Must love dogs...

Meryl Smith's blog here. Found on The Selby , a sort of scenester home invasion photojournal. More on it later...
How hysterical is that dog bag/sculpture?

NEEDING my house to look like...

Courtesy of Domino: Harriet Maxwell McDonald

Shoe Love in the Fast Lane

Born: Brazil
From: Japan
Education: Kyushyu Design Gakkuin, FIT
Work: Junko Koshino, Charles Jourdan, Sam & Libby
Who: Chie Mihara

For: Me, please.

For all of you who think Matthew McConnaughey is a douchebag...

"Contractions started kicking in, and we found a great rhythm. We had a 14-hour session, her and I did. I sat there with her, right between her legs. We got tribal on it. We danced to it. I was DJing this native Brazilian music. We were jamming!"

-MM on birthing -
Care of Defamer

Some thoughts...

Via Muse/CreatureComforts...Thanks Ez!

Elle Moss is a fantastic name for a girl

Elle Moss... shot this great catalog. Remade this great cover before she bastardized it.
Her Etsy shop offers great pieces at really reasonable prices.
Also, her blog got me addicted to this song.
Oh and I love synchronized naps...

Making stuff

Most of you are probably already bored of them, but I am so amused that I can't stop talking about them. I'm referring, of course, to the homemade deodorant and a new homemade cousin: the insect repellent. My inbox is just being flooded with requests for the recipes.
What can I say? Can I deny my audience what they demand?

Homemade Deodorant (originally published here)

3 Tablespoons shea butter
3 Tablespoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (puncture and squeeze out the oil)
Essential Oil (I used Eucalyptus and Rosemary)

Melt the ingredients together (except the oils) in the microwave for 30 seconds. Give it a good stir, add oils, transfer to a 4 oz jar (mini-mason jars are perfect) and cool in the fridge for about an hour.

Genius. That's all I will say about it. Now it doesn't keep you dry, but it keeps the smell OUT. And it's cancer free. Oh and I get all my making-stuff stuff here. They're awfully nice people and their oils are ridiculously inexpensive. AND they have all the fun clear containers. Also ridiculously inexpensive.

Homemade Insect Repellent

8 oz Vegetable Oil (or other vessel oil, such as Jojoba or Almond)
30 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
30 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
10 drops Tea Tree Oil
1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Measure and pour ingredients into a squeezy bottle. Give it a good shake and apply to pressure points such as inside or wrists, back of knees etc. Line the inside of your sun hat and reapply every 2 hours. Very baby safe, just don't drink it.

Oh and this is what I'll look like in 30 years:If things go well.

More Stuff that I want

All pics above courtsedy of Rare Device, another great shop in San Francisco. How cool is that creamer/sugar set? Sure beats my Dollar Store faux-crystal bowls...
Rare Device is the pet project of fav artist Lisa Congdon featured here by yours truly and by many many many more bloggers.

Extreme Week/ Weekend Recap

Bedtime in the family tent
This film
Looking forward to a new week
This film (I know, lots of movie watching happening over here- but seriously, it's AMAZING)
Dreaming of this island
Great conversation with my oldest friend
Five loads of dirty, sandy, damp camping laundry- done and folded by Sunday 11pm.
Amazing deodorant
A successful homemade bug repellent
How two toddlers can be less work than one toddler
The drive home
Baked goods from both sets of grandparents
This Flickr Pool
4 hours of traffic
Trying not to feel guilty about the lack of posts going up
Dreaming of this
The Next "Stuff White People Like"... you heard it here first folks

Hitting Home

B and I have been daydreaming about taking the boys, packing up the essentials and driving down to Chile. After watching this, the Universe has more than confirmed that it's a good idea.


So was I in a coma when it came out? Has everyone seen it and not told me about it?
Really? How did it slip off my radar?
I'll be sparing you the pseudo-art speak critique and cut to it: this is an original little film. Offbeat, genuine and imaginative. It was the perfect film for my mood.
Knowing nothing about it probably helped- hype just ruins things for me.
Please don't send me hate mail about how much you hated it for blah blah blah reason. I don't really care all that much. It made me smile and it made me think. That's good enough for me. AND the music is pretty darned good.
Justine, I think you might likey.

Oh, Louise

Those of you who have known me for more than 5 minutes may already know that I've worn my hair in many different styles. Short, long, short-long, long-short, dark, blond, red (not such a great idea), fire starter, spiky bleach, choppy bob... you get the pic?
So the council decided one night,after many a bottles of McMannis Viognier Blanc, that my current haircut should be my thing. Kind of like Ana Wintour has her thing or Louise Brooks had her thing. Mine is the same. Except that I'm not famous.
Anyways, I read this post on Stuff White People Like and it made me think of, well, me.

Deodorant... Redux

Now you're all sick of hearing me complain about my body odor. I know. But just so you know, I'm not the only one who's concerned about it.
And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be trying this some time soon. I smell Christmas gifts....
So there.

Getting Organized

I fell in love with these...




Gorgeous timber hooks and brackets from LiveWire Farms.
Just what my entrance needs. If only I could get Bruno to get a move on those cubbies...
They also happen to make the most stunning wooden spoons. I'm not kidding. All handmade of course.
Via Angry Chicken....

Summer Picnics

Yet another GREAT Bittman 101 Guide. Brought to you by the kind folks here.
Here are a couple teasers:

• 83: Fry chopped bacon until half done; add strips of boneless chicken and cook until done; pack. Take pitas, chopped seeded tomato, avocado, sliced red onion and shredded romaine. Assemble sandwiches in situ; dress with olive oil and cheap vinegar.
• 38: Combine cooked Arborio rice with thin pesto, peas, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper.

I dare you not to check it out!

Surface Jalouse

Now this is a great name: Surface Jalouse...No, it's not the love child of Pilot Inspektor and Apple, rather the name of a super cute boutique down on Notre Dame street. They customize furniture, sell their own pieces and design wall decals.
A perfect way to bring a boring old couch into a instant conversation piece...

Petra Borner

As spotted on Oh Joy!...




Swedish born and Saint-Martins educated (like my lovely Stephanie...) Petra Borner is one of those gals that makes you want to create. With clients like Louis Vuitton, Ikea and Cacharel, she's on top of the applied arts' world. I can't seem to locate it but she's done some GORGEOUS wallpapers in the past... the perfect kind of wall treatment for a bright entrance or tiny powder room.
Petra likes drawing flowers, horses and pretty girls.