Monthly Archives: June 2011
Design Day Trip: OC Mart Mix
| June 15, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under cocktails, Design, fashion, food, Gather, Have Fun, Inspiration, interiors, See and Do, so-cal local, Sustainable Living, vintage |
Yesterday I got the morning ‘off’ when I took my intern who is visiting from France to check out a new local design hotspot, the OC Mart Mix at SoCo in Costa Mesa.
Technically this place has been around about a year, but officially it only opened 5 weeks ago. I for one am really excited about the concept – it’s a shopping collective unlike any soul-less strip mall or ‘design center’ that we have ’round these parts. I love the eco-vibe of the place, with funky native landscape and earth friendly building materials. It’s also home to several small businesses that offer vintage, handmade and/or repurposed goods, which as we know I’m all about.
My favorite spot was Portola Coffee Lab, aptly named because all of its coffee and tea creations are brewed in what appear to be experimental equipment.
Photo by John Gilhooley for OC Weekly
Other favorites: We Olive – a wine and olive bar where you can taste and purchase gorgeous bottles of the finest.
Macalistaire at 1850 – a cute boutique full of vintage accessories like leather clutches and these champagne sequined heels that were, in fact, in my size. No pictures, I regret that.
Paper House – I go nuts over graphic paper and this place had my eyes bulging. I fell in love with these bamboo lattice print notecards in cheery shades of yellow and turquoise.
image from Paper House
And right next to Paper House, in a store I didn’t catch the name of, this adorable pet bed made from a vintage suitcase.
So here’s my take: I think this place is really cute and I’m excited for its future. At the moment the whole place is a little barren. Most of the spaces are empty and there was a whole lot of noisy construction happening. But in a few short weeks several more places are scheduled to open, including a Surfing Heritage Museum, and months from now I have no doubt that this place really will be ‘it.’
I really admire all these business who have taken the jump to be the first to open here. It’s not easy, especially as a small business, to have the foresight of what may or may not work out well in the future. If you’re in the area I definitely recommend stopping by Portola and a quick jaunt around the Mix. If you hit it at the right time of day you can catch one of OC’s several renowned food trucks. Also check out the farmer’s market each Saturday – at the moment it’s a little scarce ( I went a couple months ago) but with our local support it too will blossom.
Homemade Deodorant and Lip Balm
| June 14, 2011 | Posted by Nicole L. under Guest Bloggers |
It all started innocently enough.
Out of the blue, deodorant started to bother me. It suddenly seemed so synthetic and … toxic. I had recently given up waxy, gross dryer sheets for a reusable dryer balls, and deodorant began looking a lot like those dryer sheets.
Toxic. Synthetic. Gross.
I don’t remember exactly why I decided to toss out the anti-perspirant, and even the hippie-approved Tom’s deodorant (which, by the way, does not work one bit); I just wanted to smell fresh without exposing my body to a potpourri of chemicals.
So I got all DIY and Googled it. Sure enough, a plethora of homemade deodorant recipes were at my fingertips – and the ingredients were already in my pantry. Ultimately, I went with the super-simple deodorant from Sonoma Garden.
But, it turns out, it’s not just deodorant which can be made at home. Using baking soda, apple cider vinegar and water, I’ve been able to ditch harsh shampoo that was killing my blonde and babyfine hair. I’ve also found some lip balm recipes which are positively luxurious and will turn anyone into a lip balm-addict.
On Sunday, Linsi and I got together to whip up some homemade deodorant (that works, for real) and lip balm. The fun part about making your own products at home (besides them being much less likely to cause cancer) is that you can create your own signature scents.
A word of caution, however. Making lip balm requires you to work with beeswax – which can be a real devil. Just be sure to follow directions closely. Once you’ve poured you lip balms, refrigerate immediately to set. If you find they’re not the right texture once they’ve completely cooled, pop them out of the tubes and reheat. Add more beeswax to harden or coconut oil to soften.
Recipes:
Homemade Deodorant – some of my favorite scents we came up with were lemongrass + jasmine, sweetgrass + rosemary and clove.
Homemade Chapstick – we made vanilla + clove. So good.
Chocolate Lavender Lip Balm – Chocolate and cocoa butter with a hint of lavender.
A Curbly Monday
| June 13, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under announcements, Design, Guest Bloggers, Have Fun |
Hi all, today I’m hanging out at Curbly for a little Designer Q&A.
Come check it out and leave your design question in the comments. Next week I will be answering several of these questions, plus they’re giving away something special to each reader whose questions I pick. So try to stump me, because I like a challenge!
Happy Monday.
Interior Obsession: The Best of Kitchen Stools
| June 10, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Design, furniture, Inspiration, interiors, kitchen |
This week I’m loving the quirkiness of these wooden stools. When your kitchen is the heart of the home (and it always is) having a great stool can make the space shine.
Image courtesy of House Beautiful
Fresh and fun, these stool have a cool South Beach look and are totally durable with the woven nylon.
Image courtesy of House Beautiful
A little disturbing yet totally fun. Hoof-legged stools.
Image courtesy of House Beautiful
Hand carved wooden saddle seats and contrasting wood make this simple design unique.
Image courtesy of Veranda
I love the metal strap and the detail at the bottom of these sleek adjustable stools (take a closer look).
Redefine Home
This is the Abacus stool from Redefine Home. Bubble legs, yeah.
Four Hands Counter Bench
When’s the last time you saw a counter height bench? This piece is from Four Hands, available to trade only.
Happy Friday.
Blogging Book Club: Let’s Get Started
| June 9, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under blogger book club, Have Fun, inspired life series, Read |
The winner from last week’s book finalists has been chosen – Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife (one of my personal faves).
I’ve ordered my book and can’t wait to get started. So if you want to join go grab your book and we’ll start reading next week. Here’s the plan: I’ll post questions and random thoughts, and if you are reading along or have already read it I want to hear what you think too. My hope is to open more of a conversation than what we usually get on blogs.
Next Thursday will be the first ‘review’ and we’ll see how it goes from there. If it’s good I make no guarantees that it won’t be finished in a couple days, but I’ll try to pace things a bit 
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Happy Reading!
.jpg)
connect