home consignment center: decorator's dream

I am NOT  kidding. If you are whatsoever addicted to home decorating, but don't have the dollars to match your fantasies, you MUST visit a Home Consignment Center. There are many locations, but I frequent the Newport/Irvine store.

The Home Consignment Center
Mid-Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (3.8)

18910 Teller

Irvine, CA 92612

(949) 250-5845

The Home Consignment Center

simplify your life - throw away your books

Many years ago, I took to heart the book,  Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter. It was about two go-go yuppies from the 90's (remember the term yuppy?) who basically scale back their lives to in order to enjoy living more. I really took it to heart at the time. To this day, I can throw almost anything away in the household with nary a second thought. Spring cleaning for me involves Goodwill, Craigslist, eBay and the trash. My husband and son know to hide anything they really care about when the flowers begin to blossom and the birds begin to sing.

I was horrified one evening when I looked across the room while watching Project Runway (go Team Demitri!) and spotted this disaster:

BOO! Giant FAIL. Crowded bookshelves with items stuffed helter skelter all over. Chaotic.

warhol at the met - fake it till you make it

Was Andy Warhol (1928-1987) a genius, an artist, or was he simply the first truly self-made celebrity in a culture that has brought us Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Brett Cohen? Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, running through December 31, 2012, attempts to prove exactly how significant Warhol was as an artist by juxtaposing 45 of his best pieces with some 90 works by other artists purported to have been influenced by him.

During our three days of fill in the blank in NYC last weekend, my friend and I stopped at the Met and made our own decision.

open letter to the captain of american airlines flight 34, LAX to JFK, sep-27-2012

Warning: This post has nothing whatsoever to do with mid-century modern.

We were cautioned about potential flight delays due to malicious pilot mischief on our recent Thursday 8AM Sep-27-2012 American Airlines flight 34 from Los Angeles International (LAX) to John F. Kennedy (JFK). Apparently the AA pilots are a little miffed about the bankruptcy and subsequent court action in September. According to the Wall Street Journal on Sep-24-2012:

A U.S. bankruptcy judge this month granted the company's motion to abrogate its current pilots contract so the airline could impose terms the company said it needs to cut labor costs and increase productivity.

Abrogate means to "repeal or do away with." I looked it up.

vintage store: glass glorious glass - the end of history

My recent trip to New York City with my ever faithful NYC weekend friend got me humming Broadway. An homage to Oliver:

Glass, glorious glass!

What wouldn't we give for 

That extra bit more?

That's all that we live for!

Wonderful glass,

Marvelous glass,

Fabulous glass!

My fourth trip (yes--I am counting) to:

The End of History
Mid-Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (4.6)

548 1/2 Hudson St.

New York, NY 10014

(212) 647-7598

The End of History

thrift store: american cancer society discovery shop

I have been known to haunt a thrift store or two. I think the bug was instilled in me when my mom dragged me to every thrift store & antique shop in Big Bear Lake, California on a long ago vacation. It's the treasure hunt and the possibilities that I enjoy. This post is the first in a series on the local thrift shop, antique, and consignment scene in Orange County, California. By the end of the series, we should have a virtual Orange County thrift shop directory amassed.

American Cancer Society Discovery Shop
Mid-Century Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (3.4)

2600 E Coast Hwy
Corona del Mar, CA 92665

(949) 640-4777

discoveryshop-coronadelmar.org

usc and modernism: william krisel

Who knew the USC architectural school was a critical driving force in modernism in Southern California? It stands to reason, as the university is famous for far more than its football team and **ahem** MBA program. USC is well known in the creative endeavors like music, film, drama, and architecture. A fellow patron of mid-century modern architecture, Ron Hudson, pointed out this article in the August 2012 USC alumni magazine, USC Trojan Family, Modernism for the Masses.

Home by Modern architect William Krisel '49.
Twin Palms Estates in Palm Springs, California.
Picture of Krisel's wife, Corrine, and photo take by famed architectural
photographer Julius Shulman as seen in Trojan Family magazine.

lighting a mid-century modern landscape design

The best part about our new mid-century modern landscape design was the lighting. The landscaper used high end low voltage lights from Corona lighting. I went out with a tripod a few nights ago to capture the full effect.

Dusk in a mid-century modern garden

artsy after bathroom remodel pictures

Our architect asked us if he could come over and photograph the finished mid-century modern remodeled bathrooms.

Great angle.

landscaping a mid-century modern home

After we remodeled our bathrooms, we were left with a 10 by 67 square foot piece of land off the back fence. I was terrified it would turn in a junkyard. Odd bits of yard are prone to become somewhat ghetto overnight ... a hose here, some unused lumbar there, random pieces of flagstone stacked up against a wall -- and before you know it, a blight on the neighborhood.  But, luckily, I had saved a tiny bit of the remodel budget to deal with our mid-century modern garden problem. I was obsessed with having a view out the new bathroom window: