Crayon Box Mondays - Mulberry

Yes, I missed a week again. Shocker. Apparently self-imposed deadlines are essentially worthless. =)

I'm not sure why, but Mulberry caught my attention while scrolling through crayon colors to focus on. Sort of a lovely muted, pinky-purple. Sadly though it was retired in 2003.

Silk spinning fiber, wildhare
Drop earrings, glistenbyerin
Organic jam, jamgals
Mulberry wine succulent, Horticopia
June blooms print, SarahKDesigns
Mod sugar bowl, 5dollaremporium 
Elephant paperweight, CarawayCache
Cocktail necklace, vividcolors
Ceramic birds, PrinceDesignUK
Mulberry Street, Amazon
Pleated bag, ModDiva

Zeitgeist Freitag - old stuff

Okay, I was going to do a whole post mourning the loss of the Triceratops to scientific history because apparently, the Triceratops was actually the juvenile form of the Torosaurus. However with further research into the matter, paleontologists have decided to keep the name Triceratops because it has chronological precedence (and I think upsetting kids everywhere helped a little too).

But I'm still mad about Pluto not being a planet anymore.

So I'm still going to do a post on these two things. Because who doesn't love dinosaurs and space stuff?

Robot and Triceratops, happyfamily
Sarah and Sara earrings, autumnomatopoeia
Orange Striped, kaiterpillar
Plant Eater Pin, teenytinytantrums
Ceramic magnet, ynotmore
In Love Card, OrangeTwist
Tertia felt doll, nonesuchgarden
No Hand Catch, Daniel Heywood
Skull pendant, mrd74
Triceratops Amigurumi, planetjune
Tiny Bottle, tinyworldinabottle
Dinosoap, dugshop
B&W illustration, LaniesLoft
BBQ neon, Jay Jay Burridge

Never Forget shirt, Yque
Dwarf shirt, FiftyFiveRed
Pluto pin, onehappygran
RIP shirt, Mental Floss
Not a Planet shirt, TheShirtDudes
License Plate holder, Cafe Press
Pluto Shiver, Fisher Price
Not One of Us graphic, ERV
Planet Express pin, shortsleevealliance  <-- remember that episode where Pluto was a penguin sanctuary?
Pluto pendant, Edelstein Metalsmiths
Pluto plasma, Think Geek

Travel Wednesdays - Sweden

Sorry everything is behind this week... just one of those weeks. Anyways...

So I have a super massive obsession with everything Swedish these days... and unlike a lot of other Travel Wednesdays, I have not been there yet. But I'm definitely planning a trip for (hopefully) next summer (because I hate the cold).

Fishing Village, debdrewphotos
Winter, Our Surprising World
Stockholm photo, whollyafool
Sunset Faro Island, Our Surprising World 
Laitaure Lake Sarek National Park, Thunda Funda

How gorgeous is that?

I can't exactly pinpoint my new-found passion... I'd imagine it started with my general love of Scandinavian design in furniture/household objects... otherwise known as IKEA (and their meatballs). But then there's always my love of Pippi Longstocking, the Swedish Chef, gnomes/tomte, and Swedish fish (<-- go play with that website, it's fun).

They also have the Ice Hotel that I desperately want to stay in. Check out the Flickr stream from this past year. Amazing!

I mean, really, could there be a better country?

Arriving In Stockholm, MatteArt
Blue Dala Horse, Clare Packages
Lapland Bracelet, GronstedtDesign
Wooden Gnome, coppermouse
Barn Art, Watercolor by Muren
Swedish Fish necklace, pennydogaccessories
Swedish Chef pendant, ccpendants
Swedish Star, ParkStreetStudios
Mushroom House, tildafilur
Pippi Collection, Amazon

In addition to all of that coolness, check out some awesome work by Swedish artists on Etsy (using the Shop Local tool... which is pretty amazing).

Beach Pottery Owl, LillaJizo
Wish You Were Here, PaperBazaar
Sunday Morning Slippers, aCatsNest
Tulip earrings, BlackDaisyDesigns
Red and white necklace, Creairtive
Tea Cup, SuzzieHoller
Zippered Pouch, Themidnightsundesign
Lilly dress, CristinaPires
As the Waves Roll In, afiori

So who wants to come with?  =)

Crayon Box Mondays - Chartreuse

I just need to get my other favorite color out of the way before I move onto the truly varied depths of the crayon box.

(can't find a picture of a Chartreuse crayon at the moment... and didn't feel like digging into the depths of my crayon/colored pencil/marker/sharpie/pen box to photograph one. But I will. Someday.)

Chartreuse, a lovely bright color somewhere between green and yellow (sometimes called grellow, but please don't do this. It's just wrong.) Also, not to be confused with the French alcohol Chartreuse.

Get out your shades for this one...

Proenza Schouler bag, BagCraze
Earrings, WildWomanJewelry 
Clock, Crate and Barrel  <-- I have this lovely clock in my bathroom... but so sad, it's no longer available.
Keds, Zazzle
Coffee mug cozy, knotworkshop
Matilda Marrie figurine, therunnybunny
Glass Pearls, ddfromscratch
Unripe Strawberry, bubbletime
Pablito painting, michaelvanstudio
Ruffled Silk Ring, bstudio
Chartreuse liquor, France for Visitors
Baby Ribbs, Ponituisuuksia

Whoops...

Sorry posts died off last week. I got all kinds of busy. But look how grown up I'm being by continuing anyways... rather than writing it all off, ignoring the blog for 6-8 months and then coming up with some other idea to blog about.

That's how much I like this version!

So onwards... at least I have 2 posts almost already done for this week. And could start working on ones for next week so that I'm maybe a step ahead.

=)

Crayon Box Mondays - Cerulean

So I'm going to start with my favorite crayon ever... Cerulean

Cerulean crayon, PazzaBella dolls

In nature, there are actually quite a few birds that are cerulean, or so-named...

Cerulean Cuckoo Shrike, National Geographic
Cerulean Kingfisher, Wiki
Cerulean Warbler, Wiki
Cerulean-capped Manakin, Tanager Tours
Caerulean Paradise-Flycatcher, Arkive

And of course... anything with this color automatically catches my eye. =)

Morning Dew photograph, ara133photography
Filigree Earrings, ActionJackson
Cloud Impression 5, AzureDayArt
Cerulean Sins, Laurell K Hamilton, Fantastic Fiction
Pendant Necklace, Wildcucumber
Peacock Clip, TheHeadBandShoppe
Cerulean Button Down, Abstract Mall
Butterfly Feeder, Glorious Glass Garden
Zipper Flower, Jills Boutique
Wooden Doll, Zime
Bird Hairpins, Downandoutchic
Bubble Earrings, Taylors Eclectic

Zeitgeist Freitag - the Mustache

So on Fridays I thought I'd focus on one random cultural phenomenon/fascination/trend.

And really, where else could I begin but with the mustache?

(and for your random edification/amusement "mustache" in German is "Schnurrbart." How great is that?!)

 Let's review our 'stache knowledge, shall we...

• Some of the manliest 'staches ever to grace the face of man. 

• In Australia, they have the month of Movember where men start the month clean shaven and have the whole "...month to grow and groom their moustache. During Movember, each Mo Bro effectively becomes a walking billboard for men’s health and... raises essential funds and awareness for Movember’s men’s health partners – The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue – the national depression initiative."

         (side note: apparently "mo" in Australian is equivalent to "stache" in American... which makes Movember make more sense, at least to me at any rate.)

• And of course there's the World Beard and Mustache Championship

• There is also the American Mustache Institute. Please go read the history of mustaches (under the mustache information tab)... it's informative, fascinating, and hilarious

• And one last trivia tidbit, apparently Peter the Great ordered men to shave off their beards/mustaches in 1698 and then further imposed a tax on facial hair in 1705 in the attempt to get Russians to look more like Western Europeans.

And now onto the big show... the mustache's amazing proliferation in all things pop culture etc.

Mustaches on a Stick, Whiskerworks
Ahoy T-shirt, MustacheandFriends 
Mustache Field Bag, theboldbanana 
Mustache Hairclip, Liven
Giraffe Messenger bag, rainbowswirlz
I Mustache Therefore I Am, Dummypress
Resin Necklace, Stoopidgerl
Stache a Day Buttons, Hownice
Little Gentleman Onesie, Hutchme 
French Toast Earrings, The Tiny Fig
Sock Monster, Stuf'd

Mustache Men, Tosya
Mustache Tote bag, PaisleyMagic
Octopus Earl card, earthtogirl
Monster Pillows, cronopia6
Framed Handlebar, gentrynightstudios
Mustache Comb Over, Drywell
Mustache Mugs, Peter Ibruegger
Mustache Flask, Man Eating Flower   <-- I own one of her "Temperance" flasks and it's Awesome!!
Hot Short Fundies, maybeyoushoulddie
Home for your Mustache, ChopShopStore
Eyeglass Holder, ArtAkimbo

Travel Wednesdays - Capri

It's the middle of the week... so why not think about being somewhere else?

Villa San Michele, wiki
Harbor, Top Travel Blog
Blue Grotto, BootsnAll


I'm feeling very Italian this week... so I thought I'd find things inspired by the island of Capri... and maybe inspire you to go there one day. I definitely would like to go back since I only spent about four hours there. But... those four hours were fabulous!

The mom and I went on a brief bus trip/tour of Italy over Thanksgiving break one year while we lived in Germany. And I think this was officially the last bus trip we went on together before swearing off bus tours completely. It was a marathon of driving/sleeping/boredom from Stuttgart --> Florence --> Rome --> Naples/Pompeii/Capri --> Rome --> Venice --> back to Germany all in like four and a half days. Ugh. So of course we saw a lot of everything and not enough of anything all at the same time.

I remember the lovely interlude that was Capri though very fondly. To get there you take a ferry to the island and then a funicular up to the top. Even though there are many sights (the Blue Grotto, Roman ruins, Villa San Michele) mainly we just wandered around, getting lost on tiny side streets, eating gelato, drinking limoncello and pretending we didn't ever have to leave.

So, here's my vision of a perfect day on Capri...

Versace Sunglasses, Sunglass Hut
Prada Bag, Neiman Marcus
Crochet Ring, Galit
Cashmere Scarf, Sunspel
Capri Sun
GTS 3000, Vespa
Stripe Shirt, 7 For All Mankind
Ferragamo Ankle Boots, Zappos
Gelato pic, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

The Crayon Box

I don't know about you, but I love colorful things. Especially rainbows. So I was thinking it would be fun to do a (weekly?) post focusing on one color in particular. 

So in all good research related moments (while I'm procrastinating on doing something else) I went to go look for a list of Crayola Crayon colors.
Oh man... this was a crazy rabbit hole.

Here is the wiki page with past/present Crayola colors in all of their glory.
And then here is the insane wiki page with All Colors Ever... Whoah. So intense.

And then there was this fun infographic by weathersealed.com

This shows how the number of crayon colors doubles every 28 years.
Also, it's pretty.
And it kind of looks like a 70's greeting card.

So before I dive in and start picking colors... which I don't even know how I'm going to do because they're all just so pretty and shiny and... and... umm, colorful...
I think I'll start with a collage of rainbow/crayon box inspirations. Remember how awesome getting a new box of crayons was? Especially the 64 box! I have to admit though, I was one of those strict/annoying kids... the crayons needed to stay in the color order I arranged them (ROYGBIV baby!) and they needed to stay sharpened at all times. Nothing sent me into a blind rage quite like discovering a blunt, rounded top crayon.

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm an only child. =)

Rainbow Brite eyes, Lady Pandacat von Nopants
Chuck Taylor 2008, Converse
Happy Crayons Card, Happyday Studio 
Rainbow Cupcakes, Our Best Bites
Crayon Rings, Timothy Liles 
Tie-Dye Shirt, Nicoretro
Crayon Button, Sticker Giant
Crayon Box Quilt, Elsie's Girl