A Beautiful Eye Indeed -- Bell'occhio

I should be outdoors gardening today and here I am feeling guilty about not blogging for such a long time. My, how working gets in the way of things. Oh well, Happy Spring.

In today's T section of the NYTimes there is a one page spread on the store Bell'occhio in San Francisco. Meaning "beautiful eye" in Italian, it's a concept store with items ranging from a few dollars to thousands. Wonderful housewares, paper, ribbon. All sorts of goodies. And a rather whimsically written online store. Lots of clever boxes in an array of dreamy colors like the one above $24). The "Lavandiere Chapeaux, below, is so cool because it ties around your head and eliminates the inevitable falling off problem. ($48-$64)



I would gladly add this leafy ribbon to my ever-expanding ribbon collection. Great for wrapping gifts for gardeners. ($3 per yard)

This long handled goat hair duster would certainly encourage cleanliness. But I might not want to get it dirty. ($48)

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SONG -- Not Your Everyday Calendar

Actually SONG is precisely an every day calendar. What was I thinking.

.I was having lunch in a very crowded RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT yesterday when a woman sat down and pulled out her calendar. Its distinct shape reminded me that it was time to give Jan a nudge and get some images for my blog. My friends Jan & Peter have come out with their 16th (?) annual Calendar in a Can(nister). This year the theme is SONG. They are the talent behind Cummings & Good a graphic design firm. Each month of this limited edition calendar has art, often by Jan or Peter, that is thematically related to SONG. There are quotes -- on topic of course. A full sized image from the month of April can be seen here, but I'm not willing to anger the blogspot demons by trying to post it. The unusual format of the calendar takes a bit of getting used to (more on that later), but its distinct shape means it's really easy to find a place to hang it. Back to the format. The weekends are always a different color than the weekdays, so once you get accustomed to that little tidbit, you'll be much closer to knowing where to look. I pass this on, because it took me years to figure that out. It's available on the C&G website, at the aforementioned RJ Julia and at Landis Gifts and Stationery in Los Angeles. Note: The introduction to the calendar, is a charming poem by their son Justin, and quite the departure from past years.

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