Mirror Mirror On The Wall

A mirror can change a room completely with it's shape and reflection, it can really be transforming...
Try this Shell Mirror as seen in Food & Wine magazine's feature on this beautiful Florida kitchen and it comes from Pier 1...

I'll take the kitchen please!

Round Shell Mirror $300

This is an eye-catcher also...

Sunburst on sale for $79

Or this fun wall piece for a girl's or guest room...

Hippie Chic Wall Flower, $99

I love shopping Pier 1... I usually find great buys on their glassware too.  I buy 3 or 4 glasses to mix and match for a dollar or two each like these pressed floral tumblers...

A Sunny Holiday Kitchen

It's not too early to start planning for Thanksgiving if you're the host... I mean as far as your kitchen tools, dishes, etc....  or if you're a guest invited to a Thanksgiving feast, what will you bring your host?
Don't wait until the last minute and putting thought into a gift really shows you care...  Here are some ideas of things I liked at one of my favorite sites, Anthropologie... I love yellow, so here are some great gifts with a sunny theme... 

Oh, and the price is right too!

This reminds me of my something my grandmother had in her collection...

Milkmaid Butter Dish, $28

You can use this to limit the kids TV time too...

Magnetic Timer, $12

This is great for everyday cooking... I have so many tops with oil splatter stains...

Jitterbug Apron, $32

If there are young kids around, these illustrations by Charley Harper are unique...

Flash Cards and Puzzle, $14.95

Italian Cooking is my favorite and this book gives you a glimpse into the folk culture also...

Cookbook, $45

I'll be keeping you posted on my Thanksgiving menu plans.

Share your ideas with us by leaving a comment.

Back To School Tools

Many of us Moms have made a few plus trips already to Staples for the obligatory back-to-school supplies. If your looking for something a little different for your tweens, teens or college bound children I found some great organizational tools that are well designed.  And for that reason they are on the MOMA Store (Museum of Modern Art) website.  So here are a few really I liked... they make great gifts...

Amigo Leather Desk Accessory

Tower of Clips

Conceal Bookshelf

Poster Hanger

If these are too nice for the kids then maybe it's time to buy something for Mom or Dad... and they're not expensive!

What organizational tools work for you?

Some Mens Dream

Some men dream about women, some about cars, and some both... mine is the former, and of course, he only dreams about me...
Anyway, if your hubby is a car lover, and he has the HOT car already... and you want to get him a gift of driving accessories... check out this website, Car Guy Gear... they have great stuff, including these very stylish Piloti driving shoe...

... and some are on sale for about $60, down from $90

Neon sign... stylish, large and impressive...isn't that what they all want!

$469

Happy 'Gifting'!

Books for Your Host

I know I've found the perfect gift when I'm thinking, "one for you and one for me"... well, I felt that way in general when looking at these beautiful books from Anthropologie, and as you scroll down the page they just keep getting better and better.
This time of the year with Memorial Day and Summer gatherings upon us, any one of these would make the perfect gift for your host...
They range in price from $14.95 to about $75... there's even a book that costs $1,200.00, yes, I thought I was seeing double, but it's an art book, can you guess which one...

I may buy a few to have just in case, and one may end up on my night table (whoops) by accident of course... Enjoy!

Color Me Consuela!

Thinking Summer already... while vacationing this 'Spring Break' in Sedona, I discovered Consuela, a designer extraordinaire from Dripping Falls, Texas... I just like saying dripping falls... if you're afraid of color this is not for you or just maybe it is... her original inspiration was Cozumel, Mexico... and the "vibrant colors in folk art and textiles from around the world"...

I bought this one

Magic II Blanket, $275

Grande Tote, $172

The bags are waterproof too so they're great for the beach, adventures with the kids... and clothing is coming to the newly revised website soon!

Have a great weekend!

Magical Photo Tools!

It takes only a few minutes to do, but you could spend days having fun with these websites!

My sister wants me to design a Tee for my nephew with a skatboarding theme, so last night while I was doing research on the web I came across two very COOOOL websites that both take your digital photos and create something NEW with them and they're FREE!... and what you do with the final image is your choice... with many options for output media.

Something that computers do VERY WELL... is taking lots of information, in this case your digital photos, hundreds if you like, and instantly make a collage in almost any shape you can think of...

Shapecollage.com

I made these two shapes very quickly with some of the photos I've taken for my blog... but a theme like one of your kids, your dog,a family trip, etc. would be very visually strong...

Make it with 50 or 250 photos

Closeup

So many shapes including letters and numbers, or something you draw

The other website I found is PhotFunia, it's a photo editing tool, a little gimmicky, but so much FUN!!!

 "Upload any photo and just wait to see the magic."

This photo of my son became...

This...  in one click!

My other son when he was in elementary school

Some of the effects are animated too...

Send them as gifts to friends and family... they'll love it!

Color Your World...

Today's blog is going to be brief with my husband and kids going on their hiking trip I promised to help my husband stuff all his hitech clothes and gear into the backpacks.  I don't believe how much all these 'wicking clothes' cost for the boys roughing-it weekend trip!
I remember the days when my kids were very young (just six years ago, WOW), and we bought black chalkboard paint for one of the kids' rooms.  Well, color your world because thanks to a blurb in 'House Beautiful' magazine I discovered Hudson Paint, hudsonpaint.com, and all 24 colors of chalkboard paint.   They have a beautiful website (an artists product) with customers decorating ideas on how to use these delicious paints like, 'supergirl periwinkle and superboy blue.

Another 'House Beautiful' find was a site for a great girls gift and the perfect party favor.  A classic children's toy in handcast pewter.  As they say on their site, "...Our pewter bubble wands take bubble blowing to a new level"!   Well, with the holidays right around the Fall corner, I ordered the 'Crown Bubble Wand" for my favorite girl princess.