June 26, 2007

Summer at Anthropologie.

One of the few things I miss about Cleveland is living so close to an Anthropologie. It was located in a great little plaza along with a Barnes & Noble and Trader Joe’s, as well as some amazing restaurants and specialty stores. I don’t visit their site too often because it just isn’t the same as the store. There isn’t the huge sale area and there isn’t the ambience. Sigh. So recently I sucked up my sorrow and checked out the goods and actually found a couple of great things. I’m especially loving the tea towel.




Posted In house and home
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June 26, 2007

Olive & Page.

I’m new to Olive & Page’s letterpress paper goods, but they have some really cute cards and gift tags. Not to mention a pretty homepage!


Here are a few of my favorites from their site.




Posted In paper goods
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June 26, 2007

When it Rains, it Pours.


It’s been raining for roughly the past month here in Oklahoma. It’s like we have our own mini-hurricane that just keeps circling the state.

Everyone (and I mean everyone) is complaining. “I can’t keep up with their lawn.” “This is summer in Oklahoma for “christake.” It’s not supposed to rain, it’s supposed to be 100 degrees and bone dry.” “I’ve only been to the lake once and it’s almost July.” “My basement won’t stop flooding!”

Okay, I can almost sympathize with that last one, but I for one am enjoying it. It reminds me of growing up in Pennsylvania and summers at my grandparent’s house. Of early morning and, cheesily enough, picking blueberries at the edge of their yard. Basically, this weather is suiting me just fine and it can hang around for a little while longer if I have any say in the matter.

Posted In just a note
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June 26, 2007

Rehabilitated Dishware.

Rehabilitated Dishware by Sarah Cihat is an exercise is sustainability that reincarnates existing products. Used or unwanted ceramics are redesigned and resurfaced then presented as new collections. Interesting designs and modern colors enliven the dish, extending its life cycle past the thrift store or overstock pile. Rehabilitated Dishware is a subtle statement of the importance of recycling and the renewed value of unwanted things.


The process begins by buying dishware from various second-hand stores, such as Goodwill and Salvation Army, or rummaging through reject piles at retail stores. The dishes are then glazed and refired. Most are priced between $34 and $59.


Posted In create, kitchen
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June 22, 2007

Paper Monkey Press.

Being a graphic designer I really appreciate a well thought out business card. I love seeing something that makes me wish I had created it myself. These are the things that you tend to save and tuck away in an Idea File or inthe back of your mind (or if you’re me, both).


That’s exactly how i felt when I saw this business card for Laura Suzanne Foote by Paper Monkey Press. It’s beautiful and ingenious. Mission accomplished.

Posted In business cards, paper goods
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June 21, 2007

Blackboard Paint.


Up until now I’ve not been a huge fan of blackboard paint used in adult environments (i.e. outside of a kid’s room). I don’t know, maybe I just associate it way too closely with that nails on a chalkboard sound. But I think Ikea finally did it right by painting all vertical surfaces in a kitchen with the paint. Or maybe it’s that really hot stainless steel refrigerator right in the middle. Fine. It’s a combination of the two.

Posted In house and home, make it, walls
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June 21, 2007

The Cupcake Deck.

I am a cupcake connoisseur. I love baking them, I love buying them and I love eating them.


The Cupcake Deck is really cool because you don’t have to worry about lugging out an entire cookbook, propping it open, keeping it clean… You get the idea. You can just pull out one of the 25 cards and go to town! No worries, just lovely cupcakes. You can buy your own set for $14.95 here at Amazon.

(On a separate note, I think that this may also be a book and that I already own it. Hmmm….)

Posted In food
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June 21, 2007

A Fanciful Twist.

Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist is simply this: amazing. Her art is completely beautiful and terrifying all at the same time to me. She has such a variety from original art, prints, greeting cards, ceramics all the way to jewelry. Take a look and let me know what you think. You can purchase her work online at her Etsy shop.



Posted In create, illustration
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June 21, 2007

Rare Device: Necklaces.

What is Rare Device? (Besides and awesome store in Brooklyn.) If you are an English major or an English teacher, you know that ‘Rare Device’ is from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan. (If you are a true bookworm, you know that Ray Bradbury took a stab at that phrase too.)

Rare Device is, simply, good stuff for you and your home. Rena Tom, the creator, is a former jewelry and graphic designer who loves design. Every object in the store has its own story, and has been chosen because it is either handmade, well-designed, useful, beautiful or all of the above.

I’ve been semi-obsessed with this Razorblade Necklace ($110) for almost a year now. It comes on a 16″ sterling chain and isn’t sharp enough to cut, sorry.


This Currant Necklace ($60) is a little bit closer to my price range. It’s made from thin, recycled stainless steel and sterling silver.

Posted In jewelry, wear it
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June 19, 2007

Magazine Envelopes.


A few days ago I came across someone on Etsy selling homemade envelopes. Seeing them made countless memories of summer camp in Ligonier, PA come rushing back to the forefront of my mind. Not only did I spend two weeks of my summer at Camp Ligonier for three years in a row, but it’s also where I met my first legitimate boyfriend, Adam. This was back in the day before email had really arrived, so we wrote letters back and forth after the two weeks were over. Adam’s letters to me always arrived in envelopes ripped from the pages of Rolling Stone and Spin. My boyfriend was. So. Cool. Magazines became a new outlet for creativity – instead of reading the articles I immediately flipped through the pages looking for the perfect page that was coincidentally centered so I could fold one rockin’ envelope.

Posted In make it
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