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Wedding Wine Tasting

dianiliving — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:02:09 +0000

We spent most of our weekend with a trusty friend, trying out wines for our wedding reception. It's a tough job, but we had to do it. Between the Santa Ynez Valley and the Urban Wine Trail in downtown Santa Barbara, there was plenty to sample and, with little disagreement, I think we've found our favorites. Some of the highlights below.

You’ve Got Mail

dianiliving — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:12:59 +0000

We sent our wedding invites out last week and it reminded us how much we love snail mail. We've been jumping out of bed in the morning and rushing to the mailbox to see if we received an RSVP from a wedding guest. It's also made it very real that the big day is just around the corner!

White Out

dianiliving — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:47:46 +0000

The heat wave is making me move all the dark colors to the back of my closet and bring my whites to front and center. This past weekend, a few staples took me from a Sunday brunch to date night at the Lobero.

Loeffler Randal Heddie sandals, Mother Looker jeans. Both available at DIANI. Call 1 877 342 6474 for more information.

Isabel Marant jacket (similar)

Anya Hindmarch clutch. (similar).

As a tribute to my mother, my fiancé gave me these beautiful peonies on Mother's Day. How can you not be happy when you look at these blooms.

Wedding Fever

dianiliving — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:43:44 +0000

As my wedding is only a few weeks away and my fiancé was in NYC over the weekend for his Bachelor Party, I had time to get more inspiration for the big day. Here are some beautiful details that caught my eye. And, Congrats to Keira Knightly who tied the knot on Saturday wearing a repurposed Rodarte dress and Chanel jacket.

Keira Knightly wedding

Flowers

Carrie and Mr Big

Garden wedding

Bridesmaids group

Bridesmaids jewels

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier candid

Honeymoon bathing suit

Wedding table

Dance floor

Bridesmaid dress

Saint

Wedding car

Colors

Headpiece

Lights

Table layout

Long tables

Confetti

Image : 1, 2 (unknown source), 3, 4 (Vogue Weddings), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (own image), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Blighty Highlights

dianiliving — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:48:32 +0000

Feeling Blue

dianiliving — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:30:17 +0000

While I sit here and will the sun to come out, I remind myself that my roses are loving the morning mist. I have TONS of white roses in my garden and am so glad I bought the silver rose bowls I found at a flea market the other week in England.

As a nod to the amazing Rag and Bone event DIANI just had, I'm dressed head-to-toe in the fab designer.

My new silver rose bowls from a flea market in England with white roses from my garden.

All Rag and Bone: Blouse (similar), Skinny jeans, Harrow boots, Pilot bag. Isabel Marant necklace (similar). Oliver Peoples Braverman sunglasses. Call 1 877 342 6474 for more details.

Juicy Juices

dianiliving — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:57:50 +0000

I recently returned from an amazing week in the U.K. with my fiancé, visiting people and places from my childhood. And, aside from returning with many incredible memories, I also returned with a need to shock my body out of the carb heaven I put it in! So I headed straight to the new juice joint in Santa Barbara called the Juice Ranch. With their wide variety of fresh pressed juices, I committed to a three day juice cleanse and it was just what the doctor ordered. I was never hungry and my taste buds were always happy. And, it also gave me the opportunity to try a lot of the juices I had overlooked. To top it all off, the staff couldn't be more helpful, setting me up for the cleanse and explaining which of the six juices to drink each day.

A juice cleanse made easy. They box it up for you and number each juice so you know which to drink when. Love that!

And, they look pretty in your fridge. Who needs a candy store when you have this kind of eye candy?

How delicious do each of these juices sound? The Almond Joy is INSANE!

Get over there now, if you haven't been. You'll be hooked. Juice Ranch. 33 Parker Way. SB. 805 845 4657.

Casual Friday – Helmut and Rag & Bone

dianiliving — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:59:46 +0000

Two of my favorite designers for easy, chic daytime wear are Helmut and Rag & Bone. DIANI is having it's biggest shopping event ever today, showcasing a massive selection of Rag & Bone clothing, denim, shoes and accessories for Spring. If you're in the area, come by and snag some essential wardrobe staples or shop with us online here or call 1 877 342 6474 for a lookbook. There will be a giveaway too!

Helmut jacket, Helmut asymetric cami, Rag & Bone skinny jeans, Rag & Bone Pilot bag, Chloe flats (similar).

National Portrait Gallery – Man Ray

dianiliving — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:14:58 +0000

If you are in London before the end of May, make sure to check out the Man Ray photography exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery. It's a comprehensive look at the evolution of his incredible photography techniques and fascination with people. His surrealist style blazed a trail not only in the art world, but the fashion world as well, and he helped create a visual style used by Vogue and Vanity Fair. Here are a few of my favorites.

Eva Gardner - 1951.

Solarized portrait of Lee Miller - 1929.

Helen Tamiris - 1929.

Remy Duval - 1930.

Lee Miller - 1930.

I also always enjoy seeing what the NPG has in their permanent portrait exhibition as they often have new aquisitions like my three new favorites below.

Amy Winehouse by Marlene Dumas - 2011.

Mo Mowlam by John Keane - 2001.

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge by Paul Emsley - 2012.

I also highly recommend the Bowie Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was sold out while we were there, so book WAY ahead. It shows until August 11th.

Margaret Thatcher – 1925-2013

dianiliving — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:36:50 +0000

"What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose."

Baroness Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013

I happened to be in London when Baroness Margaret Thatcher died last week and I have to say, I became very nostalgic. Today she's receiving a full military funeral in London, with heads of state from all over the world paying tribute to her service. What I have to share has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with what she represented to me as a girl growing up in England. When I was 8 years old, I knew nothing about her politics, but I did know she was a woman, and she made it seem perfectly normal and acceptable to be a succesful and powerful woman in a man's world. I can't think of another country during that era with a similar role model. She made me believe that, as a girl, I could do and be anything I wanted to be. I never once felt like I couldn't go toe-to-toe with a man in any career I chose. She was courageous, outspoken, provoking and all the things that contemprary women like COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg advocate for. Sandberg says in her book, Lean In, "A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. I believe that this would be a better world. The laws of economics and many studies of diversity tell us that if we tapped the entire pool of human resources and talent, our collective performance would improve. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has stated generously that one of the reasons for his great success was that he was competing with only half the population. The Warren Buffetts of my generation are still largely enjoying this advantage. When more people get in the race, more records will be broken. And the achievements will extend beyond those individuals to benefit us all."

My hope, now that I live in America, is that more girls from younger generations will have the fortune of seeing more and more women at the top of the game.

Image Credits. From top: Jeffrey Doornbos, Thatcher Portrait, Thatcher in Moscow