nail salon anti-boredom strategy: read out loud!

In response to our recent post mentioning the hilarious David Sedaris pickpocket story, ever-improvisational Susan Dworski sent us this email: I recently undertook a Sedaris readathon and plowed through all his books in one fell swoop.  To avoid the usual, well-thumbed celebrity-smut at my manicure salon, I introduced the notion of reading several Sedaris stories aloud to…

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a solution to the busy visuals of vertical book towers?

When we first saw the Sapien vertical book shelf, we were smitten. What a great idea: an impermanent shelf that stacks books vertically, making use of odd spaces. We bought one, well, er, a less expensive knockoff. Once we actually stacked it with books, we realized how problematic it actually was; it was too heavy to…

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start or refresh your day with ‘katachi’

(Video link here.) We find this stop-motion video by an energizing and heartening view to start or refresh your day. It was made as a music video for Japanese singer-songwriter Shugo Tokumaru to accompany his new song “Katachi”, which means “shape”. We’ve watched it with the sound and without, and would retitle its one-thing-always-comes-from-another imagery as ‘possibility’! via Explore Related…

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diy strapped-together dowel tables

At Design Milk, we came across these cool, full-of-possibilities “Chopped” tables by designer Yuval Tal. They’re made of packs of wooden towels strapped together with a metal ring — no screws or glue needed. We were mulling where to get metal strapping and how to get it tight enough to hold the dowels securely in place,…

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budget reno + life strategy: hire a project consultant

After I had figured out the essential plan of the multi-functional space that was to become my home and ‘the improvised life’s Laboratory, I started bringing friends by to get their opinions and input. I also hired an interior designer to consult for a short time, to consider my ideas, challenge them, add to them,…

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looking beyond the obvious

We found this image at The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things. The commentary said it all: ….they are not merely ignoring the art on the walls, but literally looking beyond those walls….This is intense, curious looking… The square grid-like vent seems congruous with the canvasses of the modern art gallery, and the children are inspired…

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cantilevered homes, chairs, diy, life

Holton Rower spotted this amazing image on henk nouwens flickr. It is titled ‘The Cantilevered Void House’ and accompanied by these words: “Standing immobile throughout the day, these vivid objects, with their fantastic shadows on the wall behind them shifting and elongating hour by hour with the sun’s rotation, exuded a kind of darkness for…

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stress relief: balance breads (+ stones + blocks)

Omar Sosa and Ana Dominguez of Apartamento magazine, with photographer Nacho Alegre, created a series of still-lifes with balancing bread. They’re beautiful, though I’m a little doubtful they are just balanced breads, no pins or stuts anywhere. To my former food-stylist’s eye, they seem, well…. …possibly faked, though it would be fun to get a bunch of breads and try. Nevertheless,…

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