Easy, Breezy Home ...

It was the Yoshitomo Nara collage of prints that first caught my eye in this living room. The little girl in his prints is awesome. On our kitchen cork board I have a postcard print of this little girl where she's sitting down at a desk writing "Nobody's Fool." It's the best. Then I noticed the cozy couch and large, cozy ottoman posing as a kid-friendly coffee table ... sold! The pillow sums it all up for me. Love.

Perfect entertaining kitchen with just enough floor space for an impromptu dance party. Who doesn't cook and dance at the same time? Honestly, if our layout was like this I don't think we'd ever have to leave this section of the house. And of course there's enough bicycle space for the kids.

There are just enough steps leading down into this bathroom to lend just enough of a "spa" getaway feeling, don't you think? I can already imagine the dimmed lighting and candles in this space. And I love the wood paneling on all of the surface areas–monochromatic in color but texturized with the different types of wood design. And I can't overlook the gray marbled shower. It's the perfect complimentary contrast. (Notice no mention of kids in this space?;)

Photos: Here

Summer Picnic Anyone? ...

Love the colors of these vintage snack bowls. Especially the font!

Only saw one of these awesome beach chairs, but ...

You could grab some of these crates for extra seating. Then you'd really be authentic.

All of my finds are from super cute new click & order shop Blue Carrot that sells mostly great vintage items but handmade items as well. They even have signage letters that reminded me of one of the last episodes of 9byDesign (latest DVR favorite). Did you see that one?

P.S. Alexandra's blog is fun too.

Hair Apparent ...

What did I get for Mother's Day? Only the best thing a mother of two with frizzy hair can ask for ... the Brazilian Blowout! And now my hair feels like this amazing flow of cascading glamour. Let me back up a sec ... the Aveda salon I go to was offering a first-time offer that was too good to refuse so that is what I chose as my Mother's Day gift–this process is not cheap. My stylist Cat calls it "wash and wear" which is precisely what I'm excited about. I leave it wet and it dries straight and shiny! No more having to blow it dry! You have to understand, prior to this if I had let my hair dry naturally and tried to go out in public you probably would've tackled me on the street and made a citizens arrest.

Overall, my weekend was great. Including watching our recorded SNL last night with Betty and J-Hov. Did anyone watch? How cute is Betty White? 88.5 (or as I would say, eighty-great and a half) years old and the woman was handling her business. Love her. Jay's first medley performance was awesome, still don't know what to think about that second performance–I can't get over that song he sampled but that's another post. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Photo: Here

Mom's Weekend ...

Somehow, no matter where we are or what we are doing my mom and I always seem to work getting a coffee into the equation. It's our favorite thing to do. Have a bad day? Let's go get a coffee. Have a good day? Let's go get a coffee! You get the idea. To this day my mom still slips me a $20 for no good reason. She would still do this guaranteed if I won the lottery tomorrow. One Christmas she added chili pepper decorations to my gifts because I was such a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. She even quietly told herself it was a phase when I decided to announce that I was in love with Robert Smith from The Cure (my parents didn't get it, I wasn't even goth) and let it pass on its own. It did.

But the day I realized that my mom's love and protection was on another level was when she told me that when I would go out with my friends at night or I would have to work late she would pray to God that any potential perpetrator would always see me in a group. Never alone. Especially when I'd have to walk to my car by myself. How awesome is that?! You're the greatest mom, I love you!

P.S. don't forget to watch/record SNL tomorrow night. Betts and Hov are going to raise the roof! Have a fabulous weekend everyone and Happy Mother's day to all you moms and mom-to-be's!

Photo: Here

'Siders Unite! ...

Love the suede/leather combo and the simple red stripe on the sole.

Did you notice the safety pins as laces? Not sure if this was a stylist move or not but I like it.

How great are these cute foot walkers from Band Of Outsiders and Sperry Top-Siders? I love the idea of these two brands coming together to belt out the classic shoe with an edge.

Photos: Here (via)

I Had No Idea! ...

All sorts of "yes" to this photo.

A week or so ago I confessed to Brandi that growing up I was never into the fairytale thing as I was into Star Wars and my lightsaber. I had almost every action figure plus the Darth Vader carrying case that was shaped as his upper torso and opened up from the top of his head. It was pretty amazing. So you can imagine my surprise when I learned that this past Wednesday, May 4th was Star Wars Day! Why May 4th you ask? Because of the similarity of this date with the beginning of "May the force by with you." Thereby turning it into, "May the 4th be with you." Really?! A whole day dedicated to Star Wars and a pun/lisp combo? My fave.

Photo: Here

Every Morning, Every Day ...

Every morning we all have a fruit smoothie with our breakfast. I always have to drink mine from a straw. I don't know, I just do. Somehow it tastes better.

In the afternoons it's a cup of green tea and in the evenings it's chamomile or ginger tea (depends, you know what I mean?). I like drinking the Yogi teas, they always have fun little messages on the tea bag tabs. And I like how they say they don't have "laboratories," they have "kitchens" as far as their natural recipes go. Lately I've been inspired to find cute matching cups and saucers like this one and host a 21st century tea party. I'm going to have to look into that more.

Photos: Here

Thomas Campbell x The Standard ...

Thomas Campbell printed scarf for The Standard Hotel

Thomas never simply signs his name to his pieces. Here he's "t.muckluck"

Thomas Campbell is legendary for his skate and surf related paintings, photography and filmmaking. So several years ago when I asked Thomas to paint a fashion image for me I was so nervous and didn't know if he'd think I was crazy or not. Luckily for me he obliged and the wonderful piece is mounted and framed in my house today and I feel so lucky every time I see it. Thomas is so talented that when he sent me a package once I couldn't bear to throw away the envelope. He had creatively (and appropriately) stamped it with Andy Warhol and Duke Kahanamoku stamps–it was so cool looking I had to frame this as well. So it's fun for me to see that he's been bitten by the fashion bug again but this time it's courtesy of The Standard hotel. The Standard commissioned three artists representing LA (Campbell), NY (RoStarr), and Miami (Jose Parla) to design art to be printed on a limited edition run of silk-cashmere scarves. All three designs are really cool, but honestly favorite is Thomas' red and pink print he chose for his scarf the best. How can I not? It's representing California!:)

It's A Sign ...

See? You can turn things into a positive!

Photo: Here

Down The Beaten Path ...

Stunning view, stunning colors. This wooden boardwalk reminds me of when my dad and I used to take bike rides down the boardwalk on the Peninsula in Long Beach, CA. So how appropriate is it that there's a bike at the end of this path? Love when that happens.

Via: Forever Is Today