mundane aesthetic: It's the Best Day Ever!

funny what you can see in traffic.

Sunny Days

It's been so hot lately here in OC and So Cali, that I've got sun on the brain. Recently, as I browsed through Banana Republic, I spied their credit card application. I like the abstract sun that kind of reminds me of some sort of 50's vintage block print, but is really made up of silhouettes of clothing (so clever). This for some reason got me thinking about lemons. Do you enjoy iced beverages with lemon? My only pet peeve is when I suck up a seed while drinking with a straw. Grrr... hate that.
Anyways- Here's a couple fun sun-inspired things I've spotted recently:"radial pillow" from Hybrid Home

Utopia Sun ornament by Jonathan Adler"Starburst" (ok, not specifcally a sun, but the sun is a star right?)
mirror and bowl from Crate&Barrel
"Drawing the Sun" book by Bruno Munari

more blue munday: Slurpie

It's a hot one out there today in OC. It's... 90 degrees!!! I think I need something nice and cooling, like say, a big ol' cola Slurpie...

Happy Mundane Easter Weekend

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty much mundane. but a Happy Mundane. I originally had some plans for Sunday, but they all sorta fell through or were postponed. So I was left with a day with completely no agenda. It was overcast here in OC, and it left me with this quiet lazy "grey" feeling. Not exactly excited. Not exactly bored. I suppose just... content?
The trees in my complex are starting to bloom with bursts of white flowers. It's like little popcorn clusters. Its really quite pretty. Today, with the grey sky back drop, they appeared much more subdued, but still fresh and bright.Everything was pretty much closed, except for supermarkets, so I stopped by to stock up on rations. Had myself a really basic mundane lunch, but it tasted a whole lot better than it usually does today. By the way, if you haven't tried Trader Joes Roasted Tomato Salsa- go run and get some, and pick up some White corn tortilla chips while you're at it. Yum!Anyways- I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. A new week is here. The busy work week begins. Hope you have a good one!

mundane aesthetic: apples & oranges

Throwing up some shade... finally.

The other day was a big one for me. (sorry, this may be a long post) I've been living in my house now for several years... got myself situated... bought "grown up" things, like a real couch... light fixutres... nice artwork... but there was one area that I kind of neglected, until now... proper window treatments. (gasp!) yes. I have been living without proper window treatments for years. But some who've seen pics of my place will say, but you have shades- they're white? Well, yeah... this is true. However, if you actually looked at what they were... you'd be surprised.When most people move into a new home, some people will throw up newspapers, or old sheets to act as temporary window coverings. Well, I used sheets of packing foam. With simple scotch tape, these sheets stuck to my windows. Because they were perforated, I could cut them perfectly to size. Because they were foam, they were semi-opaque, and let in nice diffused light. And frankly, they looked great if you didn't really examine them. So up they stayed... and never came down. Every now and then, the tape would wear out, or a draft would tear the foam or whatever, and I'd simply just roll out another sheet and tape it back in place!

I loved my packing foam sheet curtains. They were great. I highly recommend them if you are temporarily without curtains.

But there comes a time in everyone's life, when one just has to come to the realization that it's time to take some responsibility in your decor. You need to give the proper window treatments your house deserves. I'm not really a curtain/drapes kinda guy. So... I just went to the nearby 3-Day Blinds to see what they had to offer. Ok, one thing about 3-day blinds. It's not that you get your blinds in three days, but rather, it takes them 3 days to actually make your blinds (all orders are custom made). I did not know this. It didn't really matter, because I really wasn't in a hurry. (I waited this long right?) However, my 3-day blinds experience on the whole was a pleasurable one. In the end, I opted for the "dual" shade system. The "dual" shade is essentially two types of shades in one. They are the honeycomb type, but with both sheer and semi-opaque all in one piece. This gives you the flexibility to control how much sheer or semi-opaque you want. In the end, my windows are now properly covered. I feel better. It feels finished. My windows have... closure.

Out of the Ordinary

The April 2007 Elle Decoration (UK) has an incredible photospread called "Out of the Ordinary." The photographs are by Andrea Garuti, with styling by Chiara Di Pinto and Arianna Lelli Mami. The images were inspired by the still lifes of Italian artist Giorgio Morandi. I love the quietness and monochrome palette. Strangely I'm more interested in the props than the actual products they're showcasing. Anyway, there's a lot of goodies in this issue (as with basicallly every issue!) so definitely check it out!

mundane aesthetic: paper shreds

Does anyone else find paper shredding strangely cathartic and satisfying?

mundane aesthetic: after the rain

There's that old song that says "it never rains in southern california..." so when it does rain (like it did here recently) it's always refreshing for me. I think my favorite time though, is right after it rains. Cold, grey, and but also crisp, fresh, and clean...

Sunny Saturday

It's a gorgeous sunny Saturday today here in OC. Speaking of sunny, I love this fantastic piece of yellow objects by Michael Cooper, which I found via DearAda's blog- which also has other really great finds and eye candy to check out!

mundane aesthetic: more tree shadows

Happy Friday! It's been one of those slow mornings where I find myself sitting at my table and just staring at the window. The shadows from my tree outside continues to fascinate me. Here are some more shots at various times in the morning (from super early to later). The first one is at 6:45am... I like how only half the window has light and shadow...by 8:00am , it's pretty bright...by 10:00am, the sun starts to move a little...AT:NY recently posted these beautiful curtains, but I think I still prefer mine...

Lots going on this weekend to share, so check back Sunday for a few more mundane musings...
Have a great weekend!

little friday

Yeah, it's still Thursday, but I'm trying to think of it as "little friday"! I spotted this on the center divider in dead-stop traffic yesterday. Nice to see someone was happy.

(not) seeing red

In honor of today's holiday, I thought I'd post some things that were red around me, only to find out that I really don't have anything red. Looking around, the only things that I had red were shopping bags. What does that say about me? (Don't answer that.) I did find a few other random things with red though... Do you have a lot of red in your home? Anyways, hope you have a happy Vday with someone you love.

ID Jan/Feb 2007

I love the cover of the Jan/Feb 2007 ID magazine (the design one, not the British one). The collage featured is by ID Magazine's art director, Kobi Benezri. I love all the random elements laid out together- Especially the orange floppy disk. I can't remember the last time I used one of those...wow... sign of the times... Would make a great DIY art piece...

cereal and berries

I love berries... (these were from Henry's Market- they are so plump!)
I love cereal. And I love berries with cereal. Simple pleasures indeed. One thing I always end up doing though, is mixing my cereals. In many ways, I find the mixed up concoction better than just the original mix I had bought. Once my cereal supply gets low, I end up adding in a new one and I usually find myself buying a different kind (I guess I get cereal-bored easily). I then mix the two (or three) all up and end up with this. Do any of you do this?

And it's all true...

Sad. Weekend is over. Back to the grind. However, there can be beauty in the monotony. Tracey Thorn, of EverythingButTheGirl fame, has a solo album coming out that I am eagerly anticipating. Her new single is great. 80's esque- but fresh and classic. And it also has a new very happy mundane video to match. Have a good day. It's almost lunch time. or dinner. or... tuesday...?

Bird branch on a table

I thought this was a really nice DIY idea for a table, featured in the latest Rachael Ray Magazine. They asked designer Angela Adams for a table centerpiece idea, and she painted a branch and put little birds on it. I like how everything is pretty white, making the branch really striking and then they just added simple red accents to coordinate. You could probably glue on other things besides birds too.. buttons, silk flowers, butterflies... lego action figures? (I'd probably paint mine blue though.. hehe)

mundane aesthetic: oahu 1.07

mundane aesthetic: voyeur view

Are there any Happy Mundane readers living in Hawaii?