Cool Craft Project via Top Design's Eddie Ross

While his personality traits can be a bit questionable (see Bravo TV's Top Design Episode 4: Bachelor Pads), the guy is incredibly talented. I recently discovered his blog, and have been completely enthralled with it. I really like this simple craft project he does wherein he dresses up a mirror and some inexpensive glasses.

He was inspired by this flea market find...

Extracted this image...

Took this mirror... (found at a flea market of course!)

Add in these materials...

A little elbow grease...

Eh voila! A gorgeous mirror...

and a "new" set of glasses!

For more specific details on the project, check out Eddie's blog. I would also highly recommend you check out his other posts as well, especially if you want to see more examples of his stunning flower arranging or more of his flea market finds.

all images by Eddie Ross

Artist Love: Shawn Bishop-Leo

Love these works by New York fashion designer (currently for American Eagle Outfitters), painter and writer, Shawn Bishop-Leo. Her works are a mix of found objects, vintage wallpaper, and tile patterns on canvas and often deal with the female identity in a complicated world.

Connected

Moist

Foxy

Plumage

I Guess We'll Have to Wait

Friday Photo Finish

I took this photo last weekend at Pete's parent's house in Santa Ana. We were down there for a quick visit to attend his paternal grandmother's 85th birthday. I so enjoy taking macro photos of flowers lately. I love to see what surprise the camera will catch that I'm unable to see with my own eyes. In this case, it is the little sprinkles of pollen on the petals of the flowers and caught in the webs.

image by me

Gorgeous Ceramics from Kim Westad

Every time I see one of Kim Westad's ceramic pieces (artwork in the true form of the word), I can't help but spend time just studying the craftsmanship and the detail of each piece. Here are a few samples of her work.

Pebble Bowls

Pebble Cups

The above Pebble Bowls and Cups are my favorites. The bright colors are wonderful and the white "pebbles" look like clusters of stars. Simply gorgeous.

Small Pod Vase with Seagrass Slip Design and Green Interior

Twirly Vase with Blue Accents

Sweet Peas in Bright Green

Honeysuckle Pendant with Red Accents

Kim's ceramics are available online from either her Etsy shop or from Supermarket. If you visit her Etsy site now, she has some great deals on some of her seconds.

all images by Kim Westad

Where You Least Expect It: Cool Table Lamps

I have a love of bright colors and fun designs, so when housewares products take a turn towards the deeper colors of Fall and Winter or when I'm just in need of decor that has a little extra flair without the extra cost, I often look to catalogs for kids or teens to find what I need. These are great resources because their core colors tend to remain within the same range of pastels, brights, and primary colors year-round. They can also be great resources for apartment-sized furniture and accessories too, since the focus is on furniture that will fit into small bedrooms or dorm rooms and serve dual purposes-- such as beds with hidden storage compartments.

I'm going to start sharing with you some of my cool finds for adult living amongst children's wares in a new series called "Where You Least Expect It". For the first post on this subject, I've chosen these cool table lamps from PBTeen.

Ceramic Dual Bulb Lamp Bases ($79) & Ribbon Trim Shades ($35)

Geometric Lamp Bases ($49) & Ribbon Trim Shades ($35)

Milk Glass Lamp Bases ($59) & Suite Dot Shades ($39)

all images via PBTeen

Happy First Full Day of Fall

It's been an absurdly long day at work, partially my fault and partially not. So I'll just leave you with these beautiful images of what the coming days of Fall have in store... that is if you are lucky enough to live somewhere with trees this beautiful.

all images taken near June Lake, CA by me last Fall

Procrastination File: Color Hue Test

Monday's at work can be tough. Here's a fun way to put off dealing with that inbox full of emails that's waiting for you for a few minutes. Try this color hue test by X-Rite.

The lower the score the better with zero being the best. I scored an 8 the first time I took it (and much worse the second time). I had trouble with pinks and blues. I think I may be at that point now where I may need to give in and get glasses, not because of my score, but because it was really killing my eyes to try to stare at it. :)

image via Xrite.com found via Apartment Therapy

Friday Photo Finish

Chiesa Santa Maria Formosa in Venice, Italy is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that the Virgin appeared to the Bishop St. Magnus and ordered him to have a church erected in her name. It is named in memory of the "prosperous-looking" (i.e. buxom) figures the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared with. The building of the church was begun in 1400 BC. It was rebuilt in 864 BC. A fire destroyed it in 1105 AD. Repairs were made in 1604 and 1542. The last repairs were made in 1916 after it was hit by an Austrian bomb during WWI.

Just felt like telling a story today...

image by me

Fun Tableware at Fishs Eddy

I was fortunate enough to have been able to visit Fishs Eddy in New York during my vacation there over Memorial Day weekend. It's amazing how quickly time passes. I had meant to do a post about the store, but it appears that I never did. It was this photo on the New York City Daily Photo blog that reminded me of it.

I had seen the store's online shop and loved it. It was really just luck that Pete and I passed by the store while walking down Broadway from the Empire State Building. The store is amazing and I had a really great time looking around. It's like a candy store for adults. There are tables overflowing with stacks of plates of all colors and styles. The mug "tree" had all kinds of cute mugs in all shapes, sizes and motifs. It's just so fun to walk around and look at everything. The owners have really great taste, and their exclusive designs such as the Alice in Wonderland Collection or their Floorplan Serveware are so fabulous. There just isn't anyplace like this in San Francisco, but we could so use one. For now I'll just have to be satisfied with browsing their website, as should you all.

Note the silverware "chandeliers" on the right in the above photo.

all images are my own

Inspired by: House Doctor

I could browse the House Doctor catalog all day. The lifestyle images are beautiful and so is the product. I could find so much inspiration in their pages.

Aren't these tins great? How cool and convenient are the little windows?

Love the mix of modern and antiques in this lifestyle.

all images via House Doctor found via this post on decor8

Throws for Cooler Weather

The days may still be a little warm, but the nights are definitely longer and cooler. I'm the type of person that gets cold when the temperature hits below 75 degrees, and during the winter a nice soft warm throw blanket is a necessity, especially when the monthly heating bill requires that I either sell a kidney to pay for it or learn to live with the heater set lower than 80 degrees. So in the interest of keeping us all warm, I have pulled together a selection of throw blankets.

For the preppy person in your life, Pottery Barn has these great argyle throw blankets ($79).

They also offer these soy cotton knit throws ($59) that are monogrammable, so you can stake your claim on it. Not to mention they are available in ten different colors.

For the more adventurous they offer these faux fur throws ($149).

For one that makes you feel like you're wrapped in that big ole sweater that grandma made you in the 9th grade, PillowsandThrows.com offers this Koko Company knit throw ($135).

For your friend who insists on surrounding themselves with labels, there's the Missoni Home Harpo Throw (top,$238) or the Jonathon Adler Richard Nixon Throw (bottom $295).

And for the ultimate luxury, there is the solid cashmere throw ($298) from Williams-Sonoma Home that's available in twelve colors.

For additional sources of throw blankets see these Lima Alpaca throws at Crate and Barrel, these Lutz and Patmos throws or these bamboo cashmere throws at West Elm, and these Merino throws at Garnet Hill.

New York Fashion Week III

As promised here are my final picks of the Spring '09 runway shows. You can see my previous posts here and here.

There were some gorgeous brights with an ethnic vibe from Anna Sui...

Monique Lhuillier's tangerine, ocean blue, and teal with a touch of gold goddess gowns...

Nanette Lepore's fun and flirty florals and ruffles...

and Naeem Khan's exquisite detailed embroidery in slim and sexy or ruffled and bubbly shapes

There were also some great neutrals and black and whites from...

Nanette Lepore...

I love the sexy back (on the right) on this dress.

Cynthia Steffe's blue and white floral print cut two ways...

Fabulous work day to dinner out outfits from Oscar de la Renta.

Two more great dresses from Oscar de la Renta, one for a night out and one for a garden party. Throw a cardigan or jacket over either and they'd be perfect for work as well.

Watercolors and white from Badgley Mischka...

Khakis and army greens from Philosophy.

Show-stopping detail from Marchesa that could only be shown on pedestals...

The most uniquely beautiful new styling were the origami folds used in many shows, but shown best in these two below also from Marchesa.

There were so many more great outfits from even more shows, but I'll keep them for another day perhaps. Enjoy!

all images via Style.com