Here’s some of his amazing work:

5″ diameter tape effect porcelain vase

cardboard wall-mounted animal heads

bubbly fused recycled glass plates

swirling fruit bowl

looooove this fused glass tray by artist Orfeo Quagliata

• Camelias are blooming and there are buds on some trees in Richmond!

• Warmer weather makes me want to eat like this every day.

• Like spirograph designs, I am really digging this string work for a wall. It would take a bit of time to map out a perfect circle and place all the nails neatly but it is so flippin neat and you could do any type of design in any color.

via

• I love wall decals and I love rodents. These are adorable!

via - buy them here

get these here! I just got 2!

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• Alzheimer’s. It sucks beyond anything I thought that sucked could suck. My mom is experiencing the beginning stages of it now. The double-edged sword of her already struggling with MS, is that it’s better that she’s immobile because she would probably wander off or set the house on fire. Right now, she gets fixated on things. For the past six months it’s been her checking account, which I manage. She can’t remember her balance, I have to tell her every day, she doesn’t believe me, we have to call the bank, she thinks there are mystery checks from unknown sources tucked away in drawers that I have to dig through every day to keep her from having a fit… all while trying very hard not to have a fit myself. Before the money stuff, there were mysterious things in the bed with her under the covers that I had to constantly show her weren’t there. There was the broken mirror she said she had cut herself with, the strange plastic bits, the wire wrapped around her finger, her thinking she had pulled her catheter out – all this and she knows intellectually that she can’t move but reality separates itself from her brain every day. This went on for 2 years until we figured out what was really going on. Like I said, it sucks.
• Spring is coming! Can you feel it!? I have a few fashion requests for the general public. Can we all try to avoid wearing scarves when it’s hot outside and can everyone stay away from boat shoes? Oh, and dirty looking dudes in sleazy tank tops… stop the madness. Thanks guys.

Over the holidays, I copied this Hannah Stouffer painting, with my own twist and color variations for our livingroom.

my version

Last week, I needed to run to Ben Franklin Crafts for some crafty stuff and saw they were having a huge sale on canvases. They always do. So, I swiped up three 11″ x 14″ primed canvases for $2 each to do a little series. I have had this Central Illustration pillow bookmarked for a while. I really like the design and well… I painted it!

 Since the design is square and I was stretching it horizontally over 3 small canvases, there was some improv involved. I also didn’t feel like doing those precise stripes in the background. I sketched out a loose plan on paper and drew directly onto the canvas where I wanted the big sections of black and white to go. I filled in the black and white then that huge amount of grey and the rest of the fine leaf/root detailing was done freehand. Taking note of the layers and steps I had to work in was the only moment of pause. All was done with Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics I’ve had lying around for over 10 years from design classes, a white paint pen that I ended up using for the white skeleton part, and some old sable brushes. $13 total and some free time. Not bad.

Here’s a shot mid-way through:

Here’s the end result:

I did post a while back to help you make your own art on the cheap. Check it out.

- For my birthday on March 23, my mom is getting me this sweet white laptop bag by Acme Made. I’ve had my eye on it for a while and it’s on super sale!

- Heading back from our ski trip we hit IKEA and I got the red PS cabinet for our kitchen! That thing was such a bitch to put together and I managed to bend part of it in a fit of Hulk-strength rage, but the bf fixed that right up and it’s stocked with all my serving dishes, mixing bowls and dumb shit women find necessary to have in a kitchen! Yay! So now, I can quit talking about it!

 - On the Target clearance rack, I found a blue cable knit hoodie… not the cardigan I wanted but that’ll do pig!

- For my b-day, I’m also getting a toaster and that weird curling iron you just pull through your hair a certain way! I am stupid excited about having a toaster! Pathetic.

- I got a haircut! Really, it was just a trim but she cleaned up my layers and blended my blunt bangs that have been growing out. Hell yes.

- I found a big fish bowl that was collecting dust at my folks’ house and finally transplanted my enormous Schefflera plant. It’s still dropping leaves like crazy but I think it’s just the heat being on in the winter.

- Not the Tiffany necklace or the one I had that looked just like it but, I finally found another chunky chain necklace. It’s a bit shorter and it’s light as a feather (cheap shiny coated plastic) but it’s the look I’ve been wanting and at $6.80, I won’t feel so bad when I lose it… and that’ll do pig as well.

- The last thing on my list to get is a chest of drawers. I saw that top one with the glass fronts in person and it was made like crap. The bottom one is solid wood and at the same price… it will be mine next trip to NOVA. The flat front has got my head spinning thinking of ways to try some SylvanSF-esque type treatment with decals like I wrote about earlier.

Not a bad whack at taking care of business in less than 2 months! I cannot think of another single thing that I want or need in my life right now other than the usual love, food and happiness. Everything else is just cake. That’s a nice feeling.  

What’s on your list?

Today, I needed to pop into Marshalls for an extra set of rocks glasses since I’m having lady drinkie time at my place before we go to dinner this Thursday. $4 for 4 of these glasses!

I noticed that they’re overhauling the shoe department so it looks more like an actual department rather than dishevelled racks of shoes in the wrong size sections. I had to go check it out… right? Justified by the fact that I don’t have a pair of brown wedges yet, I swiped these cork cuties up for $20. I am going to wear these out this summer!

I couldn’t forget the bf. He received a sweet $70 Ben Sherman button up with French cuffs for $10. Hell yes!

I have some serious cooking/kitchen pet peeves and here they are.

• Not using teflon-safe cooking tools on non-stick pans. If you are going to spend good money on non-stick pans, then treat them with respect! There are a ton of fancy silicone coated whisks and tongs out there now for dirt cheap. I got a pair of tongs at IKEA for a few bucks and a nice Italian coated whisk for $3 at Marshalls. Heat safe spatulas are awesome. Wooden spoons are a dime a dozen and come in a ton of sizes. For god’s sake, you can even use chopsticks that came free with your take-out. Just never never never use metal utensils on your coated pots and pans! (Don’t get me started on cutting things inside your non-stick pan. I’ve seen it and it broke my heart.)

• Not using a splatter screen when frying or boiling a sauce. Who cleans the kitchen? If you don’t use a splatter screen, you’re probably not the one cleaning the kitchen. Make everyone’s life easier. You can get the damn things for $1 at the dollar store. Seriously. Get one.

• Splatter screens lead up nicely to not cleaning up after yourself. This is of course especially important when you live with others* or… you just don’t want to be a filthy pig. Of course, you don’t always want to go clean the kitchen and dishes after a big meal and you’re just wanting to relax but, get on it the very next day for crying out loud. When you cook, there are a lot of spaces in between the process when you’re standing around doing nothing. This is when you should really be cleaning up after yourself. It’s called being efficient.

• Not following the slices. What? Okay, say you’ve baked a ham and it’s sitting in your fridge. You’ve been cutting nice cross-section slices for sandwiches and someone comes along and hacks a chunk of ham off the top. Or, you have a stick of butter in a dish and while you cut normal pats, someone decides to scrape butter off the top (and leave crumbs! oh the horror)! This is annoying. If you didn’t cook it or buy it, follow the slices.

• Not closing or sealing up something you open. I bought a box of crunchy cookies and a bag of chips. I would like them to be fresh and crunchy tomorrow as well. You can buy a sack of 50 clothespins at Target for $1.50. No lie.

• Not throwing away an empty container. Did I just try to pour milk from an empty carton?! You lazy jerk!

*Note: This is in no way passive-aggressively directed towards my bf, whom I live with. He is incredibly clean and considerate and that’s part of the reason why I love him and can live with him w/out wanting to kill him.

• Mighty Girl’s 100 Skills Everyone Should Master is great. I still need to perfect #s 34, 38, 44 (the snow chain part), 65 (I hope not), and 68. Not bad.
• These thoughts on NYFW spoke to me. It’s all really getting out of hand.
• Oh these Valentino Glamorous Bow Pumps are perfect! I’ve been wanting nude pumps for ages and these cross the line from blending in to edgy sexiness. Completely out of my price range. Sigh.

• These shoes by Jeffrey Campbell are sold out again but will be restocked in March. They’re just plain sick and I want them – badly. Oh, and wedge heels are coming back in full force for Spring. I am stoked!

They feel a lot like these Givenchy SS2010RTW wedges, no?

• Japanese artist Yuri Fukuda, who calls her line Emogayu, makes beautiful intricate ceramics.

• Sign up for this free online list-making tool to help you get organized. It’s very intuitive and user-friendly. You will love it! Here’s a super cute demo video to check it out!
• I don’t have an iPhone or Blackberry but if I did I would want one of these classy free Jonathan Adler wallpapers!

• I saw Nicole Richie on TV this week wearing this dress and I loved it. Maxi-dresses really are my favorite but I’m so short I always have to get them hemmed. Well, this dress is part of her new clothing line called Winter Kate. Nothing is available in stores just yet but according to the March issue of InStyle (where I scanned the image from), it’s made of silk and will be sold at Neiman Marcus for $260. Love the muted shade and flattering shape. Would look great on any woman.

• Godammit, I’m Mad! is a fantastic fashion-y blog written by one pissed off woman. I heart her.
• Neighbors who are unobtrusive, help out, appreciate and extend kindness and just generally seem to rule at life are cool.

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• Shitty neighbors who are always miserable, passive aggressive, and totally suck at life can eff off.
• I had a humbling blogging experience in regards to this post, about 3 hours after it went up. I had seen the shoes on a blog I follow and traced back to the original source. I was misled and in turn provided misinformation that the designer of the clothing had also designed the shoes, which are blatant rip-offs. Bloggers have to be very careful about their sources and can’t assume anything. I’ve learned my lesson.
• The final season of LOST is driving me insane. I have a bad feeling that way too many questions are going to be left unanswered. There’s just no way they can do it.
• Fighting off malaise, headaches, body aches and general yuck this week is dragging me dooooown.
• Who am I to judge, right? I’m Lara and I will judge the hell out of some things, one of them being an odd little 13 y/o girl who is receiving some serious worship right now in the fashion world. Who am I to judge a child? They’re off-limits right? Well, it would seem so until they become a public spectacle. Other than my beef with the amount of credibility given, and focus placed, total absence of a parental presence, and blatant use of her for novelty’s sake, I think her fashion sense is god awful. I’m sick of it. If you can’t stand the heat… if you want to run with the big dogs… if you want to act like a grown up… you get my drift. Had the blog world been around when I was a fashion obsessed kid of her age… my god.

I’m not a big fan of florals but I do enjoy the occasional print that has a retro feel. The kind that’s outlined in black, as if hand drawn, and filled in with bright colors is my kind of floral. It all feels perfect for Spring and I’m soooo ready to be done with Winter!

The line will feature over 300 inexpensive items including home decor and fashion for all in 25 different prints. Preview pictures are being removed left and right from the internet but the March issue of InStyle had a full page and I’ve scanned it! (Oh, they’re also doing a colab with MAC to be released in the US on March 11 with packaging that us suckers for cute fall for.)

Click for the larger version. (sorry about the quality)

I am loving the lamp base ($20) and shade ($18), flip flops ($10), planter ($10), halter dress ($30), and ties for him ($20)! I think the most expensive item is that adorable $200 bike! The dishes on the online preview look sweet as well!

I think the MAC Blue India nail polish is going to be interesting too!