“And in the mornin’, I’m makin’ waffles” [said like Donkey from Shrek]

Kim Navarro, Jeff Navarro, Brian Lefholz and myself wanted to do a little something special for our co-workers for one of our Town Hall breakfasts… After a bit of brainstorming we decided that filling up the office with the delectable smell of freshly made Belgian waffles and bacon would be a perfect way to start the work week! Kim wo-manned the waffle maker, Jeff watched Kim wo-man the waffle maker, Brian fried up the bacon and maple sausage, and I took charge of getting the toppings and drinks ready. After 45 solid minutes of torturing the office with the tantalizing smell we finally invited everyone in to partake in the tasty goodness… and of course welcomed them with a little tasty tune: CLICK HERE

-Amber

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Idiots...

- Aerie

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Hello Officer

In case anyone hasn't noticed... we have a sneaky little bike cop running radar from our driveway on Douglas Blvd. The funny part of this particular day was that the cop was having mechanical problems with his bike so even if he did catch a speeder he couldn't do anything about it... haha, sweet justice!

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Citrus Height Crab Feed

Last Saturday Trish and I attended the Citrus Heights Crab Feed. Put on by the Rotary, it was a jammed house in the Citrus Heights Community Center which W+P designed and was completed last year. Noteworthy moments from the evening... It was a crab feed and Trish doesn't eat crab, we both got our pinkie nails painted purple to raise money for kids with polio (and I couldn't say no so I did as well), and I DID NOT win the wine fridge stocked with 52 bottle of wine.

Thanks to Larry Oliver of Glumac for the invite!

Brian L.

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Did You Know...

Regina has tried almost every hairstyle and color in the known world. Including a square perm and a 13" hair "tail" tucked behind her left ear when she was a kid... oddly enough these were socially acceptable in the 80's do to the popularity of funky hairstyles from bands such as The Cure.

Bill almost lost his ring finger as a teenager jumping over a chain link fence. The short of it is he jammed his hand on top of the fence and when he jumped over his hand stayed put. Ouch! I'll spare you the gory details but he could see daylight through his hand. The funniest part of the story is that they ran to the nearest house for help and proceeded to bang on the door but no one was home. They were in such a panic they failed to notice that the white door was now red!... Imagine the looks on that families face when they pulled up to their house with a front door covered in bloody hand prints. Bill survived with his ring finger in tact...

To quote James "I haven't met a dead animal yet I don't like medium rare"


Dan was stabbed in the hand by his friend at boyscout camp, and has the scar to prove it. The rest of the story is this... he was whittling (the art of shaping a piece of wood into something using a knife) when he got upset that his friends whittling shavings were encroaching on his space. They proceeded to whittle wood chips at each other until his friend got a little to excited and accidentally stabbed Dan in the hand. Yes he cried... one, because it hurt and two, because that was the end of a promising career as a professional whittler.

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Septic Tank Humor

I'm glad these people have a sense of humor about their "sh*ty" job. I know, that was corny but appropriate.

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Architect Barbie

According to Mattel, the Barbie Architect is "ready to tackle the daily responsibilities of a real architect in or out of the office... wearing an architecturally inspired dress showcasing a city skyline, Barbie doll’s outfit is symmetrically stylish with bold colors and clean lines. In designing this doll, Barbie partnered with members of the American Institute of Architects to keep Barbie I Can Be… Architect doll authentic to the career."

If Mattel was really in touch with the world of an architect they would have provided her with a few more useful items. Perhaps trading the drawing tube for a laptop so she could answer the 400 emails she'd get every day. Or a blue tooth headset so she can multitask and talk on the phone while answering all those emails. No need for the hard hat either... with the endless submittals, changes to the documents, revisions on top of revisions during construction she would never have time to visit the construction site anyway. In that case, the lovely dress and high heels are perfectly suitable for someone confined to a 6x8 cubicle. The one pair of glasses should be 3. One daily use, one to see your computer screen and another to read the tiny print on the half sized drawings. That's a little more real but not nearly as fun. At least Ken now has a "Dream House" to be proud of...

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Top 10 Country Songs

For those of you who hate country music... you'll love this. Because doesn't every country song have a dog or a truck or a gun rack, and/or someone leavin' or cheatin'? No these aren't actual country songs but they could be...

10. She Got The Gold Mine, I Got The Shaft (ok, this is an actual country song)
9. I Ain't Never Gone To Bed With an Ugly Woman But I Woke Up With A Few
8. If The Phone Don't Ring, You'll Know It's Me
7. I've Missed You, But My Aim's Improvin'
6. Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight 'Cause I'm Scared She'd Win
5. I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like You're Still Here
4. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Miss Him
3. She Took My Ring and Gave Me the Finger
2. She's Lookin' Better with Every Beer
1. It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chewed My *ss All Day

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Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, it's a hallmark holiday. And yes, it's predictable to buy your love something red, or sweet, or heart shaped. But please don't fall victim to the cheesetastic and super corny jewelry store commercials on TV and default to buying your lady a heart shaped pendant for the 5th year in a row (no offense if you get a heart shaped pendant this year). Just saying a little thoughtfulness and out of the box thinking goes just as far...and is a heck of a lot cheaper!

Write her name in concrete? Well, maybe not but you can take a picture and send it via text or email.




Shoot her with an arrow.

Grab an old box or tin, fill it with something sweet and wrap it in red.

Send a unique Card... like these handmade letterpress cards.

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Words of Wisdom

-Mark Twain

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Twin Towers - SF

If you have never been to Twin Towers in SF it is a must... especially on a crystal clear day. One hill provides sweeping views of downtown from the Golden Gate to the Ferry Building. The other, an endless view of the Pacific Ocean. Park along the road and walk to both and let the mind compile a 360 degree panaramic view of the City.

Brian L.

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Do-It-Yourself Lighting Solution

Interesting use for Grandma's old lamp shades? I enjoy seeing low buck highly creative solutions to design problems... so I snapped this pic at a little hole in the wall food joint in SF.

-Brian L.

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Celebrate!...

Last week Kim Navarro turned 29 for the 2nd time. So we celebrated the only way we know how... with happy hour! After all...who needs a birthday cake when you have tequila!?!

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Fun, Simple Solutions

The client we were working with on this project wanted to put up a casework half wall to divide the public and private space in this office building. We decided to avoid a mundane solution of a 2.5’ high laminate panel running the length of 15’ so, bearing in mind that there was a degree of security we had to achieve, we chose to divide it with these 3-Form panels suspended from a “L” shaped soffit. This turned the division into an unexpected art piece as opposed to something “expected”.

What have you done lately to get out of the design box?

- Amber

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Did You Know?

... Jessica worked in a motorcycle shop... and she's seen lots and lots of tattoos.



... Jeff was a mischievous toddler who enjoyed among other things, climbing on kitchen cabinets. That was, until he climbed too high and fell into a pot of boiling water on the stove thus burning 75% of his right leg. He does not climb on kitchen cabinets anymore.

(no picture necessary)

... Brian L.'s middle name is Clayton. This name appears nowhere in his genealogy and was not passed down through the ages. Rather, he was named after the main character from his dad's favorite TV show as a child... The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore).

... James was the 2 time arm wrestling (or wrist wrestling as he calls it) champion of UPS.


... Cigi knocked her 3 front teeth out when she slipped on wet river rocks. She was 16 but refuses to say how it actually happened nor did she tell her parents how it happened... so you know it must be good! (numbers 8,9, and 10 per the diagram to be exact)

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Public Art... Large and Small

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Life Explained by Scientific Graphs

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Don't throw those pencils away!

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