t figure out this upper-lower-east-west-village thing.  What the heck?!”

And he patiently pulled out my Streetwise Manhattan and pointed saying, “Prairie Village, Mission Hills, Leawood, Brookside.  They’re neighborhoods.”  And I was never confused again.

We have our own names for things here, too, and shorthands and zip codes.

Which can be cozy.  And reassuring.  The only problem being that sometimes something really good is happening outside your burg.

For me, this means I sometimes need a little extra nudge.

The Star.  Spaces.  And finally a text from Mrs. Larson (reaffirming my belief that personal is the most influential) asking, “Have you been to the General Store in downtown OP?”

Overland Park is not my usual stomping ground, though there are several cute shops and good places to eat.  In the midst of carrot cake and swim pick up I dashed over.

Really, it’s too good to be true.  Chocked full of carefully curated treasures, you are sure to find something you need.

Design services, too.