Our House at the end of our Street (Christmas II)

Liberace-style and no garland left behind - my mantra for wrapping. As my grandmother used to say... be philanthropic with your ribbons.

Found this hilarious quote by comedienne, Phyllis Diller:

Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered. What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day...


With two days remaining until Sunday, I would like to wish you all lots of love and the very happiest of holidays.

Our House at the end of our Street (Christmas)

More tomorrow...

Detroit in Ruins (Part II)

The ballroom at the Lee Plaza Hotel (Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre Photography)

Michigan Theater - the most beautiful parking lot in the world

Michigan Theater

Michigan Theater

Eastown Theater

Eastown Theater

The Grande Ballroom started out as a jazz venue, but later became famous as a rock venue. Among those that performed on its stage were Pink Floyd, Chuck Berry and the Velvet Underground. It closed in 1972 and has stood empty ever since:

The Waiting Room at Michigan Central Station:

Bagley-Clifford Office of the National Bank of Detroit:

Yves Marchand and Romaine Meffre Photography

The Michigan Central Depot

The Palace Theater is not in Detroit, but rather Gary, Indiana. Photographed by Andrew Moore, I had to include it...

Images from Art Critical, The L Magazine, Spreadartculture, Ben, Just Labradors, Writing in Public and MarchandMeffre

Detroit in Ruins (Part I)

Ruins, like scars, run deep in Detroit. Ravaged by recession, dried-up funding and general neglect, urban decay in this once prosperous city has become commonplace. Specious halls and disused theaters echo with the ghost of former glories, making it almost impossible to turn a blind eye...

Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Adams Theater, Detroit (from here)

Brigitte Bardot (I)

Brigitte Bardot arriving at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, 1961. Photograph by Patrick Morin
Via Nowness

Les Trois Garçons

Square Meal wrote the following about Les Trois Garçons Restaurant:

It’s been nearly a decade since Les Trois Garçons first opened its doors. And during this time, nearly every restaurant in town has paid homage to its exaggerated chic style – some taxidermy here, a bejewelled gee gaw there. But no one has done it with as much verve as the triumvirate behind this ultra-deluxe bistro.

The desserts sound utterly decadent. If I ever get there, I have already chosen the Dark chocolate and praline mille feuille with confit sultanas and raisins, tea ice cream and coconut croquant. Have mercy...

More here and additional photos from here
1 Club Row, London E1 6JX

Tel: 020 7613 1924

Duchess of Alba

In my next life, I think I may just want to be the Duchess of Alba. Unashamedly bold and audacious, at 85 she has just married her third husband, Alfonso Diez - 25 years her junior. She is exempt from kneeling before the Pope, and with 47 titles - including the Grandes de España - she has ridden on horseback into the Seville Cathedral. My fantasy kindred spirit? Yes, her life sounds quite ideal, especially zig-zagging between the six spectacular palaces owned throughout Spain, littered with Rembrandts and Brueghels (to name but a few)...

All photographs by Simon Watson