I’m obsessed with these retro Color of the Day history lessons from Design*Sponge. I loved the weird and often morbid facts (green wallpaper killed Napoleon! Pigment made from feline mummies!). You can see loads more of them here.
Images courtesy of Design*Sponge.
Loving these illustrations by Yina Kim, from a series entitled “The Secret Knots“. From the artist’s website, “I enjoy studying people in public places and create their lives in my head. Even though most of the people I have created are from my imagination, I have a feeling that I know them unconsciously. I believe that everyone is connected in secret knots.”
I used to do exactly this as a child. I grew up outside of Los Angeles, and I went to school in the city, which meant I had to sit in hours of infamous LA traffic at 5:30 am every morning on my way to school. While my dad listened to NPR, I spied on the strangers in the cars next to us, and imagined what their lives might be like.
The Boy and I are back home on the east coast this week, visiting our folks, playing with dogs, walking in the woods, and making lots of diagrams of The Yard for the wedding (yikes! less than 100 days away!). It’s basically been summer for awhile now in LA, so it’s nice to be back here where the brief warmth and sunshine are so deeply appreciated.
Images courtesy of Yina Kim.
Well isn’t this just delightful. A Brooklyn couple built a tiny, one-room cabin inside their apartment, and now they rent the place out on Airbnb. They call it a “one room bed and breakfast”. There’s also a lofted “treehouse” space, where the couple sleeps, which is also available for rent. How nice would it be to have your own little cabin to go home to after a long day exploring the city? The cabin comes highly-reviewed on Airbnb, by the way, and it’s a helluva lot cheaper than even a mediocre hotel.
In other news, wedding planning has swallowed me whole. Hey guys, turns out it’s pretty crazy to try to get married in under five months… who knew??
Love is in the Air from Wriggles & Robins on Vimeo.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Can I just say that I have the most wonderful guy in the world? He bought me a cheese grater for Valentine’s Day, because he knows me better than anyone else in the world, and I love him for it. If he were here today, we would go see the (sure to be terrible) new Die Hard movie and eat some grilled cheese… or mac and cheese… or both… with my new grater. Unfortunately he’s a little too far away for that, but in just two(ish) weeks he’ll be right here next to me in our new tiny home, and our real life together can finally start. I hope you guys have someone to kiss today, and if not you might consider just kissing someone new. Hope you enjoy the sweet video above, and here are some Valentine’s links from around the web:
Vinegar Valentine’s say “I hate you.”
Married couples dance to their wedding songs.
My favorite love story ever.
I bought the first one for my parents, who have been married for nearly thirty years and continually inspire me with their love.
A love poem for girls who read.
Wes Anderson Valentine’s cards are delightful. Also: Arrested Development.
A literary love story map of the United States.
A love story in milk with a tragic ending.
Another home, another city. I must be honest (and I know I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this): I hate New York. I know, I know, greatest city in the world, blah blah blah. But I’m skeptical. This Onion article kind of speaks to my heart. I mean, I know that New York is home to all kinds of amazing food, and hidden gems, and bizarre secrets. But somehow, whenever I visit, I get so distracted by the sheer number of people all in such close proximity to me. New York is not an ideal destination for someone with severe crowd anxiety, such as myself.
But maybe if I had my own home, my own respite from the strange smells and the hard pavement and the throngs of people, maybe New York and I could finally start the love affair I’ve always known we deserve. I’m thinking a spacious brownstone in Brooklyn, or perhaps this delightful neighborhood. It place would be all eclectic glamour, but nothing stuffy: a gorgeous but cozy place with a loft for reading and a giant kitchen where everyone could hang out and drink wine and laugh. Because the most alluring part of New York, for me anyway, is the fact that most of my friends live there. Living on the other side of the country, I miss them all terribly, and my imaginary Brownstone would be the perfect place setting for wild dinner parties and games of apples to apples and oh, the cheeseplates we would have.
More homes to come next week, but in the mean time be sure to check out my Pinterest for more dream pads.
Part two! Today I’m all about the woodland retreat. Some converted barn up in Vermont with an open floor plan, 200 year old wood beams, and wide windows to look out across all our rolling acres of farm and forest. There will be a little writer’s shed in the back (like Roald Dahl!), where I can get away from The Boy for a couple of minutes. For whatever reason he seems to think that the two best times to start a conversation with me are 1) when I am reading or, 2) when I am writing.
We’ll come visit in fall, when the whole landscape is soaked with the blood of trees and the apples are ripe for picking. We’ll tap for maple syrup and eat pancakes until we burst. We’ll come visit in winter, and The Boy can go skiing while I curl up with my sheepskin blanket, my book, and my boozy hot cider. But my favorite season of all is summer. Summer in New England is magic. Sure, it’s oppressively hot and the humidity clings to your skin in a wet film. But the blackberries grow wild in the yard, the tomatoes hang heavy on the vine, and the fireflies flicker against the stars.
PS: How freaking rad is that pantry?
More homes tomorrow, but if you can’t wait until then you can always take a peek at my Pinterest.
I want so many things. I want to grow my own tomatoes. I want an entire closet for just my shoes. I want enough shoes to fit in said closet. I want my own land, land so big that I can stand on the back porch and hoot and holler and no one but the pigs will hear me. I want a home filled with love, and magic, and hidden nooks for curling up with books, and secrets waiting to be discovered. I want my purple house.
But here’s the thing: I have too many tastes, and ideas, and personalities just to fit in one home. I want a thousand homes, a million homes, a home in every port, a home for every mood. So this week, every day I’ll do a new post for each of my imaginary, one-day homes.
Today’s post is all about my dream pad in LA. Los Angeles is my home right now, but I think The Boy and I would eventually like to move north where there are more trees and fewer cockroaches. There are lots of things about LA that I could happily live without: the traffic, the trash and grime, and at least some of the people (the ones who gladly live up to every LA stereotype). But there’s plenty of stuff I love about LA, too: the sunshine, the funky neighborhoods, the thrift shopping, the tacos. I could never say goodbye to all that, not completely.
In my fantasies, my LA home is a bungalow up in the hills around Griffith Park. On warm summer nights, The Boy and I walk to concerts at the Greek Theatre. Inside is all mid-century glamour: lots of white with gold accents and pops of bright color. We’ll put on Motown records and dance around in front of our huge windows that look out across the city below while we drink whisky out of these moroccan lowball glasses.
Tune in tomorrow for more housing dreams, or check out my Pinterest for inspiration!
Image sources, clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3
So far we’ve covered sisters big and small, and now it’s time to talk about my last sibling: the older brother. My older brother was the first to introduce me to Led Zeppelin and Lord of the Rings, which means I can credit him with at least two of the reasons why I’m cool. My brother and I bond over three things: books, booze, and food. He’s also pretty much the funniest person I know. He always has the most perfect, acerbic witticisms that just bite people to the core. It’s not always fun to be on the receiving end, but I’m his least annoying sister so I’m usually in the clear.
1) Ice Sphere Molds: Because he’s a total whiskey snob. Pair with a bottle of his favorite to ensure the best sister ever prize.
2) Christmas Sweater: Cozy + cool.
3) Sight Gag Bookends: There were really so many good ones to choose from, like this. Or this. Or…
4) Slate Coasters: For his brand new, grown up apartment.
5: The Genius of David Thorne: Because he’s the snarkiest jerk you know, and you love him for it.
5) A Cool Print: Because everyone needs a lovely home.
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Today’s guide focuses on the most important gift you’ll give this holiday season: the present for Mom. At my house, presents for Mom are a big deal, and rightfully so. My mom loves to give gifts. She’s never said as much, necessarily, but I can always tell how happy it makes her when I really love a present. My mom spends a lot of time and energy looking for cool and interesting gifts to give her kids. We always got the neatest presents as kids, and the same is true today. I think she deserves some pretty stellar gifts, herself.
1) Hedgehog Measuring Cups: If there is one thing my mother and I have in common, it’s a deep, abiding love for whimsical but useless objects. But I mean, come on. HEDGEHOGS. Who cares if they’re impractical?
2) Cupcake Candle Holder: Because her cupcakes are so good they need accessories.
3) Dessert Tour of Your Local City: My mom has such a sweet tooth, she would eat dessert for every meal if she could. Dessert tours are available in most major cities, and it would be such a fun and tasty way to spend the day together. Or you could even plan your own tour, with all your favorite stops.
4) A Mug From Your Favorite Book to Read Together: Because the greatest gift my mother ever gave me was an introduction to my favorite books. This mug features the royal crest from The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, one of the greatest under-appreciated children’s books of all time. The crest reads, “Peace, Love, and a Sense of Fun!”
5) A Handsome Print: Because everyone needs a lovely home (and this guy looks exactly like our dog).
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So I don’t exactly have a younger brother, but I do have a younger (almost) brother-in-law. He’s in his junior of college now, and double majoring in history and game design (which is just about the coolest combination ever). The Boy is good friends with his brother, which means that I am as well, and the three of us have a lot of fun together. It’s really nice to have someone around to gang up on The Boy with me. The future BIL and I bond over fantasy books, bad impressions of cockney accents, and (of course) merciless mockery of his older brother. I love him because on the one hand he’s insightful as hell, but sometimes he can be a prickly little bastard. He and I love bickering and sniping at each other, all with great affection, of course.
1) Lasercut Marble Machine: Hours of fascination, and it will fit on his dorm room desk!
2) Zombie Demon Fantasy Skull Gauntlet Hand Claw – I’m pretty sure the name is just a meaningless string of words, but that’s ok because this is the coolest thing ever.
3) Das Horn: This is a drinking horn. A drinking horn. What college-age brother DOESN’T need a drinking horn? He will be the coolest kid at school.
4) Kill Screen Subscription: A thoughtful quarterly on his favorite subject, for the future game designer.
5) A Beautiful Print: Because everyone needs a lovely home.
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