Sometimes I really hate technology!

Who cares about the stock market crashing.. my computer died!!!!

So, My computer totally bit the dust after 7 years of hard work. Unfortunately for me, the Geek Squad could recover NOTHING from my hardrive!!! He just looked at me and shook his head, I felt like Carrie in the episode of Sex and the City where the "sad mac" face makes it's appearance and kills all of her articles.. I now 'back-up!'It's gone.. all bloody gone! So I will not be blogging until I have received my new and overpriced computer that will have every backup system known to man.. sometimes I really hate technology!

Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Normally I would say "Happy happy turkey day!", but this year I'm doing turkey day as a non-turkey day. I'm going veggie style this thanksgiving (which I have done on and off for several years), and for some reason I really don't think I'm gonna miss it. I would however die if there was no green bean casserole! That's my fav! I'm also wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving a few hours early due to the fact that more than likely tomorrow I will be hung over, It's tradition to get drunk the night before Thanksgiving with all the friends who are back in town. And then have a few beers with dad that morning while preparing the food.

And I cannot wait for the parade!!!! Every year I HAVE TO watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and likewise on Christmas morning with Disney's Christmas Parade!!This year there is a Shrek Balloon and a Hortan Hears A Who!!!

Retro Mod Christmas

Tis the Season

Thanksgiving is almost here and gone already.. time to think about 

decorating for the Holidays!

Here are some cute retro inspired Christmas ornaments I found. 

You gotta love the little spaceman one! Soo cute!

Cute retro inspired items can be found here:

PlasticLand

Look under Home Decor

TWILIGHT has come!!!!

TONIGHT IS TWILIGHT!

Tonight at 12:01am my lovely Devlin ladies and I will be in a theater watching Edward Cullen save Bella Swan, while dazzling us all!! Twilight mania will offically hit tonight! I will be taking all my non-reading friends to see it throughout the month to show what all the 'fuss' is about. 

All my fellow Fanpires are super excited!

Even people who have not read the book, yet they know I'm obsessed are texting me- they are excited for me!

A Budding New Artist- Tiffany Liu

Today I came across this wonderfully strange and unique artist, Tiffany Liu. Her paintings are fun and whimsical, yet some are borderline gross or disturbing, yet they are always cute!

A confessed exemplar of the Peter Pan Syndrome, and happily ensconced in a personal “Never-Neverland,” Liu has never lost her childlike spirit. The artist estimates that approximately 50% of her waking existence has been spent in “one big daydream.”

Her Etsy Shop

Room With a View

This was the view from my portch about three days ago..

 i'm so lucky.

Fall-owers

I Love Fall!

I love fall colors, it's fall year round at my house.

So I was super excited when my mom made me this wonderful fall floral arrangement!

Too bad it will be decaying in about a week or so, but it's fun to enjoy while they last.

Also, my cheap fall scented candles!

Taking advantage of all these stores going out of business by buying up all their candles!

Buddha Poses

Buddha Burberry Brown- The Pomeranian
This is Buddha Burberry Brown... he has a very long story behind his very long name. Well if you can't tell, Buddha is the Zoolander of dogs.... he loves the camera and actually WILL pose for you! That's part of the story on how Buddha became my dog. Buddha was in a pet store (NEVER buy a dog from a pet store!) and whenever you would walk up to his little glass window he would literally do different poses for you, and when you walk away he would stop and go back to playing. How could I resist?

He's so cute! (If I do say so myself)

Anyway, I was cleaning my Spare 'Retro ' Room and of course whenever I want to make a bed, he's all over it. So I caught some of his cuteness on camera. 

Retro Pets

Retro Room Aquarium

Since goldfish (generally speaking) lack interior decorators, their aquariums tend to be embellished with outmoded crusty treasure chests, evil pirates and bubbling mermaids. What's a modern fish to do? Thankfully, our retro-chic tank comes fully furnished with a colorful lounge chair, TV, lava lamp and area rug -- everything the design-conscious fish needs for a stylin' pad! And although the aquarium is designed to hold a live goldfish, a plastic fish is included for commitment-phobes. Perfectly sized for a desktop tank, and fun for kids too!

Tank has a 1 quart (1 liter) capacity, and measures 6" H x 7" W x 5" D. Designed for freshwater use. Made of plastic.

WishingFish  $20.00

Re-Open Proposition 8!!!

Re-Open Proposition 8 in California

Sign Here

Prop 8 is simple: it eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. Prop 8 would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people—into our state constitution. 

No matter what your religious beliefs or your opinion on the gay community.. do you really want to write discrimination into the constitution?

 You will be taking away marriage rights from same sex couples that have already been married! That would be the equivalent to taking away the right to be married from interracial couples, who are already married!

Just think in the sense of the law... not belief or personal opinion.

Please sign the petition to re-open prop 8 in California:

"I believe in equal rights.. where do I sign?"

(must be 18 or older and legal resident of California) 

Twilight Cast

November 2oth at 12:01am- Twilight is showing at a theater near you!!!

( Picture shown: Courtesy of Vanity Fair December 2008)

This is a picture of the entire (well, the characters that matter) cast of the upcoming movie Twilight. Based on Stephanie Meyer's series of books.  If you have not read these books... YOU MUST!!!!  The lovely Devlin sisters and I have been counting down the days until this movie comes out. We started counting when there were about 160 days left- we are true Fanpires! We bought our tickets last week and are ready for some vampire lovin! Soo exciting!!! For the best Twilight updates go to:

  *Everything Twilight!!!!

Today is Voting Day!!!

I have not written on my blog in so long. But today it's raining and it's Voting DAY!!!!!! I don't usually preach my politics on people. Mostly I could care less about politics than the average person. But here in California we have Prop 8... a hateful proposition to eliminate the right for same sex couples to be recognized as a legally married couple.  ???? who in their right mind has seen our country's past 'incidents' as some call them, with discrimination and have not yet learned from them. "Save marriage" some say, "Save our children"...... wake up, your children are surrounded by the gay community everyday. as for saving marriage, let's work on the 55% divorce rate with heterosexual couples first. Some believe that this proposition will make schools incorporate gay marriage into the circiculum... we don't even teach straight marriage in schools! Many are using that as their main reason for voting for the elimination of rights... I believe that the excuse to 'protect children' is just a 'justified' way of them quitelty diplaying their discrimination and hate. Worried about your children being exposed to the 'gay lifestyle'? Better not let them watch Nickelodeon- Degrassi, South of Nowhere, The CW- One tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210, Warner Brothers- Friends... all have gay plot lines around gay and lesbian characters.

Which also means you wish for your children to NOT learn about:

Alexander the Great- Macedonian Ruler

Socrates- Greek Philosopher

Richard the Lionhearted- English King

Leonardo Da Vinci- Italian Artist/ Scientist/ Poet/ Diplomat

Michelangelo- Italian Artist

Lord Byron- English Poet

Walt Whitman- American Poet

Oscar Wilde- Irish Author

Virginia Wold- English Author

Pope Julius III- Pope from 1550-1555

Andy Warhol- American Artist

Tchaikovsky- Russian Composer

Frida Kahlo- Mexican Artist

Rock Hudson- American Actor

Doris Day- American Actor and Singer

Aristotle- Greek Philosopher

Edward II- English King

All of the well-know people above were gay!

The list goes on, and on, and on, and on...................

"Within the typical secondary school curriculum,  homosexuals  do not exist.   They are 'nonpersons' in the finest Stalinist sense. They have fought no battles, held no offices, explored nowhere, written no literature, built nothing, invented nothing and solved no equations.  The lesson to the heterosexual student is abundantly clear: homosexuals do nothing of consequence. To the homosexual student, the message has even greater power: no one who has ever felt as you do has done anything worth mentioning."    -Gerald Unks

Galaxy Gangbusters

Galaxy Gangbusters
I found this amazingly cute fabric the other day while killing some time before an apointment! And boy am I glad I had time to kill! This is just about the cutest retro/ vintage inspired fabric ever! And it was on sale!!!!Only $4.00 a yard! 

So I bought them out.

It's a very thin flannel and I cannot wait to make some very retro jammies to wear around the house for Christmas!!!

Chair of the Week!!! Chieftains Chair- By: Finn Juhl

Cheiftan Chair- By Finn Juhl of Denmark

Few would argue that it is Juhl’s crowning achievement and it’s easy to see why. The expressive composition has a marvelous sculptural aesthetic, which was a hallmark throughout much of Juhl’s work. The bold articulated teak frame appears to support the leather components, emphasizing the relationship between the bearing and the borne. The result is a subtractive composition that is extremely comfortable.

This chair was originally put into production in 1949 at Niels Vodder’s workshop where it was made in the cabinetmaker’s tradition. When the license was given to Søren Horn’s workshop, the traditional construction method’s continued, and it was methodically handcrafted with impeccable attention to detail.

Finn Juhl (1912-1989) was first and foremost famous for his furniture. In the 1940s, he broke with the established furniture tradition and designed a number of creations that regenerated Danish furniture design. At the MilanTriennials in the 1950s, he was awarded no fewer than five gold medals and won international acclaim for his furniture. But Finn Juhl was not only an excellent furniture designer: he worked with all aspects of the architect´s profession. He gained international renown as an interior designer for his work on the Trusteeship Council Chamber at United Nations headquarters in New York. As an exhibition architect, he was the man behind the major showings of Danish applied art abroad which created the concept "Danish design" and paved the way for the Danish furniture industry´s export triumphs in the 1960s.Today the license for producing Finn Juhl furniture lies solely with the company in Denmark.

www.FinnJuhl.com

Tis The Season!!!! Pumpkin Season!!!

I want to share with the world!!..... These are by far the best new Hershey development in years! The 'Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kiss'!!! With a white chocolate/pumpkin spice flavored shell and a creamy white cinnamon center, these little guys melt in your mouth.They are perfect little morsels, like eating tiny little pumpkin pies! I randomly bought a bag at Target a few weeks ago and just devoured them over a couple of days. So of course since they are limited edition, I had to stock up.. I now own too many! Anyway, I have also heard that they have a 'Carmel Apple Kiss' (OOOhhh!!!) and a 'Candy Corn Kiss' (I'm not a fan of candy corn), Let me know if any one finds these anywhere! And go out any buy the Pumpkin Spice kisses so that they will bring them back next year!!! 

OMG!!! Go Urban!!!

I have never been a huge fan of Urban Outfitters, every now and then I find something there that I just can't live without.... but today I just about chucked all my next-to-new furniture out the window! Check out UO's new furniture line!!!!!! It's just wonderful- with mid-cenurty inspired lines, style, color and of course my favorite McCobbian angled legs on most everything!!! Ahhhhhh!!! In my opinion a bit over priced but who cares, this stuff is great!!!!! Oh i'm in love with some of it, I have posted a few pics of some of my favs! Enjoy!.... I did!

www.urbanoutfitters.com- Furniture

Chair of the Week-The Barcelona Chair

The Barcelona Chair- By Mies Van de Rohe

The Barcelona Chair story all started with a man called Ludwig Mies Van de Rohe in 1929. Mies, a man of German origin, was born in 1886 and became one of the leading modernist architects of his time. Mies served for a short time in the 1930s as the director of the world-renowned school of design in Germany, the Bauhaus. Like many architects he understood the importance of using the correct furniture to complement the purpose of the building if there was to be harmony in design. Thus Mies’s work in architecture effectively led him into furniture design.

In 1929 Barcelona was host to the World Arts Fair, and the German government commissioned Mies to design the German Pavilion at Montjuic as part of the exposition.However once he had created the building his mind turned to designing the furniture that would be used in it. 

The chair that he designed for the Pavilion is said to have been inspired by both the folding chairs of the Pharaohs and the X shaped footstools of the Romans.Although the chairs may conceptually have been intended to be thrones for the visiting royals, the general consensus is that they did not actually sit in them. However the Barcelona chair, sometimes referred to as the Pavilion chair, quickly gained a reputation as a design worthy of kings.

“The chair is a very difficult object. Everyone who has ever tried to make one knows that. There are endless possibilities and many problems - the chair has to be light, it has to be strong, it has to be comfortable. It is almost easier to build a sky scraper than a chair.” - Mies 1930

The fact that the Barcelona Chair is difficult and expensive to produce accounts for the chair’s price which can range from about $600 to over $3000.

Extraordinary Desserts

Extraordinary Desserts

Just wanted to give a shout-out to one of my favorite- rarely visited- places in San Diego, Extraordinary Desserts. Two locations in the Southern San Diego area. 'ED' embellishes their desserts with tastes from around the world, places like Italy and Africa, while also having that home made feel.  They excel in  mosteriously sized and decitently decorated cakes, tarts, pies, bars, puddings, custards, shortbread's, pastries and cupcakes.  My favorite is actually the least expensive at a whopping $2.50- THE Lemon Bar.. and this is by far the BEST Lemon Bar in the world! I also love hot chocolate, only they don't make what I would consider hot chocolate, it's more like deliciously thick chocolate soup! 

Dessert Examples:

~Blood Orange Ricotta Torte

~Toasted Macadamia Caramel Cheesecake

~Truffle Framboise

~ Bread Pudding (Assorted)

~Etc...

www.extraordinarydesserts.com

Chair Of The Week- The Tulip Chair- By Eero Saarinen

This week's 'Chair of the Week' is the Tulip Chair- Designed by Eero Saarinen 1957. 

"In any design problem, one should seek the solution in terms of the next largest thing," designer Eero Saarinen once said. "If the problem is a chair, then its solution must be found in the way it relates to the room..." 

Design:

Eero Saarinen might be considered by some to be a purist when it came to his approach towards architecture and interior design. He sought the essential idea and reduced it to the most effective structural solution within an overall unity of design. To that end, he designed the Tulip Chair in 1957 in terms of setting, rather than a particular shape. The Tulip is a single-legged chair made from fiberglass-reinforced resin. With Tulip, Saarinen realized his ideal form of unity: "Every significant piece of furniture from the past has a holistic structure."

Saarinen's Tulip Chair won the prestigious Museum of Modern Art Award in 1969, the Federal Award for Industrial Design in 1969 as well as the Design Center Stuttgart Award in 1962. Each authentic Tulip Chair features the KnollStudio® logo and designer signature stamped into the base of the chair. The chair is available black or white, with arms or without and features an optional cushion available in various colors.

Mobile Muffins?

I was looking up cupcake  ideas and came across this!!! Mobile Muffins- I don't really believe they have a purpose besides making you smile.. I really want to eat some of these too! Yummy! Also, known as the "Cupcake Cutthroats" these were created by Kenetic Pastry and have been seen out and about at Burning man and Maker Faire (Bay Area- CA). How Fun!!! I want one, I bet I would look good crusin' down California's 101 in a lemon cupcake with sprinkles! I also, bet it would cut back on gas!