On Cloud Nine..

Fun little clip for Neiman Marcus. Have a good weekend all!

Directed by : Liz Von Hoene & Margo Weathers

(Thanks for the link Meghan)

loving target

The world is definitely getting smaller and so many of my favourite stores from the US have made their way to Canada in the past year - Crate and Barrel {yum}, West Elm {double yum}, and soon Anthropologie {yummiest of all!}. But...for all of these lovely stores that have finally arrived, the one I wish would leap across the border the most is Target - or 'Tar-jay' as said with a snotty French accent. That place is unbelievable! It's a Walmart with soooo much more style. On the strange popcorn machine purchasing adventure in Buffalo with Shayna Bloomer last summer, we stopped into Target and I picked up a kick-ass cobalt blue sweater, some beautiful little white dishes, and some other cool houseware items...I just can't leave that place empty-handed.

Here are some funky finds from one of my favourite stores - seriously!



1. Orla Kiely Stoneware Canister
2. Abstract Print Upholstered Chair
3. Floral Print Chaise
4. Clybourn Loft Floral Print Chair

oh anthro

Yet another inspirational photo from the beautiful Anthropologie...can't wait until their Spring opening in Toronto. My once-in-a-while trips to NYC, or browsing their store online just doesn't cut it.
Have a great weekend and hopefully my blogs will be a little more inspired next week!

he's just not that into you

I am dying to see this movie with one of my friends but due to my ailments this past week, I haven't quite been able to drag myself off the couch and into a theatre. My husband refuses to see it, but I wonder if this attempt to prove the movie isn't a chick flick would change his mind? Justin Long cracks me up!

Has anyone seen the movie? Is it worth seeing?

Happy Friday!

Hello dears! There is a birthday in the family this weekend, so I will be busily baking cupcakes. I'm also hoping to sneak in a few long walks. It sounds insane, but I am loving the gloomy weather. Usually I'm chomping at the bit for spring, but this year I want to hold onto winter just a little bit longer. Just to enjoy being out in my down vest, and snuggle up with a cup of coffee and watch the clouds.

Isn't this sweet? I stumbled upon that little heart tucked into the fence in my parents' backyard last weekend. My nieces had been down to visit for Valentine's Day and I guess they got excited about the heart shaped craft punch + red construction paper. I wonder how many of these will pop up over the next few months in odd places.

Aimée Wilder

I am loving the wallpaper collection by Aimée Wilder. How fun would a kid's room be with that robot or cloud paper? She has a shop here.

This Young House

Don't you love a great home renovation/makeover? See the ongoing transformation at This Young House, it is fantastic what they have done.

(Thanks Andi!)

Kakiyama

I'm sure the rice crackers are delicious, but the new packaging for Tokyo based Kakiyama is what would really entice me to buy them. Designed by GT & Canary. (via Lovely Package)

Humanoid

Looking at the Netherlands based Humanoid line, made me smile big today. I like the look of their collection, their office space, and this reminded me a bit of the Simon Evans post.

Fredrik Marsh

I can't put my finger out exactly why, but I am drawn to abandoned spaces. These left behind Dresden apartments photographed by Fredrik Marsh are very beautiful to me, perhaps it is the thought of what was once there, and the fragments and patterns of life left behind.

(via Set Design Thinking)

Flickr Design

I am thrilled about Flickr Design which showcases inspiring graphic design pieces found on Flickr. Check it. (via Design Dust)

(image from here)

david rockwell does the oscars

I really liked the stage design for the Oscars on Sunday night. On the intro video to the Oscars, we learned that the architect David Rockwell tried to bring everything in closer and make it more intimate and "club-like", like the original swanky Oscars from 80 years ago, by using low-descended chandeliers and seating the nominees right up close and personal to the curved stage. No awkward long walk up stairs this time! And of course, we loved the combined Swarovski crystal curtain framing the rough, corregated cardboard set detail, as well as the awesome graphical pattern on the floor, inspired by Michaelangelo's Piazza di Campidoglio.

My favourite dress? Probably the off-white dress of Taraji P. Henson. Everything was very white this year.

I always feel like I shouldn't like Angelina too much (I am loyal to Jennifer), but I did enjoy her green earrings too.

Chalkboard, part two

A couple of you clever people asked where I am hiding the chalk for my new chalkboard. Well, it was a dilemma. I thought of cute cups, cut in half and somehow affixed to the door, I pondered a simple string, with chalk dangling from the end and I even started to sew a little bag that I would attach to the board itself.

Around this time, I decided to give up on the clever ideas and I just hot glued a tiny magnet to a piece of chalk. Done. It looks clean, and I'll never lose it. I think I can probably pull the magnet off when the piece of chalk is almost gone and re-use it. We'll see.



I wanted magnets for the chalkboard, but I couldn't settle for plain ones. I used up a few of my fabric scraps to make fancy ones.



These take approximately five minutes. Take something you want to cover (I used joiner's biscuits, which are little pieces of lightweight wood, just because we had them lying around, but you could use bottle caps or old POGS or anything that catches your eye) and cut out a piece of fabric in the same shape, but just slightly larger. Now do a quick stitch all along the outer edge of the fabric. It doesn't need to look good or be even because no one will see it.

Pull the two ends of the thread together to gather the fabric and tie it off. Now use a hot glue gun to attach a magnet to the back and you're all done. Easy, right?


*This tutorial is provided for personal use only. Please do not sell this tutorial or create items for re-sale using this tutorial. Tutorial may be re-published only with my permission.

Simon Evans

I am fascinated by the interesting concepts of London-born, Berlin based artist Simon Evans' current exhibition now showing in NYC at the James Cohan Gallery. Have you ever thought of photographing and writing about all you have? What is your most prized possession(s)?

"The title of the show Island Time is a reference to Robinson Crusoe and the hand-made objects that were critical to his survival on a desert island—a metaphor that draws connections between the state of being shipwrecked, to the role of the artist as an outsider, to the artist's personal biography living as an expatriate in a foreign city. Evident in the work is Evan's preoccupation with counting and charting—an activity also key to survival as a castaway."

I also really like the piece below called, "One Hundred Mix CDs for New York." It makes me think twice about actually burning cd mixes again and making pretty covers for them. See more of his work here.




(via hammerheadsharkattack)

miniature world!

I was tired tonight and feeling uninspired. I just didn't feel a good blog coming on and I was going to cop out with some half-assed post when I opened an email from my sweet friend entitled "somefin fer yer blog" and I thought she can't possibly be reading my mind can she?? And yes...yes she did...with the most adorable, inspiring tidbit of fun ever that completely made my night!

This couldn't be more up the Bloomers' alley! We LOVE mini things. Mini things are so great. We could look at mini things all day long. I think its because we Bloomers are mini things. We like to be at one with our own mini kind.

So thank you Lizzie Vickery, who likes to take pictures of mini things because they make her feel omnipotent {we all have our own valid reasons} and daydreaming and making messes. Lizzie took the most fabulously, delicious pictures of "Miniature World" which is a museum in Victoria, B.C. And it gets better!! She has an exhibit at Toronto Image Works Gallery from March 5th til 28th which is right around the corner from my condo! I am so going! In the meantime here is a little taste of her some of her amazing work - Miniature World!


Thank you Lizzie!

Shapeaspect

I like this simple and clean record cover design by Shapeaspect.

(via FFFFound)

Kate Spade

I popped by the Kate Spade website and was delighted to find a fun and colorful video introducing spring.

rachel whiting photography

Such beautiful photography and styling! Check out some of Rachel Whiting's photography portfolio and get ready to drool.

Scones, any way you want them

The only thing that keeps me from making scones all the time is the waistband of my pants. They are so delicious, so refined, so quick to throw together, and so indulgently bad for you. Please don't make them if you are alone in the house, because you will be tempted to eat all of them and then you will hate me for at least a week while you struggle to button your clothes. Or do make them and then run around delivering precious packages of hot scones to friends and they will love you. Much better for everyone involved.

Scones (slightly modified from the currant cream scone recipe in the Tassajara Recipe Book - makes 8 good sized scones)

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 dried, pitted dates (original recipe calls for currants and really, any dried fruit will do)
1 or 2 tbsp sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
5 tbsp cold butter, cubed
2 eggs
5 tbsp milk or cream
Zest of one orange
A few drops of vanilla

If you have a food processor: put the flour, salt, baking powder, dates and sugar in the food processor and buzz it around a couple of times.

Drop in the cubed butter and pulse a few more times, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, zest and vanilla and pour it into the food processor while it is running. It should quickly combine into a rough dough.

Stop the food processor, scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead a couple of times until the dough comes together. Shape it into a circle about 3/4 inch thick, brush it with a the remnants of the egg/milk mixture and sprinkle a bit of superfine sugar over the top, if desired.

Use a large knife to cut the circle into 8 wedges and place them on an ungreased baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, until the scones are golden brown on top.

If you don't have a food processor, you can sift the flour mixture and then add chopped dates. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter and then gently stir in the wet ingredients.

The Tassajara Bread Book and the Tassajara Recipe Book are great resources if you are interested in bread making. They are sweet little paperback volumes complete with hippie poetry about the feel of dough beneath your fingers and very helpful hand drawn illustrations. (Obviously, the food processor modification to this recipe was mine, and I'm not sure the author would approve.) They give you plenty of information about technique, so I never feel lost when following the recipes.

Wait, did you catch that? It's my new tea cup!

Because scones require good tea, preferably served in a fabulous cup.

Papabubble

The artistic cult candy store Papabubble based out of Barcelona, with shops in Tokyo, Amsterdam, and New York is a (new to me) favorite find. Although I have yet to try them, their little candies and lollipops look like little pieces of Venetian glass, and some of them even have tiny icons or messages inside. (See a video more about them here) I also dig their overall branding and 'lab style' aesthetic. Who is a fan?