memorable type

A few months ago I spotted these adorable recipe boxes made by the lovely folks over at Rifle Paper Co. And memorable they are because I have not forgotten about them since.

Something about the lovely white script against the raw-looking wood just really strikes a chord with me. They come with cute recipe cards too.

I think this would make a lovely wedding gift, assuming your newly-wed friends have an appreciation for great type and carefully crafted wood. Something about recipe boxes seems timeless to me though, the kind of thing you keep forever and then your grandkids keep once your gone. I think these look like they could stand that test of time.

yoran morvant

These intricate drawings on stone are made by Yoran Morvant, you can find them in the Ashes & Milk online store. I think they are just beautiful.

john derian at target!

Oh my oh my... I am so excited, what a nice surprise to come home to! Upon peering into my new issue of domino last night I saw an ad for Target promoting a new line coming in September by John Derian! This is so great! {pardon the dodgy photo above, I just snapped a photo of it real quick on my phone to display the ad.}

I have admired John Derian for years now. In fact my first 'decor / design / inspirational' blog post I ever made was an ode to John Derian on my myspace blog (ick myspace blogs, i know). I'm not going to bother linking you to myspace, but you can see a small set on my flickr with the objects I posted about. {Btw, that was over two years ago! I can't believe how fast time flies... I quickly launched rachel best blogs with blogger very soon after. Yep, a 2 year birthday for the blog coming up in November!}

Well, this post has turned into a little trip down memory lane. Sorry about trailing off on a side tangent, John Derian sits a little close to my heart. His style is eclectic and I love that. He works in beautiful collage form and incorporates a lot of swoon-worthy pieces that mix old fashioned writing with beautiful organic forms like leaves, animals or insects (did I mention I have always had a thing for dragonflies and butterflies? ask my friends from middle school.. they will confirm).

I have long coveted one of his gorgeous pieces, but they are really out of my casual spending range. But alas! Now target is doing what it does best, making the work of amazingly talented designers affordable for people like you and me. Now I can have my very own Derian piece. This makes me truly happy. And I'm happy that more people in the world will now know of the great work John Derian makes. Thank you Target!

p.s. I can't leave this post without mentioning the lovely objects (aside from his decoupage pieces) he carries in his store. You can see them on his website too.

p.s.s. I should note that I have no idea what the pieces at Target will look like aside from the ad above, I have searched for pics to no avail. The other photos in this post are all from his website.

bursts of pink!

I'm loving the bursts of pink in the posts of newfound blogger, hidden in france.

Smegs are cool.

Love this vanity from Lulu Guinness's home.

{via hidden in france}

pink unicorn

I think this temporary tattoo from Julia Pott is hilarious. She is quite a talented illustrator, check out the work in her portfolio on her website.

{via krisatomic}

something's hiding in here

Today Grace at design*sponge featured the most fascinating sneak peak that I had to share it. The sneak peak gives us a look at the home of Shauna Alterio & Stephen Loidolt , owners of the lovely shop called Something's Hiding in Here. Here are some of my favorite images from their loft...

I really love their headboard with a nook for their deer collection and the paint-by-numbers above the mirror.



And I just love this image taken looking through the mirror where you can see their print of an eye chart, which I think I may be right by saying it is the 'hind sight is always twenty twenty' print from the Keep Calm Gallery.



How cool is the porch swing in the bedroom?



Doesn't their studio make you jealous?

You can see more images from their loft here.

Last but not least, if you haven't already seen any of the products that Something's Hiding in Here makes you should definitely check out their shop and visit their blog for a view of products in the making. Personally, I love the paint-by-number United States {pictured above}.

{photos from design*sponge and something's hiding in here's flickr}

help i need help!

Today I am sick, and in lieu of being so, I'd like to express my appreciation for the package and web design on these Help products.

Go to the website and make sure to check out the 'Bored?' section. It's humorous.

white porcelain

Lately I am loving the clean look of smooth white porcelain, especially when grouped together.

{above} Lock & Key key chains ($25), Porcelain Paper Plates by Virginia Sin ($35-$85), Triple Long Neck Porcelain Vases On Stand ($78)

{above} German 70’s pop porcelain vase, stamped Kaiser (£48), Industreal Chapeaux Pour Vase ($100), Industreal Tissé Vase ($243)

tinctory

Ooh.. I really like these beautiful necklaces from etsy seller tinctory. Thanks Ez, for pointing them out!

{via creature comforts}

in the kitchen

{from top to bottom} Soy Sauce Dispenser, Go Kumagai, 2004 ($14), Eva Solo's Table Grill ($300), Plum Party Basket Weave Coral paper plates ($4.50-$6.00), oven mitt, blue and green platter from Svenskt Tenn , Chat Plates, Ikuko Nakazawa, 2007 ($45), Anthropologie Parrot Bottle Stoppers ($12), Bambu low bowls ($34), Anthropologie Rondavel Serving Bowl ($49.95), Anthropologie Crocheted Food Cover, Yellow ($18), glass bottles (oops! i started putting this post together a couple of weeks ago and i cannot seem to find where i found those glass bottles! if anyone has the link please comment below. my apologies!)

on the patio

{top row} raspberry linear wire lantern $85, sagaform herb pot $15, bird feeder by perch $88 {second row} patio from big red sun {third row} from the moma store, grow your own veggies kit $19 {fourth row} farrier platters $105, conch shell pot $58

(5.16. 08) update! I just found out you can purchase the bird feeder by perch {shown above} for $84 here locally in Jacksonville at a fairly new store in 5 Points called Nest-Living. You can purchase it in the store or online.

live wire farm

Today I was on the Domino magazine website checking out Grace's affordable bathroom accessories under $100 monthly gallery contribution, and one of the things she featured this month was a hand-carved wooden hook from Vermont's Live Wire Farm. Upon further curiosity I hopped over to the Live Wire Farm website and I was really impressed with the photography and photo styling for their products.

I love the clean, raw look. The photos were styled by Susan Robohm and the photography was done by Ewan Burns.

blue bell bazaar

I just got an email from Gosia over at Blue Bell Bazaar highlighting some of her new items. Blue Bell Bazaar is an etsy shop that features all kinds of great vintage pieces. The items above are actually not the newest, but some that I found particularly interesting. I especially love that chalk board sign! Too bad it's already reserved for someone or I would have snatched it up.

She also has a great assortment of typographic display signs and letters that I like a lot. You should definitely take some time to look through her shop. She adds new stuff pretty often. And it's a perfect substitute for those that never have the time to rummage through flea markets and antique shops themselves.

see jane work

i've been meaning to blog about see jane work for a long time now. i love this website, it has everything you need to keep your desk organized. i am a pretty big advocate of having clean and pleasant workspaces (especially because i spend so much time at my own). {pictured above: winter white desk of the month}

{clockwise} Kate Spade Agenda (refills) $11, #2 Tree Lover Graphite Pencils $5, Veneer File Folders $7, No. 2 Utility Bands $6.50

{clockwise} Vintage Wire Desk Trays $58, Clear Acrylic Paperclip Cup $8, Schlep Luggage Tags $12, Hable Construction Spiral Top Notepads $16

{clockwise} Thomas Paul Address Book $15, Ceramic Memo Board $11.50,
Garden Urn Pencil Cup $15, Soho Containers with Strip $20.95

rose and radish {valentine edition}

i know it's a little early for valentine's day, but like i said in my earlier post, i've been poking around the rose and radish shop and they have some of the best valentine styled product shoots, i had to share.

(knowing me, i'd save the photos in my google notebook, wait until the week of the holiday and plan to post it then, but before i'd know it, i'd get too busy and the holiday would be said and done with. {this happened to me at both halloween and christmas.} so this time i'm not going to wait!)

happy new year

happy new year, yall!
may your new year be filled with riches and diamond trays like this one from Via Maris.

global bazaar

well hello to all you readers out there (because i know there are so many of you). i am back from the black hole known as christmas. i can't believe how busy i got! i never even got a chance to finish posting the gift guides i made! (i'll just have to save the great items for a rainy day blog post.) anyhow, i think i may be back to a somewhat normal schedule, so maybe that means i'll be back to blog posting regularly once again. we'll see. but for now, on with the show...

i probably got a little more excited than necessary, but when i saw these new global bazaar items on the target website my eyes did such a happy dance! at heart i am such a sucker for items like these; nothing necessary, but all so precious and pretty (and CHEAP).

surprisingly i really like the black side table (which i need two of for my living room and the style of the legs match my dining table). i've fought black furniture for so long now. i have an amoire that is painted black and i've banished it to my outside shed until i got around to painting it another color. my natural instinct is to never use black furniture in my decor (i have no idea why, i don't dislike it in other people's homes), but more and more i'm realizing that maybe black isn't so bad. maybe i need to embrace the black. and oddly enough, the other piece of furniture i am currently in the market for is a new desk. and the black parsons desk pictured above is very similar to the desk i've been imaging in white. so for now, these items are being placed on my wish list and i'll be anxiously awaiting their arrivals in my local target store (on the website it says items should be available in the next 2 to 6 weeks).

one, two, three bunnies

paul smith ceramic bunnies

p.s. more of the gift guide will be posted soon! (i know, running late! i'm too busy. all the time.)

gifts for $50 or less

log bowls ($50) / thomaspaul bali pillow ($40)

wren eleven doily coasters ($45) / yoshimoto cube ($48)




"setting of the rising sun" print ($30)

camila prada booty shakers (£35 for a pair) / coe & waito bird bowls ($48)




hardwood tree serving trays ($36) / "come to me" print ($32.50




moon bell chimes ($44.95) / cavalier brooch in olive the candy thief ($30)

birch bark display kit ($28) / button trays by roost ($48)




embroidered medallion pillow ($32)

bangle jewelry box ($32) / diana lomo camera ($50)

gifts for $25 or less

the holidays and gift-giving sort of go hand-in-hand, so i've constructed a gift guide to help spark some ideas. i've sorted out different categories, this one being items that can be purchased for $25 or less.

CB2 15 Minute Hour Glass ($9.95)












wooden colored pencils ($2.95)









gold cut-out flower earrings ($8.95)














green birds on flowers limited edition original art screenprint ($25)













amethyst nugget ring ($10)










white tagine ($18)

F1 safety makeup box ($25)













sparrow salt & pepper ($8.95)











CB2 glass lumiere candleholders ($3.95 / $4.95)















eclecto pouches ($24 CAD)




















reston lloyd enamel steel colander ($21.99)











jonathan adler palm beach fish shaped platter ($18)












modern tots pandabo ($13)











branch vase / toothbrush holder ($22)













CB2 Buddha ($14.95)










single serve rice bowl ($20.95)











CB2 in line vases ($4.95 - $9.95)















desk calendar by mmmg ($25)
















trunkt itty bitty cylinders ($18)














songbird wall hanging ($25)















peacock pearl drops ($18)


















stone cuff ($14.50)















letter cushions (£15 - £20)