product placement = active people toys

I can always tell when my brain is dried up...fresh out of blogging ideas. I start thinking about the stuff that I really like. Stuff that has worked for our family. (Stuff -- what a word -- it's all gonna burn someday, huh? Yep. I think I have an idea for a blog post....)

Anyway, I was doing a search on "Bilibo" (one of Ingrid and Ilsa's favorite toys -- they have a yellow one) and found the website for the Swiss manufacturer, active people toys. They have come up with a bunch of brand new, open-ended, creativity exploding toys. I particularly like the Bilibo/Pixel gamebox combo, as well as the Sakol wooden blocks with velcro attached.

The toys look innocuous -- like nothing in particular. But add kids to the mix and be amazed to see what they come up with. This youtube video is basically an advertisement, but shows what cool stuff the kids came up with on their own:

nobody probably cares, but i love my new bedding!

This is the first change in bedding "look" we have had in thirteen years of marriage! I'm proud of the fact that we waited until the old stuff literally fell apart. I think we (well, the people who bought it for us as a wedding gift) got our money's worth. It pays to buy good quality, and to be patient and content.

This time we chose a Marimekko pattern called Lehtimaja. The Marimekko designer was Maija Isola, and she did it in 1958. Isn't it cool how the pattern looks completely fresh and modern, and it is 51 years old? I think this sure says "us". Now I need to be content and not pine away for a modern platform bed and matching dresser and nightstands....at least it modernizes-up our colonial-style, heavy, glossy cherry-stained mahogany bedroom set.

modern granny square afghan

It's done! It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Of course, being a Stephanie project, there were plenty of "uh ohs" and "oopses" (is that a correct way to spell the plural of oops?). At the last minute, I decided against adding the olive green wide border. I think it would take away from the simplicity of the design.

modern granny square throw

Here is my current crochet project: a modern granny square blanket...I kind of went nutso with the hip colors to match our living room. Of course, being me, I goofed in the piecing. It wouldn't be a Stephanie project without some goof up drama -- the 10 patches on the right are really supposed to be 12 patches, and the big black block bottom left is not supposed to be so big...so I'm winging it a little bit. That's why there is a row to the left of two of each color -- I'm actually just going to sew those into a little table runnery thing for the sideboard.

The basic layout is from the "Stitch 'n B****" crochet book; recognize what it is? It's a TV test pattern. Weird, huh? But I was drawn in by the "Mondrianesque" quality of the pattern. In fact, I didn't even recognize what it was until after I had purchased all of the yarn.

I probably have about 5 hours of work to go on it. Not a ton. I'm thinking of edging the whole thing with a thick olive border -- perhaps a double or triple crochet stitch...maybe even bigger.

product placement = haiku bags

I love bags. Not expensive Prada or whatever is trendy these days, but colorful, technical, purposed, interesting, outdoorsy bags that don't look crazy with a dress at church. Here's are two that I'm trying to decide between from Haiku . These bags are not leather. But they look and feel exactly like pebbled leather. They are almost indestructible! For the record, I'm not a bag collector -- I don't have a California Closet full of bags. I have one Timbuk2 tote, a few reusable grocery bags (one that I got free from Method, two from our local "granola" market) and a couple of purses that are years (not an exaggeration) old.

The first is called the To-Go. It is roomy, filled with pockets and nice details like a lined pocket for your cell, side pockets for my insulated aluminum Laken water bottle (which I think is way better than Sigg).

The smaller version, called the Grab Bag, is cute too, but envelope thin.

Zappos carries Haiku, as do REI and Title Nine. And to Chad's encouragement and cheering, I'm sure getting practical these days. I used to be a Coach and Clinique girl. Now I'm REI, Timbuk2, Philosophy, Chaco's and Target.

product placement = toys

Look at these cool toys I found looooong after my bedtime...

Rickshaw

All-terrain trike

Modern dollhouse

I found all of them at Sparkability.net.

Cool Room

Nice room I found at http://www.cb2.com/, if it is "instantly out of a big cardboard box" with no randomness whatsover. I especially like the mix of red and green. That red stool is great - reminds me of a red bridge in a Japanese garden.

Coolest lunchboxes ever!

Ingrid starts preschool in two weeks (arghhh!!!) and she needed a lunchbox. I needed something insulated because of the heat here in Almost Mexico. After googling "modern insulated lunchbox" I found these little pieces of awesomeness. They completely unzip to create a placemat, too! And they hold up to 10 pounds of lunch...10 pounds???!!! Oh, and they cost less than the cheapo Barbie lunchbox at Target for $12.99. Check them out at the Built NY website: http://www.builtny.com/showPage.php?pageID=1611.(but they only take Amex...I don't have one of those...). I did find a site (Mamas and Munchkins) that shipped two for standard shipping for $2.95, though: http://www.mamasandmunchkins.com/built-ny-m-68.html. I got Ingrid the pink panda, and Ilsa the green bunny.