Useless Thing I Don't Need but Kind of Really Want: "Donut" Phone

And no, I don't mean a phone that looks like an actual Krispy Cream (delicious but impractical). I'm talking this:



Image: MrDorkESQ on Flickr


What a great design! Sure, it doesn't send text messages or or allow you to play Angry Birds. Oh and it doesn't take pictures of your cat. And you can't walk more than a couple feet from it to talk. Oh yeah, and that pesky rotary dial that takes ten times longer to place a call than just going to your contacts list and pressing once on the screen. Okay, so cell phones are pretty handy and a very significant step in technology. But look at the SHAPE!!! 

The "donut" phone was actually called the "Sculptura", originally produced beginning in 1974 by the Western Electric company. Interestingly enough, they were produced in BOTH touch tone and rotary dial since the phone lines in some areas were not yet equipped for touch tone. It was produced in white, brown and yellow which were not only popular colors in the mid-seventies but also the uniform colors at my high school at the time I attended (a move to ensure that no boys would EVER look at us in the event we went out in public in uniform). They can be found in other colors out there (the pink is particularly incredible), but these have been refurbished by collectors.


The Scuptura was part of the "Design Line" launched by Western Electric in 1974 to give people some new interesting "stylish" options for their telephone, which I guess was a rather new concept at the time. Also included in the Design Line was the "Antique Gold" which my family had, and I am pretty sure almost all families in the early 80s also had:

Image: Porticus

Not sure how this became one of the most popular phones in the country, but there you go. Here is an image from an actual Western Electric marketing binder for the Design Line for the Sculptura, which I love:

Image: Porticus

Would you like one of your very own like I do? Here are a couple of  "donut" phones for sale on Etsy:

$68, from five6seven8

$75 from Hoot and Owl

Books!: Mindy Kaling & my new library scores

I am just so happy that my favorite ladies of comedy are writing books. I just finished Tina Fey's book Bossypants, which was just fantastic and had me laughing out loud in public places like a crazy person, and now I find out that Mindy Kaling has written a book which will be coming out this October. I just read a excerpt of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and now I can't wait to get my paws on this book. Just like Tina Fey, she gives you that feeling that she is your slightly damaged but hilarious and brilliant best friend (accept they both have great jobs in comedy and I am unemployed).

In other literary news, my two library holds came in today, so as soon as I change out of my jammies (don't judge, even though I am not dressed I already applied for a job today AND disposed of a deceased rodent that Poocumbers gifted us), I am off to pick up A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and Room by Emma Donoghue. Looking forward to these and I will let you know how it turns out.

Plant Nerd: Planter Shopping at Ikea

So first off, its been a long time since I have blogged. My mind was a huge blank. It still kind of is. I also haven't had much success crafting lately. I just sit down and stare at the table and nothing happens. I did make a few hair clips custom at the request of my mom. They are a little different from what I normally make but I am happy with how they came out:

Clips made for mom!

So I finally got a little blogging inspiration today when I took a trip to Ikea to look for a new planter for the bamboo plant in our kitchen (It's growth was stunted from being trapped in a too small pot). I had looked for one at the local hardware store yesterday but had no luck finding the perfect new home for the little guy.

So many colors! So many sizes!

They had so many amazingly designed planters to choose from. And the prices were just right for an unemployed plant nerd. Here are some of my favorites (all planters shown are ceramic):

Ovantad, $9.99

Arlig, $8.99

Three different sizes of Bigarra, $9.99, $24.99 and $39.99
I have the biggest one in a charcoal color in my succulent garden,
this was the first I had seen it in white!

Ovantad in a tall size, $7.99

Kardemumma, $1.99 (!!!)

Once I made my planter decisions, I really couldn't help picking up a little brother for my bamboo:

Lucky Bamboo, $1.99

I got home and put my bamboo in their new homes, and they seem quite happy. What they aren't happy about is the ugly counter and blinds, but they know we are renters and there isn't much we can do about that:

Knoppig, $4.99 & Ntad, $1.99

Etsy Roundup: Fashion

I haven't really done any fashion talk on the blog yet. I guess this is because fashion blogs are a dime a dozen and who the heck wants my opinion on it anyway. Since I have been unemployed my wardrobe has consisted entirely of gym clothes, pajamas and lounging clothes (which are basically sporty pajamas). It is fun to go window shopping though and since this blog was really started to focus on handmade items from independent artisans (mainly my own, ha), I thought I would go searching for some fashion finds on Etsy. Enjoy!

Can't you just imagine wearing this to stroll around the city on a warm day?

Fiji Dress by Modaspia, $160

The combo of the color and detail on this top is feminine but not over the top girly. Subtle bohemian:

Rose Jersey Shirt w/ Leaf Applique by Minxshop, $70

Here's the front

This has a nice updated "mod" feel to it. Love the structure:

Asymmetrical Tiered Dress by Liza Rietz, $252

A looser top like this tends to look more flattering on me. The sheen of the fabric with the little details is so pretty:

Happy Anniversary Top by Emorie Tokyo, $55

Accessories-wise, I'm loving the modern simplicity of this stripped infinity scarf. It's something you could wear forever and would never go out of style:

Shetland & Lambswool fine Spring Cowl by Knit Frekkles, $65

Finally, how awesome are the architectural details on this dress? The color is gorgeous too, one of those colors that seems to look good on everyone:

Triangle Dress by Out of Line, $148

Cool Company: design/story

I wrote a blog entry about design/story on Wednesday but apparently Blogger decided to send it to the cornfield when it was down last night for several hours. Let's try this again...


design/story is a members only shopping experience that presents modern design (frequently of a Scandinavian persuasion) at discounted prices. They will feature different brands or designers for a few days only, so if you see something you like you need to act fast! Yesterday, they launched a campaign with the dutch company Royal VKB (campaign ends May 18th), maker of ultra modern kitchen accessories/utensils. Last week I was asked, with a couple other people, to take a look at some of Royal VKB's cool products and share my opinions. This was captured on film (and a YouTube video which I have included at the bottom of this post):

Me and my Royal VKB testing counterparts
(Photo: design/story)

Closely examining the Terracotta Water Carafe
(Photo: design/story)

I also asked the design/story folks if the carafe could be used for chilled wine but they weren't sure. I think I will try it and get back to them...

Drink Me
(Photo: design/story)

We also got to play with the Table Bin. The Table Bin is the perfect picnic/camping/general outdoor eating tool. The top can be used as a surface for putting plates on, or cutting something. When you are done eating, you can take the lid off and put your table scraps an used utensils inside. If you have ever had a food mess explosion inside your picnic tote (yes, I have had a food mess explosion in my picnic tote), you will appreciate a product like this. 

Table Bin
(Photo: design/story)

To check out all the Royal VKB products on sale at design/story you will need to sign up to be a member. It only takes a second though, and its worth it to see all the great items for sale and a plethora of design information. 

Etsy Roundup: Movie Tribute Posters

I love movies. Okay, so does everyone else. But I really love movies. Anyway, something I have noticed popping up on Etsy are original "vintage style" movie posters. Sort of the artist's tributes to their favorite films. I would have to imagine there are some copyright issues here (especially with all the Star Wars tribute posters I found. You don't want to mess with Lucas!), but maybe no one has noticed.


Not only do I love this "Empire Strikes Back" poster, I think that this and its two counterparts (here and here) will be living in my house as soon as I am employed:

Poster by Restyle

My favorite from the classic horror genre is "The Shining". Here is evidence from last Halloween:

Myself and Megan as the Grady twins from "The Shining"

What I love about "The Shining" is not only how scary it is, but the style of the film is just so amazing (I could really write an entire blog post about that alone actually). This artist actually added the "fold lines" in this poster digitally to add to the vintage movie poster effect:

Poster by Team Wesler

When "The Royal Tenenbaums" came out, I went to see it with a friend. It got to me so much that I went home and laid on my bed and starred at the ceiling for an hour. I then went back to see it in the theater three more times (seriously). I love this Margot Tenenbaum "paper doll" poster. All of the characters in this film had such interesting signature styles, but Margot's was by far the best with her Lacoste dresses, loafers and fur coat:

Poster by Claudia Varosio

Speaking of iconic film style, Jean Seburg in "Breathless" is about as iconic as you get. I have to say I don't really love the film itself, but I could watch it over and over just to admire its classic style. This artist adds a little color to his tribute to the Jean Luc-Godard classic:

Poster by Adam Juresko 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! My cats didn't get me anything, but its okay. 


My mom seemingly hates all pictures that she is in, but I think this one is awesome. I would totally rock this outfit she has on actually. My hair looks exactly the same as it did in this pic, so somethings never change. 


Anyway, love you mom. 

Nerd Stuff: Cinematic Titanic

So I am still new to this whole blogging thing and I will just preface this entry by stating that I don't really have good photos to illustrate this story. This is for a couple reasons, most importantly because I didn't bring my camera (oops), just my iPhone, and I drank too much boxed wine so I decided to go home right when the show ended instead of meeting the guys like a professional blogger would have done (double oops).

My fellow nerds in line

Show poster

How amazing is this theater?

Anyway, last night my husband and I went to see Cinematic Titanic at San Francisco's beautiful Castro Theater. Cinematic Titanic is a comedy troupe of movie "riffers" who are all alums of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Let's back up a little, in case you lived under a rock in the 1990's (or, I guess if you didn't have cable).

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a show where a guy and two robots watch a "bad" movie (usually an old science fiction B-movie, but there was a variety of genres covered) and crack wise about the movie's crappy content. There is a whole story behind the "why" the guy and the robots do this, but I won't get into all that here. What I can tell you is that when I discovered this show as a teenager I thought "YES! These guys 'get it'!". They referenced everything from pop culture to art and literature and damn it, they were funny. Even my mom liked it and continued to watch it after I left home.

In MST3k, the riffers would watch in silhouette. 

Cinematic Titanic is a live version of MST3k basically (sans robots), and is just as smart and funny as its ancestor. The five comedians sit on either side of the screen as the movie plays and read their scripted jokes off of iPads to coincide with whatever lunacy is happening in the film (Yes, I realize a photo would be helpful here, sorry about that). The theater was PACKED (if you have never been to the Castro, its HUGE) and everyone was laughing hard. Like that kind of laughter that makes your face kind of ugly but you are so happy you don't care. It was a great show, and we had so much fun. 


(Note to Mom: I know last time I saw CT I said I wanted to take you next time, I failed. I will make it happen for next time!)

If you haven't seen Mystery Science Theater 3000, you can check it out on Netflix, many of the episodes are available on the "instant" feature as well. 

Celebrity Home Visit: Amy Sedaris

Amy at her wine cork typewriter (Image from "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People")

Amy Sedaris' West Village apartment was featured this week in New York Magazine and I felt like I wanted to share it because its just so unusual and well more...fun than lets face it, all of our homes put together.

If you are not familiar with Amy, she is best know as Jerri Blank from "Strangers with Candy", but she has also written/co-written a number of plays and books, most recently, "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People". I was given this book by my friend Megan, and I can say first hand that it is hilarious, bizarre and a perfect illustration of Amy's dark, off-beat style (Think half kitschy craft book and half cough medicine fueled fever dream). While it is a humor book, Amy actually is an avid crafter and has a dedicated crafting area in her home:

Amy's crafting area (Photo: NY Mag)

Amy is a big fan of unusual objects such as taxidermied animals and "fake foods" made out of plaster. She told NY1 in an interview that she doesn't have anything in her home that doesn't have a story, which I think is very cool, and wish I could say about my own (sure there are stories behind some things, but a lot of "That's cute, I want it" too).

Some of Amy's fake foods. This photo is from her previous apartment. (Photo: NYT)

Aside from the flocked silhouette wallpaper and wigs neatly hung on pegs in this hallway, Amy has 60 wooden flying bats that she had an artist make for her after finding two of them at a flea market and wanting more:

Photo: NY Mag

The lampshade here is made out of hair color samples like you would find in a hair salon:

Photo: NY Mag

 I hope this little trip to Amy Sedaris' house encourages you to be more adventurous in your home decorating! Check out her YouTube channel for demonstrations of some her "crafts for poor people".

Day in the Life: Monday, May 2, 2011

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I awoke to discover I had sold some earrings:

See more at my Etsy shop, Stellaspace

So I got those off to the post office and then went to the library, as a copy of Tina Fey's book "Bossypants" that I put on hold weeks ago finally came available for pick up! So excited to read this!

My husband is headed back to work soon so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather to go outside (would much rather get exercise outside instead of subjecting myself to the odd personalties at my gym. Really, some strange folks...). We headed over to Sawyer Camp Trail in San Mateo and hiked it for three miles:

Sawyer Camp Trail is located on the Crystal Springs Reservoir 

Under the cover of trees

Reservoir shore

Mini waterfall

Sun poking through the tree cover

One of five deer we spotted

In addition to the deer we saw TWO rattlesnakes (couldn't get a pic of those). Hard to believe all this beauty is right in our own backyard. Its good to get out of the computer and  embrace this every once and a while.