TOYWATCH may claim to be an “anti-luxury statement,” but with the registry of famous names sporting these timepieces, I must insist on adding them to our luxury blog. The line was launched in 2006 by Milanese designer Marco Mavilla and quickly won the hearts (and wrists) of trendsetters like Oprah, Madonna and Katie Holmes.  Fashioned from sporty materials such as acrylic, ceramic and plastic, the eye-catching watches are embellished with crystal, mother-of-pearl and, as in the example shown here (my favorite), rose gold.  Check out the entire TOYWATCH collection.

At its two locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Beckmann MooreYaki Studio displays the ultimate artistic expressions in lighting, textiles, upholstery, artwork, rugs and accessories.  Their top of the line items can be customized to meet any specific needs for the luxury homeowner looking to upgrade their spacious interiors.  Almost as impressive as their artistic creations is the studio’s list of clients which stretches around the globe and includes the Ritz Carlton in Beijing, Four Seasons in Costa Rica, Auberge du Soleil in Napa, and several of the top luxury resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.

One manufacturer that certainly caught my eye was Barbara Beckmann Designs.  Their textiles are a mixture of creative ingenuity and luxurious materials; and their system for hand-painting fabric has been developed over two decades, allowing for unusually beautiful results in coloring.  The photo above is an example of their fabulous Textile Jewel Collection.  Slightly higher quality than the “bed in a bag” I bought at the local big-box store.

Last year, after a trip through rural Canada, Montana and North Dakota, those grand expanses of wilderness and/or nothingness, I was relieved to get back to Chicago and city life.  But now, after hardly leaving the city (except to travel to other cities) for quite a while, I am eager to escape.  Seeing the movie Into the Wild made me want to shred my credit cards, burn my money, grow a beard* and hike through the wild to live on my own.  Luckily, the end of the movie changed my mind before I took such drastic measures - but I did find a compromise that would allow me to get rid of my money (at least $52.5 million of it)* and immerse myself in nature: buying the Canaan Valley Ranch in Suches, Georgia.  The 185-acre property in the North Georgia Mountains, with its lakes, streams, apple orchards and grazing horses, would certainly quench my thirst for escape.  This soul-satisfying property is listed with Jenny Pruitt and Associates.

*Author has neither $52.5 million nor the ability to grow a beard.