chance of showers

those who know me fairly well understand my crush for umbrellas {case in point, teri sending me this tip}. alas, last thursday i missed an incredible showing of umbrellas and a benefit for 826-seattle at the design commission in seattle. but luckily tons of photos of the beauties have been shared on flickr.

it featured over 25 decorated and artistically transformed umbrellas from artists, designers and architects across the country ~ the remaining umbrellas are still up for auction on ebay. all proceeds from the auction benefit 826-seattle {a wonderful non-profit dedicated to helping youth with writing skills of all types}.
please jump here to see a time lapse video of the opening night ~ it's the next best thing to being there!

{all photos with gratitude from the design commission flickr set}

modern gingerbread house

maybe this isn't your grandmother's gingerbread house ~ but it's arguably the coolest gingerbread house design i've seen. it arrives fully assembled, is 100% edible and can be personalized {found at redenvelope}. i might just have to come up with my own version sometime. i love model making {i get to do it for clients every once in a while ~ see some examples here} so it would be a fun challenge to make an edible version. that is, if i had 150 hours of free time to dedicate to such an undertaking. ;o)

o

i recently came across this talented denver colorado team called o interior design. three very talented ladies have joined forces to bring ecclectic vibrant interiors to colorado & beyond. i'm really loving their self-proclaimed mountain modern/colorado contemporary style. their website is full of gorgeous interiors, so i just chose a few of my favorites along the reds & asian-fusion themes to share with you today. but please do check out the rest of their portfolio sometime!

jumpin jive

last night the lovely tangobaby & her beau treated me to viewing some of the most amazing dance clips ever filmed in history on their 10' movie screen home theater system ~ the audition performance of rudolf nureyev that gave him an open ride into both the bolshoi & the kirov ballet companies, bo jangles' soft shoe brilliance and the nicholas brothers in one of their most famous performances in stormy weather. it's valuable to know before watching the clip below that many performance greats such as mikhail baryshnikov, fred astaire, gregory hines, michael & janet jackson consider the nicholas brothers the greatest dancers/performers in history. it's widely agreed that if their biography was ever filmed, their dance numbers would have to be computer generated because no one could duplicate them.

here they are with cab calloway in this incredible performance in the 1943 movie stormy weather:

btw ~ neither of them have any formal dance training ~ they learned their skills by growing up around vaudeville

weekend whirl

{ the palace of fine arts was a gorgeous scene in the december sunshine}

{my favorite thing inside the exploratorium was this huge mobile hanging high above the main entrance}


{elizabeth falkner, ms.citizencake, with her sweet ice winter dreamscape creation ~ an edible interpretation of the geographic south pole}


{some shoes & some candles at our company holiday party this past saturday}

bask in the wallpaper glow

dutch designer jonas samson uses a new technology to create light emitting wallpaper ~ it's now possible to use a two-dimentional flat surface as light source instead of just a 3d object. brilliant!
the wallpaper's patterns consist of embedded led's..... one can turn off the lighting, making the wallpaper a standard wall ornament, or have it turned on and enjoy the transition of multiple patterns. when the lights within the wallpaper are in the 'off' position, the wallpaper is indistinguishable from any other wall covering surface, and when they are in the 'on' position the wall emits a nice glow that can illuminate a small room.
in his designs, samson explores the utility, art and craft of turning conventional items into works of high tech design. the light-emitting wallpaper demonstrates his skills, which are quite unique ~ integrating highly advanced technologies with creative design.

3 weekends left til you know who.....

this weekend, besides seeking a milonga or two and going to see the sweet ice antartic dream scape by citizen cake, i'll be focused on finishing my ornaments for the swap and getting my chirstmas cards written, addressed & stamped. oh yes, and it's also our office holiday party ~ taking place at orlando's house. i'll take as many photos as i can of all the events to share with you. what are your weekend plans?

{photos of handmade ornaments on flickr}

holiday cheer tour

{a christmas tree in paris suggests an upward glance}

{grafton street in dublin ireland, all dressed up for the holidays}

{rathaus christmas market in vienna austria}

{holiday outdoor market in lugano switzerland with sparkle showers}

{holiday shopping in old quebec canada ~ is this 1895 or 1995?}

extraordinary oras

oh i love these! each of the oras wall mobiles is hand made from high-density foam and strung with superfine nylon-coated steel wire and micro sterling silver crimp beads. suspended from an acrylic bar, each one measures 31"l x 26"h. custom-made, bead-blasted, powder-coated aluminum brackets secure mobiles to the wall.

the colors are lovely and, as in my previous post, the shadows they throw are wonderful too.

such a fabulous concept!

kozai designs

established in 2003 by owner ron cromie {a long-time resident of japan and china}, kozai designs reflects a fusion of mid-20th century organic modern design with the japanese minimalist aesthetic of less is more, along with a celebration of warm natural materials, especially solid hardwoods and traditional hand-made papers {washi}.
much of their work is custom built-to-order in japan, with a wide range of sizes, woods, fabrics, and finishes available, and they have a shop in vancouver, bc. to warm up on a gray drizzling day, i thought i'd highlight my favorites from their lighting design department.

{two pendants from the wappa series made of bent cedar from akita in northern japan ~ the shadows cast by the fixtures are as alluring as the fixtures themselves}

{the mocoro table lamp above is a cylinder of soft ambient light nestled within a layered globe of turned japanese hemlock disks}

{via the lovely terramia}

2 birthdays 1 day

one of my dearest friends from back in under-grad days {univ of puget sound} was born on this day. she is kind-hearted, genuine, wise, supportive, and charmingly humble ~ really the best friend a girl could ever ask for. we studied international politics & economics together into the wee hours, we lived at the infamous 1904 together, we have shared the depths of life's experiences, we've gotten lost on the streets of venice, we've spent days on end together & months without seeng each other, never shifting our level of enchantment of being in each other's presence. i'm so honored and elated today to celebrate her.

{she's 8 mo's pregnant so i just had to share this adorable photo of her}

and it is also the fabulous jon sung-hero's birthday today. this fine gentleman is super-smart, witty, thoughtful, creative, up-beat, has excellent manners and is always a joy to spend time with. plus he writes the dogblog! and that made him famous. for very good reasons. please spend some time checking it out to see why. thanks for adding hilarity, robotics, cool dogs, fun games {like telephone-pictionary & cardboard fortress battle wars}, superheroes, good hugs, and extremely delicious applesauce to my life jon ~ today i celebrate yours! {be sure to ask him about that green lantern ring}

transylvanian discovery

i have never known much about the real transylvania ~ just the folklore around the infamous count dracula. i was intrigued by some gorgeous photos of the zabola country house & manor found on shoot factory. i'm sure you'll agree from the photos that this place has some history worth investigating.....

so, naturally, i did some research to share with you:

after 45 years of communism, the descendants of the count mikes de zabola family, displaced in 1949, returned to transylvania to rebuild their ancestor’s estate {now considered to be one of transylvania's best kept secrets}.

the hungarian mikes de zabola family traces its roots back to the 14th century; its title relates to the village of zabola in southeast transylvania. although in today's romania, transylvania once belonged to the hungarian kingdom, and has also been part of the habsburg empire.
the castle dates back to around 1400. it was once a fortified building with a tower in front. on the first floor all the ceilings were covered (currently painted over) with frescoes dating back to 1580 -1600. the estate is nestled at the foot of the carpathian mountains right next to thousands of hectares of untouched wilderness.

the mikes de zabola family belongs to a clan called the széklers. for 1,000 years they were the defenders of europe's eastern borders. apparently all széklers enjoyed the status of "personal freedom" which equalled the rights of the nobility; this was considered unique for the time. a hungarian renaissance king, matthias corvinus, confirmed these privileges in 1466 in zabola. the event is said to have taken place in the park behind the mikes castle and the stones that were placed there to mark the event can still be seen.

today the zabola estate of the count mikes family is a private and idyllic location for special events, especially those seeking the romantic and dramatic {and with a huge guest list}.

many more details about the family and history of the estate can be found on the official count mikes de zabola estate website.

{thanks very much to the zabola website, the count mikes de zabola estate website & shoot factory for the information and photos}