Hurray it’s FRIDAY! Are you having a hard time getting back into the swing of things this new year, or are you a whirl wind of efficiency? Me….I’m having a hard time cracking that whip. But I have snuck in a little time to scare up some fun linkies for you. Let’s get to ’em!

1. DOUBLE OH YES.

This montage of opening credits of all the Jame’s Bond films is coooool. See it here.

2. GO SHORTY

I think these raw “shortbread” cookies look deeelicious! Get the recipe here.

3. BOOK ‘EM

How clever are these little book marks from graphic designer  Igor “Rogix” Udushlivy?? Designed to go perfectly with each title. See more here.

4. HONESTLY LOVELY

I thought this post from Nicole Balch on monetizing her blog was refreshingly honest! Read it here.

5. DRESS UP DOLLY

This collection from Petrune is lovely. The one on the left is from her vintage shop. The one on the right is part of her “vintage inspired” collection. (via Honey Kennedy)

6. MADE ESPRESSLY FOR YOU

I can’t lie, I’d love a lil Espresso cart! Elsie crafted up a cute one.  See it here. (She also made a clever restyled cocktail cart too!)

7. SWINGERS.

Ahhhhh how I want to go to this. I think this swing installation at NYC’s Park Avenue Amory is fabulous. See more here.

8. BAND OF FRIENDS

Have you hopped on the Tattly bandwagon? They’re really fun temporary tattoos—I’m liking this friendship bracelet style very muchly! Get yours here.

9. OLIVE THIS VIDEO SERIES 

The latest in Design Mom’s OLIVE US video series is sooooo charming. Yay for Betty in Paris!

Have a glorious weekend!

Hello! Guys it feels like December is flying (FLYING!) by! We finally got our tree this weekend and had so much fun decorating it. To our surprise, the animals (Sammy the dog, and Kiki & O’Malley the cranky cats) have totally ignored it. Also, Hannukah started! How is everyone’s holiday been so far?? We have some cool lil Gift Lists from a handful of our favorite bloggers coming up this week, so stay tuned.

In the mean time, let’s hop to it with some fun linkies.

1. WEEKEND IN A JAR.

Wolfie and I are all set to make our own mason jar snow globes this year, but I thought this looked like a really fun alternative! See how to make them here.

2. BALLS OF LIGHT

Jordan recommends storing your holiday lights in a ball—rolling them up neatly, of course, not just wadding them in a tumble. I love how they look when lit up! See more here.

3. WORD TO YOUR MOTHER.

This is an easy peasy clever idea—printing Christmas carols, holiday songs or poems on paper and using them as gift wrap. Genius! (try different light colors or velum!) Get a template here.

4. ORIGAMI GARLAND

Oh these are SO pretty. I love how geometric they are and the orange color is really refreshing. See how to make ’em here.

5. USE YER {EGG} NOGGIN

The adorable girls of Oh So Lovely Vintage have this fun idea for your next holiday party—an egg nog bar, with all the fixins! Not an egg nog fan? Try a hot chocolate bar! See more here.

6. LAB PARTNER PERFECTION.

My friends Sarah and Ryan (aka Lab Partners) are insanely talented. Now through December 21st, you can enjoy a 50% discount off everything in the LP shop when you use code HOLIDAYCHEER during checkout. Scoop up those prints asap. They’re beautiful in person.

7. MASON DAISY 

I saw these jars at the fabulous San Francisco shop TANTRUM, when I was having my vintage pop up sale with the ladies. SO excellent! Add a fancy straw and you have the cutest cups in town. If you can’t pop by Tantrum, get some here.

8. CARAMEL PEARS??

OMG this looks so so soooooooo delicious. Please make it immediately. And then invite me over. Recipe here.

9. EMERALD CITY

You may recall that the Color of 2012 was Tangerine. SO pretty. Well, color experts at Pantone just revealed that the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2013 is… Emerald Green! (or Pantone 17-5641 Emerald Green to be exact) What do you think? It’s very pretty.

10. ELF YOURSELF. AND YOUR DONUTS.

WOW. How cute are these mini donuts?? They’re actually Cheerios….but you can make and leave for Santa’s elves along with Santa’s cookies. See more tiny treats here.

VIDEO BONUS

Have you seen this?? Oh my gersh, if you are an Instagram fan you’ll die. SO FUNNY. And alas, so true. Watch it here.

Count down…..THANKSGIVING! This round up is a little bit of thanksgiving and just a little bit of fun stuff that caught my eye. Let’s get to it!

1. KING OF ALL TYPEFACES.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVED the glorious moonrise kingdom font from san francisco based genius jessica hische. Now you can have this dreamy lettering as a font all your own. YAY! Alas we have to wait til next year for the release date, but still. Yay.

(via whoreange)

2. ZING!

All I have to say about this is, Hella Slingshots???? I know a certain little fella who would probably reeeeeeallly like one of these. Although probably not in hot pink.

3. STARRY EYED SURPRISE.

Simple, cozy and hip. That’s this collection from noe-zoe. I want that stripey star hoodie.

4. PINNING YOUR PRIVATES. SO TO SPEAK.

Ah yes! Pinterest has private boards now! This is exciting news for bloggers (secret inspiration boards!), gift givers (plot the holidays!) and even for planning special events that you’d like to keep as a surprise. I joined it ages ago but have recently become much more excited about pinning my finds. Are we following each other?? You can find me/modern kiddo right here!

5. THE JOY OF BABY PROOFING.

I love Joy Cho, of Oh Joy. And I really loved this post on how she and Emily Henderson have her living room a stylish update that was still a safe space for baby Ruby! See it here.

6. HIP HOMEMADE HOLIDAY? HOLLAH!

A Hip Handmade Holiday is an e-book bursting with cool ideas (like 18 craft projects, 9 instructional videos, and over 100 printable pdfs, stickers, patterns, stencils and gift tags. From the lovely ladies behind The Craft Pack (created by bloggers Susan of Freshly Picked and Alison from the Alison Show).  Download it here!

7. THANKFUL FOR YUMMY THINGS.

This post had be drooling almost instantly. What Gaby’s Cooking for Thanksgiving is tasty tasty stuff. (via shutterbean)

8. KING (AND QUEEN) OF CUTE.

Presenting, the easiest and most adorable turkey day craft EVER!! I love this. See how here.

(via Dana Made It)

9. LITTLE KID TABLE LOVE.

Do you have a big celebration with a kid’s table too? Gabbie’s “celebrations” series offers tips for making the kid’s table just as fun as the big table are simple and smart!

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Do you have any big plans for Thanksgiving? We are hoping to go on a little family getaway. Maybe Portland. Maybe Palm Springs! (hah, yeah I know….to polar opposites! We are dying to visit Portland but it’s looking like massive rain next week. Sigh.)

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. It’s the Friday Link Hootenanny….on MONDAY NIGHT! Oh I’ve been missing the hootenanny—and I was so pleased to have several of you email and tweet me that you missed it too! We have 2 days til Halloween, so I wanted to sneak in some spooky links that have been making me happy.

1. MOST FESTIVE PARTY EVER.

Who says kiddos get to have all the fun?? This fabulous costume party is ah-mazing! Everybody who was anybody was apparently there. (“Who invited the Outhouses?” ) See more here.

2. LOVELY LABELS

Our friends over at the Nimbus Factory have some adorably spooky freebies for you to download.  Check ’em out here!

3. WORLD’S MOST INSPIRING BOY.

Sayer is the clever and sweet son of my friend Kristin (KLT works). He has recently been obsessed with the human body and drew up some cool skellies—which his rad mama turned into even cooler tees. Check out the creative process here!

4. SOCK IT TO ME.


Happy Socks is one of the most colorful companies around! I’m super loving the polka dot Keds they’re rocking. If you order 4 pair of socks (or other items) you get freee shipping. Woot!

5. OH HOLY YUMMY.

Tracy (shutterbean) has many tasty things on her blog all the time. They’re so good that I love to browse her archives and this one is from last year…but it’s just that good that I had to look it up again!! Butternut Squash, Crispy Sage Crostini. AKA A little crunchy autumnal bit of heaven!!! Find out how to make it here.

6. HEY BATTA BATTA!

Elsie’s adorable little bat decor is so wonderfully simple….why didn’t i think of it?? See more here.

7. TRICK OR TREATIE COOKIES.

Meagan of Not Martha comes up with the cleverest treats around. I mean, cookies that break open to reveal treats? WOW! See how to make ’em here. Then call me up so I can try ’em.

8. OMY GOODNESS.

Um. What can I say, other than ze French….ze make even ze Paper Bag look gooood. French company OMY nailed it!  See more here. (spotted on ohhappyday)

9. MR. DRESS UP

Jordan (ohhappyday) has a most fantastic collection of DIY “Homemade Halloween” costumes this year. Some are more elaborate than others, but this charming little strong man was one of my faves! See her whole collection here.

10. THE DOTSER IS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE.

Dottie and I have been contributors over at Simple Design this past year and I was totally loving D’s latest post—5 Quirky Games to Play at a halloween Paryt. Pop Goes the Pumpkin (confetti filled balloons? sign me up!) is my fave and is sure to be a party-pleaser!! See the whole post here!

 BONUS: BOYS DO CRY.

Have you seen these yet? This haunted house in Niagra Falls—called the Fear Factory—promises chills and thrills! They also have a hidden camera that snaps photos of guests as they are getting spooked, and then kindly posts them on their web site so big chickens like me can look from afar and laugh. Hee. See more here.

BONUS VIDEO.

Ooooh creepy dolls. Patty Playpal….do you ever get the feeling she’s going to replace YOOOOOU?

http://youtu.be/UUXqbE8bC_c

image: Jordan Cheung

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you been watching? I swear nothing makes me prouder. I’m so un-athletic that these Olympians totally impress the hell outta me. The gymnastics and swimming have both been among my favorites! Here are a few fun things to check out as we round out the weekend….and the home stretch of Olympic Fever!

1.BANKSY

Artist Banksy unveiled some cool and provacative Olympic grafitti. Check it out here.

2. I SEE LONDON

These photos of the full moon in London are rather spectacular. Did you see? Take a look.

3. CARRY A TORCH FOR YOU.

This look at Olympic torches throughout the years was fascinating! Summer-1952-Helsinki, Summer-1984-Los-Angeles, Winter-1956-Cortina-DAmpezzo, Winter-1976-Innsbruck.  See the rest of them here.

4. OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY GONE WILD.

I have to confess that I thought the Opening Ceremonies were a tad WIERD this year (the extremely long “industrial revolution”….the  “let’s celebrate Britain’s Health Care AND Children’s Literature!” segment….the huge scary “villain” puppets? the giant inflatable baby? the endless “love story” that had us watching people TEXTING?? yeech!). Then again, take a look at Holland 1928. Very unusual! See more here.

5. SPEAKING OF OPENING CEREMONIES

I love seeing what uniforms the different countries wear. That’s Netherlands and England up there. I’ll let you guess which I thought was most stylish. This commentary on this list of the “Best and Worst” had me cracking up. See ’em here.

6. LONDON IN A BOX.

I thought this little Olympics in a Box kit was so cute! See it here.

7. UNDERGROUND OLYMPICS

The Olympic Committee is notoriously strict about their logo useage—you can’t even say Olympics. You have to say “Summer Games”. It’s a tad annoying and not really in the spirit of THE GAMES. So some artists took it upon themselves to design alternative posters. Rather clever!  Check them out here.

8. 70s OLYMPIC GLAM

Juvena (a swiss make up brand) were the official make-up artists of the Munich Olympics. Who knew they had make up artists?? I must research this more (via Vogue August 1972)

9. STICK IT….STICK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please tell me you watched this video. It was SOOOOO funny!!! You realize that the parents of Olympians are nearly as stressed as their kids!  Watch it here.

HAPPPPPPY SUNDAY!