Thanks to Jimmy Choo’s new collection, Choo 24:7 Bags, packing for a trip has never felt so fabulous. Our travel must? The Terence Trolley in white stamped mock croc ($3,595). 240 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills

You won’t mind getting out of a hot shower when a bath towel by Fresco Towels ($69 each) is waiting. Made from 100 percent longstaple Turkish cotton, each one has a design that will turn your bathroom into a gallery. 9403 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills

PHOTOGRAPH BY SHAYNA LIU

Presented in a whitewashed walnut and ash with polished stainless steel, she is known to her friends in The Collection as The Katherine ($6,900). Within her exquisite lines and stately manner, she has a jewelry box filled with priceless heirlooms and rare baubles—as soon as you buy this piece and put those items in there, of course. The Katherine is enchantingly modern but with a vibe that says Grace Kelly would have stored a tiara in here. 8454 Melrose Pl., LA; meierferrer.com

In the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s collection for The Rug Company, abstract hawk feathers pattern a Turkish-knot cashmere carpet; a flat-weave silk-and-cashmere rug is aflutter with iridescent hummingbirds (pictured); and his signature skull print gets the needlepoint treatment on contrasting tapestry cushions. 8202 Melrose Ave., LA; therugcompany.info

The wireless innovators at the Parisian electronics firm Parrot teamed up with Philippe Starck to design an iPod/iPhone docking station. The result is the aesthetically pleasing Zikmu Parrot by Starck Hi-Fi speakers ($1,600 for a pair). Ahead Stereo, 7428 Beverly Blvd., LA; aheadstereo.com.

Once upon a time, it took little details like a friendly Labrador or family heirlooms to create a home sweet home. Nowadays it’s more along the lines of a 65-inch flat panel above the fireplace or a full-blown media room. As Michael Murray, founder and president of Costa Mesa’s Murray Home Theater, puts it, “sound and lighting make a house a home.” He would know: For the past decade, Murray has been installing home theaters, security systems and home automation (controlling, say, your home’s lighting from your iPhone) into abodes all over the West. He has also executed the outlandish, such as recessing a television into flower beds for optional outdoor viewing, and equipping monitors in a backyard bar with a live ticker linked to Vegas’ sports books. Above all, Murray believes in the personal touch. “We’re a boutique company,” he says. “Homeowners know us on a first-name basis.” murrayhometheater.com

Photography by Fredrik Nilsen

To call Art Los Angeles Contemporary an art fair simply does not do it justice. The labyrinth of art—which ran January 27-30 this year—accommodates 70 exhibitors at the historic Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. And it's quite a show, filling viewers with shock, awe, inspiration, or a combination of all three at every turn. The 34,000 square feet of open exhibition space housed an eclectic mix of sculptures, photographs, watercolors, oil paintings, live art, and video animations, as well as pieces consisting solely of tape, textile, or cardboard.

Known for its diversity, the show featured works of art by both established and younger galleries both in the US and abroad. But there was one unifying theme: the bold, fearless art that pushed the envelope and took several steps outside the art world’s comfort zone. There is nothing safe or conventional about, for instance, a photographic print of a shower curtain knotted around a woman’s head mounted on Plexiglass. Still, as I turned a corner to find myself face-to-face with a series of photographs of a woman gradually covering her face with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles, I couldn’t help but think, oh, I’ve been there. It was then that I realized why ALAC is such a find: The beauty of its artwork wasn't just in its daring and nervy spirit, but more so in its ability to connect with viewers and, on occasion, make them drool.

“How does one's life get to the garbage dump, and how does one recycle oneself?” muses documentarian Lucy Walker (Countdown to Zero, Blindsight, Devil’s Playground) on one of the central themes of her astonishing film Waste Land. The director herself needs no recycling, as she finds herself in the midst of a bright, shiny career high even after shooting knee-deep in trash.

Waste Land is Walker’s chronicle of once-impoverished, now-acclaimed photographer Vik Muniz’s journey back to his native Brazil. There he visited the world’s largest dumping ground to create photographic portraits of local itinerants who forage for recyclables to sustain themselves, all shot amid a landscape of garbage. Muniz hopes the high-dollar proceeds from his avid collectors will alter the lives of these Brazilians. “The amazing people we found there are somehow spiritually so recycled, so inspirational in their courage and dignity,” says Walker. “I knew they would have dramatic stories—but I didn’t realize they would be cooler than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Walker had the landscape in mind a decade ago after visiting a Staten Island landfill during an NYU seminar on garbage. “It was mortifying—[but] as a filmmaker, I was saying, ‘I should put it on film because it’s such a powerful location.’” Waste Land is illuminated by the incredible spirits the filmmaker encountered and “the idea of turning garbage into art—things that are so valueless you throw them away, into things that are so valuable you buy them at auction and put them as prized possessions on your wall.” Even Muniz was unprepared for the compelling encounters. “I thought, ‘Ha, [Muniz] may have been surprised, but I wasn’t,” says Walker. “That was my cunning plan.’”

Ken has been Barbie’s main squeeze since 1961, when the two blonde bombshells met on the set of a commercial. For the past half-century, we’ve considered him the ideal man—a trophy boyfriend, a snappy dresser and the ultimate Cali boy. We caught up with Ken as he gets ready to celebrate his 50th birthday this month. From the looks of it, he hasn’t aged a bit.

How does it feel to turn 50?
It’s nothing but a number. I feel great about it—look how good 50 looks on Barbie! 2011 is going to be a great year for me; I can just feel it.

What are your secrets to looking great at 50?
It’s all in the abs, and hair helps, of course! If your abs are rockin’ and the hair is intact, the rest will follow. A nice glow from the Malibu sun also helps.

Where are you living these days?
Malibu is where my surfboard lives, but my life takes me on the road. My passport is always ready to go.

Would you say Barbie is the love of your life?
Isn’t Barbie the love of everybody’s life? She’s an absolute doll!

What are some of the biggest challenges you and Barbie face as a celebrity couple in the spotlight?
The spotlight can be a real scorcher—sometimes you almost feel like you are melting. We work very hard on keeping the right perspective and focusing on fun.

What are some of your favorite qualities about Barbie?
She’s smart, beautiful and brings blonde ambition to a whole new level.

What's your secret to staying in such great shape?
I’m always on the go—work, play and everything in between keeps me moving and active. Catch me if you Ken!

Throughout Jack Palance’s acting career, which included his famous turns in 1953's Shane and 1991's City Slickers (for which he won an Oscar), there was more to Palance than the tough western characters he played. For the most part, he was a deeply devoted grandfather. Since his death in 2006, Palance’s granddaughter, Lily Spottiswoode, brings his memory to the stage in her one-woman show The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived (directed by Jenny Sullivan and running through January 22 at Pico Playhouse).

To Spottiswoode, Palance wasn’t Hollywood’s bad guy; he was “just my grandfather, who always had his hair perfectly combed and at the same time, there was often bird shit on his jeans.” Here, Spottiswoode opens up about her grandfather, taking on the role of her six family members and who she likes to play the most.

What is the premise of The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived?
LILY SPOTTISWOODE: It’s about a weekend in which my family came together to say goodbye to my grandfather. It’s not so much a therapy session, but more of a comedy. It’s about how every crazy family has moments when they have to cope.

Did he inspire you to write the show?
The show is a tribute to him, the eccentric life that he led and the worlds he created for my family and I. In that way it’s completely inspired by him. The way I dealt with his death was that I wrote a show about it.

What was it like to have such a famous grandfather?
I never saw him as a movie star. The show is about him, but I never say his name. For me it’s not about using his name—that happened to be [just one] part of who he was. Mainly he was an incredible grandfather and a deeply eccentric man.

What is the hardest part of doing a one-woman show?
It takes a lot of work and discipline. I wrote the show and it’s difficult when rehearsing, to take off my writer’s hat and then just act.

Who do you play?
I play myself, my grandfather, my mom, brother, step-grandmother, and my aunt. I’ve created characters inspired by them; it’s how I saw them dealing with his death.

Who is your favorite to play? My grandfather. I feel like I’m with him. It’s a gift when I get to play him, because I get to have a conversation with him.