My post on Apartment Therapy!

I'm in the finals to become an editor for ATLA and my first post (on descanso gardens) is up!

Click here to see it!

2007 Anniversary Edition of the Eames Plywood Elephant

"To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames, Vitra is introducing a limited edition of the Eames Plywood Elephant, designed in 1945 but never produced."

If $1,907 is out of your price range, you can always enjoy the elephants as part of the July 2007 downloadable calendar (it's free!).

Also, why didn't I ever know that you can actually buy prints from the Eames Office for under $100 in most cases. Some of my favorites:

Craigslist Apartment Swap: Paris

If you live in manhattan, this could be your chance to spend 2-3 weeks in Paris this July.

Family Tree

Being half French gives me the right to pooh pooh things that American's think are cool about French culture. Being half American means I'm vulnerable to the charms of the French.
Camembert Cheese Clock, handmade by an eccentric French man. From Family Tree.

Blog Crush: Toast and Tables

I am crushing on Sarah Dennis' toast and tables blog.

Check out a rundown of great vases, decorating with plates, and sea shell accessories for the home.

Sigh.

Rondo

Do you love your cat and your home? time to buy Rondo.

Painless House Plants

Indoor plants make all the difference in a room's feel but can be a nightmare to take care of if you don't have a green thumb. I like succulents for their sculptural presence, the fact that they are inexpensive to buy, easy to propogate and even easier to care for.

Who's into starting a succulent swap?

Point Click Home is Launched

Pointclickhome.com has been revamped and relaunched as the newest destination for Home online. The portal for Elle Decor, Budget Decorating and Metropolitan Home has a series of new blogs, garden, design, and travel tips. Explore and enjoy!

Home Splurge: Marc Jacobs Crystal and China

Named after his favorite models? friends? I love the Irene collection.He keeps his vintage, absolutely current, sweet but not too sweet, classic sensibility in this tableware collection for Waterford. Buy them here.

Pier One Sale!

To go with your outdoor soiree, try these melamine trays and plates from pier 1:

melamine plate $3.25(steal!)


Medallion Embossed Serving Tray $9.75


Umbrella Picks, pack of 24 for $1.95

Oooooh: Home things from Peek Keep

Thanks to Sunset Magazine for the Peek Keep tip. Peak Keep is a great online store that carries scandinavian design and lots of Lotta Jansdotter!

I LOVE these Botanical Etched Glasses--especially the fern:

A set of 6 juice glasses is $72. You can also use them as votives for another outdoor lighting idea!

These Snow and Graham Candles are on sale too for $20. I would order them in lily of the valley.

Outdoor Lighting Roundup

Martha has a nice tip:


Caged Lantern String Lights, String Along Lanterns from Target:



Fire Lanterns from Oh Happy Day!

Outdoor party lights from ATSF

Lanterns from Habitat:

And a round up of my favorite paper lantern pics from flickr:

Salutations!

From the people that brought you For Like Ever, say hello to Hi!.

This Summer

Listen to this. It was meant for lazy sunday drives, cleaning out the fridge, or maybe even a road trip. Let it be your soundtrack.

This Weekend:

Instead of renting a movie, snuggle up with your sweetie and watch this. It is brilliant and it will make you laugh. I promise.

Home Away From Home: Hotel Ostel

So I think I'm on a vacation kick, I can't help myself thinking about unique spots to visit (based entirely on what hotel I would be staying in and the design of that hotel). So today's trip is the Hotel Ostel in (the former) East Berlin.

"Would you like an affordable and somewhat different place to stay in the heart of Berlin? Travel with us back to the former East Germany, the GDR, …starting with the original GDR furniture to a city tour in a Trabant vehicle."

Wow, so the Ostel is a play on the german word for east: 'ost' and the hotel seeks to recreate the accomodations of East Berlin in the '70's. This is the best way to learn history. Check it out:







Prices range from 9-59 euros (range is from a shared bunkbed room to a private double room). click here to book a room.

Sweet Simplicity

Beautifully simple patterns made by local artisans in the Ajmer District of Rajasthan in rural India. The sales of these Tilonia goods ensures the continuing production of traditional crafts and the livelihood of many of the artisans.

White on White Appliquee Pillow, 16"x16" Pillowcase $34.95:

I heart Jacarandas

Did you know that Jacarandas are some of the only trees that have 2 blooming cycles each year? Nothing reminds me of summer more than a street lined with these beauties.

Latest Find: Tea Time

I found these great 50's style light blue tea cups and saucers at my local thrift store (I'm not ready to divulge which one!). I was super excited because there were 8 tea cups in perfect condition and I already had visions of cucumber sandwiches and mini bundt cakes, but there were only 3 saucers. So I bought 3 sets for $10. Score.

Kitchen: Dainty Donuts

From not martha: a how-to for dainty donuts. yum.

Home Away From Home: Ace Hotel

I think I need to plan a trip up to Portland or Seattle so that I can check out one of the Ace Hotels for myself. Or I need to build one in LA.

Billed as 'How you want to travel- simple, stylish, and not too expensive.' Amen.

"We offer all the comfort of a business class hotel without the soul-killing blandness of a faceless chain or last year’s design school fads. The Ace is a small, intimate hotel that lets you feel like you are 'somewhere' not just 'anywhere.'"

I'd love to just spend the whole day reading in one of these beds, memorizing all the design tips I will apply to my own home...













A review from Wallpaper talks about owner and developer Alexander Calder's vision:

Seattle native Alex Calderwood may well be a 21st century Conrad Hilton in the making. It doesn't surprise us in the least that young Calderwood decided to launch Ace Hotel after recognizing there was an enormous gap in the market for boutique yet basic hotels. Having already found success with his Rudy's Barbershop chain and Sweet Mother Record label(collaborators on the forthcoming Wallpaper CD), Ace Hotel is a mega-chain waiting to happen.

See their myspace page

Home is Giving

I have lovely memories of my gramma teaching me the proper way to wrap a gift. Tight corners, minimal tape. I still love the ritual of wrapping presents. Here are some wrapping papers from Martha that I have my eye on for summer gifting ($5.99 for 2 sheets of 24"x36"):

Picnic Time

This Neo Baroque Plastic Deluxe Cutlery from Pandora Design would make the perfect addition to an outdoor BBQ or Picnic. Charles and Marie say on their website:

"Designed by Donata Paruccini and Fabio Bortolani and inspired by traditional Italian cutlery from the end of the 1800's this fabulous set of four is made out of high tech plastic, making it much stronger than your usual plastic cutlery and most importantly: you can put it through the nasty dishwasher – which you really shouldn't do with the real thing..."

Set of 4: $20.

I like the colors altogether so don't know how I'd settle on one set, but for that price you could accrue a collection over a couple of summers.

Perfect Summer Dress

This Tracy Reese dress is 50% off at Ron Herman! Perfect to wear hosting a summer soiree or to 'throw on' to go to a bbq. Add some heels and you're fancy. Flirty AND sophisticated. (Thanks to Toosh for the tip). See all sale items here.

My Awesome Neighbors Part II

So I've talked about my awesome neighbors before, and they continue to earn their title. They brought me this Paris Hilton Get-Out-Of-Jail-Spice-Cake from the bakery they work at. Awww.