Introducing…OliveLoaf Design

I am very excited to introduce OliveLoaf Design, the brainchild of one of my dear friends, the fabulous Stacy Scherf!  She is a master of Papier-mâché (or paper mache, I just like the other spelling. It reminds me of a Seinfeld episode!).  Look at her gorgeous creations:

That sea turtle is too cute.  I am also loving her Phideaux series:

Soon, Stacy will be selling her creations online.  I’ll let you know when that happens.  In the meantime, head on over to OliveLoaf Design & have a beautiful day!

Thankful for Whimsy

Thank you Donna & the wonderful folks at Whimsy Press for sending me this kick-ass bag:

(Please focus on the awesomeness of the bag & NOT the hideousness of our rental apartment kitchen!)  This bag is even cuter in person.  Look at the other side:

It’s big enough to carry a lot of groceries & cute enough to make you feel good while spending way too much money at Whole Foods.  I love it sooooo much.  Have a great day!

 

Maps

I have a deep & abiding love for maps.  When I was a kid, I hoarded the National Geographic maps like crazy.  I still have a collection of them.  I even like the word, map.  It makes me think of far away places, of distant lands yet to be discovered.  I especially love old maps.  These beauties I found on one of my very favorite time-waster sights: New York Public Library Digital Images Gallery. 

I encourage you to click on the images above to see these stunners up close.  You will not be disappointed!

I just wanted to let you all know that my posting might be a little sporadic in the next few weeks.  I will have a lot more responsibility at my job & will be working a lot longer hours for a few weeks.  I will do my best to get a few posts done over the weekends to put up throughout the week.  Anyway, please keep checking, I WILL be putting some new posts up.  I promise.  Have a terrific Thursday!

 

Happy Earth Day!

I hope you all take the time to do something for our beautiful Mother Earth today.  Let’s keep her beautiful & healthy for our future generations.  Cheers!

European Flea Market-Jayson Home & Garden

I had such a wonderful time at the preview for the Jayson Home & Garden European Flea Market.  I would like to extend my thanks to the wonderful folks at Jayson Home, as well as a personal thank you to Abbe, who sent me the invitation.  Thanks Abbe!

This is the tent where most of the Flea items were found.  Isn’t it pretty?  I can’t tell you how nice it was to be outside looking at gorgeous furniture & not freezing to death.  Spring has FINALLY sprung in Chicago.

One thing the European Flea was definitely not lacking in, chairs:

There were also a lot of pretty little things that I adored:

I MUST have those bookends & those lovely suitcases. The whole place was packed full of beauty:

And there was even a monkey!

All in all, I could’ve spent days wondering through the market & the store itself. There are just too many treasures to see.  If you are in the Chicagoland area this weekend, make sure you visit this fantastic market. Have a great weekend!  

 

Green Whimsy

First of all, let me say that last night’s event at Jayson Home & Garden was AWESOME.  I saw several of the treasures I’ve posted from that store in person & they are even more gorgeous up close!  I’ll post pictures we took at the event tomorrow & leave them up over the weekend.  If you are in the city this weekend-you HAVE to go. 

And now, back to business.  Yesterday I received an email from Whimsy Press about their new line of recycled tote bags.  These bags are  made from recycled cotton and old soda bottles, which is just cool.  Even cooler, however, is the killer graphics the bags feature:

I heart that last graphic so very much.  And since I can’t visit Whimsy without ogling the gift wrap:

This stunning Blue Bird gift wrap is on FSC certified paper & contains 30% post-consumer fiber.  Neat!  Anyway, I hope you have a happy Friday. 

Let’s Shed Some Light on the Subject…

With these amazing lamps I found at Jayson Home & Garden (which is where I will be tonight previewing their new European Flea Market Collection).  I am bringing my camera & will post all about it next week!  Anyway, to the lamps:

If I had a cabin in the mountains of Wyoming, this would be in my den.  I know it’s a little disturbing for some folks, but growing up with people who had whole walls of dead animals on their walls makes me kind of love it!

I also love this photographer’s lamp.  This would be great as a pair on bedside tables.  More of my favorites after the jump:

50 Sad Chairs

Today I was so excited to see via Sub-Studio Design Blog that Bill Keaggy’s book 50 Sad Chairs is available for purchase! 

These pictures were taken around St. Louis, a city I have a deep affection towards.  Both my parents grew up in south St. Louis, and I still have family and lots of friends that live there. 

I adore this idea for photography.  Picking one subject, such as sad chairs or old barns, then snapping the photo whenever you see what it is you want.  It’s almost like collecting the subject itself.  Love!  Anyway, you should explore around Bill Keaggy’s site.  There’s lots of neat things to see.  Have a great day!

 

Wexford Girl

I was thrilled to see that one of my favorite artists/bloggers, Annie Galvin (A.K.A. Wexford Girl), has been commenting on the ol’ Big Daddy recently.  I am a huge fan of her imaginative pieces:

 

Some of these prints I found through her Etsy shop, others through 3 Fish Studios. You can see more of her beautiful work after the jump.

Fabric Friday…I Think I’m Turning Japanese Edition

Today I had a super fun good time exploring through the Japanese Imports section of Reprodepot.  There is so much wonderful stuff here:

More of my favorite fabric finds are after the jump.