Vampire Weekend Video

My brother Jake sent me over this Vampire Weekend "Cousins" video to check out, isn't it a fun one? They are such a upbeat group to listen to, one of my daughter's favorites to put on and dance to.

My Red Boots

Very cute vintage French toys at the My Red Boots Etsy shop.

Cute Kindle Commercial

I saw this commercial over the weekend and thought it was adorable. Although I will always treasure the smell and touch of a freshly bound book, I am thinking about asking for a Kindle for Christmas (not just because of the commercial). To those who have one, tell us your thoughts.

Clip Credits : Directed by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths. Starring Annie Little who also sang the song "Fly Me Away" available on Amazon.

Martha Stewart Gift Guide

I am excited to share with you my gift guide selections for Martha Stewart which launched on Black Friday. See the gift details here and check out some more great ideas from other bloggers too!

Did you have a nice weekend?

I hope that you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. Are you still enjoying leftovers? Loving this photograph by Annie Schlechter.

Tamara Muth King + Happy Thanksgiving

I love these breathtaking puritan photos by Tamara Muth-King. They are the first in a series of her personal work and I am can't wait to see more!

I was curious as to the meaning behind these photos so I asked her a little bit about them. Tamara states, "I was thinking about the way most teenagers dress, with the less is less philosophy, and all of the extremely revealing things that they wear, between extremely revealing cuts, thongs that others can see over they're ill fitting jeans. It's an anti fashion shoot in some ways, but the outfits become so fashionable at the same time. This shoot, and the next two are all based on pieces that are ultra conservative, but shot in a very current, innocent, and hopefully riveting way."

See all of the photos from this shoot here. Her work is stunning and riveting, don't you think?



I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and for those international readers I wish you a pleasant weekend! Here is a great link to a video clip about how we can notice the little things around us.

What are you thankful for this year?

10 things I'm grateful for -
1 - my family
2 - my faith
3 - ability to use all 5 senses
4 - hot showers
5 - a roof over my head
6 - clothes to wear
7 - food to eat
8 - freedom
9 - good health
10 - technology (allowing this to be possible)

I am also extremely thankful for you readers! You make my days bright with your kind comments and emails. I appreciate you all for stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving!

(all images by Tamara Muth-King)

The Great Gift Challenge part deux

Here is the second purchase for the Great Gift Challenge with eBay and Martha Stewart (read more about the details here). I found this second price point of $75 to be a little tricky but thankfully I found some great options.

First I came across this cute Adidas yoga bag for $54.99 but lost the bid because I was going to pair it with a new yoga mat and I needed it to be a little less expensive to do that.



Next I was thinking about these Frye boots that were gently used aka vintage although you can still get them at other places (retail new for $350) I figured they could be refinished at a great shoe cobbler, but they are already priced at $67 with 6 bids and have quite a bit of time left to go.


I finally decided upon selecting the above Orla Kiely Cosmetic Bag (NWT) as the top photo and I hope that my friend will love it! You can always have another cosmetic bag, right? It was slightly over the $75 budget at $75.60, yet it was nice to find this Orla Kiely bag on eBay for less than their normal going $85-$95 retail prices.

Remember to enter the fantastic Great Gift Challenge for the chance to win $1000 gift card for eBay!

Letters Lubell

I am pleased to hear about this gorgeous eco-chic line Letters Lubell. The letterpress collection includes notebooks, note cards, recipe cards, gift tags and more and custom printing is also offered. Wouldn't those tags be cute on a colorfully wrapped present. My favorite piece is this one my goodness, do I love letterpress mixed with that design.

Amy Atlas Thanksgiving style

Amy Atlas is constantly coming up with incredible ideas, and her Thanksgiving Dessert Buffet is no exception -- it's wonderful. You've got to see more photos here, especially if you are in charge of Thanksgiving decor this year. It will give you loads of inspiration.

(photos by Allan Zepeda and Mel Barlow)

Chewing the Cud

Last year I bought of few of these Cuddle with Cider Sachets from Chewing the Cud and they were a hit. This year, I love the idea of wrapping up gifts in their reusable Fabric Gift Wrap. What a great idea.

Moomah

Moomah has quickly been added to my must-visit places next time we go to New York City with our daughter. They state on their website it is, "A place of sweet whimsy, wonder and warmth, Moomah is a creative playscape, a cozy cafe, a living classroom, a quiet hideaway, an art oasis, your neighborhood meeting spot. Your favorite place to be together, and a place for your child to simply be." Brilliant, don't you think? Wow -- I wish more places like this existed! Older kids can even play around online with this online art project. Genius. How many of you New Yorkers have been to Moomah?

(via Swiss Miss)

Rifle Paper Co.

I'm very excited that Rifle is opening their online shop today. There is a variety of lovey items from greeting cards to posters and more designed by the talented Anna. Go have a peek, it is really A-mazing stuff.

Hilarious moment - Flight of the Conchords style

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Did you get to do anything fun? Here is my funny moment of the weekend.

Last night we went to my brother's court of honor. It was hilarious when one of the musical performances was this young guy singing solo with his guitar this Flight of the Conchords song. The whole crowd was busting up laughing -- he even did the dance moves. It was a little out of place, (maybe not the right setting) but it was memorable and very, very funny.

Leica M7 Hermes

I doubt most of us could afford this lovely limited edition new Leica M7 Hermes edition camera which is about the price for an average car, but what a beautiful sight well-designed objects are to look at. These Leica babies can get very spendy like this one. Wow. How many of you have a Leica? Any model (on the more economical price point of their line) is pretty much on my long term wish list, they are so beautiful.

(image from Wallpaper)

Maison Martin Margiela Book

I like the way they did the video clip for the Maison Martin Margiela book. (images from Wallpaper)

Chronicle Books Sale!!

Chronicle Books is having a year end Friends & Family Holiday Sale! 35% off + Free Shipping with promo code FRIENDS (Ends 12.4.09). Chronicle is the best, I love to stock up at these sales.

Serene Spaces

I'm really drawn to these peaceful feeling interior spaces today photographed by Jon Jensen Photography. (first seen here)

The Duchess of Whimsy

This is clearly one of the best new children's fairy tales that I've seen lately, and I happy to receive a review copy to share with you readers. The Duchess of Whimsy is an enchanting tale by a husband and wife team (Randall de Sève and Peter de Sève) that seamlessly blends together a whimsical story with gorgeous illustrations.

The story is about a Duchess who behaves in a very fanciful way, eating only the best food and surrounding herself with the best of people and things, -- the life of the party type of gal. The Earl of Norm adores her and does everything he can to get her attention, but she thinks of him as nothing -- simply too ordinary. I don't want to spoil the ending, but lets just say that when the Earl of Norm makes her the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, they unite in their passion for melted cheese and the rest is history.

It is a very clever, charming, and foodie lover tale, based on an original love story that makes me smile with delight. It has a an elegant French Versailles like feel to it and there is even a part where a pig is sniffing out truffles in the forest! Talk about elevating young children's food knowledge -- love that. It is nice to know that there are well done and new whimsical children's book options like this out there. It is published by Philomel Books - Penguin Young Readers and you can find it here. A great gift idea!

Sponsor Highlight : Seesaw Designs

Have you heard of Seesaw Designs? I hope you have! They are a full-service graphic design and letterpress studio in Scottsdale Arizona and I am delighted that they are a sponsor this month. They recently opened a online letterpress shop and everything is perfection, I really, really like every single piece! Have a look at all of their fine goods in their shop and that calendar --- swoon. Also their blog is one of my daily reads.

The Great Gift Challenge part 1

For The Great Gift Challenge this week (read previous intro. post here) I decided to find a gift for my sister Becca at the $25 price point. Becca and I are eight years apart but a lot of the time it feels like we are only two. She is a dancer, yoga instructor, she even won an award for 'hip hop dancer of the year' yes, she can really break a move kind of like this clip or this clip. Currently she is living in Texas serving a mission, but she is the type of gal that wants to go to an ashram and study yoga in India when she is done with her eighteen month service. If I had to sum up Becca as a book title, her title would be, "Eat, Pray, Love" -- (at least the good methodical, and wanderlust parts) to give you a tiny glimpse of what she is like. I love her! Becca has bohemian style and likes accessories so I knew I would head straight to this section on eBay.



Here are a few things that I found on eBay that matched her style:

Hobo International Clutch
Leaf Necklace
Hayden Harnett Coin Purse
Pashmina Scarf (on a side note, here is a video of how to tie them here)

After further exploring this week, I came across these two pieces that fit her even better, and I ended up getting them both from the seller Accessory Addiction.



I was happy to find both of these pieces NWT which means 'new with tags' for the eBay lingo learning shoppers. The Anthropologie tree necklace on the left was $14.99 and it has significance for her because she likes tress and also has a blog called, she planted a tree. The gold and pearl Banana Republic earrings which I did a "best offer bid" on were scored for $8.50. The total of both of these pieces was just under the $25 budget coming in at $23.49 excluding shipping. Can't wait to see what I will find next week for the $75 price point, stay tuned. Also, remember to sign up for The Great Gift Challenge $1,000 eBay gift card here. I hope you win.

Globe of Laundry

Flipping through an old German magazine I came across this cool ad. It reminded me a lot of this other post. Creativity with clothes in an inventive way.

Rachel Comey

Oh my goodness, I love Rachel Comey more than ever. Have you seen her hiking inspired line highlighted over at Refinery 29?

(via for me, for you)

Kate Spade on Ideeli

How many of you belong to these online members only shopping websites, are you a fan? Have you heard of ideeli? My inbox usually gets flooded each week with emails about their hottest deals from great designers and this time I'm glad I paid attention because Kate Spade is one of the featured designers! I wanted to spread the word if you are interested or didn't know about it. Join Ideeli here for free.

Giveaway : Stella & Dot

One of our previous sponsors Stella & Dot is offering a lucky reader this beautiful ring! Isn't it lovely? Perfect for the holidays, and their collection of other jewelry is pretty too. To enter, leave a comment below on this post by Friday night and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified and announced on this post. Good luck.

Winner randomly picked with random.org = Simply Modern Mom.

Everything is Made in China

The video effects of the music video by Moscow based band, Everything Is Made in China is interesting, reminds me of those face flip games I used to love playing with as a kid. Listen to more of their songs here. I like finding bands and music I've never heard of before. Don't you? What has been your latest music find?