Forgive me if I am a little distracted today but we leave for Jazz Fest in New Orleans tomorrow and I am so excited I can’t focus! I’m looking forward to soaking up the New Orleans vibe, hearing some funky beats and gobbling up some tasty treats!

Things I want to see, eat and hear in no particular order:

Stevie Wonder, Crawfish Monica, Kermit Ruffins, Beignets, Po’boys, Muffuletta Sandwich, John Butler Trio, The Gospel Tent and maybe this guy! If you have any suggestions for a New Orleans newbie please comment!

(thanks to photographer Monica L. Shulman for letting me use your photo’s!)

Beadiful jewelry designer Catherine Howe has succeeded in making beautiful and substantial looking designs using luminous Swarovski crystals and brightly colored gem stones. I really like the combo of the thick gold chain with chunky rose quartz on this necklace, its sweet but strong at the same time. Also don’t miss the Beadiful bracelets, earrings and her Swarovski crystal blingy rings wrapped in 14k gold or silver. All her of jewelry is available customized. If you live in the Boston area look out for her Trunk Show at Splash Spa located in The Sports Club LA on April 29th from 5-8PM.

These photo albums from IF’N Books + Marks with illustrations by artist Jen Corace might be cute enough to inspire me to finally organize my photo’s. $36 each. Also don’t miss her fun journals. Each limited edition journal has hand screen-printed covers with thick Italian paper and sturdy spines. Each one is part of a limited edition of 500. I think I need the pirate journal. $24 each.

Design*Sponge recently featured artist Lisa Congdon’s delicious kitchen. Lisa’s kitchen is filled with her collection of vintage kitchen wares in bright pops of color and she shared some clever and inexpensive design ideas from frosting her windows to a creative display of plates. This adorable paper cuckoo clock caught my eye immediately. From Etsy seller DecoyLab, the clock is available in limited colors for a very reasonable $28.00.

Fancy schmancy metallic leather change purses from Anya Hindmarch for Mother’s Day. With sayings like “Mom’s Money” and “Mom’s Bits & Bobs” or you can create your own custom message. My Mom is one of the few people I know who still saves all of her receipts and uses them to balance her checkbook every week. She could use one of these glamorous purses to help keep her receipts from getting lost in the depths of her purse (like mother, like daughter). £78.00 lb’s = $156.

I’ve been a busy bee lately and have found it’s hard to keep up with all the things I want to share with you. I’ll keep my blurbs short and sweet so you and I can both enjoy these finds.

I love these mixed media on plywood pieces from Berkeley, CA artist Sheila Metcalf Tobin. Check her etsy shop for availability:

Orfeo an online boutique based in London has an assortment of adorable items for kids from around the world. Here are some yummy hand crochet bits and baubles from designer Anne-Claire Petit.

In honor of Earth Day, love a tree today with this “Save a Tree for Me” limited edition print by Camilla Engman. Printed on 100% post-consumer paper with soy-based inks it’s available at one of my favorite LA shops, Reform School Rules for only $35 buckaroos.

Feminine and sweet ceramics from Laura Blumenthal:

Sigh* I love these dainty letterpress cards from Satsuma Press:

Banana? Nope, a necklace with vintage beads rescued from a 1950’s broach by PetitOiseau:

Three crafty ladies make up The Cupcake Girls. These fabric covered acorn key rings are their latest creation:

I love this mumm printed wall sconce from Design Public. The shade is silk and comes in a variety of cheery patterns. When we bought our house, the seller had installed all new light fixtures. Unfortunately he bought the Home Depot generic special so over time I want to replace all of them, but you’d be amazed how expensive new lighting can be. In our living room he installed these faux alabaster 1/2 shell looking sconces. They’re nice and we can totally live with them, but these are much more my style! $110-$150 depending on size.

I recently convinced the hubs that we needed to upgrade our second-hand Urban Ore kitchen table - I promised it would be the only thing I put on the credit card and I would pay it off in 6 months (wish me luck with that). I decided on this beauty from Sundance and I waited until it was 20% off so I got a decent deal on it (yes that is me still justifying my purchase). Unfortunately it doesn’t look right with the Depot chandelier over it so of course that means we need a new kitchen light.

Any one of these ceiling lights from Rejuvenation, the amazing repro lighting company, would look fab over this retro table and would be a nice addition to our future remodeled kitchen.

I’m digging these linen hand drawn silk-screened pillows and lamp shades from Garnish Studio (a fellow Aeolidia designed website). The symmetrical prints in cool colors are modern and would look great in a West Elm inspired home. Using her background in art, designer Dana Killion launched Garnish to offer an alternative to the boring old white lamp shade. I really like the addition of color coordinated tassels to her pillows, it gives them just a touch of whimsy. Her organic designs remind me of Karl Blossfeldt’s abstract and elegant photographs of plant parts.

Aren’t these fun necklaces by jewelry designer Donna Macayza!? Inspired by the shells and stones she collected on the beaches of Lima as a child, Donna has created a colorful and bold jewelry collection. Now living in NYC, the multi-lingual designer hand crafts each piece using vintage lucite beads, semi-precious stones, sterling silver and vintage gold chain. My faves are these large wire wrapped blue quartz necklaces. This is most likely because my sweets addicted self thinks they look like blueberry flavored lollipops!

One of the things I miss the most about our years living in San Francisco was meandering home from work, up and over the hills, to our apartment below Russian Hill. I loved the discovery of a new boutique on Polk, taking a peek at the menu for the latest hipster restaurant on Hayes or stopping into a little sweet shop on Union for a before dinner treat. So last week I came up with a plan. The hubs and I commute home together, so instead of waiting around for him I decided to get a head start and walk in the general direction of the Golden Gate Bridge and he could pick me up wherever I ended up.

This plan led to the best SF discovery I’ve had in awhile, the design boutique Eden & Eden! As soon as I turned the enormous antique doorknob to enter I felt a wave of awe fill my soul. I was like a kid in a candy store, oohing and awing over the ferm Living wallpaper, the stunning Ivana Helsinki clothing and bags, colorful Antoni & Alison cashmere sweaters and my new favorite, People Will Always Need Plates witty mugs and of course plates. The shop has a real international vibe, due to owner Rachel’s British beginnings. There are items from Denmark, Finland and the UK all displayed with the sophisticated eye of a curator. On the Eden & Eden website they have made a select few goodies available for purchase which gives a sense of the diversity and the quirky personality of the shop. Rachel could not have been more kind or easy to talk to, in fact I think I talked her ear off!

If you like what you see at the shop, Rachel and Christiane from ferm Living have joined forces to offer design consulting. I would love to hire an interior designer but have often been intimidated by the thought that a designers taste might take over and my home wouldn’t feel like mine anymore. I was happy to hear Rachel talk about their low-key design services, often reusing items you already own to revise a room or an entire house. It is truly a pleasure to visit this unique boutique, if you live in San Francisco or come visit don’t miss Eden & Eden! Located at 560 Jackson Street at the base of Columbus Ave in North Beach.

Here are some snaps Rachel graciously allowed me to take on my last visit.

It turns out the hubs is not invincible after all. He had minor surgery yesterday to remove his appendix. His pain started on Thursday when we were up in Napa. He was in so much pain by Friday that he went to the DR who ruled out appendicitis because his pain was not in the lower right quadrant of his abdomen. By Saturday he was barely able to get off the couch and we spent the day calling all the DR’s and nurses in our families and researching online. Early Sunday we decided it was time to head to the ER.

After a CAT scan it was definitive, he had appendicitis and was going to have surgery. It turned out his appendix, for whatever reason wasn’t in the normal spot so they missed it on the initial exam. Neither one of us has ever had surgery or been admitted to a hospital so I was surprised that I felt scared. My fear came out in the strangest way though, I got the giggles! I felt bad that every time the DR came in to talk to the hubs I had to stifle my laughter.

The surgery only took about 45 minutes and went great. Turns out his appendix was super infected and was on the verge of bursting so it was a good thing they took it out when they did. He’s still in quite a bit of pain but they are taking really good care of him ie. lots of pain meds. I have to say our experience at Kaiser overall has been really positive. But I’ll be glad to take the hubs home tomorrow.

Back at work today after playing hooky yesterday. The hubs had a business conference at The Carneros Inn up in Napa and the client put us up for two nights. It was swanky! We had our own little cottage, with a private deck, a heat lamp and an outdoor shower! I knew he’d be in meetings all day so I made a massage appointment in the morning at their amazing spa and then after some cheese for breakfast (yum!), I made my way to the pool for a long lazy day of swimming and sunning. The Inn is surrounded by vineyards and at times I felt like I might have been in Greece or Italy. It is such a beautiful setting, and surprisingly private. I would highly recommend splurging for a romantic get away up there. I can’t wait to go back, better start saving my dough.

Good morning lovely ladies and gents! I spotted these gorgeous silk, cashmere and cotton dresses from the French boutique Les Petites on my new favorite French/American blog Chic City Rats. I need somewhere to wear that cashmere dress with the pleats, il est si sexy et à la mode! (thanks Babel Fish for making me sound French).

I recently had the realization that my international web window shopping is getting a little pricey. Alas, I’m not buying anything, just enjoying the view….for now.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw these beautiful Louise Body designs. Her cushions just slayed me. The hand painted details on vintage fabric with dainty birds on one side and rich brocade on the other, oh so pretty! Her wallpaper kills me too, so Palace of Versailles circa Marie Antoinette. Have you seen the Sofia Coppola movie by the way? The set design was breathtaking! These cushions are about $120 each.

I have fallen in love with illustrator Sanna Annukka and her Maidens of the Midnight Sun. I was browsing Finnish design on FashionFinland when I stumbled upon her screen prints. Her images combine bright colors and the intricate patterns associated with Russian folk art and the purity and symmetry of Scandinavian design.

Sanna spent her childhood exploring the arctic rivers and forests of Finland and her love of nature is evident in her designs. Influenced by Finland’s national collection of folklore songs called the Kalevala, she started making silkscreen prints of different scenes and characters from these songs. You may purchase from her directly or in the U.S. at Rose & Radish. I have already told the hubs to line one up for my Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary gift!

Remember these gorgeous interior collages from artist Stephanie Levy? Well I’ve just been notified that Stephanie launched an Etsy shop, so it’s now even easier to purchase her designs. Stephanie also started her own design blog where she shares her unique perspective of an American living in Munich, Germany.

Here’s a snap of the framed artwork by Stephanie that the hubs bought me for my birthday last December. If you live in the Bay Area and need something framed, my framer is extraordinary. Her specialty is the double mat with a painted beveled edge, she takes any work of art and elevates it to a masterpiece. Email me if you want her info: larkyn@gmail.com.

Love Friday’s. I am drinking the most amazing coffee from the little Italian coffee window that just opened up two doors down from my office, browsing Etsy and listening to Bon Iver’s album “For Emma, Forever Ago”. I can’t get enough of his song “Skinny Love. It’s the perfect morning album to ease into the day. Here are some pretty Etsy items to brighten your day.

Sketchbook springtime handbags, hand crafted from wool, linen, cotton and leather:

From her cottage in England Alice Apple crafts sweet treats like these stuffed dogs and pigs made with vintage fabrics:

Loveage these shrinky dink rings from Broken Fingers Art, outta Vermont:

Continuing my worldly wandering shopping spree, here are some lovely French products by Atelier R. Bernier available through the Sydney, Australia shop Lola et Moi.

I’ll be shopping the world today via the hip Berlin shop O.K. Featuring everyday objects from around the world, most items are usually only found in their original markets and can’t be purchased elsewhere. O.K. has brought a variety of fun items to their online shop and, to be fair, sells them for the price you would pay if you bought an item from a street vendor in Taipei–pretty cool concept. You gotta love the dramatic scenes on the Mexican soaps. Get it? Dramatic Mexican Soaps! Ha ha ha!

(via Set Design Thinking)

I am longing for one of these magical drawings from the mind of artist Mel Kadel. When I first saw her drawings they reminded me of the illustrations by Shel Silverstein in Where the Sidewalk Ends, one of my favorite childhood books. Then I read that she grew up in Harrisburg, PA, where my siblings and I spent some of our most imaginative family vacations, which made me feel even more of a connection to her work. Grandma Helen and Grandpa Doc lived in a spooky but very cool penthouse apartment overlooking the Susquehanna River. I don’t remember watching television on our visits, but who needs one with Grandma Helen acting out poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends and Grandpa Doc’s medical offices to explore downstairs! This might sound strange but as 6,7, 9 and 10 year olds, it was heaven. There is something really sweet and a little bit dark about these pieces that reminds me of the fantasy world we created for ourselves in that apartment on Front Street. For Sale at Richard Heller Gallery.

GORGEOUS pebble rings from Australian jewelry designer Djurdjica Kesic. He says: “This ring series reflects interest in exploring the notion of preciousness within the seemingly non-valuable. The rarity of the material is not any longer the defining aspect that renders the object precious.” Contact Djurdjica for information on how to purchase.

I’m not really a leather cuff wearing kind of gal but there is something really delicate about these leather studded wristbands by Tracey Tanner that have changed my mind. Tracey started her leather accessories biz with the idea of making items she would like for herself and luckily others want them now too. Check out her line of distressed leather bags and wallets all hand made in her Los Angeles studio.