Quote of the Week - Edgar Allan Poe

Stacy Reynaud

Were I called upon to define, very briefly, the term "Art", I should call it, "the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul."

Scent - The Harbinger of the Unspoken

My Mom brings her own soap when she comes to stay at our place. She says I smell like a tree. I use Dr. Bronner's Eucalyptus Liquid Castile Soap, cedarwood essential oil and amber resin. Of course I smell like a tree, and it suits me just fine.

Tip of the Week - Highway Etiquette

When a motorist leaves a foot of snow on top of their vehicle and they travel at approximately 100 km/h, aforementioned snow will propel off the vehicle at approximately 100 km/h (pardon my physics) most likely hitting the rather unfortunate motorist - in this case me - behind them. Please remove snow from your vehicle before you hit the road. Thanks.

Could you pull it off?

Mink iPad cover. Made from 100% recycled fur and leather.

If you could, you should head up here and buy the heaps of vintage fur coats hanging on the racks in thrift stores. You'd make a small fortune.
available online at Shannon South

Design Lover - Greta Magnusson Grossman

estimate $3000 - $4000
result $11,250

estimate $3000 - $4000
result $11,875

estimate $1000 - $1500
result $5000

estimate $2000 - $3000
result $15,000

I would've liked to have been there while this bidding war was going on. Greta Magnusson Grossman was a contemporary of Eames, Schindler and Neutra but her work never garnered the same attention, until perhaps now.

Prices realized October 6, 2011 at Wright auctions, Chicago IL
images © Wright

1979 Manhattan Apartment of Geoffrey Beene

Images via Architectural Digest September 1979, pgs. 89-95

Quote of the Week - Edmund Burke

Manners are more important than laws.
more

For Rent Mid-Century West Vancouver

I'm tired of smelling other people (cigarettes, perfume, cooking) and wiping anonymous hairs out of the washer before I put my clothes in.

West Vancouver Lewis mid-century home rental. image Stacy Reynaud

I took a look at this rental house on Friday. 

I was excited to view it (as were six or seven others) because it was noted on the West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture. It's a Lewis home built in the mid-50s. 

Unfortunately, there was a For Sale sign out front when I arrived. 

In West Vancouver, a For Sale sign translates to, 'You need to tear this house down because it's not big enough to show other people that you think you're rich and therefore really important.' 

A For Sale sign usually means the house is vacant as well. 

By the state this one is in, it has probably been so for at least a year. 

Dandelions were growing out of the hot tub cover, Lynyrd Skynard and Van Halen spray painted on the walls of the 'den,' the living room carpet squished water out of it when I walked, the bathrooms were straight out of Trainspotting, and it stunk like raccoons had been living in it. 

All this for $2300 a month. 

I feel like dropping a note to the realtor who showed it, giving him a piece of my mind.

On Saturday, I took a look at this haunted house. It's located right across from Dundarave Beach. 

It had a self-contained 'suite' downstairs, which would've been perfect as one of our fellow apartment building dwellers is interested in leaving the building with us if we can find the right place. 

Gross, not this one. 

The first floor was workable, although the kitchen cupboards had 74 years of grime. 

The other two, however, oh, my cat. 

Let's just say if I was in university again (i.e. I was 19), had ten friends, lots of incense and hippie blankets, no lovable fluffy senior cat members in my family and only a backpack of possessions, I'd be moving in this week. 

So, for $3500 a month, I'll have to decline as I've already been down that Nag Champa road.

West Vancouver Seawall. Image Stacy Reynaud

What makes 'landlords' think that because you're a renter, you automatically have low standards and aren't worthy of a clean, safe home? 

I love architecture and would love to live in a home that I could proudly point out and explain its architectural significance. 

It's a shame so many sit vacant and uncared for when there are probably 100s of people in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland who feel the same way I do.

West Vancouver Mid-Century Lewis Home. Image Stacy Reynaud

A Lewis home listed on the West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture. In case you're interested, it's at 2707 Rosebery.

I posted some photos of some North Vancouver West Coast midcentury homes we visited last summer on the Bijou Living Facebook page.

Design Lover - Manoteca Desk

Italian design company, Manoteca, repurposes lost industrial items. Obviously, each is one of a kind.
source Manoteca

Much cooler than Hunters

text reads, "Rainy rain, you cannot hurt me. I would not go out without galoshes. Because of Rezinotrest [Soviet rubber-industry trust] every place is dry for me. Sold everywhere." poster by Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1923
source

6 Things I Got Into in 2011

rollerblading, Nickelback, spandex, iCulture, cow print, Charlie Sheen.
You know I'm joking, right?

1. Lindeman's Framboise Lambic
2. Doubling my 1967 Tias Eckhoff for Lundtofte collection.

3. Vintage dinner napkins because new ones feel disgusting on one's skin.
4. Organic Blackstrap Molasses (unsulphured) - In late June I found out I was anemic. My get back to health regime included a morning dose of Floravital, Megafood - Blood Builder, and Chewable Vitamin C ; which was followed in the afternoon by one big spoon of blackstrap molasses in a cup of warm unsweetened almond milk. It worked, I am now attractive to Vampires again.

5. smashing, melting and refrigerating

6. Definitely not a new fixation but I finally found a record player (a cool enough for the MoMa vintage Bang & Olufsen Beocenter 7000 I may add) and pulled out all the old Zeppelin - which is so much better on vinyl.

Quote of the Week - Buddha

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Happy New Year!

Design Lover - Louis Weisdorf Multiposition Pendant Light

images © rewire
designed for Lyfa Denmark, circa 1960s, adjustable shades, brass, last auction price $915 USD
available at rewire

Tip of the Week - The Scented Holiday Room

Pick up some colored vintage glasses from a thrift store, drop some essential oil onto an unlit tea light - for a Christmasy scent use pine, cinnamon, cedarwood and/or mandarin - light it, drop it into a glass and enjoy.

He just asked me what I want for Christmas

1. Leather journal from Erin Templeton or from Czarque for you Australians

2. Lounging attire from James Perse

3. a reasonable facsimile of this lingerie from the 70s

4. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones (he's taken mine over)

5. another white gold bangle

Vintage Pierre Cardin for Men

1980

How to Make Chocolate Cointreau Truffles - Easy Recipe

chocolate cointreau truffles

image Stacy Reynaud

I'm getting pretty good at these smash, melt and refrigerate recipes.

The Cointreau gives the truffles that Terry's Chocolate Orange flavour. 

What you need:

Truffles
• 8 oz well chopped high-quality chocolate (62% cacao or higher)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1-2 tbsp Cointreau

Truffle coating
• cocoa powder
• A little bit of espresso

What you do:

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the whipping cream to a simmer - be sure to stir and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula every few minutes. 

Stir in Cointreau.

2. Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a few minutes, then stir until smooth. 

3. Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for two hours. 

4. Remove and, with a teaspoon, roll out balls. Roll in your hands quickly (it'll melt from the heat of your hands) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. 

5. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Remove from fridge and roll in cocoa powder and espresso blend.

Serve right away or keep in the fridge for a while. 

They taste better at room temperature.

Makes 30-40 chocolate truffles.

Quote of the Week - Ayn Rand

What if I went on strike? What if all the creative minds of the world went on strike?

Currently Listening To - Bert Jansch