Newsletters

Grace Shu

    How To…Get Rid of Bleach Stains in the Bathroom
    Bleach stains…sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? Well, a few days ago, in an effort to unclog our drain, we followed the advice of one of our friends and poured bleach down the drain. And man, we learned our lesson: Don’t. Do. That. EVER! Even after we rinsed the tub, the next morning we found nasty bleach stains around the tub. After two hours of scrubbing to no avail, we went online to hunt for some kind of remedy… After some research, we tested out a few solutions: 1.
    Grace Shu
    May 10, 2019
    Grace and Collin’s Coastal Cottage
    Name: Grace, blogger of Grace Happens and Collin SorensenLocation: San Diego, CaliforniaSize: 1,200sq ftYears Lived In: 2.5 months All month long, we’ve been sharing Home Hacks from small projects like caring for teak furniture and dealing with stripped screws to bigger challenges, like how to cover up an ugly AC unit. But how’s this for the ultimate Home Hack?
    Grace Shu
    Feb 26, 2010
    Top 10 Gifts To Bring to a Summer BBQ
    This past weekend, we hosted a barbecue/ping pong tournament at our home to celebrate a birthday in addition to Memorial Day. None of our guests showed up empty-handed either–we have enough beer, booze, and chips for the next barbecue! However, one couple brought over a gift bag full of fun and functional things that we could definitely use over and over again for future summer parties which inspired us to create our own shortlist of barbecue-themed gifts…1.
    Grace Shu
    May 26, 2009
    On the Set: Penelope
    When we posted about the set of Pushing Daisies (R.I.P), we received a fair amout of emails asking us to please, pretty please also do a feature on Penelope, a movie starring a pig-snouted Christina Ricci in a modern fairytale about self-acceptance…and a shaggy-haired James McAvoy (…what? He’s really quite charming in this movie…even without the Scottish accent…).
    Grace Shu
    Dec 16, 2008
    On The Set: Pushing Daisies
    Ever since we saw Wonderfalls a few years back (along with the first season of Heroes), we’ve been big fans of Pushing Daisies‘ creator Bryan Fuller’s quirky, fictional worlds. If you’ve never seen this bizarre fairy tale show, we say it’s worth a shot: the plotlines are creative (this past episode featuring dim sum gambling was truly genius in our book) and the sets are visually stunning in that oddball, Amèlie kind of way.
    Grace Shu
    Nov 17, 2008
    International Etiquette: Being A Guest
    One advantage of working with people in Europe and Asia is that we get a different kind of perspective when it comes to etiquette. Despite the universal truths (i.e., Don’t chew with your mouth open, thank your host for the invitation, etc), there’s also potential pitfalls that surprised us.
    Grace Shu
    Jul 23, 2008
    How To…Reupholster A Thonet Chair (by Todd Oldham!)
    Anyone watch MTV’s House of Style back in the 90s? Remember when Todd Oldham would have his special segment where he would do some crazy DIY project like make chino cutoffs or crush petals to make your signature perfume? Well, after stumbling across Oldham’s “official” blog, I found this post recounting his tale of finding six vintage Thonet chairs…and waiting fourteen years to finally restore and reupholster for his home in Maui.
    Grace Shu
    May 21, 2008
    LA House Tour: Laura and Jason’s Comfortable, Colorful Casa
    Name:Laura Stang-O’Dell, creator and head designer of Porridge; Jason O’Dell, photographer; and Hazel, awesome dogLocation: Los FelizSize: 1600 sq/ftYears lived in: 2 Years, own >> you can put that as our most embarrassing element...> should put it on something higher jason said actually gets fed sometimes.> Remember when we introduced you to Porridge Home a few weeks back? We promised you a house tour.
    Grace Shu
    May 2, 2008
    How To…Make a Couch, Bed, and Guest Room Fit In a Small Space
    Here’s a problem that most of us have faced at some point or another: How do you fit in a bed, a big couch, and a guest room in an apartment? We’ve touched on it a bit before when we were lamenting on our lack of a guest bedroom, but here’s an innovative solution from Danish textile designer/potter Antero Kjaer: a couch/bed made with two twin mattresses, hooks, and foam.
    Grace Shu
    Mar 17, 2008
    Can White Noise Machines Eliminate Traffic Noise?
    What if the apartment you just rented is perfect in every single way…except it’s facing a busy street? A friend of ours is in this situation now: his new apartment is fantastic except for the noise early in the morning from commuters trying to hop on the 110.So we’re trying to come up with solutions that would at least dampen the sound that isn’t too ugly (ie, foam egg cartons, cardboard, and tape).
    Grace Shu
    Feb 29, 2008
    How to…Clean a Marble Shower
    After one of our friends bought a house with a marble shower, she sent us an email declaring her undying hatred of it. Why? Because cleaning it sucks. Considering all the mystery products in regular bath soaps and shampoos, we can just imagine what a nightmare it is to maintain a marble shower. So how DO you keep it clean?[ The Marble shower at L’Auberge du Lac.
    Grace Shu
    Jan 15, 2008
    Noise Pollution: Chainsaw at Midnight? Oh no, he didn’t!
    We proudly live in the burbtastic Pasadena: everything winds down around 10 pm, and the only real mischief happens on New Years Eve when residents *allegedly* throw eggs and shaving cream at cars camping out for the Rose Parade. So, it was a bit bizarre when around midnight last night, a very rude and disrespectful neighbor decided to start up the chainsaw and demolish his tree. What in the…?At the time, we were just about to doze off when it happened.
    Grace Shu
    Dec 4, 2007
    LA House Tour: Lynn and Leif’s Paris Hotel Home
    Remember when we blogged about Paris Hotel Boutique a few weeks ago? And we begged Lynn to let us do a house tour? Well she graciously agreed, and here’s her beautiful home! Name: Lynn Goldfinger-Abram & Leif Abram Location: San Francisco, CA Size: 1550 sq ft. Years lived in: 10 Our style: Hollywood Glamour meets Paris Hotel with a modern twist!
    Grace Shu
    Oct 29, 2007
    Color Psychology: The Impact of Paint Color
    Every time we pick a color to paint our guest room, there’s always one naysayer in our polling midst who vetoes the color and gasps out, “OH no. THAT color is used in mental wards!” So now, that delectable mint color that we were hovering over will is now officially known as as Mentally Ill Menthol.
    Grace Shu
    Oct 10, 2007
    Grey’s Anatomy: Set Decor at Seattle Grace
    As much as we HATED Grey’s Anatomynative art at Seattle GraceWe first spied this Marika Swan print by Joe David in the Big Cheesy Chief’s office when Patrick Dempsey was boo-hooing his way to the top, and we’ve been on the hunt ever since. This style of art is identified with the modern Northwest Coast Native art movement (kudos to the Grey’s Anatomy set decor for an excellent research job) which celebrates traditional Northwest native cultures.
    Grace Shu
    Sep 19, 2007
    Calder’s Mobiles, On the Small Scale
    Alexander Calder had said , “To most people who look at a mobile, it’s no more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it may be poetry.” Calder has been my favorite artist ever since I was a kid and saw one of his mobiles hanging in a bank building. (Useless trivia: His first ever studio was in Pasadena, and the Rose Bowl Parade allegedly inspired his circus sculptures.
    Grace Shu
    Sep 6, 2007