A Potted-Plant Potluck

Posted by Bluelines

Ideal for city-dwellers and garden neophytes, here's some easy and out-of-the-box (er pot) ideas from our favorite gardener.

Pressed for Art?

Posted by Scott

Recently, I have become a fan of Nydam Press on Etsy, especially these Eagle Mirror Linoleum Block Prints.

A framed series of these on one wall would be spectacular. I love how there’s a hint of fancy ornateness to the frame mixed with the craftiness of the linoleum print to bring it back done to earth. That’s my kind of art!

Want more? Check out these other charming prints.

Rocking Chair Print

Italian Greyhound Print

Whale Block Print Card

Note from Bluelines: If you are thinking that our blogger is lazily surfing Etsy all day, not so. In addition to bringing us a constant stream of charming (not to mention affordable) finds, he is a talented stylist who recently launched his own site. Here he is hard at work on a shoot (far from an Internet connection).

Southen Comfort

Posted by Kerstin

I was in Virginia this past weekend, and a few exits away from the Southern Kitchen (raved about by many food writers as a superb roadside destination).

Although it’s dangerously close to bathing-suit season, I decided this was too tempting to pass up.

Located in the small town of New Market, Virginia, the large vintage sign outside says it all. No trendy food fads have tainted the down-home menu.

House specialties include peanut soup and the friend chicken platter (served with choice of two sides, ranging from the smart (house salad) to the sinful (buttered corn, fried potatoes).

I chose stewed tomatoes, forgetting that most true southern cooks put a half cup of sugar into any vegetable dish. Thankfully, it turned out to be a nice balance to the savory chicken.

I don’t know how they did it, but the fried chicken was the crispiest and most flavorful I have tasted, yet it had no greasy side effect. Note: only one napkin was needed.

And the meat inside, well, let’s just say it was juicy and tender enough to leave the plate clean. (You did see the plate above, right?) About the only unauthentic things? Our charming waitress (from New Jersey) and some of the taxidermy on the walls.

Although the atmosphere and service was no worse the wear because of it.

Up, Up, and Away

Posted by Katie

Soon the warm, breezy days of spring will give way to the hot, humid days of summer. Unless you are opting for a Mia Farrow cut, you will need something to keep your locks from going limp.

One solution? a ponytail or bun with some glamour.  I give my elastic hair bands an upgrade with a simple and inexpensive accent: buttons. The ones below were found at Lou Lou Buttons in New York City, but there are other sources such as Tender Buttons, M&J Trimming, or Great Buttons.

They're a cinch to make with the right materials. You will need elastic hair bands, available at any drugstore, jump rings in brass, silver or gold, and a pair of needle-nose pliers. Your fingers or tweezers will do in a pinch.

Simply bend open the jump ring with pliers and attach hair elastic and button (remember the jump ring will need to be big enough to fit around both).

Then, close it up and you're ready. Since there were no hair models around the office, fellow blogger Kerstin and myself opted to show you a few of my favorite creations.

 

Touch Base

Posted by Lisa & Rena

We are texture junkies. Rena is a terror to museum guards, as she is always stretching her fingers longingly toward the art.

There's a word for this: haptic. It means “of or relating to the sense of touch.” Recently, we’ve been enjoying three books, all mysterious white volumes that are each haptic experiences, both in form and content.

Sheila Hicks uses a very tactile medium -- weaving -- and explores it using nontraditional materials and rhythms, creating lovely design. Her book "Weaving as Metaphor" is a large, soft brick and wonderful to hold; Dutch designer Irma Boom won a "most beautiful book in the world" award for the design.

Kenya Hara, who is, among other things, the art director of MUJI, comes from the other direction, imbuing the clean cold world of design with texture and emotion. The book "Designing Design" has many examples of inventive and minimalist projects that explore haptics, and it also goes into detail about the MUJI no-design philosophy.

Finally, Giuliana Michelotti works with mostly sterling silver and rough, uncut precious stones to make jewelry that seems to be shaped by nature itself, as seen in her book "Inform."

Mommie Dearest (Continued)

Posted by Bluelines

Here's another blogger on what she'll be giving Mom this weekend. Again, please share your gift ideas with us.

Posted by Kerstin

My mom has a thing for elephants. You can find them tucked in all over the living room shelves and assorted other places in the house. For Mother's Day, I thought it was high time she have an elephant she could take with her on the go.

They have the cutest enamel jewelry at J. Crew this season. I recently spotted this elephant necklace so that now she doesn't have to look further than her neck to see a familiar friend.

Mommie Dearest

Posted by Bluelines

Don't worry, no wire hangers in this post.

We simply asked our bloggers to share what they will be giving their mothers come Sunday. And for any moms out there: no peeking!

Check back tomorrow for another gift. And please, share any ideas you have.

Posted by Rebecca

"For Mothers Day, I want to get my mom tickets to the new show "Boeing Boeing." My mom loves Broadway -- she's taken me to shows since I was little. This one just got a great review in the New York Times, and I love how stylized the sets are."

A Nice Surprise

Posted by Lena

I just had a chance to catch up with Andrea Wyner, who photographed our wedding in August 2005. We bumped into each other on the subway, and realized that we're now neighbors, since Andrea splits her time between San Francisco and New York City.

Andrea so beautifully captured the feeling and atmosphere of our wedding. I feel fortunate to have had her there to document it all. Our wedding was also photographed by the fabulous Thayer Allison Gowdy for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, so we’re really lucky to have an abundance of great images from the day.

I took a peek at Andrea’s lovely portfolio, during our ride on the subway together. Here are some of my favorites (the last group of four is from our wedding).

 

Bring Back the Coffee Break

Posted by Regan

Why is the coffee served in offices so bad? If not weak and watery, it manages to be overly strong yet characterless. And who knows if that giant urn ever gets a good cleaning?

It's time to banish bad coffee for good. Do you have a hot water source and two hands? That's all you need (plus a few pieces of low-tech equipment) to brew a truly sublime cup right from your cube.

Bath and Beyond

Posted by Rebecca

The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house -- a sanctuary. Where else could allow Calgon to take you away?

Recently, I’ve started freshening up our bathroom. I started with new towels (from the Martha Stewart line at Kmart), which are amazingly plush -- not to mention cheap at $9.99 for the bath size. I’ve also bought new soap.

I love this French soap holder that Apartment Therapy sells for $40 as much for its beauty as its function.

   

And just last week I found these great wooden vases at Jamali Garden Supplies that I use for both magazines and toilet paper. They cost $25 and fit perfectly together.

These small changes are great. And although they don’t quite equal the rooms below, I can keep dreaming...

Artist in Residence

Posted by Lisa & Rena

Portland artist Betsy Walton is having a show at our store in San Francisco this month and we couldn’t be more excited. We sat down with her to ask her about art and life.

Made in the Shade

Posted by Kerstin

I've been looking for the perfect shade to paint my bedroom. However, the fluorescent lighting and middle-school gymnasium floor at the hardware store are making it somewhat dull.

I am so happy I found colourlovers.com, a site to navigate, discuss, and discover new color. Think of it as a blog and trend report rolled into one. While the site attracts designers, ad professionals, and architects, anyone can use it as a resource or inspiration point.

Browsing the thousands of user-submitted color, palette, and pattern galleries, I came across a subdued combination called “Sunny Day with You” that mixed colors like eggplant and yellow that would be lovely accents to my gray living/dining room.

"Sunny Day With You"

While my main objective was to pin down the palest shade of pink or khaki for my bedroom -- I got lost for way too long (company hours) here.

I predict you will, too.

I loved this name, "Salty"

Another perfect palette

Inspired by a kimono

Pimp Ride

Posted by Elizabeth

I have a love-hate relationship with owning a bicycle in New York City.

On one hand, I love the idea of hopping on a bike and riding all over the city until I don’t feel like it anymore. I also love the thought of not having to rent one every time the feeling grabs me.

On the other hand, I hate that I have nowhere to store a bike -- except in my apartment. So if it’s something I’m going to look at every day (and, of course use), I have to love it through and through.

I‘ve found two that I adore and can’t decide on which one.

The first is Trek’s Soho 3.0

The second is Jorg&Olif’s Scout

What do you think?

Start Your Spatulas

Posted by Bluelines

With much of the East Coast and Northwest in a rainy rut this week, it’s a perfect time to be holed up inside and baking.

And what’s better than licking that wooden spoon? Winning something for all your time and batter tasting (aka effort).

Enter the Martha's Favorite Cookie contest and you can score a signed copy of the New York Times bestselling book “Martha Stewart’s Cookies.”

The sweet prize

Here are some scrumptious baked wonders already in the running.

From slightly scary

to positively starry and many more.

Tune In

Posted by Kerstin

So, I'm ready to fulfill a dream I’ve had for a while: learn to play guitar.

My first step is to picking out an instrument.

A musician friend told me the shape of an electric model might be ideal to learn on since its neck is narrower and therefore, easier to practice the basics.

Enter the Bambusa, a electric guitar crafted from bamboo, which not only sports a clean, beautiful look, but is eco-friendly as bamboo is one of the most renewable natural resources around.

The guitar’s price tag, available from First Act, makes my wallet feel good as well. It retails for $399.

I will keep you updated on the search. And please, anyone with ideas, feel free to send them to me.

Pardon Us

Oops! Sorry for our not-quite-ready-to-go-live post this morning.

We promise to bring this fun DIY project when its good and ready.

Bluelines

See How Our Garden Grows

Posted by Shane

Last summer, my boyfriend, Addys, and I moved into a garden apartment in a Brooklyn brownstone. We had never imagined cohabitating this kind of space -- but having the garden to ourselves just outside the kitchen has been both inspiring and a quiet retreat on weekend afternoons.

Brave New World

Posted by Lisa & Rena

Every few weeks, we set out through our fine city of San Francisco to discover what’s happening in the world of art, crafts, and design.

This past week we found a goldmine at the Luggage Store Gallery, where we encountered "Feral" – a collaboration between artists Swoon and Monica Canilao. Using wood, paper, paint, and found materials, the artists created (and literally built) a extraordinary environment populated by both realistic and imagined characters, including strange animals, skeletal mermaids, she-wolves, spinsters, dreamers, and savages.

What struck us as much as the cast was the other-worldliness of the environment they shaped as well as the remarkable attention to detail and craftsmanship.

While viewing the installation, which takes up the entire gallery, the spectator is able to wander through shacks and pathways that lead to hundreds of small corners filled with the artists’ colorful and often haunting groupings.

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The installation is up at the Luggage Store only through Saturday, April 26, so if you happen to live nearby, we recommend dropping in.

In the meantime, we also suggest "This is Home" published in Spain and chock-full of images of Monica’s work.

Sneak peak: Join us next week for an interview with the prolific Betsy Walton whose work will be hanging in Rare Device in San Francisco from May 1 through June 1.

Photos by Faythe Levine.

Gold Rush

Posted by Scott

The recent string of warm-weather days has not swayed me from finding more great finds on etsy.

By now, you all know what a sucker I am for handmade goods. I really enjoy the handmade feel to these unique items.

Case in point: The gold vessel below

The pot is waterproof and made from a very stiff paper-mache. Then it is painted, gold leafed, and polyurethaned.

This artist also carries a gray container set and gold-rimmed dish. These sophisticated simple designs make for great accents or collection pieces to sprinkle around your home.

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Happy Earth Day

Posted by Callie

OK, you may have heard the word eco-friendly ad nauseam this month. But we have something to share with you on Earth Day that we would glady support and use any day of the year.

The Danish company, FLOWmarket aims to inspire consumers everywhere to think, live, and consume things in a smarter, (dare we say greener?) way.

Their  "scarcity goods" collection of products are not only good for the environment but are fetching to look at  -- which is good since you will use them over and over again.

Here's some of the aesthetically designed (empty) packaging with humorous and thought-provoking phrases that can be found on their online shop.

While you're there, be sure to look at the "Did You Know" page to see some eye-opening statistics.

Found Treasure

Posted by Kerstin

There is a well-heeled auction house here in New York called Doyle New York that recently held their estate jewelry sale.

I wasn’t able to attend -- not a huge loss, as the prices were a tad out of reach -- but I loved flipping through the glossy, thick catalog they sent me. The book was filled with tortoise and gold hair combs, platinum and diamond cases, and emerald-incrusted insect brooches to name just a few of the stunning pieces.

A fancy Doyle clip

It started me thinking about a link my friend recently sent me: Carole Tanenbaum -- a vintage jewelry site for those times when I need a hit of the sparkling and refined.

A springy Bakelite bracelet

Surprisingly, I ended up liking the Bakelite and wood sections best. Check it out whether you are in the market to buy or just wander (like me).

Change of Art

Posted by Bluelines

With blooms budding everywhere, we thought it was time to spruce up our space, so we swapped out our logo banners above with some gorgous new artwork.

Where did we find such charming,nature-inspired beauties? No further than our own blogger, Lisa Congdon.
In addition to blogging for us (see Home Plate post, below) and running her fabulous store and site, Rare Device, with Rena Tom, she is also a gifted artist.

The best part? You can own a little bit of her talented work by clicking here. While you are there, check out some of her faves.