artist: coco morier

I’m so excited for this collection and also to see Todd Oldham’s creativity again! (and… get out of the way kid, those large diamond shaped crayons are mine!) (via A Bullseye view)

Happy friday my friends! Project SB is coming along… Here’s another sneak peek: I picked up this cute little fish cup at an antique mall that seemed the perfect catch-all for coins and other random things.

I just had a good ol’ friend stay over the past few days with me. The weather has been sunny but crisp, and we’ve been enjoying the walks with Pepé on the beach. I’m gonna leave you with a few snaps we took and hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Some nice graphics from Wellen. Available here.

Something really fresh about these pillows from Organic Shine Society (via mike mcdowell on Pinterest) btw, follow my pins here!

artist: the asteroids galaxy tour

Great fresh colors and clean modern shapes continue at Spring/Summer 2012 from Ferm Living. Check out so much more in their newest catalog called the “Bright Issue”. (images by fermliving)

I noticed the other night at Target, that their new home collections were being put out. There’s three main themes for Spring 2012: Modern Morocco, Bullseye Bodega, and Golden Days.

Modern Morocco is, well, modern morocco. Lots of red, black, ethnic inspired textures, but simplified and very graphic. My favorite pieces are the color blocked vases.

Bullseye Bodega feels like it’s catering to the more glam/Hollywood Regency customer, but updated in the red/turquoise palette. The geometric sculpted candles in grey and red had a real nice texture that I could see myself buying as a quick accent.

Finally, their “Golden Days” theme is the most romantic of the bunch. Very vintage inspired with a mix of picture frames, florals and birds. I love the gold graphic touches like the metallic pouf/ottoman and the chevron lampshade.

Have you seen these in-stores? You can check out the online selections here (Modern Morocco, Bullseye Bodega, Golden Days) See anything you like?

Sometimes I see smiles. Do you see ‘em too?

so epic. so amazing. have a great weekend y’all!

Subtly complex, deceptively simple, and all ’round stunning work of Kees Goudzwaard. Check out so much more here. (via present correct fb page)

sexy form. sexy colors. “hidria” vases designed by Stafania Vasques for Diamantini & Domeniconi

Oh so many pretty things in the new CB2 catalog. Love the happy colors. They’re making this back-to-work tuesday a little easier… (at least on the eyes!) Clockwise from top left: pixel rug, naxos dinnerware, scape pillow, broad stripe throw, hitch marigold stool

Happy New Year! It’s the first monday of the year and what better way than a bright happy fresh yellow kitchen featured on the cover of the January 2012 Martha Stewart Living. I love the cobalt blue tile backsplash with the light wood and white, but what I’m really drawn to is the lowered storage shelf action happening underneath the counter- genius! photo via Martha Stewart January 2012

So… I guess this is going to be my last post…
of 2011!!?
Wow- What a wacky and wonderful year it has been. I thought it’d be fun to take a quick whirlwind tour of some of my favorite highlights from 2011… So… let’s start at the beginning…

January 2011 started out with a whole lotta awesome press lovin’ for dear ol’ Happy Mundane:
• My humble abode was featured in the Spring 2011 DIY ideas magazine. Will at Bright Bazaar has some larger pics, which you can check out here.
• Riviera Magazine named yours truly on their OC hot list!
• 2011 was also the year that introduced me to the life changing Pinterest, and the kind folks there did a little Pinterview with me. Check out the interview here and you can follow my pin boards here.
• One more major highlight in January was this video of Jerry and Eveyln Ackerman. They had a show at the LA Craft and Folk Art Museum. If you missed it, you must check out this video. They are so amazing and inspiring.

• In February 2011, I posted about the striking work of Scholten & Baijings for Hay. I love their playful and bold use of color! Looking forward to seeing what they have in store for 2012! Check out their work here.

• March 2011 was another milestone month. It was the 5 year anniversary of starting this mundane blog! (woo hoo!!) My obsession with all things neon also continued with these salt & pepper shakers by Thierry Distria and the tape-magic-awesome-ness of Askash Nihalani.

• In April 2011, I started groovin’ to the sounds of Vanbot. If you’re a fan of Robyn, you should definitely check Vanbot out. (also love their cover artwork by Samuel Axelsson). I also made some progress in my slow effort to cook more, I made my first poached egg! Sadly, I still have not perfected the process as each time seems to be a 50/50 chance of success… but I’m still trying! 2012 will be the year of poached egg mastery!

• May 2011 was an important month. I took an impulsive trip to Arizona again, this time visiting the lovely city of Tucson. The main purpose was to visit the Biosphere2, but I also had a chance to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s incredible Taliesen West. The impact of everything I saw and learned from that trip was the seed that eventually lead to the development of a big new project which will be launched in 2012- more details coming very soon! Another thing I enjoyed on this trip was just being able to drive aimlessly on the desert roads. The scenery was breathtaking.

• June 2011 saw the release of the third issue of the J3 zine, At Your Leisure! The theme for J3:Z3 is “Cultivate”. There are still some issues available here, so get your copy now!. Issue #4 (the final installment of the series) will come out in Spring 2012. Here is the teaser video we made for #3.

• July 2011 had one of my most popular posts ever. A stunning photo of grains of sand magnified. It just goes to show what beauty can be found when you really look close.

• I got to visit the great city of Portland at the end of August 2011. I took a ton of photos, but the cool graphic murals on the Pendleton headquarters really caught my eye.

• Finally we come to Fall 2011. Every October I try to do some sort of pumpkin centerpiece, and this year I decided to do a happy- drippy- greeny- halloween-y. My drippy glazed pumpkins were inspired by ceramic pottery pieces. Check em out here and the centerpiece here.

• I also have to give a big thanks to West Elm for having me on their recently launched blog, Front & Main. You can read my interview here.

• Which brings us to November 2011. Project SB… a whole new chapter for me and it’s only going to get better as we head into 2012. Over the past few weeks there’s been a ton of progress and fun projects and I’ll start sharing them starting next week. I’m looking forward to new adventures of all kinds there and hope you’ll join along with me!

• Finally that brings us back to today. The last day of 2011. I hope all of you had a great holiday. In case you missed it, you can check out both of my trees (bright and geo in OC and gold and glam in SD) by just scrolling down a little. The above were just some of my favorites, but you can check out all of the other posts in the archives on the right side.

I just want to thank you again for taking time out of your day to check in. All your emails and comments are so very appreciated. I do this every so often, but end of the year is as good a time as any: I’d love to know where you’re reading this blog from! If you could be so kind, please leave a comment below and let me know what city/country you’re in!

Pepé and I wish each of you a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012 wherever you may be!

You can also find me on twitter , pin boards (follow), and facebook (or click the “like” button on the right) or add me as a friend.

As I catch up on blogs, mags, shows, friends, basically everything- during this break, um… Let’s just take a few minutes to oogle at the amazing-ness of Hilary Swank’s Manhattan apartment featured in the December 2011 Elle Decor. The weathered wood wall and the off-colored olive painted shelving unit is so inspired.

Check out the entire spread at Elle Decor. (images by Simon Upton for Elle Decor)

Seasons Greetings from Solana Beach! As with tree #1, here it is with all the lights on… ooh… so warm and shiny.

To compliment, I kept the other decorations around the house pretty simple. A clear glass vase of holiday berry branches and a simple wreath (above), and just some glass votive holders that have gold specs inside to tie it back to the tree…

It was really fun (if not a bit crazy!) to have two different trees and looks this year, but I guess two different locations call for that. I’m excited to share the spaces with friends and family this Christmas and just want to thank YOU for stopping by and sharing in the fun of making them! I hope you have a warm, safe, and festive holiday.

I’ll be posting sporadically throughout next week so check back for more mundane musings! You can also find me on twitter , pin boards (follow), and facebook (or click the “like” button on the right) or add me as a friend. I’m know I’ll be spending a lot of time there during the next week! Thanks again for all your support of this little mundane blog over the years and best wishes for a fantastic 2012!

Because tree #2 is in a completely different locale, it requires a completely different state of mind and direction. Ever since the tree of ’07, I’ve had a newfound appreciation for gold (I’d normally be one for silver). While working on Project SB, gold has also made a strong presence (all of which I’ll share shortly) so it just made sense that the ornaments for this tree follow suit.

I actually found my starting inspiration piece in the accessories section of Forever21! While gathering props and styling things for a recent photoshoot, I spied this necklace that has this crudely wrapped chain around it. It goes along with the whole wire-wrapped gem trend, like these on etsy. It also reminded me of a lot of the things that Kelly Wearstler and Dwell Studio have been doing lately. I love this bauble box and this tubular sculpture and orb object. So it was settled… We’re going gold and glam!

I spent a lot of time in the jewelry making department of the craft store. As seen here, I picked up a bunch of gold wire, chain, faux stones and also some packs of faux “ice” acrylic cubes and gem vase fillers.

I played around with several types of ornaments. I spray painted small wood cubes a satin black and stuck a decorative nail head (normally used for upholstery) on each side. I also cut up some leftover straws from the OC tree, and hot glue gunned them together into clusters and spray painted them a shiny gold.

I really wanted to do some wire wrapped gems/rocks. This simple idea turned out to be the hardest! It took a lot of trial and error to get the wire to stay wrapped around them without uncoiling or popping off. I was talking about my wire drama, to my friend Mary Jo. She suggested that many people drill a small starting hole to secure the wire in before you start to wrap. Sadly this information was not at hand when I was putting these together, but I did find that the faster I attempted to wrap the wire, the easier it was for it to stay put.

Anyway, I do like how they turned out. A little primitive glamour and the mini chains added a nice variety in the lengths of the ornaments on the tree!

artist: Rihanna