when in venice...

i recently returned from a work trip to the west coast (los angeles/san diego). while traveling for work is always a little stressful, i managed to sneak away to venice beach for the day... here are a few of my favorite snapshots:

firefly -- venice, ca

i happened upon this great little shop called firefly on abbot kinney when i was in venice the other week. after browsing their collection of coffee table books, my amazon wishlist skyrocketed to upwards of 50 new "must haves." while i didn't buy any books in-store, i did walk away with a sweet little flower vase (a birthday gift for my friend claudia) and a picture frame for myself. be sure to check 'em out if you're ever in the neighborhood!

before/after

these are quite possibly some of the best "before and after" projects i've seen in a while (via design sponge). love what they did with this ikea dresser!

the great outdoors

longer days and warmer weather mean more opportunities for dining al fresco. check out some of these neat outdoor spaces:

the terrarium "comeback"

i keep telling myself that i'm going to buy all the fixin's for a terrarium one of these days. i'm starting to think i need to just go ahead and bite the bullet on this one, though... my affinity for hens and chicks is almost unbearable. must. plant. succulents.

check out what design sponge had to say about the terrarium "comeback" here.


and watch here as the good folks from sprout home in williamsburg show us how to make one from scratch.

artz a-plenty

just thought i'd share another great site for buying affordable art... 'cause that's what i'm into these days. i bought this 11x14 photo of the portuguese beachfront from 20x200. ( i'm dying for summer to arrive, can you tell?)

mine, all mine

i first spotted philippe starck's louis ghost chair some five years ago (probably whilst scanning an issue of domino), and i've been dreaming ever since about how to get my hands on one of those beauties. while surfing the interwebs on friday, i found one on sale via apartment therapy's classified section that was half the retail price. (half!!!) knowing i would never find such a great deal again (at least that's what i told myself), i swooped in and snatched him up. what a steal. i plan to keep close tabs on apartment therapy's classified/scavenger posts... talk about a gold mine!