CUP PIES!

I have been in love with the idea of mini "cup" pies ever since I saw the idea on the second season of Pushing Daisies (Have you watched that show? It's off the air now, but it was amazing!). Well, I was not alone. After deciding to make some apple "cup" pies of my own for Thanksgiving, I did some digging and found that these tasty little treats have made the food blogging rounds several times over. I finally settled on a recipe featured on the blog 'Eggs on Sunday' way back in February of 2008. And, if I do say so myself, these little babies were delicious!

Are you looking for something fun and easy to make for a holiday party or just as a weekend treat? These little apple pies are just the thing: small enough that you don't feel guilty, but tasty enough that you feel indulgent! My only suggestion is to make extra filling, since the tiny size means that these are kind of crusty heavy.*

Check out the recipe here.

*Even with the added filling, I still had extra dough which I used to make those little decorative leaves. Cute, no?

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Hello again! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving—I did! I have some photos to share tomorrow of the tasty dessert I made for Thanksgiving dinner, but until then I thought I would tell you about some of the great holiday decorations I picked up while shopping over the weekend.

Perusing the goods at Urban Outfitters is always tough: I hate the music but love their selection of small cheeky gifts, decorations and books. I picked up this great set of 24 multi-colored ornaments for $10! Since I have only just started buying a christmas tree my ornament collection is still pretty small, so this set should be great!

Pick up your own here.

I also stopped by Home Depot; I was planning on just picking up some batteries but I found so much more! There I discovered Martha Stewart's Holiday Collection and, like everything she makes, I was impressed with the unique, quality products for (surprisingly!) reasonable prices. I immediately snatched up a set of these snowflake lights to hang in our apartment window, but I eyed several other styles including these gumdrop-like globe lights. Aren't they cool in an old school way?

Pick up the globe lights for $7.98 here, and the snowflake lights for $10.38 here. See the other Martha Stewart options here.

Oh and because it is 'Cyber Monday' there are some solid coupons for both these sites: spend $75+ at Urban Outfitters and enter the code 'GETSTUFFED' at checkout for free shipping; Home Depot is also offering free shipping (today only) with no minimum purchase. Enjoy!

(p.s. I am going to do a bigger post on Martha Stewart Holiday offerings later this week, so check back in!)

HOLIDAY INSPIRATION

I am headed home to my parents' house today to start the Thanksgiving holiday early. I can't wait!

I thought I would leave you with some newly-discovered shopping inspiration to hold you off through Black Friday until Cyber Monday when I return. Yesterday swissmiss announced she was teaming up with Amazon to bring an online holiday shop full of her favorite things. Since I am constantly referring you to the cool stuff over on swissmiss, this promises to be a-mazing.

Arranged in different categories:

Favorites

Little Ones

Kids' Books

Designers' Books

New Parent Essentials

THE EAMES TOME

Remember when I posted about my ongoing obsession with all things Eames? Well, not surprisingly, it has been rekindled by this video, produced by Gestalten.tv, that tells 'The Story of Eames Furniture.' Interviewing two long-time Eames employees and prominent Eames scholars, Marilyn and John Neuhart, the video highlights their research for their forthcoming book of stories, images, and analysis of 30 years of Eames production. The book, also titled 'The Story of Eames Furniture' looks stunningly beautiful—it comprises 2 volumes, 800 pages and almost 2,500 images. Wow!

You can pick up your own copy of the book over here for (gulp) $125.

(See the original post on Yatzer here.)

CULINARY ARTS

I am starting to get excited for the holiday season: twinkle lights, snow, carols, and, best of all, sweet treats! So when I discovered the portfolio for Maggie Austin Cake, I knew I had to share them with you. How beautiful are these confections? They would be perfect for a small wedding, anniversary party, or big fancy holiday party, no? And everything (even the "oyster" and "pearls") are made using pastry techniques and are edible! Brilliant!

See more at the Maggie Austin Cake website here.

OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE

November 19, 1863. One hundred forty-seven years ago and yet these words still ring so true. Adam Gault has made a beautiful visual representation of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Watch it and note how your jaw drops—it is stunning! It helps that Mitch Rapoport has the perfect voice for narration, especially when it is for a historical subject.

See more of Gault's work in his portfolio here.

(Found via OK Great)

WONDERLAND ROOM

Oh my goodness, I am in love with the Wonderland Room! An Etsy store that sells fun stationery supplies from South Korea this site has everything you could ever possibly want if you are as addicted to paper goods as I am! Seriously, anyone looking for a Christmas present for me: feel free to buy anything (and everything!) included above!

Check it out here, because I can guarantee you will find something to drool over!

AS THE WORLD HANGS?

I spotted this incredible chandelier made out of vintage globes made by Benoit Vieubled on Black*Eiffel yesterday and I swooned. It's so awesome I can't stand it! It reminds me of the illuminated globe I bought last year and totally suits my ongoing obsession with all things cartographic (see here and here).

See the Black*Eiffel post here and the Vieubled website here.

ALLAN PETERS GOES TO THE STATE FAIR

Question: How incredibly clever are these posters designed for the Minnesota State Fair by graphic designer Allan Peters?

Answer: Super super clever.

Poking fun at the fact that everything is served deep fried and on a stick at state fairs, Peters decided to put his posters on a sticks too! Not only do they represent a great design idea, they make good fans too!

Check out the original post, from the blog OK Great, here and Allan Peters site (filled with lots of other great stuff) here.

p.s. Don't these remind you of this great stuff?

DIGITAL DJ

Okay, this may be the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. Last week Yatzer did a feature on Gregory 'Gerg' Kaufman's Senior Project (he recently got his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute): a digital DJ table. As Yatzer puts it:

"As a DJ himself, he saw an opportunity to make a change that would drastically influence DJing by not only thinking about the tool but also the logistics of owning and transporting the equipment. He found the process of DJing cumbersome and inefficient as DJs must go through an arduous process of preparing and transporting the equipment. Heavy, bulky, expensive and tedious are the tasks of set up and tear down. There is also the risk of dropping and damaging the equipment as you move back and forth between venues. Gerg saw an opportunity to consolidate these obstacles by developing and designing a digital DJ turntable.

He studied not only the logistics of purchasing and transporting, but also the facets of tactile behaviors that come with DJing. Gerg worked arduously considering the physical and emotional connection the DJ must have with equipment and audience. He developed a digital interface on a flat screen that will allow DJs to have more control and a more fluid process with their passion. Understanding the difficulty of not having the dimensional and tactile qualities of the turntables, Gerg designed a series of gestural interactions to compensate for not having dimensional parts. This clever solution allows the DJ to maintain his/her current integration with the music and the audience."

Enough said, right? Watch the video to see this beauty in action. Seriously, watch the video. It's really really cool. All of the sudden I have this urge to hit the clubs and spin some (digital) vinyl! It doesn't hurt that Gerg's design is both practical and stunningly beautiful . . .

Check out his other (equally awesome) work in his portfolio here, and see the original article on Yatzer (complete with Gerg's super cool planning sketches) here.

(All images courtesy of Gerg, via Yatzer)

CIRCLES, SQUARES AND SEQUENCE . . . OH MY!

I discovered this cool stop motion animation by designer and art director Juliana Goodman and thought it would be a bright way to welcome the weekend. Hope you like it!

(Found via the Kate Spade inspiration board here . . . a post on that to come soon!)

COLORWHEEL WATCH

I love bright colors, especially color wheels. It is no surprise then that I own (and love!) the first watch included in this post. The Metropolitan Museum Shop has a fabulous collection of colorful watches, including the magic watch (top, $55) and magic twist watch (bottom, $55).

Well I just discovered three more beautiful color watches designed by the company 'Twelve'. For some reason I can't find a website for them, but it looks like you can buy all of these color wheel watches here (in bulk?) for $40. Enjoy!

MEASURE UP

In my apartment, when figuring how many teaspoons fit into a cup, I use these conversion magnets. But wouldn't it be cool to have the lovely poster hanging on your kitchen wall instead? I love the color, font, design and, at $30, even the price.

Check it out (in several more colors!) at the Etsy store SweetFineDay here.

No wall space? How about a conversion chart printed on your apron? This one cleverly has the chart printed upside down, so you read it while you are wearing it! Smart!

Get your own (also in more colors), for $18.95, at the Etsy store Distinctgraphicz here.

Now let's get to baking!

IDEAL BOOKSHELF

I have been wanting to do a book wishlist post for a while, but I was having trouble finding a widget that made my picks look cool enough (and not like a long boring list!). Well, not surprisingly, Amazon had just the thing: the carousel!

You can use the arrows below each carousel to scroll through my choices (click and hold) and you can click on the book cover to get its price and information. You can obviously find all of these books in many, many other bookstores, but it was easiest to send you to one place. So, without further ado, I present to you my Ideal Bookshelf . . . just in time for the start of the holiday season! Perhaps there's something you might like to find under the tree (or menorah, or whatever you use to celebrate . . . ) yourself? Let me know in the comments!

left to right:

Art & Design Wishlist

Fiction & Nonfiction Wishlist

Gift Guide (standby favorites to give to friends & family)

p.s. Can I add this, this and this to the wishlist too?

GIFTED MAGAZINE

This weekend I discovered a new online design magazine: Gifted. Brought to you by Creature Comforts, it has a 100+ pages of major inspiration! I found myself drooling over each and every spread and I now have about 10 crafty projects on my 'to do' list. Seriously, this mag is awesome!

I particularly love the fact that, since the magazine is digital, you can click through to shop links all while you are reading. Super cool.

Do yourself a favor and check it out the Creature Comforts site here.

BLANCA GOMEZ

It seems everyone is in love with the illustrations of Blanca Gómez. And with good reason! Everything she creates is perfectly playful, brightly colored, and just plain fun!

I love the new additions to her Etsy shop. How cute is that heart thought bubble? I think it would look fabulous hung over a bed . . . The best part? Most of the above prints are only $22-$30!

Check out the goodness here (and more in her portfolio here!).

(Happy Weekend!)