Oh, I shouldn’t have done it. I was tempted over to Yatzer yesterday which is always a major time sucker for me. I only let myself hit one category at a time Go check out the post about this marble house  in Japan. There area  slew of breathtaking photographs, and these are just a teaser. What’s so striking to me about this house are the contrast of edges, color, and geometry against the green hillside. If you check out the first picture in the Yatzer post, it literally looks like two modern Lincoln Log pieces fitting together – like if you pushed the top level down, it would interlock with the level below it.

photo © Ken’ichi Suzuki // Image Courtesy of MOUNT FUJI ARCHITECTS STUDIO via Yatzer

Do you ever come across a blog that literally takes your breath away? It happened to me yesterday. I’m taking the Blogging Your Way class over at decor8, and Leslie from A Creative Mint is co-teaching it with Holly. While I’d glanced through some of her color posts on decor8, I had never checked out her own blog. WOW! It is all original content, full of little vignettes she creates with papers, tapes, ornaments, fabrics, flowers, you name it. But each one is so perfectly composed. Each ones fits into that post’s color story. Each one contains little projects that make me say “how did she ever come up with that?” It doesn’t seem right to take a photo from over there out of context, but I’m going to go ahead and tease you with one. You won’t be able to stop scrolling once you head over:

As soon as I saw this one, I realized Leslie MUST have gone to architecture school. You know, I knew another architecture grad who started a stationary shop, and this reminds me of the perfect little vignettes she had all over the store.

Image from A Creative Mint

In my effort to not be featured on Hoarders in the next ten years, I have been cleaning out drawers, cabinets, closets and attic spaces since the new year. It’s funny, there are certain items that are considered for the recycling bin each year, but for some reason or another they never quite make it in. Such is true with my Wright Houses 1997 datebook. Holy Moly. That thing is now 13 years old! I tried to turn it into a birthday calendar book so I’d have an excuse to keep it, but there are about four birthdays in there, and besides, that’s what Facebook is for.

So, after already pulling it from the recycling bin AGAIN last week (What if I want to cut out the pictures for my inspiration board? (O.K., then just do it!). What if I make cards out of the pictures (um, Becky, you never send cards anymore, and besides, you have about 200 you can use before you even get to your Wright Houses sloppy glued together 3rd grade postcards. There will be no craft to your tribute to Arts and Crafts). It’s time. I can let go because I have scanned a few favorite images from the photographs to share with you on Inspiration Monday. It’s the first time I’ve been organized enough to have an Inspiration Monday since 2009. Can you imagine how long it would take the Hoarders crew to get my house cleaned out? Viewers at home would say things like “Oh, did you see the crazy cat lady one?” “No man, that’s nothing, what about the crazy girl who had to scan everything before she put it in the dumpster and blog about it?!”

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio 1889-1909

William H. Winslow House 1893

Dana Thomas House 1902

Meyer May House 1908

Fallingwater 1935

Talieson III 1948

Thanks to our friend John Trosko of Organizing L.A. for letting us know about the 2010 Los Angeles Organizing Awards! Categories will include:

-   Best Product Retailer
-   Best Closet Design Firm
-   Best Garage Design Firm
-   Best Office Organizing Product
-   Best Time Management Expert
-   Best Organizing Technology
-   Best Organizing Book
-   Best Organizing Website or Blog
-   Best National Makeover Reality Television Program
-   Best Publication Featuring Organizational Information
-   The Green Award for Most Eco-Friendly Organizing Service/Product

The festivities will take place at the historic Raleigh Studios on January 30. Click here for more information.

Thanks John!

Hi, just wanted to update our Haiti information. I’m watching the telethon right now, and if you are worried about giving to a charity that is legit, or that can get help there the fastest, the HopeforHaitiNow.org website is doing the job.