Some Good News

In the midst of so much uncertainty and so much pain and loss for so many it is difficult to keep one’s mind clear and one’s heart hopeful. Like everyone else, I’ve busied myself indoors for the last five days, catching up on reading and forgotten chores, contacting friends and family, making sure they are all OK. We’re doing our best to stay calm and positive, and structured in our days,  while sending prayers to everyone that’s been affected by the recent events worldwide. As we’re all trying to make sense of this new reality, there are ways to help and make a difference. Many of us are so incredibly blessed. We have good health, a warm home and a well-stocked pantry but the sad reality is that many more families in communities across the country live below the poverty line and many kids rely on school meals. And no school means no food for these kids and it is heartbreaking. Donation centers have been set up in most school districts and this is one way we can do good, by taking care of each other. 

Perhaps I cannot reach out and and help you in a more meaningful way, but at least I can try to get your mind off of things for just a little bit. It feels frivolous to even think about decorating and beautiful things at a time like this, but maybe that’s exactly what we need to do right now to reclaim a little slice of normalcy. And what could be more distracting, or more beautiful, than a new book by Mark D. Sikes?  His first volume, Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Styles, was a New York Times bestseller (and a personal favorite), so naturally, his second one was much anticipated. Well, the wait is over! The L.A designer is releasing his second title with Rizzoli later this year and judging by the cover alone, it is going to be phenomenal. The exciting thing is that the book not only covers a range of never-before-seen projects but also gives us a tour of Sikes’ Hollywood Hills home that he’d redecorated a couple of years ago. Scheduled for release on September 1st, it gives us a little something to look forward to.

But that’s not the only highlight of book launch season! Pasadena-based architectural design firm Stamps & Stamps is releasing with Rizzoli their first book, Style & Sensibility, written by acclaimed interior design author Diane Dorrans Saeks, with photography’s by Kate Stamps. Kate’s Instagram account @stampsandstamps is a relatively recent discovery for me but it’s quickly become one of my favorites. Cannot wait for the book to come out! It is going to be so good!

Take care!!