This year for my birthday my husband surprised me by taking me to see the Glass House by architect Philip Johnson. It is located on a huge property in New Canaan CT. We took the extensive 2 hour guided tour which included tours of his library, art galleries and the glass house.

Happy Birthday to me!

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I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! This year Grayson Danger went as Robo Boy 2000. Our 2 yr old is obsessed with robots so it only made sense to make him a robot costume. He had so much fun trick or treating. When we came home, he raided his candy bag as we watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. He was full of sugar and didn't go to bed until after 9pm.

Autumn is here in NY, the leaves are changing and its so pretty. We are looking forward to trick or treating with our son Grayson Danger. Guess what he is going to be this year? You will find out on Halloween!

We love blik wall decals. We also love vintage video games. A few years ago, we decorated our Brooklyn apartment wall with the space invader decals by blik. Now we have decorated our son's playroom with the Donkey Kong wall decals. They are so easy to use. Just peel and stick. When its time to move, just peel them off and away you go!

Donkey Kong decals by blik $65.00

Woodmere, the Cains are here! About a week ago, we moved to a fantastic 1950's split level ranch in the village of Hewlett Neck. It is a subdivision of Woodmere, which is in Long Island NY. We grew tired of apartment living and the lofty price. We packed it up and moved to the suburbs and now we have a huge 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with 2 offices, a family room, living room, screened in patio, huge lawn, and 2 car garage. We are saving around $1300 a month! Yowza!

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We got a puppy, a cute cockapoo who we named Ripley. My son and I have been taking Ripley just about every morning to the Octagon Dog Run. It located just north of The Octagon apartments on the Queens side of the island. The past few times we have gone to the dog run we have heard a man singing, more like chanting at the top of his lungs. The sound was coming from across the river near Costco. At first when I heard this, I thought I was just imagining things. The next time we went to the dog run I heard it again. When we went to the dog run yesterday we heard it once more. My friend Hanahlly from Roosevelt Island Dogs was there with her 3 doggies. She heard the man singing too. She says he is always there just singing his heart out. Has anyone heard him too? Does anyone know him or know why he sings every day? Is he a monk or just practicing to be a contestant on the next American Idol?

Grayson and Ripley at the Octagon Dog Run

We are on the move again. We found a fantastic house in Long Island NY. The house is a split level ranch built in the 1950s, just our style. I can't wait to mod it out! Most of all, I am excited about having a table and chairs again. When we moved to our apt we had to sell our Saarinen style tulip table and chairs. I thought I would never find a set again, but we found the deal of the day on Craigslist. A Tulip table and chairs set for $200! I can't wait to see it in our new home. We move next week. More to come...

bringing our tulip chair home

Sunday we rented a zipcar and drove out to Queens to visit the NY Hall of Science. It is built on the ruins of the 1964 World's Fair.

Grayson Danger had so much fun running around the science museum. He enjoyed the moon rover robot, submarine, dinosaurs, atoms, and tornado exhibits. Outside the museum is a fun space themed mini golf course. It overlooks Rocket Park which has actual vintage rockets from the US space program.

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I am sad to say my favorite photographer Julius Shulman has passed away. He died this week in his home in LA. He was 98 years old. He is most famous for his architectural photography of the mid century modern California homes. He got his start when a friend asked him to come visit a home designed by architect Richard Neutra. So Shulman brought along his amateur pocket camera. He snapped some shots of the home and Neutra was totally impressed with his work. This led to Shulman photographing the famous Case Study Homes for Arts & Architecture magazine. He has photographed many modernist buildings and homes including designs by Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Raphael Soriano, Pierre Koenig, Oscar Niemeyer, Eero Saarinen, Mies Van Der Rohe and more.

Shulman was well liked because he brought life to glass and steel by using human models in his photographs.

two of his famous masterpieces

Case Study House no. 22 by Pierre Koenig

Kaufmann house by Richard Neutra.

for more photography by Julius Shulman, check out the following books

PHOTOGRAPHY OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN BY JULIUS SHULMAN 1977

PIERRE KOENIG by James Steele (2002)

NEUTRA - SURVIVAL THROUGH DESIGN BY BARBARA LAMPRECHT

What is the Staten Island Ferry doing in the East River? Today, Saturday around 1:45pm it went past Roosevelt Island. The Ferry even got a police escort. I wonder if someone important was taking a ride?

It was quite a sight to see. The ferry boat is much bigger than I thought it would be. I think we will take a ride on it someday soon. Here's a photo I took as it went past our apartment at The Octagon.

I came upon a bunch of vintage Herman Miller fiberglass chairs yesterday. They were all sitting out on the church lawn next to The Octagon. I asked the friendly pastor if I could buy one for my son's room but she said they weren't for sale. They took them outside the church to wash them off for an event they are having this weekend. They are gonna have fun stuff for the kids, toys, goody bags, face painting, etc. Even though I couldn't score a chair, I think I will take Grayson to have some fun at the church this weekend.

Someone defaced Sabrina! I was passing by the Sabrina statue at The Octagon and I noticed something yellow on her. I don't know if it is paint or not. I hope someone can fix our lovely lady.

Sabrina statue at The Octagon apartments, Roosevelt Island

We have been living here at The Octagon on Roosevelt Island for almost a year now and we finally made it into the garden. It is a garden that is tended by the residents of Roosevelt Island. Each family can have their own spot. The garden is located near The Octagon between the baseball and soccer fields. It was a beautiful June day so we wandered into the garden and to our surprise, the flowers were all in bloom. It was quite magical.

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We had a blast this weekend. For Memorial Day weekend we went to the Jersey shore to Wildwood NJ. We stayed at this super cool retro boutique hotel called The Starlux. It is a 1950s hotel that has been completely refurbished and renovated in retro Doo Wop style.

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Today, we were outside enjoying another beautiful day at The Octagon. All of a sudden, we heard the sound of a cats meow. We looked up and spotted this fearless cat who was hanging out on the window ledge. Not on the inside of the window, but the outside! The cat had climbed out the open window to stalk the birds. They flew by to tease the cat. I bet he was thinking to himself, "If I only had wings".

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Even though today was a cloudy day, I had a nice reminder of why I love living on Roosevelt Island. Sunday morning May 3, we woke up to witness a major event!

From our apartment window, we saw approximately 30,000 people riding their bikes. It was the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour of New York City. For part of the tour, southbound FDR Drive was closed to car traffic in order for the bikers to make their way to the five boroughs of NYC. It was quite a sight to see all those people on their bikes zooming by Roosevelt Island. They passed by our island from around 9am to noon. Wow!

The last time I was at the airport I saw this kid riding on her luggage. I took a closer look to see the name, it is called Trunki. A lightweight, wheeled, kid's suitcase. How cool! I am gonna get this for Grayson when he gets a little older.

$39.99 Trunki.net

Recently our pals Julie and Mike took a trip way, way, way far away! They ventured to Rapa Nui a.k.a. Easter Island, the remote island of the giant Moai tikis.

Julie knows what a tiki fanatic I am and she was kind enough to answer a few questions for my Retro Info blog.

These Moai sit at one of the two beautiful beaches on Rapa Nui. The solitary Moai is the one restored by Thor Heyerdahl of the infamous Kon Tiki expedition.

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Last Monday night we went out on a double date to Ninja. It is a really fun Japanese restaurant with a Ninja theme. When you walk in, it is very dark and you have your choice of paths to the main restaurant. We chose the dangerous path which was a dark maze we went through and you guessed it, Ninjas jumped out at us. The decor is amazing! They spent millions of $ to transform the restaurant into a Ninja castle.

photo via Ninjanewyork.com

We were seated in our own private dining area with low cushy seating, and sliding screens. Our waiters were dressed as Ninjas, they made Ninja hand signals to us. They had fun jumping out, shouting and waiving swords at us. Wow!

The food was very good. Each course was arranged in an artistic way. If a Ninja star is next to the item on the menu, chances are it will have a special presentation or surprise. My dessert had a rose in a vase with dry ice smoke coming out of it. My friend's dessert was magically transformed from a metal ninja star into a ninja star shaped chocolate cake.

If you are in New York City, and you like Japanese food, check out Ninja, if you dare!

Spring is here and it is time to head outdoors. Check out this new Fatboy Headdemock Deluxe hammock.
It is water and stain resistant and comes in a variety of colors.

$399 Modernseed.com
Free shipping thru 6/1/09

Thank you Easter Bunny, Bawk, Bawk!

Check out these cool new egg shaped bath toys by Boon. Just in time for Easter!

get 15% off new Boon bath toys, Splat, Scrubble, and Water Bugs! Enter coupon code SPRING09 when placing your order at www.booninc.com now through April 12.

We had a thrilling day yesterday. We decided to check out the view of The Octagon and Roosevelt Island from Manhattan. We rode the air tram which let us off at E59th st. and 2nd ave. We walked along 2nd ave up to E76th st, then walked along the Manhattan side of the East River up to E86th st.

We went to Carl Schurz Park which has amazing views of Roosevelt Island, The RFK Triborough Bridge, Ward's Island Bridge, Roosevelt Island Lighthouse and The Octagon.

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Happy April Fools Day to everyone!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet hubby Brian. Yep it's no joke, we were married on April Fools Day 9 years ago. Brian and I met way back in 1990. He has been my soulmate for half my life now! Wow! Brian, I love you with all my heart. Thank you for these wonderful years together and thank you for our beautiful son. Oh, thanks for getting my jokes too.

Brian and Vanessa (1990)

Last week my husband and I got to go to Austin TX for the SXSW Interactive '09. He got to speak on a panel at the conference. I got to tag along. During his down time, we went to see the Birth of the Cool exhibit at the Blanton Museum of Art. The exhibition is named Birth of the Cool after the famous 1957 Miles Davis album. The exhibit features the best of mid century modern art, architecture, furniture, jazz music, record album art, photography, animation, book cover art, and basically everything which shaped coolness in the mid century modern era.

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When our boy Grayson woke from his nap today, he found quite the excitement. A huge barge broke away from a tugboat today just north of our apartment building. (The Octagon) The barge began to float down the East River diagonally past our building. The tugboat men hurriedly threw ropes to the men on the barge and back and forth. They were lucky to reconnect the two vessels just before the barge got too close to the sea wall. It was quite a sight to see. Wow!

Here are some photos I took of the event.

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I went to my new dentist today on Roosevelt Island. I was astounded to see he had 2 vintage child size wire chairs by Harry Bertoia in the waiting room. I asked the receptionist about them and she said that the new dentist inherited them from the old dentist who had been here on Roosevelt Island for decades. I told her they are classic chairs from the mid century modern era and they are very special because they are kids size. Wow, how cool!

Dr. Shick is an excellent dentist. If you live on Roosevelt Island NYC, you should definitely see him. He is very quick, gentle and very personable.

kiddie size Bertoia chairs (photo taken with my cell phone)

Check out the cool robot cup, plate and bowl we got for Grayson Danger. He is 16 months old and he can feed himself. Wow!

All gone Mom!

French Bull Robot design $7-10.50 Bebebabble.com

MAC meets Hello Kitty for a new collection of cosmetics. Wow! I want all of them!

My husband is really enjoying being a Dad. He loves to buy our son unusual toys. Look what he found on BoingBoing today.

Attack of the 50 ft baby stacking blocks. These blocks are certainly fitting for a boy named Grayson Danger. He can pretend he is a giant baby knocking down a tall building. Wow!

Attack of the 50 ft. Baby Stacking Blocks $25.99 Target.com

Target has got another Good Buy for you. Dwell Studio has teamed up with Fisher Price to create 2 new items for your retro modern baby.

Fisher-Price DwellStudio 3-in-1 High Chair $84.00

Fisher-Price DwellStudio Bouncer $64.99

Both are at Target.com. Get 'em while the gettins good. Free shipping too!

We escaped the NYC cold and went to visit our family and friends in sunny Orlando Florida. My mom works at Disney, as my belated Christmas present she took us to Disney World. We stayed at the Polynesian Resort Hotel.

I have been to the Polynesian before to see the luau, which is really fun. The food is ok, but the show is pretty amazing. I have always wanted to stay at the Polynesian. I love Hawaiian tiki style. When you drive up to the Polynesian you come upon this amazing waterfall pond with big coy fish and you are greeted by tikis of course. You are given a traditional Hawaiian lei as well.

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My buddy Mike just clued me into these oh so tiki-riffic dog toys. They are the Squeeki Tiki Dog Toys by Pet Projekt. Your Polynesian pup can pay homage to the tiki gods by playing with these tiki shaped chew toys. They come in Tiki God or Moai shapes and are available in various colors. They are non-toxic and measure 10.8x2.8x2".

$14.00 each Otomik.com

It has always been a dream of mine to move to California and buy an Eichler home. Let me say it is good to dream. Eichler homes certainly are dreamy, but the price tag is not. Eichlers can fetch up to $800,000, even in todays market. Yowza!

I recently came in contact with Kathy Hall. She inherited a 1968 atrium style ranch home in the community of Broadmoor in Tustin, CA.

Kathy was kind enough to answer a few questions for my Retro Info blog

Tell us more about Broadmoor

Eichlers are pretty popular now, and command between $5-800,000 from what I've heard, but our tract sells for much less. The last house in here was listed for $360ish and sold for $380ish with more than one offer even in this down market.

We're between 35 minutes from downtown L.A. with zero traffic, to maybe an hour and 15 minutes in worst-case traffic scenario.

We've got a small but growing corps of people here in Broadmoor who are passionate about reinvigorating the community. It's a friendly place, we look out for each other and and the regular police protection is top notch. Tustin is a great city with a wonderful Old Town district a little less than a mile away. My sons are both in their twenties and just dearly love this city. There are bike trails all over and you can get to the beach easily. There is a lot to do right close by and of course, the climate is divine.

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Jonathan Adler's got a crazy awesome SALE goin' on right now. You can buy JA items as cheap as $3.00. Wow!

Check out this Palm Beach Round Platter, part of his Menagerie Fish collection of melamine dinnerware.
Only $12! Neato

Hunker down! Live underground! The famous Dune House by William Morgan Architects is for sale. It is an ultra mod house built right on and underneath the beach. The earth roofed dune home is located on the shore of Atlantic Beach, Florida. It consists of two separate living areas, each with one bedroom and one bath.

For more info, contact Martie at modernsarasota.com

martie.lieberman@gmail.com

There will also be an upcoming tour of the masterpiece home. Wow!