Book List

Ok, here's the truth: I only read one book this month. One! I know, it's positively shocking. I don't think that has happened to me since... finals month of my sophomore year of college? And similarly to that era, the reason stems from my coursework this semester completely gobbling up all of my free time and then coming back for seconds. The lack of escapist reading in my life of late is positively palpable. So due to this dramatic shortage, I am going to postpone my lonely little review and add it in to the Month In Books post for December.

However, I can't not leave you with at least a little literary inspiration for the end of the month! The New York times recently published their "100 Notable Books of 2010," and there were more than a few titles of definite interest. Here are four that are somewhere near the top of my to-read list:

Great House by Nicole Krauss
Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Made Me Laugh

Haha! This illustration by Daniela Henríquez is just great.

Via MeepMeepMeep.

Fake Fruit

This might be the most amazing video I have seen in ages, much less an advertisement. CGI artist Alex Roman created this entire video on the computer, which means that none of the items depicted -- the fruit, vegetables, crystals, counters, nothing-- were ever real, physical objects. Isn't that incredible?! I'm usually able to tell when I'm looking at CGI on screen, but this video has upped the ante more than I thought possible.

Via The Awesomer.

Monday Inspiration

Photograph by Ekaterina Grigorieva.

Bloom Vase

Utterly creative Bloom Vase by Meirav Barzilay. The design is made of rust, so it changes as the vase is used and exposed to water.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a marvelous holiday, filled with sweet faces, delicious aromas, and multiple helpings of excellent conversation.

*liza

Photo from le sexisme.

Cello Dress

This dress made me smile (her too!).

Looking Ahead

I'm a little in love with the work of Flora Douville. Watercolors, photography, illustrations - it's all pretty amazing. Her work has a tranquil quality to it that is consistently appealing to me. Thus my excitement for her new 2011 calendar. Each month is a like a dreamy jewel.

Warm Paws

Toasty-looking Fingerless Gloves by Little Love .

It's the Weekend!

I hope yours is splendid.

See you on Monday,
*liza

Image via bebe le strange.

Taking Flight

A Gust of Wind by Paul Cocksedge Studio for the London Design Festival 2010. Those are pieces of engraved Corian, all of which were ultimately given away to be used as paper trays after one day of display at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Breathtaking.

Via Dezeen.

This Dress

It would be kind of hard to not want to wear it every single day.

Available here, along with the equally lovable shirt.

Well, Hello There

By Kate.

Literary Sweaters

Out of Print, everyone's favorite store for bookish t-shirts, has fleecy sweatshirts in stock! I like the oatmealy color of Catcher in the Rye, but oh, 1984. 1984! That's some pretty powerful stuff to pair with your jeans. So in other words, yes, this is most certainly on my wish list.

From Flickr

Air in the Branches


Liloolohn


*Neëst*


Svimmel


Joshua Heineman


Cardboard Antlers

Strong lines, hazy palettes, and some rather fantastical interpretations of fauna.

Personal Pie Maker

Williams Sonoma, get out of my dreams and into my car. No really, these dreams of apple-rhubarb aren't going to bake themselves and suddenly tiny pies are the only acceptable form for consumption (or cup-pies, for any fellow Pushing Daisies lovers out there).

Via The Daily What.

Simplicity

A lovely, delicate necklace by Sunken Treasure.

Pixel Furniture

Well this definitely brightened up my morning -- crazy, color-saturated furniture by Christian Zuzunaga. I wish I could see it in someone's living room. He gets the patterns by zooming in on cityscapes until the image has broken down into pixels. I wonder if/hope he includes the source photograph with each piece so you know where the design is coming from.

Via Trendland.

Have a Lovely Weekend

The next couple weeks are going to be a bit of balancing act for me. On one side, I have marvelous things to look forward to: Corbett coming into town, us traveling to Annapolis to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and cooking some pretty delicious things. On the other, all of my final papers and projects are due the week right after Thanksgiving. While I'm not behind on anything per say, the mere volume of work I have left to do feels just shy of a deluge. Try as I might to stay collected, I can feel the stress of it all start to settle in my bones, making my joints creak even more than normal. Kind of icky, no?

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that posting might a little light over the next two weeks. I'm still going to post every weekday, but it might be little more photo-centric and a little less wordy than usual.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you on Monday.
*liza

Photo via weheartit.

Canadian Animal Series

Simply great paper animals by Lawrie McIntosh. The original design (made in vinyl) won a Canadian souvenir competition sponsored by the province of Manitoba, and this series marks the 50th anniversary of the award. You can learn more about the series and even purchase the .pdf to print these creatures out and fold them yourself here. Isn't the coloring on the buffalo spot-on?

Via notcot.

Mesmerized

This t-shirt is just fantastic. Those eyes!

Shoe Crush

Seems like I'm a little footwear obsessed today... or everyday, if we're truly being honest here. Although, can you really blame me after seeing these selections from Sophie Gittins' Fall 2010 collection? I love the mix of textures and materials she applied to each design-- patent and suede, lace and metallic leather. And as if I needed another reason for these to be utterly fantasy-worthy (other than, you know, price and the ability to actually walk more than five steps in those heels), Gittins drew her inspiration from the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Luxurious, sexy, and a hint of architectural intellectualism? That's so good, it's almost absurd.

From top to bottom: Mabel, Honeycomb, and Chicago.

Via R-A-W Shoes (which has some seriously great stuff).

Cheerful Socks

Aren't these great? I love bright socks.

Both pairs via Happy Socks.

Moustaches Make a Difference

Clever before-and-after ads from TBWA/Singapore to raise awareness for prostate cancer research.

Via Design You Trust.

David Marmota

I can't remember how I came across the work of David Marmota (thanks internet!), but I have been ogling his Flickr for a while and keep coming across little treasures. It was practically impossible to choose a favorite, but ultimately I keep coming back to these scaly collages. They are reconstructions of landscape photographs from a Spanish travel guide. The process shot below speaks of the meticulous nature of the project, and I love how puzzle-like it is.

Pie Contender

Wow. This apple and sour cherry pie looks so good I almost don't know what to do with myself. After looking at the calendar and realizing that Thanksgiving is a mere three weeks away (yes! and yikes!), I have started to amass even more recipes than normal in preparation. Pumpkin pie is definitely the headliner on this holiday for me, but after seeing this recipe, perhaps it could use a supporting cast member? Especially one that has a crumb topping? This is a legitimate cause and not just another means for procrastination, I swear!

More photographs and the recipe at Everybody Likes Sandwiches.