Top Five Friday

I've been listening to Regina Spektor a lot lately. Here are my Top 5. I think Us (500 Days of Summer soundtrack) is one of the greatest songs ever. It makes me want to frolic in a field of strawberries or something equally as idyllic. Number two is Samson (he ate a slice of Wonder bread and went right back to bed). Number three is Better. I just take a deep, girly breath and smile when it comes on. Number four is On the Radio (uh-oh!); don't you love how she mentions "November Rain" a few times in this song? Now that's some good song-writing. And number five I've had stuck in my head all day today (I'm writing this on Thursday b/c I'm probably en route to Malibu as you read this)-- Musicbox. What are your Regina faves, maybe some of her earlier stuff? Anybody seen her in concert? That's definitely on my to-do list here in Cali. Hope you all have a spectacular weekend!

image found here

Malibu!

I'm going to Malibu for a conference this weekend. These Polaroids weren't taken there but they feel very Malibu-ish. I'm excited to do a little traveling this weekend and exploring more of California. See you all on Monday!

images by Irene Suchocki's found via you are my fave

More Flowers

I'm kind of on a flower kick this week. Maybe it's because the warmer temps are making it really feel like spring now? Go and check out Geninne's blog, her gorgeous artwork could inspire a bump on a log!

Brighten your Monday

It's easy to feel blue on Mondays, nostalgic about the weekend that just passed, and impatient for the weekend that needs to hurry up and get here. But don't these gorgeous pictures from Abby Try Again just make you feel a little better? They definitely brightened up my Monday! Best wishes to you all for a lovely week.

Green butts!

Walk down any beach in Miami and you'll find countless cigarette butts and bits of filters everywhere. The sand doesn't mean it's an ashtray people! Definitely one of my biggest pet peeves, it baffles me that smokers think it's okay to throw their cigarette butts just anywhere, all willy-nilly. But what if you actually could throw your nasty cigarettes on the ground because from the grossness comes glory-- flowering plants! Enter Greenbutts. The cigarette filter made out of biodegradable organic cotton that sprouts flowers or grass when thrown in the soil. Soon smokers will be able to say, "Yes I realize that my lungs are blacker than tar but it's for a good cause!" [Insert sarcastic glance here]

images from inhabitat found via altruism in the morning

Top Five Friday

Happy Friday! Today I'm going to start a new blog tradition, "Top Five Fridays." Inspired by my number five favorite movie, High Fidelity. The guys in High Fidelity remind me of my neighbors and great friends from college who were in a band and were total music snobs. They spent hours discussing bands, music genres, and all that geeky musician stuff. They're still in the band actually, check them out here. My number one is Breakfast at Tiffany's and I don't really think I need to explain why this film is so very spectacular. Number two is one of my favorite Jane Austen stories. That part in Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Darcy is walking towards Elizabeth with the sunrise behind him, well it just makes me weak in the knees. Number three, The Royal Tenenbaums, inspired my Halloween costume a few years ago (I loved being Margo Tenenbaum). And number four, Garden State, I've watched so many times, I've just lost count. It's quirky, romantic and funny, just my type. What are your top five movies this Friday?

Now that's what I call graffiti

I saw this a while back on Twig and Thistle and bookmarked it. Any art form that slaps a fuzzy, green tree on an ugly, brown building is okay by me.  I hope it catches on!

images by Edina Tokodi

Beach bums

Suki and I headed to the beach with some friends this Sunday. Good times were had by all (especially the pups), and the final picture is of Suki at home before her bath. I figured I'd give her a 10 minute break before I washed the ocean stench off. Yum!

Ninja vs. Giant mosquito bug

So, the other night I was about ready to fall asleep when I spotted a pretty big moth fluttering around my lamp. I was not about to sleep with a giant bug buzzing around my room, so I decided that I would catch-and-release this wayward little creature. First I tried to catch it with a plastic bag, which was unsuccessful. Next, I tried a cardboard box which was equally unsuccessful with the added bonus of sending the box flying across the room while I screamed bloody murder as the panicked moth flew straight into my face. Finally I walked to the kitchen to get a mug and a piece of paper. I'm sure the moth was as exhausted as I was after the whole ordeal because she just sat on the floor as I put the cup over her and carried her safely to the backyard.

In between all the moth shenanigans I discovered one of those giant mosquito bug things. We don't have these in Miami, and I must say that they totally freak me out! They make this terrible buzzing sound when they fly, and their overall look is very ominous.  I quickly gave up trying to be humane about the whole thing when this crazy looking bug decided to fly at me and sent me ducking, running and shrieking all over the room. I ended up swatting at the thing repeatedly with my weapon of choice- a yellow, floral hand towel.  Every time it landed somewhere I smacked it with the towel. Even the lamp went flying off the night stand when I banged the towel against it. Clearly, this offensive attack just pissed the bug off even more. Almost 45 minutes later, armed with the vacuum cleaner, a bottle of hairspray (I was trying to incapacitate the thing by freezing it's wings), and my trusty hand towel, I defeated my enemy. It landed high up on the wall, I perched myself up on the bed looking very much like a predatory cat or a stealthy ninja (that's how I prefer to think of myself, thank you) and SMACK! Victory.

image via temple 7e's etsy shop...i want them all!

Sweetness

I'm just loving these colorful ballet flats, and the bows make them twice as cute! Is anybody else as excited as I am about tomorrow being Friday? Woohoo!

flats found at sundance

Scuba Steve and his pipe

How could you not absolutely love a scuba diver smoking a pipe? If I ever get up the nerve to learn how to scuba dive, I hope it looks and feels as dreamy as this painting (smiling octopus and all). It does make me giggle when I think that I've dedicated my career to the ocean, and yet the thought of being underwater makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. Yeah, I like the ocean from land thank you very much. 

image by matte stephens via poppytalk

A city mouse

This weekend I made a quick trip to San Francisco ( I love that I can say that now, just a quick trip!). As I drove into the city, I realized how very much I missed the intersecting freeways, the tall buildings covered in bright graffiti, the crowds of people walking everywhere, and the noise, that lovely city noise. The older I get, the more things I discover about myself that I never really knew. I never actually thought of myself as "city folk" but after this weekend I can safely say that I miss the tiny (fantastically delicious) restaurants, the crowded sidewalks, the museums, bars and all the great things that come with city life. I'll have to make more trips to San Fran in the future and dig my feet in to explore. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend too!

image from heads of state found via fancy frills

New addition

Here's the newest addition to my Great Wall of Etsy (more details and photos coming later in the week). I just love Nan Lawson's illustrations, but this is definitely my favorite. Hope you all had a great weekend!

image via nan lawson

Not your average gumball machine

Simply the coolest thing I've seen today! Instead of hard-to-chew gumballs, you get a lovely little packet of seeds to disperse nearby. Can you imagine having these in barren neighborhoods, street corners and highways? Their would be lush, green spaces in every corner of every city! It's absolutely genius! Okay, okay I'll calm down. They might have to attach a garden hose or something to water the seeds, no? It's definitely worth a gander so go check it out at the Common Studio. Does anyone have a rich uncle that would like to buy a bunch of these and install them in ugly cities worldwide? Get back to me on that.

images/gadget found via design under sky

Make a wish...

How cute is this?  Write your name and a wish on one of these (biodegradable) little boats and hope it will come true! Much more creative than just dropping a penny in a fountain.

images and boats on upon a fold; found via altruism in the morning

Did somebody say spring?

Not here in Monterey, Ca! It's absolutely freezing outside! Okay remember people, I'm from Miami where folks bring out their parkas and wool sweaters when the temperature dips down below 70.  Despite the balmy weather, we ventured out to downtown Pacific Grove this weekend and stopped into Miss Trawick's Garden Shop. Lots of bright flowers and cute garden tchotchkes all over the place. Don't flowers just make you feel warmer? I was definitely feeling the warm and fuzzies until I walked back outside and a cold gust of wind slapped me in the face. Suki and I spent the rest of the afternoon hibernating in my bedroom worshiping the space heater gods. Hallelujah. 

images via you grow girl (one of my faves)

Easter Cuteness

These photos just ooze cuteness. What it is that makes me want to squeeze tiny animals? Hope you all have a fantastic, chocolate-bunny-filled Easter!

images by sharon montrose via unruly things

Perfection

I spotted this gorgeous house on Design Sponge the other day. I LOVE the pink walls and all the vintage touches. Nice job, Gurkin (that's whose house it is). The puppies are ridiculously cute as well, I'd take the house and the puppies too. On a totally different note, who is totally stoked about Anthony being back on Project Runway? YESSSSS!

images via design sponge