MUKU OWNERS

Crushing On Colour Alena of Oh Its Just Perfect!

Todays Crushing on Colour post comes to us from the lovely Alena of Oh, Its Just Perfect! I cant think of a better blog title than that, can you? Alena always manages to find the best bits and bobs, and describes herself as an Etsy and Chai tea addict - can you say best friends?!!









Hi 10 Rooms readers! Im Alena from Oh, Its Just Perfect! and Ive been a huge fan of 10 Rooms for a while now, so Im pretty excited to be guest posting here today about my favorite color. Blue has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. Not just any blue, but bold, bright blues like sapphire blue, royal blue and cobalt blue. I love the brightness, the intensity and that it actually works with my skin tone (my skin tone is pale, pale, pale). So, while Anne-Marie is living it up on her girls trip, we can partake in some virtual shopping for some bold and bright blue items.

Cobalt Knob.

Samarkand Dinnerware.

Peek-A-Boo Lace Dress.

Louisa Settee.

Thanks so much, Alena! I always love a bit of saturated colour, but especially these rich blues - and youve included my favourite settee from Anthro - oh, to have that in the budget! x Anne-Marie

Available link for download

Cycles its all cycles

Never had a bike sized to me. Jason at Montano Velo on Piedmont Avenue ordered this bike after taking my measurements. Once put together at the store it was further adjusted to me while riding it. Compared to all my meager riding experiences, this bike rides like butter.

Bicycle, that is I used to ride road bikes several lifetimes ago and was adequate on it. Tackled distance and moderate climbs; cramped up on a dirt road, last of the group to hobble onto the rest stop; took on the traffic of the reckless streets of Manila and Makati on the way home from my the brothers apartment. Gave it up when I came over to the U.S. Ive been here since 89.

This last week I bought a road bike. Kevin Nolting (cyclist and film editor at the studio) told me that itll all come back to me in no time. I had concerns. I once knelt down as I pinned up a sequence onto a board expecting the padding of office carpet only to have my patella pound full force onto a metal push pin laying on its side. I twisted in pain for a while on that floor ten years ago. The left knee will always have sharp pain from then on. Stairs would feel like steak knives cutting on the knee. The right one started to have sympathetic pain.

I rode today and I was gasping within seconds. The knee also reminded me it hadnt gone away. The small cemetery at the end of Piedmont Avenue offered me only fifteen minutes to ride before they close the gates. I managed to dash off a quick sketch. This is it below. I really wanted to couple riding the bike with drawing outdoors. This is my first sketch while riding and it felt good.


Mountain View Cemetery. Quiet and no cars. The sun was setting, this one mausoleum had good orange light. Not enough time, I had to watercolor it after I got home.

Its getting dark. I head out to the flat streets and will have to turn back to go home. I didnt. Im riding into work with James Dashe tomorrow and I wanted to get a feel for the terrain and traffic. I got over one rise and was on flat roads again. I decided to pedal to work. Its not far, but for a sedentary artist whos not ridden a vehicle needing human exertion it was a challenge. But I made it.

Getting that done was good. Im already planning how my day can accomodate more time on the bike. I didnt even notice the knee.

Available link for download