HAPPINESS IS...

Moss Optical Branding

At the optometrist the other day, I was informed I have a very slight lazy eye. Not to be confused with a wandering eye. But still. Not cool.

I may be blind as a bat, but I know good design when I see it. And I really think more optometrists should take a look at Moss Optical's branding and follow suit. They hired Samuel Soulek to develop a playful design concept for their company. Fun, yeah?


{Images via Discover Paper by Soulseven}

Geometric Jewelry

I'm big into wearable geometry as of late. Especially pieces that are photographed as art, like Chihiro's leather triangle necklaces. For her shop's grand opening, she's offering free shipping for all of March. Yay! 


{Images by Quolial}

Outsiders

So this is what my childhood teddy bear must look like turned inside out! Outsiders are secondhand plush toys by Zurich designers, Samuel Coendet and Lea Gerber, who give forgotten stuffed animals a new life by opening, reversing, and resewing them back together, eyes and all.

They're a little ugly and a bit sad, but I find them extra lovable.


{Images via Dezeen by Atelier Volvox}

Astronauts & Butterflies

Somehow, astronauts and butterflies go beautifully hand in hand.


{Images via The Fox Is Black by Stan Gaz}

A Piano Birdcage

Robert Gligorov, built this magical musical birdcage installation made up of two pianos placed back to back with a glass enclosure on top for canaries to live and play. As they fly from perch to perch, their weight moves the rods that tickle the ivory, creating a harmonies to their songbird melodies.

Wouldn't you love to hear a recording of their music? :)


{Images via Ridiculously Interesting}

Cast Iron Skillet States

How much fun would it be to eat a State-shaped omelet? FeLion Studio's Made In America Pans come in 48 different States that fit together to make the entire U.S. You can cook with them or hang them on the wall as art.

In food magazines, chefs and editors are always asked to name one kitchen item they couldn't live without. I asked this to Hal once and he said without hesitation, the cast iron skillet. Maybe I'll get him the California shaped pan one day.

What is your favorite kitchen item?


{Images via The Kitchn}

Embroidered Vintage Postcards

Looks like I have a new artist to stalk. I'm madly in love with Shaun Kardinal's embroidered postcards series, "Alterations". Serious geometric vintage goodness right here.


{Images via Poppytalk}

My Bachelorette Mug Cozy Favors

For my Tahoe bachelorette weekend, I really wanted to find a special way to thank the girls for coming. I searched around for winter-appropriate gifts on Etsy and came across the talents of Ms. Lena Choe. Her shop, Nawanowe, is filled to the brim with the sweetest hand-knit creations.

One piece in particular caught my eye. The mug cozy. The cutest cozy I ever did see, with its own mittens and sweater initials. Lena welcomed my large order with open arms and quickly knit 14 personalized cozies for all of my friends. At the house, I placed the cozies on mugs and filled them with gourmet hot chocolate on a stick by The Ticket Kitchen. They were a hit!


{Images by Nawanowe}

La Boom Shadow Boxes

Tatiana lives on the small cycladic island of Antiparos, wakes up every morning to gaze out at the Agean Sea, and makes delightful little shadow boxes. What a beautiful life!


{Images via La Boom} 

Ben Giles Floral Collages

Every week should begin with a Ben Giles floral collage. Aren't they the loveliest?


{Image via Strataflora}

Drawings On Plates

Yes, I'm a fully grown A-dult and yes, I sort of want to put these plates on my wedding registry. You're never too old to play with food!


{Images via Dezeen by Boguslaw Sliwiński}

Anonymous Holidays

Love this Anonymous Holidays series by German design student, Linus Lohoff. I've always been intrigued by vintage photographs of strangers and the colored dots just add to the mystery. Makes me wonder what their lives were like, who they were, and what they might have been thinking about during that very moment.


{Images by Linus Lohoff}

Magazine & Newspaper Collages

Quite a step up from the magazine collages I made from Bop and Tiger Beat as a tween. These are by California med student, Arian Behzadi. Aren't they awesome?


{Images via Trendhunter}

Cloud Lights Part 2

Lately, I've been getting a huge amount of Pinterest traffic to my Cloud Lights post from awhile back. So I thought you might enjoy these pretties as well, by Netherlands-based designer, Wout Wessemius. They're handmade out of polyester wadding, each one completely unique, like clouds themselves. I love how how they look as though the sun is shining through, don't you?


{Images via Beautiful Life}

Moonscape Throws & Pillows

I've always wanted to cozy up with the moon. Aren't these moonscape throws and pillows the greatest?  


{Images via Design for Mankind by DQtrs}

Bonsai Tree Houses

I've always wanted to grow a bonsai tree, but I've heard they take a great deal of care and commitment. Considering my past plant failures, maybe I'll just admire them from afar.

Takanori Aiba's are incredible, no? He goes above and beyond, building little houses and bridges within each bonsai tree. They're like something out of Swiss Family Robinson.


{Images via The Chive by Takanori Aiba}

3D Dance Posters

These four 3D posters by Amy Rodchester were designed to inspire each generation to shake their groove thang. Mission accomplished. Don't they make you want to dance?

P.S. This reminds me I need to get Hal and I signed up for private lessons to brush up on our skills. Must get in shape for our first dance, tango style!


{Images via Wolf Eyebrows}

Living Drawers

I'm giddy over these imaginative drawers. Dutch furniture designer, Valentin Loellmann, almost literally gives birth to his creations, with their organic shapes and giraffe-like legs. Don't they remind you of characters from Dr. Suess?


{Images via Design Boom}

The Portable Tree Bench

There have been countless times where I've strolled solo through a scenic park, just wanting to plop down for awhile and enjoy the view. But if the ground is wet, or if the sun is too hot, this just isn't an option. So thank you, Aandeboom, for designing a portable bench that attaches to any tree you desire. But I see one minor flaw... how on earth do you carry it around? Strap it to your back?


{Images via Inhabitat by Rogier Martens} 

Hip-Hop Valentines

One of my male readers (yes, I actually do have a few!) and fellow musician-artist, Gregory Smith aka Radjaw, introduced me to his man-friendly Valentine card collection inspired by hip-hop lyrics. As a huge Tribe Called Quest and Pharcyde fan, I got quite a kick out of these two in particular. See the rest here.

P.S. Feel free to share them digitally, but for you local art supporters, they're being sold at Kaleidoscope Vision in Capitol Hill.


{Images by Radjaw of Out For Stardom}

Destination Wedding Invitations

How cute are Ashley's destination weding invitations? She sent each of her guests a doll suitcase filled with map stickers and paper planes.

Is it too late to change my wedding venue to an Italian villa?  :)


{Images by Ashley O'Dell}

A Wine Bottle Chandelier

This wine bottle chandelier both excites and scares me. It looks very heavy. What if it falls down? But it definitely adds a touch of whimsy to a minimalist space, don't you think?


{Images via Elle Decoration by Maison Estate}

Lunch Sack Poetry

What a man. Kermit writes poems and illustrates on brown bag lunch sacks for his daughter. They were such a hit at school, he eventually started making them for his wife and friends. 


{Image via My Modern Met by Kermit Mulkins}

Color Palette Heaven

I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover Jessica's blog. It's strictly devoted to luscious color palettes and allows you to search by theme or hue. I could get lost in there for days.

P.S. I'll be sharing my own wedding color palette one of these days. Stay tuned!


{Images by Design Seeds}

Colors, Lines, Shapes & Designs

My head is spinning with all sorts of new Photoshop tips and tricks! Blogshop was incredible. 


{Images by Coramantic by Yvonne Stewart}

Blogshop In Seattle

Yippee, Blogshop is coming to Seattle tomorrow! If you're unfamiliar, it's a weekend-long Photoshop boot-camp specifically designed for bloggers, held by the enormously creative talents, Bri of Design Love Fest and Angela of Angela + Ithyle.

I'm so excited to learn some new fancy skills to make my blog the prettiest it can possibly be. Oh, and I hear their goodie bags are to die for! Will I be seeing any of you there?  :)


{Image via Design Love Fest by Angela Kohler}

A Food Planner Poster

This shnazzy food planner poster by Scandinavian designer, Mette Bonavent, might help us solve our nightly question, "so... what do you want to do about dinner?" It comes with a magic chalk marker.

Do you plan out your meals?


{Image via Remodelista by Oh So Fine}

Wood Burned Wildlife

The detail of Julie Bender's wood burned wildlife portraits is unbelievable. She calls her ancient artform, "painting with heat".

That's it, I must learn pyrography!


{Images via Sweet Station}

The Pothole Gardener

Have I ever told you about my secret desire to be a guerrilla street artist? I'm not sure how I'd make that happen, but I'm inspired by the The Pothole Gardener. Planting shrubs in potholes isn't anything new, yet he takes it to a new level with miniature props.

He recently made a video, Holes of Happiness, which captures Londoners' initial reactions to his sidewalk creations. What would you do if you saw a little pothole garden?


{Images via Designer Daily}

A Journey On The Orient Express

I've always wanted to ride the Orient Express. And if it looks anything like Stefania's delightful illustrated depictions, I need to make this luxury train trip a bigger priority in my life!

Have you ever experienced it?


{Images via Illustrated Ladies by Stefania Manzi}

Making Save-The-Dates

My weekend is fully devoted to finishing up our DIY save-the-dates. It became a much bigger project than originally intended, but isn't that always the case? We're trying to get them out by the end of the month. That's only 4 more days, eek! My subpar Photoshop skills and perfectionist tendencies have slowed us down, but with a finish line in sight, the excitement of completion is propelling me forward. I cannot wait to send them out. And then share them with you!

Have a stellar weekend, sweeties. Please enjoy the links...

Wrap yourself up in a soft map.

Famous paintings improved by fat cats.

Would you ever chalk your hair?

Give your honey some fruit for V-day.

Rest your head on a pile of books.

Cool crayon carvings.

Make your own heart-shaped seed bombs.

Have you ever gone winter camping?

Barbie, the ultimate muse.

Vintage suitcase planters.

And some posts of mine you may have missed...

• An Elaborate Sand Written Proposal
• Roller Girls
• A Home Office Treehouse 

{Image by Eat Pray Create}

A Little Town At Night

At first, I thought these were candles. But they're simply black and white photographs of old houses, curled up into cylinders. A battery operated tea light is set inside, casting a warm glow through the cut out windows. Placed together, they look like a little town at night. Miss Claire is one crafty gal.


{Images via Fellow Fellow}

One City, Five Hours

Ah, layovers. I don't usually leave the airport when I'm stuck in a random city, but if you're feeling adventurous, here's a handy set of sketchbook maps that Oliver Jeffers draws for One City, Five Hours, a series in United Airlines' in-flight magazine. He claims they're "all geographically accurate", hee hee.

Seattle's map looks pretty good, although I honestly can't imagine tourning Pioneer Square, Showbox at the Market, the original Starbucks, the Elliott Bay Bookstore, Quinns Pub, Velouria, Palace Kitchen, the Experience Music Project, and the Space Needle, phew, in only 5 hours! 


{Images via Hemispheres Magazine by Oliver Jeffers}

DIY - Paper Clip Letters & Shapes

Man, I really want to make these paper clips, aka "shaper clips", for our DIY wedding invitations, but alas, we are inviting more than 10 guests. I can't possibly imagine whipping them out in large quantities... unless I had an assembly line of little elves.

But wouldn't they be perfect for smaller projects? All you need is jewelry wire and a pair of needle nose craft pliers. Check out Chelsea's full tutorial.


{Images via The Sweetest Occasion by Lovely Indeed}

Mini Canvas Paintings

I seem to be on a miniature kick as of late. Aren't Caroline's 3" x 3" canvas acrylic paintings darling? They even come with a tiny wooden easel!


{Images via Papernstitch by Oh Chalet}

Chocolate Menus

We're having difficulties selecting a menu for our summer wedding. I consider myself a foodie, so it's a big decision. Should we pick...

(a) a well-reviewed local company with typical wedding food and an annoyingly hyper contact person;

(b) a younger sort-of-local company with slightly more original but still typical wedding food and a nice contact person; 

(c) a popular not-as-local company with organic/sustainable gourmet comfort food cooked in an Airstream and a harder-to-reach contact person; or

(d) Domino's Pizza? Kidding, but almost not.

It's all a little daunting. But once we figure it out, maybe we'll wow our guests with a chocolate menu that triples as a favor and a dessert. Brilliant, right? Maybe just brilliant enough to make people forget they ate Domino's pizza for dinner.

{Images via Jolie Jolie Design by Delysia Chocolatier}

Carousels In The Round

Photographer, Pep Ventosa, has this playful series, In The Round, where he walks around carousels taking multiple shots, then blending the images together in post production. The effect is beautiful, don't you think? They look like watercolor paintings.


{Images via Lumas}

Turning 70

When I turn 70, I hope I'm hip enough to have such awesome birthday save-the-dates. Or at least have a child or grandchild hip enough to send them out for me! Leslie designed them for a 1960's Mad Men themed shindig. Wouldn't you like to meet this Gary fellow?


{Images via Oh So Beautiful Paper by Lilly & Louise}

Modern Art Sammies

Pop quiz! Which sandwich represents which modern artist? If I could type the answers upside down, I would. But I can't, so don't peek.

Piet Mondrian

Georgia O'Keefe

Jackson Pollack

Mark Rothko

Damien Hirst

Okay, how many did you get?


{Images via Low Commitment Projects by Brittany Powell}

My Feature In Dashing Magazine

I received a heads-up tweet from Dashing Magazine that there may be a surprise for me in their latest January/February issue. I immediately clicked the link, flipped to Page 10, and squealed. My blog was featured in their Blog Lovin' section! I poured myself a cup of tea, expanded the pages to full screen, and read the rest of the magazine, cover to cover.

If you aren't familiar with Dashing, it's a brilliant new online inspiration magazine for creative gals. It was started by Charley, Fanni and Josie, three talented UK ladies with backgrounds in styling, music, and design. Their aesthetics and interests are very similar to mine, so if you're a regular reader of Happiness Is, I have no doubt you'll become a fan.

I'm flattered beyond belief to be included in such a beautiful publication. Thank you again, Dashing dolls!


{Images by Dashing Magazine}

Wild Pulp

Swoon. These handsome animal tree bark prints by C. Owen Smith of Wild Pulp were inspired by this beautiful quote:

"When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world."
- John Muir

{Images via My Owl Barn by Wild Pulp Etsy}

Glitter Stamped Pears

Victoria adorned these pears using edible gold dust baking glitter and rubber stamps. What a creative way to glam up the dinner table. 


{Images via Project Wedding by A Subtle Revelry}

Vintage Camera Nightlights

I've never needed a nightlight. I walk around my house in pitch black. But if my nightlights were made out of vintage cameras, I think I could be afraid of the dark.


{Images via My Modern Met by Jason Hull}

Tree, Line.

When I initially spotted these images, I thought... trees wrapped in white fabric. Great. But with a closer look, I got it. As part of the ongoing series, Tree, Line, Welsh photographer, Zander Olsen, wraps material around trees to emphasize the line of the horizon. Something I normally wouldn't pay attention to otherwise. Pretty cool, no?


{Images via Trend Land}

Cookie Cushions

Digestives are not a big deal in the States. But I fell hard for them while studying abroad in London. After getting over their strange name, my nightly ritual involved dipping the biscuits in hot tea. I was so happy to find out that a few stores began carrying them in the U.S. shortly after I returned home.

And now here they are in pillow form! Apparently, I share the same passion as Scottish designer, Nikki McWilliams, who makes cookie cushions out of Scotland. Now I can officially call Digestives the ultimate comfort food.


{Images via What Nikki Made} 

Le Petit Monde

These sweet and whimsical illustrations are from the series, Le Petit Monde (Little World) by Rome-based artist, Sarah Olmos. She has a new fan in me. Aren't they darling?


{Images via Telconlene}

Bjork In Her Element

Oh Bjork. You never fail to amaze and delight me.


{Images via Steep Street by Sam Falls}

The Polaboy Frame Light

How cool is this giant polaroid frame light? It's called the Polaboy.


{Image via Handmade Charlotte by Polaboy}

Portlandia

Now that Portlandia is available on instant Netflix, we finally got a chance to watch it last night. As as much as I didn't want to give into the hype, they do a pretty hilarious job of spoofing hipster culture.

P.S. Did you know they're touring? Starting on January 6th, they're traveling to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York to give us live musical performances and clips from upcoming episodes. Sadly, all dates are sold out!


{Images via: 1. IFC; 2. Design*Sponge; 3. Pitchfork}

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Thank you all for your wonderful book club suggestions awhile back. We ended up selecting Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I finished reading it last night and I'm still a bit teary-eyed.

Most of the book is written from the point of view a whip smart and overly imaginative little boy who is on a secret NYC mission to find some sort of meaning behind his father's 9-11 death. His character is so endearing, I wanted to pluck him out of the pages and make him my own. The movie is now out, but I've been told to skip it. Have you read the book? Or watched the film?

P.S. Our next selection is Little Bee by Chris Cleave!


{Image via Life Unfinished}