The Strapped Big Bag

I came across this bag on the {Definition of Self} Etsy shop yesterday and then saw it on a few other sites today - it is becoming pretty popular! The Strapped Big Bag is large purse or a good sized tote that is crisply designed and can comfortably carry all of your daily needs in one bag. It closes shut with 2 magnetic snaps. I gotta have one!

Element Fuego Grill

The {Element} grill by Fuego is an affordable, gas-powered grill with simple iconic form that features a high-powered dual zone cooking system - 4 cook top options in a small form. Robert Brunner, at {Ammunition} has designed this compact outdoor grills for {Fuego} as an extension of his previous {Fuego 01} outdoor grill design. "We wanted to make the Fuego brand accessible and affordable to all, and create something really very special in the process," says Brunner. I came across this beautiful product on {Moco Loco: The Modern & Contemporary Design Blog}

Outdoor Sconces

I love candles and I love hanging out outside on warm summer nights. I think these {sconces} are awesome! They look great and are functional for both mood lighting as well as allowing the possibility to use citronella candles to keep the mosquitoes away! They add a touch of beautiful design and decor to your outdoor space.

DEADLINE Post-It Stop Motion

Stop motion absolutely blows my mind when done well. This is definitely up there on my list. Watch it all the way through and be amazed by all the work that went into making this finished product possible. After 3 months of planning, 4 days of shooting, and over 6,000 post-its, this is what they came up with. Check out the video below to see the making-of.

Icon Spelling!

Being that I stare at a computer and these icons about 18 hours a day...I am sad that I never thought of this myself! I found it to be pretty clever when I saw {these words} spelled out using the Apple icons - work by {Mike Giepert}.

Ligne Roset Boutique

For years I have been checking out all kinds of concept designs on the web and was excited to hear that {Ligne Roset} opened a new boutique {concept store} (unfortunately far away in Austin, Texas). They are known for their keen eye for talented designers and recently partnered with French designer {Philippe Nigro} to produce his new line of upholstered furniture called Confluences. Ligne Roset is one of the world's leaders in luxury contemporary furniture design and introduced its first concept boutique. They will provide superior quality and design for every aspect of modern lifestyle, from living to entertaining. Consumers will receive the instant satisfaction from their purchases - being able to take them right out of the store. The store layout will evoke a gallery-like atmosphere. Aside from the modular seating by Philippe Nigro, I loved the concept hanging light fixture.

Natalie's Mediterranean Couscous and a Greek Salad

I am a huge fan of couscous and my mom has a delicious that {recipe} that I love to make. The other day my friend Natalie had made her own version that reminded me of that but had an interesting added ingredient...dried apricots! I decided to give it a try and LOVED it. I highly recommend giving this a try. It is a nice, light, and refreshing dish that would go nicely for a summer get-together. Visit her at {In the Kitchen with Kristie} to view the recipe! I paired this recipe with a Greek salad from {Cooking Light} - recipe as follows:

Makes 6 (dinner salad) servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
3 cups diced tomato
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon capers
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Directions:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add lettuce and the next 6 ingredients (lettuce through chickpeas); toss well.

The Big Ben - Stylish Recycling

This was a pretty sweet {Apartment Therapy} find: The Big Ben - stylish modular recycling solution. This is a new product by {Reestore} that makes recycling easy and fun! Ben is a cute and stackable, washable recycling receptacle made of 100% recycled plastic. This is meant to hold you recyclables in the first thing it recycles - plastic grocery bags!

OSKA Architects - Rolling Huts

What a great idea! Owners purchased this site which was formerly an RV campground, with the goal of allowing the landscape to return to its original state. They turned to OSKA Architects who created a space for their guests that would be a step or two above camping while still maintaining the open feel of the natural Washington landscape. These {rolling huts} were their solution - they are low-tech and low-impact in their design. The huts sit lightly on the site, a flood plain meadow in an alpine river valley. The wheels lift the structures above the meadow, providing an unobstructed view into nature and the prospect of the surrounding mountains.

Building each hut seems to be pretty simple. It uses an offset, steel clad box on a steel and wood platform. Living occurs not only in the 200 sq ft inside the box, but on the 240 sq ft of covered deck space surrounding it. The interior is finished with cork and plywood – are simple, inexpensive, and left as raw as possible. The exterior is durable, no-maintenance materials – steel, plywood and car-decking. The huts are grouped as a herd - while each is facing a view of the mountains (and away from the other structures), their proximity unites them.

Been MIA Lately...

Sorry I have been MIA - had a bit of a family emergency...back now and should be up and running again soon! Thanks for your patience and for continuing to check back.

-Narineh

Speech Bubble Shelf!

A speech bubble shelf! I love it - contemporary, unique and fun.

Flowering Chives

Am I the only one that didn't know that chives flowered? I was pleasantly surprised when I saw {this} and wanted to share for anyone who was in the same boat and me.

Flaxsac Set

I think these are totally awesome (said in the most non-valley girl voice possible). The {Flaxsac Set} consists of multipurpose fabric sacs filled with organic golden flax seeds and lavender for comfort and the added benefit of a calming aroma. You can heat them in a microwave for up to an hour of warmth or throw them in the freezer for a comfortable cooling pack. This would be a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time at a computer. Each bag is double-stitched and serged to ensure a long life.


PS: I am without a computer tonight while it is at the Apple store being fixed :( So...this is all I could do after finishing work for the day and will be back up and running (hopefully) tomorrow - cross your fingers for me!

The Do It All Knife - Concept

I love seeing all sorts of concept products out there in hopes of them one day being on the market - this is one of them. This set of multi-use knives is pretty awesome, cramming many functions into one and saving space in your drawers. This is a concept by {Caroline Noordijk}, and it includes three knives. They make use of the unused side of knives, which is pretty smart. In theory this would be a nice idea for those who need to save space, but for the most part I enjoy having all my kitchen tools and gadgets separate and would be too accident prone to try and peel a potato with a giant knife...

Soft-Map Blankets

Check out these beautiful, soft, and chic {Soft-Map Blankets}. Each one can be uniquely customized - ranging from having your house/apartment detailed on the blanket, or where your child goes to school. They include the hand stitching of street names, compass rose and scale marker on each blanket. Most of the Soft-Maps are made with dupioni silk and with an inner layer made from organic cotton. Raw silk creates a texture that I absolutely love! They need to be dry cleaned - but that is a small sacrifice I would be more than willing to make for one of these. The artist is from Brooklyn and specializes in those neighborhoods, but she's willing to customize her blankets to match your favorite neighborhood.

Laundromat Cafe in Copenhagen

If laundromats around here looked like this, I probably wouldn't wait as long as possible between trips there...This is a great business idea - {Copenhagen's Laundromat Cafe}, combines a coffee shop with wireless Internet access and a back-room laundromat, where you can clean your clothes while sipping a latte...I have actually heard of a few places like this in San Francisco as well.

Melin Tregwynt - Woven in Wales

I am always, always, ALWAYS cold. You would think I would be used to it by now...but no. I am constantly looking for warm clothes and blankets. So, it should not come as a shock that I was immediately drawn to the beautiful blankets from {Melin Tregwynt}. They feature gorgeous patters and look just about as warm and cozy as I would need :) In addition to the blankets, they also make clothing and accessories. Many of their items can be customized to your taste/needs - you can match your blanket or robe to your slippers! Besides blankets and clothing, they also make ceramics, lampshades and upholstery fabrics. Melin Tregwnt is a delightful white washed wool mill to be found in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. There has been a mill on this site since the 17th century, when local farmers would bring their fleeces to be spun into yarn and woven into fine Welsh wool blankets. It has been owned by Melin Tregwnt family since 1912 and now employs around 20 people.

Inbound Thread - Felt Chair Pads

What a creative idea! These {felt chair pads} by {Inbound Thread}, are a great way to dress up boring old folding chairs. Folding chairs are great to stored away for extra seating when needed and for those living in small spaces. The downside is their lack of comfort - here is a solution! They add comfort like seat cushions do, but have that simple and industrial look for a more modern look. Sandra, of Inbound Thread, is a freelance Industrial Designer living in Boston's South End. Although she enjoys designing products for larger scale production, she also loves the craftier approach - she does so by trying to bring the ideals of her profession into her handmade items, and make pieces that compliment an urban aesthetic. Below is some more work by Sandra.

High Fashion Home

I always love finding different kinds of typographic solutions - I thought this was a pretty cool and clever form of advertising for {High Fashion Home}, a Huston based home furnishings store. Customers are given the freedom to choose among this large selection of high style and high end design products that caters to intelligence, creativity, and individuality - quality and value are not compromised. This 4-story, 125,000 squar food home furnishing store is a sanctuary of inspirational choices for an eclectic, modern lifestyle. There is a nice mix of furniture, fabrics, drapery, and home accessories from all around the world. "Explore. Experience. Imagine the possibilities." Below is some of my faves from their furniture collection.

Here is a glimpse of the amazing experience inside this furniture emporium!

Drinking from Mason Jars

I have been seeing more and more restaurants these days serving drinks in mason jars, even some pretty nice restaurants. I personally love the way it looks :) However, if you like the idea but don't want to use an actual mason jar...I found these cool multi-purpose working glasses from {Crate and Barrel}

PS: Sarah Garza...this is for you :)

Si Scott Designs

Years ago I used to do insanely detailed ink pen drawings that these reminded me of. Beautiful work by {Si Scott} found on {Behance Network}

SEQUENCES 2009

I was blown away by this - a collaboration between Siggi Odds, Sven and Mundi. {Sequence} is a real-time art festival in Reykjavik, Iceland, hosted annually by the Living Arts Museum. The {final project} consisted of an idea of milk captured in time - hinting at the festival's real-time focus. They spent a lot of money, buying liters of milk, but had fun in the process. In the end, they couldn't resist the temptation to pour the milk all over Mundi - captured in the last image. The posters were offset printed with two colors, black and bright PMS 605. They noted that an environmentally friendly printer was used.

The Long Haul

{Dumais Studio} and {Full Service Productions} presents {The Long Haul}. This is absolutely amazing! SO well done. Print and motion commit to a long life together in a movie made from 4000 great photographs and...

3 x pimped out stills cameras
2000 square feet of studio
11 x Obama lovers
2 x Producers with whips
450 kg of props
360 degrees of dolly track
15 hours of makeup
1 x clip on rat tail
2 x actors standing still for 22 hrs
1 x grown woman wearing a child sized dragon outfit
1 x 72 hr work work day
1 x "Bapapa" song

Sylvain, from Dumais Studio, was the director, animator, editor, co-writer, storyboard artist, and did post & web coding. He had the great original idea of trying to show the elements of a production come together in a stop motion piece. But they needed a story. So together with Julie Bélanger & Raff Melito, Producers & Co-Writers, several meetings and hundred of emails later, The Long Haul was born. The concept was to show the stages of an evolving relationship and the passing of trends, focusing on sending a message that, in the end, a good relationship lasts.

Color Picker

How cool is this!? {Color Picker}, designed by Jinsun Park is a concept pen that would allow you to scan colors from anything around you and instantly use that color for drawing. The pen would contain and RGB cartridge that the pen would then mix according to the target color scanned. Amazing idea and much more convenient - one would no longer need to carry around multiple pens and pencils.

American Idol Finale

KRIS ALLEN - "Heartless"(Kanye West)

ADAM LAMBERT - "One" (U2)

ADAM LAMBERT - "Cryin'" (Aerosmith)

Who will be the next American Idol? Although I have been in love with Adam Lambert from day one...Kris Allen is amazingly talented as well...so this will be an interesting finale! Can't wait to find out the results.