Decor: Coffee Table

Why is Bernard Vuarnesson’s Tetra Coffee Table so difficult to find.
It's gorgeous, it's smart.
You can find a knock-off of it at InMod but it does not leave the leg, or maybe it should be called knee, room under the pulled out trays.
DWR used to carry an unlovely version of it without the latticed top.
It does seem to be available at Europe by Net but you need to request a quote. Quel ennui!
If they can have these in the near future of imagined worlds like that in Minority Report (i.e., watch carefully when the camera pans through Tom Cruise's characters's apartment), then why can't we have them readily available in the here in now?

Teacher Gift Bags

This year's eleventh hour gift bags for the Otter classroom teachers included:

Candy-shaped Floating Candle
Truffles
Spherical Magnet (i.e., "bahl")
Burts Bees Lotions & Potions
Origami Boxes
Red & Green Jelly Beans - pomegranate, mango, pear, cherry, apple, margarita, ktl.
Schaffen Berger Chocolate
Miniature Christmas Spirits
Coloured Bulldog Clip

Custom Board Books

Pint Size Productions offers a really fun service that allows you to create a board book of your photos.
Custom photo books with board book construction are not so easy to find but critical since Sam loves to crinkle and rip pages.

Weihnachtspyramide

Growing up, we had one of those cheap, flat-packed metal versions of these. I loved them and never knew that they came from a much older and grander, German tradition: Weihnachtspyramide.

Garden: kalanchoe tubiflora (Widow's Thrill)

Kalanchoe tubiflora (Widow's Thrill) is my newest botanical preoccupation. I spotted it over at Gayla Trail's wonderful site, You Grow Girl.
But, of course, it had to be toxic.

"... bufadienolide cardiac glycosides[2] which can cause cardiac poisoning, particularly in grazing animals ..."

Best add this to the "When Sam Is Older" List along with Brugmansia (Oh, yeah, this one requires a garden plot too).

Mincemeat

From Wikipedia:

Pyes of mutton or beif must be fyne mynced & seasoned with pepper and salte and a lytel saffron to colour it / suet or marrow a good quantitie / a lytell vynegre / pruynes / great reasons / and dates / take the fattest of the broath of powdred beefe. And if you will have paest royall / take butter and yolkes of egges & so to temper the floure to make the paest.

And, yes, I like the kind that uses suet! It gives it a greater unctuousness.
I can vouch for Saveur's Traditional pie; I have not tried their Modern (i.e., meatless) version.
David Lebovitz's quick version (no suet!).
Delia's overnight, English recipe.
Or buy it at Brit Shoppe.

Play Mat/Bag

My first friend, Trevor, had a fabulous drawstring bag for his sizable collection of Lego. It opened flat, which meant that you could easily pile and bag the Lego when you were done.
You can buy versions of it online but it probably would not be too difficult to make.

GoGo & Co.'s GoGo Sac.

Sewing Supplies

Inspired by a 2009 Craftzine Xmas List.

Tout et n'importe quoi à partir de Sajou.
DMC Colour Card
The Stitches of Creative Embroidery, by Jacqueline Enthoven
Any Elsie Svennås books.
Sajou's Ciseaux Petits Monstres at Purl Soho - they may not pass TSA; best save them for road trips.
FOr no reason except that they are so pretty, these Mettler variegated threads.
Also very covetable, I mean useful would be these Sajou Fil Dentelle Au Chinois or Sajou Retors du Nord Boxed Set.

Lundby

Scale = 1:2/3 (1:18)

Some days I think I will die if I do not get my hands on a Lundby.
Other days, I resent them for being 1:10 instead of 1:12 scale.

If I did get one, I would probably try the summer house model, The Gotland. Cheeky Monkey Toys carries it here in the U.S.A. but I cannot understand why it has to be so much more expensive on this side of the pond (check out the Amazon.uk price).

The stair in the Gothenburg is very groovy. But the upper level balcony and the bathroom/corridor of the Stockholm is very charming.

Lundby Website
Lundby Advent Calendar
Lundby on Ebay

Xmas Tree

DH said that we should have a tree for the Big Boy this year.
I don't really like the bother of a tree but I could see his point. Fortunately, real trees are both a fire hazard and a choking hazard (i.e., the fallen needles) and he approved the purchase of an artificial tree.

Having no clue where to buy one, I looked to someone whose artificial tree I admire: Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely. Hers is artificial and pink! And she even has a bird perched on hers, which reminds me of my Mother's somewhat menacing little clip-on birds on our childhood trees. Unfortunately, as much as I might admire coloured trees and those aluminium trees of yesteryear, approval was for a green tree.

Another tree, I recalled fondly was the one our fabuluxe mentor decorated during my time in Singapore. Her theme was a loose interpretation of the palette of the costume of buddhist monks: burnt orange and purple balls, with some cinnamon-coloured paper icicles. It was gorgeous! I can imagine some orange pomander balls fitting into this really well too, creating a strange synthesis. Here is a first pass.

C is for Christmas Tree by Uyek on Polyvore.com

I have not decided on whether to use the burgundy balls or not. It is more accurate but my fond recollection of Mary's tree does not include it.

All the ornaments have to be shatterproof and too big to swallow. So far so, so good! I still need to find the right bird or birds. And as for a topper, well, I am not sure at all about that. And I have a vague notion involving a garland of coppery and purple paillettes but have not found one yet.
I think Big Boy will like all of the balls. I know he likes the ones on the tree in the lobby and on the ones around town.

One other critical step was settling on the correct height: not too big as to make storage a nightmare but still big enough to impress Big Boy. Hence this diagram was generated early on:


Treetopia for the Bedford Falls Fir
Amazon for the shatterproof ball ornaments
Amazon for a DIY garland

Nemesis: Paper

Thank you, Suze Orman.

Decor: Buddha

Pudding Molds from Il Buddino.
Coin Bank at Perpetual Kid.
Sleeping Buddha silk coverlets at, suprise!, Sleeping Buddha.
Table Lamp at Urban Outfitters.

Baskets: Vietnamese Rice Baskets

Image from Lantern MoonInspired by Soule Mama's photo on her blog of her Ghanaian market basket, I was determined to get a proper knitting basket.

While looking for such a basket, I stumbled upon Lantern Moon's even lovelier, to my eyes anyway, rice baskets from Vietnam. I decided to give the smallest one a try and, continuing the cautious streak, ordered a plain one.

It has since arrived and been in constant use. It is lightweight but strong and despite being the smallest one holds quite a lot: one almost complete TSJ (i.e., Toddler Suprise Jacket), two balls of yarn, the pattern, three magazines, and occasionally an ipod or even some toys. It is very pliable but keeps a nice, deep upright shape so your goods do not spill out and roll away.

Another perk is that, like a Transformer, the upper portion with the handles can tuck down into the bottom half so that it can be stored stacked, or filled like a bowl. This made me love it even more. I am trying to justify a second one!

I am sure they would be great for holding so many other things!

Big Boy Room: Wall Art WIP

Banquet, an, ahem, Canadian company, has some very sharp looking marine wall art. Check out their SOME SEA ANIMALS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST poster.

The perfect image but which seems to be available in only less than perfect sizes. 21.5" x 29.5"? That is about as useful as a cocktail napkin!

Barring a miracle and finding that one larger, this is my current front runner: a map of ocean currents. But we need to find a reproduction!

A pilot map is an interesting idea. Now to find one with graphic omph.

In a similar vein, maps of the ocean floor are interesting. A nice but expensive one here.

Dad had National Geographic's star chart when growing up. This Celestial Planisphere Chart seems similar but better composed.

There are some very beautiful reproductions of maps from the 18th century and earlier. I suppose they pose a danger of messing up Big Boy's understanding of world geography.

Vintage Denoyer Geppert school maps seem to be rearing their pretty head in design print and blogs lately. The colours are beautiful but the prices not so much. This one's palette reminds me of them.

Oh, yes.
This is all in service to The Big Boy Room.

Big Boy: Tegu Blocks

Tegu - Magnetic wooden blocks

Tomatoes

Black Sea Man (determinate) - You Grow Girl's review here
Costoluto Genovese (indeterminate) - You Grow Girl's review here
You Grow Girl on Tomatoes in containers here and here.

01.xii.10 UPDATE: Instead of Costoluto Genovese, I managed to buy Green Zebras by mistake. It was a huge disppointment but they proved themselves to be fairly prolific and tangy but tasty. I will have to try for Costoluto again next year!

Advent Calendars

Image from Garnet Hill

With Advent almost upon us (28th November this year), a calendar was needed for Big Boy. We chose the pictured one, available from Garnet Hill. I like the modular look of it and the fact that it is reuseable. Garnet Hill also provides the goodies to go inside. Some of them look really cute but we might have edit a few of the smaller ones until Big Boy gets through his "pop it in the mouth" phase.

I have an idea for a bowl of bags (two of Big Boys three favourite words) advent calendar using something like these.

Other ideas can be found here:

The Lundby Advent Calendar, of course! Whether you have a Lundby house or not!

What David Digs has a very thorough list of good looking, three dimensional calendars. I especially like the Lego option.

Skip to My Lou has a nice round up with a few familiar faces.

And Babble has a big roundup that I am only part way through.

UPDATE: The Garnet Hill calendar was a huge disappointment. It was poorly constructed with misaligned pieces and wrinkling and blistering of the paper graphics. It was such a lovely design and I feel really sad about it. I hope that they release it again but better executed. Wood would be nice but similar paper-covered card done carefully would be okay.

Baskets: Balinese Boxes and Senagalese Baskets

I love baskets!

Balinese Boxes and Senagalese Baskets at Serena & Lily

Balinese Boxes are my all time favourites. These are a bit gaudy but they seem to be very hard to find on this side of the pond. In Asia, you would find yourself tripping over them. Now, I typically snap the up whenever I see them. Were these not so expensive nice, I might get these too despite their bright colours.

Silhouette

Silhouette - like a printer but it cuts

Bachelor Buttons

A lovely old school cookie.
My mother always dotted hers with pretty, pink apple jelly.
These melt away in your mouth.

Play Rug(s)

Cool dimensional ones at Urban Baby.

Think Pink

A favourite clip via Filip Motwary.

For whatever reason, suprisingly few people I know, are familiar with this scene. And I work in retail!

I love it ... not because I work in retail but for many reasons I cannot nail down instantaneously although Kay Thompson has a lot to do with it.
This feels like a candidate post for an update!

Miniatures: Scales

Petit Princess, 1:¾

Lundby, 1:2/3 (1:18)

Scooters, Trikes ... Wheels!

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: Seal the Deal

At first glance, Wishbone Design's vehicles seem a little too "cross country" or SUV.
But I love their capable aesthetic and their Transformers gimmick is great: buy it as a tricycle for your toddler; later flip the frame, convert it to a two-wheel "balance bike" and, ultimately convert it to the "running bike" configuration. Now. what does that entail? A running toddler? Or is that me running after him? Regardless, what a clever tranformational design.
Until further notice, this is my first pick for a scooter thingamajig.

ANother interesting model is the Y-Bike from South Africa ... but also available at Amazon.

Skuut is the offering from the Netherlands ... once again available at Amazon.

Amnesia: Art

I have a terrible memory or maybe it is a mental block for useful information. In any case, here is the artsy stuff I need to remember:

Andy Goldsworthy
Joseph Cornell - creepy 3D collages
Patrick Dougherty - whimsical and creepy twig architecture
Hassan Fathy

Big Boy Room: Chalkboard

Martha Stewart makes the common chalkboard A Good Thing with a little (unsanded) tile grout.

Shopping List:
flat-finish latex paint
1 cup of paint into a container
2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout
a paint stirrer
a roller or a sponge paintbrush
150-grit sandpaper
a piece of chalk
a barely damp sponge

Miniatures: Sources

Mini Modernista - lovely execution of iconic pieces
Dollhouse Retro Mania - retro wall and floor coverings
Elph Miniatures
Delph Miniatures
PRD Miniatures

Wing Chun ... Ktl.

I need to start a list of notions I have that maybe Big Boy might like:

Swimming lessons (to keep BB from drowning)
Wing Chun

Camping

Better start making a list now in case Big Boy wants to go camping some day.

The Pines at Yosemite
Costanoa at Santa Cruz

Big Boy Room Update

We are still setting up The Big Boy Room.

The outstanding items seem to be toy storage and closet door treatments. Our current "deluxe" storage system, which uses a combination of old shipping boxes and some of my knitting baskets, cannot continue! I am all but sold on the baskets pictured above from Land of Nod. They are not quite as cheap as I wish they were but they seem super durable and are just the size needed.

I am still haunting Spoonflower to find something suitable to starch to the closet door. Here are the latest candidates:

Nautical Birds On A Wire by ttoz
And then there is still Marimekko's SATEENKAARI

Here is what we do have:

True Modern low dresser.
Room and Board crib/toddler bed.
Sea Gift's Signal Flags bunting.
Port hole picture Frames at Pelican Bay.
Magic Lantern with underwater theme.
Smith & Noble Black out blind in Sky Blue.

Sorbet

Image by Erin Kunkel.
I need to try Oakland's Scream Sorbet, article in the NY Times.

Plug courtesy of Siri.

For ice cream inspiration, click here.

Temari Balls ≠ Suprise Balls

surprise ball by kate spade new york.

Beautiful Temari by Suzik at Etsy.

Oddly enough, I thought for awhile that these were the same as suprise balls and could not imagine unwinding one of them. Thank goodness I figured it out before destroying one!

Suprise Ball inspiration at SF Gate
DIY Easter Suprise Ball Tutorial at Craftzine
DIY Suprise Ball Tutorial at Not Martha
Go Make Something's Tutorial uses wrappings other than the usual crepe paper.
Super-sized Suprise Ball at Kiosk
Kate Spade's video of a Suprise Ball
No time or crepe paper on your hands? Get one prêt-à-porter at Tops Malibu.

Preserved Lemons

Easy-peasy style at Bitten.

Unfortunately, they must be refrigerated and used up within two weeks. Halving the recipe might be in order.

Felt Sources

$2.25 per 9" x 12" sheet at Heather Bailey.
$7.98 for 18" squares at Magic Cabin.
Ten 12x18 inch sheets for $18.00 at Benzie Bazaar on Etsy.
Ten Pieces 9 x 12 Wool Blend Felt at Bobbie Soxie, also on Etsy.

Big Boy Room: Fish Stool

Image by Huset
Wouldn't this look great here?

Huset - Your House For Modern Scandinavian Living

I love this and this and this and this and this and this and this.
I love this site!

Baby Big Boy Websites

Huset - Your House For Modern Scandinavian Living

Pretty Video

Wizard Smoke - Skater Boyz + Flour, Beautiful Contrails

The Next Camera

I have this camera, in black, mind you.
I have been pleasantly suprised by and pleased with it. I (thought I) wanted a dslr but it has turned out to be a dslr with training wheels or, some might beg to differ, a dslr wannabe.This is significant since, when I bought it, I thought I wanted something like this camera but it was not within the budgetary constraints.

Now it has come to light that we have LOADS of reward points that could "purchase" one of these cameras. But which one?
Hours of research to follow!

It's also hard to justify since my current camera works fine. Usually I wait for my camera to break before I upgrade.

Travel: Photography

Art Wolfe Photography Tour

Blogs:Baby Big Boy

Scandinavian Mum - design and recipes
Minor Details - Design!
Bloesem Kids
KLT Sketchbook

Mega Ships

Image by Postlerferguson
What
Where

Trophies

Image by Z Gallerie
I have mixed feelings about hunting but there is no denying the appeal of the all white hunting trophies from Z Gallerie. The deer is pictured above but, being Canadian, I feel obligated to get the moose.
Perpetual Kid takes an interesting cardboard twist on these wall trophies.

16.ii.11 UPDATE: Wall Tentacle by Art Akimbo is fantastic! You might be at risk to lose an eye but, since it is cephalopodic, it is my favourite.

Running (Again)

From Beginning Runner's Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk Run Program, via See Girl Run.

Week Session Run/Walk Time
Week 1
Session 1 30s/4:30m x7, 35 minutes
Session 2 30s/4:30m x8, 40 minutes
Session 3 30s/4:30m x8, 40 minutes
Week 2
Session 4 1m/4m x9, 45 minutes
Session 5 1m/4m x8, 40 minutes
Session 6 1m/4m x8, 40 minutes
Week 3
Session 7 1:30/3:30 x 10 50 minutes
Session 8 1:30/3:30 x 8 40 minutes
Session 9 1:30/3:30 x 10 50 minutes
Week 4
Session 10 2/3 x 11 55 minutes
Session 11 2/3 x 9 45 minutes
Session 12 2/3 x 10 50 minutes
Week 5
Session 13 2:30/2:30 x 12 60 minutes
Session 14 2:30/2:30 x 10 50 minutes
Session 15 2:30/2:30 x 10 50 minutes
Week 6
Session 16 3/2 x 13 65 minutes
Session 17 3/2 x 10 50 minutes
Session 18 3/2 x 11 55 minutes
Week 7
Session 19 4/2 x 10 60 minutes
Session 20 4/2 x 9 54 minutes
Session 21 4/2 x 9 54 minutes
Week 8
Session 22 5/1 x 10 60 minutes
Session 23 5/1 x 8 48 minutes
Session 24 5/1 x 9 54 minutes
Week 9
Session 25 7/2 x 7 63 minutes
Session 26 7/2 x 6 54 minutes
Session 27 8/2 x 5 50 minutes
Week 10
Session 28 10/1 x 4 44 minutes
Session 29 20/1/20 41 minutes
Session 30 22/1 /22 45 minutes
Week 11
Session 31 25/1/25 51 minutes
Session 32 30/1/25 56 minutes
Session 33 40/1/10 51 minutes
Week 12
Session 34 45/1/20 66 minutes
Session 35 50/1/15 66 minutes
Session 36 45 45 minutes
Week 13
Session 37 50 50 minutes
Session 38 40 40 minutes
Session 39 60 or 10K 60 minutes

An important note from G. Donnald, a reviewer at Amazon:

Just a note to those that are interested in buying this book. The 13-week run/walk program was completely revised between the 2001 and 2005 editions of the book. The 2001 edition is a much gentler approach, while the 2005 edition assumes that you have a certain level of fitness. Just to illustrate: the very first session of the first week of the 13 week program in the 2005 edition calls for "run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes; do this 12 times" (the 9th time just about killed me), whereas the 2001 edition of the book starts with "run 30 seconds, walk 4 minutes 30 seconds; do this 7 times". So if you're more fit you may be happy with the 2005 edition, otherwise try to find the 2001 or 1999 editions of the book. Otherwise, I liked the book a lot.

Big Boy Room: Nook

Image by Mademoiselle Astuce
This photo of a very beautiful nursery at Mademoiselle Astuce has me rethinking some of the space planning of the Big Boy Room. Can I find a little nook somewhere for a chalkboard?
Ironically we have something just like this between the end of the sofa and the occasional table with a mirror at its end instead of a chalkboard. Big Boy loves it!

Big Boy Room: Wall Hook(s)

Image by Playsam
Check out this amazing wall hook that would totally make Sam's Big Boy Room.
Sam received one of Playsam's lovely cars from his godfather for Christmas. The quality of their toys is amazing.
I am also drooling over the curves on their dollhouse by Eva Schildt.

Plus and Minus

Image by DWR
bruno munari intriguing game from the 70's.
DWR is sold out.
Unica Home is so expensive.
I must find this somewhere!

Andrew Zuckerman

Images by Andrew Zuckerman

Just as soon as Baby graduates from board books ...

CWC Exclusive Neo Blythe “Manuheali’i Paradise Girl

Image by CWC

CWC Exclusive Neo Blythe “Manuheali’i Paradise Girl”
Aloha, I'm Paradise Girl!
Welcome to my world of warm sunny weather, cool ocean breezes and fabulous Hawaiian style.
As a graduate student at the University of Hawai’i in Ocean Engineering, I hope to develop wave power as an alternate energy and someday help island communities.
I want to make my family and friends proud.
I love dancing hula, especially ‘auana, and my newest hobby is stand up paddle boarding at Kailua beach, where I can really get up close to all the treasures of the sea.
After my activities, I absolutely adore shopping at Manuheali’i.
I can get chic styles in bold graphics, and the colors are so yummy.
I can’t wait to show the new outfit I got to my hula sisters!
The Coral Reef design is so contemporary, and we all know how I love the ocean.
The Ki nehe design on my ‘anuhea top is so cute and special.
Sometimes I shop online at manuhealii.com!
Hope to meet you someday in paradise, a hui hou!

Pretty.
Pretty expensive.
Pretty limited (only 300!).
Available at Junie Moon.

Kone

Image by Dirt Devil
I keep coming back to this as a nifty thing to have on hand.
Note the tags for this post.

UPDATE: Reviewers state that this lasts all of a few seconds and sucks poorly too.

Deor: Big Boy Room

Image by Marimekko

As much as I love KANTELEEN KUTSU the room will probably follow the nautical theme that was suggested by Daddy-o the other day. I am excited to make some nautical flags but need to decide on their size and format (i.e., stiff, decals, flags).
The latest score was sourcing portholes that are not real portholes (too heavy to mount) and do not cost hundreds of dollars.

Nautical Theme
Nautical Flags (Daddy's clever idea), available smaller than standard here
Porthole Picture Frames in Polystone at Wayzata or with a mirror at Pelican Bay
Marimekko's SATEENKAARI
Or Holli Zollinger's Waves fabric at Spoonflower
Magic Lantern with underwater theme.
¿Wall Hooks?
Black Out Blind in sky blue
¿Storage Bins? to fill 78"Lx17"Dx15"H

Three of these (in red and blue) hoseable ones at Land of Nod
Striped ones at Restoration Hardware
The grommet on these makes them perfect but they seem too small, Land of Nod
And J.J. Cole has these with oval grommets but not such nice colours
Five or six of these (which strikes me as too jumble-y) also at Land of Nod
Walmart has these in nice colours.
The Container Store has dairy crates in great colours.

New cupboard in white with custom pulls from PBK or this zooty one from True Modern. 09/28/10 UPDATE: We went with the zooty one. Buy Locally! Hahah.

B is for Big Boy Room by Uyek on Polyvore.com

Walls
Wall Candy Decals
Marimekko's KAIVO or SATEENKAARI or KANTELEEN KUTSU


Lighting
I have always loved the J. Schatz Star Egg Lamp in Dark Tidepool


Furniture

Clipart

Martha Stewart says so

Interfacing

Understanding interfacing at The Purl Bee

Messy Buns

Try this Messy Bun technique from Parisienne.

First and most important step: Make your hair dirty. “I wash my hair only once a week,” admits C. “When your hair is too clean, it won’t stay put.” After showering, she massages in either Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion or a homemade spray, made with one part sea salt, three parts water and a few spritzes of leave-in conditioner. “It makes my hair piece-y enough to work with,” she says.
Also of note: she recommends Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo with absorbant argilla to make it through the week between those shampoos.

Traveling With Baby

Stamp Pens
Drawing Pad
Geomag Toys
Reuseable Stickers by Eye Like
Video
Sippy Cups
Snacks
Wipes
Clothing for him and for you
Diapers
Play Doh

Wrap the toys

UPDATE: The sticker book was a hit!

Mava Cakes

The name alone had me interested.
"What is Mava?"
Tartelette's reminiscences about Mava, and Mumbai make them sound so enchanting. And her gorgeous photography sealed the deal.
Add these to the To Do list!

DIY Ice Cream

UPDATE: What I really "need," apparently, is the Pacojet (Model 16000). You will too once you read the linked article.

Image by Sur la Table.
I love the "ready-to-go" feature of Delonghi's machine, it looks like it could be a bit of a countertop hog and I am very protective of my cupboard and countertop space. Not to mention that I don't plan on making ice cream very often.
Cuisinart's is cheaper but you have to pre-chill the bowl for 24 hours. And there is that issue of kitchen real estate again.
And I already have the Kitchenaid mixer which makes their attachment the practical choice. It also involves a length pre-chilling of the bowl and the reviews for this one are mixed.

Don't lose Shelterrific's wonderful sounding Frozen Greek Yogurt recipe for ice cream!

Greek Yogurt Ice Cream
(Adapted from Restaurant As by Bon Appetit, originally posted by Shelterrific)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup whole milk Greek-style yogurt
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tbs lemon juice

For sorbet inspiration, click here.

Apocalypse Now

WILLARD (v.o.)
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you
were going all the way. Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole
fucking program. How did that happen? What did he see here
that first tour? 38 fucking years old. If he joined the Green Berets,
there was no way you'd ever get above Colonel. Kurtz knew
what he was giving up. The more I read and began to
understand, the more I admired him. His family and
friends couldn't understand it, and they couldn't talk him
out of it. He had to apply three times and he had to put
up with a ton of shit, but when he threatened to resign,
they gave it to him. The next youngest guy in his class was
half his age. They must have thought he was some
far-out old man humping it over that course. I did it when
I was 19 and it damn near wasted me. A tough
motherfucker. He finished. He could have gone for General,
but he went for himself instead."

Sandbox

Pretty portable sandbox at Alison Montessori
Sand Table also at Alison or at Amazon
Little Tikes Water/Sand Table with a Rube Goldberg twist
Little Tikes Construction-themed Sand/Water Table
Step 2 Sand Table
Step 2 adjustable Sand/Water Table
Naturally Playful Sand Table with umbrella
Naturally Playful Sandbox with a temple aesthetic
Discount School Supply Table
Possible models for pick-up

The Knife

Pass This On » By Johan Renck from The Knife on Vimeo.

Hooked.
Also love their Hearbeats and You Take My Breath Away.

Terrariums

NY Times Article
Available from Twig Terrariums
Great source for supplies at Terrain, courtesy of Zephyr.

Keep Calm

The backstory.
Stamp it everywhere with help from Rubber Soul.
Personal favourite from JennieGee

Music

So that's how you add music files to a blog!


iLike for free playlists.

Mapa Toys

Image by Mapa

This tower is called Lucca and I love it.
You can buy it here.

Melamine

Image by French Bull
French Bull's melamine plates, platters, bowls, and more are SO colourful.
My excuse to buy them is going to be "to stimulate the Baby."

(Hurry! They're offering 20% off until July 21st. Enter FBSUMMER10 at checkout.)

Beat the Heat

Mugicha, Nata de Coco, and more at Tea & Cookies

Canisters, Part II

This is an update.
I finally got a few of Ikea's Celebra storage jars and I'm mad to get more. They're great!
Granted, they do not have pretty pears on them but they do have wooden lids with gaskets. In this regard, they remind me of the much more ornate Hornsea ceramic canisters.
The upside is still that you can customize them like at Design Sponge. I may get around to this but for now I am smitten by their simplicity of design, wooden lids, functionality, and, it must be admitted, price.

MoMA Dollhouse

Image by MoMA

Great, photo-heavy review by Petite Nouveau.
Buy it at MoMA or at Chronicle Books (hurry, Chronicle Books is offering 35% off till 07/28; enter FRIENDS at checkout)

Lunch Boxes Bags

Image by Skip Hop

Lunchies by Skip Hop
They have many styles and I personally like the owl but Dad feels the Monkey is more manly. They even have backpacks to match these Lunchies but Baby is a long way from needing one of those.

Dabawalla Bags
If you know what a dabawalla is, you have to give them points for the name.
They are also very clever with the names they assign the different styles of bags. They have some really wonderful graphics that remind me of the crafts you can find in vintage 1970's craft books.
If they had had a lunch bag version of the beautiful Elephant back pack, I would have snapped it up in an instant!

Violas

Viola cornuta ‘Black Magic' at You Grow Girl

Bush Hat

Tutorial to make the pattern and hat by Indietutes
Or buy the pattern from her Etsy shop.

Red Velvet [Cup]Cakes

Amped Up Red Velvet Cupcakes by Megan B. at Shelterrific

(Adapted from a recipe by the Magnolia Bakery)
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tbs liquid red food coloring (or 2 tbs food coloring paste and 4 tbs water )
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons red cocoa
1/4 cup natural cocoa (like Hershey)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift the cake flour into a small bowl; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and flufffy (with the mixer on medium speed), about five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla (adding a bit of water if necessary to make a smooth paste). Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Use two muffin pans, each with 12 muffin cups (1/2 cup each), and line each cup with a paper liner. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Switch positions of the pans midway through baking. Bake about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack before icing. To ice, mound a generous spoon of cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake and use an icing spatula to make a swirl on top. If desired, decorate with sanding sugar.

Miniature Gardening

Image by Janit Calvo

Janit Calvo's miniature gardening site has me daydreaming about dressing up my potted plants a bit. Her site has loads of inspirational photos, tips, and best of all, supplies you can buy. You can do your research and sourcing all at once.

Janit Calvo's Blog
Her miniature gardening supply center
Aliens by Thyrza

Tentacles, Part II

You cannot have too many tentacles.

Image by Thyrza Segal

Thyrza Segal makes the most delightful tentacled creatures. Currently, I am agonizing over which one would look best next to my succulent or my variegated geranium.

Health & Nutrition

The Steve Ward Diet via Making it Lovely

Silhouettes

Materials required:
Photograph
Photoshop (use pen/path)
Frisket Film
Armour Etch Cream
Glass Object

Directions at Craftzine

Blog Tips for David, Part Three

Q: How can you notify people of updates to your blog?
A: They can choose to follow you through Google but if you want to send them an email you need to wrest their email address from them.

1. Go to http://wufoo.com
2. Sign up for free
3. Create a form (you get three for free)
4. Select email from the templates on the left; customize it
5. Enter the email you want to to use in order to know who wants to
subscribe or skip this. You can manage subscription requests at Wufoo
6. Click on the Forms tab at the top of the page
7. Click Embed Form Code on the left (or choose the format you prefer, I
like the pop-up form)
8. Highlight and copy the html in the first field
9. Go to your blog
10. Select Design
11. Select Page Elements
12. Select Add a Gadget
13. Select Html/Javascript
14. Paste the html code (step 7) in the Content field

More discussion here

Emails can be sent to you for subscription requests but you can also manage them at Wufoo.

1. Go to http://wufoo.com
2. Click on the Forms tab at the top of the page
3. Click on the Entries under the form that you created
4. Select an entry (an email address)
5. Select Bulk Actions
6. Select Export
7. Select your format for export (.csv seems most promising); a file will
download to your desktop

But you still have to use Google Groups (or something similar) to notify more than ten
people of blog updates:

More discussion here

Chawan Mushi

From Bitten ...

Steamed Eggs à la Harbin Restaurant

Yield 4 servings

Time 40 minutes

Eva Chang
Ingredients

* 2 cups vegetable broth, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 4 large eggs
* freshly ground white pepper or black pepper
* 1 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3 scallions, chopped
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 5 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until softened, squeezed dry, stems trimmed and discarded, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
* 1/4 cup garlic chives, ends trimmed, cut in 1-inch lengths
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Method

* 1. Bring several inches of water to boil in the bottom of a large steamer. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of the vegetable broth with the cornstarch; mix well.
* 2. Place the eggs in a shallow 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish, and beat until foamy. Add the remaining vegetable broth, a dash of white or black pepper, and one teaspoon oil. Beat again gently until well-blended. Allow any foam to subside until the surface is completely smooth.
* 3. Place the dish in the steamer, cover, and lower heat to medium. Steam until a knife inserted into the eggs comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in a wok over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and heat until shimmering. Add scallions, and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, peas, garlic chives, sugar and soy sauce. Stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture, and stir-fry 1 minute.
* 4. When the eggs are ready, pour the mushroom mixture over the eggs. If desired, serve over rice.

Source: Adapted from Eva Chang and the Harbin Restaurant, published in "Chinese Home Cooking" by Elaine Louie and Julia Chang Bloch for the Organization of Chinese American Women (1985).

Bittersweets

Image from Bittersweets

Scale Railroads: Briefcase

Noch aluminium brief case with "Blumenau" model train set with a high-quality ready assembled summer landscape and pictured background. The ready-to-run route passes over the mountain and winds under the mountain tunnel system. The set includes one locomotive with two carriages supplied (colours may vary).

The "Blumenau" utilizes an integrated 9 volt battery holder and throttle controller. The high quality throttle allows you to control the trains at scale speeds and it is very efficient 37 cm, A Pre-installed adapter socket is included.

The brief case is lockable and keys are supplied. Instructions included.

Paul Smith used to take this train set to Japan on his early trips and would produce it at meetings when he became bored. This caused great surprise and helped to establish his personality with his colleagues in Japan.

Where

Bag Lady

Image from Blackbird
I'd like to turn this into a killer knitting bag.

Ann Demeulemeester Ring

Seen at the (awe) inspiring Luxirare