I <3 "Organized Clutter"

I keep thinking of these rooms from Collector's Style




images from D. Sharp Journal

My Folk Lover: Calendar

I blogged about My Folk Lover a few months ago (click here for the old post), and I still stop in every so often to see what's new.

TO MY SURPRISE AND DELIGHT: My Folk Lover has come out with a 2010 Calendar!


I love the dreamlike quality of these pieces. Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I find the use of primarily female faces/images mixed with at times dreamy and at times graphic shapes to be an enchanting pairing. I'm also a sucker for architecture in art, so the line-drawn houses get me to the core. :]

You can find the calendar for $18 on My Folk Lover's Etsy Page.

Terrariums

I have always liked the idea of terrariums, but never actually wanted one until I saw these ones by Paula Hayes.






Just, lovely.

Little People

I recently stumbled upon Little People: A Tiny Street Art Project, and am quite intrigued.





The blog contains pictures from a photo series on miniatures in London. Once again: sometimes a simple idea can be the most thought-provoking.

I <3 Chronicle Books

If I had to name one publishing company that consistently puts out books, cards, and stationery sets that make my heart melt, it would be Chronicle Books, hands down.



Reason #1: The company's mission statement:
"Inspired by the enduring magic and importance of books, our objective is to create and distribute exceptional publishing that's instantly recognizable for its spirit, creativity, and value. This objective also informs our business relationships and endeavors, be they with customers, authors, vendors, or colleagues."

Ok, that already makes my knees weak. Is that weird? I just think it's so awesome that the mission statement declares a commitment to "distribut[ing] exceptional publishing that's instantly recognizable for its spirit, creativity, and value." Talk about more bang for your buck! Chronicle Books is committed to publishing only works that deliver that spirit of creativity and hold inherent value! This is a nerdyartsy girl's dream. come. true.

Reason #2: The Consistently Amazing New Selections
Every time I visit the site, I ogle over all the new books, calendars, and stationery. Leave it to Chronicle Books to make me covet a book on print making, when I have never tried my hand at it before. I just know it will be good.

My past purchases: Wanderlust USA: 30 Postcards, French General: Home Sewn, My Quoteable Kid, Jill Bliss' Stationery Set, The Meaning of Flowers Notecard Set, The Autobiography Box, a Large Plain Moleskine Notebook and the set of 3 Large Moleskine Cahiers.

I guess we know where my disposable income goes...but who can resist when there is so much good stuff published by Chronicle Books? Really, if I'm not drooling over it myself, I have a friend in mind who it would make the perfect gift for.

Reason #3: The Consistently Amazing Old Stand-bys:
ie: The entire Moleskine Journal collection, often available at a discounted rate. (Hello, "Annual Friends and Family Sale" that I'm not sure how I got signed up for, but love nonetheless!)

Those three reasons are enough for me; I'm hooked. You can decide for yourself.

Perhaps now is the time to mention that if I ever seek publication for a book of my own, Chronicle would be the top choice, hands down. Additionally, when I maybe someday seek a job in publishing....you get the idea. :)

The Sartorialist: The Book

I've been following The Sartorialist blog for over a year now, and have blogged about it before. Even after all these months, each time I visit Scott Schuman's blog always seems to be a new experience. I get lost in the world he creates-- one of unique style and a celebration of individualism. Also, to see the same faces reappear every so often reinforces the microcosmic notion. He says over and over again: "It's not what you wear, it's how you wear it."




The Sartorialist book came out in August, and somewhere in the hubbub of daily life and prepping to go back to school (and probably in the face of the heightened tuition fees I had to pay), I neglected to recognize its release and purchase a copy. To my delight, my best friend Shannon gave me the book for my birthday, and it has changed my life.
That's a bit of an overstatement, but there is some small truth to it. I'm all for blogs and blogging (clearly), but there's something different about holding the same content in your hands. It might sound obvious, but there's a greater tangibility to it.



I don't know if I ever would have bought the book if Shannon hadn't given it to me; I'm the type to downplay the importance of the the tangibility I've just saluted, while emphasizing the art of thrift and minimalism (in theory, that is.....in reality, I'm quite the pat rack).

But thank goodness for Shannon's keen gift-giving perception! I've enjoyed flipping through the book and feeling inspired to explore new means of personal expression through style. I've even been using those little post-it tabs (the ones I bought for grad school) to mark the pages that speak to me the most. There's just no comparison between post-it tabbing and online Bookmarking.

I know you might not be interested in fashion, and maybe you would be really bored by The Sartorialist blog and book. I guess the reason I bring all this up is not to convince you to run out and buy the book, but in an effort to distinguish between a blog and a book, when both carry the same content. It's interesting that a few years ago people felt the need to defend the role of the blog, and I'm probably not alone now in defending the role of the book.

All that to say, if I ever decide to turn my blog into a book (and I'm not sure how exactly that would translate), buy it. ;)

Everyone Loves a Good 'Stache

image from ffffound

For awhile now, it's seems like mustaches are everywhere. I'm not talking about real mustaches (although those have been popping up more frequently too), I'm talking about mustache art.
Etsy alone is a good gauge of this trend. When I did a search, it came back with over 1,300 results that included the keyword mustache.
Not that I'm opposed to this; I'm actually really enjoying it. There are few things as amusing to me as a clever DIY craft inspired by facial hair. Awesome.




I'm thinking of jumping on the band wagon and making a series of postcards featuring photos of different awesome facial hair wearers. Perhaps only from the nose down?

Nana's house

I've been house-sitting for my grandma for a few weeks now; she asked to move into an assisted living home and doesn't want to sell her house yet (apparently the taxes are much lower when a house is sold posthumously), so here I am. My sis has been staying here too, most nights.
Contrary to what my neighbors seem to think, it's not a bed of roses to live in this house, even if it is the biggest model on the block. Over half my stuff is still back at my dad's house, so I'm perpetually carting between the two homes. Also, there's the whole emotional side to moving into someone's house after they have essentially decided to die somewhere else. When that is someone who you care about immensely, who has been a large part of your childhood and adult life, it's really difficult.

One perk, though, is that I keep finding uber cool things as time goes on. A few such things include:
-a drawer full of silk scarves, in brilliant condition (and we know I love scarves)
-an old slide projector that works like new, complete with
-a large case of old slides from when my dad was a baby at Old Faithful (really want to go there, by the way)
-her old passports (one every five years starting in 1965...and she's wearing a necklace in the picture that she gave to me a year or two ago)
-her wedding guest book from 1949
-Mayflower Family Trackers (my family frequently boasts our Mayflower-descendant status)

and oodles more. It's like a treasure hunt, minus the time-sensitivity factor.

But besides that, and the large backyard patio space where I was able to have my birthday get together (which my grandma knew, approved, and even encouraged, I assure you), it's really weird living in someone else's house. I'm slowly getting used to added my own decorative touches here and there, but it feels strange to move into a fully furnished home and not really know how long I'll be here.

So, there's the update.

Night Flight

My old friend Nick came into town a week or so ago from Seattle for a visit, so he and Jon and Maritza and Jordan and I went to the OC Great Park for a night flight on the orange balloon. We had hoped to get on right at sunset, but it was a Sunday, and weekends are busy. We had to wait around a couple hours until we got paged on the little pager they gave us.

Post-birthday whirlwind

Busy week. Grad school + work + boy<3 +friends =" busy"

A plus side of this week was that I got to spend a bunch of gift cards on myself. I have a habit of saving gift cards and eventually spending them on other people for their birthdays or Christmas or whatever, so Jordan came along and made sure I spent them on myself. So: new shoes, new earings, new throw blanket, new purse (from anthro!):


And Jordan wins for the best birthday present; the sweet record player/cd player/radio/cassette player i've had my eye on for some time now,


Click here to see pictures Shannon took at my birthday party!

I <3 Venn Diagrams

If only it were this simple.
(I really love that the epicenter says "hooray!")


You can find this diagram and others like it at this is indexed

Going in Circles

Someday, I would like to see a crop circle in person.
By land and by air, ideally.






There is something so graceful about them,

today is my birthday.

happy birthday me!

Amy and I met the Fonz this weekend. !!

fabulous floors

anthropologie has me drooling over all their pretty new rugs.

Don't get me started on the wallpaper...

My Favorite 5 Year Old

Today, a very special little man in my life is turning 5.

>>>Happy birthday Oliver!<<<

I can't explain how much I wish I could be there, today of all days, to give you a big Blythe-hug and throw you on the couch, again and again...

Happy Birthday Popsi

Today is my dad's b-day, and the older I get, the cooler he seems.
Here's to you Dad-- thanks for being awesome. !


And here's a Hill family favorite, of my dad (on the left) and his brothers,

Legos Imitating Art

I came across a cool site with the art of Mike Stimpson, who stages Legos to imitate famous photos. Check it out,
















There's also a series of Storm Trooper photos that are pretty amusing. Here's a couple of my favorites,