Holiday Supplies!

You wanna know what's better than sugarplums, tinsel, and Christmas cookies combined? Spending the holiday with a brand new kitten!

Flannel

Meeting Flannel, the new addition to the Alison Rose/Mr. Sketch/Grace family, is my happy surprise present. I didn't ask Santa for kitten snorgles this year but this little fuzz bundle might just end up being my perfect Christmas wish.

Yet, on the opposite end of the surprise spectrum, a friend's mom was trimming the tree this past weekend and fell off a ladder and broke her leg! Yeouch! [Update: She is doing alright although confined to the couch].

So have you been hit with any holiday surprises - good or bad - yet? Or maybe you have a memorable anecdote from the past to share with us. Other than playful kitten kisses and Coquito, laughter is the best salve for holiday anguish.

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Weekend Flings

• Surrealist Bento Magic (seen above)
• It's Called a Dickie
• Porcelain's New Favorite
• No GAP in Annoyance

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Pine Tree Stand

Pine Tree Stand by Maria Håård, at Design House Stockholm

Place a star on top AND the bottom of the tree this year. Minimal, Swedish, and available in red, green or white. So much nicer than the clunky ones from Home Depot.

For these reasons, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

I Am Cracker

Ever since watching this video...

...I haven't been able to open an egg to save my life. Every omelet is preceded by this Humpty Dumpty fumble of a dramatic eggactment.

Want your very own EZ Cracker? They do exist.

Warm for Porcelain

USB Heating Gloves, at USB Geek

Happy birthday, Porcelain!

I regret I did not buy the shown-above BEST BLOGGER GIFT EVER for your special day. I suggest you sit on your hands, for the time being, and just wait and hope for Christmas...or next year...or (best yet) a warmer, mo' better work environment.

I love you, my blogger buddy, and I hope 2010 brings you success and warm fingers!

Scandinavian wreath

Kotte wreath, at Ikea

Hardwood and I picked up this simple wreath made of wheat at a recent trip to Ikea. A nice, but still natural, change of pace from the usual boxwood wreaths we buy.

If you want a more fragrant option, watch this Jane Cumberbatch video and learn to make a savory rosemary wreath.

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Weekend Flings

• Flags From Food, or, SmART (seen above)
• "Hello...Wine & Cheese...Ding Dong."
• Neck Butterflies Can Only Breed Violence
• America's Next Top Cheeseburger

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Towels, Artistic

Salsa Stripe Dishtowels, at Crate and Barrel

Since we're on the subject of dish towels, I've had my eye on these feisty numbers for awhile. Stripes and bold color often wins over my heart. These particular towels make me think of warm nights and spicy music...of squeezing limes to pulp and soapy water floating bits of avocado...

Frida Kahlo

They are the kitchen accessory equivalent to Frida Kahlo's ballsy desire to want it all - the color, the juice, the grime - now give it.

Bonus Bone: Hand Towels by PataPri

Iroiro Hand Towel, $15 at Etsy

Yuko Uemura, the creative force behind PataPri, is getting this screenprinting thing just about right. A graphic designer who spends her time in both Tokyo and Chicago, she loved her screenprinting class at Lillstreet Art Center so much that she decided to start her own handmade business.

Set of 3 Hand Towels, $27 at Etsy

What I love about her hand towels is the girlish simplicity. First of all, everyone can use a towel - in the kitchen, in the bathroom - so the product is necessary, basic. But then Uemura makes each towel special with a smart, sweet, but never saccharine design.

Paper Towel Hand Towel, $15 at Etsy

Besides hand/dish towels, she also prints on aprons and tote bags. Her Etsy shop also lists bedding, tablecloths, and paper products, although these categories are empty now. I'm so sad; I'm so curious. Perhaps, if we buy enough towels, we can fund her new year printing spree and satisfy our textile habit!

For this reason, I, Cardboard, declare this a Design Boner.

Art Farm

Dan Martensen and Shannan Click's country home, all photographs by The Selby

When Hardwood was laid off this summer, we started to reexamine our lives. We questioned what we wanted to do, where we wanted to live and what kind of lives we wanted to lead. We met a young ceramic artist earlier in the year who bought a farm in Western Michigan and used all the out buildings for making art. We loved this idea and seriously considered the idea of moving from Chicago and starting our own Art Farm.

We want to be able to make a living off our art. We also love the idea of having a self-sustaining life. Growing everything we eat, bartering with other members of the community for services/products, etc. We even went so far as check out a farm for sale in Michigan. In the end we decided that we still had a bit of the city left in us. Plus we weren't financially able to up and move right away. This might be a five year plan sort of situation.

When I saw the Selby's photographs of Dan Martensen and Shannan Click's country home, all my country living/Art Farm dreams came flooding back. The simplified life, fresh veggies, pickling, ping pong tournaments and space to make noise and get messy. There's one more thing I'd like to add to our dream list: a pool!

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Take a Pill

Sleeping Pill Body Pillow, by Galactic Boutique on Etsy

Full of sugar (thanks to yesterday's delicious cookie fest) and completely exhausted, I could use one of these pillows right now. I probably don't need the hard stuff; a Tylenol PM pillow will do just fine.

First Found (Hilariously Doctored) on Regretsy

Weekend Flings

• Press Play For Heart Explosion (seen above)
• Cardboard Made One of These Today
• And Porcelain Made a Bunch of These...And These

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: This Is Not A Pipe tea light

This Is Not A Pipe tea light, at Jonathan Adler

My Art History major heart just went thumpity thump thumpity thump.

For this reason, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

Dining room mock-up

Clockwise from top center: PH5 pendant lamp, at DWR; Modern drape rod, at Pottery Barn; Wool panel with grommets, at West Elm; Norden dining table, at Ikea; Rona stemware, at CB2; Ikea 365+ dinner plate, at Ikea; Spin napkin, at Crate & Barrel; Strand flatware, at Crate & Barrel; Fiberglass shell chair, at Modernica; Wegner Wishbone chair, at Room & Board

After Thanksgiving, I've really had the desire to make my dining area look more put together. Our dining room shares space with my painting studio and it has worked out, for the most part, but it can get pretty cluttered.

I'm tossing around the idea of switching our dining room and our living room, although if you want to get technical, we'd be moving it into its properly designated room. I'd still share the front room, but this time with the boob tube. Imagine painting and watching some Gossip Girl, my semi-secret guilty pleasure! All of my paintings will start being of Serena and Blair.

Don't fret Cardboard! You will always be my muse!

My one big reluctance is that we'll go through the trouble of moving all of the heavy furniture and end up not liking it - only to be forced to move it back (and having Hardwood not too pleased with this hair-brained scheme of mine).

To get the creative juices flowing, I made a mock-up featuring a few items we already have (table, shell chairs, dishes/tableware) and a few Scandinavian classics that I've always wanted. We have three Eames shell chairs in yellow ochre, so I'd like to round out the set with a few more. (I'm currently scouring eBay.) I feel the black wishbone chairs at either end of the table would balance out all the lighter colors, as would the dark curtains and rod. And I'd give anything to get rid of our '80s chandelier. (Also scouring eBay for a good deal on the PH5 light.)

So how do you think I should propose these suggestions to Hardwood? Anything you'd add or subtract from the mock-up?

Electric Soup

Le Creuset 8-Quart Stockpot, at Bed Bath & Beyond

Zing! I love the deep, rich cobalt color of this stockpot. I just don't think my kitchen is big enough to contain all that electricity...

...Or this electricity: