Happy One!

Happy Birthday to Good to be Home!

I love paper and all things that have to do with printing and illustration. If I were to give a gift to Good to be Home I think it would be something like this from Kat's Under the Stairs Studio on Etsy. It's called a paper circus and even twirls like a real carousel.

Turn of the Century Art

I loved finding these little watercolors stuck in an old journal I came across in my desk the other day.

I think I did them both at the turn of the century.

Whoa. That sounds weird.

La Dolce Vita

Apparently I enjoy the sweet life a little too much. At least according to my blood sugar levels a few months ago. When my doctor told me the levels were starting to creep up just a little bit and that perhaps I should cut back on things like sugar in my coffee, I looked at her like she was from Mars.

Then she told me about a natural sweetener she was using and how wonderful it is. Agave nectar. She even showed me the bottle she had in her office and told me she uses it in her coffee. All I could think of was the unfortunate (and awful) Starbucks honey coffee drink. A few days later I bought a bottle of agave nectar syrup at Whole Foods and then it sat in the pantry for a few months.

The other day I was feeling brave (and over sugared) and tried it.

I love it. No honey taste at all. Just a light sweetness that's perfect in coffee.

It's made from the same plant that tequelia is made from (whoohooo) and has a low glycemic index number thing. It is available in a light color (and flavor- thats the one I have) and a dark or amber color that is supposed to be more like maple syrup. Probably not so good in coffee.

Try it. You'll like it.

Jesus wants you to straighten up around here

A Jesus hanger to keep you organized. Oh those Swedish designers.

In black, too.

Speaking of Jesus on Sunday......what if Starbucks was really a church?

Datum Erratum

One of the great job assignments I have is to lead a terrific team in preparing our organization's annual report. We strive to be creative yet responsible to our mission and I am always on the lookout for new ideas. Here's an amazing one.

Nicholas Feltron is a designer in NYC and for the past 3 years has produced his own personal annual report. It's a very clever collection of everyday information collected in his life and then presented in an amazing format. The 2008 edition has tables and graphs on transportation modes used, dining and drinking (love the 1 Thanksgiving tequila shot and the disclaimer) and great timelines and maps. And I just love the 2008 color presentation.

Here's what his year in transortation included: 366 days of walking, 545 subway trips, 107 taxis, 12 flights, 19 buses, 38 chairlifts, 20 days of driving, 46 trips with other drivers, 64 visitis to the gym, three pools, an ocean, one hayride and 62 hours of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Feltron (perfect name) has developed a personal data collection application that is in private beta testing now. In case you want to track your own doings. I signed up for an invitation.

Here's what I predict my annual report would look like.

This chart is titled "Where did the money go?"

Feeling Lucky?

I probably should have waited to post this on March 17th. But I couldn't wait to share. I found this great site Luck Happens that "scours the web for the very best in current giveaways and then organizes each giveaway by its deadline."

The reason I am excited about it is not so I can win anything. I never win (Well, there was that bingo tournament last year!). I am excited because just the other day I was thinking about how to get more traffic on my blog (Note to self: post more regularly and maybe not so self-indulgent all the time?) and then thought about doing some give-aways again. This site might be perfect for that.

Take a look, take a chance.

Best of luck to you!

Eye to I

Ever been up close and personal eyeball to eyeball with a whale? Me neither. This is about as close as I have ever been. As far as I know anyway.

Here is a wonderful site that gives you a great perspective on what a real life whale would look like in an up close and personal encounter. Stare into the whale's eye. Wow. And the background sounds are interesting, too. Then try to close the site and read the message.

I love Natsumi's watercolor of a whale, inspired by the above site. Check out her other little watercolors, too. So simple and pure and lovely.

My Treasure:His Trash

The Mr. just doesn't get my design sense sometimes. Years ago I fell in love with Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic style and thrifted, painted, and chipped my romantic pink and green heart out. All over the house. I saw the potential of shabby chic everywhere. I got the concept of shabby chic. The Mr.? He got the shabby part but never the chic part. "Why in the world are you dragging that home?" "Ugh, it's soooo old and used" "My grandmother had one of those and threw it in the trash when it looked like that".

Fast forward and all the shabby chic has been gifted or re-thrifted. Clean modern mid-century lines now. One of my favorite pieces is a wonderful Noguchi lamp. It is graceful and delicate and sits all alone on our black Calvin dresser. When it arrived at our house, the Mr. agreed it was "neat" but really thought it would be so much better if you "could take that red sticker and name off the bottom". Ummmm, that's the artist's signature.

Face Time

OK I admit it...isnt that the first step in recovery? Like a bizillion others, I'm addicted to Facebook. Are you on Facebook, too?