I dream of a prefab ranch

The Aegean by Logical Homes is very close to being my dream home. I don't dream of large mansions and gated communities. Having lived in a building built in 1926 for the last 10 years, I am no longer enamored with old buildings. Detailing bores me. I want a simple, clean, unembellished home. And, of course it would be all white. From floor to ceiling.

I dream of escaping to such a place in the woods, where I grow my own food and live completely off the grid. It would be solar powered, and the floors would have radient heat. Inspired by the view, I would set up a studio and do nothing but paint and paint and paint. Ah, to have the time to paint as much as one wants, what a luxury. I can think of no better life.

For previous post about prefab homes, click here.

My City

I'm not sure why, but I love Cleveland. I have dreams for her. I'd like to see her become a mecca for the arts.

Euclid Avenue is shaping up nicely. There are a lot of new street art pieces. I love the concrete flower holders.

About 10 years ago they built three - that's right three - new stadiums and a convocation center. That year all of the little shop owners in the arcades were forced out. The arcades have never recovered. Shop after shop remains empty. I miss those little shops.

It's a funny thing about empty shops. Sometimes a lone piece of art remains in the window. Such is the case with this cute teapot. Why is it there? Who put it there? A vestige in a ghost town.

That was also the case with this beautiful watercolor. It was in a window. To a shop that was empty. Around other shops. That were also empty.

Another strange phenomenon occurs when a shop is full of stuff, but it is never open. This shop looks interesting, but is a tease. It's never open. I need to rethink supporting Target.

Rosie O'Donnell Does Custom Munnies!

If you read my blog, you already know that I adore custom Munnies. But did you know Rosie O'Donnell does custom Munnies? She does - and they are fab!

Each one is signed on the foot. They are available at her Etsy shop (link). All proceeds go to Rosie's Broadway Kids.

Rosie, you are too fabulous - you go girl!

White paint makes everything look better

Remember the little love seat I got from a second hand store?

It only cost $79. I adore its shape, but not its color. It had a skirt on, but I took it off, I adore those little legs. I've been wishing this sofa were covered in white vinyl, but there's no way I would pay for that.

Well, after seeing the blogosphere's famous John Derian sofa (see below), I started thinking about painting it. I'm not afraid to put paint on anything. And if it cracks, so what? Since it's falling apart, it's ripe for experimentation.

So here it is with one coat of paint. It's going to need another coat, but I won't be able to get to that until next weekend.

Of course, I can't stop moving around accessories. And notice the ottoman? I painted it too! It looks so much better. You may remember what it used to look like.

I think it looks so much better in the glossy white! It had some imperfections, which I covered with Glidden gripper.

I finally finished painting my dining set. It looks like new with a fresh coat of shiny white paint.

Ahh. Wish I could paint the floor white. When I buy the prefab house of my dreams, the floor will be white.

I want to paint everything!

This weekend I wanted to paint everything in my apartment. Walls, floors and - yes - furniture. I adore painted furniture.

I've been thinking about painting my dining room table orange. I love orange tables! (See my previous post about orange tables here.) Those blue vases look great with the orange table top! I love blue and orange together. Image Emily Jagoda.

My little love seat is falling apart, and it was cheap anyway, so is ripe for experimentation. Maybe I should paint graffiti on it, or let my nephews mark on it. Something like this fab John Derian sofa.

Image from New York Times. How cool is that? I am by no means a purist and I love when children are allowed their natural creativity. Love the sofa, hate the rugs. I'd prefer to see the floor white. I'd love to paint my floors white, but I live in a rental.

I want to paint some canvases too. I adore the colors in these canvases and how they pop against the all white background.

Love those chairs! Image via Desire to Inspire.

Editing

Sometimes I panic because I have too much stuff. I love objects, but I also love minimalism. I grow weary of the work things are.

I decided to spring clean this weekend. And I was ruthless. Why do I have so much stuff? I just don't need so much. Once I edit something, I don't look back. I thank it for serving me, but out it goes. So yesterday, I packed up some vintage vases and headed to a cute store in Lakewood called Deja Vu.

How compelling is this? There are treasures everywhere! I couldn't stop looking! The shop owner is a dear, and she totally gets me. That doesn't happen too often. By that, I mean she is a fellow creative. We can talk about art, decor, color, lamps, pottery, etc. for hours!

Her shop is divine, she is skilled at the art of display.

This is a hoop skirt with Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. How cute is that? Behind that are a few examples of the wonderful hook rugs she makes.

She uses lamps for display. On this one she has cleverly displayed clip earrings.

And a doily on this one.


I saw this cute original painting. Only $14.00. I love her, I may go back for her.

How sick is this? I'm trying to get rid of stuff and I keep looking at stuff! These things are tempting me. I've been thinking of doing more pink and blue in my apartment. I adore the ceramic swans. I could kick myself. My mother had a set of these when I was a child, I wish I'd kept them. I didn't like them then. I love the blue chair. She painted the pink table herself and embellished it with vintage beads.

She bought some of my vintage pieces, and what she didn't buy I donated to the Salvation Army, after all the Salvation Army has been very, very good to me.

My creative juices were flowing as I left the store, I just couldn't wait to get home. I'm definitely going more minimal. Stay tuned.

My Apartment - Last Weekend

My apartment is my lab,where I experiment with color. It never stays the same. I have no budget for decorating, so I just keep moving stuff around. I keep dreaming that one day I will hit on an arrangement that I will love so much, I'll never change it again.

This is what my apartment looked like last weekend. It doesn't look like this now. I've been productive today working on projects.

Generally I don't like grouping my paintings, but from time-to-time I experiment with them. (See previous post here). I found this arrangement fun, but I wanted to change it almost immediately. Stay tuned to see what my apartment looks like now.

Painting Schizophrenia

It feels good to be painting again. My painting continues to be experimental. I am having fun, but the perfectionist in me is feeling frustrated. There is a stroke that eludes me. I can see it clearly, but I can't seem make my hand do what my brain wants. Perhaps I need an easel. I've been painting on the floor for a long time, and it is limiting. Here is what my apartment looks like when I am working on paintings.

Yuk! I need a studio! I hate clean up. It would be so great to just close the door on the mess!

Here are my latest works. All are 24" x 30", acrylic on canvas.


These colors are unusual for me.

I love these colors. I've previously shown this canvas, but more paint has been added.


Not sure if this one is done yet. The strokes are not quite as perfect as I wanted.

This is a collaborative piece that my nephew GG and I did. It was great fun.

Mod Pillows, Mod Barbie

SNL, I think you NEED these totally bitchin' pillows.




Pillows from SofaGarden.

They would go great with your new Barbie art don't you think?


Image by SNL. Should we hang this along with your collection of Oscar posters?

My love/hate relationship with Ikea

SNL and I stopped at Ikea when we were in Pittsburgh. I have a love/hate relationshp with Ikea. I love their merchandise, I hate the Ikea experience. Our trip to Pittsburgh was motivated by our desire to go to Ikea and that fact that they don't do an online business. I have wanted this Hella Jongerius vase for like ever.

Funny thing, perspective. I've seen this vase a million times in the virtual world. And I have coveted her. I was shocked how huge and heavy she is. I expected a much more tender vase. This vase belongs in the virtual world. My nephews approached the vase scientifically, and measured her to be sure. We all concurred - she's too big for my apartment.

...

Now mind you, I am not bitter that I sent Ikea an application and they sent me a no thank you letter without ever talking to me. I had a great time photographing everything. I adored the Knubbig lamps. Should have bought one.

Saw a cute teapot, pillow, picnic ware, chair and curtain. I must admit, I always thought the Klippan sofa looked cheap. But - I almost shit when I saw it in orange vinyl. Fab!
I adore the Ljusas Uvas lamp. Hmm. This might look good with my red Danish sofa.

I almost bought a couple of the Gronos. Should have.

Stupid me. I have been wanting a tall lamp shade forever, and haven't been able to find one. I love the 16-inch yellow Skimra. My shopping experience was not a good one, I was overwhelmed, and did I mention that the customer service was deplorable?

Here's what I did buy. I've been wanting to add some lavender to my apartment. The two little flower pots were $1.99 and are the most wonderful matte finish. The Salong vase is very sexy. The Lykta lamp is cute, but a tease. It cost $12.99 and I can't find a bulb to fit.

I've already spent $12 on bulbs, so I may just give it up. The lady at Home Depot assured me that the bulb to the right would fit, but it did not. I stopped at a chandelier shop, they told me about a shop across town. This is getting stupid. I may give up.

I guess the key to Ikea is plan in advance. If I had it to do over, I'd like get the tall shade and couple of the Knubbig lamps. I am not sure that I ever want to set foot in Ikea again. And don't give me the crap about the lack of customer service keeping costs down. That's one of the many things wrong with America. Hire some people, treat them well. Then treat your customers well. People will spend more money. And those new employees will also spend money and everyone will be happier. It's not rocket science.

Ikea actually did me a favor by snubbing me. I've had extensive customer service training, and I treat people well, especially when they are spending their hard-earned money. I don't belong there. Today at Pat Catan's, I mentioned the lamp saga to one of the clerks. She said, "You could make a lamp for under $10 and I could show you how." Now that's customer service.

A Trip to Pittsburgh

Last Saturday SNL, my nephews and I took a day trip to Pittsburgh. What a great city! What a great day. And, of course, there were lots of photo ops.

Meet Hugh. He's the GPS who made sure we never got lost. What a miracle! I named him Hugh because he has a sexy Australian accent, like Hugh Jackman.


I enjoy Cleveland's erections in heavy saturation and extreme angle, so I thought I'd do the same with Pittsburgh's erections.


On the way to the incline.

On the hill by the ice cream shop.

Neighborhood on the hill.

Lately, every where I go I see Nick's name. We miss you, Nick.

Nora's sky. She was with us on the incline. We miss you, Nora.

John and Yoko were so ahead of their time. We need more people like them.

At the Hard Rock Cafe. Aren't these the coolest Barbies you've ever seen?

Taken while riding in the car. A Claes Oldenberg?

The side of a building.

Cool recycled art. These palm trees are made of steel and rubber.

There are lots of cool bridges.


I was having a lot of fun taking pictures from the car. We were on our way to Ikea. Stay tuned.