flickr : the five senses.

favorite smells (row one): apple pie, rosemary, vanilla, coconut, and jasmine.
favorite sounds (row two): my kid's laughter, the words "i love you", morrissey's voice, people with fabulous accents, the harp.
favorite things to touch (row three): satin, velvet, skin, warm laundry, and flour.
favorite sights (row four): the color pink, daniel's face, big cities at night, colorful cupcakes, and great modern design.
favorite tastes (row five): chocolate, tea with honey, peaches, cream cheese frosting, and chai.

(Click here to view where the images came from).

brio : my first sets.

I always see these train sets by Brio in my favorite toy store and I get excited every time about how wonderfully designed they are. Each train set features a brightly colored adorable character, wooden track, and super-cute train cars, all made for little fingers (for ages 18 months+).

motormouth press.

Oh, how I cannot help but love stationery with food-related imagery!



These were created by San Francisco's Motormouth Press. The illustrations and color schemes are too cute for words.

christopher silas neal.

Today's artist spotlight is on Christopher Silas Neal. Christopher is an illustrator and designer who creates delightful artwork from his home in Brooklyn, where he is a teacher at one of the leading art schools in the United States, Pratt University. His work has been published by a massive amount of magazines and book publishers, including the L.A. Times, Nickelodeon, Flaunt, Dwell, Rolling Stone, Readymade, and Paper. His gorgeous art pieces are all too easy to fall madly in love with.

uma online store : tumblers.

These vintage tumblers from Uma go perfectly with my recent obsession with French-Victorian-gothic style. Each glass is decorated with a vintage style goblet design. I think they are quite charming.

little fashion gallery : cardboard cooker.

Via Bloesem:



This is such a cute gift for children: the cardboard cooker available at Little Fashion Gallery. They can grab some markers, the stickers that come with it, and personalize it to their heart's content.

"With my little cardboard cooker, I concoct the most tempting little dishes, in paper! A little pinch of salt, made from confetti, basil leaves in thin card slices, and the meal is ready."

pukashell creative designs.

I'm always such a sucker for dessert-inspired creations, especially little handmade cakes. These ones by Pukashell Creative Designs are created from high quality fibers mixed with vintage and recycled yarns. They are all too sweet and adorable.

designing your space : questions.

These days I am absolutely obsessed with redecorating our home. We are at the point right now where we do not know whether or not we are staying in Portland or moving to New York, so all my decorating ideas have to be put into a notebook, stored for the future. So now I am taking the time to fully plan out what kind of design we are going to go for. My husband and I have very different tastes (he's the classic historian and I'm the modernist), so we are trying to find the balance between the two (which has led us to something like this - thanks Greg!)

All of these home design thoughts made me think about a bunch of questions that should be asked to figure out which direction one should go when trying to decide how to design their space:

1. Do you spend a lot of time in your home? Are there particular rooms that you will be spending the majority of your time while at home?
2. What kind of mood would you like your home to reflect? Calming? Energetic? Sexy?
3. What are your favorite eras of design? Do you prefer Victorian, mid-century, art deco, etc?
4. What colors are you drawn to? Do you prefer whites and neutrals or would you rather go for bold and bright?
5. How much space do you have to work with? How many people will be living in your home? How can you work with that space to make everyone comfortable?
6. How much money to you have to work with? What is most important for you to spend your money on to make a noticeable change in your home? Wallpaper? A new couch? Different flooring?
7. What inspires you most? Are you constantly inspired by sixties French films? Do you love gorgeous graphic design? Are you a fashion obsessie?
8. What will you be spending your time doing while you are at home? Will you require an office to work/craft in? Are you a cook/baker? Do you spend a large amount of time watching films and television?
9. Do you like to entertain and have parties? Will you require a large table? Extra seating? Storage for party supplies?
10. Above all, who are you? What's important to you? What are you favorite things in life? How would you like your home to reflect who you are?

Great resources:
-Apartment Therapy (always inspiring).
-Grace's sneak peeks.
-Magazines: Domino, Blueprint, and Elle Decor.
-Desire to Inspire weblog.
-Flickr groups: Interiors, Fresh New Spaces, and Corners of My Home.

yogagoat pottery.

Amanda Ryznar of YogaGoat Pottery creates some extremely beautiful pieces. Her work is inspired by nature, as well as various eras of design and patterns that appear on wallpaper and fabrics. I adore how simple and eye-catching each piece is.

"Bright colors on pure white porcelain are where I have found my voice in clay."

Her Etsy shop can be found here (also check out her Etsy interview!)

mika ohmori.

Today's artist spotlight: Mika Ohmori. Originally from Japan, Mika is now working as a freelance illustrator in Tasmania, Australia. Her artwork has been shown in many exhibitions and she has done work for a number of advertisements, books, and magazines.

Check out Mika's weblog here for art updates.

plasticland : new.

Just a couple new items at Plasticland that I think are lovely. I can easily get lost on there for hours.