baby shower power

I think this HELLO May Print by Ashley Goldberg is adorable and a GREAT option for people looking for baby shower gifts (read: me). It would look very sweet framed on a nursery wall.

back to school cool for the school-less

It's definitely back-to-school time. The weather has changed from lazy heat to crisp mornings and freshmen students have practically laid seige on the city - they're everywhere! I'm not a student anymore, but I loved being a student in the past and that start-of-semester feeling of excitement is so enticing I was (almost) tempted to go and hang out at the nearby University campus on the weekend just to get caught up in it. So, in the spirit of back-to-school cool, even for the school-less, here are some seriously cheeky supplies from SUCK UK...

A notebook & pencil in one (for the chronic pen loser), the dead fred pen holder (okay, that's kinda sick), mugs that help your brew come out just right (for early mornings when thinking about cream levels is just too much), alphabetized cd dividers (for the geeky overachievers), and a mixed tape usb drive (for crush-worthy compilations)...

my sister won!

My sister won the Vancouver HBC design competition!!! Way to go Steph - you ROCK! Time to break out the celebratory cocktails...hot, new, up-and-coming designer hits the ground running :)

the Starn twins

Art is as much a response to and reflection of the larger environment around us as it is to our immediate work space. Read about snowflakes and former ice-cream-truck garages and how they inspire the Starn twins here.

Photo from The New York Times.

furni time tickers

The Globe and Mail highlighted some sleek, retro-reminiscent clocks in their Home section today. Check out furni online to see more. Their clocks are pretty cool and would make a fashionable addition to any 'timeless' room. Just in time for longer nights when transitioning to waking up without the sun is particularly challenging.

hello LOHA

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) is an architecture and design firm based in California. Their work is stunning (and their website is pretty nifty too!). I've only checked out their residential designs so far and had a hard time choosing a favorite, but the exterior (above) and view! (below) of the Lexton MacCarthy Residence (click the Lm on their 'periodic table of elements' on their website) really caught my eye.

Also of note: I'm not one for subdivisions, but their 12 Houses plan (click Hv) gives cookie-cutter urban sprawl eyesores reason to hope.

keeping up with the jones'

Hilarious. I got a good laugh out of this silly (or creepy?) pair of lemon and lime juicers. The Mr. and Mrs. Jones Juicers were crafted up by Polly George and can be found this side of the Atlantic at unica HOME. Juicing just got a lot more intimate.

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

I'm resigning myself to an early fall. It's cold. I'm wearing jeans. Pretty soon I'll be forced to carry a sweater with me. I've decided that I have to embrace it (survival tactic) or else I'll mope for a whole month (and no one likes a moper). So I'm starting to dream about pumpkin lattes and woolly sweaters and getting cozy. What better way to start than by reorganizing my living room (okay, so what if it's a bi-monthly activity)? Last night I created a definite split between my 'dining area' (not shown) and my 'living area' (pictured above). I'm happy with it. And now I have a very inviting, corner reading nook with a coffee table for easily-reachable book access and coffee mug placement. I hung out there for 4 hours last night and felt very satisfied. That's a good sign.

a year of mornings

I absolutely love this concept. Two friends, 3191 miles apart, take a photo every morning and post them side by side on their website. A visual storyline of relationships, everyday experiences, and chance compositions that go way deeper than surface beauty (although there's no shortage of that!). Check it out.

a really likeable art story

http://economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9644754