I Think I Might Actually Like This

This evening I finally got to go on a date with my blog friend, Andrea, as if spending hours talking design with her wasn't enough, she topped it all off by sending me a link to the most insane toiletries I've ever seen.  If I were living in my forever house and never had to worry about resale value, I could actually see myself considering these.  Come on, they're hilarious, right?

Ok, please overt your eyes from the dreadful shower curtain(S!) and brown wall treatment.  Ignore the fact that this is shot in a studio and no one would ever have three little cups perfectly aligned on a chair.  Imagine this GOLD TUFTED BATHTUB (can you believe that sequence of words exists?) in a stark, white modern bathroom.  Kinda awesome, yes?

You can at least go for this seat, right?  Ok, I know it's probably the ugliest seat ever to show it's face on the planet earth, but there's something about it that I just kind of adore.  sorry.

I know you all are hating me right now and trying to delete DC from your RSS feed, but what about white?  Again, please ignore the bead trimmed(!!!) curtains.   And the silver base.  Imagine it in gold.

Almost too nice to pee on.

Incase you're planning to race out and buy one for your own home, these babies are made by Lineatre.  

Thanks, Andrea!  You'll see that other post we discussed on here Monday

Inside Out

For this very, very brief moment in time, the weather in Austin is perfect. Last week dumped buckets of needed rain on the city, leaving such swaths of pastoral verdure (not to be confused with its close friend manure) all around town that I fully expect to see a flock of sheep crossing Congress Avenue whenever I drive downtown. It's so lush and atypically green that I want to live outside all day long. And so the Hunny and I have worked in the yard, barbecued, dined al fresco on patios, and generally lounged like lizards in the sun. All this is well and good, but by the end of the week it's going to be in the mid 90's (yep, it's Texas) and the glory of air conditioning will be our only saving grace. I think what I really need is a glass house so that I can enjoy the beauty of the great outdoors from the temperate, bug free comfort of the cushy indoors.

I suppose this would do for a start.

The Jodlowa House in Krakow, Poland, would suit my need for an interrupted view, plus it has a few added amenities that I think I could make quick use of.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I have lived my entire life without an indoor pool. I have obviously been sorely deprived.

It's ok to be naked in front of the tiny woodland creatures, right? I dream of having a house with neighbors so far away that curtains are totally superfluous.

Also, I feel that if I had such an awesome view, my fingers would be magically inspired to bust out some Beethoven -- never mind that I am musically challenged.

Still I personally like a little more pizazz in my pad, so I'm all about the L House designed by Philippe Stuebi.

I'm not usually into big box houses -- generally preferring low, sprawling structures -- but this house has a seductive mix of light and color that makes me want to break in and lock out the owners. Shouldn't be that hard to get into a glass house, right?

Hubba hubba, do you see what I see?

Yes, that is a glass walled LIBRARY, folks.

And I really don't have the guts to paint a room fuchsia, but it looks so fabulous in an architecturally appropriate setting.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle keeping me from living the outdoor dream is my damn computer, which I am tethered to 24/7. A glassy office would at least allow me to daydream about escape.

I think the most practical solution to that particular dilemma would be to construct a glass office in the woods like this one, designed by Iwan Baan.

Don't these poor workers look like they are suffering terribly, what with the sunny yellow floors, mod furnishings and gorgeous views? Alright, maybe it's better that I don't work here, because I'm quite sure I would be too distracted by the beauty to get anything done.

Luckily, there is an escape hatch for when the going gets tough. Wouldn't want anyone to feel cooped up, now would we?

Since my yard is actually starting to look like this, I think I'm going to use my own escape hatch (ok, plain old door) and do some relaxing outside before the temperature becomes insanely unbearable and the mosquitoes carry me away. Ah, sweet, sweet nature.

Technical Difficulties

Today technology has failed me in every way possible.  Faxes didn't go through (really, why are we even still faxing); cell phone "circuits were busy" (whatever that means); emails refused to send (I'm not kidding, it just said "no"); my BILLING AND INVOICING SOFTWARE DATABASE CRASHED (causing a minor freakout more terrifying than an earthquake with the swine flu - thank god I fixed it and I can pay my mortgage now); the automated postal system at the post office was out of order (leaving a line 20 deep for counter service, which I refused to stand in, so I went home to print shipping labels and the USPS site was down) and, most recently, the internet refused to allow me access to the images I planned to share with you today. My former boss would attribute this to Mercury being in retrograde.  I never believed her, but today was, as the kids say, redonkulus (how do the kids spell it?).  So, I'm done.  I'm checking out.  My husband, who normally holes up in the garage to tinker with some new project, has invited me to snuggle and watch a movie and I am ALL IN.  So, today, you get random pictures from a house I found that looked pretty cool.

I mostly like the bedroom, I think I will do this treatment to my bedroom walls.

(gosh, for a gal who was skipping the blog today, that was a rather long intro)

all photos by Diane Hendrikx via Office for Word and Image

(I scored a hanging light fixture just like that off ebay for $150 for Birds, it is now hanging in their new location on South Congress.  Erin will be photographing it to share with you dudes soon)

Oh, and the little roller ball on my mouse stopped working.  Wish me better luck for tomorrow