Cavallini & Co. makes these woderful little tins filled with stickers and labels made from their extensive archive of ephemera. They're a great addition to jazzing up personal correspondence, scrapbooking or collages. Eventually I'll get around to using them to embellish my travel journal entry on our trip to Paris.
Hilarious retro book titles
I admittedly have a fascination with most things considered retro. The ideal timeframe stretches from the 1920's till the mid-60's. A lover of the 70's I am not. I still have nightmares about the hideous tri-tone shag carpet in our family room which is precisely why this book caught my attention: Interior Desecrations, Hideous Homes from the Horrible 70's.
The other title is The Gallery of Regrettable Food which takes a look at some of the more, um, creative recipes from days gone by. Chapters entitled "Glop in a Pot!" and "Horrors from the Briny Deep" are simply too intriguing to ignore.
Both books are by James Lileks and if you want more of him, head over to his website where you'll find a comprehensive gathering of his creative endeavours.
Upcycled suitcases from U Old Bag
Love the package design for Pacifica
Sometimes I'm a sucker for pretty packing and I admit the first product I ever purchased from Pacifica was a bar of soap simply because the design was so beautiful. I can truly say their products match the promise of the design. Lush, lovely and bursting with delicious scents that instantly lift your mood. They now have fragrances in a compact rollerball vial that is airplane carryon-friendly. Hooray! I travel a lot and not being able to bring fragrance has been a challenge. The scents I selected were Tuscan Blood Orange, California Star Jasmine and Brazilian Mango Grapefruit. I truly can't decide which I prefer.
Upcycled Coca-Cola bottle bracelet
This bracelet has been in my accessory box for several years now and it's such a good example of upcycling an existing material into a new use that I can't believe I didn't think of sharing it before. It's a Coke bottle. I mean how cool is that?! It's simple, stylish and always gets a second look. I bought this piece from a store in Soho, New York called the Enchated Forest which is sadly closed. This place didn't sell any mass-produced crap. All the toys (and accessories) were hand-crafted, unique and utterly charming. There was even a tree filling the store making you feel as if you had landed in the middle of some storybook tale.
Give Paso Robles wines a try
Everyone knows about Napa and Sonoma, but being a relatively unschooled wine drinker I'd never heard much about their southern cousin, Paso Robles. This region has some outstanding wineries and here are a few we discovered. Um, yes the bottles are all empty. As much as I'd like to say it's because the sunlight streaming through the bottles makes for a better photograph, the truth is we drank them. My two favorites were the Edward Sellers Cuvee Des Cinq (tastes like a Rhone wine you get in Lyon, France—which is a good thing) and the Pianetta Sangiovese.
Carry that camera in style
Ooooo. I want this bag! All of my camera bags are very useful, but lack any kind of style. I love this bag by jill•e designs. It's big and style and has plenty of compartments for cables and batteries.