pretty little cages

So I think I mentioned my sister is getting married this year (Yay!). In addition to being thrilled for her, it also means I get to pour over all the pretty details of a wedding again without any of the pressure to make decisions (Yay again!).

The latest thing we are talking about, and loving, are birdcage veils. I really hope she decides to wear one. The are the perfect mix of modern and vintage and there are so many gorgeous versions.

{All images courtesy of google}

Collections

Vintage mid-century matchbooks, A Collection A Day, Day 36

I have long been a collector of little nothings. At the top of my closet, under a pile of old sweaters, there is a hinged wooden box holding many of them: little rubber balls, various coins (including three plastic coins commemorating the 1988 Olympics, which I got from boxes of Corn Flakes), keys to places I don't live anymore, too-old-to-use spools of thread, ticket stubs from favorite movies and concerts and...bullfights (ok, there's only one of those).

So I'm in love with the new blog A Collection a Day, which I stumbled upon I'm-not- sure-where and which is now popping up all over the place. It documents a fascinating project by San Francisco artist and illustrator Lisa Cogdon, who describes the blog as follows:

"This is a blog documenting a project that will span exactly one year, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. On each of those 365 days, I will photograph or draw (and occasionally paint) one collection. Most of the collections are real and exist in my home or studio; those I will photograph. Some are imagined; those I will draw or (occasionally) paint."

How I love Lisa's collections. They inspire me to expand my own collecting beyond sentimental nothings, to indulge my tendency to hold on to all the little things that please me.


Vintage flash cards, A Collection A Day, Day 33

Tiny vintage plastic charms and figurines , A Collection A Day, Day 35

Sea urchins , A Collection A Day, Day 29

Pine cones , A Collection A Day, Day 23

Mugs , A Collection A Day, Day 14

*All images by Lisa Cogdon, posted with her permission

a hint of spring...

Just for a little bit today it felt like this was very, very near to happening....

{via it's mary ruffle}

Thanks to the JK

I have a friend well on her way to creating a most stylish pad. I am always envious of her great finds and how she scores fantastic linens, art, and accessories. One day , after these horribly messy toddler years, I will try my hand at style again....until then, I will live vicariously through her. Recently she told me of a dinner party where the wall art caught her eye. The hostess sent her the site, keepcalmgallery.com, for the prints and she forwarded it along to me. Since we moved into our house (now three years ago!) I have been in a state of flux when it comes to wall art. I just can't commit, but I love seeing the different things out there. Keepcalmgallery.com definitely has some great stuff to offer- could my naked walls finally get some sprucing?

{Images courtesy of keepcalmgallery}

Thursday, a Norman Rockwell toy chest, and Etsy

canvas print of Norman Rockwell's "Marbles" via misslieze

Yesterday would have been Norman Rockwell's 116th birthday. So in his honor I thought I'd try fill a toy chest inspired by his aesthetic. With bright and simple toys, classic games, and the smallest of finds - this treasure trove of mid-century nostalgia was such a pleasure to put together...

To begin, you'd need one beautiful box:

"The Gracie Toy Box" by modmomfurniture

And then lots of toys (mostly in tin, wood, and one in marble):

"15 Vintage Marbles" via BunacatVintage

"Wood Arrows" via sweetshorn

"Vintage Wooden Distressed Toy Men" via SassySisterVintage

"lil' Ellie, The Cracker Jack vintage plastic charm" via mygoodness

"wooden Bowling Pins" via sweetshorn

"Tiny Mountain - Miniature inlaid Wood Puzzle" via OrbitingDebris

"1940's Child's Illustrated Map of the USA Puzzle" via kelleystreetvintage

"Old Painted Wooden Yoyo" via RedEyeVintage

"Vintage 1940s Shooting Cowboy Tin Mechanical Clicker" via GreatOldStuff

"Chicken Tin Toy" via MinaLucia

"Vintage Tin Noisemaker Clown" via stilettogirl

"Vintage 1940s and 1950s Paper Doll Set" via CarolsNeedledEwe

A true toy box also needs to be readied for moments of reading and writing:

"Puff's Vegetable Garden - A Whitman Tiny Tales Book" via undoneeclectic

"Vintage Lot of Milton Bradley TruTone No-Roll Crayons" via vintagewarehouse

"Mongol Colored Paint Pencils in Box" via TheCottageCheese

"Vintage Little Golden Book - The Fuzzy Duckling" via MyraMelinda

And, of course, there must be the makings for dress-up play:

"vintage barrette, horses running along fence" via rosebudcottage

"Retro Blue Starburst Silk 1940s Hat" via LiDDesignsBoutique

"vintage seed, pearl, pink and petal fascinater" via fruitsaladvintage

"Vintage Rhinestone Bracelet" via RetroHeaven

"Beaded Floral Antique Purse" via TheFuzzyLobster

"Cherokee Indian Chief Headdress - mid-century souvenir" via WhitesHaven

Free Valentine's Printables for the Crafty, Cheap, or Forgetful

We're all set for Valentine's Day. All of my children, already beyond my handmade-loving influence, have chosen their store-bought valentines: cute puppies and kittens (3 year old); Cherry FunDip greetings of love and hyperactivity (5-year old), and a box of (actually pretty cool) valentines that fold into paper airplanes (8 year old).

But I'm still trolling the craft blogs, admiring all of the generous free printable options for love-spreading on February 14.

And if my children won't give these to their classmates, then I'll just have to use them as valentines to my children. So there.

If you forget to (or refuse to) buy valentines for your child's class, start with this fantastic list of The Best Free Printable Valentine's Cards from AlphaMom, including these from The Black Apple:


And these vintage-style valentines from Ruffled (via How About Orange) are more grown-up:


These tasteful and lovely Valentine's Day postcards from the Alana Davis Photography Blog would be perfect to send to a friend:


Another adorable school-kid valentine: this sweet birdie printable from The Long Thread:


For Vivi, Valentine tea bag wrappers from Creature Comforts:


For the mom who wants to impress the preschool teachers with her taste and craft-savvy, printable Valentine treat bags from Twig and Thistle:


And a couple of other fabulous options whose images I couldn't use on the blog:

Cute-tastic kids Valentines from OlieBollen

and Quirky e-Valentines from Kate Spade

Spread the love!

year in a bottle

I have this bottle of perfume I keep on my dresser, but I never wear it. I actually got it just to smell it. My sister smelled it once and said it smelled like the 80s. It is funny how a scent can be so significant to one person and be something totally different (or even nothing at all) to another. 

The smell of dewberry reminds me of Friday night movies at the mall.

The overwhelming scent of dishwasher detergent is every restaurant job I ever had. 

Drakkar Noir is the hallways of high school.

Orange tea is graduate school seminars.

The original Febreeze is being in Paris (I know, so weird).

I saw this perfume I mentioned in a Marshall's and the bottle was immediately familiar to me even though I had not seen it in more than a decade. When I went to college, states away from life as I knew it, I had a number of things to adjust to- the first being my roommate. 

She was a bona fide Houston debutante, hitting the campus with a purse for every outfit, the finest bed linens to ever see the inside of a dorm and an astounding array of beauty products- the perfume was one of them.

It turned out that she was the perfect roommate for me and one of the best people I met in college. I started borrowing that perfume in the fall and wearing it off and on throughout that first year on my own. 

It is independence and fear.

It is first love and real heartache.

It is being homesick and feeling empowered.

It is 18....right there in a bottle. 

{Image courtesy of deviantart}

A Penguin Story

I was considering doing a post about a winter reading list for children because very often reading lists are associated with summer and because there truly are so many beautifully illustrated winter tales, but in the end I found that I only wanted to talk about A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis. It is just that good.

Edna is our penguin heroine on a quest for something different. She knows very well the black of the night, the white of snow and ice, and always the blue, blue, blue of the sea, but there has to be something beyond this.... Her determination in the quest is unwavering as she searches tirelessly for her something else. When she finds it in the form of visitors in orange she celebrates and gleefully shares the newness with her penguin family. It doesn't end there though- it is just the beginning - "What else could there be?"

 

Portis creates this happy marriage of storytelling and design with a wry humor that builds to genuine excitement. The text is perfectly paced and the illustration simplified, but never simple. The intelligent use of color coupled with abundant expressive details is the author/illustrator's triumph. I always think it is a little trite to describe a book as "heartwarming", but no matter the age of the reader here, the chest is bound to be a bit toasty.

Images courtesy of google