More on Palm Springs: The modern tour

One of the coolest things about Palm Springs isn't the 87 golf courses or the insane, burning heat. It's the mid-century modern homes. They are truly to die for. We printed out some map of the supposed best houses to check out, and realized pretty quickly that just driving around produced some jaw-dropping results.

This is what it looks like if you live in a fancier Palm Springs house. That view! I always had a half an eye on the ground, though, because I don't like scorpions. Or snakes. Or tarantulas. Luckily, I saw none.

Now this place was just one I happened by. It appears to have a crazy 80s metallic door. Awesome!

This I believe is Elvis and Priscilla's honeymoon hideaway or some such nonsense. It did not thrill me all that much.

This house I loved for its clean lines and, well, whiteness.

And my favorite of all, this cute little unassuming one in charcoal gray with bright fushia and orange flowers outside. Perfect!

Here's a great resource for a self-guided tour of the mid-century homes in Palm Springs. I think it would also be great to check out Modernism Week if you were so inclined. It's next week, so get your tickets quick!

And if you're not sure what mid-century modern architecture is, or why it's still relevant, check out this blog's 10 Forgotten Lessons of Mid-Century Modern Design. I wish I had a cool mid-century house. Ho-hum, I guess my 70s ranch will have to do for now!

New favorite band: Field Report

My friend's band Field Report has a new album coming out. I'm kind of in love with it. I hope you'll check it out!

Look what I made: Fall display

Last weekend I was in Palm Springs. It was 107 the first day I got there. Today, I woke up and looked at the thermometer and it was 36. Thirty six. Like, a couple degrees above freezing. So, I guess that, and the fact that it literally is now fall, make me think more about picking pumpkins and eating apple pie than hitting the pool.

I gathered up a bunch of things the kids and I have been collecting around the house and neighborhood and threw them on a cute little tray I had stashed away. It took me about 6 minutes, and I think it turned out cute, right?

 (pictured here: a sunflower from our garden, a bird's nest that fell out of the tree, some cattails from down at our park, pinecones, a Delicata squash, and a mini pumpkin all on a cute vintage tray)

That's my idea of good decorating. It takes under 10 minutes, costs nothing, and looks like Martha Stewart lives here.

Got any other good fall decorating ideas?

Momcation 2012: The Ace Hotel Palm Springs

Recently I got to take a trip to Palm Springs.My friend was getting married, then he wasn't. And he didn't.  It's a long story. But my girlfriend and I already had our flight arrangements and, well, it just couldn't be prevented. Oh, darn. Must take trip to lovely city and stay at amazing hotel (puts back of hand to forehead and swoons). While we were there, we talked about our friend and his unfortunate marriage outcome, and yes, we mourned for him. How better to mourn than in the massive jacuzzi, right? I kid. It sucked to keep thinking about how my friend must have been feeling.

Here's the cuteness that is the Ace hotel

And here's where we played a Scrabble game we picked up at the Angel View Thrift Store till the wee hours of the evening (for us moms that's 10 p.m.)

We ate virtually every meal here at the Kings Highway, because, um, the food ROCKED! It was a-ma-zing. And the vegetarian options were plentiful.

We didn't ride these complementary bikes, but our excuse was that it was 100 degrees the whole time we were there. We did make it to the complementary yoga session, though.

Did I mention the food? Mmmm chilaquiles and coffee. Yes, please.

If you're headed to Palm Springs, you must check out the Ace. When I have a minute, I'll also be posting more about the cutest little Palm Springs road trip, Idyllwild.

Now, where to go on our next momcation?

Saying goodbye to summer

I've been in denial. It can't really be the end of summer, can it? It seems like it just started. I only went to 43 garage sales. I only went swimming 3 times (!!!). I only took the kids to one amusement park. Only went mini golfing twice. It can't possibly be over. Oh, but it is. Luckily, I do love fall, cuz here it comes.

The icy water of Lake Michigan

 

Flip flop tan

Digging it

Looking for shells

Our "fort"

Happy end of summer everyone!

Save the world: at the thrift store

Last night I got sucked in to the documentary about No Impact Man, the guy from New York who tried to live for one year making the smallest environmental impact he and his family possibly could. At the time, a lot of people basically poked fun at how he and his family could go with out essentials like toilet paper. One of the components of his "experiment" was to not buy anything new. As I watched, I thought about how shopping at the thrift store (or garage sale, estate sale, etc.) instead of the "regular" store can help us all make a smaller environmental impact.

Here are my ideas for how an average person make a smaller environmental impact without having to go without toilet paper:

Buy cloth napkins and stop buying paper ones

These ones I found on Esty are cute. We only use paper for parties, so we have about 20 - 30 cloth napkins for our family of 4 (so we don't have to do laundry all the time).

Get some great kids toys that are washable and have lots of life left

These building blocks are a great example. They are cleanable, cute, and at least with my little ones are sure to get years of play.

Dishes

When I worked at the thrift store in high school (name is opposite of Badwill), dishes that didn't get purchased after a certain amount of time ended up in the trash. Broken, filling up landfills. It's really hearbreaking to see all those dishes get trashed when I know people go out every day and buy brand new stuff at Crate and Barrel or wherever. Why? The thrifty stuff has character, is cheaper, and works just as well.

Books, books, and more books

Okay, so you probably won't (although you may) find the latest bestseller at the thrift store, you can find tons of great books -- cookbooks, fiction, kid's books, gardening, etc. -- at the thrift store for cheap. The library is great, too, but if you find books at the thrift store you can always see if your library wants them (or your friends/coworkers) when you're done. Or, donate them to an organization who needs them.

Clothes, duh

I buy almost all of my clothes secondhand. I can't tell you how many expensive brand-name items I've picked up this way. Banana Republic, Dansko, J Crew, you name it. I also find great kid's clothes with fancy brand names like Hannah Anderson, too. If you can't get out and about, I was just introduced to ThredUp.com, which is an online kid's consignment store. Kids often outgrow stuff before they wear it out, so this is a genius way to trade your kid's old stuff for some "new" stuff that fits. There is an adult version (or lots of them) called SwapStyle.com, but it is truly a swap (rather than a buy/sell deal) so for me I would rather just hit the thrift store than deal with it.

What else could you get from a thrift store, and thus avoid buying new? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Our shop is overflowing!

And it's about to get even fuller. We've been picking up some great stuff this summer but have been too busy to list a lot of it. I'm telling you, LOTS of cool stuff is coming up. We have stockpiles of Christmas holiday vintage goodies that we haven't even sorted through yet. So as fall gets into full swing, expect lots of new stuff arriving daily at the vintage stuff shop.

Hope you had a wonderful summer and a great Labor Day weekend!