Summer Reading

Alright, friends -- got any summer reading recommendations? I just finished reading The Hunger Games series, and I know that it is classified as YA, but I couldn't help myself. It was so good, a real page-turner, and in my opinion, a perfect summer read. A little dark? Yes. But the questions it asks are so important. But now, here I am. In that bittersweet place of having just finished a good good good series, and now it's over and I'm craving something else.

What are your latest favorite reads? I'd love to know!

[Picture above from Blabla, makers of the most adorably snuggable dolls out there!]

The Book of Baby Mine

I recently discovered my grandmother's baby book in a stack of her letters -- a true treasure, reminding me why I take the time to write in and collect things for my kids' books.



In no other way would I have ever known that she started crawling at 8 months, and walking shortly after her first birthday. Or that some of her first words were "Billy," "Betty" and "Pearl." How funny is that? You don't come across many "Pearls" these days.



But, the other reason I wanted to share this with you is for the advice. It was published in 1915, and literally half of this baby book is parenting tips and ads for baby gear. For example, were you aware of the perils of tying a bonnet too tight?



[Sentence starts halfway through the first line]

And a few choice words for those parents considering an indulgent parenting technique:



[Last two lines of the first paragraph]

Beer??!! Coffee??!! Oh the horror of imagining my kids more hyped up than they already are!

A Collection a Day: The Book

You know the wildly popular blog A Collection a Day? If no, I'll fill you in: Lisa Congdon started it last January, and for every day of 2010 there was a new little collection of something: stamps, labels, tags, erasers, vintage flash cards, etc. Sometimes the collections were drawn and imagined; others were real objects.





Well now, it's being published as a book by Uppercase! And it doesn't look like any old ordinary book, either. A real stunner this one.

Pictures of the book at press are on the Uppercase blog today, too. Personally I can't get enough of the whole printing process, and find these behind the scenes peaks fascinating.





A Collection a Day will be available this Spring; pre-order here. And did I mention it comes in a collector's tin? Yes sirey Mr. Bob -- it does!

[Top images from A Collection a Day; bottom two images from Uppercase]

Stacks

You know what I find amazing? When I see ordered stacks of books and magazines like these:



[How great is the artwork in this one, too?]

or these:



and these:



How in the world do they keep them stacked up so nicely?! If M [or H + S for that matter] were anywhere in striking distance those stacks would be swiped, leveled and scattered. And that sweet little plant in the second picture would be toast, too.

For now, we have to keep books either on bookshelves or above 3 feet high. When we were moving books onto our shelves, my sister said sweetly "You know, I like it when books are at the front of the shelf." I know, me too. But if I did that it would only be a matter of minutes before they were pushed to the back anyway! And our coffee table?



Vogue Living gets my apologies everyday for the abuse it suffers. I tell it not to worry, that it's building up character.

[First Image: Per Gunnarsson; Second Image: Freunde von Freunden Olaf Hajek; Third Image: Lonny Magazine]

Album de Naissance

I love this refreshingly unique interpretation of a baby book by piqpoq:

Book Art for Kids

A while back, I saw this book [above] on Two Straight Lines, and was so inspired. I know my boys would love something like this, especially with all the Lego figures they create. It's just the whole time thing, you know? As in, when in the world am I supposed to get this done?? The boys are out of school for the next two weeks, and I'm thinking it may be the perfect time to try this out. It also just so happens that the latest issue of LMNOP has a perfectly timed tutorial on making books with your kids:





You can download the full issue here. These could also make fun grandparent gifts. Have any of you ever tried something like this? Any tips?

I'll be sure to post pictures when/if we get out act together. It may be just too much fun to laze about the next two weeks!

A Trail of Treats

A quirky and fun interpretation of Hansel and Gretel by Andrew + Natsuko:

Little Peeps in the Big World

I got my Monday morning started off right by clicking over to this site. A site showcasing "little handpainted people, left in London to fend for themselves" by Slinkachu, a UK based artist. Seriously, some of them were making me laugh out loud, like this one:







There's also a book if you can't get enough of these clever little scenes!

Hyperactivitypography

This is for all you type lovers out there -- a witty, fun, cleverly illustrated activity book called Hyperactivitypography From A to Z. It includes activities such as What is Garamond Doing?, Typolympics, Miss Univers and Moustaccents to name a few...













And who wouldn't want to know the answer to the question Which Typeface are you?



What would be even more fun is if there were a forum to see other peoples answers. It's temporarily out of print [be sure to join the facebook page to be posted on when it is available!], but you can preview it here.

In Their Places

I'm sure you've heard about the Selby website, and now there's a book called The Selby is in Your Place [available on Amazon], which is a collection of spaces photographed by Todd Selby. It includes peeps like Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler, and shows homes from NYC to Tokyo to London and more.





To me, one of the things that makes The Selby so fascinating is the quirkiness of the images -- most really do look like you just stumbled upon [ie: the shower scene, above] these chic bohemians livin' it up in a wonderfully peculiar flat somewhere. Plus, could a table of contents [below] get much better?





[All images from the sneak peaks of the book on theselby.com]

And You?

I'm fascinated by the book by Kate Bingaman-Burt called Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?. One, hand drawn ink illustrations rock. Two, I love a good journal, especially with pictures. And three, I'm nosy, and I like knowing what other people have been up to.



Here's a little blurb from her website about it:

"I've been drawing something that I purchase every day since February 5, 2006. Obsessive Consumption represents a selection of these daily drawings. I draw objects that are rather ordinary: Coke cans, Post-it notes, toilet bowl cleaner-sundry items that a lot of consumers have a shared experience with; items that we interact with, but don't really think about. I love documenting the mundane and, in turn, putting a personal face on something that is mass-produced. I make work about personal consumerism, market economies, guilt, joy, excess, more guilt, gifts, celebration, repetition, and the community of these shared experiences."



And I see she made a stop at my hometown airport...



When we'd fly in from Boston, we'd make a mad dash to the Chick Fil A on Concourse B. Chicken never tasted so good.

I actually haven't bought anything today, but yesterday I bought Silly Bandz for the boys. Sea Creature ones. Isn't it funny how these things catch on at schools? Reminds me of the black rubber bracelets I used to link together a la Ricky Schroeder in Silver Spoons.

How about you?

[Obsessive Consumption available at Amazon or through the author's website, where you can get a signed drawing to accompany the book!]

Children's Rooms

Have you heard of the series of books on children's rooms by Jeu de Paumes? The books focus on real rooms and nurseries in different cities, and the most recent edition just happens to be "Copenhagen." I'm so curious!

Why, Hello!

I may be late on the scene, but I just spotted the book Hello, Cupcake while perusing the aisles of Target yesterday. The cover immediately caught my attention, and since we've got a birthday in our house coming up next week, I quickly flipped through it [baby girl does not like shopping there...she seriously starts crying the second we walk in the store]. I love the photography, and there are some good tips and ideas in it. I mean, who doesn't love a good cupcake?!

Has anyone out there tried any of these playful creations? I'd love to know if so!

[Hello, Cupcake available for $10.37 on Amazon]