day of exploration

you know how you always say you're going to explore that local-ish neighborhood, drop by that one store you always pass as its windows look appealing, or visit that tourist trap. no? maybe it's just me, then. anyway, yesterday, i was able to find some time to finally visit places i had been wanting to check out for some time.

AM
lucky me tries to work from home on fridays so i have one less day of crazy commuting. unlucky me had a last minute very promising prospect pop up who wanted to meet at 9 am on friday morning. i decided to take advantage of being so far north and east and asked friends for eastside recommendations. luckily, bree gave me a few great suggestions.

anyway, the new prospect turned out to be quite exciting, and our friday morning meeting was very pleasant. fingers crossed i get the project.

i was done at around 10:30 and excited to go shopping in the hip 'hood as i have a few designers i need to shop for. yes, i know christmas is over. these are thank you gifts. i had read about reform school all over the crafty/designy blogosphere, so i really wanted to hit it up. bree also suggested it. too bad nobody in that neighborhood seems to open until 11-12ish. i had a lunch at 11:45! in the sgv!

as you can see, i was quite disappointed.

i did check yolk's hours the night before and remembered they opened at 11. i got there at 11:02. doors still locked.

mr. chicken and i were both dismayed.

i loitered on the street for a bit, and came across this store. also closed.

i once knew someone we called lobbit. labbit is a new one, though.

i nonchalantly walked past yolk again on my way to my car, and whee! the door was cracked open! i ran around and scooped up a few goodies, then hurriedly paid as i was running late to lunch.

midday
as part of my make-the-most-of-being-out plan, i also corralled a few fellow eating-lovers for some soup dumplings at mei long village. someone else had her iphone at the ready as usual, so i didn't bother taking photos. wan also beat all of us to blogging the recap. cee was a trooper consdiering she had just driven down from man jose and arrived less than a handful of hours earlier.

PM
finally, time to go home and get some work done. however, i ended up dropping by a few places before going home because once i am home, it is so painful to get my butt back out again.

first, warehouse 1933, where i found a few vintage goodies.



oh, brno chair, how i want at least a handful of you.


love this paul rand exhibit poster.



we need a dining table, but i didn't find anything i loved.


i've been trolling for years for some fun-colored vintage eames molded plastic chairs as their size and shape fit little ole me nicely for dining and such activities. too bad this one was a bit...bleh and its leather cracked a bit because its sale price was quite nice.


real steelcase. in the perfect shade of blue. heavy as a mofo, i'm sure. yay for rolled steel!


vintage playthings. the one on the left is dedicated to the bear and marmalade. yes, that's a viewsonic from the '40s (the black one)!

i confirmed my suspicions that used upholstery skeeves me out almost as much as thrift store clothes and shoes (!) do. too bad as the prices were pretty reasonable for some of the more gently used items. what's a mid-century modern loving girl to do? save up and buy new reproductions i guess. sigh.

i then shot down the street to b&b hardware. i have a soft spot for craftsman houses. after all, i grew up in suburban socal. anyway, they have a great selection of new cabinet and door hardware, some vintage hardware, vintage & refurbished lighting (which is NMS but still pretty cool), and can also custom fabricate windows and doors for your o.g. craftsman building.




authentic vintage lighting, cleaned up and re-wired. one of their custom craftsman-style doors.


those hard-to-find decorative grate covers. yes, they are still expensive here. doorknob candy!


mailboxes etc. ok, just mailboxes. no et cetera.

after i got home, i ate two of these suckas from beard papa's. one vanilla, one chocolate. my suspicions were confirmed again. vanilla is the way to go. too bad i didn't stick a penny in the photo for scale.