My Favourite Family Blogs

Lately, I've been looking at blogs (literally, I can't read my two present favourites as they're in Spanish and Finnish). I adore the family style, decor sense and DIY projects on these blogs (thank goodness for Google Translate when I just have to know where something came from or how to make it). You can check them out here:

• Varpunen
• Con Botas de Agua

Images via Varpunen and Con Botas de Agua.

Pinterest

How do you organize your Pinterest account? I categorize my finds by the sense (sight, touch, smell, taste, sound) that finds the image most appealing. I'd love it if you checked out my pins! xo

P.S. Here are some of my favourite pinners:

• Kate Spade New York
• Oh Joy
• Wit & Delight

Tomboy

Right now, I'm loving this Annie Hall-esque blog. Kathrine Hepburn would have been a subscriber, no doubt. It makes me want to borrow my husband's man satchel and gold watch. Image via Tomboy Style.

Font

Have a favourite website but loathe its font? Now you don't have to settle for less than ideal typography in all your web adventures. FontFonter allows you to view any website in the font of your choice. How fun!

Varpuen

Great design and motherhood? Check out Varpuren for some amazing photos if you're interested in both (and want to practice your Finnish). xo I'm so excited about having found this blog after "meeting" this family via Dwell a few months back.

Classifieds

If you have a one-in-one-out policy (like I am trying to implement - meaning if I buy something, I have to donate/sell something else - ideally if I buy a sweater, I have to donate a sweater to the Good Will), this guide should help when trying to sell furniture online. Via Lunch Breath.

Information

As someone who is constantly dissecting new topics and distilling them down, and drafting positioning on such topics (as part of my day job, naturally), I love to explore new ways to help people learn and take in information. I have found a wonderful website that mirrors this love: Information is beautiful. Aren't these illustrations wonderful? I could spend hours on this website. Seriously.

Flash

Isn't this Dead Drops project cool? Dead Drops is a project by Aram Bartholl (above) in Berlin. Dead Drops is an anonymous, offline peer-to-peer file-sharing network. USB flash drives are injected throughout town and passersby drop or upload files found on the dead drop. I think someone should make one in St. John's! I'm so curious about what types of files are being shared. It seems like the 2010 version of a message in a bottle to me. Images via SwissMiss.

Svpply

I have exciting news, my lovelies - I've been invited to share my favourite must-have items on Svpply. The site is a great place to promote your favourite entrepreneurs and bookmark your favourite retail items (you can read more about it here, if curious). I'll be continuing to add to my favourites in the coming days (including my favourite horizontal striped items, naturally!).

Hotels

One of my favourite things to do when staying in hotels is to sit in the big windows and drink in the city skyline. Greg's in Ottawa for business this week, and I know that if I was accompanying him, I'd be doing that right now. Images via Noukka Signe and Alice.

Speaking of things people do in hotels, my brother-in-law, Chris, started this website a few years back - cool idea huh? Legend has it, the idea to compile photos of people jumping on hotel beds came from noticing how many photos people upload those sorts of photos on Flickr. Do jump on beds in hotels?

Rue

Our magazines have gone virtual. How do you feel about it? Following the cancellation of Domino and Gourmet, a rise in the online 'zine has occurred. I borrowed so many ideas from Nonpareil magazine when planning our wedding. The newest kid on the block? Rue. I'm a fan after issue #1. Image via Rue.

P.S. Rue's about us section is beyond cute.

Wordle

My blog, Horizontal Stripes, as depicted by Wordle. Fun!

Roving

Everything showcased on These Roving Eyes makes me hungry. My must-cook list in the next few weeks includes coconut curry shrimp dipped in marmalade, endive and smoked salmon with chives, and double-baked egg potatoes with aged cheddar. Somehow each course presented seems so lush and delectable, yet attainable (perhaps due to the fact that no recipes are cited online!). All photos via These Roving Eyes.

Sequins

In an effort to constructively indulge my luxurious whims, I've launched Sequins - my glamourous alter ego blog. It's the Vogue to Horizontal Stripes' Real Simple. Image via Fashionising.

Inspiration

I admit it; I have taken inspiration from absolutely EVERYONE in planning our wedding. We decide to forgo a wedding planner (including even a day-of-coordinator) and instead have planned every inch of our day ourselves (well, with the help of many generous family members and friends, that is) by borrowing from the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings and a short list of wedding style blogs. Our day will be a celebration of our love accented by the culmination of everything beautiful I've seen on the web since our engagement.

This fake wedding left me with tonnes of ideas!

Kara Underwood and Michael Gordon got me to thinking about a 'paper concept'.

Cory and Chris threw my 'paper concept' into over drive.

Mike and Michonne's wedding offered me the perfect project to combine something special from both sides of our family.

And finally, Grace Bonney and Aaron Coles's Savannah day truly converted me to a DIY bride (watch for our similar favours decorated with buttons from the Busy Beaver Button Co).

Monaco

This little lady is completely excited that Club Monaco now offers online personal shopping! Image via Models.

Buttons

I am pleased to see how wonderfully some of our wedding buttons turned out. I recommend Busy Beaver Button Co. if you're looking for fabric covered buttons for your next project. Image via Busy Beaver Button Co.

Nonpareil

Nonpareil Magazine has launched, and it is delightful. These favour boxes have me particularly smitten.

Apple

Over lunch today, a friend who I too infrequently see, Karen, shared a great company for work and play dresses. I am looking forward to adding a few frocks for the office and our honeymoon! These dresses scream romance in London and Paris (at least to me). Images via Shabby Apple. Thanks for sharing, Karen!

Library

While living in Edmonton last year, I regularly visited the library and devoured books at the rate of about one a week. I thoroughly enjoyed spending my lunch hours combing the stacks for a tantalizing read. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle stands out as one of my favourites from that period (I've long loved his work which was spurred by reading The Woman Who Walked Into Doors in the twelfth grade). Now that we're living in St. John's, I haven't made much time to read, let alone to get a library card. Shame on me... particularly as there is a library within walking distance from my office here as well. My commute is now car based, not train based, so reading on the way to work is a luxury I've foregone. I miss it.

In thinking about the forthcoming new year, I must read more. Cereal boxes and Globe and Mail headlines barely count. That I spend a large chuck of my work day reading is besides the point - reading for pleasure is a luxury that I need to fight for. I'm back on to my plan of reading one book per week. Here's to starting New Years' Resolutions early!

Speaking of which, this great overdue book calendar makes my day. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the web these days, and all its expectations of me, so writing with a pen, and noting my schedule that way, seems quite refreshing.