from flags to bags

Coolio! And yet ANOTHER reason why I love Vancouver so much... the Commercial Drive district of Vancouver, BC beckons Vancouverites and out-of-towners to it's cool strip of fashion boutiques and yummy eateries by flying eye-catching flags and banners along the drive every year. Realizing the imcredible amount of waste this causes when it comes time to toss the old flags and bring in new ones, the Commercial Drive Business Society has decided to turn the used flags into reusable shopping bags - the sales of which go towards the creation of new green spaces in the area. Awesome! Love it! Love Vancouver! Go baby go! You rock! (Wow - that's a lot of enthusiasm for 7:45am - maybe it has something to do with the ice storm taking place outside my Ottawa windows right now). Yes Vancouver, I miss you. Find out more about the initiative and the ecological damage it's avoiding by the 'flags to bags' project here.

tamar mogendorff

In keeping with this week's unofficial DIY nature creations, I couldn't resist Tamar Mogendorff's lovely interpretations of wildlife for the indoors. Her dolls include everything from mushrooms to penguins, but my personal favorites are the birds (even their cages are adorable!)...found via unruly things.

more pebbles

Theme week? Man-made pebbles seem to be popping up everywhere lately. More than a little smaller than yesterday's pebbles, Reyaveltman's natural wool and silk pebbles are beautiful enough to stand alone as decorative pieces and heavy enough to act as naturally-inspired paperweights. And like yesterday, I still like real pebbles, but these are a pretty crafty and neato re-interpretation.

living stones

By now I'm sure most people on the decorating blog circuit have seen images of or read about living stones. Environmentally-friendly wool and polar-fleece 'stones' so that you can comfortably lounge on nature-inspired 'pebble-smooth rocks' in your living room or why the heck not? outside next to real pebbles. Weird. Cool. I still really like real pebbles.

spring dreaming

Oh...what I would do for a light spring day, a cozy sweater and a walk through a park with a good book...

I love the dreaminess and peacefulness of Ta's photographs. (Found via unruly thing's blog)

recycled numbered boxes

I love these old boxes that have been stencilled with new numbers. I'd love to have some of these in my apartment to grow kitchen herbs in. Check out the wooden box series at three potato four.

I actually spotted some old boxes like this at a great little vintage/ antique shop near my apartment. They're a little pricey so I'm going to keep an eye out for wooden boxes at thrift shops and hope that I come across some...

bamboo bikes

Calfee Design has taken bicycles to a whole new level of green with their custom bamboo bike frames. As if biking weren't already one of the healthiest, greenest and most fun modes of transportation, now you can do it on strong, sustainable bamboo frames that are built custom as per the weight of the rider. The bikes are good for everyday riding as well as racing. And, in addition to winning numerous design awards, the makers of the bamboo bike are proposing that countries like Ghana explore the opportunity of making the bikes locally out of their own renewable bamboo supplies to stimulate their economy while making bikes available to locals for personal transportation use. Neato! Check out the Bamboo Bike Project for more info.

sally scott

Wow - if you need an infusion of summery light into your mid-winter blas, check out sally scott's catalogue. Pretty, playful dresses and skirt/ blouse combos and photos that make me crave summer and long hair. *sigh* A few more months...

totally stoked

How stoked am I this weekend? TOTALLY stoked! Not only did I get to meet one of my favorite bloggers in person, but she bought one of my paintings to hang in her stellar-decorated home AND profiled my home on her uber-fabulous blog. Fun and fabulous! Thanks Kim!

plantatree wine

Drink a bottle of wine, plant a tree. I like that idea! Carbon positive wine: grown smart and bottled smart - the more you consume, the more you offset.

This is brilliant! Check it out: http://www.plantatreewine.com/flash.html

Let the wine tasting begin!