leaving on a jet plane...

i'm flying south to virginia today for some much needed r&r with my family. i'll be back on friday monday but for today i'll leave it up to the people behind the must-read sites below (in no particular order). these are just some of my daily reads, for more please see the blogroll to your left. [carpet above from germany's reuber henning carpets]

• poppytalk
• oh joy!
• print+pattern
• karin's blog
• port2port
• sweet juniper: this isn't a design site but dutch's photos of their daughter are fantastic
• sfgirlbybay
• tastespotting: one of my new favorite food sites
• 101 cookbooks: beautiful food
• go fug yourself: my day wouldn't be complete without the fug girls. even though i know i'd be "design*fug" to them most days

very brooklyn

looks like a fun show- "very brooklyn" is a show taking place in montreal full of brooklyn-based designers. hivemind's new stool is worth checking it out alone...click here for more info [via mocoloco]

buy olympia

buy olympia is such a fantastic site for supporting local independent artists. well, local if you're in olympia, but you know what i mean. i stumbled upon these bookmarks from sherwood press and immediately tagged them for a future purchase. the neat thing about sherwood's bookmarks is that they're actually 8 page notebooks you can use to make notes while you're reading. how thoughtful. each book mark is printed on acid-free, 30% post-consumer waste, soft-white paper and is hand letter-pressed at olympia's oldest continuously running, woman-owned press. for only $2.50 a piece, how can you resist? click here for more info and to shop. enjoy!

call for designers

art star in philly is calling all artists and crafters for their 4th annual art star craft bazaar. art star is currently accepting applications; all mediums are welcome, but all items must be handmade. click here for more information and to enter. sadly i'll be at a wedding in VA during the bazaar but i bet we can rely on some great local coverage from joy. [ps: how great is jen corace's banner for the show? she's amazing]

sofia barao

sofia sent over some lovely new prints available in her etsy shop right now. my favorite is this one- a print of birds, trees and dots over a vintage french music sheet. $18 right here...

green chair press

my green chair press print arrived in the mail yesterday and it's stunning- i might have to order some more. and lucky for me, green chair just added a new green print and some lovely coasters to their collection. the coasters are $12 and the print is only $12. i highly suggest checking them out- the quality is really outstanding in person.

gesine

irene just posted some fantastic links over at bloesem. the post about gesine hackenberg’s work [via grijs] is really lovely...click here to see the most recent posts.

vintage

i find the vintage shops at etsy to be an interesting addition to the bunch- i'm eager to see how it works and if prices will raise with interest like ebay. in the meantime, i'm digging this little vintage tray at nice's shop. it's only $16 and available right here...enjoy! [there's only one so order quickly if you'd like it]

the quiet revolution

i'm loving these pen and ink trunk drawings from the quiet revolution. so pretty...

casanova

casanova is a fantastic (relatively new) danish shop that carries modern home design with an eye for scandinavian products. the owner's boyfriend emailed me this weekend and explained (since the site is in danish) that they definitely offer shipping overseas as well as e-commerce for those of us in the states. despite being in danish the shop isn't really that tough to cruise around. if you click a few times it's pretty easy to find furniture, lighting, etc. i personally loved the ligthing selection and was thrilled to see so many yellow pieces- a nice bright yellow light sounds perfect right about now. you can click here to browse casanova's collection and shop online- enjoy!

rose placemats

i love hot pink right now. i can't get enough of it. thankfully for ac i think my obsession will be short-lived and won't find its way into any permanent home decorations. but these hot pink rose placemats at rockett st. george are too cute to ignore. pink? and translucent pink at that? be still my heart. click here to grab these hot pink beauties...

d*s at h&g

just a reminder about updates at ds* on hg today: a post on the jaanus orgusaar's work, two affordable under $100 finds and two splurge-worthy things we love.

kiki van eijk

we've talked about kiki van eijk before but i wanted to add a few pieces that i hadn't posted before. i'm loving ceramics with highly textured, almost chunky detailing these days so kiki's "laced" and detailed vessels are right up my alley. they were produced in 2004 so they were definitely ahead of the curve (it seems like the dutch are always ahead of the curve). click here to see these pieces and view the rest of kiki's collection.

céline saby

i first discovered céline saby's work when i visited french touche last summer. she makes the most wonderful lampshades that excude a sort of boho meets asian style. recently she added a collection of lamps with woodland/mushrooms themes on that that remind me of jill bliss' work. each one has such a playful vibe and plenty of color to perk up a dark corner of your home. you can view céline's work right here or here at french touche. [you'll need to email to place an order and once they arrive just drop it off at your local lamp shop and they can switch out the wiring to work with us systems. i did that with a lamp from french touche and it only cost $25.]

secondhand rose

secondhand rose is my go-top shop when i'm looking for some inspiration. they always have such a nice collection of vintage patterns that remind me to look at colors and patterns in a new way. i loved this pattern in the "rare and unusual" collection...looks so warm and bold. click here to browse their full collection.

anthro home catalog

anthro just launched a new home catalog today- and of course, it's gorgeous. click here to browse.

rosanna inc.

so pretty and preppy- tableware from rosanna bowles.

charlotte lancelot

designer charlotte lancelot has expanded her orchid collection to include a lovely orchid placemat. it comes in three colors but white is my absolute favorite. click here for more info (you can order via email)...

cheep cheep

i love a good bird house. despite the fact that we can't get any birds to live on our fire escape i always bookmark good designs like this for the day we finally own a house with a yard. eva solo's nesting box is such a nice modern vessel for giving birds a home. why shouldn't their houses be as cute as ours? click here for more info...

iomoi

they say the first step is admitting your addictions so i'll fess up- i, grace bonney, am a full-on iomoi junkie. the frequency with which i check their paperweights section for updates is shameful. but i always love their new designs. they're so perky and cute- you can use them in the office (to keep rogue papers in line), the kitchen (to hold cookbook pages in place) and even the bedroom (i keep one on my bedside magazine stack). the prices always stay the same ($65 for the large, $40 for the small) but the designs are always new- this season there are some fun beachy prints, LOTS of kelly green and a fantastic pink and black piece (my new favorite color combination). click here to view the full collection and shop online...

every jot & tittle

tennessee based artist kellie at every jot & tittle (yes, tittle not title) sells a seriously stunning set of gift tags and cards from her etsy shop. i liked almost every design and they're all available for a very affordable price- $3 for a set of 16 labels! click here to check out kellie's collection and shop online (be sure to check out the itty bitty card sets- they're beautiful). enjoy!

jayson home and garden

lots of pretty new things at jayson home and garden this week. i'm particularly fond of the new accessories (the bright cloisonne boxes and jars are stunning) and additions to the global wares collection. click here to browse and shop their full range. [i'm out to visit a friend in town, have wonderful weekend!]

satsuma

i'm loving these yellow letterpressed flower cards from satsuma press. $12.50 for a set of 5 cadrs right here.

leigh wells

jan at poppytalk posted a fantastic piece on artist leigh wells' handlettering. i'm loving the bold red and her wonderful lettering design. sometimes a little visual inspiration is all i need to get me going on a sleepy friday. click here for more information on leigh wells.

gee's bend

i love this rug from the gee's bend collection at classic rug. [thanks, virginia!]

flavia del pra (at anthro)

it seems that anthropologie is really starting to pick up (rather than imitate) some great up and coming designers these days. they're carrying three different flavia del pra lamps right now that, while not exactly cheap ($548 each), are totally cute. you can see all three right here . be sure to catch the cleo chair in butter yellow and heirloom tomato love seat- so springy and fresh.

bizbox

i'm so sorry it's taken me this long to mention but the lovely susan at art esprit has taken over for me and joined a new panel at slate's biz box! she's already got a great piece up on diversity as capital so click here to check it out and meet the new panel of bloggers discussing small business. [congrats, susan!]

denyse schmidt

jaime at designklub conducted a nice podcast with quilting-queen denyse schmidt. click here to check it out.

d*s at hg

today at hg: a post on new online boutique violet, my favorite k studio pillow and affordable knobs for sprucing up your cabinets. click here to check it all out.

[just a reminder: there will be at least 2 new products a day in the trends section of hg.com: an affordable under $100 find and an inspiration piece in things we love]

handmade wedding: final day!

thank you so much to rebecca at moontree press for creating what was one of the most popular guest blogs we've done so far. i'm so thrilled that everyone seemed to enjoy the ideas, tips, links, interviews and articles so much. i hope it left you all inspired to create your own handmade wedding (or at least partially handmade). click here to see rebecca's last posts of the day (and catch the last two weeks' worth). thanks, rebecca! [be sure to catch her "green weddings" posts]

new at andyland

this just popped into my mailbox- new artwork and photography at swedish site andyland. i'm loving this colorful print from erik wingquist but you can find much much more right here.

green chair press

i just picked up this beautiful letterpress print from etsy seller green chair press. based in california, green chair press sells a wide assortment of goods in their shop. the green print is sold out but there is a similar red print, stationery and books so click here to check them out.

cathrine kullberg lighting

just in: oslo based-designer cathrine kullberg has just released a small collection of lighting called 'norwegian forest lights'. the collection, "draws on a classic scandinavian tradition of using thin birch strips for lighting. [they] show a deep pine forest with animals in light and shade. when lit, the blonde birch veneer shines with a warm glow, and the delicately cut forest motif allows white light to filter out between the highlights of the trees." lovely. click here for more info on cathrine and the collection.

[ps: i'll be back at 11 with 5-6 more posts]

to the left....

ac is out at a decemberists show tonight so i'm behind the computer updating the site (and watching sex and the city reruns). i've swapped out the old "around the world" links and added new products so if you have a chance check out the column to your left for great little links to fun products and posts from my favorite shops and sites.

sneak peek...our house

yesterday was spent on some new projects and all sorts of work around the house. i thought i'd share some shots of our living room as we start to get things going. there's a gap in the artwork above our couch as i wait for some new pieces to arrive and we're still looking for a rug (and some fabric for the window). so i thought i'd open it up to you guys. we have a grey chair and a green and white couch (with touches of yellow and pink on the wall). what sort of fabric should i get for the window? we have one window that i'd like to make a roman shade for but i'm torn on the fabric. i wanted a neutral linen or neutral almost burlap-type fabric but i'm open to ideas. anyway, that's the dining room in the back but it's just barely coming together (need to get chairs, mirror for the main wall) but i thought i'd share for the heck of it...

[my internet is out today so i'll be back as soon as it starts cooperating]