TGIF video break: Dark and LOVE-ly christmas

It's been an extremely long and draining week for me. All of which appears to start a very fast moving December. I can't believe Christmas is only 3 weeks away? Yikes! Apologies on the lack of posts this week. I do have a bunch of things in the works, including a bunch of book reviews for holiday ideas, as well as another giveaway! woo hoo!

It's probably a reflection of my current workload/mental state or the cooling temperatures of the season, but lately, I've been finding myself being more and more drawn to an aesthetic "dark side." Darker colors, moods, and themes, which isn't necessarily meaning somber or depressing, but maybe more glamorous, mysterious and... sexy? I don't know... but regardless, It's friday, and I think everyone could use a little mystery, seduction and glamor for a weekend right?

Anyway, I'm also hoping to start this year's holiday project over the weekend (click here, or here for some of my past holiday projects) so we'll see how that goes... it is tentatively involving wood sticks and glue, (and a prayer!) Stay tuned!

little red

really cool animation by really cool illustrator/designerCiara Phelan

marbelized ornament

I think these could be totally fun DIY inspiration for modern holiday ornaments. I could see soo many amazing variations! But, if you're not feeling crafty, you can get them here.

john galliano christmas tree

Now, if you follow this blog regularly, you'll know I've never really been tied to being "traditional" when it comes to holiday decor. It should come as no surprise that I'm quite drawn to this amazing tree design (click on the image for a larger view) by designer John Galliano for the Clardige's hotel in London. How über glam is this?! (via CasaSugar, via Unbeige)

UPDATE: Wallpaper has a photo of the final tree here.

Raw Color

"RAW COLOR is a cooperation between designers Christoph Brach & Daniera ter Haar and demonstrates the often unnoticed beauty of our everyday veggies." Read more here via Core 77.

wrapped by housemouse paper

Fun bold simple graphics on wrapping paper by Australian design team housemouse.

thanks!

It's Thanksgiving Day here in the US. Traditionally a day to remember and give thanks. I'm extremely thankful for each of you that come and visit this little mundane blog. Thank you so much for your comments, emails, links, support, and sharing a little bit of your day with me! I do this every now and then, but it's always fun to touch base- I'm in Irvine, CA- where are you? please share in the comments!

wire tree at habitat

Dear Santa:
Please bring a Habitat store to the US. One in So Cal would be quite excellent. Then I could get this awesome wire tree. thanks. (via Living Etc.)

agate ornaments

Rock out this christmas! Really digging these agate ornaments. It's giving me ideas...

another problem.

Awhile back I mentioned my recent obsession with this dark chocolate spread. Well, since then my sweet tooth has added a new addiction: Pineapple Pie. I first had a taste of the golden goodness when I was in Hawaii- at Mc Donalds of all places! Over there, they have pies only available to Hawaii, and at that time- they had a pineapple pie (as opposed to the apple pies that they have on the mainland.) Anyway- I was so addicted to them there that I had one every day of my stay. Fast forward a few years and a friend of mine came over for dinner and brought- Pineapple Pie- I was like- WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?! And their answer was surprising. Ralphs! For any of you in Southern California, you'll know that Ralphs is a big super market chain. The Pineapple pies were only $5.99 for the whole pie. So. Good. And for the past few weeks, I've been devouring them. Have any of you had pineapple pie? BTW, if you have a Ralphs nearby, another friend said they're on sale this week for $3.99 with a club card.

By the way, if you're on facebook, be a HM fan! and follow my twitter for my other mundane musings.

le creative sweatshop

I am so fascinated, intrigued, and inspired by these guys. So much awesomeness. Check out this documentary about their "viral paper" project. I think I need a faceted face mask, like, now. Viral Paper + / Le Creativ Sweatshop ENGLISH SUBTITLES from ofa on Vimeo.

Also- check out these shoes!!!

you MUST check out more here.
(via mocoloco)

j3 zine #1 now available

happy friday folks! I recently mentioned a little pet project of mine, and I'm excited to announce that it's now available online! Click here to go to the mini-site. (BTW, we're including a free handy dandy notepad to the first 100 orders.) Thanks for checking it out and for all your support!

TGIF videobreak: 12345...

TGIF!! (Special thanks to my friend Amy for today's TGIF videobreak.)

Metropolitan Home: December 2009

Flipping through the very last issue of Metropolitan Home (December 2009) was truly bittersweet. At least they are leaving us with one editorial that I'm so inspired by, the home of Marc and Melissa Palazzo. I've actually been fortunate enough to meet these to fellow Orange County (OC REPREZENT!) residents and their talents speak for themselves in their amazing home. I'm totally loving their fresh color palette and mix of modern and vintage. It's my idea of "So Cal cool". It totally speaks to me and is what I'd like my future house to be when it grows up. Check out more shots here. (photos by John Ellis) P.S. I'll miss you Met Home!

vintage tile woodcuts at CB2

It's all about texture! Love these mosaic panels made from pieces of reclaimed and recycled vintage textile design woodcut blocks. I'm thinking it would look great in an entryway, and I like how they have it shown in a living room (with a sleeper couch) too- Could also be fun inspiration for a DIY idea... available from CB2

happy 103 birthday Eva!

It's Eva Zeisel's 103 birthday! amazing. More on her here. My favorite piece of hers is the Century Sauce boat, still available here.

TGIF video break: 15 to 20

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Ackerman Modern

Earlier this year, I mentioned the incredible exhibit currently at the Mingei in San Diego, featuring the work of Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman. Well, it's funny how things can happen, and just how wonderful this little world called the "blogshpere" can be. After that post, I received an unexpected surprise email from the Ackerman's daughter, Laura, and to make a long story short- I ended being lucky enough to actually meet and spend time with the Ackerman's. Fast forward a few months, and I'm proud to present to you, AckermanModern.com - the official site for the mid-century modern works of Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman. It's been such an honor having the opportunity to help bring this couple's endearing work to the web, allowing a whole new world to discover, enjoy, and be inspired by.I encourage you to take some time to read their story and see the wide range of work this amazing couple have created. At the heart of it all is a beautiful love story that continues today, 61 years later. There's a great quote from a recent article about them in American Craft Magazine, that sort of sums up their design approach: "They designed for people like themselves who were on a budget yet wanted to live with beautiful, well designed things." And really, isn't that what it's all about? Also, if you've been considering a trip down to San Diego soon, please please do not miss the exhibition. It closes in January 2010 so it will only be up for another month or so. You will not regret it! Check out more here.

Marcel Wanders for Target

I'm sure many of you have heard that Marcel Wanders is doing Target's Holiday collection this year. I've already started seeing pieces in my local Target! Here's a link to the online inspiration book that Marcel did that shows how the collection came about. Looks like they had a good time creating it! (via Imedagoze)

giant wood rocks by Vicente Guallart

Whoa- you all know my love for wood rocks (and here). Check out these gigantic ones by architect Vicente Guallart. Part of the new Keelung Maritime Plaza in Taipei, Taiwan. (via Monocle)

unexpected fall colors

Now that Halloween is over, seems like everyone is fast forwarding to Christmas already! However, the latest November 09 issue of Martha Stewart Living offers an unexpected color palette that can transition Thanksgiving into the Christmas holiday season. Love these two images, with the silvery muted pumpkins, (some made of fabrics!) and the purple/lavender hues mixed with naturals. Feels fresh and festive, but also warm and comforting. (photos by Don Freeman for MSL)

coin storage

I'm really liking this "coin storage" piece. Simple, minimal, but not too "design-y". The wood for the base adds a nice warm touch. Available here.

Zoetrope: All Story- Rex Ray edition

If you're a big Rex Ray fan (like I am) picked up the Fall 2009 issue of Zoetrope: All Story, which was guest designed by Rex Ray! In between all the short stories, are piece of his amazing art. Rex Ray has a background in the magazine world, and he uses magazines in his artwork, so he mentions in the irony of kind of going "full circle" designing this issue. Anyway- lots of pages of great eye candy and interesting stories as well. (after your done reading the issue, I'm thinking some of the pages could look great framed!...) More info here.

happy halloween!

Happy Howl-o-ween! from a very scary blue monster Pepé! (Actually, from a very annoyed Pepé who has a dad that dresses him up in silly costumes! hehe)

put your stamp on it

Great idea for DIY artwork, as seen in the Nov/Dec 09 Inside Out mag. Frame up some stamps! Love the look of the enlarged ones- (photo by Sam McAdam, styling by David Harrison via Inside Out)

pumpkin centerpiece- part 2- PoP Pumpkins!

As you know, I've been trying to figure out what to do with some pumpkins for this year's fall centerpiece. I ended up going all around the world and back again. Originally I wanted to do something with paint brush strokes... I envisioned some sort of color gradation- however- I realized that because the pumpkins have ridges, brush strokes weren't going to look that great... so... I moved on from that idea. Then I was going to do something all in grays tones (which I still love the idea of, but maybe next year...) Then I had this idea for fluorescent yellow. Not sure where that came from- but all the neon pop that's out there right now really grabbed me- So I thought, I'll just grab some neon paint and paint the pumpkins! Well- I ended up getting some neon poster paint and applied a coat to a small pumpkin. FAIL. The paint wasn't really sticking like I thought it would, and it wasn't very opaque. Basically it just looked gross. Like a big fat loogie on top. Bleah. So I figured maybe I needed to prime it- That's when the ever trusted "spray paint bandits" took over- I primed the area I wanted to paint, and then used a coat of fluorescent yellow spray paint after, and finally the color really popped. Then I found some tan "camouflage" spray paint, which is described as "ultra matte" (and in reality, it's ultra cool!), and did another one in the same way- I used some thin crepe paper drafting tape for the largest pumpkin, and just did a random pattern and sprayed the whole thing with white spray primer, then removed the tape- Voila! the 2009 pumpkin centerpiece! It's probably a bit more "pop" than what you'd expect traditionally for "fall"- but then, I guess I'm not exactly the most "traditional" guy, hehe- (BTW, The mushrooms were these marble ones I got a few years back from a trip to Yucca Valley. ) Are any of you also doing something "non traditional" for your Fall decor?

reflect mirror

these are some kind of awesome. I bet they'd be a fun DIY project too- however, they're also available here. (via Swissmiss)