It's Time For COZY!

... and have I got some cozy goin on right here!

First up, a pair of knit clogs from Ruche (have I mentioned it's my favourite?) which are so darn adorable (and stupidly inexpensive) that I am seriously contemplating spending the money reserved for a certain canceled field trip on them instead. I think I can find a way to justify that. I am not entirely sure that clogs are the most practical shoe for... wait, what am I saying... when has the concept of practicality been my issue?

If you are looking to cozy up more than just your toes, I found this tres nifty wallpaper on Cartolina this morning when I was looking up some info on their most fabulous new iPod app launch... she always has the greatest finds over there... worth a daily looksee. Believe it or not, this is not only cool looking, but it is also woven to feel like knitting and I just think that is the bees knees! I love this stuff for a nursery, but I think it would also look kinda cool juxtaposed with gray stone maybe in the form of a fireplace. Or concrete would work too. It's one of those things that doesn't look so hot on the roll, but once it's up, it's pretty awesome. I am not that into photo mural wallpaper, I am a chintzy flourishy type... but I would adore it in your house!



Strikk out of London has an etsy shop that can send you some adorable home things that perhaps you hadn't thought about... how about vase cozies? No, I hadn't either, but how cute :)



... and they do knitted hangers, which I think would look pretty brilliant in that nursery with the above wallpaper. No?


These crocheted asters from Leninka's shop are simply gorgeous...



Ohhh, so much about autumn I love... the trees are turning, the scarves and gloves are coming out of the closet, and the feel of Thanksgiving in the air already... I must now go out to store up on a hot chocolate stash and some Green & Blacks for my pantry. Happy Autumn!

Some Stuff

Where have I been? I know... I could plead summer... and that is partly to blame. In reality though, I have not been in the mood to write anything. I keep finding nifty stuff to post about and I have a kazillion things in my "Draft" folder that I started to tell you all about, but since I lose interest these days a few lines in, I thought maybe I would just put some things out there over the next few days that have caught my interest. Totally random perhaps, but still worth note.


One of the things that is making me happy right now is that I found the sweetest blog called Dottie Angel. This woman lives the life I want to lead. And she photographs it and writes about her endeavors for me so that I can take a bit of time out of my day to look at her pretty life and wonder what mine would be like if...



It also inspired me to create the little bird mobile that she has hanging outside her dining room/patio door.


I saw it and thought I should have one, but I have so much stuff around here, I thought it better to make it for my friend's daughter's birthday. So when heading over to her beach party, stick in hand, my sons explained to the people on the little ferry that the stick was this little girl's birthday gift (I had the pretty birds in my bag). We got some wonderfully aghast looks when I followed up with "hey, it is a really nice stick."

I think it was Flickr that I found Tif's (Dottie's) fabulous photos on and followed her through to her blog. I ended up following posts back for eternity and looking lovingly through her house and studio. This woman is just inspiration incarnate. She lives in a photo shoot from Domino magazine, writes with a witty and uplifting and adorable style that is very refreshing, spends her hours revamping vintage whatnots and repurposing her lovely thrifted acquisitions. What's more, she has spent the last year challenging herself to purchase only handcrafted or secondhand goods for her home and wardrobe and successfully encouraging others to do the same. A rather lengthy list of fellow bloggers joined her in her quest which is rounding up in September. I think that in itself is quite an accomplishment, and one that supports all the things I find now daily in this apparent "movement" towards finding beauty and inspiration in a whole new box that is so much more rewarding that the new shiny one. She did a post awhile ago that made me smile when I came upon it... summing up entirely what I truly hope is the newest chapter of this book we call life while wallpapering the innards of an estate find cabinet:

"and then i pondered,

no, this sweetie was not going to end up in the thrift store later in life,

being mocked by passing strangers.

someone, somewhere will come across her,

gasp the gasp, i have gasped many times myself.

and then with a little bit of luck,

that someone will exclaim for all to know

"why this is the most fabulous example of the granny chic movement,

a movement that occurred in the early part of the 21st century.

it was not uncommon for discarded forsaken souls to be picked up

and adorned with paint, paper and fabric.

if i am not mistaken this looks to be a 'dottie angel' example...

yes, yes it is! look just inside the cupboard there,

the signature of the woman behind this granny chic redo.

one Tif Fussell aka dottie angel,

a lover of granny chic goodness...

oh this is indeed the most peachiest of finds"

I am happy to finally see somebody recognize and articulate what is happening now to be as important to design as perhaps the modern movement was, or any other "forward thinking" step we have taken in the evolution of both design and lifestyle choices in general. Going around and collecting old things or a particular style/designer is nothing new, but this new way of taking what is old and making it our own somehow, while ultimately changing our habit of seeing worth in terms of new or designer goods, is indeed a movement. Granny chic, vintage glam, upcycling... all are terms that even the shelter mags are throwing around right now to describe what devoted thrifters have known for awhile. One person's trash is indeed another's treasure.

*all images from Dottie Angel's blog except top photo which is from Spool

Couch Cushion Architecture

It has been awhile since I have seen genius that made me laugh like this. Whoever is writing this is brilliant... and so are the "architect/builders"... well, most of them :)

Visit this blog for a really stinkin' good review of the latest Couch Cushion Architecture...



"The crisp, orthogonal structure is, in a way, camouflaged by the informality of the landscaping. While a clear bifurcation exists between site and structure, we give high marks to the close coordination of architect and landscape architect in using similar materials to exaggerate the divergent design concepts. Grade: B+"




"We greatly admire the use of coffee table as lateral moment-frame in this application. The solution is both formal and fun, offering the users a sequence of experiences beginning with the entry to vaulted ceiling to raised deck. Grade A-"

... and it gets better! The BUILD blog is new to me, but worth a go through :)

Sssssmokin'!!!

I don't know how to type that to make it sound the way Jim Carrey says it. Doesn't matter. The point is, these FANTABULOUS bags really defy corny segways, but the fact that they are comprised of retired firehoses makes it pretty much impossible not to try. I simply love it when eco truly goes above and beyond. Recycled stuff, cool. Street cred, cool. Great fashion sense, cool. BUT... anything to do with firemen is sheer awesome AND the fact that fledgling label ISSI took Elvis & Kresse's firehose bag concept a wee bit further and found some really talented artists and said "hey, we have some old fire hoses here, see whatcha can do with them..." WAY beyond brilliant. Leave it to the brits. I. Want. One.


The entire bag is made from re-used materials, including insides clad in parachute silk. I mean, c'mon... you just can't script cool like that. I know now what it takes me to pay that much for an "It Bag". Nevermind Balenciaga, or Hermes... although I won't bat an eyelash for a "re-cycled" one of those... but this yummy carryall below trumps both. Won't even cost as much as an Hermes... And waaaay less metal to contend with. SO nifty.



Yes, thank you.

Piece by Piece...

I hear rumour that quilters are organized. That they IRON before AND after they sew pieces of fabric together!!! Well, let's not call me a quilter then. I am a fabric piecer togetherer. I have a favourite quilt that has fallen apart so completely that the other day my seven year old offered to take me shopping for a new one. Hmmm. So I figure what with me having more fabric than I have room for, making a quilt should be easy. The part where I DON'T HAVE ROOM for this fabric is really the key here though, as it would most likely have sewn itself into glorious fancy things ages ago had I had the right amount of space to do it justice... for right now though, the "studio" is over run with lovely little bits of thrifted vintage linens and such that I am puzzling together one piece at a time. There is most likely a term for this in the day of yoga and meditative everything.... I shall call this "intuitive quilting". Organic Intuitive Quilting, as in, I don't iron or measure, I just sew, sew, sew to get it done in two days. I will save the measuring and ironing for the pieces I do for others...

Guilty Pleasures

OK. I don't usually do this. And for good reason. I hate selling. BUT I have to share.

A long time ago, on a blog I happened upon by accident, I ran across a stunning bedding set that was credited to Rue La La. Which at the time I had not heard of. It was such gorgeous bedding, I took the blogger up on the invite and signed up to the site to look at more. Well, now I am hooked. I used her code to get onto the members only site which was good marketing on her part because for every person who signed up, she got a discount. On the one hand, I was impressed at her sneaky way of getting people to sign up under her.. on the other, I had that "sneaky salesman" feeling that comes from falling for the pitch. Either way, I go over there regularly to imagine owning a $2000 gown, or toying with the idea of adding to my (amazingly pared down) shoe collection. I don't do much shopping anymore, but the near latent fashion industry side of me still likes to look. And yesterday I came very close to dropping $400 on about $1200 worth of Le Creuset pots and pans. And then today, just to torture myself, I got back on there to see if my pots had sold already (most sales last only two to three days) and I came across some summer stuff that is just too good not to share with you.

First, I am a total sucker for picnics and the adorable and funky carry-alls that go with them and these sets are pretty nifty.





I love the colours and the neato shapes. I also think that at $40 ish they are worth consideration if you are in the market. My kids love to go on picnics, even just at the park down the street. We use a vintage "bubble" basket that I love, but if I were needing one, I think I would go for the last, round one. So much fun and sophisticated looking too.

Next up, from the same sale, is a portable picnic table. THIS I LOVE! I can see so many uses for this, not the least of which might be encouraging that friend of mine who has sworn off camping to give it another go. A sleek number like this, a few decent bottles of vino and some great cheese... she might let the stigma go. Probably not, but hey, you never know.



Add to this incentive a super cute sunhat and shoes, and the camping trip may look appealing. Just saying...




... and everyone needs a hammock in a bag. That I can vouch for personally.



So, in summation, if ridiculously sweet deals on labels, designers and even vacations (they had a PHENOMENAL Father's Day lineup last week that included lessons with a professional race car driver and trekking across mountain ranges,) appeal to you in any way shape or form, you may want to check out Rue La La. If you are not already a member, feel free to use MY code (http://www.ruelala.com/invite/abell69) and get me points towards my cookware the next time it goes on sale. I would even invite you over for dinner, but you might want to give me some time to learn how to use it adequately. I am all for you using the code as long as you don't feel like I was being all shady about it. It really is fun, even if just for a good browse. Happy picnicing!!

http://www.ruelala.com/invite/abell69

I have a new love.

I really should have started this affair months ago when my good friend Lara tried her best to introduce us, but I was preoccupied and a little arrogant and figured he would wait around for me. Well, I am not sure that he noticed, because he is a man coveted by many (according to the number of comments he receives daily,) and I am not going to pretend that he has been pining away the days, as he has kept himself very busy... but I finally went over and introduced myself today and I couldn't be happier with the results :)


Meet Joel. A man of great taste, imagination, devotion and love for his children (and, I am sure, his darling looking wife). Joel is an at home dad who takes his role very seriously in a not so serious manner. An artist in residence, he has taken it upon himself to enrich his life, the lives of his three year old twins and thankfully, through his blog Made by Joel, our lives as well. An almost daily account of his simple and manageable but stylin' projects is not only supremely useful to any parent... but hugely inspiring!


Joel is very good at taking a good sense of design and showing the rest of us that it really is a good thing to keep things simple and doable. It is a product of a consumer based society to believe that things must be complicated and expensive to be worthwhile. I like to think I am less consumer minded than many, but I always take things that are simple and do my best to complicate them. As a parent of two boys, it is so good to be reminded that this doesn't need to be the case.


I found myself scrolling through Joel's simple yet stunning ideas and realizing how many areas of my life are more complicated than they need to be. While he does not skimp on quality design-wise, he uses such simple techniques and supplies in each of his projects that the reader is left with no other conclusion than to say "I can do this.... and I want to." And this, my friends, is good.



More playing with our kids, less stressing out. Yes, thank you! Joel and I will be spending a great deal of time together from here on in. And he can wear what he wants, doesn't need to be fancy. It is about time I found a good man.