Tag Archives: design sponge

shopping local (and welcome, design*sponge readers!)

good morning!  how exciting to have so many new people here today…thanks for stopping by!  for my regular readers, i hope you’ll take a minute (okay, five…it’s a long piece) to check out my portland design guide over at design*sponge today.  i was beyond excited to put this together for grace – i’ve been dying to share my favorite spots in PDX ever since i moved back last year, and can’t imagine a better way to have been able to do it.

for those of you who wandered over from design*sponge, welcome!  i’m so happy to meet you.  i hope you’ll take a few moments to look around, make yourself at home, and discover something new to covet.

today, i thought i’d show you a few of my favorite finds from some of the local shops i featured in the design*sponge guide.  fortunately, most of my top picks for portland retail have online shopping…so you don’t have to wait until you visit to indulge.

that winking owl paperweight has been calling my name since i first visited canoe.  i have no need for an actual paperweight…but there’s something about this one i just can’t resist.

while i’m not much of a soft-boiled egg eater, i have a feeling that fun little alessi egg cup from hive (see the blue fellow, holding a spoon?) could convert me.  his cap is actually a salt shaker.  you take it off, put the egg in the man’s head, and dive in.  i’ve largely overcome the ‘cutesy’ decor affliction in my life…except my kitchen, where i’m a huge fan of kitsch!

ever since the shop owner at elsa + sam showed me that creamer/sugar combo pitcher by tonfisk, i haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.  i’m pretty sure it’s the ultimate wedding (or housewarming) gift for just about anyone…and i wouldn’t mind having one for myself as well.  that clever little sugar bowl actually sits inside the pitcher, and manages to stay upright even when the cream is being poured out.  fantastic!

i hope everyone’s enjoying their little taste of portland today, and i’m looking forward to seeing all of these new faces around a lot more!

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what i’m giving today: prints from lisa jones

found via the brilliant design*sponge, as usual!

these beautiful prints from artist lisa jones will set you back about $100 each (thank god the british pound finally weakened!), but i absolutely love these as gift ideas.  for your friend who just set up her new apartment or bought her first house, the “town” print is a sure reminder that she’s in the big city now!  and if you have a new mom on your list (or her new baby), the “night owl” print would be positively precious in a nursery.

whichever you choose, order quick – they’re still shipping for christmas, but not for long! fortunately, if it doesn’t arrive in time, it’s easy to print a copy at home and let them know the real thing is on its way!

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what i’ve wanted all week…

okay, i admit it – i’m cheating on today’s post.  it’s been a long week, and i’m just exhausted.  forgive me?

instead, i’m going to send you to check out some of the posts that have been making me happy this week – for those of you that have google reader, you can see my favorite blog posts all the time.  but for the rest of you, well, here’s a little look into my blog-reading world, instead of just my blog-writing world.

*  i have been just loving the new bags coming out of the mulberry design house lately, and bagsnob has written up my absolute favorite from the new line – the mabel bag.  not so much that gold snakeskin, but check out the fuschia and royal blue versions when you scroll down.  such fantastic pops of color for all of the bleak grey we’ll be seeing this fall.

*  holly at decor8 runs one of my absolute favorite design blogs.  she’s currently away (working on a move to germany, in fact), but in her absence, she has loads of guest bloggers showing off their favorite design inspirations.  this post features some seriously amazing bedroom designs – i am drooling over each and every one.  and this post is all about my new favorite thing – overpriced throw pillows.  i am cursing my new grey couch for the fact that it’s making me want oodles of $100+ artsy throw pillows to use as garnish.

*  and speaking of guest bloggers, one of my favorite artists – alena hennessy – has been guest blogging at design*sponge all week.  one of alena’s picks this week was a fantastic jewelry line called mani designs, and i just can’t get enough!  i’ll probably write them up at some point soon, but in the meantime, consider this a sneak peek!

*  last, but most certainly not least, i was recently introduced to the lovely editor of lei chic, a really fantastic blog based in – you guessed it – hawaii.  while you’re trying hard not to envy her for her idyllic home, take a look around – her site is pretty freaking fantastic.  some of my favorite finds were these lovely eco-chic totes and a site that’s a vast improvement on evite,  if nothing else, you can brush up on your aloha-speak. 

happy friday, everyone!

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fug or fab? a porch swing in my bedroom

more random than random, i know.  but i saw this picture from the owners of something’s hiding in here, courtesy of a sneak peek into their home over at design*sponge on monday, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  there’s something so fun and unexpected about a porch swing in the middle of a room.  i have some huge bay windows i’m trying desperately to make more functional, and right now, a porch swing facing them is sounding really good.  ooh, or maybe a hammock!

what do you all think about using outdoor furniture indoors?  am i onto something, or slowly losing my mind?

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