Miscelaneous May

After five months of blogging, I’ve come to realize the importance of editing. That’s why many of my photos and ideas for blog posts didn’t actually make it onto ModernAlice. Even still, I wanted to share with you some of the exciting things that I’ve been up to this month. So here’s a compilation of random photos from the past month.

My adorable pooch, Cassie, blending in with the stuffed animals

Making a rainbow at Prom

A recycled owl…how’s that for nature

Architectural paintings at the art show

More recycling with bottle cap furniture

Fun with the Wizard of Oz

Satirical art at its best

Having a blast with my friends at Grad Night where we, the graduating seniors, got to have Disneyland all to ourselves until the wee hours of the morning

My youngest sister having the time of her life climbing the pile of bean bags at my other sister’s outdoor movie party

The perfect tutu that would make any little girl’s dreams come true

Adorable vintage shop on Abbot Kinney filled with vintage treasures

Playful architecture on Abbot Kinney

Awesome cork chair…I want one of these in my home one day

ChakWave juices that blend herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables to appeal to the seven main chakra energy points

Nobuhiro Sato’s concrete mansion planter that experiments with the ideas of architecture to create lifestyle design accessories

Incredible brick and mortar street art on Abbot Kinney

Unique DIY succulent arrangements and terrariums at The Juicy Leaf

Adorable puppy bowls that would make any spoonful of soup or ice cream even better

Cute wooden bears with absolutely no purpose other than to make you smile

Draw Me A House: A Book of Colouring in, Ideas and Architectural Inspiration

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony with my mom for Mother’s Day

 So lovely readers, what exciting things have you done this month? What do you have planned for next month’s summer fun?

Playtime with Legos

When anyone makes the transition from the carefree pleasures of childhood to the serious responsibilities of adulthood, as I am about to make now when I graduate high school in just under a month, there is tremendous pressure to simply grow up. Well quite frankly, I don’t want to. There is no rule that when you become an adult that you must leave youthful fancies behind. The most succesful and happy adults are those who remember to play.

I plan to always make time to play because it is just as importance as meditation or exercise in terms of maintaining mental and physical well being. Playtime is full of rewards whether you’re exercising on the playground with your kids, boosting your general knowledge with a game of trivial pursuit, or simply having a good time to get your creative juices flowing.

Legos are one of the most beneficial and beloved toys in America because they encourage kids to embrace their creativity and they are just plain fun! I wish that I can say that I was a lego lover growing up, but they’ve become more of a recent love. Check out some of the incredible ways that people have been using their legos and see the innovative things that people have done to express their adoration for America’s favorite toy!

Simon Pillard and Philippe Rossetti’s 20,000 Lego kitchen island from Dwell

Lego lunchbox from Firebox

Lego soap dispenser from Simply Sara

Lego cake from Betty Crocker

Lego Bow tie from Made in Forest Hills

Lego conference table from abgc Architecture and Design

Lego crayons from Crafty C0rn3r

Lego messenger bag from Luxfordst

Lego deer taxidermy kit from David Cole

Lego building inserts in Toulouse, France for Imaginez Maintenant (Imagine Now)

What’s your favorite way to play?

Real Life Inspiration Board

By now almost everyone has discovered the outrageously addictive world of Pinterest. But who really has time to sift through all of his or her pins? The creators of Pinterest wanted to emulate the concept of inspiration boards, but it seems that now Pinterest has made them obsolete.

I know that when I’m in need of inspiration, but am running low on time, that I only glimpse at a fraction of my pins. Having a real life pinterest board on my wall, however enables me to sneak a peek at the things that bring a smile to my face multiple times a day.

Months ago I decided that I wantd to put up an inspiration  board in my room, soI began searching through my mom’s Glamour magazine, my copies of Dwell, the monthly Free People catalogues, and whatever magazine I could get my hands on. After finally acculating a massive pile of images, I decided to go for it and transform my drab closet door into a colorful collection of inspiration. So I pulled out my mod podge and a paint brush, and went to work. While I was doing it, I was half afraid that my mom would be upset at my defiling of the house, but when I showed her the finished project she was impressively supportive of my project.

What have you got to lose? Go ahead and pick a place in your house or office where you want to display images that make you happy. You can of course do this on a piece of paper, wood, or worst comes to wort, you can always paint over it or put new images on top.

Here are some other inspirations boards from around the web to get your creative juices flowing:

Inspiration board from The Decorista

Inspiration board from Styleseeking Zurich

Chartreuse’s inspiration board from The Glitter Guide

Hanna’s inspiration board from iHanna’s Blog

Tanya’s inspiration board from HeyDoYou

Lighten Up with Spring Cleaning

Now that Spring has officially sprung, it’s time to beat those dust bunnies and reclaim the sense of satisfaction that comes from having a clean home. Instead of approaching this annual chore, look at it as a chance to regain balance and control over your own life. There are countless reasons to embrace the tradition of spring cleaning including:

1. Satisfaction of seeing the clearly apparent toils of your labor. What other task that requires just a few hours of your time gives you benefits that you can see immediately and that you can appreciate everyday?
2. Release of endorphins from dusting, vacuuming, and making trips back and forth from the dumpster. The physical work of moving is not only a great work out, but also a way to boost your happiness.
3. Calming effect of walking into a clean house. If seeing toys strewn across the floor and piles of paper filling every surface of the house causes you stress, simply eliminate this unnecessary tension by taking a few minutes to put everything in its right place.
4. Put your past behind you . Instead of getting stuck in a rut by perpetually reminiscing over memories of past relationships and previous times in your life, chose a few pictures or souvenirs worth displaying, and either donate, throw away, or put into storage the rest of your excess baggage. Instead of allowing these objects to make you dwell on whatever past happiness you’ve lost, focus on the present and creating new memories and experiences.
5. Allow yourself the time for change. Use this opportunity to repaint your room, refinish your furniture, or finally do whatever home improvement project you’ve been putting off.
6. Encourage yourself to adopt better habits. Prominently place the materials for whatever aspect of your lift you want to spend more time on, because by seeing them, you will start using them. By forcing yourself to see something daily, you will have many more opportunities to embrace whatever habit you are hoping to establish. This could mean putting your camera by your hand bag, leaving a bowl of fruits and vegetables out on the counter, leaving your journal on your nightstand, or leaving your crafting materials on the top of your desk.

 

Here’s an organizational idea that came to me while I was cleaning up my room. Instead of leaving my art supplies shoved in carious drawers throughout my room, I decided to store all of them in a suitcase near the entrance to my room. By having these materials neatly organized and highly visible, it makes it easier for me to set aside time to get in touch with my creativity.

Portable Art Station 

1. Round up all of your pens, decorative papers, clay, tape, glue, scissors, and other art supplies from around the house.
2. Store any materials that you plan to use immediately or on a daily basis in glass or plastic containers so that every time you see them you have to consciously choose whether or not to postpone your latest art idea.
3. Store you other supplies in an old suitcase. This will not only keeps them neatly organized and compact, but also makes your supplies easily portable in case you feel like getting crafty outside or on the go.
4. Finally, tie any ribbons you have around the outside of your suitcase, so that they will stay untangled and help to decorate your artsy suitcase. Voila!

Restaurant Review: The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel

To celebrate getting into architecture school, this weekend I went with my amazing family and incredible boyfriend to the SLS Bazaar. With the intriguing food, funky decor, and energetic atmosphere, there is no better place to celebrate a special occasion!

My amazing family

The Bazaar is my favorite restaurant in LA because designer Philippe Starck’s eccentric furnishings and unique spacial layout perfectly compliment chef Jose Andres’s delectable gastronomic creations.

The inside is an interior design wonderland with countless treasures including a hundred different styles of chairs and almost two dozen chandeliers. Rich velvet curtains and intimate seating arrangements divide the restaurant into four main areas.

People can begin with exquisite cocktails in the Bar Centro. Then they move into either the Blanca or Rojo dining rooms where the extensive menus offers mixture of modern and traditional tapas, each with Andres’s distinctive flair. Finally people finish off the unforgettable night with a delectable assortment of cookies, cakes, and confections in the Patisserie.

The Patisserie

We started off with the semi-normal sweet potato chips with yogurt and balsamic foam to, then moved on to more adventurous dishes. My favorites include japanese eel tacos in a cucumber “shell,” brussel sprouts topped with tangy lemon air, guacamole wrapped in jicama paper,and caviar cones filled with cauliflower creme. The most impressive of the desserts was the floating island, coconut moose frozen with liquid nitrogen.

Eel Tacos

Caviar Cones

Brussel Sprouts

Sweet Potato Chips

There is also a fun shop attached to the patisserie with a changing display of peculiar objects that you would only fin d in the most luxurious boutiques. Although this may seem to a strange feature, it fit perfectly with the avant guard atmosphere o the restaurant with its quirky details and unexpected pairings.

Curated Shop

I highly recommend that everyone save up to try this unforgettable restaurant at least once in their lives because in all the time I have spent in LA, I have never seen anything like it!