The Ace Hotels practically radiate visual inspiration at every turn... but at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs add being at the foot of the mountains in Palm Springs with that crisp desert sky at night as you float in the pool and hot tub ~ only to run out and press the "Make Fire" button on one of the many fire places surrounded by adorably designed chairs as you look up at the Stan Bitters ceramics ~ or wander to the bar where what appears to be the coolest sunglass wearing stuffed bear you will ever see is perched behind the bottles ~ challenging the coolness of the coyote of a mascot above the reception whose silhouette is all around the hotel... and the THINK signage in the lobby "compliments of IBM corporation" is just priceless. OH! And there are yurts too... with beautiful domed skylights colored with geometric gel patterns... and hammocks too! So as you can see, there was too much besides my room, that i couldn't help but share with you... so MANY pictures on the next page. I hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

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Back in March of 2007, Dave Pressler sent over some adorable little Endorphins ~ and ever since, they've moved with me to various homes and always lived under or near my monitors. Who doesn't need some super happy little endorphin critters nearby at all times? Well, he's gone and dissected one of his larger ones, and anyone fascinated with anatomy can't help but to stare at what he's dreamed up is really INSIDE these guys... look at those fangs! And that skull in its... stomach? And that mini spine! It's all so fascinating, go see closeups on the next page!

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On intriguing art that just showed up in my inbox, Moss in association with Edelman Arts presents Remains by Cathy McClure. "Hands wielding scissors, McClure massacres the motor-driven robotic plush toys, eviscerating them through a Geppetto-like taxidermy until she gets down, as she says, 'into the guts of the piece'." The truly amazing part isn't that she guts these toys (didn't we all as kids?) ~ but she then re-casts the parts in bronze and reassembles them! The result is fascinating... is it now high art? is it still a toy? do they still work? Apparently the original circuit boards, batteries, gears, and voice boxes are all re-installed, but you can't help but wonder how those gears will handle the new weight... looking forward to seeing these in person, they will be at Moss in NY November 20th through December 31st, with a quick trip to Miami for Art Basel Dec 2nd through 5th... see more pics and information on the next page.

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On late night art lusting ~ these 4"x 4.5" laser engraved wooden ovals with one of a kind drawings with colored pencil were Audrey Kawasaki's contribution to the give away gift bags at Baby Tattooville (which, yes, i'm very sad i wasn't at this year!)... see a few more of these mini's up close on the next page as well as a stunning medical curiosity themed complimentary limited edition giclee print...

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On upcoming shows i'm rather giddy about ~ SHAG's "Autumn's Come Undone" at the Corey Helford Gallery opens this Saturday, November 21st at 8pm. The press release has me intrigued "For the past decade, Agle's iconic environments and playful narratives have sublimely captured California cool, mid-century modern design and lifestyles of the retro glamourati. His new exhibition "Autumn's Come Undone" represents a turning point for Agle, adopting darker themes and a deeper palette to explore life's excesses. "Something happened to me in the last year - call it an unexpected change-of-heart, if you like, but a lot of the unfettered hedonism my artwork espoused has begun to catch up with me," Agle explains. Somber hues of okra, burnt oranges, and delicate grays, replace Agle's signature acid brights, and as his subjects near the autumn of their lives, they venture away from suburban comforts to embrace a simpler, more authentic way of life." And from the images (a few more sneak peeks on the next page!) i'm excited to see so many animals showing up in this series!

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Adorable! Brain Pattern Egg Qee ~ hand painted by Emilio Garcia. I've loved his brainy frogs ~ and this egg is too cute ~ its fun to see the creation process step by step ~ see pics on the next page!

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So Thomasville is a NOTCOT advertiser, and when they approached me, i got curious. Particularly about this Metamorphic Candelabra. So they were kind enough to send one over for me to play with. I've been a bit fixated on chandeliers and candelabras recently ~ i blame that dinner at Versailles where the fake candle light at dinner drove me absolutely nuts (pictures in that hazy orange glow looked atrocious!) ~ and suddenly i find myself noticing real candles anywhere i go! SO, i brought this brassy candelabra out to palm springs to play with ~ and dragged the others out exploring palm springs to find candles with me... and we tried it out at the Ace.

Honestly, the concept is what i found most interesting ~ the Metamorphic Candelabra allows you to move the two pieces vertically ~ and then all arms also swing. Whether this is a good or bad idea when you have flames going was unknown... unfortunately this particular model was a bit crooked when it got shipped over, and the arms a little wiggly... so running around with the candelabra was a bit drippy... but overall ~ its a fun concept! And we had fun playing with it out in the desert! Have any good candelabra recommendations that are interesting? Would love to see more!

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While in Palm Springs at the Ace, i was told that i HAD to go see the Integratron. How good a word is that? I didn't even know what it meant, but was instantly intrigued. So, while on super secret brainstorm adventure in Palm Springs this weekend, we jumped in the car, took off an hour into the desert not quite sure what to expect... although we did know that it had something to do with amazingness, alien abductions, domes, a sound bath, and something about our neurons getting massaged. Dome + sunset + desert = gorgeous pics.

So while i'm still on my thing about circles lately ~ and concentric circles from directly below... the architecture of the Integratron blew my mind to wander around in... and honestly, i think there must be something wrong with me, because the Sound bath (you lay on the mats in the dome, and they "play 9 quartz crystal singing bowls live, each one keyed to the energy centers or chakras of the body, where sound is nutrition for the nervous system." and it's on Rolling Stone Magazine's 2009 Hot List) ~ i couldn't lay through the whole thing, it made me feel like i wanted to scream and dissonant sounds vibrating through my head just started to hurt. BUT that being said, it was pretty amazing the way they resonated around the space... really staring at the architecture and lighting as the sunset around us was far more fascinating to me. So take a peek at the random pics on the next page... LOVE the colors in the desert sunsets...

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Shu Uemura Art of Hair finally got their online store going ~ i've been obsessed with their moisture velvet conditioner and masque ~ they quickly made the list of products i actually end up buying again and again. I've also been anxiously waiting for the black glossy Shu Uemura paddle brush ~ which has finally arrived on the webstore! While this in and of itself wasn't all that extraordinary, what struck me was the packaging when it arrived. Black shipping box, sealed with black on white Shu Uemura Art of Hair tape sealing it ~ upon opening, black and white typographic logo pattern ~ and custom tissue paper as well... and each object individually wrapped and buffered in tissue paper padding. I can't even imagine what they would do for gift wrap! It was so beautiful, i had to photograph first and open after, as hard as that was! Also a few peeks at the paddle brush ~ while i usually use wood brushes with wood bristles, i'm loving this one! So see it all on the next page...

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Don't mock. It's friday night. I know. It's friday the 13th even! And honestly, as many events and people are convening in LA for a combination of art events, MOCA anniversary, and so much more this weekend ~ after that endless travelfest the last month and a non stop week since i touched back down ~ i couldn't help myself when a few fun folks said "Ok!" to having our own top secret brainstorm session where we'd clear the weekend and meet up in Palm Springs. So after a delicious (intellectually and nourishingly) breakfast meeting at Chateau Marmont, i hopped back in the car and drove east... running super low on sleep and high on ideas, i stumbled into the Ace Hotel Palm Springs, and into Room 214 with only my laptop/camera bag and purse... and have been sucked into photoshopping and before i wander back out to feed myself and see whats going on with the wedding folks right outside... i just had to share this little oasis with you. Stepping in, life slowed down, mind felt clearer, body felt calmer. And the welcome card tells me "Life is not about surviving the storm, but learning to dance in the rain." Wise words to live by ~ so let's dance? I have a feeling there will be much more to share this weekend... the Ace family always does manage to get me so inspired with their attention to details, great design, and just awesome experiences...

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Popped by the opening of the inaugural PRISM Gallery exhibition, MindTheGap, featuring the stunning works of Barry McGee and Phil Frost. There are so many angles a post on this opening could take, just doing a quick google of it, quickly you can see who's who that showed up, the architecture, the artists, the gallerist... so let's just focus on what was truly most inspiring about the event. The art. The details. The space. And to take in such overwhelming amounts of pattern heavy art that took a bit to process... and perched on sunset in West Hollywood, the three tiered roof with breath taking LA views were exactly what you needed... although the sparkling lights of the city felt as if you were staring into another patterned piece of art to lose yourself in. With all of the work shown, you could easily spend some time discovering details, turning away, turning back, and still see something new. So explore some of my favorite views of the show on the next page...

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NOTCOT Field Trip? Posted The Grilled Cheese Truck earlier this week on NOTCOT.org, and when we noticed it was going to be on this side of town for lunch, simply had to pop out to see what all the commotion was about. (Also, i have a soft spot for grilled cheese... and their logo reminds me of The Magic School Bus... i half expected to see Ms. Frizzle pop out to take us on a cheesy adventure)... With website, twitter, and facebook page (like many of these social media savvy specialty lunch trucks) the updates were constant as their precise location kept changing down to the minute, and we finally found them at the Los Angeles Fine Arts & Wine Storage Company parking lot, only half an hour into it and quite the line had already formed, inescapable scent of delicious greasy cheesiness omnipresent. Even CBS news was there tasting and shooting away... With a mix of your classic grilled cheeses, to your gourmet grilled cheese (add in mac+cheese, bacon, avocado, bbq pork and more) ~ and even dessert options (marshmallows, nutella, bananas) ~ as well as tomato soup shots and more ~ it was hard to choose! As with all of these specialty twitter happy lunch trucks, the lines are long, ordering seems to be the bottleneck, and it seems best to meet up with a bunch of friends to hang out with in line... also, go early! Because depending on zoning/landlord regulations, they can usually only stay put for a limited amount of time, so not everyone will get fed! So take a peek at more pics of both the truck and the food ~ this is the first time i've peeked INSIDE the truck! And since it took quite a while to get the food, and i promised to get Linhchi back to her house by 1:40, we shot the food pics in the car (sometimes at red lights)...

p.s.
was reading up last night on this Lunch Truck Phenomenon that seems to be sweeping the nation lately ~ some fun resources to note: Find LA Food Trucks and California Taco Trucks (run by dan's old boyscout friend, Cyrus Farivar!)

p.p.s.
While fun and amusing ~ i think overall, if i'm going to spend an hour+ at lunch with friends, i'd rather do the sit down thing ~ but good times, and a fun chance to catch up with some old friends!

p.p.p.s.
From an im conversation right now, we've decided that when the process of getting the food and hanging out with friends is a lot of the fun... where is our champagne and oysters truck?

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Dayna Decker Chandel Couture ~ the same way looking up at chandeliers has been mesmerizing recently, looking down at the wide woody crackling wicks of Dayna Decker Chandels. They smell divine, but i can't get over the lovely glass votive lined in black with the patented EcoWood Wick is "made from organic wood via a natural manufacturing process, and burns cleaner than an ordinary cotton wick. When lit, the EcoWood Wick displays an intriguing "teardrop" shaped flame and emits a soothing crackling sound." Quick video to share the crackling with you on the next page as well as unboxing and product shots of the chandel!

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Undergrowth Design "Wash Away All Sins" Soap Dispenser ~ designer Tina Tsang describes it as "Angled for a perfect scrub to cleanse away all your naughty secrets! Resembling a 'foaming' bar of soap sinking into the sink top, the 'Wash Away All Sins' Soap Dispenser is hand-made in England with ceramic earthenware. On the reverse side, a definition of 'clean' to remind user of new state of 'cleanliness', innocent of all their little sins."

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Joby Gorilla Mobile for iPhone 3G/S ~ perfect for those who want the versatility of both a simple black matte/rubbery case and the ability to mount their phone just about anywhere for any reason... whether that is on the steering wheel of your car (look! handsfree!), the handlebars of your bike, wrapped around a pole, or perched on the table as a tripod... or in my case, i wrapped it around the nearby bottle of scotch as a tripod. As you can see on the next page, the packaging for this one got far more apple styled with the matte white box ~ and i do love that the signature ball jointed gorillapod legs are ALL black this time! Take a peek at all the details on the next page...

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