paula hayes

i love the garden [art] work of paula hayes. above you can see some of her terrariums. below are her silicone planters.

{found via bientot demain}

anthropologie goes to morocco.

hello, friends. i would like to apologize for my absence these past couple of weeks. since i last posted my [work] life has shifted... but in a good way! EU (the newspaper / magazine i produce here in jacksonville, fl) has gone from being a weekly publication to a monthly. we are extremely excited about all the new opportunities and endeavors this will give us. this change is going to allow so many doors to open that i have been patiently waiting by.

not only is the pace and schedule of my work changed but i have also decided to to do my work from my home(!). bringing my work home with me [literally] has been exciting and intimidating at the same time. mostly exciting though because i am hoping that i will now have more time to cultivate my inspiration that i find on this great network of blogs, and also allow time to dedicate to my photography business. i have spent the last week preparing things and it hasn't been until just now that i've had a moment to calmly sit down at my computer, catch up on my blog reader subscriptions and put a little TLC into this blog. so that leaves me back to my original intentions for this post...

have you seen the new anthropologie catalog? {see above photo} i am so thrilled to see two of my favorite (and inspirational) things come to together: anthropologie and morocco! last spring/summer i visited marrakech, morocco (where it looks like the photos in the catalog were taken) and anytime i see photographs from that place it instantly brings back so many memories. i love that anthropologie used morocco as their location... and, really, a lot of their new items seem to have lovely moroccan / moorish design elements and inspiration. (and i'm talking about the real moroccan design elements... lately every time you turn around you see "moroccan-themed decor" and most of that is far too flashy and "arabian nights-ish" than the real deal.) so it is refreshing to see the right design elements subtly borrowed by these products. i feel like anthropologie and morocco are a perfect fit. like the anthropologie stores, moroccan design melds together the most beautiful worldy elements into one... morocco has a feel of its own, but amazingly borrows traditions and elements from the moors, spanish-europeans, africans and arabic culture.

i look at the photo above and i have to wonder if the photographers actually hired that boy to use him for the shoot or if he stumbled upon their shoot claiming to "show them the way to the souks" .... haha. (you'd have to go there to believe it, but in the medina of marrakech it is nearly impossible to walk down the streets as a foreigner and not be chased by a gang of pre-pubescent boys begging to help you in anyway they can... all for a fee - in which they wait until after they've helped you to disclose - of course.)

{brought to my attention by both maryam at my marrakesh and the craving anthrolpolgie blog.}

dwell studio cushions

still in my search for lovely pillow cushions... here are some fantastic new designs from dwell studio. these particular pillows can be purchased from the dwell shop directly or you can also find them at design public.

happy valentine's day!

hello, happy valentine's day! i hope everyone is having a lovely day. lucky me, i came home and and my valentine {he's so sweet and knows me so well} had two small surprises for me: 1. a new apple mighty mouse! 2. a new thin-as-heck apple keyboard! i know for the average person, not so exciting... but when you work as much as i do on the computer, having well-designed hardware is a godsend. yay! {the wii belong together valentine is from argylewhale etsy shop.}

lastly, let me leave you with these totally cute guys from lauren alane.

heart breakers

i just got our house a lovely little valentine's day present. keep calm inc. released a beautiful new print today called ‘heart breakers’ by jacob arden mcclure. i usually don't buy things on such impulse, but this run is limited to 100, and i didn't want to pass it up. so, yay, now i am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. he has another new print called 'grenade' available too.

folk art forms {part 1}

lately i've been incredibly inspired by different forms of folk art... patterns, textures, techniques. there is nothing like an authentic form of folk art, i especially love seeing some of the ways people are incorporating these age-old looks and traditions into modern pieces and rooms.

wycinanki {pronounced vi-chee-nahn-key} is a polish folk art that involves paper cutouts, bright colors and intricate patterns. wycinanki dates back to mid 19th century and originated with polish sheepherders cutting designs out of treebark and leather. in rural areas of poland this craft is done for relaxation and passed down for generations, all the while designs and themes have become more intricate and detailed.

+ you can find more designs and purchase some pieces of art work at the polish art center.
+ doris sikorsky is an artist from chicago who has mastered the art of wycinanki.
+ the rug pictured above {top, right-hand corner} is from urban outfitters. the uo website describes the rug as "greek floral pattern" but it looks like wycinanki if you ask me {as pointed out by jamie from the i suwannee blog the other day}.
+ the framed artwork is a photo i found on picasa.

another fascinating form of folk art is colcha fabric. this folkart has been practiced by the otomi indians (from the tenango region of the mexican state of hidalgo). each piece of fabric usually comes in very bright colors and takes up to three weeks to complete. this region has been an impoverished region, and buying these fabrics helps the women who spend so much time making them and it also helps to sustain the viability of this tradition of endangered textiles.

+ you can read about colcha fabric at the beachbungalow blog.
+ you can purchase colcha fabric panels from jacarnda home and at the mexican textiles museum. (a bedspread size panel will cost you anywhere from $250 -$400.)
+ {photos from design*sponge, jacarnda home and the beachbungalow blog}

juju (or tyn) hats are a ceremonial accessory to the villages of cameroon. it is worn by chiefs, prominent officials and important dancers. the hats are made out of brightly colored feathers that are sewn onto a raffia fiber base. the feathers are utilized as a symbol of prosperity and positive qualities associated with birds.

+ you can read more about juju hats being used in decorating at the more ways to waste time blog.
+ you can purchase a juju hat for about $325 at the authentic africa store.

moroccan wedding blankets are a tradition used with brides in moroccan weddings. usually five days before the wedding the a mattress, blankets and other necessities are taken into the bridal chamber where the bride is given a milk bath in the hammam. the negassa (female attendants) spend the days beatifying and preparing the bride with henna stains and then dress her in embroidered wedding finery of white robes.

+ you can contact maryam (from my marrakesh) and she may have some of these fine blankets left to sell you.
+ you can read about the others who have been so lucky to acquire on these blankets from maryam: holly (from decor8), blue mountains mary and tara (from paris parfait)
+ {the pillow pictured above is from a post holly made a while ago and the store it came from doesn't seem to exist any longer.}
+ {the picture of the moroccan bride came from here.}
+ also, i must add that the other day i was in the urban outfitters store and i spotted a rug that looked remarkably like a traditional moroccan wedding blanket. i don't see one on the website at all, but maybe you've seen it in the stores as well.


now after all this inspiration and back-stories of these wonderful forms of folk art, isn't it refreshing to see items like these {pictured below} made by bokja design?

{photo from bokja's press release page}

i hope to bring more folk art to this blog in the future as inspiration. it is refreshing sometimes to know why and where these patterns and designs originated from.

all around the world.

okay, today i LOVE this! check out these world atlas bowls made by etsy seller bombu's shop! {um, boyfriend and family, my birthday is march 2nd... hint, hint.} i think this would look so perfect on our casual white dining table.

{via more ways to waste time. thanks, leah for pointing them out!}

wake up & smell the coffee

wake up! and smell the coffee.

new print from the folks at keep calm ltd.

super tuesday

in lieu of super tuesday...

{1} obama for america card from stand4change etsy shop

{2} Barack your world card from Alcove Press (i saw this etsy valentine on the indiefixx blog today, but it doesn't appear to be available anymore. it's great, so i am still going to post it anyway.)

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

pillow cushions

as i've mentioned before, i am on a hunt to refresh the throw pillows in my living room. along the way i've come across a lot of really great ones so i thought i might as well put together a little guide in case anyone else likes them too.

{column 1} Thomas Paul Instanbul Red Pillow $58.99, Denyse Schmidt Green Penny Pillow $50, Koko Mural 15 x 27 Pillow $90, Twinkle Living ZigZag Throw Pillow $50

{column 2} Virginia J. 20 in. yellow canvas pillow (doesn't appear to be available anymore, sorry), Paper Cloud Cornstalk Pillow $75, Flowering Pillow Sky $120

{column 3} 50s Black/White Pillow Cover $25, green green grass wool felt appliqué pillow $135, Slope 17x11 Pillow in Ocean $129, LoooLo - Molehill Pillow $124-$160

{art school girl} valentines

have you gotten your valentine cards yet? these cards from art school girl are perfect for friendly love notes.

{via poppytalk}

harmonie intérieure

i made a post about wall decals a week or two ago saying i had never really been very impressed with any, and boy i am biting my tongue now. harmonie intérieure features some of the coolest designs for your walls.

i love the idea of having just a small portion of a room or wall wallpapered, and these decal stickers are perfect for people like me whom are renting homes.

and even more, i love the idea of stenciling letters in a great typography or finding vintage letters and making a collection of them, and these decals use text in a beautiful way.

i love how these organic decals have an almost "urban decay" look. and really, i think the photography they used to portray these decals is wonderful.

{D.I.Y.} design*sponge & creature comforts

i had to post these two clever DIY projects. the first one {above} is a project from Grace at design*sponge. she decided she would try one of the suggestions from Blueprint magazine's article about stylish jewelry storage. you can read more about Grace's shadowbox jewelry cases at her blog. they seem pretty simple to make and are excellent way to incorporate your new favorite patterns in small way.







secondly, i had to post about Ez's crafty project for chocolate valentine wrappers! these {above, and Ez's instructions the right} also look incredibly easy to assemble and Ez has been nice enough to make a PDF guide to download. read more about this project at her creature comforts blog.




thanks grace / blueprint and ez for these easy ideas!

{photos from design*sponge and creature comforts, respectively}

don't make me cut you.

i made this polyvore set last week or so and meant to blog about subversive stitching. these cross stitching kits are not very expensive and take a stray away from the pastel kittens and horses-in-meadows motifs. my favorite is pictured in the polyvore set {above}. (also if you are curious about any of the other items in the ployvore set, just click on the photo and it will take you to my ployvore and show you the sites the items came from.)

deeply madly in love

{1} deeply madly in love card from madebygirl.
{2} dna cowboy sunglasses from tobi.
{3} red doily heart earring from fred flare.

love yourself.

felt heart rings by the funkyfelter etsy shop.



love orgami {more beautiful photography from the cox & cox store.}



"like carrying around a little piece of art when you go to the store," reusable tote bags from melissa vest designs etsy shop.

sweet talk

chocolates send a romantic message: these sweet talking chocolates can be found at cox & cox and baska-jon fine foods.

{r.s.v.p. berlin} stickpostkarten

i love the idea of these maps with thread. the website they are from is in german, but i am assuming you are to use the thread to chart a path of places you went or are going to on a trip. how lovely it would be to have a whole collection of these showing your landmarks for each trip you've taken.

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!)