Where the Lovely Things Are

(i heart) ART - Tim Lahan

2012-02-09T16:25:26Z

Today I'm wearing the Team Grilled Cheese t-shirt I got from Lunch League, so I thought it'd be an appropriate time to do a post featuring all designs Tim Lahan created for them.

A small grilled cheese tale for you - I remember being about eight years old & watching TGIF with my sister. We were lying on my parent's bed & it was getting towards the end of the glorious block of sitcom fun (so, it was probably about 9:45pm, BUT IT SEEMED SO LATE). My stomach was suddenly attacked with a wave of hunger and I said - "I wish I could have a grilled cheese sandwich". I think the hunger stemmed from seeing a commercial featuring a hamburger, and I knew that eating a hamburger was definitely impossible at that point of the night for little 8 year old me, but I must have thought a grilled cheese was in the realm of possibility.

Even so, I was shocked and ECSTATIC when my mom actually went downstairs and proceeded to prepare a grilled cheese sandwich for me. & I felt distinctly adult sitting at the kitchen counter post-TGIF eating the thing. Plus several pickles (because when you had a grilled cheese sandwich in my house, there was no way you weren't also having a few pickle spears - and they'd get bread crumbs stuck to them which always annoyed me in a very slight way).

End of random story. Random story that I tell because I remember this whole thing so freaking clearly.

It's lunchtime (at least in my US eastern time zone) so you should go make or procure a grilled cheese sandwich.

LOOK - Vintage Illustrations by Maurice Laban

2012-02-09T09:00:31Z

I love these vintage illustrations by Maurice Laban scanned by Sarah at My Vintage Avenue.

Awesome Things - Blue Q

2012-02-09T03:47:07Z

There used to be this rogue Pier 1 Imports in Portland, Maine. I didn't realize it was rogue until after it had closed. I didn't even realize that Pier 1 was a chain until after it closed (it was called World Imports or something for a little bit before it eventually shut down completely).

When I went to another Pier 1 (in Massachusetts) for the first time I was shocked - it was so Pottery Barn esque. My Pier 1 was NOT like that. I don't know how it managed to offer such a different breed of goods... maybe they all did, but then swapped over to a different aesthetic? Was it some sort of franchise owner choice? Who knows - I just know that I looooved the Portland one. It had a marvelous & altogether strange mix of stuff. My mom brought my sister & I there frequently. As young children we mostly stayed in the toy part, but then I got older and bought quirky lamps & lanterns & toiletries & jars &... you get the drift.

The store also served as my Blue Q supplier. If you were my friend in middle school / high school, you got a Blue Q bag from me at one point or another. I also garnered an impressive array of totes of my own and they were a vital part of my college dorm move in ritual each year (they transported my dvd collection, books & shoes). Now I mostly use 'em for groceries & book sales. They were awesome yet inexpensive - a perfect combo.

Blue Q is still awesome (& not only because they sent me a box full of swell goods) & I probably appreciate them even more than I did as a 16 year old because in the 10 (I can't even believe that I'm about to turn 26) years since then I've developed an illustration obsession (evidence here & here & here, & on this blog) and Blue Q has products designed by some of my favorites - Helen Dardik, Nate Duval, Brie Harrison, Inaluxe & more. Just... delightful.

I'm going to cease with the words now. Just look at some of these attractive things...

LINKS - site / blog / facebook / twitter / flickr

WEAR - Secret Squirrel's "Art Class" Collection

2012-02-08T17:42:44Z

When I got the email about Secret Squirrel's new collection, my most immediate thought was - "Well, of course I have to post about this". OF COURSE.

LOOK - The Rocket Book by Peter Newell

2012-02-08T17:28:50Z

I'm a big fan of Peter Newell's books (I own The Hole Book and The Slant Book), but I'd never seen The Rocket Book before. That has now been remedied (thanks to Stuff & Nonsense / BibliOdyssey).

(i heart) ART - Landland

2012-02-07T13:30:57Z

Work by Landland.

WEAR - Cybèle

2012-02-07T13:15:50Z

Looks from Cybèle.

(i heart) ART - Helena Perez Garcia

2012-02-06T11:58:34Z

Work by Helena Perez Garcia.

LINKS - blog / flickr / site / shop

found via Rachel's pinterest.

WEAR - Karla Spetic

2012-02-02T16:50:41Z

Karla Spetic's newest collection (via Oyster). I'd wear some garments with a Lichtenstein print. Most definitely.

January 2012 - Books & Movies

2012-02-02T13:00:13Z

I decided that instead of waiting until the end of the year to do a round-up of things I enjoyed watching/reading, I'll do one at the end of every month. So, here's January's....

Some books I read & liked -

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol.

Wildwood by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo / America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines by Gail Collins / The Night Watch by Sarah Waters / I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Some movies I'm glad I saw -

Tailor Tinker Soldier Spy. So much to say, but I'll just bring up a fashion/costume observation: the chubby boy's blue glasses = so good.

Now I want to read all the Smiley books. Has anyone read them?

Midnight in Paris. Another fashion/costume observation: I chose these images because I was rather obsessed with the series of shirt dresses Rachel McAdams wore. Everything she wore had a belt & I was into it.

I also watched the final season of In Treatment. The sessions with teenagers / kids are always my favorites & almost make me wish that Paul Weston solely dealt with people under the age of 25.

Plus, I rewatched (among other things) -

Burn After Reading (because I love watching Brad Pitt be so amazingly ridiculous).

Pride & Prejudice.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I want to go out to eat at the kitschy German restaurant that the Rat takes Stacy to.... dining in glossy leather armchairs: the height of, um, glamour? Something.

Finally, I thought I'd list the books that I discovered over the course of the month and added to my wishlist / decided I want to read at some point.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman.

Almost Silent by Jason / Flatscreen by Adam Wilson / The Fallback Plan by Leigh Stein

The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist.

Arcadia by Lauren Groff.

Making it New: The Art and Style of Sara & Gerald Murphy by Calvin Tomkins / Lucile: London, Paris, New York and Chicago by Valerie D. Mendes & Amy de la Haye / The Romantic Egoists A Pictorial Autobiography from the Scrapbooks and Albums of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

Walt Disney's Donald Duck: "Lost in the Andes" by Carl Barks.

No Bears by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge.

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld / Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton / Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

The Samaritan by Fred Venturini.

Twentieth-Century Fashion in Detail by Valerie D. Mendes & Claire Wilcox / The Bust DIY Guide to Life by Laurie Henzel & Debbie Stoller / V&A Pop Patterns by Oriole Cullen

Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Sever, photos by Leigh Beisch.

Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander.

Awesome Things - ... that are rather colorful

2012-01-31T13:00:59Z

Field Guide Design.

Pretty Penny.

Souther Salazar.

Suzi Ultman for Sweetie Pie Press.

LOOK - Paris en Relief

2012-01-31T12:10:03Z

An awesome set of images (Paris en Relief) recently added to the marvelous pilllpat / agence eureka flickr stream. If you happen to have a pair of 3d glasses hanging around... pop 'em on.