"We Are All Mad Here"

How great is that quote for the movie poster of the remake of Alice in Wonderland?! I can't wait to see it. It was definitely one of my favorite stories when I was a little girl and one of my favorite movies to watch. The tea party cracked me up every time as did Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Maybe I was a little scared by the Queen of Hearts but that didn't stop me from hitting rewind on the VHS tape and watching it again.

Now as an adult, I haven't thought much about the story but the SECOND I saw a teaser for the movie in the theater and then these posters up in my subway station near work the other day. And seriously, these posters are styled to a tee. The colors and patterns and placement. Oh my! Plus it's a Tim Burton film. In 3D!I am taking Matt along for the ride come March when the movie premieres. Love the copy writing for the premiere date. So VERY Alice in Wonderland:

"You are invited to a very important date 3/5/10"

Tobie Giddio: Illustrator

Ahhh, if I could be a gal in this amazing illustrator's, Tobie Giddio, paintings I would be so purposefully decorated. Alerted to her incredible portfolio from our art buyer at work I immediately fell in love with these paintings – the colors, the energy, the silo-ed background. It's all fabulous and something I would love to have on my walls. Checking out her biography, I see she has a beyond well-respected client list (Bergdorf's, Apple, Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, Amy Sedaris' hysterical and helpful book "I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence") and actually sort of looks like the ladies she is painting. As they say, there is a piece of yourself in all of your art.

I wonder if she sells prints...

And I think she has inspired me to do double-time on my Mac-based work tonight so I can break out the paintbrushes tomorrow night.

It's Raining, It's Pouring. I Needed a New Umbrella This Morning.

I know, it's crazy. Talk about global warming. It's 56 degrees outside and raining and it's the end of January. Go figure! The rain this morning did remind me I need to purchase a new umbrella since my 4 year-old wonderfully pink one (never mistaken for the omnipresent black umbrellas that grace the hands of all New Yorkers and all bodega owners) died in a horrible windstorm back in the summer. Sad? Yes. Belated replacement? Much needed. Of course in the winter in the northeast one needn't think about umbrellas since it is always snowing when it is precipitating but alas, Mother Nature had something else in store for us today. And unfortunately Matt's umbrella that I have been borrowing just isn't cutting it. It was tossed backwards at least thrice on my 6 minute walk to the subway and by the last 10 yards of my trek, I gave up.

Alas, my posting about these adorably patterned Marimekko rain stoppers. I am thinking I am going to have to decide on my favorite and make a purchase either at their Upper East Side concept store or via Amazon.

Dress Code.

On my way to work this morning, aside from being jostled by passengers all over my side of the subway car (god help me when I can't get a seat) I was able to maintain a firm grasp on the cold vertical subway pole with my right hand and a borderline firm grasp of my PRINT magazine in my left hand. Embarrassed, I am to say, that it was December's issue because I have been way too busy to read it and thus has collected a bit of dust in the corner of our living room along with some other mags. However, now that I am finished with my book, Born Round (an amazing memoir written by former NY Times Food Critic Frank Bruni), I needed something to read on my commute. Enter PRINT magazine. Not any issue though...dum dah dum (drumroll please)...the regional design annual!

It seriously almost brought me to tears because I realized what incredible work people are doing while I am work designing what I design. I am not complaining, I am just saying. Samples above are from a studio that's featured, Dress Code, who are located in NYC and do some fun work. These pieces above are for a local theatre company called Lightbox Theatre. Check out the rest of their site and the PRINT regional design annual for more.

This is How Busy I am at Work...

I swear, it's that much. And I do apologize. Hopefully everyone else's new year's haven't been this crazy. But perhaps time flying by through the cold winter months is okay? Either way, I will be back and posting next week. I do promise!

~Capturing the Seven

The Breslin.

I know this restaurant opened in the fall, but I am just starting to see visuals of it; specifically in Sam Sifton's review of it in the NY Times yesterday. The Breslin (part of the Ace Hotel here in NYC) had the good luck of being designed by talented duo Roman and Williams. Just a photo of the front of the place with it's typography on its windows made me swoon; nevermind the bright pops of red in their chairs combined with their rustic and wooden delicious all over the place. It might be one of those places I would walk into and say, "Hey, I could live here".

Photos from Joonbug and NY Times.

A Calm Winter's Morning.

I know it's not snowing here (but may be soon or so the weather people say) but had to share this photo I took on Christmas Eve day at Matt's Mom's house. I love the calm and peaceful quality of it. Which is exactly how that morning was when I took it – the calm before the storm of people that would be over later that day for Christmas Eve festivities. There is something I really like about taking pictures of snow, I don't know why. Chalk it up to still having that New England girl in me!

Food Should Taste Good.

Yes, I totally believe that credo and would hope you do too. I mean, afterall, if it doesn't taste good, why eat it? This credo, Food Should Taste Good, is also the name of a new chip brand I have just discovered. The cafeteria at my company is pretty good about having a wide variety of options of healthy food options. This one in particular caught my eye because of the uber clean packaging design. I saw it last week and today decided that as part of my one day a week to eat lunch down in the cafe, I would find the chips and try them out. Sure enough the reason I was able to find them was because of their pretty minimalist design. Each chip has its own rustically drawn illustration of just one chip from the inside.

Another reason I love this brand is because of the equal cleanliness paid to their website. Each chip has some information about it as well as what would be a good pairing spread/dip. And (being the recipe-lover that I am) there are recipes for each.

Props to this small Massachusetts company making healthy snack alternatives in a pleasing package with a great name!

We're All Fans.

Carrie Underwood

LL Cool J

Beyoncé

Walked by an ad for this year's Grammy Awards on the street the other day and am really liking the concept a lot "We're All Fans". If you peer close at each of the posters (one showcasing one nominated artist) it is made up of lots of screen grabs from various websites talking about/showing the artist. Online is a much cooler experience as you can you can actually click on each one and see what the material is and what "fan" it is. Check it out here.

Here We Are...2010!

Welcome to 2010! Can't believe we are already 5 days into this new year and new decade. With the new year, comes lots of new ideas floating around in my head for myself and this blog. By the end of the week I will have a new project to share with you all that I am oh so excited about.

In the meantime, here is a picture I took at Gaudi's Parc Guell in Barcelona. Bet you would never guess that while I was taking this, it was raining and I was huddled under a Gaudi-made "cave" in the park. I love the way the trees were making a perfect frame, the bright yellow umbrella and then the quintessential Spanish cross all the way on the right.