Books that I would totally buy and read cover to cover in one sitting if some beautiful saint would actually publish them! 

1. Family of Geniuses by Etheline Tenenbaum from the Royal Tenenbaums
2. Deal Breakers, A Girls Guide to Shutting it Down by Liz Lemon from 30 Rock
3. Handbook for the Recently Deceased from Beetlejuice 
4. The Birth of Super Ray from Bored to Death
5. Sterling’s Gold by Roger Sterling from Mad Men
6. The Philosophy of Time Travel by Roberta Sparrow from Donnie Darko
7. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks - this book you can actually buy on amazone. God bless you amazon.

In lieu of mother’s day and because my mom is the queen of the hot glue gun, I thought I’d share a DIY project. It’s called “How to Hide Your Fugly Extension Cord and Make it Look Cool and Bring a Little Texture Into Your Space”. It has a nice ring to it no? So here’s what you need and how to do it:

Materials:
extension cord (13 feet) - the longer the better
200 feet of medium weight jute rope (i got the thick stuff so i didn’t have to wrap as much)
glue gun and glue sticks
scissors

How to:
- prep all of your materials: cut the tags off your extension cord and fire up the hot glue gun.
- add a dab of hot glue at the base of the plug nearest the prong end.
- now here’s the hardest part, glue the end of the jute so that it is tucked under the first wrapped loop - it will look like the beginning of a loose knot.
- wrap the jute over the end so it is completely covered.
- continue wrapping 3-4 times, then add another dab of glue and repeat until you run out of jute. 
- but wait! when you are close to running out of jute rope, repeat the knot process from above. remember to add glue first so it stays secured.
- now you repeat the knot process all over again (sigh…) because you are adding more jute rope riiiiiiiight? yes you are, so please repeat the above step.
- continue wrapping 3-4 times and adding a dab of glue until you get to the base nearest the plug end.
- guess what comes next? that’s right! the knot process again (hold your applause please). add the dab of glue, make the knot at the very base, and put the kibosh on this bad boy. viola! you are finished.

That wasn’t so bad was it? Now dance around and celebrate that you no longer have electrical cord ugliness dragging down the beauty of all your sexy furniture. Not only do you no longer have to hide this thing, but you’ll actually want to show it off to people. And they will absolutely not think you are weird whatsoever for being so excited about an extension cord.

P.S. It totally looks like my philodendron peed her pants in the second photo.
P.S.S Design sponge had this kick ass and colorful version and Design Love Fest had this easy quick fix version. 

FYI: For those of you worried, this project is not a fire hazard. Yes you should always be cautious when working with wires or electricity, but you are not working with a live wire nor are you cutting the cords or exposing raw wire to fabric. This project is no more dangerous than putting your electrical cord near a rug.

A few weekends ago my hubz and I escaped town for a little birthday celebration - MY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION THAT IS! All I wanted to do was slow down from the chaos that is our lives and relax. So we decided to drive up to Napa and do some wine tasting with our pinkies out and get our mud bath action on in Calistoga. It sounds so relaxing right? Well actually funny story NOPE! The mud bath thing turned out to be really weird and exhausting, but still kind of awesome and overall a memorable experience that I would recommend to others, but never partake in again - like skydiving or harem pants. Here’s how it went down:

First, you sit by the Buddha pond and sip cucumber water (YUM) and think omg I’m just about to get zen in this biotch when a complete stranger whisks you away and asks you to get butt naked and climb into a tub full of volcanic steaming slush. Let’s do this! Then said person piles the mud on top of you until you can’t move anymore and says okay lady relax. Ahhh say what now?! After you’ve worked through the anxiety of feeling like that guy from Divingbell and the Butterfly - blinking requests for someone to itch your nose or give you a sip of water, and after you’ve sweated out years of Mc Donalds and Jager toxins, this person returns to scoop all the mud off your boobs and vag and asks are you relaxed yet? Sure sweetheart, I’m in a goddamn meadow right now catching lightening bugs in mason jars. Great, lets move on to your long hot soak in the magical mineral waters and then on to the hottest steam room you’ve ever sat in for a total of 5 barley tolerable seconds - just about the second when your flesh is melting off your face, all so you can sweat out those remaining Papa John’s toxins from circa 2003. Are we relaxed YET? High fives! Next, someone steers you into a private room where you get rubbed down with essence (WTF does that even mean?!) and wraps you in foil like the Chipotel burrito that just seeped out of your pores, and then you lay there STILL trying to relax because it’s your freaking birthday and that’s all you ever wanted.

People I know I sound like I’m complaining, but I just want to share the truth here, because if you’re like me at all and you go on a website and see ladies with cucumbers on their eyes laying in pools of essence you think I WANT TO GO TO THERE and relax my ass off. Nay my friends. Nay to relaxation. However, prepare for the craziest and most unforgettable experience that you’ll eventually write an absurdly long blog post about. YAY birthdays!

Dear Google,

Thank you for sharing awesome things on your home page, like how today is Saul Bass’s birthday. Remember those bad ass movie posters for films like Vertigo, Exodus, and The Graduate? Yeah that was his genius hand. Oh and how about those really REALLY good logos for companies like Girl Scouts, AT&T, and Avery International - all of which have an impressively long lifespan averaging at 30 years; which is kind of heroic in the fickle thing that is the ad world.

So let’s take a step back and appreciate some stellar and historically important design today. 

Georgia O’Keeffe is one of my favorite artists and also my spirit animal. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, captures the South West quite like her. I’ll fight you if you say different! Seriously, I have a knife so lock it up! Okay but for real, it’s no wonder her homes are just as freakin amazing as her paintings. This book was published last year and it gives readers a personal tour of Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch: her impeccably designed New Mexico homes. Yeah I said Ghost Ranch, I mean seriously - stop it Georgia! Even the name of your homes are badass. 

Personal nerdom side note: When I was 16 I got my first glimpse of Poppy at a museum where I interned. I remember studying it for a very long time, recording those electric colors into my developing and hormonally imbalanced brain. It literally glowed in the dimly lit gallery and cast a trans-like spell on anyone who gazed upon it. That power stayed with me through the years and all the way into college when I decided to write my dissertation on the abstract paintings of her earlier work (which I happened to get an A on A’THANK YOU A’THANK YOU).

This Spring has been one hell of a good time. Lots of weekend excursions, barbecuing, lunch breaks at the Ferry Building, wine and cheese nights, new furniture, and birthday presents. Here’s to an even better summer!

P.S. Let’s hang out on instagram!

I am OBSESSED with boyfriend jeans, especially all sexed up with heels and a silk button down. Even though the trend has been around for a while now, I’ve never acted on it because I was convinced that I would look chubby in them; that is until I read the reviews for this Madewell pair. I’m going to go test drive them later today. Expect a report on your desks tomorrow!

I am finally crawling out of my no art phase and finding lots of visual inspiration lately. I’ve actually made and purchased more art in the past 2 months than I have in the past 2 years! For the longest time I lived in a nearly naked walls apartment and thought I needed to be surrounded by minimal distractions. But the truth is, I just wasn’t inspired.

I think what I love most about California is the ability to pack your car up and drive an hour or two away from the city and be in the mountains surrounded by snow or in the woods enclosed by redwoods. These mini escapes with my family keep me sane.

Introducing Object & Totem, as if these beautiful creations need any introductions at all. There is something primitively beautiful and yet minimally modern in each of these handmade pieces. Earlier this year I snatched up a vessel and 4 bead ceramic necklace that looks more like a wearable work of art before they sold out forever and disappeared from the face of the earth. I’m a lucky lady.

I finally picked up the camera again last weekend. Wes and I escaped to our favorite Yurt-ville hideaway and laid around all weekend in the sunshine. It was mighty mighty fine. 

This book makes my OCD’ness very very happy.