FLEETING MOMENTS

Just Some Lovely Pictures of People Looking Hot 

I am addicted to saving images of beautiful people on my desktop. I cannot help myself…

EXTRAORDINARILY SACRED

The Invitation by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming,
from the book The Invitation
published by HarperONE, San Francisco,
1999 All rights reserved

ESOTERIC ESSAYAGES

Spring RTW 2012

September has been keeping A&O busy, but not so busy that we cannot carve out a little time to give you some Spring RTW 2012 highlights. Since the weather in LA is still quite warm, we can imagine rocking some of these numbers right now!

Images from WWD

Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta

Burberry Prorsum

Burberry Prorsum

Jil Sander

Jil Sander

Jil Sander

Jil Sander

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

FLEETING MOMENTS

Randomness Can Be Beautiful

We have moments we wish we could share with others. Perhaps we see something beautiful or arresting that ignites a spark inside of us, propelling us toward a new road of thought… inspiring us. Moments like this are fleeting and beautiful. We somehow wish we could capture them and bottle their essence to save and use later when we most need it. “Fleeting Moments” is my attempt to capture and preserve moments from my own life, hoping to impart some of their radiance upon you… or at the very least bring joy and a smile.

ESOTERIC ESSAYAGES

Ushering In The Autumnal Equinox

Fall officially starts on Friday… brining with it cooler, rainy, romantic weather; the luxury of wearing dramatic layers; and holiday parties, to name but only a few of the season’s charms. A&O have their sights set on the perfect jacket in which to usher in October; a leather bolero from Nonoo. It’s dark, supple, yet scaled surface is exquisitely rebellious.

Available at: Tribute EL NAT ♠ 1230 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 900403

CHARMING & GORGEOUS

Fantasy Lashes

We love the graceful, yet fantastical lashes that models were adorned with for the Binetti show during New York Fashion Week. The soft feathers only added to the soft ethereal glamor of the collection.

CHARMING & GORGEOUS

Love

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by you own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstacy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

-The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran

DEGREES OF HYSTERIA

Play Hard

We are simply mad about the heel-less high-top sneaker from Y-3. It’s ability to be both seriously sporty and sky-high sexy has us working up a sweat!

image from Vogue Italia/GoRunway.com/Daniele Guidetti

DEGREES OF HYSTERIA

Exploring Your Deepest Femme Noir

The first time we saw these incredible works of art, they were dramatically dripping from the glamorous ears of Elyse Graham, the lady behind Elephant Heart Jewelry. Not only is she the designer, she is her own best spokesmodel.

From her latest, Supernatural Collection, the Femme Noir Hoop Earrings are everything a girl needs to unleash her inner vampy-vixen. We are smitten with the naughty, commanding, avant-garde-y look and feel of these sculptural beauties!

Each pair is handmade with latex and urethane with a 14k gold fill hoop, so they are as lightweight as they are chic.

ESOTERIC ESSAYAGES

Exquisitely Gloved Hands

Vintage gloves get us every time. We believe you can never own too many pairs of beautifully crafted gloves. They exude well-put-together sexy femininity. This pair of Sangalli Milano gloves has us on our knees. Their exquisite colour has us dreaming of a perfect rose-y amber hued sunset; sheer and sultry, and of the eyes we’ll gaze into under that very sunset, while caressing a lover’s face with both hands.

Get them here: SANGALLI MILANO on YOOX