Oh, Jenna.

from the May Coastal Living

Yes, I still want to know everything about her. And if you're into J. Crew, you know it's the extra 20% off spring sale (through Friday). Shop on...

Beauty & the Beach: Boxwood Home.

Another gorgeous shop has opened on beautiful Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: Boxwood Home at 39 Baltimore. Those chairs with the octopillows are meant for my family room. In addition to being beautiful, they are sooooooo comfy.

The Oly bed above about kills me with its raffia and nailhead upholstery.

An Oly sofa upholstered in a DDG (drop-dead gorgeous) fabric with white leather chairs.

The barrelback chair is upholstered in burlap with nailhead trim. The blue baby alpaca octopus throw is by Thomas Paul.

You can see one side of the Bungalow 5 Calista mirror and some of the John Derian collection of decoupage. It hasn't even been open two weeks yet so they're getting new things in all the time. They have a brand new blog here which you can keep checking for new info as well.

Say Hello to My Leetle Friend.

You've seen and admired and adored this chrome pig bank from the sidebar of Cococozy (read the story of her pig here). It was created by New York artist Harry Allen. Something you may not know about me is that I have a fondness for pigs and wee beasties in general (remember my guinea pig which lived to be 9 years old?) dating back to my birthplace of DeKalb, Illinois, home of Barbed Wire and Cindy Crawford (that's a whole separate post just like Texas is a whole other country).

Gold pig bank; photo James Merrell via Cococozy

An illustration of my love of pigs: When I worked in creative for Marshall Field's advertising department, I wore a Heinhold pig racing watch. (I know, how cool was I?)

Gold pig bank Elle Decor March 2010; Nate Berkus decor; photo by Mark Shaw

Now, to the point: I found this here ugly pig at Home Goods for $6.


I purchased this here chrome paint at the Farm & Fleet (actually, there is no Farm & Fleet here and I miss it so. I miss the sweet, slightly toxic smell of gasoline, fertilizer, Wrangler denim and new tires):


I sprayed that there pig like this here and voila:


Now you tell me that's not one handsome piece o' plasticized pork. It also only measures about 8 inches long and 4 1/2 inches high (whereas the original is quite large [18"Lx10"H] because it was cast using the remains of a naturally deceased* pig); perfect for my sideboard at the beach. Oh, and did I mention $6.50 + $4.50 for paint = $11.00 vs. $190.00 for Harry Allen pig bank. Now, mine's not a bank and I'm not trying to make a starving artist out of Harry, but you see my point...

*No pigs were harmed in the production of this post; however, some resin was wildly abused and spray painted into submission.

Gone Fishin'.

I am off to the beach for a very long weekend. Have a sunny, warm one and an ice cold one on me. (photo via Kelly Green)

Feed Your Soul.

The face of hunger has changed. And while middle-class poor seems like an oxymoron; it no longer is. Before you say "It could never happen to me," read Roxanne Reynolds' story. She didn't think she would ever be homeless and hungry either.

Middle-Class and Homeless Isn't Easy

By JACOB NELSON
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Roxanne Reynolds is typical of the new homeless. Two years ago, she earned more than $100,000 in a tech job that's gone away. When that job went away - and nothing filled its place - she wound up on assistance. As smart and ambitious as she is, she's not great at being homeless. Now, she and her two sons get by on subsidized housing as she goes back to school.

Click here for entire article.

The Washington Post ran this article last fall, "Whole Foods to Food Banks," also illustrating how some of the formerly affluent have ended up in such dire need as to require food assistance. Read the article here.

If you would like to help those in need (who knows? it may be someone you know), click on the April Food Day icon above to make a donation to the blogger's fund. Or click here for information and education about Feeding America.