the odd couple

Great new cover art for Gnarls Barkley's upcoming album. Anyone know who designed it?
UPDATE: Could it be Siggi Eggerston?

Folk Rock and Roll tee

Love this tee- Love the colors and how it evokes a bit of folk art, but its also really modern at the same time. Designed by Wyeth Hansen and available at Threadless

mundane aesthet: snow in So Cal!

So this weekend I went to Palm Springs for a quick getaway. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great. It's been raining and cold. Not exactly desert weather. Oh well. One of the great things about Palm Springs is that in as little as 10 minutes, you can go from sunny sand to snow! So, I figured, if it's going to be cold, might as well be REALLY cold. I took the Palm Springs Aerial Tram, and went to play in the snow. I haven't seen snow in awhile, so it was fun to play in this extreme change of scenery...SQUIRREL!...only for a little while though. Then we came back down and tried to make the most of the sun that was up for a few hours... If you've never gone, the next time you're in Palm Springs, definitely ride the tram!

T-Pod by Elisabeth Soos

Saw this on Designspotter, what an awesome concept by designer Elisabeth Soos! The T-pod is such a cute and fun idea! Hopefully someone will put it into production... (images from Elsiabeth Soos site)

din-ink

Saw this on designboom- this was one of the winning entries in a design competition in Milan. Cutlery Pen caps! The theme was "dining in 2015"- seriously- Although I try to make a point of getting outside the office at lunch, I have been guilty of eating while working, and I suspect I probably would totally get this if it was ever made...

Lisa Solomon collections

Poppytalk has a great post about some of Lisa Solomon's collections she has in her home. They are so lovely... check out her post here. Lisa's site here.

Spray paint bandits: chair results

So here it is, the final results of my chair redo. I did two of them, but here is a shot of one. Overall I'm pretty pleased. I'm still on the fence about reupholstering the seat with a different fabric, but I can always change that later. I'm currently considering adding a rug underneath my table, but this is how it will be for now... Anyway- it's been a crazy few days around these parts (rain, chaos, craziness) so I'm jetting off for a quick weekend getaway. If I'm lucky, maybe even play in some snow! I'll probably post some over the weekend, so stay tuned and hope you're having a great friday!

Wavy Vase

Aren't these Wavy vases pretty? So elegant and love the black and white asian-esque wave design on them... They come in a few different sizes, available at Hip and Zen.

yellow and black: good shape design

It's been cold and rainy here in So Cal, so this "Line in Circles" mug by Good Shape Design seems somewhat fitting. A little crisp black and white, but also a nice sunny hit of yellow to take your mind away from all the gray (although I love gray, hehe). Good Shape Design also has another design in a similar colorstory (below). Check out more of his work here.
(image from GoodShapeDesign)

bad haircut

(sigh)... my lovely tree outside, who has given me many days of visual delight, received a bad haircut. My annoying (and evil?) homeowner's association sent me a notice that it had become "overgrown"... what. ever. But I guess, in reality, it really could have used a bit of pruning. So...it got a haircut. (Not a very good one) I'm sorry Mr. Tree. It will grow back... (... right?)

blue tuesday: rimini vase and bowl at Crate&Barrel

Crate and Barrel.
So.
Stunning.
Gorgeous.
Love.
Made by Italy's Bitossi.
Want.
Both.Now.

mundane aesthetic: black sand beach

Spray paint bandits strike again!

Yes indeed, the spray paint bandits have struck again. Ever since I did those branches, I've got weird white paint ideas on the brain (as evidenced by this, and this...) The latest attack has been something I've been itching to do for awhile. I posted it for my January Jumpstart that AT is having this month. Basically, ever since I saw this chair at Anthropologie, I've been wanting to mimic the same paint treatment to a chair (cuz sadly, $298 a chair is just... not happening). I just love the way the bottom few inches are exposed wood. For awhile I was looking everywhere for a simple bentwood chair. I mean, you see them everywhere, but when you want one- no where to be found. Ikea has one, but the way they constructed the back legs just isn't condusive to this treatment. Plus I was having second thoughts that the style itself was bit too... county? which isn't really my deal. So... in a fit of frustration, I just ended up buying these Ikea ROGER chairs, (although maybe i should have gotten the NORDMYRA... but oh well, too late) which are a bit more substantial and fit more with my place (or so I keep telling myself.) Anyways- this past weekend, the bandits attacked...Click here to read about what happened...

wacky japanese commercials

I don't know where this came from but it was just emailed to me and i can't stop watching it.


and then from there I clicked on to this one!

Ikea Madness

There's a really amusing and also quite educational section on Ikea's website right now, called "Ikea Madness"- I've always appreciated how Ikea recognizes the individual designer's name on their products, sometimes even having big posters of them in the store. The section of the website gives some the background and story of a few of their more popular pieces, complete with funny accompanying animations. Check it out here!

zojirushi rice cooker

Being asian, rice pretty much is a staple for my diet, so I'm no stranger to a rice cooker. Rice cookers, for the most part, are pretty ugly. Granted, the Japanese have come up with some super cute mini space-y ones, but usually, they decorate them with some kooky floral design and they're always white. About the time I started Happy Mundane (wow, back in March 06!) I went to the Chicago Home and Housewares show. As I was strolling through all the miles of gadgets and appliances, I spotted this little guy. It's from Zojirushi, and it's the Zojirushi NS-XBC05YR Rizo Micom 3-cup Rice cooker and Warmer. At the time, it hadn't come out in the US yet. I kept in contact with the PR rep for awhile and it kept being pushed back for release. Well, I just saw on Cookie mag's website that it's available now! It's yellow and kinda cute no? It has all these preprogrammed settings, like risotto and steam cooking. It also comes in a stainless version, but the yellow one is my favorite. Sunny and warm, just like a good bowl of rice... (ok, minus the sunny part) Available here.

edible googly eyes

I don't know why i need to know this, yet... I'm captivated and want to make some!!... edible googly eyes! (via evilmadscientist, via curbly)

Blue Munday: Stuart Haygarth

Stuart Haygarth has been getting a lot of attention lately in magazines and blogs. He uses discarded items and recycles them into beautiful works of art. A recent cover of Clear magazine featured a detail shot of his 2004 Tide Mark piece on the slip cover. It's a gorgeous rainbow colored display of random items. See the whole thing here. I also love this chandelier made of bottle ends.
And how amazing is this pendant light made up of disposable wine glasses?!

TGIF! Audrey Break- No bananas...

Ugh. It's been a long two days at work which have left me completely exhausted. So, it's finally friday and time for an Audrey Break!


and here's another version equally as charming, hehe

Eames stamps!

Posted this on AT:LA today- Coming soon to an envelope near you! Eames Stamps! (image via Eames Demetrios' flickr)

soda bottle planter by Gabriel Sierra

I saw this piece by Gabriel Sierra on Designboom and totally want to make one of my own. Gabriel Sierra is an artist from Colombia. This piece is entitled "verde refresco o cola verde" from 2003. How great would this look if you recycled a few bottles in different sizes into planters and put them by a window or on a patio table! Check out some of his other fun pieces here. The cat hideaway is pretty clever too... (image from Designboom)

bursting the starburst bubble.

I posted this on AT:LA today. Remember the starburst mirror I was totally eyeing from the Target Global Bazaar collection? So sad. So not what I thought it was going to be based on the photo... Read more about it here...

structure vs organic

I totally love this idea that AT:NY posted today, inspired by these Clipped Cubes from Designfenzider. The post was about possible DIY solutions to this and I'm thinking I gotta try it! I just love this concept of building some sort of architectural structure juxtaposed around a glass vase... hm... ideas...

Global Bazaar 2008 at Target

Woo hoo! Happy 2008! Time to get back to work and keep on movin'! I'm always excited about this time because it means all the stores are clearing through the holiday stuff and making room for all the Spring items, which means lots of new eye-candy to look at! Over the weekend, I noticed that Target is already launching the latest collections for the Global Bazaar. This year they've added two new color stories, a yellow/black/white story and a Blue+purple. When I first saw the yellow/black/white- my initial thought was- oy- haven't we seen that colorstory trend to death already? I mean, ever since Kelly Wearstler did the Viceroy Palm Springs, which was like... almost 5 years ago? it seemed like all the designers jumped on it- granted it's a great classic look and can still feel fresh if done right - and that's just what happened when I actually looked at the pieces. I found myself liking that one the most! Perhaps it's just taken this long for it to finally translate down to the masses... but I'm feelin' the yellow. I'm not sure if I'd do a room so paired down to only those three colors (yellow, black, white) but there are definitely some pieces in the collection I'm loving. I'm especially eyeing this Starburst mirror that's only $89! It's from the Bronze room collection. Crate&Barrel has had one for a while now that is $199- but Target is also offering this handy in-store coupon, so you could get the mirror for $79! Anyways- when I went to my local Target, they were just starting to put up the displays and fill the shelves. I can't wait to go back later and see it fully stocked. The whole collection is up online though... check it out and comment here if you're seeing anything that catches your eye!

Régis Mayot bottle sculptures

Wow. I am so enamored with these sculptures by Régis Mayot that was on AT:NY for an AT:Europe report about this show in Paris. The show features emerging artists that use recycled materials. (via mocoloco via AT:NY)

Lisa Solomon piece

oooh- just got this email from Lisa Solomon, who is having a joint show with artist Aura Robson, called "couplets" starting tomorrow January 5th, at the SQFT gallery in Nashville, TN. They've made a bunch of pieces that are meant to hang together side by side. Look at the amazing yellow/grey/white combo! (Lisa's embroidered piece is on the right) Gorgeous. The works will be available for sale on the SQFT gallery website starting monday, January 7th!

Martha Stewart Colors at Lowes

Martha Stewart has had her Colors paint collection for awhile, but it was only recently that I discovered that they were available at Lowes. The collection is from Valspar, and sold through Lowes. I happened to be needing some touch up paint, and saw these little inspiration cards at the bottom of the swatch wall. I am in love with the way they combined everything in the image above. The graphic-ness of Dutch blue wall stripe (they call the color "blue ticking") combined with the darker warm blue and grey accent pillows on the chocolate brown bedding... the black side table, vase... and the unexpected yellow pop from the artwork and the burlap fabric of the lampshade makes the whole thing feel completely fresh and modern.
I also love this office area they showed, with the classic black and white motif. If only my office could be so organized and minimal. (sigh)... but then, I have this theory that if your office is tooo clean, then that means you're not really doing any work... (which would mean I'm working waaay to hard, hehe)Next time you are at a Lowes, definitely hit up the paint swatch wall and look for these cards- the rooms shown range in styles, but all have that beautiful signature "Martha" look, and they give the paint colors used on the back. (and they're free!)

The website has some great design galleries to peruse too if you're looking for more inspiration... (or for more procrastination, hehe)

new notebook

Every year I get myself a new simple spiral bound notebook. I use this to jot down ideas and for taking notes during meetings for work. This year, I picked up the one above at Urban Outfitters. I love the bright geometric colors with the etching style artwork. UO always has a great selection of notebooks and journals, (I'm not sure if this one is from last season or is new, since I can't find it on their website... but here is a link to the ones they do have online)

12 Days of Christmas by Brian Wildsmith

I know Christmas is over, but I just found this treasure of a book the other day, at a local Antique Mall for $5. It's by Brian Wildsmith and was published in 1972. It's the 12 Days of Christmas, and just has these gorgeously colorful illustrations. My holidays were pretty white and muted, and now I'm feeling bold bits of wonderful color to start the new year! I also found out there's actually a Brian Wildsmith museum in Japan!

The Death and Life of Ice Cream

Happy 2008! Upgrade!

Wow- it's a new year! I don't know about you, but 2007 seemed like it just flew by. I hope you all had a great holiday. I'm still in that post holiday limbo, which I'm trying to relish before I have to go back to the grind and start up work again. I'm very excited to see what 2008 is going to bring. I have this weird theory that it's not until the last half of a decade that you really get to see the major contributions of that decade, and that it isn't until you get towards the very end of it that they become clear and/or distinct. My theory is that the first half of the decade, you're still in transition from the last one, and by mid point, you start reactions for change, and then towards the end, the visions are more refined. I dunno- just a theory, and not necessarily true, but sounds good right? hehe-

Did you make any resolutions? Decor8 posted a fun post about resolutions and a lot of people are sharing theirs in the comments. Check it out and see if anyone else is sharing your resolutions. For me, I'm hoping to just continue my slow but committed plan to "upgrade" my life. I started it last year, and 2007 was pretty successful for me. For starters, I finally got proper window coverings (that was a BIG upgrade). Other highlights in 2007: I found myself on TV as a talking pop up head! (weird and hillarious... ) I finally got to go to ICFF (fun!), got to visit Scottsdale, AZ (interesting) and I was able to complete another phase of my parental's redo of their home.

This year, I'm hoping to upgrade my bathrooms (I have 2 1/2) and at some point, get my garage situation (and that's the only word I can think of to describe it... a serious "situation", hehe) taken care of and organized. I'm hoping to continue in the parental's redo at some point this year, perhaps tackling either the guest bedroom, or their master bedroom... I also really want to travel more this year. I have a few other things I've been thinking and I'll keep you all posted as they get closer to fruition. The image above is a close up detail of the artwork on my "money tree" platter from Jonathan Adler. Even though I enjoy a pretty mundane life, it symbolizes fortune and prosperity for me (it's good to dream right?), and that's my wish for all of you! 2008 is going to be Great! (I mean, look- it even rhymes!)