Madam, I'm Adam

It's no secret that I am slightly obsessed with all things Gondry. He directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, and tons of super sweet music videos....the guy just speaks my language.

Well, he's done it again. This video is a palindrome, ie. it's the same backwards and forwards (that's my super technical description of a palindrome). I feel the need to confess that I own The Work of Michel Gondry, where he explains how he made the video, as well as having watched it about 20 times. And I don't really understand how it works. But I still love it.

Cibo Matto- Sugar Water [PV]
Uploaded by skanel. - Explore more music videos.

Inspiration Friday: Library Books

I've been on a kick lately of reading great books from the library. So I thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

*Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces. I just started reading this one, and have already gotten a few great ideas. If you don't know about Apartment Therapy, you should check it out. If you live in a small apartment, a small house, or just have a small room and you want some inspiration for decorating it- I think you'll get some clever ideas from this book.

*The Ellements of Personal Style.
I was kind of put off at first by the cheesy play on words (Elle magazine, Ellements...get it?), but this book is pretty fun. Each chapter is about a different fashion icon (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Angelica Huston, Diane Von Furstenburg...) and their style, their homes, and their mammoth closets. Fun.



I've also been enjoying a few lighthearted fiction books:

*Inkheart by Cordelia Funke

Have you seen the movie? (Hellen Mirren. That's all I have to say). It's definitely a book-lovers book. If you're looking for something to read post- Harry Potter, you should pick this up. Let me know what you think!

*The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith

If you haven't read anything by Alexander McCall Smith, please go read the first book from any one of his three main series: 44 Scotland Street, The Sunday Philosophy Club, and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. My favorite is the 44 Scotland Street series. So. Funny. I usually end up telling my sister all the funny things that happen to the characters. It's kind of Wodehouse-y and great if you need a good laugh.

Let me know if you pick any of these books up. Have a good weekend, friends!

Inspiration Friday: The Princess Diaries Firehouse

picture

Guys, I have a confession: I love the Princess Diaries (and really, am I alone?). I watched this movie again this week, and renewed my dream of moving to San Fransisco and living in a converted firehouse. It's gonna happen sometime.

In the movie, Mia (Ann Hathaway) and her mom live in a firehouse-made apartment/studio. It's kind of an odd set-up, so I tried to pay attention this time to what specifically I like about it. Here goes...

picture (and all following pictures)

• Tall ceilings. You can't see it in this picture, but there are finished paintings hanging wayy up on the ceiling. And check out the ladder.
  
• Room for huge paintings. I did my first big collage last year and loved it. But it's not super practical for me to take up our entire kitchen to paint very often.
• Small tables scattered around, for holding art supplies- and coffee.
  
• I like that it's really a studio, office, and living room all in one. But each space is divided nicely to keep them semi-separate.

• 

• Plus I wouldn't mind staying in my pajamas and painting all day. :)

• Lots of things hanging everywhere - this is actually practical for a smaller house, too.

• I like the kitchen colours and checkered floor
• Pictures and lamps everywhere.
• See the mugs hanging on the wall on the left? My roommate and I did that in our dorm room in college. Were we subconsciously influenced by this movie?
  
• See that thing hanging on the wall on the right? That's a real phone. I miss those.
  

• Mia's room: also lots of pictures and lamps (and a spiral staircase- hello!)
• I'm not a huge fan of the mint green and peach wall colours, but I do love the hanging lights and how comfortable the room looks.
  

• a huge chalkboard for the grocery list.
  
• a fireman's pole to slide down on your way to school. Come on, that's cool.
• I also love those big mugs they're drinking out of. Makes me miss the early 2000's.
  

• 

• Look at that red stove. Just look at it.
  
• Ok, those are exactly like my kitchen curtains. Awesome.
  

• The trap door and staircase leading up to the another part of Mia's room.
  

• Plants, paintings, books, printed curtains...a sink just to clean your paintbrushes.
  

• I love how the living room is right in the middle of the studio, but feels like a separate area.
  
• Check out the huge painting on an easel. Can I have one in my living room too?
  

• Alright, side note: there's a scene where Mia and her mom make a painting by pinning balloons filled with paint to canvas, then throwing darts at them. I have plans to do this with my friend Rebecca, and will be back with the results. Doesn't it look like fun?
  

• Mia's room again- isn't it interesting that she has two vanity tables? One on either side of the bathroom door.
  

• The 'office'- pictures, paint supplies, pens in mugs, a tv and a computer. What more could you need?
  

• I love the round tables next to the more square furniture.
  
• a huge oriental rug.
  
• lots of pillows on the couch.
• candles everywhere.
  

So, here's my conundrum. I love this house, and wouldn't mind living there. :) But I'm trying to come up with some ways to implement what I like about it into my own house. The conundrum is: I'm a pretty neat person, and this is a really messy house!
So far I'm planning on re-arranging my desk to have more art supplies out and I'm trying to find a large rug for the living room. And I'll start lighting more candles!
And I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to relax in general about having such a clean house. :)




What do you think? Do you like the Princess Diaries firehouse, or is it to cluttered for you?

Go to sleep and dream of snow

Um. snow. All I can say is snow. Boy, am I ever glad to be inside, with my mom (and electricity!). I looked outside this morning and said, 'boy it doesn't look like it snowed that much.' Then we went outside. I think the Chicago Blizzard of 2011 is living up to the hype.
Are you ready for a tour of our extremely snowy neighborhood?

The gate to our alley (glad I emptied the garbage last night!):

Right outside my door, the snow is waist high:

The stairway down to the basement (oops. I guess I should have done my laundry before the storm):
Our sidewalk out front (plowed!):
That's our garbage woman, walking down the middle of my street with a snow shovel:
There's my car (or lack thereof):
Doesn't this picture almost look like it could be from a hundred years ago?
Standing in the middle of the main street near us:



Heading back inside...
Do you think my netflix will come today?

And back inside to shake off the snow and put the kettle on...
Is it snowing where you live? How are you staying warm?

Gg

This week my lovely mom is doing a giveaway to celebrate one year of blogging. Pop over here to enter to win one of my mixed media collages (you'll love her blog too!).