At some point last year I woke up and realized that there is art--really good art--available very, very close to us. As in, Pittsburgh. And I vowed to see more of what's going on at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Right now there's a great Peter Muller-Munk exhibit that features beautiful silver pieces, as well as purely functional but oh-so-well designed items like vacuums. And power tools.

I loved the pots and the stove displayed in this exhibit. The aesthetic reminds me of the very cute Smeg refrigerator that's popular in design circles right now (including certain hotels in Austin), a throw back to the old retro versions.

Can you imagine the fun of vacuuming with these hot little numbers? I can see how the 50's housewives may have been suckered . . .

Above are two different razors--one for underarms and one for legs. Such marketing skills!

I even enjoy the standard features of this museum, such as the courtyard below at the back entrance and the line-up of waterfalls at the front. They're also featuring a really nice modern collection of art from Jane Haskell's personal collection right now. I didn't take pics for fear of admonishment by museum staff, but it's very much worth seeing.