Neat shit worth sharing – Hedgehog edition deux

You may or may not remember NSWS – Hedgehog one, so here’s A LINK to remind you of how popular they were and still are.

Instead of showing you all of the new great products out there, I thought I’d share what I’ve purchased of the hedgehog relation as of late.

  
Not only is this an adorable trinket but it is (more importantly) a bottle opener!



I purchased this from Anthropologie  back in December and finally, after multiple backorders, was sent it two weeks ago. Obviously, a hot commodity.

I also found this fantastic print on etsy and then was shocked to find it being sold in a store in Providence. Obviously I had to buy it


The card that came with it from the artist reads:

Not only did this hedgehog win the "Most Popular" vote his senior year but he also won the "Most Artistic", "Cutest Smile", and four other categories! This is his portrait for the "Best Dressed" win.

How cute is that! The shop, BerkleyIllustrations, is stocked full of these fantastic animal prints and stories.

So are you saying to yourself, ‘I thought she said she was on a waitlinglistorsomething to get one. Was that all talk?’

The answer: No way nay-sayer!

I just put one on reserve with the breeder yesterday!  Here he is at 2-weeks old. 

Unfortunately, I don"t get to pick him up until he's at 7 weeks. I can’t believe I have to wait 5 more weeks before I get to meet him/take him home and love him forever!

Don’t worry, pictures of his homecoming will be coming!

Also that blue spot isn’t a light trick, she marks them to tell them apart for reservation purposes.


I. Cannot. Wait.

Neat shit worth sharing – school edition

Hi all, long time no write.

As with all bloggers who experience a prolonged absence, life just got kicked into overdrive. Fortunately for me, overdrive meant very, verrry good things.

I might have mentioned that I was applying to graduate school and right now we are in the midst of interview season. I went on one and I have two more next week.

Well, I’m happy to say I got in! I’m going to enter a PhD program in the upcoming fall!

Which means a couple of things: 1) I can finally not stress about my fate being determined by admissions committees any longer and these next two interviews are completely stress free since the school I got into was my top pick and 2) I get to do back to school shopping again! YAY!

So while I wait for the Lisa Frank online store to get back into working order so I can buy a new trapper keeper, I thought I’d focus on my favorite item, the back to school bag.

I have been on a never ending search for the perfect tanish/brown, leather, messenger bag that I think may still be out of my reach for reasons like this:

$1,250.00! For that amount of money I want more than just free shipping – I want it shipped and delivered to me by a shirt-less, male model riding a horse.

This almost makes this bag at $450 sound reasonable.

Such a cute style and color! But alas, no amount of saying “I’m worth it” is going to convince my credit dog.

So here are some more wallet friendly options – what do you think?

Happy weekend everyone!

TGIF for realzies

This has been the longest week I can remember. After being hit with numerous snow storms, a busted pipe in my office (causing a flood) and going stir crazy in my apartment – I’m very glad to see it’s over.

Since I wasn’t able to post around the chaos, I thought I’d leave you with a video that truly made me smile.

I may have found a new love in the artist, Olek. Who is responsible for this on Christmas day on Wallstreet



The video of how she accomplished such a feat is still making me smile. You can see it HERE (via Honestly...WTF)

Also if you need more of a street art fix, watch Banksy’s “Exit through the Gift Shop”

Seriously, it’s on Netflix instant, don’t miss it!

Let’s hope next week is a little less calmer. Especially you, snow storms!

Neat shit worth sharing – resolution edition

I didn’t make any official resolutions this year, but if I had to come up with it one, it would definitely be to read more. Its been pretty easy so far with all the snowfall to want nothing more to sit next to my window with a good book and a cup of coffee.
And these adorable bookmarks from the Spoon Sisters would be a fun way to mark my progress.

*******

If you are the kind of person who makes resolutions, I can think of no better motivator then seeing a reminder when you reach for your phone. Artist Chris Streger felt the same way, so he had his artist friends create art work with their resolutions that can be used as a phone background. He called it The Resolve Project.
Like I said, I didn’t make resolutions, but if I did…

*******

Last summer I bought a bike and found that I didn’t take it out on any of the great bike paths near me. That needs to change this summer (ahhh, summer) and definitely would if I had a sweet ride accessory from Eungi Kim

*******

I hope if you made any resolutions that you’ve been successful!

Neat shit worth sharing

I’m hesitant to even post this because I really, really want to send one of these to someone and surprise them. I’ll have to keep this gem in my back pocket when my mom turns fifty this year!

A slice of cake postcard! How excited would you be to see a slice of cake in your mailbox wishing you a happy birthday!?! I can see how it might be a let down for some people (it does look delicious), but not being a big cake fan myself, I’d be overjoyed with a card like this.

*******

I’m a pretty cheap frugal person. I continue to be shocked how much some items sell for – I’m looking at you $5 for a box of cereal! Pillows are another item on that list – I mean, you take some fabric, stuffing and some time and you got yourself a pillow. I don’t need to pay $50…until now.

I can’t put into one word how great, fun, unique, versatile, uber-awesome these pillows are! And you can order them in brown log or birch tree. I’m seriously considering devoting each paycheck to buying one of these until I’ve amassed a collection that can one day sit next to my (hopefully to be had one day) fireplace.

I just want to throw these in a log holder next to my fireplace and say to my guests, “Do you need a pillow? Just grab one of the logs.” Blowing everyone’s mind. I’ll calm down now.

And the seller graciously offers you the opportunity to buy a kit to make a pillow yourself at half the cost, but I just love the look of these as she makes them.

*******

I don’t know what the Curiosity Group is all about, but I’m willing to learn. They are offering a DIY (!) pop-up (!!) calendar (!!!) every month (omgwtfbbq!!1!).

Just look at how darling January’s calendar is:

Bookmark this site and plan on having 10 minutes of fun putting it together on the first of every new month. I can’t wait for February!

Neat shit worth sharing

I have eclectic tastes in music with a leaning towards indie music. When I discovered the npr All Songs Considered podcasts last year, it seemed to fit perfectly with my preferred music. Each week they release a new podcast featuring a variety of new music.

Recently, the All Songs Considered group celebrated their 10 year anniversary and their gift to all of us was their 24/7 stream featuring all of the music from the past 10 years.

I'm in love with this stream! I've been listening to it for almost the entire weekend - with such an eclectic variety of music, including their selection of Holiday music (but not overloaded, they understand the necessity of moderation). And in the spirit of their great podcasts, they tell you the artist, album and song of each song they play on the player so you can find new artists to love while you listen.

And, if anyone's interested, here's a sampling of some of my favorite artists and albums of 2010:

1. Sleigh Bells, "Treats" 2. Florence and the Machines, "Between Two Lungs" 3. April Smith and the Great Pictures Show, "Songs for a Sinking Ship" 4. Broken Bells, self-titled 5. Vampire Weekend, "Contra"

The majority of these artists I found by listening to these podcasts. It's definitely worth a listen!

*******

The Anthropologie facebook page recently launched a contest to create a story/fashion board using Polyvore. I had never used the site before and normally don't care to sign up for yet another website that I won't use, but when the prize is a $500 gift card to Anthropologie I thought, "eh, worth a try".

And actually Polyvore is a pretty cool blogger tool. It lets you find clothes, home furnishings, backgrounds from online shops and create collages. Then you can click on the image below and see what items I tagged.

These are items from my wishpot list in case anyone has an extra $200 lying around and feels like buying me something. No? Well it was worth a shot.

Neat shit worth sharing – Hedgehog edition

You know when you're excited about something that is beyond your control, so you don’t want to tell a lot of people because you really, REALLY want it to happen but you’re worried it may not.

(Did you follow that?)

Well, currently I’m on a waiting list to get a hedgehog! And I’m really, REALLY excited about the possibility of getting one!

Which isn’t aided by the fact that I’ve been seeing them everywhere.

In jewelry:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

In Christmas ornaments:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

And in household goodies:

1 (ash tray), 2 (bottle opener), 3 (vintage crystal figurine) , 4 (iPhone case), 5 (brush) , 6 (candle)

By now you should be equally convinced of their awesomeness, and if not, you can't deny the allure of the one-and-only hedgehog badboy:

Recognize.

Neat shit worth sharing

I'm hoping to post a recipe tomorrow. I've already made the food, but I'm a little worried about time since I'm leaving early to get a possible patdown before my flight to Baltimore tomorrow. So in case I don't get to it, I owe ya' one and Happy Thanksgiving!

Now onto the good stuff.

*******

Did you ever read Goosebumps growing up?

I guess I was kind of a strange kid in that as other girls my age were reading stories about horses and teenage babysitters, I was stuck on Goosebumps. I LOVED these books and owned just about all of the original series.

So imagine my happiness when I found a blog, Blogger Beware, dedicated to snarkily summarizing all of the books!

One of my favorite parts from Monster Blood:

It seems either the dog's grown larger or the leash has grown smaller. I swear to God it takes Evan like forty pages to make the connection between his growing dog and the Monster Blood it ingested. Oh wait, I'm sorry, ***SPOILER ALERT***

Definitely a blog worth keeping around when I'm bored and nostalgic.

*******

If Goosebumps isn't your thing, maybe music is. If neither Goosebumps nor music is your thing, then just stop reading altogether and reassess your values.

Amazon is practically giving away MP3 Downloads this Christmas. Everyday they offer a new selection of super cheap-o albums. Yesterday they had Kayne's new album for $3.99 and today they're offering Belle and Sebastian for $1.99! It's enough to make you want to impulse buy daily!

Neat shit worth sharing

Hello blog. Goodbye hiatus.

Finally, the test is over with. I won’t know my score for six weeks and to be honest, I’m considering not even looking at it when it gets sent. That’s how little I cared for this test and the standardized testing scheme in general.

*******

The best post-test cathartic moment was getting to clean my apartment the next day. I know that’s nerdy but a weeks worth of mail, study materials and clothes had piled up all over my normally relatively clean apartment.

I wish I would have known about this awesome site during that mess because it was all too easy for me to misplace my phone.

How genius is this? As someone who lives alone and doesn’t have a landline, I may have to bookmark this site!

And when you find your phone and answer, you get to listen to a female computer voice assure you that she’s happy you found your phone. I guess that’s handy if you’re really lonely or something.

*******

These have seen a lot of blog love, but I have to share the adorable chalkboard speech bubbles available at PlayingGrownUp

I love the wedding trend of renting photobooths or better yet, just setting up your own photo background and having your guests take fun pictures. If you plan on getting married you NEED to do that and you NEED to incorporate these adorable signs.

These are at the top of my gift list for engagement parties.

*******

Remember how much I love calendars? Paper Source has by far the cutest monthly calendar I’ve ever come across. Don’t believe me? Well iKea does as I first spotted them in their latest catalog

Did you spot them? They’re the 2011 Zoo Calendar puzzles.

It’s like they wrapped my meticulous need for planning with the fun of animal figurines! These are definitely on my wishlist.

Neat Shit Worth Sharing (Holiday edition)

So because I failed on doing a recipe this week (spending $700 on application fees does not inspire one to go to the grocery store) and I may end up failing next week (impending standardized test don't help the appetite), I thought I'd give you a present.

As the holidays are approaching, we're all getting ready to give and receive. If you're like me then you've got bookmarks of cool gift ideas and wishlists from various stores filled with things you want. Wouldn't it be nice if there was one website that you could compile all of the things you want AND the gifts you want to give. Well friends, this is my present to you:

Wishpot lets you create as many lists as you want and lets you easily add items from any store. You can set the settings so that everyone can view your wishlist or that you can keep lists private (like your gift list). Now my anthropologie, amazon, etsy, etc favorites/wishlists can all be compiled into this resource! And you can list items based on how much you actually want them; currently this ring is in my "I really want it" priority:

How perfect for Christmas! Hence why I need it so badly.

Also they have this really handy toolbar that I was a little hesitant to download at first. This is because downloading allows them to access your history and see what stores you've been scoping out. But let's be honest, I'm posting on a blog and I have facebook, there is no such thing as internet privacy. So now with this toolbar, I can be looking at an item online, decide I want it on my list, click the handy wishpot button and BAM it's added to my list with an image, price, and link.

If your interested in seeing my list you can review it HERE or you can do a people's search if you already know my last name. I know I'll be adding to it a lot more as the holidays approach.

If you love this idea, you should join and add me! I'd love to see what people want!

Neat shit worth sharing

I’ve kicked it up full gear on this whole graduate school applying thing. I won’t go into too much boring detail, but I’ve applied to all but two (edit: ONE!) schools and once I take my last crappy standardized test next weekend, I’ll be FINISHED.

But I need a little lightheartedness right now, so hope you enjoy these two items.

*******

I’ll start with this new, um…quarky, blog I found. I need another blog to follow like I need another $150 standardized test to take, but this one was too good to resist! It’s titled Bangable Dudes in History – just check out this historical hottie below, can you guess who?

Joseph Stalin. Yea, Stalin. He was gorgeous! Of course I don’t like him for his ideals but that hair!

Anyway, the blog is worth checking out because the genius author also creates a pie chart to fully evaluate why these people were major, in her own words, boners.

*******

Have you seen this single by Willow Smith (of the Jada Picket and Will Smith geneology)? I love it for many reasons but the front runners are the fact that a young, black girl is singing about how much she loves her hair which is fantastic/empowering AND the song just makes you want to bounce.

And it’s currently my ringtone, which conveniently just went off during work. That’s the risk you take being fabulous.

Neat shit worth sharing

Sometimes I get inspired to share some of the things that I think are cool/helpful/exciting. I'm going to originally name these posts, "Neat shit worth sharing" FYI.

*******

I'm currently more in love with my new 2011 planner then what I'm guessing is healthy, but it fits all of my calendar needs: monthly view (this is a must!) followed by the dates on one side with a "Notes" page on the other.

This way I can give myself a list of things to do per day, per week and per month - aww endless deadline torment! Oh and it’s Cath Kidson, so it’s adorable to boot!

I know it's only November (okay, almost November) but I couldn't pass it up.

*******

I just found this fantastic free font website, thanks to Creature Comforts. It’s called Font Squirrel and it truly is an awesome resource for free, cool fonts!

via creature comforts using dubtronic

via Emily Heskett Photography using FFF tusj

*******

And lastly, Poolga which I mentioned in THIS post, has an iPhone app. You receive 15 images with the free app. I’m hoping that they continue to add or update with new backgrounds because I love what they do.