31 : sunny spots

If there is a sunny spot in a house, a dog will find it. Guaranteed. And Monster is no different. Luckily for him, the best sun spot in the house is actually the most comfortable. My bed.

Seeing him day after day plastered to the bed, moving slightly when the sun would shift, I decided to take a break from work and join him. I must say, I can see why he loves it so much. The joy of simple pleasures.

30 : my grandma

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you more than you will ever know.

29 : cirque du soleil "ovo"

For her birthday, we took my grandma to see the newest Cirque performance, "Ovo" at the Santa Monica pier. I had seen a Cirque show well over 10 years ago. I don't remember what the theme was, where it was, or really anything about it, just that I was in awe. This time, older, and more able to appreciate the true art that is Cirque, I was mesmerized. The costumes were amazing and the performances were even better. Come on, what's not to love about a cute little lady bug, and bright green grasshoppers? And the ants... oh-em-gee. Don't even get me started on the ants. One of the best things I've seen ever. Period.

Go see this show now. You won't be disappointed (maybe a little uncomfortable in the seats, but not disappointed).

28 : fresh flowers

I'm so in love with fresh flowers. They brighten up a room and bring so much life and texture into a space. I generally gravitate towards yellows and oranges, and today was no different. Some gorgeous orange ranunculus, white freesia, and some amazing yellow acacia and my place looks bright and happy. It's all about the simple pleasures in life, and fresh flowers, are definitely my little but of happy.

27 : mangoes

Mango. One of my hands down favorite fruits. When you get a good, ripe one in season it's one of the best things ever.

After trying to determine if the correct plural spelling was "mangos" or "mangoes" (many say both are acceptable, btw...however, blogspot tells me that "mangos" is incorrect), I ran across an interesting fact on Wikipedia...

Mango peel and sap contain urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and can cause a rash and other side effects in certain people.

Yikes! Thank goodness I'm not one of those people.

26 : sterling malvasia bianca wine

On my first trip to Napa with an old bf, I was told we needed to experience the Sterling winery. While their wine isn't favored by many wine enthusiasts, most people agree that the vineyard and view is pretty spectacular. I have to agree that most of the wines I tried there were just ok, I really fell in love with their sweet desert wine, Malvasia Bianca. Needless to say a few bottles managed to make their way back with me...

Fast forward a few years and the bottles are long gone. Thankfully in December, the bff and I scored an amazing Living Social deal and quickly made a reservation to take advantage of the offer. A chilled bottle has been sitting in my fridge for a few weeks now, just waiting for a girl's night in.

25 : kai perfume

I typically gravitate towards the fresh, light scent of citrus when it comes to perfume. I'm not one of those overly flowery kinda girls... I mean who really wants to smell like walking potpourri? Not me.

But now I take it all back. I still don't want to smell like fake flower potpourri, but I realized that not every floral based perfume needs to stink. Last year I was introduced to Kai, and I fell in love. First of all, their clean white and green packaging is gorg. Secondly, I absolutely love the smell of gardenias. It's like heaven in a little white package. Apparently other people agree. Almost every time I wear this out, people comment on it and want to know where they can score their own bottle.

24 : you smell

Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. I'm not saying every day, all day should be one big comedy show, but sometimes it's nice to let your hair down and have fun. Lovely products that are designed beautifully and are fun, are my perfect reminder to not take everything so seriously.

And the soap products over at You Smell, definitely brought a smile (and chuckle) to my day. There is some lovely packaging and web design happening over there. The vintage, textural feeling of their site makes me want to look at it all day. And the playful idea and beautiful label on their packaging (plus an inside joke I have with my bff) make me want this. Bad.


And since I know you read this, it seems fitting... p u you smell :p

23 : upside down, left to right

I love this short film on letterpress. It made me massively miss that little crackle when rolling out the ink with a brayer... I crave to be back in the studio, but of course, life (well, work) gets in the way far too often. Maybe some day.


Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

22 : cuddle bug

There are some wonderful things about having a home studio. And some not-so-wonderful things as well. I don't love that days can pass where I don't leave the house. That I can sit in front of my computer in the morning, and when I finally look away from it, it's dark out. But I do love that I can work in my pjs, on my bed or at my desk. But most of all, I love looking down at this cute face, cuddled in my lap as I work.

21 : cement ampersands

I notice a lot of details when I'm out in the world. Maybe because of the type of designer I am. Maybe it's because sometimes I'd rather focus on the parts rather than the whole. Either way, sometimes I find immense beauty in the tiniest of details. Be it bright orange fungus on a single rose leaf, sewer covers, and even the pg&e stamps in the cement.

Photographing these with my iphone actually gave me a new appreciation of concrete in general. The different textures, colors, cracks, etc....it's all quite beautiful actually...

20 : truffle salt

I love truffles...not the chocolate kind, but the "the fruiting body of an underground mushroom" commonly found by "truffle hogs", aka pigs kind.

So when browsing at UniqueLA's winter show, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try Hepp's Gourmet White Truffle Salt. One tiny taste and I was in love. It's not as salty as you'd think given that it is in fact flavored salt.

A simple grilled steak finished with a sprinkle of truffle salt equals absolute deliciousness.

19 : lotus candle holder

A gift from my Dad & Betsy, from none other than cb2

I love me some candles. Especially ones that smell good. Every night for the past few weeks I've lit this little beauty. Love.

18 : perfect gifts

Sometimes you wind up with an odd gift from a loved one. Something you know is headed to the back of the closet or straight to the Goodwill. Other times, you get something that is absolutely perfect for you.

While it isn't easy to admit, I'm a worrier. Like sick to my stomach, worry. Not about everything thankfully. But my over-working mind has a tendency to do just that, over work. So on Christmas when I unwrapped this little gem I couldn't help but smirk. A worry doll. A huge one (by comparative standards). My mom knows me oh-so-well (most of the time).

And while I hope I don't have to use her (much), she serves as a reminder that sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

17 : new place

From the first time I saw it, I was in love with my new apartment. It feels so comfortable and homey, it's hard to believe I've only been here for a few weeks. And while the on-site manager is a little nuts-o, boxes still adorn my living room and fill the closets, and I need more furniture to fill my huge living room, giz and I are super happy here and that's all I can ask for.

16 : first dinner

Seared Ahi...yum!

I used to love to cook. When I was younger I had a huge binder full of recipes and when my dad would come home, dinner would be started. When I lived with my long-time boyfriend, I cooked more chicken breasts than I want to admit (it was his favorite). But after the break-up, cooking for one just wasn't fun. It seemed like a headache and a hassle not to have someone to share it with. Sure, I cook occasionally, but not like I used to.

Luckily a trip to Whole Foods snapped me out of my funk, and for the first time since I lived in my new place (all of 2 weeks), I cooked myself an actual dinner. Nothing frozen or microwaved. And while it still is nice when there's someone to share it with, cooking whatever I want, not do the dishes right away, eating in front of the tv, and drinking a glass of wine with dinner, is pretty amazing.

15 : cb2

Since the move, I've been obsessed with Crate & Barrel and CB2. Obsessed. I love the clean lines with a hint of style. And their customer service? Amazing. My furniture purchases have been super painless (carrying up said furniture upstairs, by myself, not so painless). I only wish that there was a CB2 closer...

14 : orchids

I can't grow or keep plants alive no matter how hard I try. I've been successful very few times in my life and eventually forget about them, water them too much, they get bugs, etc... and they end up in the trash.  Proud, no. But sometimes you have to face the facts.

Even with my not-so-stellar record, that never stops me from stalking the orchid display at Trader Joes. I'm always on the hunt for a plant loaded with flowers and buds. A week ago, I spotted a beauty. One flower stalk? Psh. Try 4. And amazingly all the buds are blooming. Even the ones at the very tips. How long said plant will live? Who knows. But for a few weeks anyway, it'll serve it's purpose and look gorg next to the tv.

13 : yoga

Photo from ilikeiwishiheart.blogspot.com

Almost 10 years ago I took a yoga class. It was a Friday morning and all I can remember is that the class was full of "mature" adults and how incredibly relaxed I felt afterwards.

So when I moved right across the street from the the place the class was held, I figured I'd give it a shot again. This time, in the evening, so that relaxed feeling would be welcoming after a long day.

So yesterday I grabbed my new yoga mat and walked down to class. This time around, the class definitely wasn't what I remembered. Most of the people had just gotten off of work, and this beginning class? Not so much. It wasn't until almost the end of class did she realize she should show us the poses instead of just calling them out.

While I didn't leave feeling all relaxed and ready for bed, I did feel good. Tired, but good. And since it's only a 2 month class, we'll see what the other 7 weeks bring.

12 : it wasn't broken

This morning I had quite a scare. I grabbed my laptop, turned it on and... Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. Sh!t.

After several attempts I rushed off to MacMall (sightly hyperventilating). Luckily, the Mac genius pushed a few buttons and on it went.

Seeing that screen light up made me want to do a happy dance. I didn't even mind getting scolded for putting my computer to sleep and for having an enormous amount of files on my desktop.

11 : the smell of coffee

I have a confession to make. I'm probably the world's worst coffee maker. Yup, it's true. Scoop in coffee, add water, push button. Simple right? Not so much. I either make it too weak, or like mud.

But lately I've found myself craving a cup after my morning walk with the bug. Have I now perfected the perfect cup? No. Do I feel competent enough to offer a visitor a cup? Not a chance. Does my apartment smell yummy? Sure does.

10 : colors of nature

I've been told more than once that I notice things that most people don't. And I'm sure that more than once someone looked at me crouched on the ground with my camera out, wondering wtf I'm photographing. But while you're focused on your cabs and chards in Napa, I see this (in between tastings of course)...

If my iphone had macro capabilities, I'd be even more in love.

 ...and I realize that even after 2 weekend trips to Napa (and countless bottles of Napa wine consumed), I'm more than a little ok with not knowing the difference between a cab and merlot, when I get to see beauty like this.

09 : diy flower scarf

Ever since I was little I loved arts & crafts. Making things always felt so natural. When I saw this DIY scarf on Pintrest, I knew I could put that extra felt in the closet to good use. So while I should have been packing for the move, I was cutting felt circles galore. Eventually I wised up, put the felt away and packed. Now that the move is (basically) over, I think it's time to finish this baby up.

Photo from watchmedaddy.blogspot.com

Want to make your own? Click here.

08 : pintrest

 

I have a mild obsession with pintrest.com right now... ok, ok, so I admit, it's more like a full blown obsession. I seriously love that I can take any image I find online, on any website, and "pin" it to my pintrest board. All those recipes I want to make one day. Pinned in one location. The cool gadgets/book/object I can't live without. Pinned. A collection of cool ampersands I find on the web. Done. Simply amazing.

My Ampersand Love board...as of tonight

If you want to check out dmmh's pins, click here.

07 : jellyfish tank

I just fell in love. Hardcore. I am absolutely in love with the beauty of jellyfish. They're graceful and whimsical, and oh-so-mesmorizing to watch. Last year for my birthday, my bff took me to the Long Beach Aquarium since they had an exhibit that allowed you to TOUCH jellyfish! Yes friends, I touched some (non-stinging) moon jellies. And even though they don't really feel like anything, it was amazing.

Which brings me to today's post...

A "fish" tank specifically designed for jellyfish! How freaking cool is that?!? Pretty sure I NEED this.

06 : gizmo's adaptation

Change can be hard. It can be even harder when your brain power can't process or understand what's happening. So when Giz and I stayed in our new place Tuesday night, I was worried he wouldn't handle it well. It's not like I could explain to him what was happening.

Luckily it looks like he's a super-adaptable little guy (well, as long as he can see/sit with/sleep with me), and that makes me one super happy girl.

05 : how to create a ligature

Sometimes us designers have a strange sense of humor. And sometimes things like this...

© David Schwen

...make us laugh out loud.

FYI...A typographic ligature is where two or more characters are joined together to make a single glyph (fi, fl, ff, ffi, ffl, are some examples). When done correctly, they create a beautiful, and simplified character.

04 : house industries

House Industries has some major designer eye candy. Their "trailer" is no different. 4 minutes of beautiful type, texture, and amazing detailed shots. Love this.

Click above to watch on House Industries website

03 : fab.com

Lately I've been obsessed with fab.com; a website featuring "daily design inspirations and sales". I do find the fact that you have to be invited to, or request an invitation to, a little odd, but I love checking to see what new products they feature and what deals I can score.

I have seen some ah-maze-ing stuff and I look forward to filling up my new digs with some awesome finds.

02 : sushi happy hour

I always look forward to food adventures with my bestie. There are few things better than a good conversation over good food. And while we have quite a few places in our rotation, a sushi craving generally means a trip to RA in the Del Amo Mall.

Edamame, seared tuna, various rolls and sake sangria. Super yum. And you can't beat the amazing prices during happy hour.

Photo from www.rasushi.com

01 : good luck

Since the happy posts of 2010 went over so well, it looks like we're starting again in 2012! From big to small and everything in between, the next 365 days will feature a bit of happy that graced this designer's life. Starting with Day 01...

The start of a new year means one thing to me: Vasilopita; a semi-sweet bread, which contains a hidden coin that gives good luck to the receiver. A Greek tradition my family has partaken in for as far back as anyone can remember (well over 100 years!).

Even though it was difficult making the bread this year without my great grandma beside my grandma and I, I know she was there in spirit. I still miss her terribly. Her love, traditions, sayings and voice still carry on in my head and heart, and for that, I'm grateful.

Our beautiful, pre-baked smaller loaves

Despite my best efforts to actually have someone receive the coin (we cut the pan into 6 ginormous pieces, one for each of us), the universe had different plans. The coin was right between two pieces. Meaning... two winners: this girl and her uncle. Bring on the good luck!

The coin, complete with cut mark

 
So readers, here's to a year of good health, growth, happiness, family & friends, and of course, good luck.