March 2018

Welcome to the #NookNeighborhoods series, where every Wednesday you’ll find cool history and culture to make sure you don’t overlook an area that could have the best nook for you. This week we’re doing a deep dive into an aspect of our Nook Neighborhoods being celebrated Nationwide on March 29, National Mom and Pop Business Day.

We always hear the phrase “Mom and Pop” store as a positive feature in a neighborhood, something to strive for, something unique to any of the new developments and a priority for the historical societies in our nooks. It's assumed that if there is a family owned business around, it's a good place, a wholesome place. If your Nook is good enough to allow a Mom and Pop Store to stay in business, then it's a place that you want to

Even people who've never been to Los Angeles know all the stereotypes: nobody walks, cyclists are out of control, cars don't respect cyclists, you sit in traffic for hours at a time, and public transportation is cumbersome at it best, unreliable at its worst.

That's partly why the idea of improving transportation, particularly the public transit, is typically met with eye rolls and remembrances of false promises. We can't help but notice the positive plans in store for Los Angeles, however. With many of them having to do with LAX and the Olympics, these changes are sure to impact people around the world, potentially changing the narrative for Los Angeles as a freeway city. Here are some of the projects underway that we believe have this opportunity.

When Nook Sales Experts match a buyer with their dream home, the only thing as important as architectural style is the neighborhood. That’s why we’re bringing you the #NookNeighborhoods series, where every Wednesday you’ll find cool history and culture to make sure you don’t overlook an area that could have the best nook for you.

I remember standing in the Museum of Modern Art, fresh out of college and ready to conquer the artistic world, seeing an exhibit. I felt in shock, as I realized that I could have opened my Art History book and pointed to the same pieces. That’s when it hit me: who decides what is “modern” art? Isn't it simply the last half of the twentieth century, as I thought? The last century? Or is it a certain set of years? Spoiler alert:

With news of Zaha Hadid Architects finishing their first project in New York plus their appointment to design a new Mumbai international airport, it seemed fitting to watch Alex Yentob’s 2013 documentary on her life and works, Zaha Hadid, Who Dares Wins.

It's always easy to look back on someone's life and say with confidence, Of course, they were going to succeed. Look at all of their promise at a young age, all of their talent. But hundreds or even thousands of talented people don't become industry superstars, and it's hard to understand the struggles they encountered after watching them win awards for their life's work.

While revisiting her biography for another Nook article last summer, I was surprised to learn that her designs weren't built

What does it take to be chosen to design the Venice Biennial? If this year’s headliners are any indication, it's a combination of philosophy, vision and deep understanding of how the structures around us inform and act upon our lives.

In the 2012 Bienniel, Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell of the Irish firm Grafton Architects explored “Geography as a new Landscape,” building models from the work of the great Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. Limestone and paper maché models, landscapes, and previews of new works won them the Silver Lion for Most Promising Firm that year.

For the 2018 Venice Biennial, entitled "Close Encounter, meetings with remarkable projects," the works will be presented are based in historical buildings, investigating

Wednesdays are usually reserved for #NookNeighborhoods where we have the latest in exquisite homes for you, but let’s travel a little off our beaten path today. Who wouldn’t want to take the week of Saint Patrick’s to visit those nooks of The Emerald Isle -- and how soon can I get there?

Cobh is a port famous for delivering 2.5 million people to American and saving a few of those cruising on The Titanic, as well as a refueling spot for the British navy. The history might be overwhelming if it weren’t so peaceful there, with vista views and small town port life to match. Friends who honeymooned there turned me on to The Roaring Donkey, who hosts a weekly live music night that feels like your friends came over for a singalong.

If historical outings

Here at Nook, we have a passion for people, places, and properties.  Welcome to #TastemakerTuesday, where we’ll feature the visionaries in our favorite nooks who are dedicated to building a better community through their talents.

We travel all the way back to 1405 and the Irish Annals of Clonmacnoise to find the first written entry on whiskey, and that was a grim report: the head of a clan had indulged in too much “aqua vitae,” or “water of life” on Christmas Day and died. See the Irish people had experimented for years with knowledge of perfume distillery taken from travels through the Mediterranean until it became a popular drink. It wasn't well regulated until 1556 when the English Parliament tried to pass a mostly unsuccessful act that limited the

Think of Saint Patrick, and a number of images parade through your head: banishing snakes, the color green, Ireland itself. The man who grew into the tradition and namesake to a holiday likely lived around 5th century, although he may have been a merging of two personalities. He converted to Christianity while he was captured by Irish pirates and held in captivity as a teenager. He escaped, returned to Britain and after a vision, Patrick returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He might have driven the snakes out -- although since there isn’t really evidence that Ireland had any snakes post-glacial era, that is much more likely to be a Christian metaphor for the devil than factual.

Fast forward to 1762, fourteen years before the Declaration of

When Nook Sales Experts match a buyer with their dream home, the only thing as important as architectural style is the neighborhood. That’s why we’re bringing you the #NookNeighborhoods series, where every Wednesday you’ll find cool history and culture to make sure you don’t overlook an area that could have the best nook for you.

Where to start with Dana Point? They use a ship as a classroom, have Whale Watching to spare, are still one of the best places to surf in Orange County, there’s an area named after the colored lanterns from ships, it’s a departure point for Catalina Island, and so much more is in the works.

We often cheer for the nooks that manage to merge their history with modern living, but Dana Point hits upon another challenge:

Welcome to #TastemakerTuesday, where we feature the visionaries in our favorite nooks who are dedicated to building a better community through their talents.

“The four elements are four strong pillars

that support the roof of this present world.”

-Rumi

“No one can prove there is a meaning to life. I must make my own life meaningful. That is all.”

-Nader Khalili

We do not yet know the full impact of architect, philosopher and designer of the future, Nader Khalili. People here on earth were only partially ready for his ideas, and it took those at NASA, looking ahead to space habitation, to understand how innovative and useful his legacy will be.

Ten years ago today, Nader Khalili passed while holding his family’s hands, leaving to