Awesome!

Facial hair Hall of Fame

I've always though Roosevelt's 'stache was quite fetching.

Everything I do, I do it for you

Artist David Horvitz wants to send YOU something. Or maybe he just wants your money, but he has quite an inventive way of asking for it.

Check out his page titled "Things for sale that I will mail you." For donations as little as a dollar or as generous as thousands of dollars, he will send you anything from a blank envelope to one filled with star sand from Okinawa.

You can also send him money to mail you items from Buddhist temples, distribute copies of The Little Prince outside the New York Stock Exchange, kiss a moon tree, buy a homeless person a meal or think about you for one minute.

And who doesn't want to know someone's thinking about them?

Deck your walls

Polaroid transfers give everything a sort of dreamy, vintage quality that I love. This one in particular evokes childhood memories of wood-paneled dens, shag carpeting and spying on the babysitter and her boyfriend after I was supposed to be in bed.

For even more nostalgia, check out artist Matt Schwartz's shots of Coney Island. The famed amusement park has been under threat by developers and teetering on the edge of extinction these last couple of summers, so snap these up before it's gone and their value skyrockets.

Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even.

When I was 15 my favorite movie ever was Harold & Maude. I have no idea why, because now I realize that it was a love story between a young, despondent teenager and a semi-delusional, uhm, let's call her a "senior lady".

There's no reason a 15 year old should ever be so enamored with a movie that was about geriatric romance, funerals and fake suicide, unless of course I was just waiting until I too was in my 70's, stealing cars, posing nude, and sexing up manic depressive 17 year-olds.

Hmmmm. Must have been the bitchin soundtrack.

Nobel laureate

The octophant is the most noble of pachycehpalopods. He is noble because he is alone, carrying the torch of his genus, his species even.

He is alone but he is proud, though he knows he should not be.

Parked art

Oh, the beauty of everyday life: The streetlamp shining through the night, the parking lot payment booth unattended in the wee hours.

It's a simple thing, yet when captured in the right moment, so stunning.

It totally makes you forget how it's $12 for the first 30 seconds and $14 for each additional second thereafter, huh?

Just add Margaritas

I don't know about you, but this scene sure beats the view from my neck of the woods these days...

You'll Always Have Paris

A friend of mine went to Paris earlier this year and brought me back a great poster I can't wait to finally frame and hang on my wall. It's a fantastic alternative to this poster and this poster, which hang in practically every post-college apartment in world.

You can get those two at this site if you want and be like everyone else, or you can choose from a wide variety of other vintage-style Paris posters, like this one, or this one, or this one. A great way to add a little Euro-feel to your life without springing for a cross-Atlantic plane ticket...or dating a guy with a mustache.

Big Bad Awesomeness

You know j.otto from his beautiful books like Olive the Other Reindeer, and now you can have his awesome prints hanging up on your walls, too!

Thumbtack Press is selling 3 j.otto prints for the holidays and they'll even frame them for you cheap! This is a great gift for any adult who likes whimsical, modern art, and I'm pretty sure kids would prefer it to those pastel lambs and giraffes you keep decorating their rooms with.

Don't forget to check out his books, too!

Indie Collective

The title of this photo print is "Follow Your Bliss," and you can see the girl in the picture following all her hopes and dreams into the beautiful horizon. My bliss, on the other hand, looks more like a bacon double cheeseburger and a pint of Stella, but I guess that wouldn't make as pretty a photo.

You can find this print and others by Irene Suchocki at Indie Collective, along with a bunch of other cool stuff, and a handy dandy holiday gift guide. Maybe you'll even find your bliss there.

H-A-H-A

Because I am 90% cartoon character, it's no surprise that my laugh literally sounds like, "Ha ha ha." It's annoying and loud and if one were to transcribe my daily conversations, the majority of the page would just read, "H-A-H-A-H-A, etc."

That's why I adore this screenprint by Chad Post! It's like I'm just watching myself laugh! Imagine that!

Plus it's, like, a numbered and limited edition, and all fancy on wood and shit. The only difference between this and my real laugh is this won't pierce your eardrums or break glass.

Artistic sighs

When Wendy and I were at that craft fair, we went into this one booth that had this kinda cool art stuff, it was like collages on pieces of wood and it wasn't spectacular, but it was pretty. We both said, "Oh this is nice," and then I flipped the price tag over on one piece and we both went, "WOAH" and quietly left before either of us said aloud, "EIGHTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!??!?!?!?!"

That art was just ok and it was way too expensive, but this art is really the best ever and it's totally priced just right.

To the people selling their plywood collages for thousands of dollars, You're Impossible.

She May Contain Traces of Nuts

I don't know what I like most about Allison Strine Designs: the vivid colors and collage like layout, or the quirky sayings like on this greeting card that says, "She May Contain Traces of Nuts."

Now that I think about it, I'm sort of conviced that that should be rubber stamped on my passport and maybe job applications and perhaps tattooed across my ass.

Then again, I guess that's kind of crazy.

Perchance to Dream

Reasons I didn't want to wake up this morning:

• Too much champagne with dinner (just because) = too much hangover with breakfast
• Fridays shouldn't start until noon, anyway
• Plus, today is Friday the 13th, so....hoo-hoo, scary!
• Also, I was dreaming I was in a field of poppies where everything looked like this and David Duchonvny was rubbing my feet. Who'd want to wake from that lovely scene to cat barf and work deadlines, hmmm??

via Bloesem blog

Homehealthness

It's hard living so far from my native Northern California, even though I left in it a furious rage against the traffic and the cost of living and all the many horrid Taco Bells.

But some days, the flatness of Chicago wears on me and I miss snow capped mountains and tall pine trees, so finding this Lake Tahoe print by Kerne Erickson was just what I needed to soothe my homesickness.

And then I found this one reminding me of lovely San Francisco, and this one of beautiful Yosemite! O! Home of my heart!

They're all just amazing prints, but nothing compares to this one.

General Rules

Because sometimes we just need a little reminder...
or 8.

Birds and Flowers are Good

Lily of the Valley is a perfect Mother's Day flower since it blooms in May and has a beautiful scent. Sadly, like all flowers, it dies within a few days. So why not get your mom some Lilies of the Valley this Mother's Day that will last forever? You can even get a Lily of the Valley mug. But then again, maybe a naked lady mug is more your mother's thing? On second, thought, better stick with flowers. Or birds. Birds are always good.