fantastic friday.

its friday! i have a busy weekend ahead of me, so tonight i will be relaxing with my red wine and catching up on hbo's weeds series (which is such a good show by the way). how are you spending your friday?

the city of luzern, switzerland came up with a clever way to get people to notice trashcans. what a fun idea! we need some of these in houston.

i can't get over how awesome the new sherwin williams commercials are. they make me wonder: who names all the paint colors? when i was little i used to go with my dad to pick out paint & we would make up new names for all the different shades. i think it would be a fun job, don't you?

tired of getting up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water? problem solved! pin-up magazine & phillips de pury & company invented a new kind of night stand. i love it.

*thank you, swiss-miss.

teaux deaux.

what do you do when you're standing at a crossroad? i feel like i'm at this crazy intersection with several signs all pointing me in different directions. how do i know which sign to follow or which road to go down? i refuse to stay stuck for a long time - its time for me to get my rear in gear! i officially deem this summer as project get your life together. first things first (let's start with baby steps) is make a 'to do' list. here's my list from today:

1. run

2. laundry

3. journal

4. research

5. happy hour :)

6. relaxxx

& of course my way of relaxing is to read all of the lovely blogs out there. thank goodness i found out that i'm not the only weirdo who lives by lists. check out the website listgeeks and the to-do list blog. and i discovered this clever iphone app - teux deux! ahhhh organization. i feel better already...

derby hats.

last weekend i went to the one & only kentucky derby. my mini vacay was full of friends, parties, bets & hats!

a tally of two cities.

i miss my sister terribly. i wish i was in france with her: indulging in cheese, wine, lavender, shopping, the sea...hmmm.

as i was longing for the parisian life, i clicked on a fabulous parisian blog: paris vs. new york. the blogger is a graphic artist & ever so creatively couples the clichés of nyc & paris together. the ideas behind the colors & layouts are brilliant! you must visit to website to fully enjoy.

la décoration

la décoration

le chanteur

le temple

le journal

le taxi

le café

thank you, swiss miss*.

buddy holly.

i wish this was real life.

it was the third of september.

happy september 3rd!

travel itch.

so, i moved to texas last week. i'm jobless & bed-less but i'm surrounded by friends & handsome, southern gentlemen. however, i can't help but scratch my travel itch. ever since i left japan, i've wanted to do nothing but travel, travel, travel. speaking of scratching & traveling... how awesome is this scratch map? i'm seriously considering buying this for my new apartment (which i'm moving into next week - eeek!).

if you had this map, which countries would you have scratched away?

*thank you, a cup of jo.

in ruins.

fol chen is so great!

自転車

more tokyo bike spotting.

side note: bicycles in tokyo are hot...& so are their owners.

鉄板焼き

te (hand) + pan (pan/griddle) + yaki (grilled, boiled or fried) = teppanyaki (one of my favorite styles of japanese cooking). its basically the version of american hibachi grill, except better, more delicious & more exciting. last weekend my students took me to this quaint teppanyaki restaurant. there were no chairs, no booths; only tatami mats, small pillows & 5 low tables, each with a grill in the center. we ordered yakisoba (a type of fried noodles) with shrimp & japanese vegetables. my students insisted i cooked the noodles, which made me nervous - but it was so much fun! i want to go back right away & order something more exotic. enjoy the photos & enjoy your week!

please enjoy.

how wonderful is this redundant clock?

*thank you, debonaire.

eye candy.

caitlin mcgauley can turn anything into a bright & beautiful masterpiece. she's a watercolor painter from nyc who works for one of my favorite websites, daily candy (you should subscribe). watch a video of her profile here & read more about this talented lady here.

blake's works.

check out blake: a painter from atlanta. his paintings just brighten up my day!

fav4.org

oh my gooooodness.

you must make fav4 your new start up page: four simple buttons for the websites of your choice. without any sign ups or annoying alerts, this page is the gateway to your internet browsing. there are also keyboard short cuts! just hitt 1, 2, 3 or 4 ... & viola! you're taken to the website. this is awesome.

gruyere & havarti.

its a cold and rainy morning in fuji city. i'm snuggled up on my couch, hot tea in hand & surfing the world wide web for my daily creative boost. one of my favorite websites, where the lovely things are, just posted about the awesome kilroy & maw print shop. this duo creates flat or screen printed posters, which are so great! as soon as i move back to america, i will definitely purchase their cheese poster (cheese is my favorite food ever!!!). i can't decide which i like better, the grey or the white?

owl always love you.

my obsession with owls has become a problem. during my lesson planning this week, i caught myself doodling owls: owls with bow ties, owls with dresses, owls with glasses & owls holding umbrellas. i simply can't stop drawing these adorable, big eyed birds.

anyways, as many of you know, i absolutely love making cards for birthdays, get well wishes, missing you notes, etc... well, my favorite cards to make are: valentines day cards! as valentines day is just around the corner, i thought it fitting to incorporate my latest owl drawings on my valentines day cards. i finally finished the cards last night (i made 25!!) & can't wait for my loved ones to receive them. they're some of my best valentines cards yet... what do you think?

iPad.

this is just crazy.

& i want one. now.