Serenbe

Inn at Serenbe front gate

A few weeks back I had some time to waste while a waited for the dealership to fix a known defect on my vehicle for a ridiculous amount of money. I am still bitter! So with time to waste (and some hostility toward an era in which warranties or quality no longer exist) I resorted to reading the "magazines" in the waiting room that were really just advertising and marketing supplements for local businesses. I was trapped so I flipped through the glossy when I came across a three page story (I mean advert) for the restaurant the hil on the Hill 30 minutes south of metro Atlanta with much of the ingredients coming from the community farm.

I had never heard of this restaurant or the 900 acre community called Serenbe nestled within a rather large green space called the Chattahoochee Hill Country which is owned by individuals working to promote a sustainable development within a vast preserve. The Serenbe community boasts about their homes built on the land without mass grading, a biological wastewater treatment system, vast green space, organic farm and restaurants supplied by the locally grown produce. I am intrigued to check out this community for myself.

Hopefully this place will live up to all the things it boasts and does not have a manufactured feeling. I signed up for their restaurants weekly menu updates and the offerings sound very tasty. I look forward to learning more.


The Farmhouse at Serenbe

Restaurants at Serenbe

Our Health

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Personal Style

Photo from New York Times

Iris Apfel was recently named on to Vanity Fair's 2008 International Best-Dressed list. A woman that knows what she likes in her choice of accessories, colors, clothing, mix of fabrics and the cut of her modern coif. Apfel has a bold style that is all her own. In 2005, the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute had a retrospective on her style entitled Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection.

A true original--I love a woman with a style all her own.

Loved her look

Photos from the Associated Press (taken on October 6, 1996)

Summer's in the south are pretty unbearable. When you actually make it to August you just start to wondering how many more days until October and the fall? I have hit my wall and I am ready to wear fall clothing and to start seeing the leaves changing.

I love a fall wardrobe since the crisp air allows dressing without having to take into account the terrible heat and sweating. It makes me think of the wonderfully simple and classic clothing that Caroline Bessette-Kennedy was always photographed wearing when she entered the national stage as the wife of John F. Kennedy, Jr. I am sure she learned a thing or two about classic minimalism as a publicist at Calvin Klein. Some of her ensembles also seemed to take some notes from her departed mother-in-law Jacqueline Kennedy. She was striking with that Bergdorf blonde hair and fire red lipstick. It would have been nice to see her today and see how the look would have grown, but she is no longer here and we find other stylish women to watch. I still loved watching the style and fashion of Caroline and still covet these simple fashion choices.

The Hills Cinematography

Songs about buildings and food painstakingly spliced together this montage of exterior shots that have become a staple of The Hills.

Say what you will about The Hills such as it is fake, contrived or just a waste of time. Taking all the derogative comments into account (which are true) I still enjoy checking out the sleek photography of Hisham Abed. He made the reality show look and feel more like a movie first with Laguna Beach and then with the Hills. In a New York Times article in May 2006 Abed explained that he used a color tone of red and orange to signify the romance within Laguna Beach, but changed to blue and silver to express the tension on the Hills. The scenes are set through the photography and editing without ever having to use a confessional interview to tell the story. In a nutshell the show is just a pretty postcard albeit lacking any reality. The fourth season starts Monday August 18th.

Goodbye Summer & Hello Fall

Jeff Lewis Commonwealth home via realestatestalker

I am going to miss Jeff Lewis and his crew as well as the weekly wrap-ups from Scented Glossy Magazine. No one does it better than Ms. SGM. I would sign up for her Kanye 411 course in a heartbeat. Seriously if you have not read her rundown on Flipping Out or Housewives of New York you are completely missing out. Reading SGM is like listening to a best girlfriend talk about your favorite shows with lots of unadulterated glee!! I only hope that SGM will also be watching Rachel Zoe Project this fall and the sure to be amazing The Cho Show.

Jacqueline Kennedy's tour of the White House

A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy which originally aired on February 14th 1962 is available for your viewing pleasure online at the Mad Men website.