On holidays

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Hi friends, My family is in town (hooray!) and I'm going to take a little blogging break to spend time with them, eat fruitcake and just enjoy the Christmas spirit. I'll be back in the New Year - hope your days are bright and merry in the meantime!

Lamp crush

After not liking tons of lamps online, I have finally found my lamp crush. The Signal Zig-Zag floor lamp by Jielde is a French industrial lamp, which not only comes in heaps of colours (I love the black the best) but oozes personality and charm. It's happened. It has my heart. And for a cool $600, it could be mine. Over a long period of time when I decide $600 is a reasonable lamp price. Which may take some time.

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My bed tried to kill me.

Well, that's probably a bit overdramatic. Turns out, I have had a pretty bad allergic reaction to the new bed base I bought from Crate and Barrel. While I'm not asthmatic or otherwise super allergy-inclined, I do have bizarre chemical sensitivities to things like strong household cleaners, fresh house paint, new carpet etc. So when we bought a new bed, likely drenched in flame retardants and other nasties, and I slept on it for 7 or so hours each night, I began waking up with horrible headaches, body aches and general badness. And hey presto, when I began sleeping on the airbed in another room, I was fine.

Flash forward and we've sold the bed (yay and boo - it was beautiful, but lethal) and I'm looking for another base. I'm wondering about a wooden one, untreated (this one is beautiful and untreated) or perhaps a metal one? Anything without fabric. Any suggestions, dear readers? It's not especially heartening to see the metal and wood options out there, so thought I'd ask around...

Gold. Everywhere gold.

I don't quite understand what you'd do with these, but gee they're attractive. Packing a lunch? Keeping some things in a bag on a shelf? Quite alluring.

Crayon Vases

Thought these looked especially fetching when lined up all in a row like this. I'm not sure what flowers would look good in them, but I like the colours.

Perfect flower pot

This flower pot has a built-in squirrel who disappears when the water level is low. Genius.

Nighttime caraffe set

What a charming set - a little jug and glass to keep beside your bed. This would be a perfect Christmas present for my Grandma (who is really the only one I can show off presents for, as she doesn't read my blog!)

Socks Ahoy

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I have been noticing more and more terribly cute sock designs popping up online. As an inveterate cute-sock-buyer, these are incredibly appealing. 

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Foxy

I bought this sweater recently (it has since sold out) and I can't tell how you much I am enjoying it. Give me a deer, owl, fox or squirrel and I am pretty content. Woodland animals a-gogo.

Christmas Night Inspiration

These are such charming little decorations - made out of black and white images of old castles and scenery. Such a lovely idea.

Honey pots

Best. Honey. Design. Ever. Feel like I need to buy this immediately even though it's made in Armenia and not at all close by. What a brilliant idea and so beautifully executed.

Daiso Love

Awesome plastic apple-shaped bowls in white and hot pink. These didn't come home with me, but they're pretty amazing.

There is a magical shop called Daiso. In Japan, it is a 100 Yen store, which means that everything is 100 Yen (about $1.20) and there are outlets all around the world - many of which, ahem, I have visited. It's basically a dollar store (although everything is about $1.50 in the US) but the quality is really high and the merchanise is very cute.

It's been super helpful for us as we get set up in a new country/house. Screwdrivers, tea towels, tea mugs, a can opener, coat hangers, drawer organisers, food storage containers, trays, shelf liners, cotton balls, wrapping paper, ribbon, stationery, stickers, dental floss, craft supplies, - basically things you don't want to spend a lot of money on, but want them to be cute and cheap. (Am I alone in wanting cute dental floss? Perhaps. And I'm ok with that.)

There's one in San Francisco, too. Oh, and it's walkable from my house...which is incredibly dangerous. I love visiting and thought I'd show you some of the things that make me giggle and /or purchase.

Teddy bear-shaped jars? And crazy amounts of baking supplies? I may have bought some gingerbread cutters for Christmas and a rolling pin.

I loved LOVED these plates, but decided that they may be slightly too effeminate for The Pal. But aren't they the best? There are also polka-dotted ones you can just make out on the lower shelf. Amazing. I still may go back and get them. A set of 6 would only set me back $9...

And perhaps the  cutest section of  all, the weird household sponges. Microfibre never looked better than as a pink or green apple, and looks at those ridic rabbit dust gloves. Amazing.Anyone else have a weird dollar store stalking obsession? I love seeing what you can get and there can be surprisingly useful trinkets there. Come on, de-lurk and tell me your secrets!

Perfect colourful tray

Why hello geometric, colourful tray! It's made from coated steel, so not suitable for food serving, which is a shame. But it would make such a lovely jewelry organiser or just a feature on a plainer table. 

Side Table

A surprisingly cute side table for quite a reasonable price. I am enjoying its small little feet, especially.

Play houses

Adorable little play blocks. When visiting Japan, I was struck by a huge trend of kid's toys being nice, adult colours, and not crazy, branded Dora catastrophes. It's nice to think that if I wanted to buy a child a toy, it could be simple, natural-looking and still heaps of fun. Also, ahem, I wouldn't mind these blocks....

Gallery Wall Love

Really and truly, I've never met a gallery wall that I didn't love. And this one is no exception, of course. It feels like I might have even posted it before, or it feels like home. One of the two, I guess. 

Perfection

My friend C sent this to me, and said it reminded her of The Pal and I. And I have to say, she's totally right. This is probably the list I would write and a pretty great list of resolutions for this year and next. More of all of these, please! (Sorry, I don't have the link to the source: let me know if you know where it exists!)

Kitchen Love

I never thought there would be a time where I would miss all my kitchen things. But that time has come! Our things are hopefully arriving soon, but it's been five months without things like our plates and chopping boards, and I can't wait to unpack everything and feel better equipped. (One saucepan has been a real challenge!) This picture is providing much inspiration in the meantime.

Dipped wooden boxes

One of the things about living in the US that's tricky is the feeling of everything being so attainable. Living in Sydney, one is very used to thinking "that website probably doesn't ship internationally" or worse, "that website charges $100 for shipping, so that's no bargain". But here, everything ships, often free and always fast. This is a problem. It makes me think I *need* most things, or at the least, should buy them because there may be a day that I can't! Ridic, I know. In the middle of these deep, consumerist musings: voila! Cute wooden boxes. They probably won't come home with me, but they're pretty to admire in the meantime.

Ten Great Years

I'm a sucker for a good Beatles infographic and this one is no different. Quite unbelievable that they spanned this golden decade so successfully. Off to listen to I Am the Walrus...

Scandinavian Packaging

Love that English supermarket Tesco has such adorable tea packaging. If only all brands thought through how their products will look on shelves - I'd be so much more likely to 1. buy these and 2. display them if they were in cute, Scandinavian packets.

Hedgehog measuring cups

Um, hedgehog measuring cups? Completely adorable. Not practical, probably, but delightful.

Old Becomes New

Just such lovely covers by Mr Boddington's Studio. I'm a sucker for beautifully re-designs of old classics and these are no exception. 

Peaceful bathtimes

Not sure what I love more: the bathtub or the polka-dot robe. Maybe both? At the same time? Now there's a plan. Excuse me while I steal this room....

Tiny House Love

I do love a tiny house, and this one is no exception - imagine having a many-sided house in your backyard to escape in and read or write or craft? Heavenly.

Patient, loving and kind

My Mum always used to say a very similar thing to us each night before we went to bed: "Be loving, patient and kind". And it came up for me when I saw this print - what a sweet reminder.

Table settings

I'm getting increasingly excited about my family coming over to San Francisco for Christmas. I'm dreaming up color schemes and table decorations for us - and this one is such a pretty one. No spoilers, of course, but I really am thinking about it a lot!

Lovely bedroom

Just love, love, love the colors of this house. The wood and the white is just delicously clean and lovely.

Geometric Marilyn

Would love a print of this blown up on my wall - what a wonderful image and a stunning geometric print.

Cosy living rooms

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Thanks for all your comments on the sewing machine! The box actually arrived last night and even though I haven't opened it yet, I'm very excited. :)  Meanwhile, these living rooms are proving very inspirational. I'm trying to think about how to make our place look homey before our boxes arrive (sigh!) and these are pretty great to make my head start thinking about what to do.

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Sewing Machine

I've wanted a sewing machine pretty much ever since I arrived in the US almost four months ago. But I've been also worrying about investing (or over-investing?) in a machine, as the voltage differences between Australia and the US means that I won't ever be able to take it back home, when I do return one day. (See, Mum? "When" I return!)  But then I saw this Limited Edition (what is it about those words? They make me impulsive!!) black vintage-style Singer, and thought, This. Is. It.

Anyway. I bought it. It was, including shipping and tax on Amazon, $206, which isn't too crazy in the world of sewing machines. And it had great reviews. And hopefully I can re-sell it one day or gift it to a crafty friend. I'm pretty excited for it to arrive...

More scarf love

It's getting cooler each day over here, and a little darker in the mornings, too. I've been wearing more and more layers and slowly, more and more scarves. The one above is actually San Francisco - I found it on Kickstarter (which, by the way, is a great place to look for Chrissy presents - you can support artists + give things to your friends at the same time!)

And this one?  Well goodness. It's actually a furoshiki which is a Japanese cloth for carrying goods. I'm going to use it as a scarf - yep, I bought this one already from Jollygoo's delightful new shop Uguiso in Tokyo.

Geometric Jewelery

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Ok, it's no secret that I like triangles. So here are some delicious geometic shapes which look pretty amazing to me. Enjoy!

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