Dear Anthropologie, Thank You!

Dear {Anthropologie}, Thank You so much for my beautiful birthday gift this year. {Check out} what it was last year. So creative and a nice personal touch, even if it is mass produced. Also, here are some of my fave items - now I just need to get my butt to Santa Barbara and use this wonderful discount!

Morning in Pismo Beach!

I feel so blessed to live on the Central Coast of California in San Luis Obispo. I am guilty of taking this for granted from time to time, but going to Pismo Beach for breakfast this weekend reminded me just how lucky I am. Here are some pictures from the morning out there!

Hearty Veggie Soup :)

The other day when there was a torrential downpour outside and it was freezing cold (ok...this is California...maybe it wasn't freezing, but it was COLD), I wanted a nice hearty and healthy soup. Here are some pics since I don't have an exact recipe. It has vegetable broth, tomato paste, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, blue lake green beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and lentil. The spices include cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, oregano, basil, and parsley to taste. Topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

The Mod Shop ~ Napkin Rings

I was really drawn to these napkin rings while I was looking around on {Etsy} today. Usually, napkin rings are more round, and well, ring-like. I love the contemporary shape and design of these, with the traditional and vintage feel that the wood gives it.

SimpleShapes ~ Wall Designs

If I had my own office...I would get one of these for sure. This vinyl calendar decal by {SimpleShapes} is not only really functional but looks cool too.

Thoughts?

So...aside from the utterly TERRIBLE choice for a product name...share your thoughts about the newest {Apple} product - the iPad.

Moufelt!

So here is another post about {felt}. I really like how clean cut and simple these coasters and trivets are. Also, the necklaces that incorporate the felt are pretty sweet too! Nicely done {Moufelt}. Felt, in my opinion has a very warm and vintage feel to them but the way they have designed and created these is quite contemporary.

DIY Cake Stands

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that I found this {tutorial} linked off of {Design*Sponge} I can't wait to actually do this. I went out today and found some cool glasses to use for the base, now I need to find the perfect plates to top them with. My friend Natalie and I also hit up the San Luis Obispo Swap Meet this morning and here is what I was excited to find:

Stay tuned to see what I decided to do with this old window frame. So cool!

Vintage China Cabinet

I was so excited when I came across this absolutely beautiful antique china cabinet on {Etsy} today. It is almost identical to the the china cabinet my grandparents have and similar to my mom's. I always thought, man when you grow up are you supposed to have one of these? I was never a fan of that dark "fancy" wood furniture, but over the past few years I have been really enjoying seeing what can be done to make a piece of furniture look completely different after putting some elbow grease into it. I love this shabby chic, antique, clean, sophisticated and fun look! This piece is hand painted sage green with a coat of brown over it. An antique red color was added on the edges to make the piece more unique.

Persimmon Cookies

A few weeks ago I made these cookies to take to work and they seemed to be a real success. For those who were asking for the recipe...here it is:

Persimmon Cookies
1 cup Persimmon pulp
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and mix with the persimmon pulp and add it to the butter and sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and spices together and sift into the batter. Add nuts (and optional raisins). Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Dieline Finds

Here are some of my recent favorite package designs found on {The Dieline}. The hanger tea bags are so cleaver and I love that {Method} came out with laundry detergent! Can you believe that all you need is 4 pumps for 1 load and you don't have to deal with large bottles, messy caps, or heavy boxes of powder detergent!

So HAWT!!!

{'Nuff said}.

Young House Love

This has to be one of the greatest finds for me! I absolutely LOVE everything about it! A young couple, Sherry and John, bought a house that was 53 years old in Richmond, Virginia in 2006. The house showed its age and was in need of some serious lovin'. 3 years later they have so much done to improve the house and thankfully they have this {site} to keep it all documented for us to see and learn from! Somewhere along they way they started {helping others} transform their homes as well. They have also started writing in magazines like {Better Homes & Gardens - Do It Yourself} and have appeared on {HGTV}, and have a house tour video on {thenest.com}. This is an perfect place to get ideas for DIY decor and home improvement. I really admire all they have worked hard to accomplish.

Miguel's Letterpress Journey Begins...

Join Miguel, the proud new owner of a Chandler & Price 12×18 Old Style Press, as he takes off on his letterpress journey. After hauling this beauty 5.5 hours down to San Luis Obispo, spending time refinishing the wheel and adding new wood trays, he is ready to get started! I cannot wait to see the beautiful creations he produces - both from his exceptional design skill and well, of course there is nothing more wonderful than the art of letterpress done right. Check out his {blog} and follow along as he reveals his works of art!

Also, here is a great video of a guy creating some custom coasters.

Letterpress Coasters from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

Cake Lace Coasters

I went to {Paper Sky} today to pick up some paper supplies for a project I'm working on and came across these awesome {Cake Lace Coasters}! If you are in San Luis Obispo and like these...go check 'em out :)

Stop Motion Wedding Invite

Be sure to watch this video all the way through.

23-year-olds, Corey McKenna and Rachel Stark, wanted their wedding invitations to be more than just card stock and letterpress - they decided to produce a {stop-motion animation} instead. Four months and 5,500 photos later, this video that there guests would never forget, the 4-minute video was completed. It stars a suit and a party dress as they prepare for a wedding, with Vampire Weekend's song M79 as the soundtrack. The information (date, location, time, etc.)is spelled out using refrigerator magnets. McKenna filmed the route to the wedding from the dash of his car - a clever approach to a "GPS street view." The film was made by patiently photographing each frame in the movie, then uploading the photos as a slideshow in iMovie. He then shortened the length of the picture down to a tenth of a second.

BirdDog Press

This was a really exciting find for me and I'm sure you will agree. I selected my favorite designs by {BirdDog Press} from their {Flickr} photostream. I particularly like the ones that incorporated more than just the printed designs, the ones with fabric, eyelet and sewn embellishments. My favorite invitation was all put together in a beautiful package. They asked the guests to decorate the piece of fabric provided by a certain date and send it back to the couple. The response card had a dotted circle where the guest would place the response stickers that were included ~ accepting or declining the invitation.

Rubber Design Co. ~ A Flexible Firm

Check out the beautiful portfolio of {Rubber Design Co.}, a flexible firm. I love the execution, the attention to details, and the thought that went into the brands they worked on.

Delphine Press 2010 Letterpress Calendar!

I am so happy to finally have my 2010 {Delphine Press} letterpress calendar! (not to be confused with {Dauphine Press}) Stay tuned and I will share each month's beautifully printed design :)

By Our Hands We Live

I LOVE this photo. Such an awesomely accurate statement. Rachel Boston used her blog, {CutPasteRepeat} to collect pictures of people's hands after a day of work - doing what they love.

In her words:
By Our Hands We Live
So, recently, I've noticed how disgusting my hands are becoming. But in a good way! I'm getting cuts and scabs and calluses and burns and I'm loving every minute of it. It made me want to see other artists' hands! Thus, {"By Our Hands We Live"} was born.

This is a {2modern} find.

Staying Warm & Getting Tax Credit

{Morso} cast iron fireplaces and wood burning stoves are not only aesthetically pleasing and totally functional, but purchasing any of the {qualifying} products can get you up to $1500.00 in tax credit. This was also found via {2modern}.