Happy Valentine's Day!

Image from Paradise Flowers. Look at that groovy vase.

Knight in shining armor photographed by Peggy.

Image from a card by Marian Heath.

Happy Valentine's Day to all the Knights in Shining Armor and Super Girls who read my blog. Big kisses and hugs to you all!

The Result of My Spring Cleaning

My apartment. I love it even though it is small. I want it to be beautiful, simple, serene but with a little bit of an edge. Here is the result of my weekend of cleaning, rearranging and ruthless editing.

I've been in the mood for orange lately. I'm thinking of buying some orange sheers from Target.

New painting, echoing my desire for simplicity. Candle holder has a jasmine candle in it. By placing this on the heater, the whole place smells lightly of jasmine. It's yummy.

Sleeping area with new painting and table. You can't tell in this picture, but the painting is very shiny.

The pink doors and one of SNL's favorite of my paintings.

A vignette from my office shelf. In my office area, I keep some witty items to aid with creativity.

My dining area. I love my new pillows!

And here it is! The smallest kitchen in the world! And, Kim, you thought you had an ugly kitchen! I've been meaning to paint the cupboards for a long time, but I am lazy. Lazy! On the plus side, there is a ton of storage in here. On the negative is a monstrosity masquerading as a stove. Such a shame to pop that ugly thing in there, there is still a cute vintage cook top. Also on the plus side, I have the greatest landlord. He just replaced the sink and the floor. I love my new floor. Wish I could paint my wood floors white! If I owned this place, I would tear out the wall to open the kitchen to the living room. I would also tear out the top cupboards and replace them with shelves. Here are a couple of vignettes from my kitchen. It's so small, I can't seem to photograph the whole thing!

A shelf above my sink. There was a scrap left over of the pink vinyl, so I framed it.

I adore the vintage linoleum on the counter. The plate is one of my landing strips for keys, cell phone, etc.

Another vintage detail. The remains from a garbage disposal. The vases hold change. When the blue one is full, I buy something for the apartment.

Thank you for taking this tour of my humble abode. It is small, but I love it. And I am proud to say that it is a marvel of organization. I do hope to move to a larger, more modern place later in the year.

Spring Cleaning

This weekend was too cold to do anything outside, so, I spent a great deal of time spring cleaning. Spring just can't come soon enough! I was highly inspired by Kanye West's minimalist spirit. Though I love objects, I have a minimalist inside of me too, so my intent was to clean, rearrange and then edit ruthlessly.  First I took stock of the three Ps. That is, pottery, pillows and paintings.

Turquoise is a color I have fallen deeply in love with. It looks great with pink.

I picked up my new vinyl pillows from the seamstress! Hooray! They look great. Cost was $18.00 each. Not bad considering the table and the chairs were free.
I make all of the art hanging in my apartment. I really need a studio. And an easel.

It never fails. I took a big bag of stuff to the Salvation Army and when I returned home I found this fab table on the curb! I am so pleased with it. It provides just the right amount of industrial edginess. Plus it elevates my favorite lamp.  So I cleaned, painted, arranged and rearranged and edited. My decor mood is sparse, clean, minimal.

When it comes to decor, I am continually trying to resolve contradictions. I want my apartment to be sparse, yet I always see beautiful new things that I want. I resolve the dilemma by creating negative space for new things. .Here's some things I want for my apartment:

The Grono and Lykta lamps from Ikea. I'd like to use a couple of the Grono lamps to light my pottery shelves. I've said it a million times - I wish Ikea sold online!

Thank goodness for my old standby, CB2. I love the ghost lamp and the luna coffee table. Seems I love lamps as much as I love pottery.

The Parsons desk from West Elm! I would like to have two or three of these beauties for my office. But it just won't happen unless I win the lottery (and get a bigger apartment).

Kanye West Rocks Decor!

I haven't been following Apartment Therapy lately. I feel like a heel because AT is the first blog I discovered, and they were the ones that inspired me to blog. The other day I thought I'd check in and am I glad I did! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Kanye West's home! I'm sure the blog world is buzzing about this place, but I just had to get in on the action. Kanye is a cutie, and I prayed for him during his recent tragedy, but I'm not much interested in his music. But hot damn, does he rock decor.
I can feel the love here. Look at that office, creativity must flow liberally from this environment. Wouldn't be hard to work there! Great desk and I adore those Murakami pillows. I included Murakami as one of the most influential artists in my year-end review, here. Wish there was a close-up of those pink toys on the desk.  KAWS vinyl toys maybe?

Here is his den. What a great place to put your feet up. Simple and energetic at the same time. Those Jestons paintings just pop. I love how George's head is too big for the canvas. Kinda matches the ego of his loveable character.

I adore this witty take on Andy Warhol's soup cans. Beautiful mix of fine and rustic with the crystals and the trunk.

Kanye's place pops with art, yet it's not too witty, nor too over-the-top. Great work, Kanye! A fine accomplishment in decor. Just might have to have a second listen to your music. There is a fine creative spirit here.

See the slideshow at Interior Design.

Dig 'em but don't know why

Image from flickr user retromod. I'm not a fan of stuffed animals, but I'd make an exception for this fab octopus.

Now for another episode in the never-ending saga of "dig 'em but don't know why." Sometimes I feel saturated by images, and blogging tends to keep me obsessive. There is never a shortage of beautiful things. Lately, I've been noticing that I am in love with graphic representations of jellyfish, squid, octopi and anemone. I adore artwork that features any of these forms, perhaps it is the organic nature of the art that attracts me.


So - I dig these but I don't know why:

Vase by Guy Michael Davis. Guy's etsy shop is here. Guy is an amazing artist. To see more of his work, check out his blog, here.

Octopus pillow at Sprout Home. I think this would be a cute painting.

Look at this beautiful sushi set by PuTokWagnerCeramics at Etsy (link). Though, off topic, I also adore this sake set. I'd love to have them both!

Groovy hand-painted porcelain by Don & Lola = dolamakes. The love just pops off their pieces. This would make a great valentine. You know, wish I had eight arms to hold you or something like that. See their Etsy shop here, flickr set here, and blog here.

Pulpo by flickr user Plastico Rosa.

Illustration by flickr user Fabian Andrade. I think KidRobot should produce this as a toy.

Illustrator and artist-extraordinaire Nathan Jurevicius' jellyfish from the Scary Girl series. Formerly available at Fugitive Toys. I wish I had ordered this when it was available! Since my obsession with urban toys has the potential to spin out of control, I am limiting my toy collection to pink, so this one would've fit right in.

Custom Munny Contest

It seems I am not alone in my obsession for urban vinyl toys. Limited edition vinyl toys have become increasingly popular. These toys are collected by adults, and many collectors show off their toys on flickr. Many talented artists custom paint toys. Kidrobot is sponsoring a custom munny contest. I believe the deadline for submissions has past. However, you can check out the amazing entries on the Mini Munny contest flickr group (link). Here are a few of my favorites. It was difficult to pick just a few!


From flickr user KrytiosTheMaskWearer based on his artwork of characters from Atlantis.

Flickr user MsEarlene.

Moon Munny from flickr user ijavajoe. Awesome!

Daydreamer Munny by Clark Rotharmel. Lolita Dragonita by DannieB.

Running Away With Thoughts of You by frequentwash.

Drum roll, please ...... My favorite entry:

By flickr user oo-nyx-oo. According to oo-nyx-oo this beautiful goddess is a hybrid between Krishna and Radha and all accessories are handmade. Great work oo-nyx-oo! I would be proud to have this little goddess on my shelf and I hope you win the contest!

In Progress

Remember the dining room chairs I found on the curb, that I wrote about here? I finally took the pink vinyl to a seamstress to make pillows. Sadly, I don't sew. And since I don't have a sewing machine (nor the room for one) I'm not going to learn now. I pick the pillows up Saturday. I can't wait to see them!

Even though a project is in the works, my place must look cute during the week. So I thought I'd contemplate white and negative space. Negative space can be as beautiful as works of art because it is full of potential. I wish I could paint my floor white. One day when I buy a ranch home, I will have a white floor. Now I wish the pillows were going to be white vinyl rather than pink! Oh well, I can always have another set made so that I can change them on a whim.

I think I'm going to make a new painting for this area after I pick up the pillows. Something with some yellow in it. I've been craving yellow. Probably because I am craving the sun.

I am currently contemplating this painting, which is in progress. Part of me loves this painting the way it is, and part of me is itching to add more paint.

I've been experimenting more and more with adding glass pieces with my ceramic collection. When arranging vessels, I always lean towards asymmetry. Decorating my apartment is my favorite thing in the world. Who knows what it will look like Monday? I will be sure to keep you posted.

The Redemptive Power of Doodles

Musician Mika Sasaki and artist Yuichiro Fujimoto believe that doodles have redemptive powers. And to prove their point, PowerShovel Books has published these marvelous companion volumes. Wouldn't it be fun to read these books while listening to Sasaki's music?

Doodles have helped me get through many boring meetings. I find that I constantly doodle, and am now working on a project to translate many of my doodles to paintings.

I have notebooks full of them!

Doodles are also a great way to free creativity. There is nothing better than a blank notebook and a marker. With doodles there is no judgment. You don't even have to be a great artist with doodling. Oftentimes doodling is a fascinating artform because it is so earnest and free.

Do you doodle? I would love to see some of your doodles, send me an email and maybe I'll feature you here.