Happy Fab: Olya and Charles Brooklyn pad

I'm having a hard time with this one. Serious case of house envy. Can we just talk about the insane layering going on: the art, the furniture, the rugs, (the kids). It's hitting on all cylinders: boho, glam, eclectic, comfy. This is from the Jan 2010 issue of Vogue, and showcases their Brooklyn brownstone. Olya is a former ballet dancer/textile designer (how's that for a hyphenate?), hubs is a photographer. And if their NY house is irritating enough, the article also talks about their second home, an apartment near Red Square in Moscow where they "spend meandering vacations exploring the Russian countryside, where Charles shoots large-format photographs of grand abandoned estates, beautiful and tragic in their dereliction." Hmmmm... Irritating. Highly irritating.

Happy Stuff: Affirmative Traction?

To anyone who's put Post-It reminders in their house to think positively, here's a stylish twist: NY designer Dan Golden, who used to work as a cartoonist, has come out with his New Age collection of rugs. Psychedelic, no? I love the reminders to "breathe" and "be here now" and I think that they'd look great in an all-white environment.

Happy Stuff: Tony Duquette rugs

How about this for a burst of sunshine? Hutton Wilkinson, director of the Tony Duquette estate, has worked with Roubini Rugs and Furniture, to use a series of Duquette's drawings as inspiration for a small collection of rugs. Love these! But they ain't cheap: This Golden Sunburst goes for, gulp, $6,900 for the 6 x 9 footer. At roubinirugs.com.

Happy Hipsters

Andy Griffith and Rosa Apodaca are seriously hip. As in Silver Lake, art-gallery, performance-art, hardcore-boho true believers. I often troll her blog, www.roseapodaca.com, so at least to be able to feign knowledge of L.A.'s hiperati. We covered the couple in this issue of Angeleno Interiors because they've just expanded their way cool Venice Beach shop, A + R Store aplusrstore.com. And here's the deal: They're just normal and friendly people. (Except they go to art openings, night clubs, and happenings pretty much every night of the week.) Here are some of the new goodies at their store. Making you smile?

1. Angeleno Interiors story; portrait by Melissa Valladares.

2. Hector Serrano's tattoos for talking hands, $8 for set of 8, at aplusrstore.com

3. Cocoboheme chalkboard sticker, $76, at aplusrstore.com.

4. Patrick Morris' Sky Planter, $35, at aplusrstore.com.

Yay: The new issue of Angeleno Interiors is out. Here was one of the happiest houses we covered. I went to this Hollywood Hills house for the day of the shoot. Both the designer, Carrie Livingston, and the home owner were there. Here's what made me happy:

1. Carrie used an all white backdrop and then popped huge candy colors throughout. Sometimes I forget about white and just auto-focus on color. This is a good reminder.

2. There's a lot of not serious stuff in here. Like the huge Hershey's Kisses and the resin Buddha Banks. We didn't shoot it but in the kitchen, Carrie also lined up these ceramic cupcakes that are about a foot tall. On their own, they'd be super cheesy looking. Assembled en masse, they look art-gallery cool. Love it! She gets a lot of stuff at www.greatbigstuff.com. TOTALLY cool site. Cheap and smile-worthy stuff.

3. The "believe" letters above guest house. Fun and cheap! From Pottery Barn Kids, $10 each.

4. On first page, I love the Wonder Woman cookie jar pretending its high art ($50, at www.collectorsgateway.com) and the Tete table from Z Gallerie ($329).

All photos by Peden + Munk

Happy Ten-ents: Sleep

I'm in the sleep weeds today. We're still at in-laws and yesterday my daughter woke up with an earache. Standard issue stuff, I thought. She immediately perked up with Tylenol, but by mid-afternoon, she was in serious Tylenol-resistant pain. So into the health-care, Good Friday wilds we went: I first stopped at a pediatrician's office. No dice. They were iron-clad in their refusal to accept a walk-in. They recommended an urgent care facility in a huge supermarket mall. Oy. But we didn't have any other choice, so Med Stop it was. But weird part was we had an amazing experience. They took our insurance, we saw a nurse within five minutes and the doctor within 20. And he was amazing with Eve, who is pretty terrified of docs. He prescribed antibiotics, and carefully explained why in most instances he wouldn't, but that this was severe. We got the meds, came home and Eve passed out on the sofa while we had a Greek-style Good Friday dinner. Afterwards I insisted that grandma hold Eve on the sofa; perfectly in time for her to get barfed on. The meds didn't agree. I spent a good hour playing phone tag with docs, then decided to stick with the Tylenol for the night. There were a few more barfing episodes, and Eve and I decided to sleep in the same bed. Rough one. Every time I fell into deep sleep, Eve would kick me in her sleep, or start rubbing her hands all over my face, arms and legs. Why, not sure. Then there were water requests, more Tylenol needed, a total costume change at around 3AM after she wet herself. Finally at 4:20 I threw in the towel, just got up and ate cookies by myself as she snored away. So tired. I've been tired since the kids were born. Will I ever feel rested, long term?

Happy Talk: 9ByDesign Interview

Good news. Cortney Novogratz was totally cool. Her publicist told me they couldn't both be on the phone at the same time, so I could speak to them separately. I opted to just go with Cortney. The bummer was that her call came as I was on my way to get the train at Union Station to join hubs and the kids in San Luis Obispo. My neighbor was giving me a ride since she works in downtown. I felt a little bad (and totally nauseous) doing a phoner on the road. But... Cortney cool. (Yay! Nice people. We love you.) And here's what they DON'T mention in all of the press releases: Their 9ByDesign show is going to focus on some budget-worthy aspects of interior design. Good news, right? They'll do a Brooklyn brownstone entirely in Pier 1 Imports. That I have to see. Then they'll also install an Ikea kitchen in a Hamptons spread. I'll link to the LA Times article when it comes out.