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December 1, 2014

Drake General Store x Design Crush Giveaway

Drake General Store is a traditional hotel gift shop, a classic general store, a flea market stand, and a museum shop all rolled into one. They have the biggest and best Canadian pride and love supporting homegrown artists and designers, making them a perfect match for Design Crush and our sensibilities.

Please tell me you took 1.5 seconds to read that graphic, because we’re giving away a $1,000 prize pack! Drake General Store is my favorite shop north of the U.S. border and I’m pumped to be partnering with them for the second December in a row to give you all a HUGE something awesome. I’ve cherry picked my favorite pieces from their classic, modern goods that are a mix of sensible (socks, throws, kitchen pieces) and not so sensible (tarot cards, incense, wind chime) and everything in between.

Metsa Birch Box Set ($40) // Gold Screw Studs ($24) // Cross Enamelware Stockholm Measuring Cup ($29) // Cross Enamelware Copenhagen Side Dish ($29) // Oval Marble + Wood Cheeseboard ($68) // Ladies & Gentlemen Aura Bell Chime ($135) // Held In Common Snowflake Socks ($14) // Cozy Ceramic Camp Mug, set of 4 ($48) // 3 Mast Brothers Chocolate Bars ($33) // Shared History Macho Man + Elizabeth Robes ($128) // Arborist Long Janes, trees ($29) // Blackbird Incense ($34) // Public Supply Notebooks ($15) // Arborist Getaway Blanket ($29) // Arborist Getaway Pack ($29) // Wild Unknown Tarot Card Deck ($45) // Wild Unknown Tarot Guide Book ($24) // Engraved Keychain ($15) // Hockey Thermos ($38) // Earth Coasters ($42) // Pinch Pot with Spoon ($28) // East Coast Throw Blanket ($99) // Oslo Bowls ($39)

I KNOW! So many well designed pieces and so many little luxuries to help get you through winter. You could either go the Happy Holidays to Me! route and keep it all for yourself or the My Shopping is Done! route and dive up your winnings as gifts for everyone on your list. Either way it’s a win. (But if you do spy something you’d like to gift know that Drake General Store has worldwide flat rate shipping!)

Enter here to win!

Posted In accessories, accessories, food, house and home, jewelry, kitchen, notebooks + journals, paper goods, read up, wear it, win it

November 30, 2014

24 Merry Days Starts Tomorrow!

Image Little White Whale

You guys, IT’S TIME! For the third year in a row 24 Merry Days is here to rock your socks right across the room. Maybe even clear out the front door.

Mastermind Audrey has once again matched up 24 bloggers and 24 prizes. Every day from December 1st through the 14th a different giveaway will be announced on a different blog and revealed on the 24 Merry Days site. I’ll be tweeting the latest one each day (@designcrush) along with hosting one that you’re definitely going to want to enter.

The swag lineup includes a SMEG fridge, a Madsen cargo bike, two Loeffler Randall bags, a PUBLIC adult bike and kid balance bike, a pair of Swedish Hasbeens boots, big ‘ol gift certificates to West Elm and Anthropologie, AND SO MUCH MORE! You can also follow along on the 24 Merry Days Facebook page to make sure you’re notified of each day’s giveaway.

Here’s to a great December!

Posted In christmas, holidays, win it

November 28, 2014

Happy Weekend

01/ The Real Apple Store celebrates a 1,000 year old borough market.
02/ Lady Gaga’s lead keyboardist developed a circular piano!
03/ And enormous raised-earth horse sculpture in Wales.
04/ London is shaming irresponsible dog owners by spray painting their poop pink.
05/ The feral cat population of Disneyland.
06/ One mom documents 63 things she found in her baby’s mouth over seven months.
07/ Genius design – this pregnancy book grows in size with the expectant mother.
08/ This frozen pond is creating beautiful concentric circles!
09/ Looking forward to next spring’s Kurt Cobain documentary – Montage of Heck.
10/ New life goal: to be one of these wrestling grandmas one day.

This week on Design Crush:
Win $300 from Minted to spend on holiday cards or some new art!
Baby, it’s cold outside! Stay warm with ramen 10 ways.
The bittersweet paintings of Akiko Kobayakawa.
The incredible Nespresso Vertuoline and seasonal coffee recipes for entertaining.
Repaired + reimagined: my Dad’s coat rack gets a much needed modern update.
Twelve more calendars for your 2015.
I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Revealing how my dining room is take shape.

Design Crush elsewhere:
Five ways to add color to your space for winter.
Some designer insights from me over on Terry’s Blinds.

Posted In collaboration/project, create, grand design, happy weekend, outdoors, photography, read up, sculpture, street

November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving

Photo Martha Stewart Weddings

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans! I’m busy hosting my first Thanksgiving today so wish me luck – I’m going for the above vibe in my tablescape, but with simple white plates. (Hopefully the bird doesn’t burn ala Christmas Vacation…)

As always I think that this is the perfect time to tell you just how thankful I am that you continue to read Design Crush and look to it for inspiration. You’re helping me live my dream and there just aren’t enough words to say thank you for that.

Now go enjoy all of that turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce! We’ll be back with regularly scheduled posts tomorrow.

Posted In holidays, thanksgiving

November 26, 2014

Repaired + Reimagined: My Dad’s Coat Rack

This coat rack? It’s seen a lot. I’ve had it since graduating high school, before that it held robes and belts in my parents’ room, and before that who knows. It was my Dad’s and I have no idea how long he had it in his possession. The bottom line – it sorely needed an update if there was going to be any place for it in my home.

Case in point.

It had seen better days and was showing some serious wear and tear in the form of several deep nicks and a loss of stability. (I’d already repaired that part here with a bit of wood filler, toothpicks, and elbow grease.)

So when ScotchBlue™ Painters Tape and The Home Depot reached out about doing a project with Behr® and Wooster® I knew which piece was begging for my attention. I’d hoped to use the coat rack in the nook of my staircase which has white walls and light wood floors, so I also knew that I wanted it to be an interesting piece to look at with at least a little bit of color.

Supplies:
• drop cloth
• sanding block
• Behr® Marquee™ Dawn Gray #MQ5-28
• Behr® Marquee™ Manhattan Blue #MQ5-9
• Wooster® Pro 2″ Nylon Thin Angle Slash Brush
• ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL

I started out by deciding I wanted to leave the top ten inches or so naked before taping it off with ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape at that spot and sanding everything south of that mark. I made sure to smooth the edges of the tape really well to avoid any paint bleed.

Then I sort of eyeballed how large of an area I wanted the semi-gloss Dawn Gray to cover in my colorblocked scheme – about a foot. I left the bottom edge ragged knowing that I’d be taping it off for my second color.

After taping off, I painted the rest of the rack with semi-gloss Manhattan Blue. After it dried (the Behr® Marquee™ covered in one beautiful coat) I flipped it over and painted the underside as well.

See that clean straight line? That’s the stuff painting dreams are made of. It’s always best to remove painter’s tape when the paint itself isn’t completely dry, and to pull at an angle. This helps keep that line super straight.

I’m so happy with the end result! My once ragged hand-me-down coat rack has fresh life just in time for being hung full of winter coats, hats, and scarves.

I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® – sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush going!

Home Depot Consumer Program // The Home Depot Twitter // The Home Depot Facebook // The Home Depot Pinterest // ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter // ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook // ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest

Posted In make it, sponsored post

November 25, 2014

Nespresso VertuoLine + Seasonal Coffee Drinks

I’ve always been fascinated by single-serve coffee systems, but vastly underwhelmed by what’s on the market. The ability to cater to your family’s or guests’ preferences, especially during all of those holiday get togethers, can be such a lovely touch when entertaining. But when the coffee itself tastes unimpressive and the machine has a working life of maybe a year… well, what’s the point?

When Nespresso reached out about trying out their new VertuoLine I was hesitant, but what changed my mind was that Nespresso works in coffee. They aren’t just some brand who’s decided to create a new machine and outsource the main ingredient. VertuoLine is an intuitive system that uses Centrifusion technology and barcode reading (cup size, rotation, temperature, flow rate, and brew time) to brew 8 oz cups of coffee and 1.35 oz espressos.

The VertuoLine’s hallmark is the incredible crema – the foam formed on each espresso top – it creates with every cup. And honestly it really is impressive. Once I got my hands on the machine itself I couldn’t believe that this was a cup of coffee that I’d made in around a minute in my own kitchen.

I also got to play around with an automatic milk frother, the Aeroccino+. With the push of a button I had perfect hot milk and froth (it can also warm milk without the froth or froth cold milk). It’s basically my favorite new kitchen gadget of 2014.

The VertuoLine comes with a sample box of their eight coffee and four espresso blends. And after trying nearly all of them I decided to create a few coffee drinks and put it all to the test.

Ingredients:
• Melozio capsule
• 2 oz skim milk
• 1 Tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling

Place Melozio capsule into the VertuoLine and brew into mug. While brewing, pour 2 oz skim milk into Aeroccino+ along with one tablespoon of honey. Press button to froth. When finished, gently pour milk into coffee, then spoon froth on top. Drizzle with honey. Drink up.

Ingredients:
• Odacio capsule
• 2 oz eggnog

Place Odacio capsule into the VertuoLine and brew into mug or heat-safe glass. While brewing, pour 2 oz eggnog into Aeroccino+. Press button to froth. Pour eggnog slowly into coffee to achieve that great separation. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I received product and compensation for this collaboration with Nespresso. As always all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that help keep Design Crush going!

Posted In house and home, kitchen, recipes, sponsored post

November 24, 2014

Ramen 10 Ways

I’m a soup fiend when cold weather comes to town, and I’m always looking for the next one to try (these are my favorite two!). This winter I’m planning on doing a little experimentation with ramen and I’ve bookmarked these ten recipes as my starting point. Have you ever made it other than straight out of the package? Me neither.

Click on each image to go to the recipe.
All photos copyright of their respective sites unless otherwise noted.

Posted In recipes, round up

November 24, 2014

Win It: $300 from Minted

I’m a big fan of Minted, their goods, and what they’re doing for independent artists. I have several pieces of the art they sell in my home, and this is the second year I’ve turned to them for my holiday cards. Minted offers a fantastic collection of both photo and non-photo cards (my preference), and after narrowing them all down to four designs I settled on this one by Phrosene Ras. I love the bright and happy palette and the ability to customize the sentiment.

This year I took the time to input all of my addresses on the website so that Minted could print them right on the envelopes. While I’m normally all for hand-addressing my holiday cards this year is extremely busy, so I took the plunge and don’t have one regret. They look so good!

Minted also offers the option of a decorative element next to the address that coordinates with your card’s design. I really felt like this additional touch helped make up the difference (in my mind) for not writing things out on my own.

Minted will also add your return address on the envelope flap for free. The end result was clean, modern, and just my style.

I’m happy to team up with Minted to give a lucky reader $300 to spend on holiday cards, art, or whatever else might be calling your name! (They also have some lovely gift tags and wrapping paper.) Take advantage of their addressing service or wow your holiday card list with a design that features their new gold foil. Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted In cards, christmas, holidays, paper goods, win it

November 21, 2014

Happy Weekend

01/ April Dauscha‘s explorations of lacework and her body are beautiful.
02/ This water-filled chair contains all of the tears cried in a human lifetime.
03/ Exactly how you think famous artists would rearrange Thanksgiving meals.
04/ Tower Bridge in London now features a class floor on its high-level walkways.
05/ Ai WeiWei transforms Alcatraz bathrooms into massive flower installations.
06/ Fifteen photos that will convince you Iceland belongs on another planet.
07/ Iconic Portland statues get the festive yarn bombing treatment.
08/ If only all nail salons could look as good as Missy Lui does.
09/ Would you stay in this KLM airplane Airbnb apartment? (I would.)
10/ Zhenya Aerohockey documents the corners he finds in life through photography.

This week on Design Crush:
Drop what you’re doing and go enter to win a handwoven rug just like the one in my living room!
Here are 12 advent calendars to get you prepped for December 1st.
Checking in on the colorful abstract work of Jeremy Rabus.
Take a peek at part 1 of our holiday card roundups.
Leaf Beast reimagines nature’s drying fall leaves.
Dinosaur Designs’ Atelier collection is so happy and bright!
Carolina Mizrahi‘s underwater photography series is not for those with a fear of H2O.
Twelve more calendars for your 2015!

Design Crush elsewhere:
Talking about colorful clawfoot tubs – are you for or against them?
Graphic black + white rugs are some of my favorite floor coverings.

Posted In beauty bag, create, grand design, happy weekend, holidays, installation, photography, street, textiles, thanksgiving

November 19, 2014

Dinosaur Designs: Atelier

Dinosaur Designs‘ and their eponymous candy colored wares for house and body just released their latest collection – Atelier. This go around they’ve added candles, linen napkins, and puzzles to the mix just in time for holiday gifting. But those geometric bangles? Those are at the tippy top of my list.

(via Design Milk)

Posted In accessories, house and home, jewelry, kitchen, wear it