JacksonMarie's Profile

Geez....tough crowd. Well, while I adore MCM in a photo layout, in practicality for me it is fairly uncomfortable. And I grew up with it. I didn't find those sofas comfy then, and nothing has changed. I get the design thing, the sleekness, the craftsmanship, but frankly, many of my childhood friend's families didn't have the funds for the high end real things we are now paying an even higher fortune for, and we were middle class. I agree that quality is hard to come by but there are other things in world besides MCM. Nothing beats curling up on an thick, chunky, overstuffed down sofa on a rainy day. At least for me.

My only real comment about this particular space is that regardless of how coveted the sofa/chairs are, the upholstery looks slight and perhaps a bit hard on the butt.

I don't understand how people can be so critical of the art in someone's personal space when it is about them personally. Perhaps the woman eating the birch tree that looks like a dalmation has great meaning to the inhabitants. It is their space and shouldn't our own home reflect us first and then be open to outsiders? Just my thought, means nothing I suppose. And is that the handmade bed I clearly see? Dunno.

I do agree that I'd like to see something other than MCM. But I suppose that's what people are into and it is a design site, afterall. I get my fix for gorgeous and creative clutter from The Selby. Oh, and while I don't see Starck's name misspelled in the post, perhaps it was corrected. But yeah, spelling counts when it comes to names.

Rock on.

My cat never scratches anywhere except on her scratch mat. I've had cats my entire adult life and the only one who scratched, quickly stopped after a few good training sessions (my loud shouts combined with hand clapping - puts the fear of God into them), although there are those who don't respond. But would I get rid of my child if he/she threw up on my bed? Not. It's a trade off,you value your things, or you value your heart and the majority of the time you can value both. IMO anyway.

Because I live in something almost as small in Los Angeles I truly appreciate this entry. It is nearly impossible to be this neat, even for a photo shoot, in a space this small and so I commend Natalie. I think she's achieved the impossible. One learns the true meaning of organization and editing.
Bravo.

I need to get off that other website and come back here -

happy cat and all her things
the best chef's knife/chopping board
all-clad skillet/lodge grill pan/generic saucepan
TV/yoga dvds
art stuff
computer
organic bedding and silk comforter
tons of white cotton socks
enough toilet tissue to feel secure
clean everything even in the book corner
massage table
organic toiletries and sunscreen
binoculars
my mother's paint-by-number of the woman peeling potatoes
One white man's shirt
phone

All of which proves that even in a depressed economy, businesses can open and flourish. Some smart folks could learn how to repair things as a business. We will all need it. So many years ago that I won't mention a number, my father had a TV repair business "on the side", before technology took off. I think he made as much with that as he did with his full time job, which was a good job. Not everyone has to be a doctor/lawyer/professor.

Most major cities have business that repair shoes, clothing, furniture and electronics, though. You just have to look.

Interesting comments. I also have this table - purchased out of utter desperation when I moved back to LA without any furniture. It is NOT sturdy. To avoid getting rid of it, I put a nice white board on top of it that is longer than the table is when its fully open, and it lives insignificantly now in the corner as a computer/work station.

It was unpleasant to dine on (for me) and I can't imagine using it for sewing but we're all different. The good point it has is that it is not a huge ugly thing. It can sort of "disappear"....

If you really want one, I'll do better than Craig's list - let me know where you are in LA and if it is doable, I'll give you mine for nothing. It's black. In excellent shape. I just didn't want to trash it and it will give me an excuse to pick up something else that fits the furniture that I finally have too much of. Really, if you want it, its yours. Le me know. Free.

Check out www.homegrown.com in LA. Marta Teegan teaches classes in container gardening, composting, etc. Nice person, great info, worth a look.

This has been the most fascinating read; I also read the comments on the original post. I've lived in and around 5 major cities in the past 20 years and have spent months visiting other places. I currently live in LA (fourth time - and I'm never leaving California again) but was raised in NY, in Westchester and always worked in NYC. No kids.

You can't even compare living in LA, whether its downtown, Westside, whatever, to living in any other major city. It's just a different world. And a really good one. Currently, I work in Century City and live East, maybe a bit too East for some people, but it is a brief 30 minute drive along my back roads secret route (my commute in NY was a lovely train ride along the Hudson but during the snowy/icy winters it could be - door to door - 1 hour, not much different than a freeway in August, particularly the 405 on a Wed or Thurs night.) The weather is better here.

I'm used to living in a multi-ethnic community so a burb with a bland group has bored me and if I had kids, I'd rather them live with all sorts of people to prepare them for reality. My friends who have moved to the real burbs have become soft in many ways and a bit fatter. I can't walk in my neighborhood at night (its nice but I just couldn't...) but who walks at night anyway? It takes me 10 minutes to get to any store (by car) I could possibly want and I have a small cottage, a garden of my own, the neighbors are really nice and I easily get to Hollywood, downtown, the museums, all the restaurants anyone could want to get to, and most of my friends are in Santa Monica. It's never a problem. The beach is, oddly, not that far away for a weekend drive and Santa Monica has a great farmers market, as do several other nearby areas. Once, in NYC, it took me 2 hours in a taxi from mid-town to SoHo (I had things I couldn't take on a train).

Real estate in Southern California is high, let's face it, but no higher than a one bedroom apartment in NYC. Everything takes money, its just a question of where you want to spend it. Train, car, bus, it all uses energy. So for me, personally, its about time and where I want to spend it. It's not on a freeway or on a bus or train. I found a nice little compromise. It seems as though no one works and lives in the same area. Interesting, aren't we?

**I can't use public transportation and don't want to because I commuted in NY for a combined 20 years and after awhile, enough. I like my car.

And if you can live IN NYC in a one bedroom, raise a few kids and not grow tired of walking down Madison Avenue at 6 p.m. and have everyone smack you in the shoulders as everyone rushes by and not have it bother you, well, more power to you. For me, LA is right in the middle of chaos city and the burbs, no matter what part of it you live in. I think our wants and needs just chance depending on what life phase we're in. I love NYC (except for mid-town at 6 p.m....) and I love LA, but I could never really compare the two. And what I liked at 20 isn't what I liked at 40 and certainly not what I like now, but every place is wonderful in its own way....

I think hiding cash somewhere is a great idea, and I do, for emergencies. We are so used to automated banking that we tend to forget cash won't be available in a real emergency.

But keeping tons of cash because of fear of the economy? Well, if the economy truly, truly goes bust, in a way where nothing has value, then cash won't have value either.

I would say, without buying into the fear, it would be prudent to buy some silver and gold.....a bit here, a bit there...some cash....and have emergency things around anyway.

Food. Clothing. Shelter. Basic needs met and one will be able to think clearly. Any emergency victim knows the value of food, clothing, and shelter. And some cat food.....

And....read this.....this is the inhumane method to kill the possums....

http://www.stop1080poison.com/

and then its in the other animals, and the ground....and on and on and on......