an eco-friendly easter idea – fill up a modernest egg tote bag!

image from modernest

it’s hard to believe, but easter is right around the corner!

instead of all that plastic, why not fill up one of our egg tote bags with all those treats and peeps? it would be a terrific way to teach kids about the 3 r’s of: reduce, reuse, recycle. and once the festivities have ended, you (or your child) will have a bag to carry for years to come! you could use recycled shredded paper at the bottom, instead of that crazy plastic “grass”. and even better if you fill the bag with homemade/locally sourced sweets and treats! it could be a cool way of modernizing an easter tradition.

i don’t eat them, but i gotta throw in a photo of a peep!

it’s funny, but when i look at it, it kind of looks like a yellow poopy with an eye drawn on it…not to ruin your candy-coated mood or anything!

happy easter!

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widow donates edward fickett archives to usc school of #architecture…

image from midcentarc

while not as well known as his contemporaries, neutra, ain and schindler, edward fickett’s work is prolific (one estimate puts it at 60,000 homes – with 10,000 in the valley) and just as inspiring. he not only designed tract homes (many with eichler), but also for celebrities like charlie chaplin, ava gardner, joan crawford, irene dunne, groucho marx, jimmy durante, jack benny and dick clark. while he was a student, he met ms. dunne (she was in tears because the best and the brightest in the architecture world could not understand what she wanted). within four hours, mr. fickett had her smiling again. she was so thrilled with the work that he had done, she anonymously paid for his school and living expenses through graduation.

the story in today’s la times is really a love story…between joycie and edward and between a man and his work. it’s definitely worth a read!

we were lucky enough to go on  a home tour out here and it was pretty spectacular:  floor-to-ceiling windows, seamless indoor/outdoor living, lots of warm touches with natural elements and gorgeous wood beamed ceilings….everything you would want in a MCM home. i hope the archives will be made available to the public. and i hope mr. fickett gets the recognition he deserves.

SANAA wins the pritzker prize for #architecture…

the winners of the prestigious pritkzer prize have been announced! for the second time in the architecture award’s history, it goes to a woman and for the third time, to a partnership. congratulations to kazuyo sajima and her male partner ryue nishizawa. here is a look at some of their tranquil yet powerful work:

from this morning’s la times article:

Over the course of its 31-year history, the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor, has been awarded almost exclusively to individual men. It has gone just once to a woman — to Zaha Hadid in 2004 and twice to a pair of architects: in 2001, when Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Switzerland got the nod, and 1988, when the winners were Gordon Bunshaft and Oscar Niemeyer.

This year’s Pritzker, announced Sunday, will begin to fill both gaps at the same time. The award is going jointly to Kazuyo Sejima, one of the most prominent female architects in the world, and Ryue Nishizawa, her (male) partner in the acclaimed Tokyo firm SANAA.

if you are in new york, you can experience their work at the new museum:

in  word, stunning.

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meatless monday recipe: tofu tacos a la kogi bbq…

image from formerchef

this recipe from formerchef.com is brilliant for a couple of reasons…one:  i won’t, in this lifetime be able to experience the phenomenon that is the kogi truck and two:  i am always looking for ways to jazz up my good friend, mr. tofu…hang on a minute! apparently i will be able to grub at a kogi truck – they have tofu tacos! i am a little worried that they say they char the tofu longer on the grill (i am a frequent victim of cross contamination), but maybe one day i will muster up the courage and give them a try…but for now, back to the kogi inspired recipe…

kristina calls for fish sauce in her recipe (not really making it vegetarian), but she says you can skip it and obviously, i will. the marinade looks pretty tasty and then the tacos are topped with salsa verde, chili-soy vinaigrette, cabbage and cilantro. i think i’ll cut mine into strips (rather than dicing) marinate it overnight and then drain it and try and get that grill taste going on a grill pan…or at least get a good sear on it.

and i’m sure most of you know about mobile cravings, but just in case, it lists all of the food trucks around LA. i am definitely planning a visit to the grilled cheese truck. and i’ve only read amazing things about the umami burger truck (they do veggie versions!), so that will go on the list as well…

but i’m pretty excited about kristina’s recipe! and since i don’t yet have anything to compare it to, i will have to rely on my boyfriend to let me know the true verdict!

jal meokkesseumnida!  and ¡buen apetito!

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#earthhour is tomorrow! in darkness, we can shine the light on climate change…

tomorrow, at 8:30pm all around the world, people will switch off their lights for one hour in a statement of unity for our planet. what started in 2007 as one city and 2.2 million people, grew to 50 million in 2008 and in 2009, became 400 cities and million and millions of citizens worldwide.

please visit earth hour for more information and watch this moving video (gives me chills everytime!):

there’s also lots of info in this post from greenopolis. please help spread the word!

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new from annie leonard: the story of bottled water…

annie leonard (“the story of stuff“) is back with a quick and informative video,”the story of bottled water“. it is definitely worth a look. all about tap water in those heavily marketed plastic bottles with images of mountain springs (she suggests replacing them with mountains of unrecycled plastic bottles). did you know that those plastic bottles use the same amount of fuel that would fill 1 million cars? ridiculous.

i had blogged about her before, here’s the post in case you missed it.

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a good way to start the day…

this really brightened my morning, so i had to share with you…a happy client sent in this photo of her jumbo typography tote bag next to her very handsome, modern design loving pooch!

we love seeing our bags in action, so please, keep ’em coming!!

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meatless monday recipe: veggie fried rice…

image from veggiebelly.com

i promise this will be the last asian post for awhile, but this recipe from veggie belly was too delicious to pass up! sala uses jasmine rice (genius!) and a sauce called maggi (she also says you can substitute mushroom flavored soy sauce) – but i’m never one to pass up a new savory sauce discovery!

i did a little research on the maggi seasoning sauce and came across this post on wandering chopsticks. christine recommends the french or german versions (the french apparently is more expensive), both are less salty. her post lead me to eat, drink & be merry and a hilarious dissertation on maggi (and the comments are pretty passionate too!).

growing up japanese, i have no problem with MSG in small amounts…but i’m still not sure which version to buy…don’t really feel like splurging on a taste test, but i’m leaning towards the french version. for now, i’ll just make sala’s recipe with the jasmine rice and add some shiitake mushrooms and see how it goes. and the next time i am in an asian supermarket, will see if they have the french maggi. it seems people have many versions in their cupboards – maybe my friend dean can help me figure it out…

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like father, like daughter…george and mira nakashima…

ooh, thank you apartment therapy for starting my saturday off right with an introduction to the beautiful george nakashima woodworker website!

his daughter mira’s keisho collection (meaning “continuance” or “succession”)  uses the same artisans that were trained by her father. the website is worth exploring:  quiet, lovely and filled with love and and a deep respect for nature and craftsmanship…

and finding beauty in imperfections…

image from carnegie mellon design

there are sketches and family photos and stunning behind the scenes images of a true artist at work. beyond beautiful.

enjoy!

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modernest celebrates the 40th anniversary of earth day!

mark your calendars

come one, come all!

modernest will be

on the third street promenade

in santa monica

on saturday, april 17th

celebrating 40 years of earth day!

please stop by and say hello! for more info, visit the earth day l.a. site

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