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On Goofy Art and Giggles

19 Jun

Mountain Monster print by Chris McMahon

Land Narwhal and Young print by Chris McMahon

You guys know how I’m obsessed with goofy animal art – and, let’s face it, goofy art in general. Just the other day, I was this close [ ] to buying a gigantic blue oil painting of two bunnies in a field.

I can’t even describe the level of joy I found from these masterpieces by Chris McMahon, who, as I’m told by the ladies at Hello Giggles, paints these funny monsters into landscape art he finds at thrift stores.

I’ve already purchased the narwhal and the mountain monster pictured above. Only $10 including shipping! I couldn’t resist.

And while I’m on the topic, Hello Giggles is the best! How did I just now discover it? I especially loved this post by 13-year-old Mikaela Foster, who is already a much better writer than me and describes my junior high/high school sentiments to a “T”.

Something to Laugh About

21 Mar
When I'm Looking for My Phone via #whatshouldwecallme

WHEN I'M LOOKING FOR MY PHONE.

Just when I think I’m pretty funny/creative, someone goes and does something like this. Absolutely hilarious.

{Photo via #whatshouldwecallme}

How To Be Money Saavy

20 Jan

I have to admit that I’m really bad with my money. I try to be reasonable about monthly expenditures and think through the big-ticket splurges, but besides that, I don’t know much about managing money. Investments, retirement savings, and taxes? Zilch. And my biggest nightmare of all? My student loans. Funding college and grad school = a bajillion different loans, passwords, due dates, interest rates, and accounts to take care of. Eek!

If you’re in the same shoes as me, don’t worry; check out LearnVest. I found this site through DailyCandy and it’s such a refreshing take on helping women manage their money. It’s free to become a member and there’s a ton you can do on the site: sign up for bootcamp sessions that walk you through investing and budgeting, link up all of your financial accounts (students loans, personal banking, etc.) and manage them in one place, get tips that are customized for where you are in life (recent grad, expecting a baby, trying to get out of debt) and more. There are a couple of features on the site that do cost a fee, such as personal financial planning with an advisor, but otherwise you can navigate the rest of the site for free and start organizing your spending habits so they reflect your future goals. It’s awesome! And, just in time for tax season. :)

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Have a great weekend, everyone! xx

{photos via here & here}

Aside

The Color of Money

28 Nov

Julien Beneyt for Make Your Franklin

La Moustacherie for Make Your Franklin

Fermoyle for Make Your Franklin

Psycho for Make Your Franklin

Vincent for Make Your Franklin

I feel sort of bad saying this, but U.S. money is kind of boring. Maybe it’s because I see it all the time — as opposed to money from foreign countries. But even then, it’s just sort of blah. That’s why I’m loving this project and website called Make Your Franklin. It features user-generated designs for $100 bills. They range from the beautiful to the bizarre to the hilarious. And I like just about every one of them better than the real thing.

Tripping Made Easier

21 Sep

Kayak Explore Feature

I love traveling, but sometimes I think I’m more addicted to searching for the flights. I have it down to an art — although  it’s often an art that involves spending hours in front of the computer, switching between dozens of travel sites and Google maps and currency exchange calculators. I admit I get a little crazy.

Today, however,  I found this new feature called Explore on Kayak.com that’s pretty much the best thing ever invented for travel lovers. It’s a map that shows you the top flight deals found recently from your location to anywhere around the world! See a price you like? Just click on it, and you’ll get details about the travel dates, stops, number of flights from that area and so on.

Thank you, Kayak!

Dear Photograph, I Love You

14 Sep

Posted on September 6th at 5:45 PM - Dear Photograph

Posted on September 12th at 5:57 PM - Dear Photograph

Posted on September 9th at 3:14 PM - Dear Photograph

I’m in love with this blog called Dear Photograph. It brings together some of my favorite things: nostalgia, short poetic captions, now-and-then photographs, blogs with pretty photos, creative concepts … I could go on and on, but it’s better if you just take a look for yourself.

{Photos  via Dear Photograph}

Orange You Glad?

29 Aug

Bonny Naranja wayfarer Vintage Sunglasses - Etsy

I love Etsy, but sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. That’s why I like to check out their Handpicked Items on the homepage. It’s not just a great way to narrow my search, but it’s also great eye candy. Take these orange sunglasses for instance. Yes, please!

Going, Going …

8 Aug

Petra, Jordan -- Photo by Сергей Ершов

It’s getting to be that time of year when I no longer want to go on a big, fun vacation abroad, I need to go. It’s a survival thing. Currently, my must-go list includes Petra, Jordan (if you’ve ever seen “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, you’ve seen this place — pictured above — and have probably dreamed of going as well), Turkey and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

To prepare for my eventual trip, I’ve been exploring a number of travel resources I’ve discovered lately. So I thought I’d share them here!

1. Intrepid Travel — a great site for small group tours of all kinds that don’t skew to travelers too young or too old. It’s just right.

2. Airbnb — A wonderful resource for rooms and vacation rentals around the globe. Depending on the setup and your preferences, you can even stay in a larger house or unit with locals to get more of the real deal.

3. I’m a Kayak.com diehard, but if you need to be really thrifty, which I often do, I’d recommend CheapOAir. The name says it all really. If you don’t mind roughing it with long layovers and multiple stops for a much cheaper flight, this is your best bet.

Do you have any travel tips or resources you recommend? Where are you going on your next big vacation? Share in the comments!

{Photo by Сергей Ершов}

A Day at the Craft Fair

18 Jul

My Favorites from Renegade Craft Fair Los Angeles

Deer photograph by Mischa Ashton

While holing up in Downtown LA this weekend (to avoid carmageddon, which turned out to be a bust), I finally made it to the Renegade Craft Fair. If those words — “craft fair” — conjure up thoughts of doilies and decorative plates like the ones at your grandmother’s house, don’t fret, this is a whole different animal. I have a stack of business cards and a dent in my bank account to prove it. After spending the first 10 minutes going from booth to booth mentally tallying the pieces I couldn’t live without, I decided it would be better — and more cost-effective — to collect business cards from the artists I liked and shop their stores online when I’m more level-headed and the bright red ATM sign isn’t beckoning. Plus, what better way to share all my fabulous finds with you all!

Here’s a rundown of my favorites and a couple it turned out I really couldn’t live, or leave, without:

  • Small Adventure — Cards, prints, accessories and other small items for those who enjoy the outdoors or just enjoy looking at it.
  • Topiary — I swung by this booth, which features jewelry made out of lace, a couple of times before caving in on a $10 pair of red earrings.
  • Nate Duval — whimsical modern art prints sure to draw you in.
  • Word for Word — For those who are equally arty and punny, check out these greeting cards that cleverly employ the names of paint swatches.
  • Misha Ashton Photography — Another booth I couldn’t resist. Misha’s photo of a deer missing one antler (pictured above) was a must-have!
  • Alternate Histories — Old maps and illustrations take on new meaning when Godzilla and space invaders enter the picture.
  • Clean Getaway Soap Co. — Sometimes there’s nothing better than handmade soap.
  • Crooked Sister — These bow necklaces were just adorable.
  • Sweet Siren — Jewelry that’s both whimsical and edgy, featuring characters from Alice in Wonderland as well as nautical elements.
  • Jason Cantoro — Silkscreen art that’s wonderfully colorful and intriguing.
  • Oceguera — These kitschy pillows are all made from recycled sweaters and would make a great statement in any room.
  • Friends Again — Sweet and lovely hand-printed goods and artwork.
  • Ex Libris Anonymous — Good for writing, sketching or just jotting down notes, these journals made from old books have so much more character than the standard variety.

My longtime favorites and previous post subjects, The Mincing Mockingbird and Berkley Illustration, were also in attendance, making the whole thing an even cooler experience. I had to resist the temptation not to buy their entire booths and just call it a day.

Let’s All Just Relax

20 Jun

Relaxing in Mercedes, Uruguay - by Kim Orr I’m not going to lie. This weekend was a pretty stressful one, full of bad house odors and adult decisions — which I generally try to avoid. (That explains, in part, why I’m posting this at 8:45 p.m.) So I’ve decided now is as good a time as any to share some of my favorite de-stressers.

1. Dreaming of far-off places

2. Looking at far-off places

3. Otis … Redding that is. Something about a soulful voice washes all my worries away.

4. Funnies: man-made or woman-made.

5. This should really be No. 1: wine. (Here are a few of my recent favorites: Kaene, Longoria, Consilience, Educated Guess.)

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