perfect purse update

I forgot how much I love Fossil purses! They fall somewhere in between the Coach purses and the Target purses. I love this Hobo bag I found, very cute for spring and summer. The pattern would make it hard to pull off for the everyday, which is what I am looking for. A patterned purse with patterned clothing doesn't always mesh well.

I do really love this purse though...

Maybe I could change my summer wardrobe to just solid colors?

searching for the perfect purse!

I have been searching for the perfect purse for some time now! I fell in love with a Coach purse, which is not only WAY out of my handbag budget but they even discontinued it! I found a knock off of the coach purse at Target for $11, but unfortunately the quality was in sync with the price and it started to rip shortly after I purchased it.

Anyways, I came across Infusion on Etsy and really love this purse. I love the stitching detail and the adjustable strap and of course, the zip closure! It looks like it's really nice quality, especially for something handmade—I think it would definitely outlast my purse from target!

lovely.

Valentine's Day is about a week away and I am loving this print I found on sfgirlbybay. It looks like you can buy the print online from ISPhotography for $30.

This picture makes me want to run away to Europe!

free fonts!

22 Most Used Free Fonts By Professional Designers

@GeniusRocket shared this article today on Twitter and I thought I would pass it along to everyone!

It's not often you come across a decent free font, so hopefully this will help! I'm digging Union...

alien robot dude #2

Sarah just posted about this "alien robot dude" she found in Baltimore and mentioned I had seen one in Philly, so I figured I'd share a picture of my siting!

want this!

If I hadn't just completely redecorated my room in the past 6 months, I would buy this Marimekko bedding from Crate&Barrel! It's even on sale!

noggin bops

I found the coolest wind up toy at Borders the other day, they're called noggin bops! I bought one for my friends birthday and I think I need to get one for myself because I keep playing with it!

I'm off to Philadelphia tonight for her bday! Can't wait!

seven things

I've been tagged!

Garret has tagged me on the Orange Element blog. What that means is that I am to share 7 things about myself that I think you should know and then choose 7 people to do the same!

So here goes...

1.) I have a blog. Most people don’t know this about me, that’s why Garret linked to my design site. I have never advertised the fact that I have a blog because I have never been great about posting consistently. I figured I would share this information with everyone though, in hopes that I will be better about updating it!

2.) Everyone in my family was born in a different country. My dad was born in Scotland, my mom was born in Kenya, my brother was born in Ireland, and I was born in England. We moved to America about 19 years ago when I was 2 and half and have lived in Baltimore since! All my relatives live overseas, so when it comes to the holidays in the states things are pretty low key (which can be kind of nice, but I do miss not being able to see them).

3.) I am a designer, but would love to be a teacher as well. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about being a designer (it's part of who I am), but part of me feels like I need to be a teacher at some point in my life. I really enjoy helping people and love working with kids. I've had some great teachers in my past and I would love to have the same positive impact on young minds as they had on me. I am lucky to have had some experience substituting at my old elementary school, mainly working in the classroom (with the teacher) helping kids with special needs. Somehow I will find a way to do both design and teaching!

4.) When I was in elementary school, my mom MADE me join the Girl Scouts. I was such a tomboy and only had friends that were boys, so she made me join in hopes I would make some girlfriends. Let's just say, I was not a happy camper.

5.) I have a fear of deer, the Baltimore aquarium, and spiders.

6.) My favorite foods are fish & chips, cheesesteaks, ribs, and crabs! The best fish & chips obviously come from Britain, you have to order a fish supper and get it with salt, vinegar and brown sauce. The best cheesesteaks around town (in my opinion) come from Strapasta in Jacksonville. The best ribs are from The Cornerstable in Timonium. And last, but not least, the best crabs come from Baltimore, Maryland!

7.) I have some plans in the works for a Eurotrip Summer 2009, which I'm praying will work out! I would seriously drop everything to go and I know if I don't do it soon (like this summer) I might never get to go. Life is so unpredictable though, it's hard for me to commit! I have faith things will work out, and if for some reason it's not this summer, I WILL find another time to go!


The seven people I would like to hear about are:
Aaron Moore
Caroline Moore
Andy Bonner
Scott Zero
Sam Rider
Joe Wagner
Jessie Harte

things that make me happy

My two new purchases this week :)

The first one is a "Life is Beautiful" print by Nate Williams purchased from Urban Outfitters.

The second one is from Good Shape Design for only $35!

beautiful type

Beautiful type done by Yulia Brodskaya, designer and illustrator from Russia. (Click the image to make it larger)

I can't believe it was all done with paper! I don't think I would have the patience...

Found on swissmiss.

FALL! FALL! FALL!

Boots and scarves and cute jackets!

I already painted my nails brown :)

"track it anywhere"

Ogilvy & Mather, Beijing, did this guerilla advertisement for DHL. The vans were meant to get the word out about DHL's Online Tracking. I like that they actually constructed an arrow and attached it to the van, opposed to just creating a sticker. The 3D-ness definitely gives it a better, more realistic effect. Watch a video of the van in action here.

Found the article at Ads of the World.

flea market find

I found these vintage (from 1988) I Ski glasses at the Lutherville Flea Market on Sunday for $1! I'm obsessed.

package design

 Turner Duckworth probably does some of my favorite package design. I love this design they did for Waitrose honey, it is conceptual, clean, and simple- just the way I like it :)

Another favorite of mine is the frying pans they did for Homebase cookware. Such a simple and clever idea for their non-stick pans.

philly adventures

I had a wonderful time exploring philly this weekend! 

adventures included: sitting outside as much as possible, Buddakan, hoegaarden, people watching, spruce street, the papery, spanish festival, apples & amish cheddar

design museum shop

Fun things at the Design Museum Shop in London.

(Items featured above: matchstick garden, jumper key ring, 100 years of fashion illustration, instant labeling tape, toilets of the world, and egg pants)

ikea trip

Today I went to ikea with my parents to get some finishing touches for my newly redecorated room. (pics coming soon)

on the list:
bedside table
shelves
large picture frame
hooks
a not so noisy computer chair

I would say, all in all, it was a very successful trip, the only thing on the list we didn't get was a new chair.

That place seriously makes me want to take up interior decorating as a career- or maybe I would be happy just to buy a boatload of houses and decorate them all completely with ikea furniture and their fabulous knicknacks with some sort of infinite money supply. Besides the fact that I wanted to buy everything in the store, there were these little vases that I thought were just wonderful. I love the different textures they come in, especially when they are all together! (Only $1.99 each)

favorite fortune

Yesterday, I had a fortune cookie that read "You will step on the soil of many countries."

By far my favorite fortune I've ever gotten, especially the timing- considering all I have been talking about for the last week is how I NEED to leave the country as soon as possible!

Anyone have a favorite fortune of their own?

Stockholm Metro Art

Today, I caught a snippet of the tv show Samantha Brown Passport to Europe and she was in Stockholm, Sweden. She was using their metro, called the T-bana, and they were showing off all the lovely art in the stations. Stockholm's metro stations are beautifully decorated/painted and also apparently very clean and efficient! I might have to add Stockholm as a stop for eurotrip summer 2009.

I looked on the internet to see if I could find more images of the stations and came across this cool article Metro Arts and Architecture. The site has the 50 most beautiful subway systems in the world, with a 3 star ranking system (3 stars meaning "worth a journey", 2 stars means "worth a detour", and 1 star is for "interesting"). The article rates Stockholm with 3 stars and says that artwork can be found at 90 of the 100 stations, with 140 artists contributing so far.

Here are some stations from the list that I thought looked worth checking out...

Shanghai


Moscow


Munich

new purchase: greenroom eco

I just bought this set of journals at Target today. They are made by a company called greenroom eco, who create environmentally friendly paper products made from recycled paper and non-toxic soy ink. They are well designed and affordable, which makes me a fan!

Then again... not much of a surprise because I love pretty much anything from Target.