Chairs!

Every time I think things will slow down a little bit, they speed up even further.  I just took a new job this past week and the commute is killing me.  It's so long that I was told if I decide in a month that the commute is too bad, they won't be upset with me for leaving.  I'm pretty tough, but I'm actually not sure how long this will last.

So, I had almost decided I was too low on energy and inspiration to post, when I found this.

Urban Motifs on Etsy

I love, love, love this chair.

Cosas Minimas

No too long ago, I treated myself to a couple of illustrations from the Cosas Minimas shop by Blanca Gomez on Etsy.  I love these simple and colorful drawings and have had the vespa image as my desktop image for months while I was waiting to purchase it.

clockwise from top left: Vespa Print; In The Neighborhood Print; Parisienne Print; Present Print

Someday I hope that this illustration {below} is available to buy as a print.

I found it on her website as a past project and it doesn't look like it was ever made into more than a card, but it's waiting on my desktop just in case.

Critter Mitts

Last winter, I was working in an office with no heat at my desk.  For anyone who wasn't in New England last winter, it was very, very cold.  To be fair, the office had heat but my desk was in part of the office that was cantilevered over a parking structure and had no insulation {bad architect}.  I'd be willing to bet that the temperature at my desk was in the low 50s on a sunny day.  The portable heaters bought for us blew the fuses so all the computers would go out once they were turned on {even worse were the bathrooms in the hallway, I found the thermometer one day and it said 47 degrees}.  Not fun.

I totally wish I had a pair of these critter mitt warmers back then so my fingers could have had some love, and perhaps been a bit less frozen {I think one day I actually kept my mittens on and typed through the finger part - not exactly efficient}.

Critter Mitt Warmers by Bearded Owls Hoots on Etsy

Had I known about these mittens then I would have worn them every day!  It's a bit late for Christmas, but they would make a super cute present for anyone you know with the same plight as mine.

Happy Thanksgiving

I love these felted leaves and acorns by Lil Fish Studios on Etsy.  They are perfect for Thanksgiving.

Hope yours is wonderful!

(photo: surrounded by lilfishstudios)

Organic Fabrics, Fabulous Tea Towels & Modern Baby Toys

I occasionally go on searches for fabulous new organic fabrics. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not, but I always seem to find the most amazingly modern and organic fabrics printed in Australia. They appear to be ahead of everyone else on this effort.

My latest fabulous find is from spin spin handmade's Etsy shop!! The fabrics are a mixture of hemp and organic cotton and they are printed with water-based inks.


She makes some great tea towels which are almost too pretty to use....


....and stuffed alphabet elephants too!! They are the most adorable kid toys.


(photos: spin_spin/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

Retro Lake House Renovation

This is a great little lake house renovation in Upstate New York I found on Etsy's Handmade blog.



Strangely enough, I most like the linoleum carpet she has but I've never before heard of such a thing. I love the smell of linoleum, the real stuff not the vinyl flooring that is also called linoleum, and keep trying to find a way to use it in a project of some sort. I fell at times as if I am one of the only people in the world who likes it. Perhaps it will find it's way into my own home when I have one.

Hope you enjoy the video too!

Ish & Chi's Studio

Speaking of artwork and DIY projects....

I found images of this studio, by Viv of Ish & Chi, browsing on Flickr, which led to finding her posts on renovating the studio on her blog and was instantly in love. The studio was created out of a portion of her basement and is used for her artwork. You can see a more extensive description of the process and space here.

Blue happens to be a color I can't stay away from, so I think that might be part of the reason I initially loved the space. But the mix of the modern and traditional furniture is perfect.



I am a huge fan of secret pretty things like wallpaper or shelf paper in drawers, behind shelves and in closets. Something that will make people smile when they look inside, and this sideboard certainly does that.


The butterfly mobile is fabulous. I saw a great image in Living Etc last year sometime with butterflies like this all over the wall of a nursery, and this mobile creates the same kind of feel (without all the DIY work).

Viv pays attention to the smallest detail, she even covered her clip boards with fabric before hanging them.


The best way to store fabrics, I have found, is to hang them on hangers and here is the perfect example of how well that works. It makes it so much easier to browse what you have and when you are done browsing you don't really have to straighten like you do with stacks of fabric.


Viv uses these fabrics to create fabric art pieces, like the one below, which she sells in her Etsy shop.


I think that this is one of the more fabulous studios I have seen lately. It has really inspired me to start to tackle all the projects I have been putting off.

Great job, Viv!

{photo: ishandchi}