wonder foodie: food patterns

I saved this photo in my inspiration folder a while ago and just had to share it. I love the shapes and the graphic pattern of the lotus root. It's amazing that food can be so striking and pretty. Nice!

from jugalbandi blog

a little soundtrack: strawberry swing

This song has been in my head for a while, and now they have a fabulously clever music video for it. Love. Go watch it. This is the song for my summer.

toys with imagination round up

Here's the post that I've been waiting to do forever! So as I was looking at those fun felt letters on Etsy, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed my fabric and wooden toys as a child. I'd love that for my children as well - natural fibers and natural elements to spur on the imagination, no need for bells, whistles, and crazy toys that play songs and make noise.

Nothing is wrong with those toys of course, but I just remember those times when my sister and I would make up games with the simplest toys. We stayed at my grandparents house after school for 4 days out of the week, and all we had to play with were old Berkeley Farms milk crates and a few stuffed animals. It remains one of the outstanding memories of my childhood. Here are some natural and wooden toys that I really like:

From top: Wooden Car from Stillpoint Woodworks, Safari Set and Hippo Teether from Little Alouette, Muji New York City in a Bag from the MoMA Store, Carrie Kitchenette from ImagineThat Wood Shop.

friends and family sale at chronicle books

Things have been so busy as of late, sorry for the lack of posts. I like posting because I feel like I'm expressing myself in some way and it's a good release. In any case, I have a fun gift for you!

Yay! I love summer sales - especially when it's for one of my favorite local publishers - Chronicle Books! They are having a huge sale with 35% off all titles and free shipping. Stock up on some great books like my favorites: Little Pea (about a pea whose pea parents tell him he has to eat candy before he can have his vegetables for dessert), Craft Inc. (about how to make your hobby a business), and Apartment Therapy: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Real Design Solutions (about how to make your house a home no matter how big or small). Lovely right? It's 35% off the prices listed on the site. Cheaper than Amazon in some cases.

Shop the sale here until August 5th.

via black*eiffel

bike love by urban outfitters

In the last few years, it seems like everything old is new again -- fashion trends are coming back around (leggings, harem pants?!), crafts are returning to the old techniques (letterpress, screen printing by hand!) and old pastimes are being revisited. Urban Outfitters is jumping back in time by bringing a new spin to a favorite pastime, biking! They are partnering with Republic Bike to customize and build bikes. The colors are brilliant and the combinations are modern and vintage all at the same time. You pick the colors of the handlebars, seat, wheels, rims, chain, and frame - and you can make it look just like you want it for $399.


I have such fond memories of biking through my neighborhood with the wind blowing and my heart racing. We always had hand-me-downs but they were wonderful. So two years ago, I bought my first new bike. A pearl white Raleigh. Fun fun fun. Go check these fun bikes out in their gallery.

brought to you by the letter g

One of my old roomies from college (Lori) is pregnant with her first child, so Es and I got together to plan her a shower. It's coming up quickly, so we had to get invitations done in a hurry. Something economical and not typical "pastel baby shower" was in order.

I had lots of white cardstock at home, so it gave me a good starting point. I definitely felt inspired because we could come up with a very modern baby theme. Before designing anything, I like to come up with a color scheme first, so I visited one of my favorite websites, Adobe Kuler. This is a site that allows you to try out, browse, or create your own color palettes. It's so much fun! You can even upload a photo and it will give you a color scheme that draws upon the colors in the photo. This is a great tool for deciding on party colors, your house colors, or even fashion choices. Lori had wanted all ocean colors, so I came up with a few palettes for her to choose from by typing in the keywords "ocean" and "sea" in Kuler. This is the one we finally settled on:

To break it up a bit, I thought we should add some yellow accents for a pop of fun. So here is the simple design that plays on all these colors:Here is the logo close-up - I really loved all the colors overlapping one another with a kaleidoscope kind of effect, and the striped type made it fun and lighthearted. It came from Dafont.com and it's called Lane. A beautifully simple typeface with clean lines. The other font I used was Champagne and Limousines (what a name!).


Then I found some vellum envelopes on sale at Paper Source, and thought that they'd be neat if I printed on them, but the only problem would be privacy! I didn't want people to be able to read the address, so I came up with a paper cover of sorts so the logo could still peek through. Here are some other photos of the invitation:


Overall, I really hope that Lori and Chris like it and that it conveys their style. And there are lots of other fun goodies in store for the shower! Can't wait!

wonder foodie: a delicious summer

So far it has been a summer of delicious food and lovely company - I love that we get to grill, and I think it is by far my favorite season for this reason. Followed closely by the holidays, of course. We had a little picnic in the park with grilled ahi tuna sandwiches (marinated simply in lemon juice, salt and pepper) and orzo with asparagus, sweet corn, and tomatoes. Then a meal of dry-rubbed pork, grilled corn, a mozzarella basil and tomato with orzo salad, broccoli slaw, and carmelized pineapple (not pictured).

And then I had a simple (free) lunch, that I jazzed up with spring greens, dijon mustard and a side of edamame! Mmm yum. And since the hubba loves having cheese and crackers as an appetizer to our meals, I found this wonderful sharp cheddar from New Zealand at Trader Joe's. Cut that up with some crackers and you've got yourself a scrumptious starter. Awwww yes.

And I can't forget my favorite summer food - strawberries! I had some leftover from a farmer's market trip and they were getting a bit overripe. So I added some sugar, let them sit in the fridge overnight, and pureed them. Then I mixed the puree with some freshly whipped cream and topped some almond & vanilla cupcakes a la this recipe. Very light and so easy to make. I think I ate two in one sitting. Hope you're having a tasty summer!

letterpress cards sale

One of my favorite letterpress shops is having an online sample sale that ends this Sunday! Just $10 for 10 different cards - a mix of their letterpress and offset printed loveliness. Isn't that awesome? Just $1 per card! The greatest part that it's always a surprise what you end up getting. I got 20 cards last time and had a variety of cards and envelopes I could use for every occasion.

Father's Day, new baby, new home, love, birthday, thinking of you, missing you, thank you and a whole bunch of whimsical ones that had blank insides so I could make my own message. So awesome - and it's a great compared to buying a $3 Hallmark card every time someone has a birthday. And unique too! Shop the sale here.

Watch their fun video and get a glimpse of the letterpress process.

a happy one

Our 4th of July was pretty eventful, I'm exhausted just thinking about it! Duff went on his first boat ride and I got a bit burned/tanned on my neck from being out in the sun. The hubba had his 10 year high school reunion picnic at the lake, and we had great food and welcome company.
More posts to come - my wooden toy post and the design for an invitation that I've been working on!

bunting

I am loving fabric bunting for parties and decor - you can find some really cute ones on Etsy. But I just saw this over on Greenlaundry and it was too cute for words. And if I was really being punny, I'd just come out and say it - it's baby bunting! Melly cut out these tiny little bunting flags. Super sweet and a cute addition to your desk or hung over the bed like she did.

photos via greenlaundry