The Getty Villa

May 15, 2013 by mymateriallife

We were back in LA again last weekend, this time to attend a nephew’s college graduation.  We had one day for sightseeing and this place was first on my list.  Have you been to either of the Getty museums?  There are two:  the Villa features antiquities from Greece, Rome and Etruria, while the Los Angeles Center features European and American works.  They are the best deal in town.  All you pay for is the parking – $15.  The inspiring architecture, […]

Categories: Architecture, Places • Tags: california, getty museums, getty villa, malibu, travel

Madonna Inn-spiration

April 11, 2013 by mymateriallife

I could never be someone who makes disparaging remarks about the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.  Some people find it garish or kitsch, but I find it original, unique, a special treat.  All the rooms are different and decorated with things your eccentric aunt might have picked up on her travels years ago.  Like that beautiful, probably silk lampshade shown above.  I love how it’s lined with that checked fabric.  It’s so uplifting to find an object – a […]

Categories: Architecture, Places • Tags: california, madonna inn, san luis obispo, travel

Beaded Champagne Chair

January 30, 2013 by mymateriallife

Are you familiar with the champagne chair?  I learned about champagne chairs in the Design Within Reach catalog in the early 2000′s.  I even entered one of their champagne chair design competitions one year.  I hadn’t thought about them in years until I saw the magazine below.  It’s from the U.K.; I found it at Whole Foods before the holidays Finding that magazine was one thing that inspired the chair above.  The other was the book you see next to […]

Categories: Architecture, Finery, Miniatures • Tags: beaded champagne chair, chicago, colleen moore's fairy castle, doll house furniture, miniatures, museum of science and industry

At Land’s End

January 22, 2013 by mymateriallife

San Francisco • January 21 • 2013 For delicious ocean-front dining on a budget, try the Chicken Taco Supreme . . . Taco Bell, 5200 Coast Highway, Pacifica, CA 94044

Categories: Architecture, Places • Tags: camera obscura, cliff house, land's end, ocean beach, pacifica taco bell, san francisco, sutro baths ruins

The Pulgas Water Temple

September 14, 2012 by mymateriallife

Do you know this place?  It’s enchanting, isn’t it?  These are camera shots from our visit today with our friends Jill and Annie.  If you’ve ever visited Filoli you were very near the temple.  I hadn’t thought about it for the longest time before reading Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street series this Summer; he makes a reference to St. Bernard’s Well in one of the books.  I had to look it up online and what I found reminded me […]

Categories: Architecture, Places • Tags: pulgas water temple

Swimming Pools I Have Known and Loved

July 21, 2012 by mymateriallife

The last couple of weeks have been full of swimming and pools.  I’ve just finished catsitting for a friend and neighbor who invited me to use their pool while they were away and what a lovely treat that was (they keep their pool so blissfully warm). Then on Friday Samantha finished up a week of daily swim classes and in addition to that I’ve been reading this book by Lynn Sherr … Great cover, isn’t it?  This is a wonderful […]

Categories: Architecture, Places, Reading Material • Tags: hearst castle, lynn sherr, madonna inn, roman baths, swim - why we love the water, swimming pools, westlake village inn

Julia Morgan’s Clubhouses

May 18, 2012 by mymateriallife

     We were in San Luis Obispo last month so I had the opportunity to take some photos of the Monday Club, a building I’ve known since at least the 1980s when I lived in San Luis Obispo while attending Cal Poly. Though obviously a beautiful building, it was something of a mystery to me back then.  It wasn’t until I attended interior design classes at West Valley College in the early 2000s that I figured out what that building […]

Categories: Architecture, Places • Tags: julia morgan, monday club, saratoga foothill club, saratoga memorial day ceremony

Alexander Girard? No, Mary Blair

July 23, 2011 by mymateriallife

We just returned from Southern California where we spent almost three days at Disneyland.  One night while we were waiting for a light show to begin I was looking at the facade of the It’s A Small World ride and thinking about how much I’ve always loved it when I realized that it surely must be an Alexander Girard design.  I decided to research its history when we returned home.  Then on my way out of the park I noticed […]

Categories: Architecture, People, Places • Tags: alexander girard, disneyland, it's a small world, mary blair, walt disney family museum

The Mystery of the Champagne Fountain

April 13, 2011 by mymateriallife

A few years ago I was looking up an area not far from my house on Yahoo maps and I swear to you, the words “Champagne Fountain” were printed on that map! Of course, I can’t find them now, but at the time I thought I must be dreaming – could such a Shangri-La really exist?  So close to my house?  Why didn’t I know anything about it? My husband reminded me that years ago there was a Paul Masson […]

Categories: Architecture, Reading Material • Tags: bertoia, gift of the grape, paul masson champagne cellars, paul masson champagne vaults