another catchy commercial song

this is a really catchy song from the zappos.com commercial.



the song is called free and it is by Donovan Frankenreiter and Jack Johnson. The use of graphics in this commercial is brilliant, they really pop and add a fun element!

cool spark of the week: a street dress

this dress caught my eye at the street fair in NYC this weekend. the colors are so bright and deep and I think it would be fun to wear. not sure the cost or where you can find it but keep an eye out if you live in nyc!

check out the other colors that they have.

a place for earrings

there have been times in my life when i have been earring obsessed. and when you have earrings you need a place to hold them.

here are some fun earring holders. this one is from mod cloth and is $14.99:

this one is from urban outfitters and is only $10:

this is a great idea from the etsy shop of retrograndma

this is from the etsy shop of timothyadamdesigns

in the interest of using old/recycled products. I keep my earrings on an old mesh post it note older. Check it out:

you can buy these mesh holders from any office supply store. Here is one for $3 from staples.

it might be time for me to buy a new earring holder. what do you think?

hallways and flowers

my first ever blog post was about these great vases from cb2 and this weekend i finally got them up in my apartment.

Check it out!

this is what you see when you walk into the door.

they were such a great deal at $2.95 each. they add a great summer feel to the apartment.

fanciful art: the incredible andrea joseph

anyone that goes to moo.com to make notes, mini-cards, stickers etc. must have seen the amazing andrea joseph’s work. she is really incredible and i am taken by her talent.

she captures objects in a way that makes them fanciful and soft.

take for example this one:

i have an obsession with pens and how fun would this piece of art be in your home office, craft room or inspiration room. for me it would be perfect.

this is another favorite that i found on andrea’s blog. check it out: Sketchblog

and this one makes me think of home. i miss the hills and mountains.

which is your favorite of andrea’s art?

the discovery of lolabean jewelry

spring is here and summer is close…this was obvious in NYC this weekend. i was lucky to happen upon a great little street fair near my apartment and did some fun shopping and found some great inspiration.

i discovered lolabean, jewelry designed by tiffany bean. i was instantly hooked bought this beautiful necklace. i them promptly bought it!

tiffany bean’s jewelry is quaint and beautiful. she combines charms and gems in a way that is so feminine and lovely.

my favorite pieces incorporated owls and birds.

Here are a few that I love from her website.

come to NYC - check out the street fair and buy one of your own.

a moment of spark

and in their gone in a flash. i can’t help but write about another moment of spark because devon, ryan, dane and Andrew were a joy to have in the city this week.

it is still so hard to believe that my oldest friend has a husband and twins! it makes me so proud. devon is such an incredible mom… patient, kind, cool, considerate, smart, loving… I hope that someday i can be that kind of mom.

thanks for adding some spark to my week barbaro family! i look forward to the day when I live closer and can see you and the boys more often.

more pictures can be found here!

e-waste = beauty

over at ablogaboutthings.com (a blog written by patrick sandora that always has fun content on entertainment, tv and pop culture) patrick wrote a great piece today on a very interesting mural.

check it out…

you will never believe what it is made of. head over to his site and check out how one man’s trash is another mans treasure.

cover art

my awesome roommate picked me up a copy of print magazine last week. the cover features art by my favorite stina perrson.

inside there was a really interesting article on some of the most well-known young adult books and how the covers of these books have changed over the years. Among them... sweet valley high and judy blume.


check out the story…it is very interesting: cover girls

something blue IV

this week’s something blue was so fun to come up with. i discovered the most fun website called plyvore.com. it is a really great site where you come up with inspiration boards and then publish them.

here is the fun board I created:



play around on the polyvore.com and send me your inspiration boards! you will be addicted.

moment of spark

this is my moment of spark today. imagine coming home to these beautiful babies every day.

my best friend devon, her husband ryan and her beautiful twins dane and andrew are here to visit.

devon and andrew

ryan and dane

this is spark!

chirp and chirp

i am obsessed with plates. i keep saying that but it is true. i am immediately drawn to them when i see them.

my favorite plates/table setting of the moment is chirp by lenox. it is very pricey but man i think it is worth it.

how fun is this bowl! there is no way i would use this just as my "china", i would use it every day!

check out the entire set here.

cool spark of the week: origami

i found this fun website for the spark of the week. i find origami so interesting. I have never been able to do it but love looking at it.

i saw this great picture of ways people incorporated origami into their wedding. creating origami flowers and putting them on branches and creating origami cranes to put on table cards.

these table cards are from Thousandfold Origami

here is a link to a great wedding. i adore this idea:

check out the origami club for some other great ideas and directions on how to make origami.

green is my favorite color – happy earth day

in honor of earth day i thought i would highlight a few “green” items that i am loving right now.

this purse is made from organic cotton – it is called the rabina clutch and is made by kara smith. she sells lots of fun things here.

i adore this necklace designed by linda loudermilk . it is eco-friendly and made out of reclaimed sterling silver. it is a good reminder how precious water is and how conservation is key to being environmentally friendly.



you can purchase the faucet necklace for $65 at bright and bold.

it’s a beautiful world i see – commercial songs get me!

this week’s commercial song comes from target. the song is by indie singer tim myers. check out more of his music here.

and here is the commercial that i am loving this week:

a writers dream place setting

so many of my friends are teachers and I instantly thought of them when I saw these great mugs and trays from fishs eddy. they are so clever.

they have graph paper, memo paper and more. prices rang from $12.95 per mug to $24.95 per tray. find them here at fishs eddys site.

you can purchase them online or come visit me…i live very close to the flagship store!

something blue III

this week’s something blue comes from the etsy shop of Charlotte St. Julien. i love her collection of vintage goods! it is so fun and this blue clutch is perfect for spring/early summer.

clutches are so popular right now and i wish that i used them more.

my mom got me a great black vintage clutch that i am loving. she found it at a flea market in tennessee when she was there for a story telling festival.

check out Charlotte St. Julien's Etsy Shop here.

cool spark of the week: shoes with vintage flare

i was flipping through volume 06 of craft magazine and came across the amazing shoes designed by hetty rose. craft magazine highlighted her talent and i wanted to introduce you all to these shoes.

combining magnificent patterns with stylish heels has made some really fun shoes.

check them out at hetty’s site.

we’re all in this together – a new commercial song

as you know i love finding new music. the latest kohl’s commercial features ben lee. he is really fantastic and his song is great. check it out on his myspace: http://www.myspace.com/benlee

kohls commerical song – ben lee - “we’re all in this together”



he also did a dell commercial which you can check out on his website

gates in newport - weekend on a whim

my love and i made a trip to the wonderful newport, rhode island this weekend (on a whim). one of the best things about rhode island is dreaming of living in the beautiful homes on the island and being able to decorate them.

i of course look at the colors of the homes, what the views out the windows might be but this weekend alan asked me to pay attention to the gates. that is the part of these homes that he thought was the most beautiful.

here is his favorite gate. someday he hopes that it will lead to our home. someday i hope that we will live in the same state ;) but until then we will dream of newport mansions.

this is the gate that was on the other end of this home’s driveway. a nice pair:

this is my favorite newport mansion, this was a picture that i took last summer on a beautiful newport day.

if you ever get a chance to visit newport please send me a picture of your favorite newport home.

one plate, two plate , three plate, four

i have a small obsession for plates. i have found my self over the last few years purchasing 1 off plates and not knowing what to do with them. in my first new york apartment my roommate, patrick, and i opted to use the plates as wall decoration. it don’t love what we did but I think it is a good example of a quick and unique decoration.

last weekend I was walking around the city and say this plate display in a window and thought it more captured what I was looking for.

i also made a trip out to california this week and stayed at the viceroy hotel in santa monica. each time I stay at this hotel i am charmed by the design. and of course I love their plate display in their outdoor patio.

a great place to look for one-off unique plates is your local thrift store or urban outfitters. urban outfitters always seems to have some quirky choices. here is my current urban outfitters favorite. it is only $6 and that too makes me happy!

a moment of spark

i had a great moment of spark today. i am in sunny california for meetings and was lucky enough to have dinner with a wonderful person and someone who has truly become a friend and not just someone i “used to work with”. cathi early fortner you are a rockstar! thanks for the moment of spark today… i really needed it and truly miss you.