happy friday!

: : this picture makes me happy! Swedish furniture store .R.O.O.M. found via .emma's.

Iz and I are off to the big .apple. to meet up with my parents who are "in town" [or is it "in country"] this week with some of their friends. have a fabulous weekend!

heat sensitive wallpaper

: : found this wonderfully strange wallpaper by .shiyuan. the pink flowers 'grows' when the radiator is on, and disappear when the radiator is off.

via a new Swedish blog .hemmariket. that my mom shared with me.

swedese

: : My mom recently reminded me of Swedish furniture company .swedese. they have some very inspirational imagery of their furniture available on their website. you've probably come across the .clothing tree. before, they have so many wonderful pieces. classic Scandinavian style with a modern look.

Swedish style for the little ones

: : came across these little guys on .emma's designblog. a Swedish company, called .smallstep. , designing sweat shop free stylish clothes for the little ones. check it out!

geometry

: : found fellow Scandinavian .maija puoskari. [Finnish] on .bloesem. I love the play of geometry and color in these pieces.

creative offices inspiration

: : my lovely Swedish friend .erica. found this gallery tour of creative offices in Sweden online. My favorite is the ping.pong table [picture above]. I think I might suggest that for our office. *smile*
anyways, the photos are very inspirational, take the tour!

my first 1/2 marathon

: : I did it !! : : we did it !! : : 2.16.36 : : not the most flattering photo, but here we are a few feet away from the finish line.

thank you everyone for your support. yes, you all guessed it right, it was the applefest 1/2 marathon. a beautiful run through neighborhoods, woods, pumpkin fields and apple orchards. it was hot, but we took it slow, made sure we drank a lot at every water station. time was definitely not an issue, more just a matter of making it. in the end I was proud of our time.

I took me two days to recover from the muscle aces, and five days to recover from the food cravings...and believe me, I gave in to all of them, I haven't felt like eating anything remotely healthy until today. I think it's time to get back to my usual eating habits.

: : marathon weekend : :

image : : www.gettyimages.com

: : believe it or not, this weekend I am running a 1/2 marathon, that's 13 miles [21 kilometers], for me, about 2 1/2 hours of running. first time I've ever run that far.

there is a reason why I run this race in October, apart from the colorful fall leaves, pumpkins, apple orchards and apple pie that they serve you after the race. the reason is that it is usually cooler around this time of year, 65 degrees or so is common, perfect conditions for long distance running.

not this year. I wouldn't complain any other day, but it is still summer in Boston, with 80 degrees and 80% humidity. perfect for the beach, not for 13 miles of running. so squeeze your thumbs for me tomorrow [Swedish expression for" keeping your fingers crossed"].

have a wonderful long weekend!

: : dibbern : :

: : you know me, anything in bright colors will get my attention. my lovely friend .tina. told me about .dibbern. Of course I am already in love with this series of solid bright colors. thanks .tina.!

susanne schjerning

: : fellow Scandinavian, Danish artist .susanne schjerning. has some lovely work. feminine, romantic and colorful.

Modern Decorating-Michael Weiss

Once in a while we like to write about designers that are not terribly well-known, but who makes wonderful, livable, affordable furniture. Michael Weiss is one of them. The son of designer Lillian August, Michael Weiss designs a collection of modern, clean-lined furniture for Vanguard that we just love. His style is simple, clean-lined, modern and somewhat masculine, but not too much so. The furniture is quite affordable ($2-3K range for the major pieces such as sofas, dining table, beds and so on), and very livable.

Michael Weiss's collection frequently gets updated, which is nice. We think furniture should be treated like fashions--as our style and taste change over time....

Here are a few examples of his latest pieces:

This is a nice living room scene showing a Michael Weiss Sofa:

Another living room scene showing a different sofa/chair combination:

We like these chairs for their simplicity:

This bed is very sexy and masculine at the same time. The upholstery part can be changed to your own fabric...:

A very cool dining room:


If you are interested in looking at more Michael Weiss pieces, his collection can be found at www.vanguardfurniture.com (click on the Michael Weiss collection).

If you need any help in purchasing this product, drop us an email and we'll be happy to assist...