Munny Show in Tokyo

So Chad is in Tokyo for the Munny temporary store opening at the MoMA store, here are some pictures of the space. As the sign says there's also a Munny show, wonder if this Gloomy Munny (below) is on display, it was made for the very first Munny show back in 2005. For that same show, I did one with my friend Siu Yin Chau (below), his name is Ping Pong Chimp. The reason why I decided to do a ping pong themed Munny was because of the lollipop that reminded me of a ping pong paddle, (the accessories that come with your Munny is a blind assortment meaning you don't know what you're getting until you open the box). I bought some pretty fancy yarn for this little dude and was hand knitted by a first class knitwear designer! I was bummed that it wasn't sold for much (the money was donated to the people affected by the Tsunami), but I had fun doing it.
photos: Chad, Kidrobot

Black, White, and Gray Forever

That's me, I just can't kick that habit. As I get older I can no longer wear some of the labels that I've been a fan of since high school, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing fun pieces, but definitely less girly. Here are some of my black, white and gray picks for the fall:

1. Jil Sander collection for Uniqlo (above), the prices are so affordable I'll probably buy a lot of from the collection.

2. A lot of Acne Jeans. It's probably one of my favorite labels these days. (Top) I LOVE this look a lot, especially the skirt that's wrapped like a Guggenheim Museum! (Bottom) Wham sweater, boxy and long, comes with a matching scarf that look like another set of sleeves. Love the shoes too!

3. Oak. This store has created a small collection of clothes that defines what Oak is all about, dark, edgy, layers, and affordable. This coat with a square collar exterior and a french terry zip up is $422! You can't even buy half a bag with that money!

4. Opening Ceremony. I always love clothes with options to wear different ways. This tie front blazer can be worn as a jacket or as a dress.

5. Fun pieces that I must get:
I fell in love with this Karen Walker broken pearls t-shirt ever since I first saw it in a runway photo. I'm normally not into crew neck t-shirts, but this shirt is made for dressing up so I like it.

Okay it's not black white or gray but definitely rocks! This fish tail flannel shirt by Opening Ceremony. Not totally into ruffles but mixed with the masculinity of a flannel shirt makes a nice balance.

photos: Uniqlo, Acne Jeans, Opening Ceremony, Urban Outfitters, Creatures of Comfort

I Want E.T.!

I had a leather E.T. when I was a kid and wish that I never threw it away (or my parents gave it to a cousin) because it's one of my all-time top 5 favorite toys! I've been looking for the cutest looking E.T. replacement and this one is it! I found him when I stumbled upon Fine Little Shop and it was love at first sight, funny that the glow on his finger is yellow, not red. Chad and I have been trying to edit down our toy collection in our home, but I am pretty sure that E.T. is going to make the cut!

image: Fine Little Shop

J. Peterman, Really?

For people who know what J. Peterman is, must be saying "really? Is that the J. Peterman that Elaine worked for on Seinfeld?", yes really, I love J. Peterman catalogs ever since I was a kid, every product in the catalog (except for some home furnishing) is shown in watercolor illustration, I study these illustrations like real pieces of art! I also read the catalog from cover to cover, because they always have a witty history lesson about each product. Although myself and most of my readers, are not the demographic that shop at J. Peterman, but if you really look closely and you will find some really outstanding classic pieces that will work with your wardrobe! Here are my picks:

Picture above- Otavalo Mountain shirt, it's a unisex shirt worn by the actual moutain people of Otavalo, Ecuador. The catalog suggests that I wear it with a soft skirt and a wide belt, hmmm.... not sure about that...

The JP shirt- another unisex shirt in muslin and pure cotton, it looks so soft, it has no collar stays so it's perfect for the button down look. And how about those wooden buttons, sign me up!!!

I can never get tired of a good trench coat, this short version, the catalog says was found in a little shop in Milan. It also suggests that I pair it with a beige paisley scarf, not sure about that again.... but it is a very chic coat, or a really good illustration of an average coat?

This vintage camera clock (this is a photo not illustration) is very interesting, guess you can turn anything into clocks but this folding bellows camera looks really good to me, and it's on sale!

images: J. Peterman

OC- Department Store

My jetlagged Hubby arrived in Tokyo and walked around Shibuya late at night and sent me a picture of the Tokyo Opening Ceremony to be opened on the 30th. It's located in the busiest shopping district called Shibuya. Chad said that it's about the size of a Parco building (there are about 3 large buildings of Parco department stores in that area!), guess it's not just a little boutique like the one in New York! There are some computer renderings of the interiors of the store here, it's going to be an 8-level store with different theme on each floor, kind of like an American version of Dover Street Market, I love and wish I were there! I'm sure the store will be a hit in Tokyo since the Japanese are fascinated by the American culture, and I hope my good friend Miki's jewelry line will do very well there.
picture: Chad

My Walls Need Some Friends

They are looking a little bare right now, we have a few things hung on the walls but could use a couple new ones. Ever since we got the black painting I'm really into buying prints with black background. I love the owl print by Wayne Pate, but we had to roll it up due to a string of bad incidents that happened to our personal lives (we are superstitious!). But I'm a huge fan and would really love to buy a new print of his. I don't think I'm allowed to buy any more prints since we have so many that are stored inside our closets (we really edited down our art collection for the new place, perhaps a little too much!). The Frenchie bird above is the print that I sort of got an approval for... and here are some other ones that I would love to get:David Hockney by Wayne Pate. He really chose the most iconic image of the artist, that pose is so distinctively Hockney! I love the color of the paper Wayne used for the print, it's so retro chic!

A couple of prints by the lovely Eleanor! The top one is just what I was looking for, black and lots of black, and gold ink, it's sexy and dangerous!!! The second one has such beautiful silhouettes and colors that pop and most importantly this print will look so good on my wall, it's so Bruno Munari!

And this amazing photo of a Nymphenburg porcelain store room by Greg Krum (Chad's co-worker from the past and a dear friend), I wish I had gotten it back in January on this website, it's now completely sold out, not even one $2000 print left! Medium format photos are just so special, I can even sense the musty and cold storage room from the color of these worn out but beautiful cabinets.

images: good shape design, push me pull you, 2x200

Last Night

Went to Areaware's Pop Up store opening at the Port Authority to support Chad who played the best soul music in town and of course to support our local designers. The store is a lot of fun if you are in the market for gifty things, here are some of my faves:I don't have room for another pillow in my home, but I do love Fauna pillows, how cute is the squirrel one on the lower right?!

Sorry for the bad picture, there were too many people hovering around Kiel Mead's jewelry case, I love the simplicity and innocence of his designs, see the badminton birdy lights above, and especially the delicate forget-me-knot, which I have blogged about a while ago.

If I were to buy something at the store, this would be it, a Tarmoset leather fly swatter! I could really use one this summer!!!

Yes the Annie Lenon hairy necklaces are cool, but I adore the little flower earrings!

And last but not least Chad the Mr. DJ man.

I'll Be There

(I know the header is cheesy but I can't help myself!)
Spike Lee, whose film production company is located in Fort Greene (actually right next to my old apartment), is planning a block party to celebrate Michel Jackson's 51 birthday next Saturday, August 29, at Fort Greene Park. DJ Spinna will DJ for the event, as a proud Fort Greene resident and a sometimes MJ fan, I will surely be there. But the whole reason why I want to blog about this is because of the flyer, I love how the silhouette of his hair is text! Drop me a note if you are going to the block party and we can all sing "ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa" together!
images: Huffington Post

The Most Beautiful Stamps

In the past I've mentioned about how boring US stamp designs are, so I am really happy to discover these King and Queen of Hearts stamps that were released in May. The drawing is referenced from 18th Century French playing cards but the design is retro- circa 70's. There are so many things to love about these stamps, like the Queen's crown, the heart motifs on the King's costume, and the sweet little "love" hand-writing! I'm going to a book of these stamps this week, which leads me to wonder how many stamps do you use per month?
image: USPS

Where Have I Been?

Hello hello! I'm back and I owe all of you some explanation why I stopped blogging for months. It started when I got a freelance gig at this great company and it kept me really busy for a while, and during the time Chad and I were looking to move out of our apartment where we made lots of squirrel friends. We looked at more than 50 apartments and ended up with the worst one we could have picked, I was miserable, could not sleep due to the noises and terrible neighbors, stressed and angry for the entire 5 months we were there. So we broke the lease and moved into a new place in July and I am so happy here. I'm now finally moved in and have the chance to relax and catch up where I left off back in December. The one good thing about moving to that crappy apartment was the neighborhood, we made a big move to Fort Greene, Brooklyn from the city, how brave were we?! (just kidding) We love love love the neighborhood and we're so lucky that our current apartment is only 2 blocks away from the last one, but it made a world of difference! Here are some pictures of our place, we have done a few home improvement projects and we have more to do. The painting in the first picture is by Shannon Lucy, a good friend of ours, the second picture is Chad's pride and joy- his record shelves, and the third picture is our window in the living room, we have some little plants and the dachshund pillow is a gift from a friend and it's created by another friend Aaron who lives just a couple blocks away! Below are my birthday presents from Chad, this labbit by Amanda Visell is probably my favorite toy figure from Kidrobot. The touching hands bangle bracelet is from Eley Kishimoto, I think it's the sweetest thing ever!

Blossoms

A few snaps of the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I went on Tuesday afternoon to take advantage of the free admission and the weather could not have been nicer, but very hot! In fact half of the blossoms have already past peak, the lake is usually surrounded by cherry blossoms during the festival which takes place this weekend. I'm a new Brooklynite and it was a really nice way to really see the neighborhoods by walking a lot, I walked from Fort Greene via Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights to the Botanic Garden, sounds like a lot but it took only 30 minutes. Oh yes, hubbie and I moved to Brooklyn from Manhattan in February and we LOVE Brooklyn! The apartment, on the other hand, is a different story.

Flea Markets in PA

We went to a few flea markets in Pennsylvania over the weekend, it was a lot of fun, didn't buy anything except for an Anne Klein II belt from the Salvation Army, here are some of my favorite things from the markets:

Hubbie bought a few things and these 2 are my favorite!

THE Passport Case To Get

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun holiday season. Mine was pretty stressful which I will tell you later why. I've been looking for the perfect passport case for the longest time, I need one that is long so it can hold the e-ticket and prevent it from wrinkling. This Muji Passport case is it, the design as you'd expect from Muji is simple, and I am sure that it is very well made (haven't seen it in person), it is definitely long enough to hold your e-ticket, there are slots for cards and ID, as well as money, the best part is, it's only $12.50! Think I'm going to get one today, you can get yours online here.
photo: moma online store