sneak peek! book week next week!

Over the past month or so, I've racked up another stack-o-books I've been meaning to share- Stay tuned next week for book-o-rama!

Valentino- the last emperor

Saw this over the weekend in Palm Springs. It was amazing. Even if you don't follow fashion, the story is really interesting. For the duration of the movie, you are totally transported with an inside glimpse into the whole world of fabulous-ness. "I love beauty... it's not my fault..."

Have any of you seen it yet? Official Site here.

Traditional Home makeover contest

Want a chance to win a $20,000 makeover for your bedroom? Traditional Home magazine is having a Bedroom Sweepstakes- you can enter every day from now until June 21, 2009. Click here for more info.

mundane aesthetic: bottles

Simple bottles that served water, ice tea, and simple syrup at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs restaurant, Kings Highway- stay tuned for full review...

Putt up or Shut Up

I'm not a golfer, but I do love the dimensional and graphic qualities of this DIY rug kit from Flor! Love the grey colorway too! (via Uncrate)

Muji Design Awards: hook, straw and stapler...

I thought I had blogged this already, but apparently not. Just perusing the Wallpaper site and saw some entries to the recent Muji Design Awards 03 (which happened last year) that I hadn't seen yet. These design ideas are so fun and basic, I hope that they can all be made into production because I'd definitely use them! My favorites are the grand prize winner, the "straw straw" (genius- but I think I would prefer this version), the stapler, and the nail hook- (since I'm still trying to figure out my front entryway situation) See them all here and here.

sticky fingers

happy saturday!

A Lull "Skinny Fingers" from A Lull on Vimeo.

1050!

Well lookee here! This post will mark my 1050th post! (I didn't even notice when I had passed 1000!) I'm totally going to sound like a flight attendant, but I know you all have a choice of millions of blogs out there to read, so thank you for stopping by this mundane blog and I hope you continue to stop by again! If you haven't already, follow the blog (right side column toward the bottom), join my facebook network, add me as a friend, and if you're new here (or have just been a "lurker"), leave a comment and let me know where you're reading this from! thanks again- jon

Happy Friday!

Happy friday my friends! This weekend, I'm heading off to the desert town of Borrego Springs! They're having a modern house tour, and I'm excited to check out the town- if you're going to be in the area, you can still get tickets at the event. All the info is here. Have any of you been to Borrego? Any thing I should check out? I'll be staying in Palm Springs afterwards, and thankfully, it looks like this time it will finally be warm and sunny! (as opposed to last time). I'm also planning on checking out the Spring Garden show on Sunday, so... stay tuned for some more updates!

Southern California Spring Garden Show

The Annual Southern California Spring Garden show is on again this weekend at South Coast Plaza (April 23-26,2009) I've been going to this show for the past few years and each time there's always something fun to see. Lots of great displays of beautiful flora as well as interesting garden ideas, new products, and lots of local vendors. Plus it's at South Coast so you can do some other shopping while you're at it. More info here. (previous HM spring garden show posts here and here.)

Everyday Life Objects Shop

NEED to go to this store! (...next time I happen to find myself in Milan.) (via, via)

RRR Earth Day Ezine

There's an awesome and inspiring ezine for Earth Day this year- Put together by Jonathan Sandridge, Matt Lindauer, and Scott Massey, it includes 42 pages of graphics, photographs, screenprints, and other pieces from artists such as Andrew Holder, Mike Perry, Art Brewer, Anna Wolf, and soooo much more! Defintiely check it out! You can download it here. (via Roxy Blog)

Update: a print version is coming soon! Proceeds will benefit The Surfrider Foundation.

rainbow cake

happy thursday! (it's "little friday")- this rainbow cake at Shelterrific looks sooo yummy! more here.

USB owl

OMG. I think I need a USB Owl?!! It's like Bubo!

(via)

25 years of Duffy logos

Recently, my little company, J3, celebrated it's 10 year anniversary, (which I thought was quite a feat since I didn't think we'd last more than a few months!, hehe)- But here's something really amazing- design legends, Duffy & Partners just posted 25 years! worth of amazing logos they've created- many of which I'm sure you'll recognize and you probably even have some in your home right now! Check it all out here.

magazine display

As a magazine junkie, I totally heart this. (via Apartmenttherapy)

green sunburst key rack

how about a burst of lovely green sunshine! key rack from Yellow Canoe by Erin Lang Norris- available at Cut+Paste (via Creature Comforts)

clipper doormat and cup

Simple retro-inspired graphics from the Jaime Oliver home range. "Clipper" doormat, and mugs. Available here.

happy bird toys

made by Peanuts Toybox at Etsy.

seven ply recycled skateboard jewelry

Lynn Weiler makes cool jewelry and accessories out of broken skateboards. "Turning Thrash'n into Fashion"!Check out more at her etsy shop.

2Jane sale!

2Jane is having a massive Spring Cleaning sale with lots of goodies for just $5, $10, and $30! Now those are some prices I like! Some goodies of note: this Asteroid vase that I've been obsessing over ever since I first saw it a few years ago- This adorable Porcelain Butterfly vase (perfect mother's day gift anyone?) Check out all the goods at 2Jane.

Second Lives at MAD

A friend was just telling me how she was able to catch this show before it closed. I'm so sad I wasn't able to see it. However, thanks to the lovely interweb, I can see pics! The NYTimes had some great pics of the exhibition (by Hiroko Masuike for NYT) when it opened last year. Check out the pieces here, and see a slideshow here. My favorites include pieces by two people mentioned here on HM previously, the butterflies made from old vinyl records by Paul Villinski, the eyeglasses chandelier by Stuart Haygarth, and the amazing wave by Jean Shin also made with vinyl records!

stair slide

OMG. I want a slide on my stair case. now. (via Bloesem Kids, via the seventy tree)

La Boca Tea towel by Marimekko

Saw this tea towel in Inside Out. Great illustration by Maija Louekari for Marimekko. Little doodles of a happy modern life. Still available here.

Martha in Northridge

I was passing through Borders the other day and noticed that Martha has a new Craft Encyclopedia out. I only briefly flipped through it, but it looks like a keeper- a gazillion (200) craft tutorials all categorized by topic and handy in one place. For all of you that live in LA, Martha's actually going to be in Northridge this Sunday (April 19, 2009) signing copies at the Borders at the Northridge Fashion Center at 3:00pm. More details here. Stay tuned for a full HM review of the Craft Encyclopedia soon!

plywood octopus

Ooh! lookee this fun plywood octopus from In The Woods in Australia! Available at their etsy shop. (via May-June 2009 InsideOut)

junk deluxe

Ever since I saw this chair, I've been obsessed with furniture that is masked off and painted (remember the spray paint bandits?)- The supplement to the May 2009 issue of Elle Decoration has this incredible editorial piece called "Junk Deluxe", with styling by Rebecca McEvoy and photos by Damian Russel. Rebecca was given £200 and a paintbrush and sent on a mission to revamp some furniture from local thrift shops. The results are so inspiring. The idea to use drawers as wall displays is genius. And look at these table and chairs?! My head is exploding!
(styling by Rebecca McEvoy, Photos by Damian Russel, via British Elle Decoration May 2009)

Crinoline Chair by Patricia Urquiola

With the weather being so lovely lately here in SoCal, I've been thinking a lot about the outside, and also outdoor furniture. Check out this Crinoline Patio Chair designed by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia. I love how she's taken the 70's icon of the high back wicker arm chair, and given it a fresh interpretation. This one however is made of constructed polyethylene to withstand the rain and the sun. . How awesome would it be if there could be a hanging version too?! It's a bit out of reach for my affordability ($4870) but perhaps it will inspire other outdoor furniture designs to be a bit more playful, and think outside of the box-y ness that I see so much of in the market right now... More info here. (via 3 rings)

small world

To wrap up last weeks SD trip, after the Ackerman show at the Mingei, we checked out the Model Railroad Musem! I've always loved miniatures, so it was fun to see the set ups. I also loved the little hits of humor the builders threw in. I took a few snaps of my favorites: The scene with the large shark in the pool and the guy carrying the dinosaur cracked me up! The museum is located downstairs from the photo museum. More info here.

The Pearl Hotel San Diego

Another place I was able to check out this weekend was The Pearl Hotel. The Pearl opened up a few years ago, and I've been dying to give it a look-see. They took an old 60's motel and renovated it to hip and happenin' status. Located on the other side of the freeway in Point Loma (but only a about 15 minutes away from the Gaslamp District), it's fairly unassuming from the outside. I went during lunchtime, hoping to maybe check out their restaurant. Unfortunately, I soon found out, they don't serve lunch, and the place was pretty quiet. However, the concierge there was super nice and gave me a quick tour. He showed me one of the bedrooms, which are small, but fully equipped. I loved the use of the Geoff McFettridge wallpaper and beach-chic touches. Actually, the whole place is pretty small, but I found it really charming. Each room even has it's own little beta fish to keep you company. The pool has a screen above, and on certain nights, they project movies on it. I liked the vertical garden wall too. (I really want to do one of those.) Anyway- I'm not sure I'm exactly the demographic for this place, (I felt a little... too old?- yikes!-did I just say that? but then I guess I've been feeling that a lot lately.... er... moving on....) but if you're young and hip- this could be a great affordable place to check out or stay for a weekend. Rates start at just $99. More info here. You can see more of my pics of the Pearl Hotel , here.

Ackerman exhibit in San Diego

Had a great weekend in good ol' San Diego. One of the highlights was being able to check out the amazing Ackerman exhibit at the Mingei in Balboa Park. Seriously folks, if you get a chance- you MUST go to this show. It's up for awhile, so you have plenty of time to stop down and check it out! I have to say, what impressed me most was just how diverse Evelyn Ackerman's talents were. She did everything- tapestry, mosaics, pottery, wood carving, furniture, toys- it's awe-inspiring. The colors are fantastic and bright and the exhibition does a great job of showing the timeline and progression of the work. The LA times recently had a wonderful story about them, and definitely check out the slideshow that shows a peek at their house. One little tip, if you do go- go early on a saturday (it opens at 10am)- it's half price ($6!) between 10-12. Also- photography is allowed as long as there's no flash. I seriously documented just about the entire exhibit!! more info here.

blue Munday: Carlo Van De Roer

I am so drawn to these gorgeous photos by Carlo Van De Roer , especially love the juxtaposition of the graphic circles! (via Picdit)

origami shells

from West Elm

Andrew Holder at Subtext

Andrew Holder at Subtext. The show opened last week but I'm hoping to catch it over the weekend! More info here. If you want to see more, Grain Edit also did a few posts on him here and here. And more at his website.

notefolio from Poketo

How genius are these Notefolios from Poketo?! All you need in one handy item. See more here.

Domino: The Book of Decorating giveaway

Today is your last day to get your name in for the Domino book giveaway! I'm giving away two copies of Domino: The Book of Decorating, (compliments of Simon&Schuster). All you have to do is send in your name and email address to: hmgiveaway at gmail dot com (remove the "at" and add a "@" and remove the "dot" and add a ".")

Read the original post here. I'm randomly picking two names from the emails received tomorrow (4/2/2009) and will notify you by email if you're a winner. Good Luck!