Inspiration Machine 5

Clockwise from left: ulisses barbosa, kelco, rosefirerising, ~fb~

1. Choose a language, and teach yourself one word from it each day. Say the word in greeting instead of "hello."

2. Dress as your favorite character from a book or movie.

3. Determine what will be your "great work."

4. Start carrying cloth handkerchiefs.

5. Create postcards from scratch of imaginary locations, and send them to friends.

6. If you could start your own charity, what would it be based around aiding? How would it accomplish it?

7. Start your own charity.

8. Whenever you get angry at someone, make yourself tell them an earnest compliment instead of brooding.

9. Cultivate a vanity table.

10. Live each day like its going in your memoir.

The Good Girl's Guide to Keeping a Budget

"Money, plastic, youth and debt" by qwurky

The good girl in question - me. I have finally put myself on a budget, and seem to be keeping at it relatively well. Now that I am on one, it boggles my mind how I ever managed to survive before, spending money haphazardly with no rhyme or reason.

I am happy to announce that not only am I on a budget, but I am still alive and happy, and most importantly, still able to afford the things I want. And since I know that generally, the thought of trying to "Budget" throws the fashion-allured into shock, I would like to pass on my methods for a pain-free induced budget lifestyle.

Step 1: Get the Supplies
This step allows you to shop! Now, try as hard as you can not to buy an LV purse on your way to the stationary store, and grab yourself the following supplies.

- Cash Book (This is one of those books with all the weird lines in it, to help you add up figures. It looks nothing at all like an LV purse, but nice try.)
- Envelopes
- A Calculator
- Something small and plastic to store receipts in, that will fit nicely in that new LV purse ;)

You now have everything you need to start a budget!

Step 2: Learn the Damage
This week is relatively painless - you don't need to stop shopping (yet), you are just going to keep track of it. For this week, each time you buy something, put the receipt in your little receipt receptacle. At the end of the week, pop that baby out and start adding up all the receipts. Break the receipts into 3 categories: Dining Out, Purchases, Necessities (groceries,toiletries). If you have another category that fits into your life (transportation, coffee) go ahead and add that one as well. Now, separate those receipts you have accumulated according to their corresponding rows, and start adding the numbers.

When you are finished, have a stiff drink.

Just kidding ;) Though what you discover may surprise you. It's sometimes distressing to learn just how much we are giving Starbucks each week, or how much exactly all those little accessories we treat ourselves with can add up to. Do not be discouraged: the reason you decided to create a budget was to stop just this sort of cash-loss, and knowing is truly half the battle.

Now that you know the numbers, you can start making some real lifestyle decisions. For instance, if coffee is your crutch, do you really need to buy it at a shop? The choice to invest in a simple coffee machine can save you hundreds of dollars, and move you into the realm of financial security. If dining out is what gets you, then make the commitment to start bagging your lunches and cooking at home. These small changes can save you loads of cash, and require no budget to create an impact.

However, if like me, general shoppiness is your problem, you are probably going to need to budget some stuff (stop shaking, it's going to be ok:). Now, if you are going to budget, you are going to need to make some decisions, the most important being "HOW MUCH?". By "How Much?" I mean, how much would you ideally like to spend each week? The ideal amount should be one that both allows you to start saving, but also makes you feel like you are not enslaved into not buying anything. You can use the past week's purchases to help guide your decision in this area. The next thing you have to decide is the rules of what exactly it is you are budgeting. Is it just clothes, or should meals be thrown into the mix? What about necessary purchases, like new hosiery or undergarments? Keep in mind, it's ok to have allowances, so long as they are set allowances. It is better to determine these things now, than to start making them after you establish the budget, as that is the sure way to start slipping.

Step 3: Living la Vida Budget
You now have a budget! Now you need to follow it. You will still continue saving your receipts for the items you have decided should be within the realms of your budget, only now you will be adding them each day instead of weekly. Once you reach your limit in your cash book, you have to stop buying that week, or you have to put the money you do spend against the money alotted to you for the upcoming week (be careful about this practice: using it too often is a sure way to break a budget). I personally reserve overdrafts only for instances where the item I totally covet may not be there next week to claim.

Now, I am sure you want to know what to do about splurges. You know, that camera you really, really want, or that special piece of clothing you can't live without. There are going to be things you want outside your budget, so what do you do? Well, you just have to save up for it, or commit not to buy stuff for a few weeks following the purchase. This sounds like torture, but it can actually be kinda fun, and makes the final acquisition of the coveted object all the more sweet, as you truly need to earn it.

Be Forgiving
I am going to tell you right now - you are going to slip. There will be a week where you accidentally blow your budget to smithereens, and you know what? That's ok. Remember that you are putting yourself on a budget to improve your life, not make yourself miserable. As long as you keep trying to stay on a budget, you will be on a budget, and you will see results. Sometimes those results financial, and some more personal. For instance, getting in the habit of simply reconsidering a purchase before grabbing it up can impact what it is that you buy, and how you consider buying things in general. Budgets force you to do this, as suddenly you need to weigh the cost of the purchase against your ability to buy something later. By doing so, you will start to value things more by how much you want them, instead of whether you like them. And that, my friend, is the key to a budget - really treating yourself to the things that make you the happiest.

And that's it! You know what to do - good luck!

Spat Attack

I have been trying to figure out what to do about my little shoe problem. I love, love, love shoes. The simple fact is that I can always justify a shoe purchase due to their practicality - I mean, I can't go about barefoot, can I? However, I live in a little place, and my shoe fetish, combined with Boyfriend Kaboom's policy of buying any footwear that fits, is leading to a bit of a shoe-alanche in the apartment. How can I curb my love for footwear, but still fulfill my love for foot-decor?

I have found the answer - and that answer is SPATS.

Spats/Gaiters are a piece of apparel that most people associate with the 19th and early 20th century, and most often kindle in the mind visions of men in three-piece suits, along with jodhpurs, pince-nez and top hats. However, I am pleased to report that spats are making a new, glorious comeback. And for a space-constrained city girl, they can prove the solution to switching up styles on your peds, without shelling out the money or room for more shoes. Several designers are making the style their own, and doing some glorious things with this fashion throwback. Here are some of my favs...


Maide Spats
Maide is a German-based designer of spats so decked out and resplendent in lace, frills, ribbons and detail that you may just feel your feet are simply to precious to touch the ground. Not only that, but all of her work is animal-friendly and vegan.


Fancy Leather Gaiterettes by LesFrivolites
LesFrivolites Etsy shop is full of delightful objects, but these cut leather gaiterettes are simple swoon-worthy. Turn any shoe into an elaborate, fanciful vessel for your feet!


"The Preacher" and "The Sound" by Posso the Spat
Posso the Spat takes a fantastic, futuristic take on the spat, crafting them in killer black leathers, gold, silver, and snakeskin. These are guaranteed to make even the plainest pair of shoes a piece of coveted couture.


Givenchy
Givenchy's latest collection features these supple, long gaiters. Elle described them as making the models look like Clydesdale horses, and I couldn't agree (or love it) more.


For more spat love, read:

"Spats - A Return to Civilized Attire" by Paul Kiernan (Atomic Magazine)

"Spats!" by jitterbugbaby (Shoeblog.com)

Spat How-to by Minnie (Thank you for not being perky)

"Lace Up Some Sexy Spats"(telegraph.co.uk)

Remember...

Reed Flute Cave (Ludi Yan), Guilin, China by Souer99

You are an amazing being of light and wonder. You are a member of the tribe from which all great ideas and inventions spring from. You are the closest thing to a guardian the Earth has ever had. You are loved by more people than you know. You are a learning creature, capable of forgiveness and being forgiven. You choose each day to make beauty or ugliness. Hope is eternal, and sadness fleeting. Society is built upon generosity and reciprocity, and we its arbitrators. You have no idea how good it can get. They love you, that much. An unknowable future is a gift that allows us new chances and opportunities beyond our wildest dreams. You can do ANYTHING. You can do ANYTHING. You can do ANYTHING. And we are all hoping you achieve your dreams.

Yeondoo Jung's Wonderland

Yeondoo Jung is a Korean artist with as sharply a honed sense of whimsy and surrealism as you can find. Her ability to play with landscapes and environments ranges from the delightful to awe-inspiring to behold. Whether making us consider alternative housing or mystical ice-skating, here work always carries with it a full dose of surprise and wonder.

One of her projects that I find utterly inspiring is "Wonderland," in which Jung realized the drawings of young children. The results are simply beyond this world.











See the full set here.

(Snatched from How About Orange)

Inspiration Machine 4

Clockwise from left: anneso_cachemireetsoie, !.keesssss.!, ♥chimidoro♫♪, kozika

1. Take up haberdashery.

2. Decorate dollar bills, and give them out to panhandlers.

3. What would be your name if you were a pirate?

4. Learn the Latin names of all your favorite flowers.

5. If you could create your own language, what would the words be for "love," "hate," "beautiful" and "war"?

6. Attempt the highest hairstyle you can muster.

7. Take ten deep breaths, acknowledging and thanking each for keeping you alive.

8. Pick a color, and draw everything you see in that color throughout the day.

9. Compose your speech to the world.

10. Make the decision to live bravely.

Things to Do on Rainy Days

"Rainy day" by pshutterbug

Depending on your disposition and tastes, rainy days can be a blessing or a curse. As a commuter, I tend to vacillate between the two. There's something really nice about curling up with a book or a great movie on a gloomy day, while at times nothing is more a mood killer than stomping around in the damp.

Here are some ideas on how you can make even the most unwelcome rainy day an enjoyable, productive experience.

Cultivate a Rain Gear Collection
One of the gloomiest parts of rainy days is how they can hinder your choice of garb. Nothing is more of a downer than when you can't wear those new shoes due to the 3 inches of rain water outside your door. However, with a bunch of really excellent rain supplies, rainy days can be transformed into as fun dress-up days as any other day of the week.

Some necessary rain gear includes:
- Tall Galoshes
- Short Rain Booties
- Raincoats and Slickers
- Fun assortments of umbrellas
- Waterproof Satchels (for holding your shoes)
- Rain Bonnets
- Waterproof sports sandals

Also, once you have the proper stuff, you are completely set for some good old fashioned puddle-stomping. You are never too old to play in the rain.

Bust out that Hobby
Trapped in the house due to inclement weather? Don't consider it a day imprisoned so much as a hobby day. Rainy days are the perfect days for knitting, painting, sewing, writing and any other activity that can be ideally performed indoors. Don't have a hobby? Then why not take one up? Keep a book around of embroidery stitches that you can take out whenever it rains, and you will be a bitching stitcher in no time.

Clean, Clean, Clean
Rainy days are excellent days to finally tackle those big, annoying cleaning projects you have been postponing, since you will feel absolutely regret-less of any other activities you could be missing out on in the meantime. And it's a scientific fact that cleaning is easier to do when rain is tapping on your roof and thunder is booming. So pop on your favorite album, turn up the lights, and get cracking against those dust bunnies.

Some good, long cleaning projects include:
- Oil soap wood floors
- Alphabetize your bookshelf
- Clean out cabinets
- Organize your office
- Clean under beds
- Arrange your closet
- Wash your area rugs

Marathons!
Rainy days are the ideal time to host movie or tv show marathons. Next time the weather report calls for heavy rains throughout the day, call up some friends, make a big bowl of popcorn, and pop in that season of Buffy dvd you've been dying to watch. Some of my personal favs include:
- Sex and the City
- Twin Peaks
- Lord of the Rings
- Weeds
- Six Feet Under

Make Yummy Things
Been dying to make that recipe for a chocolate souffle, but haven't had the time? Well, now you do! Rainy days are excellent for baking and cooking all sorts of stuff. You can make a hearty soup and leave it to simmer into deliciousness all day, or bake a delicious batch of cupcakes in your favorite flavor. So you don't have to trudge out in the nasty weather to get supplies, stock up on the ingredients in anticipation of the next stormy Saturday - trust me, it will come. Keep a big binder of any recipe that catches your eye for when that rain starts falling.

What are your favorite things to do on rainy days?

Birthday Wish List

It's that time again! My birthday is only a few weeks away, on August 20. I am an enormous fan of birthdays - I think all of us need more days to celebrate being the awesome people we are.

I am especially looking forward to this birthday for an extra-special reason - my sister Linda is returning home from Japan! This is like the best birthday gift ever, as she has been away for the past 2 years, and I miss her oodles. We plan to have some extra special fun to celebrate her homecoming and my anniversary of being born. Of course, no birthday would be complete without a wish list. Here are some things that would make the day for me extra special...


Tickets to Cirque de Soleil
I've dreamed of going to see Cirque de Soliel FOREVER. I love circuses and ballets, and to me the Cirque is a combination of both. The costumes, the performers, the bendiness...I could just swoon!



Amazon Gift Cards so I can buy the new Canon Powershot
I have a Canon Rebel XTI, which I love to tears, but it is an incredibly cumbersome piece of equipment. I have desperately desired a teensy-tiny camera I could chuck in my purse. Not only is this camera great, but it comes in gold! My camera shall bling, I decree it!



Gift Cards to Victoria's Secret
One of many shopping addictions is Victoria's Secret apparel. The funny thing is, I almost never buy any undergarments or lingerie from them. They have some great sweaters and swim suits, and with the cooler months just on the horizon, nothing makes me happier than stocking up on cozy, comfy knits.



Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition
I love love love Twin Peaks. I nearly hit the ceiling when I found out they were releasing this new edition of the dvds. With these in my possession, I can proceed in having a Twin Peaks marathon with good, hot black coffee, doughnuts and red, red lipstick.

What's on your wish list?

Feeling Like a Hussy

The hot, hot summer has finally hit the Big Apple, and it is KILLER. It's hard to resist the urge to morph into a puddle of goo on the way to work and just slide into a sewer. New York heat is brutal and unyielding, with nary a tree or breeze in sight to offer some respite.

Still, every heat wave has a silver lining, and for me, that lining is Hussy apparel. Created by Australian designer Marie Hatzis, Hussy's line is chock full of slinky dresses, breezy frocks, and sweet little jumpers that dare the heat to make the wearer look anything but hot, cool and comfortable. Crafted with light fabrics and adoring details, Hussy's styles blend the very best of vintage accents with modern cuts, for an effect the is so fun yet so classic.

Gazing upon outfits like, the prospect of a never-ending heat wave doesn't seem that bad at all.











See the full summer collection here.
I wonder if I can swap my air conditioner for a dress...

Inspiration Machine 3

Clockwise from left: xelia., idgie., unaerica, olivia ew

1. Imagine your own tribe. Decide it's name, belief system, and customs.

2. Create a brand new holiday around your favorite thing.

3. Reenact your first kiss.

4. Design your personal amulet.

5. Summon your guardian spirits: what are their names, and what do they look like? (Takashi Murakami has two)

6. Buy a globe, and decorate all the places you have been with paint and glitter.

7. Imagine what you would be like if you had lived your entire life in another country. What country would you choose? How would you be different: in dress, habit, and profession?

8. If you could have a twin, what would be their name? Would you prefer a boy or a girl? What would they be like?

9. Choreograph your own personal dance. Perform it frequently, in celebration of yourself.

10. Decorate your hair daily with something that starts with every letter of the alphabet.

Mag-tear 2: Hot Toppers

I am usually not a hat person, but I am slowly developing a love affair with head gear. As of late there are some stunning hat makers and hair accessories I have been eyeing, and these mag-tears just provide further inspiration.


Vogue Nippon, "One Day In Tokyo"
More than anything, I am adoring the simple fedora that is coming back in style - it's so elegant and boyish. This is definitely on my wardrobe wishlist this month.


Coco Rocha in Vogue Nippon August 2008, In the Sweetness of Day
This hat is like a cross between childhood hero and evil queen.


Natasha Poly in Vogue Russia, July 2008.
I love the form this headpiece makes, and the way it makes the body attached to it an accessory. She looks like a gilded tulip.



Jessica Stam, “The Sheltering Sky” Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Vogue UK May 2008
Pining for big bows, but worried that you will look like a Lolita nightmare? This is a gorgeous example of how a big bow can be quite grown up, elegant, and whimsical and fun all at once.


Siri Tollerod in Dazed & Confused July 2008, Hand-Painted Foliage
Come on, don't we all wish we could wear crowns?

July Mixtape: Hot Asphalt Mix

"365:20 .. Lost in Music" by fwumpbungle

You have to love July. It's quintessential summer - smack-dab in the middle of the season, free of the early eagerness of June, and the sentimental farewells of August. It's summer at its fullest, most bang-out fun in its hot, sticky glory.

Here are some fun beats to keep you bopping. Make sure to open up the windows, grab a tall lemonade, and dance around in your underwear - the ideal summer apparel.




The Playlist:
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules Theme
Laura Marling - The Captain And The Hourglass [Explicit]
The National - Squalor Victoria
Dengue Fever - Tiger Phone Card
Panda Bear - Bros
Blonde Redhead - Slogan
Angels Of Light - Sunflower's Here To Stay
Gnarls Barkley - Going On (Album Version)
national skyline - some will say
The Anambra Beats - Ayamma
Naughty by Nature - O.P.P. [Ultimix Remix]

Beating Mondays

sleepy king and hello kitty by beckitten

Some mondays are worse then others. But sometimes, you hit one of THOSE Mondays: that day when every nerve in your body is quailing that you have a whole week ahead of you.

Never fear! There are some sure-fire cures to Monday-blues. Here are some of my favs.

Water, water everywhere
Often, being tired or crummy-feeling is the result of being dehydrated. Particularly on Mondays, the habit for grabbing a caffeine-coffee fix is at its strongest - but don't do it, it's a trap! Caffeine can often leave you feeling a lot worse than when you started. Instead, reach out for some cool, clean water. Nothing's better to get your metabolism in motion. You can even spruce it up with some lemon or orange, for a citrus-y burst of flavor.

Can't live without caffeine? Try some green tea instead. I am a huge fan of Ito-En teas - they are delicious and unsweetened, and the best tea drink I have found since returning from Japan.


Ito-En Teas

Walk it out
Trapped under that early-morning sluggishness? Refresh yourself with a brief walk. Sometimes, mental and physical sluggishness is just a result of too little physical activity. Take ten minutes to take a skip around the block, and return perked up, light-footed, and ready to face the day.

Dress it up
Especially on Mondays, the urge to just crawl into the first clean thing you can find is strong. But sometimes, nothing can get you more revved up to face the day than wearing something fly. Avoid that early-morning indifference by picking out your duds the night before - not only will you have something great to wear the next day, but you will shave precious time off your morning routine by cutting out all the rooting in your closet.

Write it down
Uninspired for week? Take the initiative and make Monday your official "planning" day. Write up lists of all your goals for the week and things you want/need to accomplish. Dig out your calendar and schedule your plans for the week, and make lists of calls your have to make to get those plans happening. Suddenly, your Mondays will transform from being dreaded grind-days, to creative events that get your fabulous week rolling.

mo mo mociun

mocuin collection

I love the homespun, colorful look of mocuin, the designs of Caitlin Mociun. A native Californian and graduate of RISD, Caitlin creates work that is heavily based on arts & crafts, creating pieces with couture detail but heavily grounded in the tactile realm of patterns, fabric and material. The result is a collection that is natural, personal, and longing for you to reach out and touch it.









See the full collection here

Snatched from Allure

Inspiration Machine 2

Clockwise from left:sadandbeautiful (Sarah), flint knits, martianmermaid, Sarajea

1. Learn how to do a handstand.

2. Invent a signature drink, and name it after yourself.

3. Give names to all the dogs you pass throughout your day.

4. Give yourself a french manicure, but with bright, brilliant colors.

5. If you could have a castle, what would you name it?

6. Think of the perfect date, then take yourself out on it.

7. Reach out to a distant friend once a week.

8. Design your own coat of arms.

9. What would you name your own planet?

10. Swap back rubs for hugs. Or vice-versa.

Birdie Time

Admit it, you love birds. Everyone does - ok, except for that one person we all know who had that terrible incident with a pigeon when they were 12. Is there any species so bright, so lyrical, so winged? Whether a robin red-breast or a cockatiel, birds make us happy. Here are some fine ways to adorn your life with our fine feathered friends - that won't leave you with clipped wings and a dirty birdcage to clean when it's all said and done.


Chirping Bird Magnet

These magnets are not only utterly adorable, but they chirp when you touch them. Available in plethora of appealing colors and patterns, these fine fellows are a simply delightful way to cheer up even the stodgiest office.


Birds of a Feather Mobile

The closest thing to an angel on your shoulder is a birdy over your head. This lovely wooden mobile will keep the creative vibes moving through the room whilst you work, without all the trouble actual birds over your head may cause to your coif.


Golden Egg Savings Bank

What better way to remind yourself to save up for that nest egg, than keeping your spare change in an ACTUAL nest egg. Also, anything that makes your house feel like a fairytale I believe is a GOOD thing.


Sarah Mcneil Bird Pins

These bird pins by Sarah McNeil are utterly adorable. Perfect all year round, they would be an utter joy come December. I can picture no better way to spruce up that drab winter coat than with these bright little touches of spring. (Snatched from myloveforyou)

Know any awesome bird products? Let me know!

Claimed!: Jodhpur Pant by Orphan

I have found the pants of my dreams. I want to marry these pants, move to the country, and have a family of shorts with them.

They are Orphan Jodhpur Pants and I CANNOT get enough of them.



I will be honest, I was rather nervous about these pants. Sure, they looked amazing on the model, but a garbage bag full of banana peels can look good on a model with the right stuff. Could I really pull these off? I decided to give it a shot, and I am sooooo happy I did.

The pants are the most tailored piece of clothing I have ever owned. The amount of craft and detail put into them is simply breathtaking, and makes me feel like I really own a piece that has a lot of love poured into it.



There are large sectional pieces placed through the seat of the pant, so the result isn't just a saggy bag, but a carefully dropped seat that drapes just right.



To counter the looseness of the seat, the legs are tapered to within an inch of their lives, in an incredibly clever way. The buttons along the side allow the wearer to make these pants as form-fitting as possible, without going through hours of trying to wriggle yourself into a leg with the aid of Crisco.



But the piece de resistance is certainly the buttons in the crotch. Running the entire drop of the crotch to the top of the waist, and peeking just so from the cover cloth for an effect that is divinely sweet and fun. The effect is simply glorious.

I have a feeling these guys are gonna be my uniform this autumn. Thank you, Pixie Market!

Yambushi

Collage by Yambushi

There is something so tactile and wonderful about the art form of collage. It's equal parts creativity and scavenger hunt - about seeing the potential in the images around you. Yambushi's collages are a perfect example of how exciting the results can be. Utilizing clippings from vintage magazines, comic books and movie posters, Yambushi's pieces resemble cultural mandalas, pieces of cosmic importance that are rife with iconic imagery from our past.







See the Yambushi's collection here.

Inspiration Machine 1

Clockwise from left:Miss Lulu & The Teaspoon Shortage, anneso_cachemireetsoie, ElisabethD, Fjola Dogg

1. If you could decide the uniform of the planet, what would it consist of? What would the the color palette be?

2. Dress as the spirit of your favorite food.

3. Name each of your toes.

4. Pick a day of the week. Dub it your day. Make sure to celebrate it throughout.

5. Eat everything with chopsticks.

6. Keep a journal of all the animals you encounter.

7. Drink a glass of water the same way you would an expensive glass of wine.

8. If you could make a totem pole, what animals would you stack?

9. When you are in a particularly great mood, mail a postcard to yourself about why.

10. Carry sparklers in your purse for fun emergencies.

My Bug About Bags.

"Designer Handbags" by allaboutreplica

As well as being shoe crazy, I am rather bag crazy, though in a different way. I love many, many shoes, but I love very few bags. I am a bag snob, a bag elitest, a bag snubber.

My main bug with bags is that there are far too few that accomplish being both functional AND stylish. I do not understand why this combination is so tricky to perform - maybe I have a different set of standards than those of the rest of the world. But it seems to me that any sane-minded person would desire an ultra-compartmental, ultra-pocketed bag that is also stylish enough that it doesn't look like I am dragging around a glorified pocket protector. Is this so wrong?

Far too often I eye a gloriously constructed bag from across a store, only to be sorely disappointed when I pull back the zipper, clasp, or other closure device. Whether it is big and chunky, small and dainty, or mid-sized and manageable, exteriors aside, designer bags are often just a sack, and that bothers me deeply.


"Louis Vuitton Voyager Handbag, Prague" by julie3jax

My bag must be so much more than a sack. It is my life containment unit, the vessel for which I choose to carry all the accruments i deem necessary in my daily life. That means books, wallet, technology and a variety of tiny implements. When you toss all of those into a simple sack, do you know what you have?

A nightmare, that is what you have.

Similarly, every time I find a bag that can actually add a little order to my life, it tends to be hideous. On several occasions I have found myself contemplating the purchase of a piss poor looking bag, simply because those are the ones that tend to be organizational miracles. They also look like the equivalent of wearing a non-ironic fanny pack. And it is not a question of lack of talent - because there is a rising market of bags coming out that ARE incredibly compartmental - they are just not being marketed to me. I was recently admiring the computer bag my CD picked up. It was super - it had pen and pencil holders, and was riddled with compartments and sections galore. It was also pvc - a charcoal black, bulky man-bag, and a very nice one at that. It's great for guys, but there's no way I would be caught carry one.


"jimmy-choo-face-bag" by Kevin the Collie

Designers of the world, hear me. I believe we can DO THIS. We have the technology. We have the wallets. The modern woman of today is carrying hella' more than a compact and handkerchief. We are professionals, students, mothers. We have a MOUNTAIN of stuff to carry around, and we have no time to waste rifling in our purses looking for lost lip gloss.

We love your bags. Love them so much we will go as far as to LEASE them, like they were Buicks. But you have to do something for us in return - make bags that fit our needs. Next time you make one of those giant sack-purses that are all the rage, try chucking a divider or two in that thing, maybe even more than a single zippered pocket. Why must my cell phone, keys and Altoids all vie for that coveted pocket? Is there a moratorium on zippers??

I dream of a day, not too far in the future, when I can have a bag as beautiful on the inside, as it is on the outside. Like Oprah Winfrey, except with a convenient shoulder strap.

Just My Type - Font Programs in 2008.

"Attack of the Type" by Grandchildren

I recall my first Typography class in design school. Me and my classmates anticipated it with the same excitement as one would a root canal. The professor who taught it was obsessed with letter forms to a degree I had never seen before, and have rarely seen since. We would wince as we handed our assignments in, shrinking under his scrutinizing gaze as he spoke to us in the foreign language of type: serif or sans, orphans and widows, leading and kerning, ems and ens.

Nowadays I am rather obsessed with type, and am usually the one screaming about leading and kerning. Aw, how things change.

Typography has had its ups and downs through the years. Since Gutenberg blew up its spot in 1440, it's been a long, weird journey for letter forms. With the rise of the computer and the resulting obsoleteness of letterpress printing, there was great concern that the art of typography would be lost in the digital age. However, that has not been the case.

In fact, it's becoming a very good time to be a font. As this New York Times article points out, there are more ways to make fonts than there have ever been before, in ways more accessible to the public at large. In the past, typography was considered a strange, incredibly specialized field; typographers viewed with the same curious interest and mystery as some rare, red-tailed lemur. However, with the new profundity of programs available on the market, more and more professionals and hobbyists are picking up this enchanting art form. There are even interactive social networks that are being built around font creation and sharing.

The current selection of fonts out there today is utterly enormous and wonderful. MyFonts.com publishes a wonderful newsletter dedicated to the faces behind the fonts, and there are numerous online font sites that host stunning libraries of free, downloadable fonts.

Read the full New York Times article here. What are your favorite font destinations?