image: megancurran

Happy weekend friends! We have had a glorious weekend so far. A fun mini golf outing for Wolfie’s birthday, a mini scavenger hunt in our house for his presents, beautiful sunshine, walks with Sammy dog, family movie night, and an excellent dinner with our really awesome neighbors. I’m exhausted! SO much so that I realized I hadn’t actually posted these here links I wrote. Ah well….sometimes ya just gotta shrug and go, “Ehhhh, whatchagonna do!”

1. Kate Spade Makes a Splash.

I have always wanted to do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” project for a client. I think I’ve probably presented the idea at least three times. So far no one has been brave enough to try….except KATE SPADE! Check out this totally adorable interactive video. You choose the sound track and what happens. Its simple and sweet.

2.  The Colors of this Play-Dough!

I can’t believe I’ve never actually MADE Play-Dough. I’ve played with the home made stuff and the real stuff. But never made it me-self. These gorgeous colors had me thinking, “You are never too old to start!” Check it out here.

3. Raising the Bar on Easter Brunch.

Jennifer from Ellie Bellie Kids came up with an adorable Easter Breakfast Bar. The little animation on her post is worth the click alone!

4. Glow in the Dark Easter? Eggcellent!

Next year, we will totally be trying out this Glow in the Dark Easter Egg hunt. SO cool!

5.  Gettin’ Cozy for Easter.

My sweet friend Marie crafted up these adorable little owl egg cozies. Perfect for easter OR just for a sweet breakfast.

6. Clever Passover Froggies.

I think these fun origami froggies would make the perfect kiddo craft for a Passover seder.

7. 24 Carrot Gold.

These simple carrot cones filled with sweets are adorable. Easy to make and fun for the kiddos.

8. Coral is So Lovely.

Bri’s Color Fest series is really inspiring and fun. This week was a gorgeous coral and this sweet purse from Modcloth TOTALLY won me over.

BONUS video COLOR BLAST!
I love this video from Sony….color fountains exploding everywhere. YES!

Well OK, so it’s Saturday and not Friday….but that’s the kind of week it was! I still found a buncha cool things I think you’ll wanna check out. So let’s hop to it! And have a great rest of your weekend! It has been raining cats and dogs over here!

1. MINIMALIST FAIRYTALES.

I have to say these  minimalist children’s story posters from designer Christian Jackson are so clever! They’d be great in a kid’s room. See more of them here.

2. SUPER DUPER COOL HOUSES.

Taschen books is at it again with a tantalizing new coffee-table book, this one crammed full of insane/modern homes from around the world. (Grown-up treehouse in São Paulo anyone?) The book is called 100 Contemporary Houses. 

3. QUIRKY COOL PHONE APP.

Mr. Chiizu is a verrrry cute lil photo app that I recently discovered. As they describe it, it’s “the ultimate photo decoration app that puts your favorite artists and designers in your pocket!” Decorate photos with awesome illustrations and send to friends. What’s not to like? It’s super cool and will only set ya back 99 cents.  Get it here.

4. BIBLE STORYLAND FROM DISNEY IMAGINEERS? WOW.

My friend Rusty over at Laughing Squid posted these amazing visuals about a failed “bible” theme park from the 1950s. Watch the short trailer. Amazing.

5. I LOVE HER WORK.

Jennifer Davis’ work is lovely. Check her out.

6. Dreamy Wallpaper Tape.

WOW. Imagine giant rolls of washi tape for your walls. The Japanese are kind of the most clever people on the planet. Check it out here. The site is in Japanese but you can still oogle the photos.

7. FRIENDS, IT’S TIME TO GET HEALTHY.

Julie over at Olivine’s Charm School has launched what she is calling Bikini Summer 2012. It’s NOT about dieting and squeezing into a bikini. It’s more about what she calls  “Sparkly Self Love”. Kick starting healthy eating and learning to lover your body. I haven’t read all the posts, but I’m very intrigued. I need to do this! See them here.

8. LIKE CATCHING STARS IN A JAR.

From Panka With Love shares the secret behind her most popular photo. See it here (via design mom)

9. & 10. Mad Men Mania.

So did you watch?? What did you think? The highlight was undoubtably THE PARTY. We got to see Peggy shimmy and the leggy new Mrs. Draper wowed the crowd with Zou Bisou Bisou. Hot! You can shop her look over here with Tula at whorange or just revel in the catchy sexy cuteness here:

Photo by Francesco Scavullo for Harper’s Bazaar, April 1959.

Ahhhh Friday! The best day of the week. Well, one of them anyway. I’m excited for the weekend, just want to kick back and relax. Aaaaaaaand, watch MAD MEN!! Whooo hooo!! So speaking of…..

1. Mad Men Fever Newsweek

Yes, I have the fever! I finally (FINALLY!) watched it and powered through all four seasons. LOVE IT! Have you seen the “new” retro issue of Newsweek? In honor of the season 5 premier of Mad Men, Newsweek magazine released a special edition, featuring all retro-styled ads. Some of the advertisers actually reached into their archives to run older versions of real ads, others simply took their inspiration from the ads of yesteryear. I think it’s a really cool idea. Of course, some ads are better than others.

See them all here.

2. I Love the Smell of Paper

I was so intrigued to read about a candle that combined this:
With this:

This candle from Byredo is called Bibliothèque. Apparently it smells of things like  leather and violet, patchouli and plum. All of which allegedly create the smell of antique books. Sounds veddy veddy interesting, no? (via Rachel Gibson)

3. More Bang for the Buck.

I’ve secretly always wanted a thick fringe of bangs. But my hair is rather curly naturally and I gots to say there’s nothing worse than a frizzy bang. But this tutorial from The Beauty Department makes it look/seem so easy. Hmmm. {Oh, and The Beauty Department is Lauren Conrad’s blog…I have to say its pretty cute! And yes, that’s adorable Angela below. Of Angela + Ithyle and blogshop fame}

4. The Cure for Bloggers Block

It’s true. Sometimes we bloggers have a hard time finding inspiration. EZ from Creature Comforts totally gets it. I thought this post was grand.

Read the whole post here.

5. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

This past week was Mr. Rogers Birthday. And thanks to this awesome post from Aunt Peaches, I learned a lot of nifty stuff about him. Like:

• He saved public television. In 1969 Mister Rogers went to Washington to protest the slashing of funds to public television, and his testimony was so persuasive that funding was not only secured but increased to $22 million per year.

• He was a Vegetarian. He told people “I don’t want to eat anything that has a mother.”

• He instilled honor among thieves. Mister Rogers drove an old Impala for years until the car was stolen and the police report was picked up by the local news…48 hours later the car was returned with a note that read, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it.”

She has 7 more cool tidbits about Mr. Rogers over here.

6 Viewmaster of Cuteness

They’re not technically viewmasters, but rather little souvenir picture viewers. I know they were popular in Europe (we had a few from Germany). And I fell in love with this collection over at lullaby & lala. The camera and the gondola are especially cute. (found via bloesem kids)

7. The Greatest Craft on Earth

Speaking of Bloesem. I loved this simple but sweet circus craft Irene poste! See how to make it here.

8. For Your Favorite Fat Cat

Yeah, it’s ridonkulously expensive….but if I were rich, I might get one of these suave chairs for O’Malley. (via make something happy)

9 Retro Cloggin’ all the way, Doo Dah, Doo Dah.

I’m not even a big clog person but I’m LOVING the latest offerings from Swedish Hasbeens. The campaign is so cute….I call dibs on those strapey wedges!! See the collection here. And hopefully on my feet verrrry soon.

10. BONUS video: The Crystal Light Aerobics Championship.

OMG. This video. I can’t even describe the feeling I had when watching. For starters, it looks like an SNL parody. I can totally imagine Kristin Wiig in this thing. Secondly…..the outfits! The Hair! And also….it goes on, like FOREVER. But it’s awesome. You’ll love it. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

(thanks to my friend Rusty for tipping me off to this video!!)

Oh. Mah. Gawd. It’s FRIDAY! And I’m back at home, which is awesome. I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend (although who are we kidding, I’ll probably be catching up on laundry and other house stuff with the boys!). In the mean time, here are some awesome things to hold you over til Monday!

1. NOW *THAT’S* A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET.

I love the sentiment behind those handmade friendship bracelets from summer camp…..so cool and sweet. But I have to admit, I’m not really a boho kinda gal and handweaving isn’t one of my strong suits. But these? Oh ho ho ho! These retro rhinestone and woven “friendship” bracelets from Frieda and Nellie are something I can get behind. Stunners. (via design love fest)

2. CHILLING CHILDREN.


“Smoking Kids” is an unsettling project by Belgian photographer, Frieke Janssens. Her inspiration was that shocking YouTube video featuring an Indonesian toddler outrageously smoking 40 cigarettes a day. (*shudder*) She wanted to create something that would bring to light the dangers of smoking. You can see more of the photos here, including a fascinating “Making of” video. Rest assured it’s all photo manipulation. The children held chalk and sticks of cheese, while incense provided the “smoke” effect. Wow.

3. STRAY CAT STRUT. 

I’m not sure what this is for, but these images of black cats waiting to audition for a shoot in Hollywood, circa 1961, made me smile! See more over here.

4. STEVE MCQUEEN, #1 SUPER GUY.

We all knew Steve McQueen was a bad ass. But check out how charming he is in these sweet photos taken in his Palm Springs home.

5. A COLORFUL OVERNIGHTER.

The Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs is so vibrant and fun, I can’t wait to plan a road trip down there with my guys!

(There’s also one in Scottsdale, AZ. Miss Dani, are you listening?? Arizona Meet Up???)

6. TAKING THE FAMILY PHOTO UP A NOTCH.

Gabby Blair (aka Design Mom) is one of those ladies you can’t help but admire. I LOVE these family portraits she does every year. She always comes up with a color theme for them, which just adds this amazing level of awesome. Get her best Tips for Family Photos over here. And take a peek the shoot from a few years ago here.

7. SOME BUNNY IS GONNA LOVE THESE.

Oh Martha. You have the best stuff. I love these sweet bunny decorations. Makes me excited for easter.

8. YEE HAW FOR COMFY SLIPPERS!

These little cowboy boot slippers are the perfect cozy (and cute!) thing for your littlest cowpoke. Now if only they made them for little cow dudes too. Hmmm.

9. HUNGRY FOR MORE HUNGER GAMES? 

Katniss never looked so tasty. See how to make them here.

10. BONUS VIDEO: A CUPCAKE ATM?? WOW.
Earlier this week I tweeted about the most amazing new thing. A cupcake ATM machine that famous cupcakery “Sprinkles” just launched. It’s literally a cupcake ATM….you put your money in. Pick a cupcake. And one pops out. AMAZING! My friend Tabitha actually visited it (jealous!) and said I could share these fun photos with you! (see more on her funky blog, Glitter and Ganache!)

Here’s a video of how it works. KA-YOOT!!!!

OH! And two more things. 1) Have you entered to win that trip to San Francisco and watched that adorable METHOD video yet? Seriously. The song is my new favorite. And 2) DON’T FORGET to pick up a copy of  From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! It’s our new Little Book Report Club selection!

I’ve been done in LA again for work. It’s tough. I love the people I’m working with but I sure miss my fellas. As I sat in my hotel room, I got caught up on some bloggy reading—and here are some things that caught my eye!

1. Color, Color, Color

Ahhhh. This Colorful Homes Tumbler is filled with so many bright and amazing spaces, you’ll fill your Pinterest boards in the blink of an eye.

2. SMOOTH CRIMINALS

These lady mug shots from the 1920s are completely fascinating. You have to check them out!

3. PARTY ANIMALS

I was so completely charmed by Jordan’s idea—taking your kiddo’s toys and adding little party hats to them for a birthday. So clever and sweet! And then this week she posted these fun little ice cream cone roses. Pretty!

4. SNOW WHITE & RAVEN BLACK

Did you see the wedding of my gorgeous friends Miss James & Aubrey? It was like something out of a rustic indie storybook. Lots of blogs featured it, but I was just looking at them again the other day and was struck by how beautiful it was. So just in case you missed it, see it here and here! (Beautiful photography by Brooke Schwab)

5. GOLDEN TOES

A year or so Kate Spade came out with these really sassy flats that had neon pink toes. I loved ’em but they were a tad pricey. So when I spied these yellow  babies at Old Navy, I couldn’t resist. They are super cute and comfy—and I feel like I have a little piece of sunshine peeking out from under. They are also available in a royal blue.

6. PRETTY IN PINK

I’m a big fan of down & dirty crafting—easy peasy projects that you can do in a snap. I was totally charmed by Jenny’s quick change act on this adorable, but slightly stained vintage dressie! Little Dorothy looked amazing in the finished product! You’ll die from the cuteness.

7. STYLE STUNNER

I spied the Charlotte Taylor 2012 fall look book on Honey Kennedy and I’m obsessed with the colors, the girl’s hair….and that owl.

8. COCOA TEA TIME

I have three words for you: chocolate earl grey cake. Tracy really is the queen of yum. (Earl Grey counts as one word in my book….)

9. TOY BOX TREASURES

Jamie Horton takes photos of your children’s favorite toys and turns them into fine art. SO cool.

10. HUNGER GAMES IS COMING!!!!!!

I’m so excited. And so is my mom. I devoured the series over the summer and told her she had to read them….and she was hooked! I can’t WAIT for the movie. Are you a Hunger Games fan?? I think my mom might even be more obsessed than me—I bought her a copy of this People Magazine Hunger Games Special Edition and she was thrilled! (Hi mom!)

As an aside, I’m now reading Game of Thrones….whooooo mama. I’m on book three and it’s a brutal (but amazing) series. People die left and right. It’s frustrating at times, but really well done. I’m totally into them. Anyone tackling this series??