two scoops

Well This is Embarassing...

2010-03-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a full year since I've posted on this blog... sheesh.

I started a 2nd design blog (I know!) just so that I could keep one private diary of the cumulative inspirations that find me day to day. A space where I wouldn't have to worry about image credits, correct details, all of that stuff. I wanted to get it right with this space.

In the spirit of keeping it pristine, it's been untouched.

I'm sorry, two scoops, you have every right to weep those salty tears of neglect. I want to dust you off and have another go, eh? To get into the swing of things, here is a bit of naughty blogging on my part. Fuck off about your image credits -it's not like some of this shit's even on the market now, kay? Gosh. Some hightlights, from the past year. Enjoy.

To My Sister

2009-03-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

This sweet little photo tale was found on Kiss the Paper:

Love you, Robin! Just making up an excuse to say it.

Blooming Tea

2009-02-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

Splish Splash Pitter Patter

2009-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

From Decorator Fountains.com

I've always found that fountains - indoor and outdoor - bring an unparalleled tranquility to whatever atmosphere they're added to. Candles, incense, and flowers can only accomplish so much. The dribbling drip-drop brings so much ambience and elegance to any room and you don't always need a large hall or ivy-plush garden wall to pull it off.From Simply Good Stuff.com
Is it weird for an eight grader to ask for money for a fountain for her birthday? That's what I did... I hardly ever used it, actually; when I did, though, were moments of much-needed relaxation and deep breaths. It's strange to see a fountain in a kid's room, but its not a terrible idea for older, responsible kids.Land of the Lost? Noooo. It's so much more Wilma than that. Wilma Flintstone, that is.An absolute classic that looks like it poured right off the pages of Great Expectations. Hey, Stella!A delicious, juicy relic. I'm reminded of breaking rocks open and finding complex gems that are like secret architecture.

Don't Keep Your VD to Yourself

2009-02-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

Share the <3

Heh. Sorry, I couldn't help it. I decided to present my favorite inspiration on Valentine's Day. My love, on love day. Makes sense, ain't so?

"Love is the hardest habit to break and the most difficult to satisfy."
- Drew Barrymore

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
-Michael Caine

"You've got to keep the fights clean and the sex dirty!"
-Kevin Bacon, on how to keep a marriage a happy one.

p.s. It's purely a coincidence that all of these excellent quotes are from celebrities. Swear.

Hollows

2009-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Randomness - LOVE it!

2009-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

First things first: safety, of course! Check out the latest whacky recalled children's toy. A recalled educational tool. Careful not to choke on the ovaries, kids.

You can grow cucumbers to look like this. Its really going the extra mile. I don't have the time, but if I were a SAHM who liked to throw dinner parties, I would go there. I really would. Is that sad or cute or both?

Arcade coat hooks by Surface Tension. Perfect for a game room, play room, or the living room of a good humored dork (aka me).

Hamburgers have never looked so... comfortable?

Jellio.com

2009-01-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

Can you believe these gummi bear lights cost $120 each?! Or 5 for $500?! What a deal...
Remember those toys? I can't remember what they were called... I know I sound stupid. Gosh! What were they called? Oh well! I love you, mirror, even if you are a thousand bucks.
How cute would these slidey puzzles be in a playroom? You can put your own photos in them, too, instead of letters, like this one:

I don't know what to think about this rug... it's called the "boogie monster rug" and has all varieties of hideous monster's extremities protruding out from it. It's specifically designed to go under a bed, I suppose...

Why would you want this under your bed? Maybe these could be your child's own personal guards against the boogie man. I guess if the monsters are on your side, then... whatever, this is still really freakin' creepy.

Second Scoop of COLOR!

2009-01-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

I decided to throw this in, too - what do you think? I'm trying to make a new banner, but .. well, nothing is jumping out at me yet, you know? What do you think of this one? It's at least worth posting this for the pretty candles if nothing else. Isn't it lovely? I wonder how to make these... without burning down my house..

Romantic Knits

2009-01-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is coming soon - aren't you psyched?! It's my favorite holiday. I love walking into grocery stores and card shops and seeing reds and pinks and purples and HEARTS everywhere. Moreso than Christmas, with it's mad-dashing, frustrated and competitive shoppers pulling their hair out and stomping Walmart employees to death, Valentine's Day is the only holiday when retailers seem to be spreading love and cheer, even if it is insincere.

Juliet would've worn these, were she an Etsy shopper in our day.

Bee Happy Boutique

Pixie Bell

Boutique Pink Designs

Bonnie's Knitting

Max Melody

Always In Bloom

Valentine's Day is coming soon enough. If you're already making dinner reservations you might want to start planning some other details. Ordering something flirty from Etsy is a fabulous idea, but make sure it gets to you in time. Here are some of my suggestions from Etsy sellers for romantic toppers.

COLOR! Me oh my!

2009-01-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

Pink-lavender is going to be a big color scheme this year. It's the color of bittersweet romance, of longing, and of dizziness. It's the color of bruises, of a pulse, and anticipation. It's the color underneath your eyelids when you kiss your true love and when you have to fall asleep away from them.
Blues don't invoke sadness to me. What a terribly named musical genre! Don't get me wrong, I like the Blues sometimes. I don't understand, though, how this blue doesn't enliven and energize someone. Isn't this the happiest blue you've ever seen?

This is my dream bookshelf. Where are all the books?! I love that they've chunked the layered with dark and light tones of blue and yellow, creating somewhat asymmetrical stacking and bring attention to every single level. I also adore the blue vases inside the yellow shelf. It's harmonious.

I also love that this picture mixes modern accessories (i.e. the oriental face) with shabby, antique accessories (i.e. the tea cake tray). Lots of designers try; few pull it off.

Someone is making a killing.

2009-01-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

The treehouse is, of course, my favorite. It arrives blanch, sans colour. Can you imagine all the funky ways to dress this up? And why am I so obsessed with trees?

This one could be easily made with a refrigerator or freezer box. You can buy them cheaply from a home improvement store. My childhood best friend had a birthday party with about six or seven of these boxes made to look like kiosks at an Arabian bazaar. We bartered tchochkes like bead necklaces, headbands, cookies, candies, erasers, stickers, sashes, and those were the party favors. Her birthday parties always ROCKED!

A tepee for whispering your deepest secrets in the tall grasses.

A cardboard house? Go, recycling, go! We may not have anything sustainable and marketing yet, but hot DAMN I never thought this could happen.

The cardboard kitchen is a more expensive variety though it would be easier to make with an assortment of small boxes.

The question that begs to be asked: What happens when it rains?

I dunno if I'd make this a Halloween costume. This is a good thing to have when the little terrors feel like a spontaneous, hearty round of Gladiator. In the yard or your spacious, unfragile den.

Cardboard: salmonella-free, paint-free, with no chokability. It's cheap, it's paintable, and it's brilliant. I wish I had been a cardboard engineer. I'd be making BANK for creative dollhouses and kiddie tents. And tepees!

Everyone knows the box is so much more sustainable than ... say, a battery-operated machine designed to gray Mum & Dad's hairs. This leads me to think that cardboard is an easy DIY toy project. It would make a great family activity, too!

Chairs That Try Too Hard

2009-01-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

Canape by Jang Lila

The Paddy Chair by Nick Melville

Anemona Chair by Fernando & Humberto

Soundtrack of My Life

2009-01-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

Secret Angent Radio by SomaFM

So what if repainting your bathroom isn't as exciting as hunting assassins in Bermuda or blowing up shit whilst diamond heisting in St. Petersberg? When redecorating, moving furniture, repainting, sitting on the floor and pondering the small space you live in, you've got to have some tunes going. Something to remind me that I'm an energetic little body that can groove and dance and be inspired. It helps at work, too. This is the channel that we listen to at work whenever NPR gets old or Diane Rehm gets too haggard.

I Heart Kate Mack

2009-01-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Its entirely possible that every single swimsuit made for infants and toddlers qualifies as the most adorable. I just got my Delia's catalog (haven't ordered since High School, but its still fun to peruse) and I can't' wait til summer. Suri Cruise gives KATE MACK her stamp of approval ... err, I guess that's Katie Holmes stamp of approval... anyway. Wanna take a poll as too whether I'd actally spend the 80 bucks at Nordstrom for one?

Fred Finds

2009-01-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

FREDTASTIC!!!!

Since my blog is usually family-oriented (note that I did not say "family-friendly" - I have parents and grown-ups in mind), here are some really adorable finds from World Wide Fred.

Holy Crap, CribCandy!

2009-01-09T12:31:00.001-08:00

My favorite new delicious slice of design cake is at Crib Candy. Wow. Is. All. (Oh, and just kidding with the last picture. (kind of))

Robots that cry when they fall.

Unrelated but worthy

2009-01-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

This is irrelevant to design and I'm not even from New Jersey, but its such a good cause and it breaks my heart to think of the dwindling food supply in our own country. I'm sure the problem with food banks is country-wide. The unemployment rate in NC is over 9% in most counties and is projected to be over 10% by the end of 2009 if things don't pick up.

Please add this link to your blog or pass the word along if you can't make a monetary donation (like me). Here is a snippet from Househubbie's website:

If everyone could just do a little, it would help those in need a lot. To help, people can:

Make a monetary contribution: Visit www.njfoodbank.org.
Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry.
Organize a food drive: We can help explain the logistics of starting a food drive. Just call 908-355-FOOD.
Help "Check Out Hunger:" Look for the "Check Out Hunger" coupons at your local supermarket and donate. No donation is too small!

It's Etsy Time!!!

2009-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Dun dun dun! It's about that time y'all. I know I sound like the dorkiest cracker in the design blogging world and I care not what you think. You know you love me. Here's a healthy SCOOP of favorites from my list.

These pillows are such a lovely idea, and perhaps I should've saved this image for a post about throws or DIY ideas, but I also believe in giving credit where its due. They ain't cheap, either, but some darling millionaire who reads my blog could show some love some day.

OR you lovely design bloggers could link back to me so I could afford to buy them myself! (It's worth a try, at least).

What kind of genius is THIS?
Handmade flowers never die.

Legwarmers are a trend that I hope never go out of fashion. They're cute anyhow, but when adorning a freckle-faced five year old, they're ridiculously, absurdly adorable. Especially these.

A black velvet choker used to be my trademark when I worked in a coffee shop. Ahh, those were the days! If there is a God and I go to heaven, there will one day be a reunion of all my beautiful co-workers and hilarious regulars in a "Moose" Coffee Shop and I would *rock* this snazzy upgrade in the name of tradition.

That's all for now. Much more to come. Can't you just, like, not wait?!

*mwah*

Frugal Schmugal - LOVE them.

2009-01-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

If you don't know how to sew - please just skip this one. I'm sure you'll think of some cute and quirky alternative to give your house guests something to talk about over their Wheaties and coffee. If the lines are uneven, it'll just make you look good-humored in a creepy way. Like the count from Sesame Street. Oh, and uh, if you're as bad about remembering to dust (and this is one minor injury that my guests could spot without Clark Kent's 0/0 eyesight) as me and mine.

But *major* props to the crazy ladies who did this to a hotel comforter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not many photos are as sad as the ones at a yard sale. Those were people! Alas, if someone regards ancient familial media as fifty cents worth of garbage, make them your treasure! If it happened to the last known photo of myself, I would be quite proud to have my grill in an art collection instead of mashed with receipt paper and egg salad in a Wendy's cup.

If at this yard sale you should spy with your fine eye a useless thing like a tacky cuckoo clock that hasn't worked since 1982, please. Spend the $4. Buy it. Show the German Engineering (on the side of drunk that doesn't make racecars - I hope) some love. Dress it up in your colors. Give the dancing caricatures and smoking men a home in your daughter's doll house.

START COLLECTING

It doesn't have to be annoying as tick-tick-tick, nor as bat-shit-crazy as birdhouses. Think: most of those have been used. = 0

Make a semblance. A pretty configuration. Make it look like a natural mess just like the cogs inside of those clocks. Or the inside of a VCR. It's shabby but it's... *groan* don't finish that sentance, GAWD!

Making something yours can be as thrifty as decoupaging music notes onto a vase. If I had a picture of that, I would soooo post it for you. Maybe some thoughtful guru will post a picture in the comments section.

Happy New Years!

CHEERS!

Etsy Spotlight!

2008-12-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Teague from Greensboro, North Carolina is the masterful, steady hand that stitches these beautiful summer dresses. All of these are 15% off, so visit her store and buy them for me. This girl is *going* places. The one at the bottom is my favorite! It's what Cinderella would wear, pre-liberation, were she allowed to sip on appletinis or champagne daquiris at biergartens beneath the stars on summer evenings.

Random Inspirations

2008-12-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

All of these are from my computer's photos file, without a niche to include them with the other children. ? They are pretty unique, and pretty damned inspiring, if you ask me. The one above is an installation by Kristen Hassenfield called "Dans La Lune". Below is a photo that was sitting on my computer for longer than most things do, just because it's so intriguing to know that this place exists. It's in Japan and it's a Ghost Town of an amusement park. I wonder if the park sucked or if the rides were dangerous... Or...
By Edward Duarte, I imagine this to be the inside of the Ark, were Noah an enterprising metrosexual carpenter in the 21st century.
VW buses were made to become driving funky artmobiles.
This is what the Stairway to Heaven looks like. I never knew heaven was a treehouse.

I Don't (Wanna) Believe It!

2008-12-28T15:19:00.001-08:00

Hi, again! Sorry for having taken so long to update. Strep throat put my holiday cheer & blogging energy (imagine!) asunder, allowing me to do nothing but watch Old School Sesame Street and Baby Einstein videos. Mostly with the baby around. On the sunny side of it, I am learning sign language and french and spanish (well, the basics anyhow). Its much easier to do with patient children's programming and bright blue otters, as opposed to translating "Esteban and I need directions to the library".

During my unwilling, lonely ciesta, I was inspired by Cinderella - yes, really! Did you realize how many canopies belong to the evildoers of this Disney pic? Truly, the wicked stepmother, her cat and her two daughters all had canopies! I couldn't find any screenshots of this, but I did find other kids' rooms inspired by Cinderella. The only thing I resent is that they weren't around when I was a kid.
Hi, again! Sorry for having taken so long to update. Strep throat put my holiday cheer & blogging energy (imagine!) asunder, allowing me to do nothing but watch Old School Sesame Street and Baby Einstein videos. Mostly with the baby around. On the sunny side of it, I am learning sign language and french and spanish (well, the basics anyhow). Its much easier to do with patient children's programming and bright blue otters, as opposed to translating "Esteban and I need directions to the library".

During my unwilling, lonely ciesta, I was inspired by Cinderella - yes, really! Did you realize how many canopies belong to the evildoers of this Disney pic? Truly, the wicked stepmother, her cat and her two daughters all had canopies! I couldn't find any screenshots of this, but I did find other kids' rooms inspired by Cinderella. The only thing I resent is that they weren't around when I was a kid.

Is This Still a Design Blog?

2008-12-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

I know, I know! This is really *supposed* to be a design blog, but it's turning into an endearing sort of dump... a netfill? No, not that kind of thing. No Cialis commercials here. I'm ADD and since this is my blog after all, I'll tell you all about the most charming and personal jewelry line I stumbled upon after just posting the last one.

BonBonOiseau is a place I would shop if I were a celebrity and could spend a couple hundred bucks on earrings. Forget Harry Winston. Forget Tiffany's. Everybody and their mama "borrows" their stuff for the Oscars and blah... how can diamonds be so interesting time after time?

Really, though, diamonds' "classic" status can only go so far. Do you have to look classic everyday? Go get a personality, diamond! These pieces are so humble, charming, and intrinsic, though, you just kinda have to adore them. Little things.

Flags and Ticker and Streamer, oh my!

2008-12-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

I want to ticker tape my life like a Mexican Kids' Catholic Chapel. Oh, I can? Thanks to this lovely soul, every day could be like winning some strange hippie derby where all the proceeds are donated to Richard Gere's Tibetan Freedom cause. Speaking of which, I haven't gotten a letter from Mr. Gere in a while, nor His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They used to send me mini prayer flags. They're hanging up in my daughter's room right now. But that's for another day.

I thought about hanging Christmas cards this way - maybe next year. How hard can it be?

Creative Cakes

2008-12-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

All of these are edible wedding cakes from Let Them Eat Cake - it's amazing how some people manipulate gravity, isn't it? They're not my dream wedding cakes, rest assured, but they're remarkably creative. This one at the top is probably my favorite of the group - very surrealistic looking. Part cake, part papercraft, part .. light? I'm like a moth to it.

It'd be adorable if a couple wrote their vows on their cake. Aww.
While I'm in the cakebaking subject, I can't help but bring up CAKEWRECKS! Yay, inappropriate and abused sugars for all ages to clean their teeth of! Here is a timely sample of the cakes you'll find there (and yes, Santa bleeds sprinkles!)

I Heart Misha Lulu

2008-12-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

The hippie in me says, "OH! How bitchin' is this tunic?!". The parent in me says, "I must have it. For my daughter."

What does it bring to mind? If you didn't say the Von Trapp Family's playclothing made of vintage curtain fabric mixed with rural European or Russian thriftcraft, well, I just don't know how you expect to agree with any of this.

But really, isn't this line a refreshing change from the glittery, snotty styles sold in major stores? I'm so tired of seeing nine year old girls wearing hot pink sequins that spell out "Flirt". How can anyone send Sunshine off to Brownies with tight yoga pants that say "whatever!" on the ass? How has this become the status quo?

I'm no Amish, I'm no Mormon, and I never fell for "modest is the hottest". Please. I like wearing backless tank tops that tie up with arm warmers. That's just who I am (especially when plaid pants are involved). When I go to the bar in the summer, my mother would be embarassed for me in a way that I would feel was unnecessary.

My daughter, who isn't allowed to date until she's retired, doesn't need to get her clothes to do her cute-ifying for her. She is all the cute in the world there ever was. The girl could break hearts wearing a glad sack one day. That won't be necessary, though, because small businesses still exist. Mom and Pop shops are very much alive online; I'm so thankful for the quality clothes from Misha Lulu and others like them because they take us back to a fundamental idea of clothing.

Cookie Baking Optional

2008-12-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

How boring would is this CB2 dining room? Not nearly as boring as it would be without the ornamented tree branch suspended directly above it. Just imagine - can a mind in this digital age comprehend such a bland space?

Adding touches of nature to make a big or small aesthetic statement never goes out of style! I'm a treehugger, as you'll come to find out, and as I'm decorating my living room - ahem - infusing and invigorating the decor of my living room, there's nothing I want more than a wise old tree-of-life strung up from the corner above my couch. It's so true - if I didn't have a baby to mind every minute of the daylight, I'd have found ticks in my hair by now.

Wow, I'm really kicking things off nice and classy...

Anyway. Doesn't sound appealing to you? Hmm? I dare you to do a quick flip through of a CB2 or hell, even Pottery Barn catalog. Well, did you? Go ahead. Done yet? Okay, now tell me which pages jumped out at you. It's my own philosophy that over half of the eye-popping photographers know how to work this nature angle against your better judgement. We'll see.

The best thing about decorating with nature is how affordable it is. Unless you live in a metropolitan area and would probably get fined for picking a flower in a city park, it's easy to take the branches that you pull away to mow the grass and boost the euphoria of your indoor atmosphere.

*Swoon* They're swoopy, lazy, cozy, but elegant creatures, trees. They really elevate the ambiance with such quiet and sincere aplomb.

(Coco Chanel knew what was up!)

Babywit.com

2008-12-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

The functional eye-candy from BabyWit will make you wish you were a) as rich as Lilly Pulitzer without the horror of being Lilly Pulitzer or b) adopted by Daddy Warbucks and c) could be a stay-at-home, play-at-home mom. Who doesn't want this dollhouse? Something is wrong with you, ma'am, if this doesn't make you long to be a giggly, french-braided seven year old again. Very wrong.

You can't quite make it out, but this adorable unisex onesie says "I'll save the world someday". No pressure! For now, it's totally fine that you can't figure out how to open your hand to eat the cheerio locked inside your fist. One day that fist will lead the revolution!
Si, se puede!

This lovely dress, envied by every fairy without a checking account, is called the "hormiga" dress and is $78.
*sigh*

Stay Awhile

2008-12-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, me! My very first post on this dreamscape-to-be! Hopefully, this little corner will become my gushing outlet of all the beautiful things I see and feel the need to keep or share somehow. If you're here, I think you know what I mean.

I also want to publish some of my frugal and sheerly mad designing ideas without the authority to do so. Don't you just love the internet sometimes? If its no longer 2008, but way, way in the distant future and you're here to see where it all started - to the left - THAT is the reason behind the Raezin.

I've found that in becoming a mother, which isn't as dull as the childless or mothers with ugly babies would have you think, I've come to understand why it's important to appreciate beauty in all forms: simplicity, bizarre, exotic, and etc. Take for instance the first time I heard my daughter say "mama": she had a miserable cold at the time and I felt like a walking snot rag, she vomits immediately afterward, but I couldn't really focus on anything but those two syllables: ma ma.

If you can't appreciate beauty in life, why exist? Where is the goodness?
Tomorrow I'll really get this at full speed ahead. *Curtsy, y'all*