Back to the Land Homes (part one)

In the late seventies after a failed attempt to live out of a VW microbus, my Dad had the bright, romantic idea to drop the nomad lifestyle, move to the country, and live off the land. So he did the only sensible thing a twenty-something in that time period could think of, he bought a lone chicken coop on a couple of acres and decided to make it his home. So began years of trials and tribulations that are a prominent part of my family's folklore: a lost cow, brush fires, a roof-climbing goat named Jemima and the transformation of that chicken coop into a modest passive solar home worthy of his back to the land dream.

Like many similar utopian visions of that time, the romance inevitably wore off, practicality set in and we became city dwellers once again, but my Dad still shakes his head and says "I'm so glad I did that." I can't help but feel the same nostalgic romantic feeling from time to time myself. Should we drop everything and head for simple country life?? Could we cut it out in rural life? Scratch that. We'd probably go crazy, but it's fun to think about the possibilities.

While I try to dig up the few photos that were taken of my Dad's own chicken coop transformation, I thought I would share three amazing books that inspired him to take that plunge (and has got me thinking rustic myself). All Their Own, The Craftsman Builder, and Woodstock Handmade Houses

Below are some pic excerpts of some of the exteriors. Interiors (my fav) in part deux.

More scans on Flickr.

I'm just blown away by the creativity, thoughtfulness and resourcefulness that went into these homes. They were built over time and evolved organically with limited resources, but ultimate freedom...it's authentic rustic charm...not the kind you read about in real estate listings...it's genuine character. Geodesic dome on top of a cedar-shaked double-wide character!

(abv) Love the gesture of this structure's roof line...it was actually architect designed and built as his personal hippie home.

The above is built partially into the ground for heating/cooling. The slanted roof runs to the ground to head off the north winds another passive solar feature and one my Dad used on the chicken coop to ward off the Michigan winter winds.

Not exactly sure what's happening here, but I think this is his artist studio/workshop. I could definitely work there!

Sweet treehouse! Me want! The triangular window collage is such a cool feature. Not sure if that staircase is code...

Ok check out Flickr and stay tuned for Part Two.

F U Animals...

I found this HILARIOUS blog called F U Penguin. Where the writer, Matthew Gasteier tells cute animals what's what.
He simply finds photos of animals of all types and makes commentary on them that are simply ingenious. This Matthew guy is so good that he's even coming out with a whole book on what he wrote on the blog....seriously f-ed up.
This is a perfect blog to read on a Friday when you feel like taking an extra long lunch break...
But just to warn you...there's no holding back in his writing styles...he shows no mercy on these poor animals...he simply curses the crap out of them.

Here are some of the posts I like...click to read the actual posts.

The Beaver is clearly up to something
Desperate otters turn to cute-based crime in the struggling economy
Moose are the biggest dorks ever
No one wants to hang out with eels
The Tibetan Fox Thinks He's Better Than You.

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

L&G Storytime No.5: Capture This!

Today on L&G's storytime segment for Poppytalk, we would like to share with you this wonderful book, "The Camera" one of Time-Life Book series. We found this book and it totally fuels us to get even more excited about cameras and photography!
Both Dylan and I are a little obsessed with cameras these days and recently found a twin lens Rolleicord V camera to add our collection of vintage cameras.
This beautiful book contains captivating historical and artful photos as well as informative instructions on how manual cameras work.We simply love the graphic illustrations and all the striking black & white photos.
I think our next camera experiment is to get a microscope camera! Just imagine all the amazing things you can capture...a fly..crystallization of vitamin C! Remember looking at onion peels during science lab? I'm always the one hogging the microscope!This crazy revolver is actually a camera invented in the late 1800's. Hmm, not sure why ANYONE would invent something like this. What was the objective?!...whatever it is, I think it's a cruel joke! Imagine using that and pointing it at people you know and shouting "say cheese!!"....You'd wonder why everyone in your photos looks horrified. I would definitely add this to my list of 'really useless inventions' along with Roomba and The Jonas Brothers. (sorry!)

But this is a book filled with visual inspirations that will get anyone to pick up a camera...or if you're like us, you'll end up picking up ten cameras!

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Man of My (Comedian) Dream

We recently started watching "Important Things with Demetri Martin" on comedy central. (it's on every Wed.) and I have to say I found my love for comedy again. I can't stand most of the comedians on "Comedy" central. All they do is yell and scream and complain about life after getting married and about their mom or girlfriends PMS-ing.
Demetri Martin on the contrary has a very different perspective on everything...he's calm, relaxed, funny and insightful. He shares random deep thoughts that makes you ponder about things & beyond...sometimes so darn obvious it makes you wonder...."Why didn't I think of it? Why can he share useless thoughts like this and get paid? Why can't I get paid?" He delivers jokes through music & artful doodles. He's also ambidextrous...yeah, I know, can you believe it? Can anyone be more perfect?

Watch this 14min video and prepared to be enlightened. You'll walk away thinking about useless stuff more than you'll ever need. And that's priceless.

Enjoy, and have a good weekend.

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Storytime on Poppytalk Part III

Storytime on an awesome seventies home decor book "How to Decorate Without going Broke." Check it out!
Here's some ideas....you thought it's about being resourceful and saving space? Well...Think again. During times like this, what better time to make a giant bird bed, some stuffed sheep as chairs, and giant soft set of teeth than now?

Read more and see more photos Here.

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Dylan's Blast From The Past Birthday Cake

For Dylan's birthday, I put together this strawberry birthday cake....
I said put together, because I didn't actually bake the cake. I was lazy....but still wanted to make it seem like a "special" birthday cake.
So I went to the store and got a chocolate angel food cake, some fresh strawberries, and heavy whipping cream. (told you I was lazy.)

My vision: Make a light tasting cake that mimics Asian cakes.

My plan: Slice the cake into three layers, put some whipping cream and sliced strawberries in the middle. Put icing around it and some decorate with strawberries.

My outcome: An unintentional Betty Crocker style cake from the 50's....I didn't realize it till I saw the photosl!! I had it in my head that this is simple! (simple to do..making it pretty, was a different story) I worked on it, the cake got more out of control. (out of MY control that is...) The cake was too fragile and crumbly, and the whipping cream didn't have enough structure either to ice around, so I had to improvise and dabbed the slightly liquidy whipping cream on top...and made some intentional-looking drips...Then in the attempt to try to hide the ugliness of the icing, i decided to put some whole strawberries on top....and voila! A "special" ugly-looking cake for my special man!

So, now you know the secret of making an ugly & unappetizing cake that looks like it traveled from the 50's, what are you waiting for?! Go make an uglier one so I'll feel better about mine!

*The bright yellow counter is our new kitchen project (will blog later)...the yellow definitely amplified the whole 50's look....heh.

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

M.I.A at Obama's Inauguration? Don't worry!

For those like me who's not fortunate enough to go to DC to witness the history of our lifetime....don't worry....we have another chance to be part of it!! Thanks to the world famous building block toy company....ANYONE can go to Legoland California to witness and be part of Obama's inauguration (Via Telegraph) Lego-style! You'll get the best view...literally!! (you know..since you'll be 20 times bigger and all..)This amazing detailed installation shows LEGO Obama, LEGO Michelle, LEGO Joe, LEGO Jill on the center stage along with handful of famous people and hundreds of excited LEGO American citizens at the magnificent 7-ft tall LEGO Capitol building!! If LEGO haven't proved themselves that they're still awesome...well...they are..and they just did. If only they can actually manufacture the Obama/Biden set along with star wars and Harry Potter ones...I'd get a set.And then there's Oprah.....hiding behind the columns for some odd reason. I'm imagining LEGO Oprah balling and trying no to smear her mascara at the same time. (but is it just me or does she look a little creepy standing there in that photo?)OH! Look! they even made porta-potties for the LEGO people..how thoughtful!! Although the LEGO people doesn't even realize that they're totally missing the inauguration as they're waiting in line!!....ooh..they're gonna be PISSED when they go back and realized they missed the whole historical event while using the porta-potties covered in LEGO crap!

This amazing installation will only be up till May of this year! So, better make it there soon, so you too, can shake hands with LEGO Obama!

Happy Obama Inauguration day!! WOOT WOOT!!

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Remembering Andy's

Once upon a time in Seattle, there was a cozy little place called Andy's Diner. It was a magical place located in the Sodo area (south of downtown/dome that isn't there anymore...) made up of train cars, wood paneling, and old people's souls. It was a place of yester-year's glory, a place to enjoy the finer things in life like a Top Sirloin with a heap of mashed pototoes topped with 1/4 stick of butter. It was grandly decorated to exact specifications circa 1960's when it adopted a 1930's railcar theme. One of the cars (the presidential car) was actually used by FDR on the campaign trail! We dined where FDR dined! Andy's was also rumored to be haunted by revelers of the past...and I believe it. You would walk down one of the empty cars and feel cold spots...I see dead people!

We were so sad when they shut their doors some time last year. We thought the rail cars were doomed, so we went down south one Sunday, hopped the fence and started shooting (photos) before they tore the relic down. Here are the highlights on Flickr.

The silver lining is that they actually did not tear Andy's down. The Andy's complex is still there. Unfortunately, they painted over the beautiful cars, bastardized the brilliant sign and turned it into a bad Chinese food place called "Oriental Express". The interior is still very much intact, which we feel thankful for. Hopefully these cars will remain a part of Seattle for many more years to come...it'll never be Andy's again though...thanks for the memories Andy...

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Chasing Pigeon? Gayest Chase? WHAT!?

Since the last post, I've been wondering about that book "The Fugitive Pigeon" written in 1965 by Donald E Westlake...So I looked it up and this is the ACTUAL story line...

"Listen carefully to this story, originally published in 1965, to catch the occasional telltale clues to its age. In this comic crime caper, Charlie Poole works the bar in Canarsie (Brooklyn) for his Mafia-connected Uncle Al, occasionally holding packages for late-night pickup. Suddenly, life gets exciting when two hit men show up to silence Charlie. He manages to escape, but he's on the run, hiding from the organization and at the same time trying to contact the boss to find out what error brought all this upon him. Of course there's a beautiful girl."

I do like how it says it's the "gayest chase of the year!" But, seriously...how can a story about someone running for his life be "gay"? But it doesn't matter, because there's a beautiful girl involved.
Still, I think I like my story line better (not to be cocky).....I just like the idea of an actual pigeon running for its life from two humans. Just picture that in your head for a second.....yeah...heh heh....that's WAY funnier. :D

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Always Judge A Book By Its Cover

I was browsing around on ebay and found this ebay store selling tons of great vintage books with awesome graphics!! I just love the fantastic color pallet and the simplicity of shapes and illustrations used. Since I'm on a spending freeze (recommended by you know who), I figured why not just save all the awesome graphics for reference!I spent way too much time looking through every page to find the best ones. So you're in luck ladies & gentlemen. Here's a little feast for the eyes of fun book covers!! ENJOY!
All the muted colors on these kid's books look so well all together!
My favorites are the two covers using pink and grays with the playful texture. The beaker filled with letters! It's just brilliant!
You can see all these covers plus more on my flickr vintage graphics set.I'm REALLY curious to find out what this book, "The Fugitive Pigeon" is about..... Maybe it's a suspense thriller story of those two guys (on the top left corner) chasing the pigeon for stealing their lunch. But the main character (the Pigeon) was in fact framed by another pigeon who looked a lot like him. The fugitive pigeon had to leave everything behind...even it's family of 3 eggs. He migrated to an entirely different state with a new identity, life, wife and eggs...everything. The Pigeon was living a peaceful life working at some small town Wal-Mart getting by with amazing employee discounts. Until one day, the guys tracked down the pigeon with their GPS navigator & iPhone and found the Pigeon and kidnapped his family. Will the Pigeon save his wife and couple of eggs? Will the Pigeon be able to find out who framed him and be able to resolve this misunderstanding? Will the Pigeon escape this predicament? Will the guys come to a realization of how ridiculous it is to be chasing a pigeon? What could this book possibly be about?!

-Jean

All images provided by Locobeans Loft

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

I guess this is goodbye...

So this is it! It's our final goodbye to Dylan & I's very first apartment in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. We did what our landlord called "terminal" cleaning on every inch of the 1400 sqft apt/studio....one that would get us back the non-refundable $150 cleaning fee. We thought...."$150..that's money that we can use in our home improvement fund! YAY!"
Little did we know...it took us a whole week to fully, TERMINALLY clean!!

We had to scrub the walls, all the cabinets and doors, the lights, the ceiling (10 ft tall), all the appliances(inside & out, behind & below), all the molding, the radiators, the tub inside and underneath (the curse of claw foot tubs), and the toilet, etc....EVERYTHING!
We gathered the most essential and effective cleaning tools ever assembled..as we switched between a spray bottle to disinfect, a sponge to scrub the wall, a toothbrush to brush the nooks & crannies, a rag to wipe, and a bucket to rinse. We cleaned through the late nights while the city slept. We scrubbed, wiped, sprayed, and then scrubbed some more.....We were determined.
But mostly it brought out the worse side of me (Jean)...the anal retentive, OCD side of me....or I like to see it as the BEST side... the detail-oriented, meticulous perfectionist! Is the glass half full or half empty? HMM? There's really no right or wrong answer for that now, is there?
One may ask...Was it worth it? But I would ask... can one put a price on a spiritual experience that taught us the value of patience and endurance? And can one really put a price on the intimate personal experience I had cleaning the bathroom where I was practically giving the toilet a lap dance as I scrubbed the walls behind and around?...no, you can't...neither can one put a price on the feeling of accomplishment and success as one walks through the dust-free dirt-free space and seeing the apt is cleaner than ever!But I suppose you CAN break it down in money terms...so Dylan and I each put in about 15 hours....and also Chika help with the studio where she put in about 5 hours....so that gets us... $150 divided by 40hours of work...3.75. That's what we made on an hourly basis for terminally cleaning this place. Wow...$3.75/hr huh? I didn't realize that's what we'd get. Why didn't we calculate this out before we started cleaning??

Oh wait! I take it back. We actually got $150 AND a quarter!! After cleaning all 7 radiators in the apt coughing and sneezing away...it wasn't till the VERY last radiator I cleaned that I found a quarter!! Maybe it's not so bad after all. Oh yeah.... I also found a dust ball weighing roughly a pound, one little baby sock, and one popped kernel of popcorn!!
...Life is just full of freakin' surprises, isn't it?We're really gonna miss this place...especially the kitchen....So, goodbye....and hello new home!

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Knocked Out!

Chika forwarded me this AWESOME video which she describes as,"people getting punched in the head at 1000 frames/sec, but much art-ier."I mean, who would of thought that punching a bunch of people would create such a work of art....It's amazing to look at people's faces as they get hit....the distortion that happens is absolutely captivating to watch! I had to watch it multiple times!! It's both comical and fascinating all at the same time.
Watch more great videos by Pleix.

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

L.A. Discoveries

This is from June (heh, just a little delayed) when I went to L.A. for a weekend of fun hanging out with my dear friend, Noal, who had recently moved there from Seattle. He graciously put me up and took me all over LA. I never had much chance to spend a lot of time doing sightseeing and just walking around in SoCal, so it was totally fun to do that for a change! There's so much character and so many things that were uniquely LA. This photo mosaic is just some of what captured while walking around different areas.
Here's some caption on where I took the photos (left to right in rows)
1. Mosaic tiled office building by Santa Monica Blvd.
2. Painted steps on some apt. building by Noal's apt. on S. Coronado St.
3. Painted wall at Grauman's Theater in Hollywood
4. Painted wall on some apt. building on Wilshire Blvd & S. Coronado St
5. Ceiling in the Getty Villa
6. Mosaic tiled floor at the Getty Villa
7. Painted wall at Grauman's Theater in Hollywood (I saw Jesus there..he's the real deal!)
8. Signage in the jewelery district of downtown L.A.
9. Succulents by a beach house on Venice Beach (my dream house)

That was the one thing I really enjoyed. (more photos here) Noticing the variety of patterns and colors incorporated on almost every building, shops, signs, walls, and houses....pretty much everywhere!! This is something that Seattle really lacks I think...it's just different I suppose. I'm not whinnying...but I just wish there's more decorative elements around Seattle! Most buildings are just...BLAH! Like the weather pretty much....BLEH!

Also Noal started documenting his little discoveries since he moved to LA while walking around, and he has captured even better stuff!!
Like this awesome awesome chair he found in Chinatown...of all places! The colors, patterns, and the chair itself.... everything about is just FAB-ulous!!
Neat collection of paper umbrella arrangements in Chinatown
Colorful ornate tiled steps in Pasadena
After the trip, I definitely can see LA in a new light. I realized that there's actually a lot of great things about the city beyond all the shinny nice cars, polluted air, high traffic jams, high-lighted hair, pregnant Hollywood stars, orange colored fake n' baked skin, roller blades and short-shorts...LA is so much more than that!
It's also this...6" platform shoes made with bamboo. It's eco-friendly!

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Our 4 year anniversary weekend

Dylan and I just had our 4 year anniversary as an unmarried couple. We planned a little getaway last weekend and stayed in an yurt at Cape Disappointment, WA (Formerly known as Fort Canby). The name is deceiving, because it's far from disappointing! It was actually a really beautiful and relaxing state park off the southern west coast of Washington that's close to beaches and couple of small wacky towns. We decided to stay in a cozy and convenient yurt while still got to have our campfire dinner. It was the best of both worlds. It was PERFECT!
Our first stop was at this wacky place called Marsh's Free Museum in Long Beach, WA. Its' a store/museum filled with cheesy beach themed trinkets and novelty toys plus tons of mounted animal heads all over the walls AND some on the ceiling!
After walking around Long Beach, we headed back to our campsite and built a fire while sipping on some wine and cooked ourselves a gourmet dinner. We made garlic dill pork chops with roasted butter asparagus and squash, baked potato, and tossed salad. Food just tastes so much better cooked over the fire....I wonder if it's because of the charcoal....
Then, for dessert...it was homemade roasted coco marshmallow. We tried one of Martha's recipes for marshmallows, and it was surprisingly easy and fun to make....not to mention that it tasted soooo much better than store bought ones! The recipe is just for making plain ones, but we improvised and added 2 tablespoons of unsweetened coco powder in the mix, and then after it was set, we rolled it in 1/2 powder sugar 1/2 coco powder mix. Sitting by the warm fire, drinking wine, roasting and eating homemade marshmallows....we, were in heaven.
The following day, we woke up with the campsite covered in some snow. It was such an unexpected surprise. I was just totally glad that we stayed in a yurt versus a tent, which we saw some people stayed in them. Not sure if they froze to death or not, but I know we would of!
For breakfast, we then cheated and plugged in our toaster oven and baked ourselves Croque Madames for breakfast. Sorry for all the real hardcore campers out there...I know we put camping to shame, but it was too easy! 5 minutes to prep and 15 minuets to bake type of easy. :P
We then went out to the beach and saw some snow still remained after the sun came out. I've never seen a beach with snow on it, it was quite a sight!
We then headed to the North Head Lighthouse close by the park. It was built in 1896 and it's a working lighthouse. We climbed up 90 some steps and got to see the amazing coast line and it was gorgeous..... Now I have this urge to start collecting lighthouses and decorate my entire house with a beach theme...lighthouses, American flags, shells and dolphins....oh! I forgot, and mermaids, too. Gotta have that.
These beautiful sexy mermaids were at Marsh's Free Museum.... I should go back and get them....They'll be perfect for what I'm thinking of in our apartment.
So, in conclusion, Cape Disappointment was anything but disappointing. Not to mention that we saw a mummified half man half alligator named Jack at the museum, the worlds biggest frying pan, a cafe called Scrappaccino, a stuffed cat, AND this!!
We took too many photos, so the rest of the photos of the store and of everything else can be seen here.
ENJOY!
-Jean

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Neat postcards

These are also from Noal from some museum down in L.A. (where did you get this, Noal?) They're such bizzar but interesting postcards with all the embroidery on their clothes! I especially love the bright colored shiny thread.
-Jean

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious

Story Time Part One-The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes

I found these great vintage books recently with the best two color printed illustrations inside. One books is a kid's book called 'The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes' (gross...I know), and another is 'Betty Crocker's Good and Easy' cook book (not so good, but maybe easy). Both have illustrations of various housewares, which is why I'm so in LOVE with it!

Today the story I'm telling is about a man who didn't wash his dishes. Look at all those lovely bowls, plates, and pots all piled up precariously...that man is a very BAD man....that's not how you should treat your dishes!
The man uses his dishes everyday and leaves it everywhere piling up all over his house, unwashed. As days pass, he uses more clean dishes and leaves more of them unwashed until he finally ran out of all the clean dishes he can use! So he had to resort to using his soap dish from his bathroom! eeeeeeeeeeew. But now what? he has no dishes to use left. AH-HA! The man came up with an idea (he even got a light bulb by his head for this idea!) His solution to cleaning all the dishes was........to put all the dishes in his truck while he drove around in the rain!!!! WHAT?!......WHAT!? The RAIN isn't going to clean out all the grease or any of the the crusty crumbs that are stuck on the edges...you crazy man!!
But that's how it ended. Him eating out of the dishes that were washed in the rain....It's story that's supposed to teach kids a lesson about washing dishes, but I'm not sure how good of a message they're giving to the kids on this one.
It should of been a story of how all the dirty dishes got so dirty and mad that it became a giant dish monster and ate the man who didn't wash his dishes.....THE END.
That will most definitely scare the kids to wash their dishes...
-Jean

Ladies and Gentlemen Home: For the love of all things vintage, clever, designed, and/or delicious