Anyone who knows me knows I'm embarrassinlgy, butt-crazily fixated on astrology.  It started with this. And continues with that scary-accurate birthday book and Sally Brompton in the Post. For the record Your Deal Hunter is Pisces, Leo Rising, Scorpio Moon ... a heady cocktail indeed.  Anyhoo I was catching up with one of my other obsessions, Decorno (a Taurus with whom I'm formed a mutual admiration society), who linked me to fab blog I Suwannee, who just bought, framed and shipped this map of the universe for under $100 (such a deal!!):

Check out all the colors and constellations!  I'll overlook the fact that the Pisces illustration looks more like a manatee because the black background is so chic. 

Proof that inspiration can strike in the most unexpected places:

Seville Quarter, Pensacola's original den of iniquity.  Upstairs in the Phineas Phoggs section (I'm not making this up) I spotted a bunch of rose-shaped frosted glass single sconce shades:

I know what you're thinking, these belong in the worst kind of Victorian bordello or B&B.  So not true!  Seville had them lined up around a mirror, vanity-style, which I think would be chic in a dressing room.  What about a row of them spaced a foot apart at sconce height with low wattage pink bulbs across one wall in your dining room?  Maybe it was Lindsay's presence (my Chanel accessories guru, decked out in sailor stripes and 80s-inspired CC costume joaillerie) but I think they have a camellia brooch quality.

Oh! Special fashion bravery shout out to Emmy T for her purple suede fringed boots, bought at consignment shop Encore.  Don't call it a comeback!!

Pre-Thanksgiving greetings from Alabama. I saw these too-pretty-to-be-plastic DuraClear glasses

and thought of the 'My Name Is Earl' episode where Joy offers Earl some eggnog, which is actually just a margarita with egg in it. Fitting with my level of holiday spirit this year. Well, they're almost half off at $29.99 and won't fog up in the dishwasher -- that's something to be thankful for.

One Christmas I gave Mugatu a bumper sticker for his powder blue 1969 Mercedes that read "Honk If You (HEART) Mirrors" because the man loves him some reflective surfaces. And so does his humble servant, #2 (that's me). Here are three interesting mirrors in three different styles for under $300. Feel free to weigh in on the cheeseball factor: for instance, are we over faux bamboo? Or driftwoody branches? Speak on it.

Himalaya Mirror from Home Decorators, 42" H x 29" W, for $299. I'd paint this and use it in a powder room.

Maxwell Mirror from Z Gallerie. That's right, I went there. 36" diameter, solid wood, and $299 ... I just wish the mirror were convex ... to hang over a sofa?

And the ubiquitous branch mirror from West Elm for $229. Can we do the moose hunting lodge look anymore? What if you painted it glossy red and hung it on a matching red wall? Or do we just need to shoot this one down (out of a helicopter)?

Off topic again, but have I ever done a post on Rugby, aka Ralph Does Abercrombie but a Million Times Better? I'd go the New York store (on University Place, natch) just to stare at the sales staff but the clothes and window displays fill my drool cup pretty quickly too. They're having a big sale right now -- bound to get even bigger on Black Friday -- and the website is fab:

This Fair Isle knit tie is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Definitely on my Xmas list ... YOU READING THIS, FAMILY??
And if only Kurt Cobain could've lived to witness the Buffalo plaid revival:

Such a great messenger bag at almost $85 off the original $275. Becky and I now have matching coats in this pattern, and I recently painted her kitchen backsplash in an oversize plaid in greens and blues. Okay, I taped the design and she painted. She claims it was her idea. A little ongoing fight we have.

The powers that be have graciously allowed me to take off my Deal Hunter cap from time to time and kibbitz about all things style.

Ah, STYLE.

That's been my main preoccupation since I was a young lad on the Gulf Coast making bandeau tops for my sister's Barbie out of scraps of silk jersey and adding a porte cochere to her dream house. "What makes this mediocre and how can I make it better?" And it's why I'm so thankful for all the Universal News shops in New York where they pretend not to mind me flipping through the greasy, dog-eared foreign glossies in search of more inspiration.

Don't get me wrong: I love me some blogs, but magazines are my ne plus ultra. I went GONZO when I saw Mugatu's townhouse in W and when the first issue of Domino came out. And I got That Old Feeling last night when I saw this French Vogue cover:

Vanessa Paradis shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott -- looks like a John Rawlings cover from way back when but in Helmut Newton saturated color. Paradis, longtime love of Johnny Depp and doppelganger for his ex-flame Kate Moss, is absolute perfection except for ... what is it ... hmmm ...

THAT GIANT GAP IN HER TEETH.

Lauren Hutton ain't got nuthin' on her and I'm obsessed. This is style. It's also the orange bathing cap against a burgundy background and fingernails -- only Carine Roitfeld can make burgundy chic -- but mainly the Gap. Why does this even matter and how does it translate to today? It's Mugatu's old adage "there is perfection in imperfection." In 2009 I want a pristine, Billy Baldwin-esque living room with a sofa ripped apart to the springs. That's the nature of the sublime, this photo, and bravura, fearless decorating.

From Julie at Remodelista:

The Marin County town of Mill Valley is a retail incubator: Smith & Hawken and Banana Republic both got their start in the tiny downtown, a mere block apart. Recently, celebrity chef Tyler Florence opened his first cookware store, auspiciously located on the site of the first-ever Banana Republic. Florence carries a mix of vintage and new kitchen implements, dishware from Emile Henry, and linens from Mill Valley-based Ambatalia (which just got picked up by ABC Carpet & Home in New York).

Up the street from Tyler Florence is Summerhouse, one of the best interiors stores in the Bay Area. Owner Jane Walter keeps the store stocked with Astier de Villatte, vintage lighting, textiles from Les Indiennes and Matteo, and antiques from France.

Across the street from Tyler Florence is Maison Reve, a newly expanded store carrying Libeco linens, vintage French grain-sack pillows, and accessories from Simplemente Blanco.

From Janet & Julie:

At Remodelista, we have an affinity for vintage lighting fixtures, which add character to a stark modern interior or lend an industrial edge to a traditional look. Here are a few of our favorite sources.

Rewire in Los Angeles sources and refurbishes vintage lighting treasures of all types. Some pieces are one-off finds, others are classics like revamped Emil Stejnar chandeliers. Accordingly, the prices are not flea market. Above: 1920s Industrial Milk Glass Pendants, $1,000 for the pair, and 1950s Stilnovo Wall Fixture from Italy; $4,500.

Venice, California, antique and oddities shop Obsolete has some amazing finds. Above left: Simple Caged Sconces with brass finish from Italy; $900 each. Above right: Large Glass Bowl Pendant with metal fitter, c. 1930 to 1940 from Italy.

PW Vintage Lighting in Great Barrington has a wide selection of vintage and reproduction industrial lighting. If you can't make it to Massachusetts, PW has a great website and takes orders by phone. The set of three 14-inch-wide Enamel Reflector Shades (above) is $895.

In New York City, B4 It Was Cool specializes in American industrial objects and lighting from the early- to mid-20th century. The store is at 89 E. Houston Street, and the website includes an online gallery of amazing fixtures available to order by phone.

What exactly defines the category "task lighting"? Pivoting arms and metal shades? I guess it depends on the task at hand. Whether on a desk or side table or bar they add modernity and juxtaposition to a room full of traditional table lamps, and here are my four picks for style and price:

The 'Connection' table lamp from Stacks and Stacks. So simple, reminds me of Kelly Wearstler's current Boogie Nights moment except in chrome, not polished brass. I can deal with that for $69.99.

The classic counterpoise lamp in bronze or nickel from Restoration Hardware, currently a hundred bucks off at $249. Can't really say a bad word about it ... also available in multi-arm and floor lamp versions.

Robert Abbey's JoJo Nickel Finish Adjustable Desk Lamp, very reasonably priced at $219.19. (Last time I checked JoJo was a tween pop singer whom ex-flame BowWow ALLEGEDLY wronged over and over again ... but I digress.) Dig the sickle-shaped base.

And this Technic Table Lamp in polished steel ($89) -- straight out of a David Cronenberg movie, no? I picture one next to a curvy French sette. Contemporary lamps next to black or white leather seating look way too bachelor pad.

From Francesca at Remodelista:

November's issue of Domino includes a shot of my Brooklyn Heights bedroom; the midcentury-mod Mirror Image chaise longue is from Lost City Arts (upholstered with Rogers & Goffigon Cervo linen velvet; 212/888-3242) and the faux fur throw is from Nancy Koltes. The Tripod Light is from David Weeks Studio, based in Brooklyn.