Autumnal Happenings in Eugene

Mr. Monkey perfecting a Saturday morning omelet with tomatoes and basil (still) freshly picked from the garden in October!

I'm getting my running routine back in action. Easy to do with skies like this at the track on Polk St. last week.

Mr. Monkey sorting through the colorful pepper haul at the Lane County Farmer's Market.

He did the planting and watering and I did the picking. We thought the rain was coming but we're still picking tomatoes off the vine!

Sorry for the feeble blogging as of late. I took a little break from the blog to enjoy the kitchen, our community, and enjoy this gorgeous fall that we're having. Here are some recent pictures of this seriously amazing October weather and the Eugene sights from around town. All the way down at the bottom is a silly picture of the boxes that just arrived on our front step. Looks like Mr. Monkey and I have a job to do this evening! I had to wait quite awhile to buy this next set of 2 wire bar stools from Modernica. I thought it was actually going to be a longer wait but a couple of weekends ago Modernica kindly had a 20% off sale. The sale saved us over $100 big ones! We're pretty happy that our fall entertaining now has seating for 4 at the magnificent island that Misters Schmitz and Plummer made.

Spectacular view of the sun and clouds doing a dance from up top the Margarita Holding Area (MHA).

Two boxes - two stools - two happy monkeys!

Frank LLoyd Wright: St. Louis

 The Taste of Wright is happening this weekend at the Gordon House here in Oregon. We won't be able to make it this year. You can see pictures here and here (interior kitchen shots) from our visit last year. But I did make it to a new FLW house this past Spring in St. Louis. I was on my  way to the airport from a work meeting and wouldn't you know there just happened to be an FLW house about 30 minutes from the airport. So close I had to call and see if I could be there for the Sunday afternoon tour before my flight out of town. The tours of the Ebsworth Park Home are by reservation only and they only accept 10 people at a time. Lucky for me they had one spot left on the tour! Here are some pictures I took inside the Kraus House. Technically indoor pictures are not allowed but as long as you used a flash and didn't take the picture in front of the docent it seemed to be just fine. So my interior pictures are blurry and technically do not exist. Got it? (wink wink) The docents were a lovely retired couple. The gentleman had been an architect himself and had met FLW several times which added a very personal touch to the tour. I won't go into detail here because I don't want to get the facts wrong, but the basics are that the house was built on the concept of a parallelogram. The house then is shaped like two parallelograms slid together and many of the angles in the house are quite severe and include nontraditional shapes of drawers and beds. It took about a decade to build because no one in St. Louis had built a house like this before and most builders were nervous about taking on such a project. It sounded as though every single change in the house over the years was approved by Mr. Wright and his apprentices and so it remains a fine example of the Usonian type of home that Mr. Wright created. If you're in the St. Louis area, it's only 10 dollars and is so great to be in such a remarkable and well loved little building. If you're in Oregon this weekend you can go to the Gordon House for the celebration or come to Eugene for the Whitaker Block Party, both of which will be scrumptious summer events!

Oregon's Frank Lloyd Wright House, Ninkasi Brew, + Local Food!!!

via Wikimedia

Friends, I don't know how I could have forgotten but . . . this Sunday is the annual summer fundraiser for the Gordon House, Oregon's only Frank Lloyd Wright house. You can check out the details of the event - A Taste of Frank Lloyd Wright - here. I only learned about the fun-draiser heading into it's 8th year about a year ago right after last year's event had occurred. And this time I nearly forgot it until my friend, Mini Monkey, remembered that the event is this weekend. Basically this event is a wonderful opportunity to drink Oregon wine complimented by Oregon food and wander in the world of the FLW Gordon House. I promise of course to take pictures and to post. The good thing about A Taste of FLW is that it is from 3 - 6, allowing me just enough time to drive home to Eugene and make it to Ninkasi's and Slow Food Eugene's Carts and A Cold One Cook Off from 5 - 8pm, the bad thing is that I am going to have to run super long and fast in order to work off all these munching drinking Willamette Valley calories! I can't wait. See you there?

Eugene Friday Night Plans? Meet Your Maker

from Meet Your Maker. Follow them on Twitter here.

from Poppy and Moe at Etsy

I'm super excited to attend my first Meet Your Maker gathering this Friday at the Pizza Research Institute from 5:30 - 9:30pm. One of my fave local Eugene Etsy makers will be there, Poppy and Moe! I've gotten tons of compliments on my flying owl tank, the t-shirt version is pictured above from Poppy and Moe's Etsy site. Wish I could wear it everyday. Ahh, alas. But fortunately they as well as many other talented local folks will be sharing their wares at PRI where we can drink (Ninkasi beer), be merrily munching pizza, and shop from those that make beauty through an interaction between their hands, minds, and a range of materials found around them. This is Eugene, OR DIY functional art at it's best. See you there!

For those of you who don't live in Eugene, do you have a similar affair in your town? What's it called? Send the link so we can check out what other DIY and crafty art types are up to. Cheers.

Modern Frozen Yogurt Eugene-Style: Sweet Summer Start

If there was any food category that needed a modern facelift - it was Frozen Yogurt, you know, FroYo, that delectable sometimes healthy, sometimes not desert. It's highest peak in fame came in the late 80's. Being a SoCal girl by birth I can claim to be made of FroYo just as much as corn or my paternal and maternal genetic material for that matter. Needless to say I hold a special place in my heart from FroYo, despite the fact that there are many examples of bad, bad FroYo out there. Because friends don't let friends have bad FroYo and good friends guide you directly to good FroYo, we ended up at Vanilla Jill's on a Sunday night (that's the link to their facebook page). Here's a link to reviews on Yelp of Vanilla Jill's. More onthe Fro Yo in a minute but you have to admire the design of the wee yogurt shop too. Great colors, pained concrete floors, nice graphics all together this makes for a great yogurt eating experience.

I know New Orleans has beignets, Boston has Boston Cremes, and now Eugene has frozen yogurt made from locally made organic KEIFER!!!! Yup, that's right you aren't dreaming, I know it sounds weird but it is so tasty and well I don't want to talk it up too much but it's made with Nancy's Yogurt. In Oregon Nancy's Yogurt is pretty darn famous with a long hippie past. What's great about Vanilla Jill's is that they are taking 2 already good things, frozen yogurt and keifer and making them both so much better with the addition of syrups like basil and green tea. Did I mention I had blueberry yogurt with lavender syrup and fresh raspberries on top? D-lish!!!

With Vanilla Jill's, Ninkasi and Oakshire Breweries, local wineries with in-town tasting rooms, plus the many farmer's markets, CSA's, and our growing restaurant scene (Belly being my current fave) Eugene is a wonderfully modern place to live. You can live, ride your bike, walk, or take to bus to all of these places in a matter of minutes. And if you're downtown at Skinner's Butte you might catch a glimpse of the Bald Eagle couple raising their eaglets. Good food, booze, nature, and people - sounds like the makings of an excellent summer to me. I'm so glad Vanilla Jill's is now a part of the equation. I know they've only been open about 3 months but I'm ready for the satellite shop so that I can truly ride my bike and be there in 15 minutes flat. Stay tuned . . .

Eugene, OR: Staycation Idea #1

Vero Espresso House, in Eugene, Oregon.

It's a long weekend across the our country and Mr. Monkey and I are looking forward to spending some quality time at home. As I drive around town I've been thinking about if I were not driving and I was walking or biking instead how would I want to spend a luxuriously relaxed morning in Eugene. 

So here's my walking tour of how I would spend about 3 hours in town on Willamette St., one of the central arteries of Eugene life. 

Stop 1: Holy Donuts (1437 Willamette Street). I would start my morning at the locally started & fostered Holy Donuts. On a nice day you can sit out in the courtyard sipping coffee and savoring each bite of your organic, dairy, and egg free donut. My faves are the itty bites that you can get for a dollar a piece and they are great for a taste of the entire donut without the after-sugar whole doughnut guilt.  Word has it that they now have their own version of the Maple Bacon Donut that competitors Voodoo Doughnuts are famous for. With Voodoo just opening up about 6 blocks away there is sure to be some healthy (or not-so-healthy) competition. After talking to whoever is in the shop at the time about Eugene goings-on I would walk north on Willamette for some shopping. 

Stop 2: Delux Fashion Shop (1331 Willamette Street). From the Yelp reviewers you can tell that this is a great place to spend an hour or so. Search for treasures in an excellent variety of locally made clothes and jewelry as well as gently used vintage items. Often the jewelry I've bought here have turned into  great discussion starters at social gatherings. I have a favorite little felt pin of a one pearl-eyed octopus monster thing that despite that description I always receive compliments for when wearing. The shop owners too are great initiators of the local DIY culture by annually hosting and organizing a "Parade of Custom Made"; this year's theme was the "Carnival of Couture." After looking for goodies for an hour I would wander one block south to the new decor store.

NEST Interior

J. Pogan Bird Sculpture found at Nest on Willamette St. in Eugene, Oregon.

 

Stop 3: NEST: art, antiques, and decor (1245 Willamette Street). They've only been open for about a month. So I don't yet have a lot to report other than to say stop by and visit this little shop owned by a creative mother/daughter team. They have some unique items created by the daughter of the team as well as a number of other local artists. My picture below doesn't actually represent the best of what thy have. You can see it's a small space so can check everything out in a small period of time. My fave items were these incredible metal bird sculptures by Joe Pogan. Some of their items were too country chic for me but many of the items had a more modern feel that I could really appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to visit as they fill up the store with a larger variety of local artists. I would leave Nest and walk over a block to Oak street and south a couple of blocks to the best vintage store in Eugene. . . 

Stop 4: Oak Street Vintage (1409 Oak Street). I know you guys have heard me rave about OSV for years now but my enthusiasm has not wavered and my favorite day spent in Eugene would certainly involve a stop over. Last time in I picked up a gorgeously colorful 1960's Italian pitcher - used last night for beet, mint, lime juice, and vodka cocktails plus a vintage bar set that I've have yet to take out it pretty box. Here's a picture of a cabinet I was considering and I think has since been sold. So I think all told this would add up to a couple of hours of shopping an walking (heavy on the shopping side) so I think I would need a sit down for a refreshment. Off to my final stop of this relaxed day. 

Stop 5: Vero Espresso House (205 E. 14th Street). Just a block away from Oak Street Vintage this is the perfect place to sit outside with an italian soda, a panini, and a friend for lunch. The interior is cozy and the outdoor patio is usually packed in the summers. With free wifi and a friendly staff even a business meeting can pass as pleasurable here. Ah, even though I didn't actually make these rounds this morning I'm feeling remarkably blissful. I hope this weekend brings you similar sensations! (Vero Yelp reviews here.)

Eugene Modern Spaces: Moss Hair Studio

Photos courtesy of Moss owners.

If you haven't heard there's a great new hair studio in town! Moss Hair Studio has only been in business since February but the co-owners and their team have been styling Eugene heads for quite some time. I just recently started going to get my hair cut by Jesse and as a result I have been getting mucho compliments. I've also heard great things about Renèe and Sonia too! Everyone was very welcoming when I went in last time. But really why are they on this little blog o' mine? Because I love their space! I believe Jesse and Renèe did most of the design. They chose their own color palate (green, grey, and natural wood with a dash of orange) to match their modern organic studio's sense of style. They were smart and chose an amazing central overhead light fixture (from IKEA). They had each of the stations custom made (Kustom Kraft Cabinets) for their space. The storage on these wood stations is so smart - it really cuts down on the clutter that we're all too familiar with seeing in many salons. The sofa in the center is a real surprise find from World Market. I forgot to ask where the rug came from but another smart use of color and shape (Update: for the opening they switched to a FLOR rug - we blogged about FLOR here). The floors sounded like a major production since they had to rip out nasty old carpet and seal the concrete floors. Jesse mentioned that they tried sanding or polishing the cement floors before sealing them and it was not looking so hot. So they decided to just clean the floors up and seal the deal. In order to celebrate a new business opening in Eugene and to give the Moss Team a pat on the back for creating an amazing modern and functional space where there really wasn't one before stop by on April 30th in between 6:30pm and 9pm for toasts and treats. And because the Moss team is so cool they are donating 20% of products proceeds to a local non-profit supporting children with Cancer who have lost their locks - the Angel Hair Foundation. You can follow them on Facebook or on Twitter although it seems they're on Facebook more often. Cheers to great hair in a great space with a modern mission of making smart choices that are all about aesthetics and doing right by the environment!

Decorating New Office Space

At my place of business we've gone through quite a few office moves. This past fall I was upgraded to have my own office. The space was great with big open windows but really no room for decoration because the wall and floor space were limited. This time around I have a corner pentagon-shaped office with a window through someone else's office to the outside window. Generally speaking I really really love to have a window to look out at the outdoors while I'm sifting through the solving the problems of the modern day education system (wink wink) but now that I've moved in I'm really enjoying my corner of the office. One of the big challenges was to find a mirror that would reflect the window behind me and create a new window for me to gaze through during these intense bouts of problem-solving - not to be confused with day dreaming. So I went looking all around town for some items to spruce up my wee oddly-shaped working space. Here's a recap of items found, bought, and placed. Thanks to Oak St. Vintage, Puttin' on the Ritz, Luxe, the UO bookstore, Goodwill, and yes, TJ Max. See if you can guess which items came from each store. The key is at the bottom. Cheers!


Lamp - Oak St. Vintage; Milk glass cookie jar, and ash trays used as paper clip holders - Puttin' on the Ritz; turquoise Fire King mug, old water color and frame, and milk glass candy bowl - Goodwill; Mirror - TJ Max; File folders and thank you stationary - Luxe, green desk top drawers - UO bookstore. Wedding picture of Mr. and Dr. Monkey courtesy of Northfork Photography and friend James Johnston.

Modern Kid's Gifts in Eugene

So we were on the prowl for toys for our nephew recently and found ourselves over at the 5th St. Public Market mostly because going to Toys-R-Made-Out-of-Plastic felt a bit too overwhelming and potentially hazardous for the kids in our lives who we love. Specifically we were hanging out in the Elephant's Trunk. We ended up with some fun items for our 7 year old nephew but as we were checking out I was pleasantly surprised to see some great items from Paul Frank and Sukie. I've seen Sukie stationary around over at Luxe (see the link in the sidebar) but didn't expect to see the calendar at the toy store. It's a cute little calendar that sits on your table or desk. You rotate the wheels at the back to change the date, day of week, and month. What a fun tool to teach your child about numbers, months, seasons, days of the week and all that good stuff! The truth is though that for a moment I thought about getting the calendar for myself for my office and I already know all about days and months - it's just such a pretty little item - like having art sitting right at your desk every day. My point though is that there are cool modern items for kids too - it doesn't have to all be in primary colors and it can be found right here in Eugene! You don't even have to drive to P-town or buy it on the internet. So thanks to Elephant's Trunk for carrying a a memory game that today's Auntie Mame would want to play with her modern day Patrick! Cheers.

Modern Shopping in Eugene

Photos provided from owner on Google.

Eugene Modern Newsflash!

Modern is the name of the store. Located over on 5th and Pearl across the street from the 5th Street Public Market this little shop has always left me wanting more. Over the years it has been limited by space. I love that they sell Gus*Modern but with limited floor space they can usually only display a couch or two. So it's not really the Go To place for modern furnishings. They often have great accent pillows, but again the space does not allow them to have a variety. They at times carry Angela Adams rugs (and purses/wallets) - gorgeous - but the space is often a barrier. In January, Denise Sprengelmeyer, the owner, sent out a request for feedback from her clients and patrons. According to the newsletter she sent out this week the survey was helpful and sales have been great. Which leads to this newsflash - Modern will be expanding! What wonderful news during these crappy economic times. I'm super happy for Denise and her staff and I'm super happy for me and those of you who enjoy spending time and purchasing many of their modern items. You can read about our Flor searching and Flor buying experience by clicking on the links. I found the two pictures above from google maps and you can see the angela adams rugs hanging from the second level railing, you can also see 2 really cute christmas stockings on the table - I purchased those both, one for mom (Mother Monkey) and one for brother (Lucky Monkey). In the bottom picture you can also see examples of great lighting, Modern always has the most original lighting options in town plus a Marimekko pillow in the background. We ll I'm very excited for them and for Eugene. I think their re-newed vision will be profitable for the store and beneficial for patrons. Thanks, Modern!

"Our goal is to be the interior design resource customers can count on in Eugene rather than having to drive to Portland to find what they want." Modern Newsletter.

I can't wait! I'll be sure to report back in March once they've opened the new space. Yippee!

Good, Simple, Functional = Modern

I was scanning my pictures for things I've been wanting to post but have gotten looked over for no good reason. I found this little picture which exemplifies all that should be considered positive about modern design. It might be hard to tell why this picture is special you have to look in the cup. Go ahead, look at the cup, see what's inside? A straw, right. But not just any straw - it's what the straw is made out of . . . you guessed it, that's right! GLASS! I love these straws at the sweetest little cafe in Eugene. It's called Park St. Cafe and they are the only restaurant that I know of that has glass straws for tasty cold drinks like Hibiscus Cooler - and iced herb tea of sorts.  I love these straws because they exemplify all that is good in modern design. They are simple, but they are recyclable and re-useable. Like they say in the wine bizz - they have a good mouth feel and they're nice to look at too. Like I said good design. Now sure I wouldn't hand one over to a child who likes to bite their straws but for most of the population we can use them and reuse them again and again. I hope this is a design tip that spreads fast! Enjoy. Does anyone else know of any glass straws or glass straw makers? I haven't had a chance to research them yet. But I'm thinking we need a set here at the Monkey Pad. Cheers!

Found, Eames Rocker!

   

So you may recall not too long ago I had some issues with Craigslist. Not because it's not a great service. Really the problem was me and my lack of sales skills (read posts here and here). So I've determined that I'm much better at buying off of Craigslist. I went back my to my old ways - and I think I had quite a score. Ta dah! Yup that's right - an Eames rocker! on Eugene's craigslist! Crazy I know. Before you start looking at our craigslist even though you're over in Missouri or Illinois you should know it is a Modernica. And technically I can't use the Eames name because it hasn't been properly licensed but apparently it's made from originals molds. You can read about it in Dwell letters to the editor in recent issues. There's a debate but as far as I'm concerned the debate ends when you find one that is in your price range and you love the color and it fits the space your working with. Now the only glitch here is that I had no designated space - the color and the price were right and I figured the space would present itself. Stay tuned for the placing ceremony . . .

Modern Fences II

Well in one of my recent lay overs at home Mr. Monkey and I went for a quick walk around the neighborhood looking at fences. This is what we came up with. I'm sure there are others but these are the more interesting ones. I'm also posting a picture from Arcosanti that is not a wood fence but a wall instead - one that I've been thinking about in fence form. I think we could leave the center open and filled wih a tinted glass or a small window of woven wood. Just ideas . . .



I'm about ready to just rip out that chain link fence. I'm exercising restraint for the summer though. Since it's our first summer here and on one side of the fence there lives a kiwi plant I'm curious to see if it will bear fruit. So for this summer the chain link will stay. I also was briefly imagining removal of the chain link but keeping the metal posts and building off of that somehow for the new fence. There are craft classes at the local U and they do offer some welding classes . . . but the mind wanders first I have to put away the pile of landry I'm sitting next too then I can think about welding my own fence for the front. Enjoy the pictures of Friendly Street Neighborhood fences.

Welcome to the modern side of Eugene!

Hi, all! Welcome to my blog based out of Eugene, Oregon. My goal is to show that even in a small city we have a growing group of creative people focused of great modern design. At the same time I'll be showing how I am decorating my first home along with my husband - who is the real monkey - with our Eugene resources and a limited budget. Basically I'm obsessed with decorating our home and this is an outlet for me to post pictures - before and after - and show off some of the cool design that is going on here in Eugene. I read Dwell, Domino, Ready Made, and Sunset and most of the locales in these magazines are based in the big cities. It's time to show that Eugene is more than its reputation of college-town with hippie highlights left over from the 60's. Much of Eugene is looking to the future with an emphasis on a healthy environment out in nature as well as in the home. Yes - it may be a trendy focus but it's been a constant in Eugene as long as I've been here (since 2001). I'll be doing a bit of traveling this month and I'll be sure to post pictures from my travels.  Cheers!