HAPPINESS IS...

Dinner & Dancing

I'm looking forward to date night tonight with my love. There's a DJ I've been meaning to check out who spins reggae/hip hop/soul, our favorite music to dance to.

Do you have any little adventures planned? I hope you have a wonderful time! Please enjoy the weekend links...

Fancy printable recipe cards.

Cotton candy cupcakes create cavities.

A lovely seashell bathroom.

Little drifters might be my new favorite thing.

Funny bike helmets.

A dining room table you can throw in the wash.

Incredible floor doodles.

Funky bow tie necklaces.

Reclaimed mid century furniture with a colorful twist.

One major reason why I'd go to Utah.

And some posts of mine you may have missed...

• Mod Kitty Beds
• Chair Socks
• Bento Box Lunches

{Image by Karolyn Lowe}

Colored Bottle Collections

I was flipping through the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living and came across this 4-page spread of what has to be the prettiest and most extensive colored bottle collection I've ever seen. Which made me regret not taking home the vintage bottles I spied while at the antique mall last week. But get real, Shannon. Where would I put them?

Do you have any color coded collections?

{Images via The Inspired Bride by Johnny Miller}

Greek Island Daydreams

The Greek Islands, Santorini in particular, is one of my favorite places on earth. I traveled there after my study abroad program in London. I fell in love with the whites & blues, the dizzying cliffs, and the veggie-friendly Mediterranean fare.

A bestie of mine is in Greece as we speak. So I'm pretending these two gals are us. She's visiting the Greek side of her family and promised to take me with her one day. Wishing that day was now!


{Image via Fashion Copius by Cihan Alpgiray}

Book Carvings

These books are to be admired, not read. Some people are morally opposed to book deconstruction, but not me. When books become incredible works of art, like Australian artist, Kylie Stillman's nature inspired creations, I can only applaud.

P.S. She also carves entire book shelves and window blinds!


{Images via Crooked Brains by Kylie Stillman}

Digital Downloadable Delights

I've been a fan of Tabitha Emma's work for awhile now and I recently came across her whimsical digital downloads. She has designed a lovely collection of collage sheets that can be used for gift tags, scrapbooking, cards, or any other type of altered arts and crafts.

Aren't they pretty?


{Images by Tabitha Emma Etsy}

DIY - Light Bulb Vase

Since many of us are switching to energy-efficient compact florescent light bulbs, it seems like a good idea to re-use leftover incandescent bulbs lying around. Remember the light bulb terrariums? Well another idea is a little bud vase. Very zen and modern.

Full instructions are here, but it's a simple as poking a hole at the base of the bulb with needle nose pliers, breaking the inner glass tube, and pulling out the filament. Then you bend an aluminum welding rod into the stand. Fill it with water and a single flower, a few blades of grass, or even freshly cut herbs.


{Image via Re-Nest by Ready Made}

Modern Day Pin-Up Style

 

Don't you love this Italian Bettie Page inspired photoshoot?  I'm especially digging her hair.

Anyone have any luck styling their hair like hers?

{Images via Calivintage via The Ones 2 Watch by Andoni & Arantxa}

Travel Trailers for Birds

I must have been a birdie in a past life, because I can't get enough of quirky bird houses. Aren't these miniature vintage travel trailers the cutest things ever? They're inspired by Shasta and Airstream campers and caravans from the 50's. Hey, birds like to camp too.

P.S. You can customize the license plate!


{Images via The Modern Home by Jumahl}

Teacup Bangles

I keep finding more and more alternative uses for old teacups. They are so versatile! Abigail MaryRose Clark makes these charming bangles out of vintage bone china teacups. And if you have your own special teacups at home, she can turn them into bracelets for you.

I'd be afraid to wear them all together though. Wouldn't they break? Maybe one at a time is best  :)


{Image via Kickcan & Conkers by Stay Gold Mary Rose}

Oversized Hair Adornments

I wore an oversized bow the other day. Some people gave me strange looks. The envious. But a few bold girls... the ones I'd probably be friends with... admitted they loved it  :)

Yeah, I know. They're not for everyone. But they make me feel feminine and care free. Would you wear them?

{Images via Wallspank by Hopelessly Devoted}

Song Love: "Cosmic Love" by Florence + The Machine

I'm sure you've heard "Cosmic Love" before, but I can't. stop. playing it. It's the latest single (and my favorite tune) from Florence + The Machine's album, Lungs. She somehow channels Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane. The song is powerful. And will literally transport you to another universe.

Listening rules:

1. Click the play button below;
2. If you want to be blown away, wear headphones;
3. Turn volume up loud;
4. If you're in an emotional state, be prepared to cry!

COSMIC LOVE

{Image by Luminatii}

Color Berlin

Admiring these graphic photographs from Matthias Heiderich's Color Berlin series. I love reducing the world around us to mere shapes and colors. Beautiful, no?


{Images via Share Some Candy by Mattias Heiderich}

A Swedish Summer Retreat

I've never been to Sweden. Have you? If the rest of the country looks anything like this sweet little summer cabin and it's surrounding views, I'm sold. I must be attracted to it because the trees and water look eerily similar to Washington State.

If you could, where would you like to spend the summer?


{Images via My Scandinavian Retreat by Claesson Koivisto Rune}

Free Vintage Apothecary Labels

Cathe of Just Something I Made is the sweetest! She scanned these original vintage apothecary labels for us to download.

They look great on old jars and vases, don't they? The drug store labels can even be printed onto cotton sheets and sewed into hand towels!


{Images by Cathe Holden}

Full Moon Crazy Cats

Happy Monday! My cat Bailey was feisty all night, so I didn't get much sleep. I kept hearing her tear through the house, get trapped in window blinds, and play with imaginary toys. She'd nibble on my face and try to sneak into my bed covers.

I think it's because of the full moon today. Which, by the way, did you see it last night? It was huge and orange! Do your pets get full moon silly too?

{Image via Modish}

Some Heat

Finally, we're supposed to get some heat this weekend. Mid-80's... just perfect. It seems like the entire west coast has been having such a non-summer. Naughty El Nino.

Have a splendid weekend, friends! And enjoy the links...

Send an ice cream party in the mail.

Note to self: include a staircase slide in future dream home.

A perfect tea party guide.

Must be nice to afford a carousel and ferris wheel at your wedding!

I definitely wouldn't say no to glamping here.

Turn doodles into a creative invite.

How to tie a scarf like a French woman.

Have you ever gone blueberry picking?

The mama of all party houses.

Scratch maps are fun.

And some posts of mine you may have missed...

• Discovering My Type
• Sixties Stews
• Dreaming of London

{Image by Manda}

United States Cheese Boards

Three of my favorite things in one: cheese, maps, and wood. Designed by AHeirloom, these amazing cutting boards are made out are renewable bamboo. The best part? To signify your city, you can custom request where your "heart" or "star" is placed.

Maybe if I ask them real nicely, they'll make a Washington board?


{Images by AHeirloom}

Discovering New Music

Hey kids, I'm craving new tunes for the weekend. So I can strategically place records on my naked body in the grass ;) No really. Do you have any suggestions?

Because lately, I've been gravitating toward songs from the past. My go-to iPod playlists are 50's/60's soul and jazz, 80's/90's hip hop and trip hop, and 60's/70's pop and rock. I guess I'm becoming disillusioned with the current state of music.

I'd love to know of any new artists you're excited about. (Besides Lorelei, that is - HA). What are you currently listening to?

{Images via Sacred Lotus Photography by Matt Schwartz}

Talking & Projecting Rings

Inventor, Luke Jerram, is quite the romantic. For his girl, he designed one ring that talks and one ring that projects images.

The talking ring has his 20-second recorded marriage proposal etched into the surface, which can be played with a miniature record player. The projecting ring has a series of small slides inserted into the edge. When lit by a candle or LED light, it projects the portraits onto a wall.

Luke wants to keep his designs one-of-a-kind, so he won't replicate the rings for anyone else. How lucky is his wife?


{Images via Modish by Luke Jerram}

An Illustrated Walk Around The Cities of the World

Phew, what a journey! Can you tell I've fallen for Tadahiro Uesugi's mid century inspired city walk illustrations? The shadows, the architecture, the fashion, and the minimalist design have captured my heart.

{Images via Cocoa Chu Chu by Tadahiro Uesugi}

Inception

I watched Inception the other night. The flick is crazy good. Without giving too much away, it's about a world where technology allows us to enter the human mind through dream invasion. Visually stunning and emotionally moving. I seriously walked out of the theater feeling as though I was in a dream myself.

Have you seen it yet?

{Image via Total Film}

Mad Men Style

To wet our appetite for the new season of Mad Men this Sunday, here are some delectable retro fashions from a 1963 issue of Family Circle Magazine. It's like they're straight out of Mad Men. Or vice versa  ;)

I don't have AMC, so I'm sure I'll be invading the homes of friends and family, or forcing them to Tivo it for me. Will you be watching?


{Images via What I Found}

Recycled T-Shirt Sphere Pillows

Don't they look so soft and cozy?

{Images by Talking Squid}

A Mobile Vintage Shop

When I was in Portland last weekend, I got to witness the food cart movement in full effect. Little trucks and trailers took over entire parking lots, giving people endless and exotic options for lunch.

Which is why I'm fascinated by Jill Munro's clever idea. She utilized the food card concept and turned a travel trailer into her own mobile shop, Lune Vintage, in Winnipeg, Canada. She brings the goods to you! Wish I could see it in person.


{Images by Lune}

A Yacht Rock Birthday

It's Hal's birthday and tonight we're celebrating yacht rock style! We will be hitting up a local boat-shaped bar for a high sea adventure.

Yacht rock, if you're unfamiliar, is the 70's / 80's smooth rock genre made famous by Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, and Toto, to name a few. Yuppie yachter dress code is required, and as Jimmy Fallon explains, gentlemen will be sporting captain hats, topsiders and rolled up khakis. Ladies will be wearing floral sundresses, big round sunglasses and feathered hair.

Wish us fun!  :)


{Images by Current/Elliot}

Asparagus & Lemon Ricotta Pizza

Droooooling. What a delectable combination of flavors, no?

It's so hard to find time to cook on the weeknights. Hal and I both love to create meals together... as long as one person is designated sous chef! So I've been wanting to implement Sunday dinners, where we make a fresh gourmet dinner large enough to have leftovers for lunch the following week. I think I've found my first recipe!

{Images by Eat Make Read}

Book Cover Postcards From Penguin

Book lovers, have you seen these before? In October, Penguin is issuing a collection of 100 postcards, each featuring a different iconic book jacket. That's over 70 years of classic British design in one box. You can pre-order them here.

Instead of mailing them, wouldn't they make a fantastic wall display?

{Images via Altruism in the Morning by Penguin}

Jazz Age Lawn Parties

I've been seeing photos of the annual Jazz Age Lawn Party held on Governors Island and it makes me wish I was in New York. One day I'll have to throw a 20's Gatsby-style affair. Doesn't it look spectacular?


{Images by: 1 - 3. Guest of a Guest, 4 - 6. The Sartorialist}

My $10 Vintage Polaroid Land Camera

Can I tell you how much I love antique malls? Thrifting is one thing Hal and I love to do together. We randomly happened upon the mama of all antique malls in Portland, House of Vintage. It was massive. I got lost in the endless rooms of treasures. And we each emerged with toys: Hal, a killer $13 pair of retro Sony headphones. Me, a $10 Polaroid Automatic Land Camera 103, circa 1965-67.

I have yet to test it out, but even if it doesn't work, it's still a beauty. The lens folds into a hard compact carrying case with a neck strap. I was told that Fuji sells the film and Radio Shack carries the battery. Can't wait to play with it! 


{Image by Spencer Willis Etc.}

Long Summer Days

Monday came too soon. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, my dears. We had a lovely drive to Portland, although we didn't make it to the ocean on our way home like I hoped. In the Pacific Northwest, daylight lasts forever, but sometimes I wish we had Alaska summers... sunset at 11 pm!


{Images by Antonella Arismendi}

A Day Trip

Happy weekend! What are your plans? My love and I are waking up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to hit the road. We want to spend the day in Portland and stop along the Washington coast on our way home.

Enjoy the weekend links my dear friends...

A sweet grafitti proposal.

Which famous author do you write like?

Little Gray Pixel visits captures Seattle beautifully.

I want to jump in this swimming pool.

Literal love seats.

Polaroid walls are cool. 

A stunning Japanese home.

Have you seen the new Unicorn Dream online magazine?

Are you ready for fall? I'm not.

I finally watched A Single Man. Wow.

And some posts of mine you may have missed...

• Red
• Peeling Paint
• Glass Homes 

{Image via Bwellsea}

The Colorful Town of Burano

How on earth did I miss this place when I was in Italy? Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon and just 40 minutes from Venice by a vaporetti motorboat. Population 4,000.

These lovely images were shot by photographer, Irene Suchocki. She says the whole town is based on the gelato color system  :)

Have you been to Burano before? I must go back... before it sinks!

{Images via Eye Poetry}

Homemade Lemonade

Nothing says summer like fresh homemade lemonade. I like mine colorful and infused with different flavors. I'm thinking of trying out one of these mouth watering concoctions this weekend:

1. Lavender
2. Raspberry
3. Herbal
   
4. Blueberry Mint

Do you have any other suggestions?

{Images by: 1. Inn Brooklyn, 2. My Baking Addiction, 3. Straight From The Farm, 4. The Cooking Photographer}

Honda Little Cubs

I crashed and fell hard for the Honda Little Cub motorbike. Miss Caroline likens them to macarons on wheels. And also created the perfect impractical outfit to go with.

P.S. If anyone knows where they can be found in the States, you win a cookie and my undying affection.


{Images via I Am A Greedy Girl by Honda}

Alphabets

In honor of this week's Alphabet Walk... daffodils, furniture, books, leaves and chocolate sauce make for wonderful fonts  :)


{Images by: 1. and 4. Vladimir Koncar, 2. The Butler Bros, 3. Amandine Alexandra, 5. Kimberly Reynolds} 

Working Here

Just imagine working here. Clicking away on the laptop. Glancing up to soak in the view. Remember my road trip where I fantasized about my future cliff top home? This office was built right there! In Chuckanut Bay just south of Bellingham, Washington. Doubling as a guest house and a meditation room, the owner / architect calls his refuge The Cube. Definitely not your typical office cube  ;)

{Images via Paper n Stitch by Peter Daniel Frazier}

Knee-High Gladiator Sandals

I'm eyeing these fabulous Gucci knee-high gladiator sandals (and ignoring her protruding hip bone). They're like airy summer boots. Would you wear them?


{Image via Red Glasses by Stockholm Street Style}

Doorway Trompe l'Oeil

I like to play tricks. If I put these sassy door graphics on the back of my front door, I'd love to see my friends' faces when they try to leave and see a doorway stuffed with books. Or the old staircase leading out of the French Catacombs. Or Montmartre's Stairs to the Sacre Coeur. But I'm sure they wouldn't be as amused as I would be  :)


{Images via Apartment Therapy by Couture Deco}

Free Art. Yep!

Thanks to Kristen of Candidly, Red, I recently discovered that all these fabulous artists (and many more) are allowing us to download a piece of their artwork from Feed Your Soul, the free art project put on by Jen Wallace of Indie Fixx.

She believes that art should be accessible to all, especially now when the economy is down. Such a lovely sentiment. Thank you Jen and thank you participating artists!


{Images via Feed Your Soul}

Eco-Friendly Picnic Boxes

The design kids at Three Blind Ants are genius. They've come up with fully biodegradable and compostable picnic boxes to house all your portable meal needs. Depending on your personal picnic style, each box has a different theme : Office Escape, Today's Date, and Urban Picnic. And they all come with replaceable eatin' tools. What fun!


{Images via The Dieline by Boxal}

Rose & Ruby

I adore this romantic wedding dress by Australian designers, Rose & Ruby. Even though it could resemble a nightgown if worn by a normal sized woman. But brides should be comfortable, right?


{Images via Colors of Honey}

The Letter H

One Sydney Road is hosting an Alphabet Walk, where fellow bloggers take photos of things starting with a designated letter. Today is my day! I never realized how many H words I love until now  :)

P.S. Hop on over to Green April and Art Shades to see their view of H. And all other letters here.

Hot Peas & Butta Art

My good friend Lauren is a very talented lady with a very talented man in her life, Elroy Jenkins. He's the art director for Hot Peas & Butta, a funk/soul audio visual experience based out of New York. After reading this interview, I immediately connected with his collage work since we share a similar influence of 007 spy flicks from the 60's and 70's. This video shows (in fast motion) how each piece is created. Cool, yeah?


{Images via L Marx The Spot}

Butterfly Cupcakes

I'm a big believer in making food pretty. Remember this edible icing art? I've discovered yet another sweet edible cupcake topper... Lisa of Sugar Robot, an aspiring chemist and baking enthusiast, makes delicate little butterflies for your cupcakes. Just lovely.


{Images via Miss Malaprop by Sugar Robot}

How Pilates and I Met

Fun fact: I was THIS close to being in a pilates infomercial. One lonely night while living in LA, I was lured into purchasing the Windsor Pilates DVDs. Soon after they arrived, Windsor Pilates called and offered me 3 months of free mat classes in exchange for my before and after testimonial. They were testing out a new resistance band product and wanted "real people" to demonstrate its potential on the next infomercial. I didn't want to show my bikini body photos on national television, but I really wanted free classes! So I bit the bullet, said yes, lost massive amounts of inches, and fell in love with pilates. And lucky for me... they eventually decided to not release the product or film the infomercial  ;)

Now, many years later, I've decided to get back into it. I can't wait to have a super strong core again. Do any of you practice pilates?

{Image via This Made Me Smile}

A Sunbathing Frog

I couldn't resist! I hope you all have a relaxing weekend. Enjoy the sunshine! Here are some happy links for you...

Have you ever had yellow watermelon? 

Sir Richard Branson, owner of all things Virgin, now has collection of luxury retreats.

Create your own chocolate bar!

Beautiful visual representations of heat.

A music video shot solely on an iPhone.

A stunning origami wedding dress.

Waffles on a stick.

Now this is what a Seattle houseboat should look like.

A Bali dream house.

I really want this romper. Should I get it?

And some posts of mine you may have missed...

• Frozen Records
• Ballerinas
• Peaceful Mornings

{Image via Offbeat Earth}

Chalkboard Flirting

This engagement shoot tickles me. What a creative and playful way to showcase your love.


{Images via Postcards & Pretties by Ben Blood Photography}

Mid Century Splashes of Orange

Orange door, orange butterfly chair, orange canoe. Perfection.

{Images via Apartment Therapy}

Vintage European Beach Love

Wishing I could be there now.

If you haven't seen the entire LIFE Vintage European Beaches gallery, you're missing out! It's pretty fantastic.


{Images via LIFE by 1. Jerry Cooke; 2. Vagn Hansen; 3. Kurt Hutton; 4. William Vanderson}

Ice Cream For Adults

We finally got some heat here in Seattle. It's 95 today! So naturally I'm craving ice cream. And not just any ordinary ice cream. Gourmet never-thought-of-before flavors for adults only.

Like this Avocado Blackberry ice cream pictured. Or how about some Lavender Ricotta? Thai Basil? Goat Cheese? Or...Olive Oil?

Hal has been bugging me to get an ice cream maker. And I think it might be time  :)

{Image by Duonos Ir Zaidimu}