bocca della verita

the mouth of truth. according to legend, a liar who puts his hand in will have it bitten off! how do you say "yipes" in italiano?

roman holiday

tripper and i are playing the parts of gregory peck and audrey hepburn this week as we romp around roma! if we can find a converter with three prongs, we'll be updating lots. if not, we'll be back super refreshed on monday. ciao!

dum. dum. da. dum.

the adorable favor boxes have been folded and the last ribbon tied ... and just in time! i'll be away all weekend enjoying my brother-in-law's wedding. congratulations scott & ashley! love you bunches! xoxo

urban forest project

have you heard about this? i'm probably way late to this party, but so very fun! from september 1 thru october 31, 185 banners created by some of the most celebrated designers and artists around (including four from kate spade) will be hanging together in the middle of times square. each of the banners will depict a tree or a tree metaphor to create an urban forest. how fabulous! after the exhibit is over, the banners will be recycled into totes and sold at auction with all procedes going to students of the visual arts. i hope to see this in person!

images via the urban forest project by (from left to right): nikki chung, adamsmorioka, kenneth martinez & kiffer keegan, abbott miller, base design, weston bingham.

to scale

i love this new size scale feature found on kate spade's site. the idea is a good one on it's own accord, but the execution is ... well, wow! it's cleverly done and so very kate spade. i wouldn't mind having this hanging on my wall. i also love the bag, the antwerp maya. ps ... it's on sale. snap! snap!

image from kate spade.

cutest. gift box. ever.

this gift box by the gift wrap company is perhaps the cutest packaging i've seen. the colors are lovely ... black, white, orange and all shades of pink ... and the way it opens and closes is precious! it doesn't hurt that it has a polka dotted ribbon going 'round the top, either! special thanks to dallas and cristi for bringing this to me! i love it!

ps ... wait 'til you see what was inside! i'll post that as soon as i take some more pictures.

pop life

my international magazine swap partner, sabine, requested for her swap a copy of domino and a magazine called pop life. i had never heard of pop life, but after a quick peek online, i'm in pop love! just look!

images from pop life.

a call for help

so, i've been working from home for the past few months now and i have yet to figure out what to wear. sounds silly, i know, but really – you feel like a grinning idiot in heels and pearls sitting in your spare-bedroom-turned-home office. on the flip side, you can only feel good about yourself for so long in a t-shirt and track pants. what do all you other work-from-home women wear? any suggestions for me? please help!

there's something about amy

people can't stop talking about amy ruppel! there's something so joyful and inspiring about her work, i just love it. grace of design*sponge recently shared her *very own* piece of amy and conducted a great podcast interview back in april (scroll down to april 17), fashion is spinach has a nice write-up and so does tripper's galler|b. her next online art sale begins on wednesday, september 13. mark your calendars!

image from amy ruppel via galler|b.

meme

i enjoyed this so much on hula seventy, i thought i'd give it a go here. play along if you'd like!

1. grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. write down what it says:

chop, trim, twist, pop, thwack. from "heat {an amateur's adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pasta-maker and apprentice to a dante-quoting butcher in tuscany}."

2. stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first?

a plastic cup from target that makes me think of pink milkshakes. yum.

3. what is the last thing you watched on tv?

breaking news on cnn about jonbenet ramsey.

4. without looking, what time is it?

11:11.

5. now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

11:17.

6. with the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

cute little snarfle noises coming from ed. i love those noises.

7. when did you last step outside?

about 15 minutes ago for the last potty run of the night.

8. what are you wearing?

my black t-shirt with the ruffled crew neck, black capris and black flips. also a bit too much mascara.

9. when did you last laugh?

just now tripper made me laugh. he did the whole burger king chicken fries commercial, which is my favorite. "you gotta lotta nerve hangin' around with those french fries, chicken. maybe you want to be a french fry." "maybe i do." "huh? wha?"

10. seen anything weird lately?

i watched the people across the street do a naked photoshoot on their balcony.

11. what did you dream last night?

i don't remember! but a few nights ago, i had a dream that my mum and i were standing near my bedroom window chatting. all of a sudden, a big, red construction crane slammed into the window and the window fell out. it fell 17 stories and landed on some people below, but they didn't get hurt at all. strange.

12. what's on the walls of the room you're in?

right now? just paint! so sad, but i have big plans for this room. stay tuned!

14. what do you think of this survey?

i think i like it! but where is #13?

15. what's the last film you saw?

world trade center. bring kleenex if you go.

16. if you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?

a fantastic brownstone in new york city. fingers crossed!

17. tell me something about you that i don't know.

i choose wine based on the cuteness of the labels. also, i won't drink red wine in crowds because i can't stand the way it makes people's teeth look.

18. if you could change one thing about the world, what would you change?

the outcome of the last presidential election.

19. do you like to dance?

yes. yes i do like to dance.

20. imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

kate murphy allen.

21. boy?

cameron george allen.

22. would you ever consider living abroad?

oui

bead-dazzled!

my cute-as-a-button "little sister" jenny made me this gorgeous graduated bead necklace! she *made* it just for me! the dark, glossy charcoal beads are beautiful, but i most love the surprise element of the six silver ones. it's perfect and i couldn't love it more, bella! see ...

fruits of paradise

my dear friend red britt gave me these amazing soaps from pacifica soaps. in bali lime papaya, hawaiian ruby guava and brazilian mango grapefruit, the packaging is as delightful as the scents! mmmmmmmmm. thanks, britt britt!

toe-faced

the happy toes of tripper!

1967

my mum gave me the best present ever! it's a vintage handbag from 1967 that she carried on her honeymoon to niagra falls! how fantastic is that?!? i love the shape and structure ... it's so classic. and it still looks brand new! i'll take great care of it, mum. i promise! thank you so much. i love it!

happy surprise

tripper's parents dropped off this present for me over the weekend. isn't it the happiest wrapping you've ever seen? i love the ribbon. so cute. i can't wait to see what's inside! thanks mom a and pappa ger!

swizzle factory

sherry of the north carolina-based swizzle factory wrote to tell me about their fantastic letterpress creations. how me are these coasters? from coasters to notecards to t-shirts, there wasn't a thing on her site that i didn't want to buy immediately. plus the name is super cute.

image from swizzle factory.

crack job

don't let their sexy silhouettes fool you ... these girls mean business! with these steel nutcrackers designed by laurent lucas for the sarut group, there is no nut too tough to crack.

image from the sarut group.

happy home

i just gave these happy home placemats and napkins by jonathan adler as a gift and now i think i'd like a set for myself! the chocolate brown and robin's egg blue would look perfect with my every day dishes! (too bad most nights we eat right out of the take-away containers at the coffee table ... shhhh!)

places, everybody

with this boy+girl bedding from no one you know, i'll never forget which side of the bed is mine! also available in girl+boy, 2boys, 2girls, boy, and girl. such fun!

ps ... i love that the pillow makes the head.

image from no one you know.

guppy love

they look like bags of fish fresh from the pet store, but really they're soap from spoon sisters. how clever! colorful plastic fish are embedded in clear glycerin soap shaped like water in a bag.

image from spoon sisters.

who can make the sun rise?

remember that commercial where it rained skittles? well this is even better! a brilliantly colorful, candy-coated umbrella! what could be more fantastic than that on a rainy day? (ok, maybe the umbrella *and* a pocketful of brightly-wrapped chocolates.) available at dylan's candy bar, this is one sweet find!

image from dylan's candy bar.

table talk

these ink blot plates, designed by kathleen walsh for walteria living and available at unica home, are inspired by a 19th century parlor game called blotto (pre-rorschach). just think of the dinner conversation to be had with these on your table! so, what do you see? here's what's written around the rim of each plate ...

1. "1% - an outlaw biker rides alone, his destiny remains uncertain" (i saw a man on a motorcycle)
2. "compassion among species - 2 altruistic butterflies fly 2 injured field mice to safety" (i saw two bees)
3. "dueling roosters - 2 roosters engage in staring competition, there will be only 1 winner" (i saw a court jester)
4. "an unlikely event - 1 winged porcine creature stands poised at the edge of a reflective pool" (i saw a winged pig!)

image from unica home.

tamar mogendorff

these handmade textile owls by tamar mogendorff are a hoot! (i also really enjoy the sheep head, the family of penguins, and the terribly cute bird cage.) each is made from vintage fabric, like old linen and pashminas. so creative and lovely! owls available at pollen.

image from pollen.

embellished

michele in appleton, wisconsin sent me the most amazing package ever for the embellishment swap. she asked if she hit the mark? ... a thousand times yes! i loved every lovely little bit. too many favorites to name! thank you so much, miss one-l michele! you're a peach.

profiles

tripper has two bright and shiny new artist profiles up on galler|b ... shag and rodney white. check them out and let him know you stopped by!

sofa slump?

our sofa has been wearing the same "outfit" for more than a year now. i think it's time for a change. i still adore the two thomas paul pillows, so i'm not ready to retire them just yet, but that pillow in the middle i think could use a break. i want to go for something a bit, well, a bit more. maybe a bolder color? a pop of vivid blue or a punch of perfect green could just do the trick.

inviting

i finally finished the invitations for my soon-to-be sister-in-law ashley's bridal luncheon. they turned out pretty cute. i embellished each hand with a diamond ring and decorated the flower centers with a sugary glass glitter. subtle sparkle. i can't believe the wedding is this month!