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Friday, July 30, 2010

Vertical Gardens

vertical gardens via oh happy day

Have you seen these jaw-droppingly awesome vertical succulent gardens? They're done by Flora Grubb, and I think I need one of these in my life. Lucky for me, they have a DIY kit so I can make my own. I will definitely be busting this out whenever we get around to landscaping our backyard.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

San Diego

Cory and I at Balboa Park at night.
We absolutely loved Balboa Park... spent 2 days here, walked around 36 miles (!!!). The architecture was stunning and the weather amazing. We went to 6 museums and the famous Zoo. Favorite museums: Model Railroad (world's largest!) and the Science Center (static! tornadoes! space!)... probably both intended for a younger audience, but we loved it. Also, this Gem exhibit was breathtaking.

Hippos at the Zoo! 
The hippos were quite graceful underwater and almost entrancing. Other animals of note: the sun bear (hilarious), the black panther (majestic), and the orangutans (intriguing). We spent a full day at the Zoo, and while I enjoyed it, I have mixed emotions. I appreciate the opportunity to see these amazing animals and know that they were being kept safe and healthy, but it was really sad to watch many of them pace back and forth endlessly, looking for a way out, and to see animals that were created to run and fly being cooped up in tiny cages, resigned to their fate as an exhibition.

A typical Cory pose at Coronado Beach
Our last day before we had to start setting up for the convention was spent on Coronado Island. We took the ferry over, rented a bicycle-built-for-two (surrey, not tandem) and biked all over the coastline. We had intended to actually get in the water, but as it was a bit cold for that, Cory just stuck his feet in.
Crowd at Comic Con
Here is a shot of one of the many aisle at Comic Con, crowded as always. Not being a fan of the crazy people myself, I only left the booth once on the first night, had my fill of being shoved around, returned to the safety of our booth and never left it again except to use the restroom. This is why I could never live in a city. The convention center is huge, and with all the people, it can take 30-40 minutes just to walk from one end to the other (with no shopping breaks). Cory and the other guys were able to make some great connections and show off their work, and we all had a blast.

If you'd like to see a few more pictures, my FB album is here, and if you're into nerdcore, Cory posted a video of Comic Con here.

Highlights and random things:
- We ate the most amazing food. Every day. All the time.
- I was licked by a random child at the zoo. This freaked me out more that it needed too.
- I shared one hotel room with 6 guys. Enough said.
- I almost fell into a Japanese water garden at Balboa Park, but Cory caught me just in time.
- The absolute best part was hanging out with friends we rarely see. We miss them already.
- Give me a few days to recover, and I'll be ready for next year!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

There and Back Again

Yesterday Cory and I returned from an 11-day vacation/journey/business trip. You didn't know I was gone because I am sneaky and wrote lots of posts before I left. But I was gone for real. We were in San Diego for Comic Con (Cory's company, Portland Studios, has a booth there and I run it for them), and a mini-vacation as well. It was marvelous. It was exciting. It was exhausting. I returned home to find overgrown gardens, cats that missed us, some surprise house guests, an empty refrigerator, 962 feeds in my reader, and a post-flight sinus cold. Tomorrow I will be back here with a few more pictures, but for now I am going to lay on the couch, eat pizza, and watch Seinfeld whilst I ignore the suitcases waiting to be unpacked and emails waiting to be returned. And then I will sleep, for tomorrow will accomplish it all for me.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

ICP Featured Artist: Ragamuffin Press

Our Indie Craft Parade featured artist for this week is the marvelous Ragamuffin Press!

 Ragamuffin Press is run by Beth Schaible who creates letterpress cards, prints, and handmade books. I love that her goods aren't flashy, just well made and smart.

Poke around Ragamuffin Press' shop here, and save your pennies for Indie Craft Parade!

I'll be featuring an artist from Indie Craft Parade each week until the festival is held this September.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Etsy Treasuries

There are some gorgeous collections in Etsy's Treasury section. Here are a few of my favorites!
(click to go to the treasury page)





Friday, July 23, 2010

The Fabulous Garlands

With a name like The Fabulous Garlands, you don't have to ask me twice. Sophie Cuvelier makes a living selling her garlands, and they are quite fabulous. I have no idea what is going on with her blog since it's all in French, but she seems to have a lovely time.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Knack Studios: Eudora

I am completely in love with Knack Studio's new piece entitled Eudora. See the amazing before and after here, and buy her for me here (only $525!)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

PostCarden

Who wouldn't like to receive a little garden in their mailbox? It would sure make my day. Thanks to A Studio for Design, a London-based independent group, you can now send botanical cheer. Check out some of their designs, and go here for more information on PostCarden.


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

ICP Featured Artist: Jay Owens

Our featured Indie Craft Parade artist this week is Jay Owens... take a look a his magnificent work!

Jay creates functional pottery with a contemporary twist. His designs are intriguing; they pull you in to tell their story. When Jay isn't assisting the ceramics department at the Greenville County Museum of Art, he's in his cottage studio (which he built himself), working up new forms.

Jay Owens doesn't currently have an online store, so be sure to find him at Indie Craft Parade!

I'll be featuring an artist from Indie Craft Parade each week until the festival is held this September.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Thought of the Day

The lovely blog design is mine has a feature called "thought of the day". Here are some love-themed images from their posts!

From a project by Shanna Murray

Postcard by near modern disaster

Limited edition print by Sooooound

Friday, July 16, 2010

Wedding Invitations

I ran into a friend yesterday at our local copy shop, she was printing up her wedding invitations, which reminded me of my adoration for them. You already know how I love paper goods, and wedding invitations are like the royalty of paper goods... you can even have an invitation suite with thank you cards maps, place cards, and menus! Wedding invitations are a perfect excuse to let your creative juices run wild and they really set the tone and style for the whole event.

Here's a few favorites that have recently caught my eye:













Invitations above are from Style Me Pretty's photo gallery. Want to see more? Check out the rest of their invitation showcase!

Credits:
1 - Bella Figura with Laura Hooper Calligraphy
3 - Anne Benjamin
2, 4, and 5 - designer not stated

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Kid's Wishlist

As I've been helping my BFF plan for her upcoming baby, I've been paying more attention to the awesome kid's products out there. Here are some great finds that I would love to have for my own future children.

Child's Bertoia Chairs, from Room Service, $75 for a set of two

New York in a Bag, from MoMA, $15

Colored Cubes, from Kid O, $40

Handmade Moccasins, from Freshly Picked, $20

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Poladroid

You know how Polaroids are all the rage... and how the cameras and film are very expensive now that they are mostly discontinued? Well, that's not a problem for me, since I just discovered Poladroid. Polodroid is an application that creates high-resolution Poloroid-like images from your digital pictures... for free! It even acts like a traditional Polaroid in that you have to wait for the pictures to develop, and you can watch them turn from brown to a realistic Polaroid! See how it works here, and download the application here. It's extremely easy to use, just launch the application, drag and drop in your photos, then watch them develop!

Here are a few of the Poladroids I've made:







Aren't they too fun!? It's interesting to save the picture at different stages to see the effects. Here is one after it finished processing completely:


And here is the same file, about 2/3 complete:

Depending on the mood I was going for, either one would be perfect.

I will say that the authentic film limit and processing time does lose it's charm after the first few files... I mean, it's obviously not the same experience as holding a real print in your hands, and waving it around to dry... but Poladroid is still pretty awesome and free to boot, so I'm not going to complain.

What are you waiting for? Get yourself some Poladroid!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

ICP Featured Artist: Joretta Natural Knits

It's time for our featured Indie Craft Parade artist! I don't know about you, but I am loving this weekly series. Today we are showcasing the delicious work of Joretta Natural Knits!

Lovely designs, aren't they? Now, if only that sweet baby doll was included!

Joretta Natural Knits are eco-friendly and modern creations for baby, made by the darling Kina. Her designs are made with organic and all natural fibers. The Joretta line includes baby sweaters, hats, booties, bibs, blankets, diaper covers, toys, baby washies, hair clips, and dresses.

Kina's shop is temporarily closed as she awaits baby #2, but make sure to look for her at Indie Craft Parade!

I'll be featuring an artist from Indie Craft Parade each week until the festival is held this September.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Weekend Glimpse

We spent the weekend at gorgeous Folly Beach in Charleston... it was perfection. Probably not the best time to go away as we have so much to do right now, but it was really nice to to relax, lounge about, and enjoy the company of Cory's mom and sister.

Blue skies and red umbrellas.

The view from our balcony.

Cory and his little sister, Courtney (down by the Battery in Charleston).
These two continually crack each other up and have weird conversations. 
It's like they live in a different universe than everyone else.


Not pictured:
- loads of good food, constantly.
- catching up on the past month of my magazines
- the ocean at night: black waves and glowing white foam
- digging up sand dollars with our toes 
(Cory's response: "Put'em back right now! Leave them alone, they're happy!")
- playing with Cory's new iPad!


Friday, July 9, 2010

Wishlist

Here's a few things that caught my fancy this week...






That's it for me, hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'm very much looking forward to my plans, will tell you all about it on Monday.