happy new year!

 

 

*los angeles skyline from the getty, 12/30/10.   photo courtesy of florine van rees. inexpert fauxtoshopping by moi.

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happy endings (a nina update)

john, the good samaritan, who originally rescued nina and her sister when they were thrown out of a truck, forwarded me these pictures of nina enjoying her new life, and since i honestly believe that all the positive wishes and energy shared by everyone who read the posts about her plight, helped to find nina the most amazing home ever, i wanted to share them with y'all. not so shabby, right?

proof that 'happily ever after' happens in real life too, and i hope, like nina, each of you gets gets the 'happily ever after' you deserve in the coming new year!

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a good cause: valley wildlife care

here at maison21, you know we are all about the animals, and that includes the wild ones who share our urban environment.  in the *very* citified neighborhood around the atelier, we have an large amount of native and non-native species co-existing with us humans whom we are fortunate enough to encounter on a frequent basis, including,  raccoons, opossums, skunks, crows, red tailed hawks, and an amazingly raucous flock of wild parrots, who brighten up our mornings with screeches and calls that make them sound like they are having the time of their lives.  (not every wildlife encounter is a good thing, though- remind us to tell you one day about the skunk who committed hari kari in our basement. just so you know, skunk, up close and personal, doesn't actually smell like skunk, but rather like burning tar, and yes, the fire department was called...)

 

we were reminded to write today's post about valley wildlife care  after reading an article about the dreaded subject of taxes, and thought we'd give them a shout out just in case anyone needs a place to make a last minute charitable donation for 2010! we've been following valley wildlife care on facebook for about a year now, and never cease to amazed at the good work they do rescuing and rehabiliating sick and injured wild animals, 99% of which wouldn't be sick or injured in the first place if it wasn't for us humans messing with their native environment, so really, we can't think of a more worthy beneficiary if anyone needs a last minute write-off!

even you are full up on your charitable giving for the year, we'd like to invite you to at least follow VWC on facebook in order to help raise awareness for the good work they do. we warn you though, while some of their posts can be heartwarming, like the ones about orphaned baby animals, others can be quite harrowing, like the opossum doused in gasoline and set afire.  overall, they are one of the most compelling causes we follow on facebook, and we're sure if you follow them as well, you will read every post, just like we do...

 

to make a donation to valley wildlife care, click here. to follow on facebook, click here.
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happy holidays!

art by fifi flowers 

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xmas grace

when m21 thinks of xmas, of course he thinks of grace jones- doesn't everybody?

who knew? we've forgotten just how subversive pee-wee's playhouse was- loving this clip of grace hula-dancing through 'little drummer boy' while in a trademark issey miyake bustier and headdress. oh, those wacky 80's...

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xmas wishes

what did y'all ask santa for this year?

i didn't ask him for anything, as i already got *my* wish:

when i added ted to the family, i just hoped he and richard would co-exist peacefully. napping together is an unexpected bonus!

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rainy day playlist, pt. 2

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rainy day playlist

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10,000 years b.c.

you know those blogs who sometimes do "outfits into rooms"?  here's my version, outfit into chair...

outfit

chair

**chair spotted at h.d. buttercup
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rainmaggedon!

ok, who stuck the rain pin into the southern california voodoo doll?  because a forecast of SIX, count them, SIX continuous days of rain is positively unnatural, and some evil force must be behind it!

let me give you an idea of how this will play out for the average angeleno, k?

day one: "omg i love, love, LOVE the rain! imma turn off my iphone, light a fire, mull some wine and stay under the covers all day, watching 'a charlie brown christmas' over and over again. yay! did i mention i LOVE the rain?

day two: "this rainy weather is awesome- i finally mastered that lemon-ginger phō recipe, baked two batches of macaroons that rival the ones my agent brought me back from ladurée in paris,  and even made wheat and dairy-free, carob-date cookies for my gluten-intolerant vegan friend, willow.  plus, the junk drawer is organized, my closet is color-coded. and my screenplay is almost finished! yay! rainy weather is nature's miracle gift!

day three: "kinda bummed that my 'power yoga in the park' class is canceled, and would love a REAL latte from intelligentsia to perk me up, but who wants to drive all the way across town in this weather? guess it's a sugar-free vanilla latte from coffee bean and tea leaf for me! this water from the sky stuff is getting a bit old, but we could use the water, i guess..."

day four: "today, it's nasty ol' half-block away starbucks- i almost got into three accidents on the way to the bean yesterday, because no one in LA knows how to freakin' drive in the rain! and don't get me started on my $85K miracle of german engineering, with the hard-top convertible option- that's one mother-flocking leaky german miracle! arrrgh! OVER IT!"

day five: STORMWATCH! MUDSLIDES! FLASHFLOODS! RAINMAGEDDON! this rain totally sucks- if i wanted to live somewhere all depressingly weathery and stuff, i'd live in some dreary foreign capital, like london or seattle.   and if i don't get in a hike at runyon soon, i'm going to turn into a nasty old carb-faced monster.  rain = fat. THIS IS MESSING UP MY PERFECT LIFE!

day six:  in a fetal position, rocking in a dark corner, while softly sobbing, "ple-e-e-e-ase, make it s-s-s-top. i can't take it one more s-s-second-  i beg you, bring my sunshine b-b-b-back... i'll do anything, ple-e-e-e--e-e-e-ase, make it go away..."

oh, and santa?  if this doesn't stop by 4 pm on december 24th, christmas is officially canceled!  i'm not kidding!
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needed google feature...

so we always keep the google "safesearch" option off.  ya never know what you'll find, and honestly, we don't mind running across some naked people when googling- helps to break up the day!

but really, there oughta be a "safedecorsearch" so if someone googles, let's say "gold floor lamp", they don't come up with this:

 they rotate too! why wouldn't they?

or this:

really, a larger then life gold and crystal eagle floorlamp? just because it can be made, doesn't mean it should. 

there, now your eyes hurt too.

don't blame m21, blame the google.
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a simple and tasteful los angeles christmas tradition...

new york may have the bergdorf's windows and the tree at rockefeller center, but here in los angeles, we have a christmas tradition of our very own...

ladies and gentlemen, i give you the tasteful simplicity of youngwood court:

ok, so it's neither simple nor tasteful, but it is something of a christmas tradition.

the cardboard cut out is a portrait of youngwood court's owner, norwood young, a singer/songwriter whom no one but janet charleton seems to know about.

the home is often called "the house of davids" because of the kajillion copies of michelangelo's david which line the front.

the davids are up year round, but really shine in their bottomless xmas best.

black power santa and mrs tranny claus, rising from a cupcake, are a nice touch.

versace/cowardly lion santa is pretty brilliant too.

we are happy that youngwood court exists, yet equally happy we don't live across the street, having to stare at its blazing glory every night...

somewhere, liberace is smiling, and wishing everyone, everywhere, a fantabulously over-the-top christmas...
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ya gotta have hope

maybe today, he'll finally buy me a latte...

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do you believe in miracles?

do you believe in holiday miracles?  i just might now,  after what happened to nina the pup.  she was randomly introduced to a neighbor i'd never met while he was walking his dog.  her rescuer and i explained her story to the random stranger, and during a half an hour conversation, nina and the stranger seemed to bond.  he took her for a hike over the weekend, then overnight, and fell further in love. he decided nina would be a great addition to his family, but there was a catch, his lease only allowed one dog.  he contacted his landlord to find out if he could add nina to the family, and unfortunately, his landlord said no more pets- he was afraid of what might happen.

and that would would be the end of it, if this weren't the story of a miracle- the stranger, sent us this email response to his landlord's fear of "what if":


"Unquestionably, this is the opposite of how I live my life.  I don't believe in the fear of 'what if'... period.  My response was clear and simple, I gave notice to terminate the lease. Nina has a great new home, unfortunately, just not here (at his current address)."

made me cry, it did. thank goodness for people like nina's new dad!  see why i might be a believer in miracles, now?  for sure, now i believe in happy endings, as well as new beginnings- congrats to nina and her amazing new family! and a big thank you to john, nina's rescuer for his tireless efforts in finding nina a loving home.
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no home for nina yet, but we have hope...

nina, the sweet pup we've been trying to find a home for, hasn't been adopted yet, but we have hope. several people have expressed interest in her, and hopefully will meet her this weekend. we're sure one of them will want to give this gorgeous young lady a forever home.

nina sitting pretty in the atelier- such a good girl.

we had a chance to spend time with nina this week, and she is a total love. a bit shy at first, once she warms up, she couldn't be sweeter (one of the reasons she CAN'T end up in a shelter- her shyness means she wouldn't 'show well' making her chances of adoption not so good). we cat tested her with richard, and frankly, she could have cared less about him, being much more interested in some of ted's toys (while she didn't react aggressively towards richard, the same can't be said of him- *i* even got scared of the noises he was making for a second!) also,  as you can see for the below video taken in her foster home, she sure plays well with other doggies, so she would be a great addition to a multi-dog home.  she hasn't been around kids yet, but she is SO mellow and gentle, i can't imagine any problems in that area either.




hopefully by monday, we'll have some good news to share with y'all- everyone keep your fingers crossed for nina, k?  and pass this post on!

if anyone is interested in adding this lovely young lady to your family, please contact JAUGUSTBAKER AT G MAIL DOT COM. 

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reform school

sometimes you see an idea so different, yet so simple, and you think, "why didn't i think of that?" and that is exactly what maison21 thought to himself when he recieved an email about abc carpet and home's new "color reform" collection-  a simple but brilliant idea: take imperfect, vintage carpets and overdye them, turning them into pop-modern statement pieces.

m21 has never been a huge fan of traditional 'oriental' carpets, and probably wouldn't ever specify an oushak or tabriz carpet unless it was something already owned by a client, and they has a strong sentimental attachment, but these rugs take that traditional carpet and take it to a whole new level, and for a color lover like m21, they certainly captured our fancy.

you can see the whole collection here.

cool stuff.

boundless enthusiasm

i wish i was as excited to start my day as ted is to start his!  just watching him be happy, makes *me* happy too!

this is the best street i ever crossed! (see video below)

and speaking of pets, we are still trying to find the beautiful nina a home, and hopefully will have happy news to share with y'all soon!

won't you love me?