It’s the time of giving, and while giving offbeat homes to each other might be fun, it’s likely not very do-able. So in light of that, here’s some ideas that might be easier to wrap! Offbeat Overnights: A Guide to the Most Unusual Places to Stay in California – from solitary monasteries to clothing-optional retreats, this guide will help you pick an offbeat location to stay during your next California adventure! Beautiful Homes & Great Estates Season 1 – Beautiful homes right on your TV. This 3-Disc set covers 22 of the most beautiful homes and estates in the entire world. Small House, Big Syle – No reason why having limited space should mean minimizing on style. This book shares remodeling overviews... [Read more]

  Ping Mag referred to Peter Blanc’s beautiful creations as “eco-art” and I really like that term, so I’ll reproduce it here. Patrick Blanc’s talent extends beyond the act of overgrowing plants on the side of buildings and shaping them into gorgeous murals. Imagine the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon but this time on modern concrete buildings. But Patrick is not just simpy putting green on the walls which last for a day or two: set up with a highly scientific background he studies the many ways plants adapt to extreme situations at the CNRS, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris since 1982. Let’s take it a step further. What about plant fashion? Patrick has done that! His ‘Robe... [Read more]

Wow! That’s a lot of lights. I can’t imagine their electric bill. Kind of reminds me of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation… hehe. [Read more]

FRA-GEE-LE. “I think that says ‘fragile’, honey.” “You’ll shoot your eye out!” I love ‘A Christmas Story’ – and those of you who haven’t seen the movie are like, “Ingrid’s lost her mind.” Well, I have, but that’s not the point! If you’ve see ‘A Christmas Story’ (a 1000 times or so, like me), undoubtedly you recall the houe that Ralphie and his family lived in. Well, the actual house from the movie went up for aution on eBay, and Jones (a megafan by the sounds of it), paid the owner $150,000 to end the bid early. The house was his! He then invested $500,000 in restoring it to look just as it did in he movie! He put in new windows and replaced... [Read more]

The World’s Smallest Police Station resides in Carabelle, Florida. It looks like a telephone booth because … well, up until 1963 it was one!   These days, a bigger police station exists in Carabelle, so the World’s Smallest is no longer operational. I suppose it would get a little crowded in there. [Read more]