What a cubicle dweller dreams of...

To say that working in a cubicle offers you privacy is an overstatement of vast proportions. Sure you have your three and a half walls, but who are we kidding? You want upmost privacy then convince the company (or as I like to call them "da man") to invest in these Kithaus modulars. 

All modulars are fully insulated, have electrical outlets, and are equipped for solar powered and heating/AC. Just stick these bad boys in the parking lot and the employees may want to just sit in there all day working hard (or hardly working?). 

I might not even leave my workspace for breaks or lunch.  I would just shut the shutters and get some shut eye.

Office decor? How about keeping with the modern theme and using the famous Eames bird as your paperweight. A little pricey paperweight, but with this beautiful modular as cubicle, I would splurge. 

Keep the modern decor going with the classic Stendig Calendar.

If I drank coffee, which I don't (but probably should), I wouldn't mind using these Morning Mugs. They perk up once they get their coffee on. Can you just say adorable?

*Sigh*

Fave celebrity home tour: Amanda Peet

You know to be honest, I'm not too familiar with Amanda Peet's work, but I'm all too familiar with her home. Domino featured her house in their 2007 issue. I immediately fell in love with her sense of style and decor. As I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for bohemian design. The eclectic nature is charming. 

This is her daughter's room. Mixing patterns is definitely an eclectic feature, but when you ground the patterns with a common color (in this case pink) and keep the size of the patterns small, it gives the room a cohesiveness. 

This is her daughter's room now, which was featured in the 2012 issue of Vogue. The adorable Funny Girl poster is still present. The pink hoop chair, the Murakami print, the polka dotted paper lantern and the baby blue kid's size Eames rocker all complete the bohemian, retro and modern look. 

I love this breakfast nook with the mix of industrial and classic. The metal chairs bring the industrial and the wooden table and glass chandelier bring the classic. The colors work together well in this room to bring out the brightness and airiness. I can picture myself sitting here reading the morning news and drinking some hot cocoa (that is if Amanda Peet didn't live here, otherwise that is kind of stalker-ish). 

How do I love thee bathroom? Let me count the ways: (1) subway tiles; (2) pedestal sink; (3) gray claw foot tub; (4) floral wallpaper; (5) vintage white cabinet; (6) wicker basket; and (7) prints above tub to add to charm. 

The best thing I love about this home is that it looks welcoming and lived in which is what I believe a home should be. 

(photos via Mimi + Meg and If the Lamp Shade Fits)

Top 5 Guilty Pleasures - Movies

You know we all have them right? Those movies that you inexplicably enjoy but you have a little twinge of embarrassment if someone found out. Those movies that you will not buy a DVD of (and if you bought it, you may not put it out for all to see), but you would gladly spend two hours of your life re-watching when it pops up on your TV. Those movies that you will not pretentiously dissect in detail, but in secret know the majority of the dialogue.

Well hide no more I say!  I will reveal my top five guilty pleasure movies to all five of my loyal followers starting now (in no particular order since I'm too embarrassed to say which one gives me the most pleasure in watching)...

Guilty Movie:  Overboard (1987)

(MGM)

Real quick synopsis: Rich, bitchy woman who treats her widowed carpenter poorly gets amnesia. Widowed carpenter convinces rich, bitchy, amnesiac woman that she is his wife and mother to his four boys. The rest as they say is classic Hollywood happy ending.  
Best casting: Goldie Hawn as rich, bitchy, amnesiac woman and Kurt Russell as widowed carpenter.
Line that makes me laugh for no explicable reason:  "You're that sweaty carpenter"
Line that makes me cry for no explicable reason:  "You said moms don't leave!"


Guilty Movie:  Dirty Dancing (1987)

(Vestron)

Real quick synopsis:  Rich girl goes to catskills and falls for the 'dirty' dance instructor.
Best casting: Patrick Swayze as the 'dirty' dance instructor.
Line that will forever be iconic: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"
Scene that I can watch over and over: The climactic final dance scene to "Time of your Life" (especially the Swayze's solo dancing scene)


Guilty Movie:  Three Amigos (1986)

(Orion Pictures)

Real quick synopsis:  Three unemployed actors thinking they accepted an offer to recreate their bandit fighter roles are actually hired to save a village for real.  
Best casting:  Martin Short as Ned Nederlander
Best line not said by the Three Amigos: El Guapo - "Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?"
Best scene: The Three Amigos sitting around the fire singing "Blue Shadows on the Trail" (the turtle at the end gives this scene the extra oomph to guilty pleasure territory)

Guilty Movie:  Steel Magnolias (1989)

(TriStar Pictures)

Real quick synopsis:  Chick flick set in a southern town - hair, weddings, romance and death!

Best casting:  Shirley MacLaine as Quiser and Olympia Dukakis as Clairee

Best line:  "Quiser could never stay mad at me; she worships the quicksand I walk on."

Best scene of scenery chewing I ever did see:  The graveyard scene (Sally Field is the queen of scenery chewing, but she does it so well)

Guilty movie:  Red Dawn (1984)

(MGM/UA)

Best casting:  Patrick Swayze (as usual)

Best line:  "Wolverines!"

Clue that I've seen this movie too many times:  Noticing that during Patrick Swayze's crying scene a 'snot bubble' comes out of the Swayze's nose and goes back in! Proof that Patrick Swayze was the most authentic cryer on the silver screen. 

Best scene that is so bad, it makes the movie that good:  C. Thomas Howell's Robert going all Rambo in his final scene and dying in a hail of gunfire. 

I just noticed all my guilty movies were in the 1980s and two of them starred Patrick Swayze. Which makes me conclude that the 1980s were an awesome time in guilty pleasure movies and Patrick Swayze rocks!

Do you have any guilty pleasure movies?  Don't be ashamed to share it here-all are welcomed.

Happy Thanksgiving

(photo via Decorology)

Gaudi

I visited Spain in 2000.  I remember walking down the Passeig de Gracias in Barcelona and seeing this wondrous building:

It was so weird, so fantastical, so beautiful. If a building was a mermaid, this is what it would look like. I just assumed this building was designed by a new contemporary, conceptual artist, but it wasn't. Casa Batllo was built in 1877 by architect Antoni Gaudi. If I was well versed in architecture I can go on about the influences of Catalan Modernisme, but I'm not, so I'll just say Gaudi designed buildings that are viscerally striking and are like a sugar rush when you first see it.  

It almost seems like Gaudi is trying not to have any straight lines in his designs.  The Casa Mila is a prime example of this. It's undulating lines is evident on the exterior and the interior, as well as with the furniture inside. 

Of course, the Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. When Gaudi died in 1926, the Sagrada was only 20% completed. When we visited in 2000, it was still under construction. They expect to be completed by the year 2026, the centennial of Gaudi's death. It's hard to describe this church in layman's terms, there is so many symbolic meaning in every aspect of the church, from it's spires to the facade to the interior. 

Sagrada Familia

Inside the Sagrada Familia

Rear facade of the Sagrada Familia

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Barcelona, Spain, I would definitely recommend visiting as many of the Gaudi designed buildings as possible.  They will blow your mind and allow you to see how far your imagination can take you. 

(photos via Doe Deere Blogazine, John Dolan via Scent of a Passion, Sagrada Familia photos by Charmaine Yambao and Rose Wood)

The Look of Inception

I just re-watched Inception recently and decided that this terrific film was robbed of the best picture Academy Award in 2011. That movie had an excellent script, original idea, talented actors, an awesome director, and an ending that made many people watch the movie over again to figure it out. 

Besides the above reasons, Inception is just one damn cool film. The set designs were amazing - apparently the film did not use a lot of green screens. The Penrose stair scene was actually built on scaffolds, but the scaffolds were later erased using CG. M.C. Escher 's Ascending and Descending lithograph print was used as inspiration. 

Can we talk Fashion? Alice in Wonderland with it's wild Madhatter looks may have won best costume design in 2011, but Inception had those suits. As architects of the dream world, the suits were sharp, angular and fit perfectly. There was something timeless, yet futuristic about the clothes. Unlike a John Hughes teen movie, where you can just see the wardrobe and know it took place in the 1980s (trust me, I grew up in the 80s and I would know pegged pants and mullets when I see it), Inception will not look dated in the future.

Check out Saito's kimono under his jacket. The look was very traditional yet at the same time contemporary with a combination of eastern and western influences. 

And who was the best dressed mofo in Inception? That kid from "Third Rock From the Sun." Okay, I know he is far from being called that kid from "Third Rock From the Sun," so I'll just say JGL's Arthur was the most stylish sidekick to hit the silver screen ever. 

And if you haven't seen Inception, get yourself out from under that third rock and check it out.

(photos Warner Bros)

Fave celebrity home tour: Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo, in my honest opinion, is probably the best Bruce Banner in the Hulk movie series (no offense to Mr. Bana or Mr. Norton). Just judging by his former home (the Ruffalos sold their home in the Hollywood Hills and moved to upstate New York - no, I am not a stalker), I would bet he has the best personal style.

I've already showcased his children's room in a previous post, but the remainder of his home is also a favorite of mine. His home was designed by Nickey-Kehoe and I love the laid-back appeal. 

Some people find leather furniture to be too masculine, but this family room shows how it can be softened with the use of colorful throws and pillows. Add some pretty flowers in a vase and you get a welcoming and warm room. 

The art of the entryway. My house does not have a formal entryway or mudroom, but if it did this is what it would look like. The simplicity of having the shelving with the rotating art is an easy decorating tool.

The sunroom is what you want a sunroom to look like - bright and airy. The mix of colors work here. That color block floor lamp is still in the moment. 

I don't know where they got this leather chaise chair with ottoman, but I want it. Even though this house tour was back in 2009, they incorporated accessories that are popular now: the bell jar on the nightstand for instance. 

Maybe the Hulk will be much more relaxed living in the countryside in the Catskill Mountains, but I hope whoever bought the Hollywood Hills home got it fully furnished. 

(photos via BlackEiffel and desire to inspire)

Maps and Me

I don't know what it is about maps that I find so appealing, but when I see a map designed in an original and charming fashion then I'm all over it.  

I purchased the Lena Corwin's Maps book at Anthropologie and there is very little wording, but the illustrations are what it's all about. I think what appeals to me is when landmarks are included. It is a simple design, but it works.  

Albie Designs is another creative individual who draws beautiful city prints. I bought her San Diego print on Etsy and it is now one of my favorites (a little biased when it comes to my native city).

  
The popular Rifle Paper Co. just came out with their 2013 Cities Calendar. My favorite month is March (again, a little biased because that is the month I got married plus my next dream vacation would be Tokyo).  

When I got married in 2007, I designed a map of the Las Vegas Strip which I put in our invitations. We got married inside the Paris Hotel and had our reception in The Rio. My design may not be as good as the ones noted above, but it fit my style and it was simple enough to understand where things were.  

I guess I'll never get lost.  

Creepy and Cute

I have a thing for creepy and cute things.

It began when I started collecting Day of the Dead figures. These figures are the skeletons depicted in activities they enjoyed doing when they were alive. The figures are classic in Mexican Folk Art. Skeletons in general are kind of creepy, but when they are playing instruments in a mariachi band then not so much. 

It didn't take long before my next obsession was with Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas." I started collecting the characters: Jack Skellington, Sally, Oogie Boogie, The Mayor, Lock, Stock and Barrel. Again, skeletons kind of creepy, but when it's a skeleton dressed as Santa Claus then not so much. 

Lately, I've been into the creepy meets cute meets romantic (in an off way).  One of my favorite vinyl figures is my Stick Boy and Match Girl in Love. These characters came from another Tim Burton creation - his book "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy." I'm not sure if this book was meant for children, because a lot of his characters meet untimely ends, but it was just the right amount of twisted for me.  Let's just say a Stick and Match can only love each other from afar because once they touch each other...well, can we say "hunka-hunka burning love?"

My brother recently got me to watch "Indie Game - The Movie." I would definitely recommend this film (and while you are at it rent "The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters"). One of the games shown in this film was called "Super Meat Boy."  Meat Boy is a boy without skin who has to get passed perilous cutting machines to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl. This boy without skin who would risk his life for the one person who can protect him (her bandages over his exposed body) is pure poetic...

(photo via Team Meat Blog)

...of course the plushies are what I want.

"Here's a paper and pen - now draw"

I grew up with four other siblings in a tiny home.  My parents did not have a lot of money.  It was expensive to always buy toys for five kids, so my mom would resort to giving us pens and papers and told us to draw.  At the time, I may have wanted the newest Barbie doll, but as I look back now, I am glad my mom did what she did.  It allowed each of us to develop a creativity that we express either personally or publicly.  

Not to toot our own horn, but my family has a bunch of creative cats. 

My sister, Jessica, has a wonderful Etsy shop called Rock Paper Tekla. She created these quirky, yet beautiful paper dolls that were inspired by Mermaids. Her shop has expanded to include other original dolls, like the one below inspired by my mother.  The face is my mom at a younger age and the style is what I call "Day of the Dead" meets "Mary Poppins." Definitely one of my favorites.

Jessica also started her own blog, The Doily Duck, where she muses about a variety of topics. It's a good read so check it out (okay that was a plug, so maybe she can plug me on her blog - nepotism at it's finest). 

My brother, Oliver, is the only one in our family who has turned his drawing abilities into a career. He is a talented graphic designer who has worked for Jelly Belly, Upper Deck and now The San Diego Padres. One of my favorite drawings he did was when he was sixteen years old.  He created super heroes inspired by me, our sister Charmaine and her boyfriend (now husband) Jeff. I was called "The Rose" (not the most original name, but what super hero has an original name? Come on, the man dressed as a bat was called "The Batman"!) and Charmaine and Jeff were my gay sidekicks (way before Ace and Gary on SNL). My powers were my strong odor that could defeat the enemies with one swift sniff! (let's remember my bro was sixteen when he created this and was slowly learning the fine art of backhanded compliments).  

In a galaxy far far away, I had a graphic t-shirt business with two of my sisters, Jessica and Charmaine. The business is no longer with us (god rest it's creative soul).  But remnants of it can still be found in the safe confines of my backup hard drive. Our business was called ThreeSweetYams (our logo was pink and the "three" was for the three of us, the "sweet" because we catered to women and babies, and "yams" was a shorten version of our last name - Yambao). We each had a line that showcased our own style of design. 

(Jessica's Pisces in her Horoscope Line)

(Charmaine's Year of the Pig in her Fortune Cookie Line)

(My "May I Kiss You?" in my Vintage Ladies Line)

Maybe one day we can resurrect these designs in a different format.  I wouldn't mind creating prints out of them.  Some of the best art in my home are personal.

My other sister, Stephanie, may not have shown the inclination to draw, but I believe it is a power deep inside of her that will one day rise above! (sorry, still thinking about those super heroes). I saw a shark doodle she once did for my son and you know what? It ain't that bad!

I'm hoping our kids pick up some of our 'mad skillz.' Until then watch and learn young ones...watch and learn.

What a cubicle dweller dreams of...

It should be known I do not work for a company in the creative field. I work for a company who thinks practically and functionally. But that's okay, because my brain is part reason and function and the other part creative and a bit of a dreamer. When I see pictures of office spaces that combine both function and creativeness it catches my eye.  

The office space of Refinery29 is an example of that:  

The workspaces are clearly cubicle-like, but the flash is achieved by adding that reclaimed lumber trim around the edges. Of course the stylish part is achieved by that Patrick Townsend designed Orbit chandelier (available here). I wouldn't mind the Non Random Moooi hanging light fixture over my space.

How about that cool Missoni-looking sneakers on the desk. Refinery 29 has a tutorial on how to make your own here.  

The office space for Etsy is as you would expect - a bit eclectic and a bit home made.  

Of course, those kilim rugs makes this space look comfortable. A nice plant on your desk takes out some of that artificial air blowing around you. Now put that nice plant in a cute vase and you bring it up a notch. 

How about an Etsy print hung up on your wall?  

Now excuse while I go and try to convince my boss to allow me to put bright blue and orange polka-dotted curtains on the windows.

(office space photos found via My First Little Place and Inc.)