The Catalyst

living this way

A collection of the most amazing interiors/exteriors I've seen lately. Along with a bit of the interesting/magical/nonsensical.. 

A perfect dinner party treehouse dining room.

If that castle is still standing on that rock it is magic.

I love the siamese cat painting above the window.. cozy cozy.

Gorgeous, other-worldly.

Sweeeet pad, dude.

This room charms my socks off. That is one happy plant. Look at those beautiful big leaves.

Exotic Minimal Lovely

Yes, I'd drink coffee here everyday.

I heart greenhouse inspiration.

Do I like loud patterns/loud colors/cool fireplace/sweet windows? Yes.

Woodsy creative spaces are the best.

I am obsessed with treehouses if you didn't already notice..

Densely beautiful patterns are everywhere.

Futuristic color pods pop up.

Looks good enough for James Bond.

Fun with geometry.

Rustic natural minimalist perfection.

Carpet/drapery pattern-continuation always works for me.. so does bulbous furniture and pendant lamps.

Fancy Fun

Brilliant stairs.

Hi, I want to swing in you.

Precious stones with Googlie eyes.. so rad. More at Trust Fun

Loving these moods and colors.

David looking stunning. Very pretty.

All images via (either) : The Way We Live or Jules and Nicho

Commune Design or The Selby

 

desert hummingbird shrine

Photos from last weekend's adventure to a Geodesic Dome Home in Joshua Tree. I brought a beautiful dead hummingbird I found in my driveway. I think the neighbor's cat may have left it for me as a present. I also came prepared with lots of fake flowers and shiny, colorful things to give him a proper burial. Andrew found the perfect desert-dried gourd for him to R.I.P. in.

Dome Warrior Tribes

I was all about extensive documentation of this site. Below are my favorite shots of me and Luc.

The Dome Home from the outside.

Dome Pool Party 2009. Ah, the cameras didn't make it out for that. But here's how it looked before.

design synthesizer

by Emma Kunz

Which reminds me.. It's been a while since I've posted a 70's-deco David Palladini Aquarian card .. 

Meanings:

Temperance ----- Harmony ----- Balance ----- Joining forces ----- Well-being ----- Equilibrium ----- Transcendence ----- Unification ------ Synthesis ----- Bringing together opposites 

Emma Kunz was tapped into her swiss design roots. I have Emma Kunz on my mind today.. "Born into a family of Swiss weavers in 1892, visionary artist Emma Kunz created mandala-like grids which she regularly used as instruments of healing. Abstract, lush, enigmatic and illusionistic, each diagram was reportedly drawn by Kunz in a single sitting." via Tomorrowland

So interesting she was born into a family of weavers .. the lines in her drawings could be threads woven together on a loom..

For more .. The Emma Kunz Center

latest lovessss

I wanted to share some of my favorite finds this month.. from an amazing wedding photographer to a treehouse restaurant, books, a car.. in complete disregard for organization.. just wonders I have found and/or pulled onto my desktop.. I will try to reference as best I can.. 

Japanese movie poster for Paris Je Taime. LOVE.

New Zealand Treehouse restaurant. A dream come true. Yellow Tree House

A little peak into the lovely, vintage-inspired portfolio of the wedding photographer that I just booked.. I am so excited, the amazingly talented Noa of feather love photography

The above engagement session photos by Noa feature a lovely fellow-blogger, Emilia Jane of Auburn and Ivory ... It made my day to see she posted some of my illustrations.

Noa shares my vision to make a few of the wedding photos look like a 70's album cover. Love her shots of Astra. Love their music, too.

1980 Citroen. Future is then.

Trinie Dalton was already one of my favorite contemporary writers -- Wide Eyed and A Unicorn is Born are two books I read and reread and cannot bear to lend out, but give as gifts -- now she has outdone herself with this cover. An Anthology of modern writers with a wigged cat. Mythym, yes please. For sale at picture box

Going to a Geodesic dome home in Joshua Tree for a little weekend getaway next month.. been Dome-Crazy, eyeing the likes of these..

And I go full circle with a treehouse that IS a geodesic dome found in the article The High Life from Dwell.com

Or, you know, just float in a sphere among the trees.

los alamos ghost townies

Luc and I spend the weekend celebrating our 4 year anniversary in the small whimsy stagecoach town of Los Alamos in the Santa Ynez valley. We stayed in the Egyptian Suite at the Victorian Mansion B & B  .. here are some of my favorite scenes.

Hi Bullwinkle

entering the vortex

solvang

And I also want to share some recent "It's a Small World" happy pix from a recent trip to the Magic Kingdom. I had a perma-smile the whole day.

The inside and outside of that ride is genius, I hope they restore more of the original art rather than replacing it with more disney movie characters.

TAG I'M IT

I was tagged by Kime Buzzelli at The Moldy Doily

The rules are:

1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.
2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.

this mantle picture is from the selby

if I could transform one of my rooms I'd like to pick one from above

What is your current obsession? working from home .. it's the best way to spend the work day

What do you see outside your window? lots of tree tops, hills, telephone wires

if you could have any super power what would it be? to fly

What is your favorite color? puce. no .. lately it is off-white * cream, or blue, or gold..

Who was the last person you hugged? Luc

which animal would you be? meow
What’s for dinner? a big box of takeout from India Sweets and Spices - Luc, Devon, Romeo, and Zeus are in on this
What was the last thing you bought? a birthday card for Linkie
What are you listening to right now? Cocteau Twins, p.s. my cat loves Victorialand by Cocteau Twins, he gets soooo relaxed ;)
What is your favourite weather? 73 degrees and sunny
What’s on your beside table? a stack of books, a picture of me at age 6 holding my first kitten
Say something to the person/s who tagged you. thanks Kime, I loved your answers -- some of ours are similar! I had lentils yesterday, I also have big enamel vintage flowers hanging on my bedroom wall (not to mention one of your paintings), and I would want a house in Paris or Barcelona (just watched Vicky Christina Barcelona... hello, gorgeous). I also just watched Psych Out, little different than Spaced Out, but close.
If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? PARIS or BARCELONA :) or Melbourne, Australia. or in my neighborhood.
What is your favorite children's book? The Sweet Touch and anything by Roald Dahl or Shel Silverstein. One of my prized possessions is my signed copy of Maltilda.

A book you're currently reading? Jenny and the Cat Club (yes, that is a real book with MY name and CAT CLUB on the cover) Looks great next to my Grace Coddington's "The Catwalk Cats" book

Let me remark how this one is especially special -- my mom "adopted" 2 brothers after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their house. They are my age, and live on their own, but they're my brothers now. And Jenny the cat -- same thing.

What would you like to have in your hands right now? Millions of dollars

what is your favorite tea flavor? Chai tea from Friendship Tea
What is your favorite article of clothing: lately... my London Fog Grandpa Cardigan is so cozy... er um, but I just bought the most festive patterned Marc Jacobs picnic dress at Buffalo Exchange... I am excited for picnics and parties in the warm weather
If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Bora Bora
What did you want to become as a child? Ballerina
What posters/pictures do you have on your bedroom wall? big vintage metal enamel flowers

What is your plan for tomorrow? I have a meeting in Santa Monica for Learning Encounters, then going to lunch, working with my Creative Director at her studio in Malibu, then a meeting with her for our 12301 Wilshire project... whew. Friday... Disneyland!

-----------------------------------

You're tagged:

Ra Ra Shishboombah (fb)

Cassandra Berner (fb)

Jenelle Campbell (fb)

http://ilovecatparty.blogspot.com/

Elise Deitch (fb)

http://www.pop-pervert.com/

http://jbtaylor.typepad.com/

Britain Miller (fb)

TOKYO HAS CAT CAFES!

Dear Blog,

I am sorry to have abandoned you for weeks now. The good news is that I was so busy working on projects using my computer I just didn't have time to work on you b/c then I would never ever leave the computer. I had to go for walks, pet real cats, have fun, etc. I am so glad Jenelle just posted a link to you so I have a reason to get back in action. Spring is coming, I promise I've been saving some good stuff. Oh, speaking of good stuff, Jenelle also posted an article about a Japanese Cat Cafe! I think we need one in L.A.....

Okay so I copied and pasted this article from reuters.com

The 14 felines-in-residence at Tokyo's Cat Cafe Calico excel at their job of making customers purr with delight.

"This place isn't on my way from work, but even if I'm pretty tired, I'd still stop by," said 32-year-old system engineer and a Calico regular Kazunori Hamanaka, as he tried to take a photo of a white and brown Bengal cat curling up in a box.

Calico is one of at least three cafes that have opened up in Tokyo this year where visitors can mingle with cats as they enjoy a cup of tea.

Takafumi Fukui, the 34-year-old owner and a long-time cat lover, quit his job at a television game company and started the cafe in March.

"In Tokyo, it's not that easy to have cats," he said, explaining that tight housing regulations often forbid pets.

Visitors to Calico pay 800 yen ($7) an hour or 2,000 yen for three hours in a big room where 14 well-brushed and shampooed cats hang out. After a thorough handwash, the visitor can play with the cats, read comics or just relax.

The clean, odorless cafe -- Calico has six air fresheners and the litter trays are out of sight -- gets about 70 visitors a day during the week and 150 a day at weekends.

"I want everyone to forget about their jobs and relax," Fukui said, adding that the majority of visitors to Calico are working women and children, and about 70 percent overall don't own cats due to allergies or housing regulations.

None of Calico's cats are strays, but the cafe puts up posters for abandoned cats seeking homes. Pet dumping is a problem in Japan, where about 240,000 cats and 160,000 dogs without owners are gassed each year, government data showed.

The Calico cats are fortunate to have their admirers.

"It is really soothing," Hamanaka said about his frequent visits. "Even three hours is not enough."

Some of these pix are from Inventor Spot

(SOME) CATS LOVE BROCCOLI

House Industries has a slew of awesome products with Alexander Girard's brilliance all over the place. He is one of my favorite designers. This kitty/broccoli combo is nice. Chester went nuts for the smell of broccoli, but just kind of scattered it everywhere and didn't eat it.

PURRRRRFUME

Loving the big cat eyes and scribbly kittens.

And more vintage flat cat art...

CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG

From a series of Chester destroying my Valentine's gift bag. This is his most artistic shot. More to come..