Check out these cool shirts from Seen Studio, my favorite is the abstract blobs design. They'd make a neat gift. See more designs and purchase them here.

If you're looking for ideas for gifts, do check out Gifted Magazine's holiday gift guide. Above are a couple of my favorites, pebble erasers and animal calendars. And yes, my Maia playing cards are mentioned in the guide (see my post from 9/13).

There's a neat store on Etsy, Pretty Tape, that specializes in Japanese decorative tape Who needs fancy wrapping paper? These are beautiful.

My friend Lindsay added a wallpaper gallery to her beautiful site Herd in Iceland. Download one of their photographs and refresh the look of your desktop here. I went with the close-up of the horse (image above). While you're there take a look at some of the videos, there's one that shows the horses as their being herded approaching the camera, it's so quiet and intense—I love it.

This planner would make a neat gift. It's by Ocheck (in Korea), I love the leather cover and simple pages inside. See more images here.

Now that I lead a busier life I'm finding myself drinking a cup of cold tea way too often. So maybe it's time to get a tea cozy? I thought this one from Tas-ka is the cutest (and not too granny looking).

I also like this doll they make:

And these envelopes are great too:

A couple of projects that I've been working on are finally finished, this is always very exciting. First, Distant Second Records is up and running. I designed the logo and designed the website along with Word Press genius Shannon Sims. It's a fantastic project, check it out and listen to some great music, you can even buy cds directly from the site (which brings me to the next item)...

My Funny Detective is available for pre-release. The packaging came out beautifully, it's a 2 color silkscreen (printed by VG Kids). Nothing beats the hand-made textural quality of a silkscreened product. Especially in these days of digital printing, it's so refreshing to see the paint streaks from the press, I love those irregularities.

These bow ties from Something's Hiding in Here are way cute. I think that if I were a guy I would definitely wear one. Too bad my dad only wears clip-ons. I think they may be sold out, but here's their etsy shop.

This is my husband's "De Chirico shot" of Praça do Comércio in Lisbon (top photo). On the bottom is "The Arrival" by De Chirico (image from gierschickwork)

Portugal is famous for its decorative tiles. So there are plenty of patterns to look at when you're walking around.

These are the door hinges of Lisbon's oldest cathedral.

Notice how they made up for the lost tiles on this building...

I think these door windows are so cool. This was taken in Sines, a small town a couple of hours south of Lisbon.

Here are more pictures from our trip to Lisbon, Portugal.

This is a close-up of the mailboxes they use...I love the simple paper airplane symbol.

This shot is of the front of their infamous #10 streetcar.

This was my favorite store...a tiny (closet-size) glove store (luvaria). Every tourist walking by takes pictures of this store, I don't blame them.

Here's another store sign from Lisbon.

This is the awning and balcony of a garden shop.

My good friend Lindsay is in Iceland right now, rocking some nice fleece and taking beautiful pictures of horses. The photographs and videos are super cool...I love this project. Check it out for yourself here, (www.herdiniceland.com)

Puerto Rico, USA



This was filmed in 1955. I find the commentary to be pretty horrible...insurgents in Jayuya? The "natives" living peacefully in their suburbs? It's about 12 minutes long, but the beginning shows some great views of Old San Juan and Santurce back then. Maybe it's best to watch it with the volume off.

Here are more pictures taken at A Vida Portuguesa, a super cool store in Lisbon, Portugal. Who knew there could be so many labels for canned sardines?

I'm finally uploading my pictures from Portugal....here are some items I bought at this amazing store in Lisbon, A Vida Portuguesa. I'll post more about this store later in the week.

I think I've mentioned these notebooks before. They're by Serrote, with letterpressed covers. They print them in limited quantities, I've been collecting them for years now. I also got their Diario Perpetuo (not pictured), very clever!

I think I'm going to have to get this book on the infamous textile designer Vera Neumann. I first saw it months ago at an Anthropologie store, then again this week at my neighborhood bookstore. I just can't resist...I love her use of color. This woman oozed creativity, seeing something worth drawing everywhere she looked, and turning it into a beautiful pattern.



Another book I was looking at, Bravo Stravinsky, is of photographs taken by Arnold Newman. I always enjoy seeing people's work process. It is said that he played solitaire often, which helped clear his mind and think about his compositions.

I was going through some old records in the basement and especially liked these three covers. Now I have to give them a listen and see what I think about the music.

The book "How to Plant a Tree" really captured my attention at the bookstore this week. It's so delicate, I just love the illustrations.

Where has this bag been all my life? It's from Makr Carry Goods, I went on their website to look at their wallets (also beautiful) and saw this new item. It also comes in brown as well as gray...I love it!

Every summer I look forward to watching Wimbeldon. If only I could go see it in person like Brian Ferry.

Here's a great collection of old photographs of Puerto Rico on flickr. From the top: a milk delivery cart, an Aibonito bus, and a boy on a tobacco farm. How much has this island changed!