New Year: New Door

Yippee! Yesterday our new front door arrived! I took the plunge on a somewhat calculated whim I bought a Crestview Door online. In December I spoke about the possibility of a new front door (here) but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Tiffany, friend and reader commented that Crestview doors was no longer going to be selling to individuals - instead they were going wholesale. This was news to me. So I jumped on it. I went to the Crestview Doors website - signed up for their email newsletter and the minute I received the notice of their final front door sale I knew exactly what I wanted. There were only about a dozen doors total. Many had been floor models and a few had damage. Two doors remain - and one is a crazy good deal! If you need a front door be sure to grab it. We got the Grover - pictured above. There were other less traditional models available but I thought this would be best. It would bring the house closer to what it should like and it wouldn't be too different when we decide to sell - way down the line. Anyway with all the work Mr. Monkey is doing on the front yard you will be in for a big treat when we post pictures of the "after" version of the front of the house. I'll end it like I started it - Yippee!

Modern Life in Puerto Rico

Friends, so I took a longer vacation than normal. Sorry for the month long hiatus. Thanks for coming back to check in for new content. I'm back and super excited to show off some of the changes that Mr. Monkey and I have been working on. Specifically the front of the house has some big changes. Mr. Monkey has liberated our front yard from that gawd awful chain link fence - yucko and yippee! First though I wanted to share a bit of our new years vacation with you all. I'm always looking for good design. And even in Puerto Rico and its island, Vieques, I found some sweet spots. We didn't stay at this hotel but I admired the Kama Hotel from the street. The interesting thing is that I've looked it up on the internet since my return and I could find very little information. Trip Advisor doesn't even have it listed. SO I'm not sure if it's new or not. If any of you out there have more info please share in the comments sections. I loved the idea of having a chandelier OUTSIDE! It looked great at night too with it's red lights creating quite the mood. Below you'll find pictures from the isla de Culebra. A small island with a population of only 2,000. As we were coming in on the ferry I saw these great buildings with an interesting structure. So I took a picture but there was a lot of sea spray on the windows and so the picture is a bit blurry. I read about this great restaurant before we arrived on the island and so we promptly called to make reservations. It turns out that the restaurant - Juanita's Bananas was located in this compound - where you can actually stay in the cabinas.  Click on the links and check it out - they're simple but you can't beat that view.

 food was delicious and much of it was grown right there on the property. We were told by the staff that the buildings were designed with tornados in mind. There are doors on both sides directly across from each other. Apparently when a tornado comes they just open up the doors and the wind and water blow right through the structures. I was really in love with the buildings and would love to go back and spend more time there. Also you can see the inside of the building was simple and the lights were creatively made from simple materials - wood, paper, and a bit of paint. Each light fixture was unique.  We ended up renting private residences when we were on the islands but it turns out there are also some great hotels. Next time  - because there will be a next time I hope to either stay at this uber modern hotel - Hix Guest House  - or this gorgeous house - Casa de Cristal. There was so much more to explore on Vieques that we could have stayed there another week  - easily. I'd love to hear from some others about vacation sites where you can rent great architecture in beautiful surroundings. Modern design makes a lot of sense too on remote islands where every resource is precious and waste is to be avoided at all costs.  Enjoy the pictures of paradise! 

P.S. My goal is to post new content once a week. But I'm not great about always posting on the same day. So if you want to be sure to get updated click on the link to the right at the top of this page where it reads "Subscribe to This Blog" and click on the "Posts" button. Thanks for reading. 

 

Planning for the Future: Jay Ryan Print

We had gracious dinner guests who complemented how the office and living room are looking. We're still working on other rooms in the house. This year I should be able to really focus on the bathroom, T.V. room, and finally the master bedroom. When I worked on the office it helped to draw on the color scheme from the Jay Ryan Modest Mouse Concert Poster. So unintentionally I found another Jay Ryan print to serve the same purpose. I bought the print because I liked it and it's been sitting around the house for a few weeks in it's tub (sniff sniff sad little poster). As we have been using the T.V. room as a staging area for vacation packing I thought I'd like a warm color in there. It's a small room with a brown couch and a blue Modernica Eames rocker. I know blue and orange can be a daring couple but I think it will fit our little space - give it personality. Plus the print while quirky is very sweet, "she protects us" is the title. Showing a kitty in a chair while spirits of loved ones hover over head. I don't want to get too woo woo on you but it's a sweet thought and I love the colors which pop even more in person. So if you come back and visit us in the new year that is something to look forward to. 

For the time being Mr. Monkey and I are focused on getting packed for our new year's trip to Puerto Rico (via Tucson). I'll be out of commission the first two weeks of January soaking up the rays (and the rum).  Don't worry, you'll be so busy getting back to your work schedule you won't even notice an absence over here at modern monkey. I'm not big time enough to have a guest blogger. But I will come back inspired and with lots of great pics to share. In the meantime here's what I'll be reading at the beach. So excited to check out Dwell's issue on pre-fabs! FINALLY! It looks good but I'm trying not to look at it (and others) so I have something left to read on the plane. Cheers to you all. Thanks for reading our wee blog this year. It's been fun and I look forward to continuing next year. Don't forget to subscribe (to the right) so you know when we're back and posting in the New Year. Be well. Live modern. Be modern. Live well.

Modern Holiday Present Idea #3: Calendars on Etsy

Just do it now - go over to Etsy - you remember - Etsy, right? Many moons ago your crafty friend told you about an online store where you can buy creative art ventures direct from the artist or crafter as the case may be right online. Now it may be too late at this point to get items before Christmas or the end of Hanukah, or Solstice, or the holiday of your choosing but it is still worth it if you can get an order in to start '09 right. Support an artist in your neighborhood or not. I purchased mostly from the west coast. Last year I was very happy with my calendars from Turtle Papers in Seattle so this year I went back for more. Jennifer, the designer at Turtle Papers was sweet to send a note of thanks with my calendar plus a simple yet fancy book plate as a thank you gift for purchasing from her directly! It seems their Etsy store is on vacation 'til February 1st, 2009 so you must sign up to stay tuned for handsome updates to their Etsy store.

I ended buying 3 calendars at Etsy for gifts. And while I'd love to place them all up on this posting I can't because I know at least two Modern Monkey readers may be receiving them as gifts. So  . . . the point is don't give your mother one of those horrible "Covered Bridges of Oregon" calendars - get that special someone (or really anyone not-so-special too) a cool calendar from an epically-talented creator over at Etsy! You might get some inspiration there as well - I was diverted in the Azizi jewlery store of an artist here in eclectic Eugene. Cheers! Live modern. Live well.

Modern Holiday Present Idea #2

Well the days for shopping are winding down. So here is one more idea for those of you struggling to find an inexpensive but unique purchase for that lover-of-all-things-mod in your life. I found these little Danish salt and pepper shakers at a thrift store - one my faves - Oak St. Vintage. These little sheik little mod shakers were $15 dollars! Such a deal for that lovely look of metal and wood together. Once again by buying something that has been used previously  you are also doing good by our planet! Love it! Cheers and here's to shaking it up like a polaroid picture or cute Danish modern S n' P Shaker. 

New Front Door Light

This top picture is what we have today - it's the AFTER! Every time I see the little globe light it  makes me think, "Thank gawd, those awful butterflies have flitted away!"

This is the before-before.
Before-before: what the house came with. ^

What we ended up with and I am very pleased even though it is "just a globe light" as Mr. Monkey labeled it.


The in-between before. This clear light only lasted for a week.
Here we are with a close up of the final. (Kindly excuse the cob webs).
Once again I'm working on making small changes around our house. I'm looking for small changes that make a big impact - at least in the way I feel everyday in the house. For this little project we worked on the front door light. The in between light we got for 6 bucks at the local hardware store (not a big box hardware store either!). But once it was up (thanks to Mr. Monkey) I was just not as happy as I had hoped. So when we went to Bring recycling in search of a new/re-used front door we saw these globe lights for a buck. I wasn't sure if it would fit but I figured for a buck it was worth the risk. And to my delight and the delight of Mr. Monkey - he was not happy about the thought of changing out another fixture - it fit - the light fixture and my fancy. The previous owner had left us with the very nice craftsman styled butterfly light. So we took it and it's parts to Bring Recycling so that someone with a cutie crafty could make good use of it. It was a nice and sturdy fixture just not to our liking.  I like to think of our new addition as the little-globe-light-that-could (give us a more MCM look, that is). I know it's a bit piecemeal at this point but the front door is next. Bring R. had a couple of options that are similar to these Crestview Doors just minus the major price tag and plus a couple decades of use. So we're keeping our eyes open. We saw two re-useable doors at Bring that were in the same style as the "Grover". As always we'll keep you posted. Later this week I'll share another holiday find from the best little store-in-a-house in Eugene, Oak St. Vintage.

Holiday Present Idea #1

So as you know I strongly advocate for Thrift Store shopping. There are so many benefits which include the protection of the environment (not buying new stuff that was taxing on the earth to build and transport) and of course the protection of the resources within your wallet as well. With this in mind I was perusing the thrift store shelves once again a few months ago and I stumbled across this lovely wee sugar and creamer set. I love the milk glass for its simplicity and its neutrality. So you may not know what your aunt has in her kitchen or your sister-in-law's china color scheme but you can rest assured that these are so cute and neutral that the gift recipient will surely find a time to make use of them. They are sure to brighten up anyone's Sunday brunch. Oh yes, and the price you ask - well take a guess. Less than 20? Why yes. Less than 10? Yup. In fact they were labeled at $2.99 each. Here in Oregon we don't have sales tax so in fact when I handed over 6 bucks I actually got 2 cents back!  This little set could be part of a larger basket that you put together for someone with a tea or coffee theme. Unique and resourceful gifts can be found on the cheap and since I'm not the crafty type this is a solid holiday solver for me. Now the only question is who is the lucky recipient?