Keller & Co. Cakes

Ever crave an old-fashioned homemade delicious birthday cake? Like the kind your grandmother used to make? Amy Keller, who was featured in Bon Appétit earlier this year for her culinary prowess, just started the cake company, Keller & Co. She plans on working with L.A. restaurants (and has already served a few to Magnolia on Sunset) as well as private parties in the Los Angeles area. Her cakes, which are all-organic by the way, are not only delicious and a great birthday treat but also a welcome departure from cupcakes (can we cool it with the freaking cupcakes?). So, if you're throwing someone a party I would recommend giving Keller & Co. a try. Above is her carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, which I've tasted, and it is an A+ in my opinion. Amy also scavenges flea markets for vintage dishes that arrive with the main attraction (candles and cake box also included). Email inquiries to Amy at amykeller47@mac.com.
Below is her menu:
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting
Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Lemon Pound Cake with Grandma's Icing

Marc misses the mark?

There has been a lot to celebrate about lately: Birthday parties, Spring is here, friends are getting engaged, boyfriends are getting into business school, brothers are getting new jobs, old friends are visiting. Waking up in a fog with my shoes on is starting to seem routine. ::insert segway here:: I first saw the above Dom Perignon champagne cooler by Marc Newson (one of my favorite designers) last year and thought it was really dumb. But this morning I looked at it closely for a second time and kind of liked it, a lot. It's a neon green plastic champagne cooler that looks like a bottle of Dom. It's totally mod and funny. But, then I realized it's an $1000 neon green champagne cooler not quite worth the chuckle and irony. If you think it is click here and then call me because maybe we could hang out sometime.

Eco Design

I've recently started to ramp up my personal environmentalism, I don't know why now and not 3 or 13 years ago, but I have made modest steps like recently I stopped using disposable grocery bags and signed up for Green energy through LADWP. Now that I've been making these subtle changes I see more and more things I should be doing. I came to the realization that maybe I'm noticing better green choices because the choices are actually getting better. Green clothing lines for example, aren't necessarily crunchy hippie linen pants and Birkenstocks anymore—check out this brand Loomstate which is eco-sustainable and really f-ing cool. I came across this book Eco Design: The Sourcebook by Alastair Fuad-Luke which is a guide that includes over 700 listings of consumer products that have minimal impact on the earth while remaining useful and beautiful. This includes furniture, appliances, vehicles and electronics. Eco Design literally does the research for you, all you need to do is look at what you like and go buy. Pick it up right here on amazon.com for about $23.

Meaure Up

A stylish wooden tape measure. Why not? This actually makes a pretty original gift, that's practical, and especially appropriate for any of your interior decorator-type friends or for someone moving into some new digs. When it comes to chic tape measures (and don't get me wrong—I think they're sort of useless) I'd rather have a wood one than something that's sterling silver and has a Tiffany's logo on it. Pick this up at Rockett St George for £9.50 which = $18.67.

Wishing Tree Toys

Ever work with someone day in and day out for months and months and months and they fail to mention that they have a genius business on the side? Well, that just happened to me when my former colleague Rachel Knight (known as Rachel Ng on mastheads) sent me an email that said, "Hey, check out my wooden toys that make..." Unbelievable! I love these toys, they are too cute to look at, they make me want to squeeze something really hard (especially when you see the Little Elephant). Her toy company, Wishing Tree Toys is also environmentally conscious—the toy puzzles are only made from 100% natural chemical-free basswood. The above "Pig" is $10 and you can purchase right from the website. Even better, Wishing Tree donates a portion of the profits to Save The Children. Yes, save them from bad chemical-laced plastic toys that will give children asthma and get them the good stuff! Thanks for sharing, Rachel. Oh, and to the right is Rachel and her sister dressed up as wonder women, trying to save the world even then.

The best $310 ever spent

Above you see a beautiful, stately, mid-century modern Knoll-style sofa sitting in my friend Nina's living room. She purchased this couch from a man downtown and restored it for a grand total of $310. How? Well, Nina is both a sylist and an actress which comes in handy for these kinds of operations—you need a good eye when considering used furniture and you need some serious bargaining skills too. Apartment Therapy tipped her off to the great find on Craigslist—and that day she went downtown and bought it. How much was it listed it for? $175. How much did she get it for? $160. Ok, there was a small catch, the legs were rusted and peeling when she bought it—but she promptly had it re-chromed at Astro Chrome in Van Nuys, and they look perfect. Nina talked down Astro Chrome from their initial $300 offer to $150 (how do you do that Nina?). $160 + $150 = $310—I think that beats most Ikea sofas and I think it could sell for five times the amount she paid. Thanks for the inspiration, Nina. Great design, great price.

When all else fails

The thing I was supposed to post today wasn't ready (a restored and re-chromed Knoll Barcelona chair replica that my neighbor scored on Craigslist), and my plan B didn't work out either because I lost my only remaining car key at about 1:45pm today. So I posted some stellar digital photography. The subject is a dog that needs little introduction: she is known for licking walls, having night tremors, sitting in fountains, and digging in her bed—The Hare. Framed and unframed prints can be purchased through lizziegarrett@gmail.com, prices available upon request.

Samuel Moyer Furniture

I was reading my friend Sharon's blog and she said that she found out about Samuel Moyer from Apartment Therapy, and now it's here—that's the blogosphere for you. I am sort of obsessed with this furniture because it combines modernity with a decidedly rustic aesthetic, yum yum. Above is one of Moyer's few accessories (you really have to check out his furniture for the full effect) called "The Hair-of-the-Dog Tray"—which is a name I was naturally drawn to considering I have a dog named Hare. The tray can be flipped upside down to serve drinks or with the legs down as a breakfast in bed device—although I love these sort of things since I don't have a dining room, I'm always eating on our coffee table, and something like this would be great for a little casual eating or even working—the possibilities are endless. Check out the tray ($100) and his beautiful furniture on the Samuel Moyer website.

Los Angeles Design Guide on H&G

House & Garden just did a re-design of their website (and I believe also their magazine) which in my opinion looks great. They have so many places to click and check out including an affordable design link where everything mentioned is under $100, as well as a Living Green section that helps you make environmentally sensitive choices when designing and decorating. I am thrilled to have the Los Angeles Design guide that I originally wrote for Grace over at design*sponge (who also has a syndicate blog on H&G) on the new H&G site alongside two other city shopping guides (Williamsburg and Stockholm also included)—check out the L.A. guide on H+G, by clicking right here. Above is a photo from Beverly Blvd.'s Sonrisa Furniture.

Totally Tubular: The Cesca chair

The "Cesca" chair is always something I associated with the 1980s, I guess because they were the chairs in my kitchen as a kid, but I recently was reminded that the Marcel Breuer for Knoll design dates back to 1928. Apparently he conceived of the first tubular steel chair (named after his daughter Francesca) in 1925, based on the tubed frame of a bicycle. The design is noted for having an industrial-age aesthetic of cantilevered tubular steel as well as being functional, simple and modern. I can't say for sure if the chairs that I used to hide my toys under had Marcel Breuer's signature and a Knoll stamp of authenticity on them because my parents don't have them anymore and were probably sold at a garage sale along side my brothers prized Star Wars action figure collection. Which is a lesson: never sell anything. Today a single Cesca chair can be purchased for $733 at Hive Modern.

The Hotel Box

The Hotel Box, a new product to the market from Pure Nomade Danish designers Lilian Adler and Soren Berg, is neither a box, nor a piece of furniture, but can be used for everything in between. I think it's actually a pretty good idea, especially for loft living—you could use it as a room divider, shelving system, shoe boxes, files, etc. It's relatively cheap and stores flat when you don't need it. Here are the stats: Boxes are made of fine linen paper cardboard, can be stacked up to 10 feet by using a center screw at the top of the box. Each size: 6"h x 18.5"w x 12d; each box can hold up to 11 pounds. You can get them at the SF MoMA store or Auto for about $25.

IMAGE!

This weekend pick up a copy of the Sunday L.A. Times to read the inaugural issue of the IMAGE section—which is totally awesome, or look at it online right here.

Happy St. Patty's Day

I always think it's funny to be in L.A. on St. Patrick's Day because there are about three Irish Pubs in the city opposed to the 3000 in other cities I've lived in like Boston and Chicago—and at least 10% of those are named "The Blarney Stone". This holiday is great for two reasons: It celebrates the color green (one of my favorites, as you can see above) and drinking. I think it would be most relevant if I delve in to the color aspect on this blog—especially because kelly green is such a "hot" color right now. For fun I found all the things in my apartment that I love that are green. So if you care, read on...Clockwise from top left: Eames fiberglass arm chair from Modernica; Tria System Pantone markers (based on the Pantone Matching System, each Tria marker matches a specific Pantone color) available at Blick Art Supply; Joseph Joseph cucumber glass cutting board available at Loft Party; my favorite t-shirt, Art Splash Fair '85 (which is a shout-out to my cousin Quinn); my favorite green matches (including Hackney's—which is a shout-out to Matriarch) on a sea foam green Missoni dish; and some sweet Vans by Marc Jacobs.

The Bar

Last night I went to one of my most favorite bars, The Bar, for their third anniversary party (owned by the same people as Magnolia Restaurant). I love this place because in L.A., it seems owners just keep flipping the decor of a place every six months with the cheapest/trendiest decor they can find, and then slap a new name on the place. Are these places really replacing the cool places to get drinks, where they play Def Leppard, and have a decent bartender? The interior of The Bar is small and narrow, and the space resembles a vintage parlor with its deep-brown/rouge color scheme, wall sconces, table candles, hanging fans and flocked wallpaper. It is located at 5851 Sunset Blvd. on the corner of Bronson Ave in L.A.. Above is a shot of my friend Ashley on the back patio of the bar a year or so ago before she abandoned me for London—I love that shot. And the little pic was all I could scrape off the internet of the interior.

Azimut 1969 Lamp

I love this industrial-looking table lamp which can be used as a bedside lamp. It's a replica of the original Azimut lamp and can rotate 360 degrees, so you can use it for almost anything. It comes in three finishes: white, black, and chrome.
Get it for $235 at the Conran Shop.

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

I came across the design of the above ceramic square vase (Vase Carré, 1999) from my friend Alexis who's cut out table is featured on design*sponge today. The vase was actually designed for Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake for his Paris boutique. Bouroullec states that, "The vase effectively suggests a particular way of organizing the flowers one-by-one, in line with the idea that we might have of ikebana." Check it and other great items out at the Bouroullec website.

Dover Street Market

My friend Alexis, who I swear is living in a new city every time I speak to her (Rome, London, Paris—and now she's in beautiful Providence, RI), turned me on to London's Dover Street Market which I'm sure is much better in person, but has a pretty great e-shop as well—heavy on the Comme de Garçons line. I found the two above wallets that I really like just browsing around this morning. The one on the left is from their gold stamp collection which I really like because it's great for a guy who wants something more than the standard plain wallet but doesn't want something too "colorful" (£96) and the wallet on the right is a designy graphic faux fur hounds tooth print wallet (£116). Check out all the other goodies on the website.

Starr Power

Last night I watched the 1978 movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band staring Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees for the second time in my life. The first time I saw it I was probably 14 and thought the movie was cheesy and lame, and most people agree it's a 3 out of 10 kind of a movie. But with the right mood and a few glasses of wine it was one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a long time, truly magical. Speaking of magical—my friend Amy Keller turned me on to one of the coolest websites EVER! Hayley Starr's website is a place you could spend hours, checking out her great clothes, music and book recommendations, and my personal favorite—her line of rainbow plexi glass furniture. Sure her work brings to mind Philippe Starck, but it strangely reminds me of what I would think Peter Frampton might have had in his home in the late 1970s, especially since he was wearing TIGHT white pants, high heels and pink satin shirts. Her furniture line is temporarily on hold due to the raised market price of plexi glass—but I highly recommend checking out the website and buying a dress or two.

New from Taschen

I'm on a tight deadline right now so this needs to be quick, but I had to share this new book from Taschen that looks R.A.D.—Shop America: Mid-century Storefront Design 1938-1950. I don't have time to paraphrase this so I'm just going to put it in quotes from their press release: "Sheer optimism and opulence informed everything from automobile design to architecture, infusing design with larger-than-life planes and curves. Storefront design of the era is particularly indicative of this phenomenon, incarnated here in an extensive collection of hand-illustrated shop window designs from 1938 to 1950. These spectacular, often grandiose plans for grocery stores, shoe shops, beauty salons, bakeries, and more are reminders of a time when stores were sacred shrines for the congregation of American shoppers—impressive and even slightly intimidating, just like the future itself." Get it for $49 on the Taschen website. Psst...but it's only $32 right here on Amazon.

Salvor Kiosk's new imports: Deutschland

One of the main reasons I like the internet is because of Salvor Kiosk. The owners go traveling every 3 months or so and bring back wonderful and curious objects that are part of the local's culture—things you might find as a tourist but more likely would find and love as a resident. I featured a little toy car they brought back from Mexico last year and since then had been anticipating the email I would get to alert me they were back from Germany and their finds were up on their website. The above items are ibuprofen, paracetamol, and schmerztabletten (whatever that is) with unintentionally awesome graphics. They are produced by a local pharmacy in Munich...I wish the CVS advil looked that good. These would look so cool on my bathroom shelves I might have to get a few boxes, Kiosk is selling them in a set of three for $31.

OCD bookcase + OCD boyfriend

This morning after finishing my cappuccino, I looked at the side of the cup where I saw a scribble of 3X, meaning three shots of espresso—not the one that usually does just fine in jolting my heart to unhealthy levels. The Starbucks barista on Melrose (who is really an "actor") messed up my order, but I think it may have been the catalyst I needed to make me organize my modest book collection by color. I worked furiously for about 40 minutes and was actually sort of pleased with the result. I have seen bookshelves featured in several magazines lately, like Dwell and Domino, that have featured similar organization schemes and I thought it would be fun to give it a try.
But I have to admit, I think I was more inspired by Matt—who long before the color-coded bookshelf craze (if you can call it that) has been organizing his work shirts by color—something I have given him massive amounts of grief about for years. My apologies, Matt. You were right, it is cool.

Mercury Glass Votives

I've always had a thing for mercury glass, maybe because it's a strange combination of rustic and glamorous? Since the price of real mercury glass is climbing in the market, I was excited to see these reproductions which are far more affordable—especially considering I break votives as much as I break wine glasses. The above set are from an L.A. Parisian import store on Fairfax called Vintage Weave and are $39 for a set of three. But if you buy a dozen they'll give you 15% off, which is what I want to do.

Mirror Mirror

My friend Alexis, who is about to finish her BFA at RISD keeps blowing me away with her design ideas. I was on her updated wesbite this weekend and became sort of obsessed with her Mirror Mirror concept. The mirrors create an image from one mirror and project it on antoher. Alexis writes, "A projected environment grows...creating an increased depth within the mirror world [which intensifies] the illusion." I would love to have a bathroom mirror projected somewhere like the living room or a foyer for kicks. It's so sci-fi, I love it! For more info on Alexis check out her website.

Ebay find!

Anyone looking for six authentic (Herman Miller stamp visible) vintage Eames fiberglass side chairs? Perfect for a mod dinner table, this find is great, if only I had a dinning room and a dinning room table...I'd be on the bid right now, which currently stands at $100. If you could snag all six for under $500 it would be a pretty good deal. Check out the link right here.

Coloured Pressed Glasses (British for Tumblers)

I love these tumblers and have bought a few at Maison Midi, but they usually only have a few colors. I recently broke a few of mine and was looking for a place to get them online and am so happy that I finally found a place! These glasses are so great for wine, water, juice, cocktails and are so pretty—especially when you have a bunch of different colors. They come in eleven different colors on the Re-found Objects website and are about $11 each.