RANDOM THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, VOLUME ONE

As Rebecca Black says, it's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!So I am going down by sharing all the random fun things I have picked up recently but haven't gotten around to posting. I think this will be a new column (posted very randomly, as is only appropriate, ha ha) that I hope will make you as happy as it makes me. Without further ado . . . ONE > Recently during Paris Fashion Week famous supermodels Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) walked the runways and took some epic selfies promoting their eagerly awaited sequel to Zoolander, out in 2016.TWO > I am majorly in love these page flags that turn the edge of your book into a monster showdown in the sky. (Bonus! They also have regular city skylines, forests, deserts and many other scenes).THREE > The cards and prints in the Etsy shop Hooray Today are cute and colorful in equal measure—my kind of store!FOUR > Every slim chic woman of a certain in the city seems have a cool tote for their yoga mat. This adjustable suspender tote by Mimot strikes just the right balance between functionality and fun. Love it!  FIVE > Maps. Rainbow colors. Clean typography. Killer graphic design. English Muffin Shop is definitely worth bookmarking. (Plus, that name! How can you resist?)SIX >  Since its inception several years ago I have been a major fan of Kate Spade's spunky sidekick endeavor 'Saturday'. Popping into their online shop recently I fell into major love with this bright, brushy print.
I would love to hear what random things make you happy in the comments. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

GUILTY PLEASURES

Happy New Year! How was your holiday? I spent the majority of it alternating between bouts of rolling around in the snow, bingeing on sugar, reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, cuddling my hubby and napping. Guilty pleasures all around. Isn't that what the holidays are for?!

I am back in action here in New York and excited for 2015! I am planning to share some goals with you (as I did last year here) shortly, but in the meantime wanted to indulge in one last guilty pleasure: Pitch Perfect! I watched the original (more info on it here) with my in-laws recently and they loved it. It's total brain candy but who cares. It's fun! I was so psyched to hear that they were doing a remake. Bring back Fat Amy Fat Patricia!!!

Learn more about the sequel here.

What's your guilty pleasure?

LOW BATTERY: BIG HERO SIX

Geez, this month has been crazy! This week is literally the first week since the beginning of October that I don't have two to three deadlines on the imminent horizon. I am beat!

As a little treat—and to help recharge my low battery—I went to see Big Hero Six yesterday with my hubby and some friends. It was great! Very well done all around, even though it is typical Disney with some very teary parts thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend you see it; it's fun for all ages. (This scene, for instance, had the adults in the theater absolutely dying with laughter.)

Meanwhile, if you need me I will be lazing about in my pajamas today, taking a break from the real world for a little while longer. :)

MALKOVICH, OH MY!

How funny is this project? Undertaken by photographer Sandro Miller, it features a restaging of countless historical photographs that have inspired him over the years with one important twist—the subject is now actor John Malkovich! Hilarious! As a history of photography nerd and someone who appreciates silly humor, this series had me smiling ear to ear.

Check out the whole project (and more) here.

(thanks to My Modern Met for the tip)

FEDERICO BABINA ROCKS

I just stumbled across the design work and illustration of artist Federico Babina. He has created several different poster series (on sale in his shop here), but my favorites are his "Archicine" works—posters featuring bold renderings of iconic buildings from classic movies—and his "Archist" works—posters that transform buildings into stylistic embodiments of the work of famous artists.

The Warhol and Fontana posters are my favorite (so dead on!). What are yours?See more on his website here.
p.s. Like colorful minimalist posters? So do I! Exhibit A, B, C, D, E, F, G . . . the list could go on and on. Go exploring in the archives (search box at right) and I guarantee you will find something fun. :) 
(thanks to Feel Desain and Dezeen for the tips)  

WES ANDERSON IS OCD

Have you seen the new Wes Anderson movie 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'? I love, love, loved Moonrise Kingdom and the trailer for this new film looked enchanting too.

(By the way I have a new theory about the luscious 'look' of Anderson movies and why art nerds like me adore them: every second looks like it has gone through a perfect instagram filter! Basically my dream world!)

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Grand Budapest and really enjoyed it. The sets were gorgeous (that pink box scene!) and there were lots of perfect moments of dry Anderson wit thrown in there too. So, when I got home after the movie, I decided to do some research on the movie and was surprised to see just how many people are talking about Anderson these days.

Basically, everyone thinks he's an obsessive compulsive mad genius dictator, they just won't come out and say it.

Why? Let me break it down . . .

HAPPY WEEKEND!

I have a crush on Brian Williams and, since I currently own this, I think it's fair to say I love this song. With that in mind, this little video compilation made me giggle in delight. Hope you like it!

Did that pique your interest? Here is my favorite little slices of the internet this week; hope you like them too!

Roads that power your car. Wild!

Good tip for iPhone shutterbugs.

I would buy this just for the bragging rights (and the garage).

Chicken a la iPhone?

I am updating my Netflix queue as we speak.

Excellent article reminding me about a hilarious man. Guess I need to pick this up now.

Google Maps takes to the calle.

I rewatched the NSync/Backstreet Boys battle episode last night. RIP Cory Monteith.

A cast that looks incredibly cool, but how do all your eighth grade friends sign it?

So, so, so excited for this movie to come out (did I mention I was excited?!).

These ideas are perfect for my party-planning mindset right now.

When pigs fly swim!

Get away before summer is over!

I am tempted to make these to give out as favors at a party this September. Too ambitious?


Have a lovely weekend!

FLEET FEET

Comfortable. Light. High tech. Just a couple of ways of describing these cool new shoes being developed by Unbelievable Testing Laboratory and being made of Tyvek!! Given the amazing properties of Tyvek—a construction material—the shoes promise to be long-lasting, breathable and water-resistant. Sweet!

What are you up to this weekend? I am going home to Connecticut and contemplating a quick trip out to Cape Cod to hang out with some friends early next week. So, just in case I don't make it back to the blogosphere until late last week, here are some fun things for you to check out:

The Summer of George.

275,000 dominoes.

This would be perfect for a NYC-themed party.

If You Give a Mouse Rat a Cookie; ha!

Speaking of Parks & Rec, I love Aubrey Plaza and think this could be hilarious.

I stopped watching this show a while ago, but boy is this performance impressive.

Beautiful tumblers.

An interview with my grad school professor on his new exhibition at MoMA.

Well, don't these look tasty.

Montage and Chevron look really pretty.

I would like to own this.


Have a great weekend!



(Tip about the Tyvek from here)

OSCARS RECAP 2013

Did you guys watch the Oscars last night? I had a ton of homework to do, but I decided to take a break and see how well Seth MacFarlane fared as a host. He was a little raunchy at times (as can be expected for the creator of Family Guy), but overall very very funny. I particularly loved the intro gag with William Shatner; it was smart and clever without being too dry or silly.

I was also impressed by the fashion on view . . . I'm totally in love with Jennifer Lawrence's dress (even though she fell walking up the stairs! clearly not a practical frock) and thought Amy Adams looked ravishing as usual. Did you have any favorites?

Read a complete recap and see more red carpet shots here. Watch key video clips here.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

If you are a college sports fan like me, you are used to watching games on tv that are punctuated with numerous university-promoting ads. Well during last night's football national championship game, I saw a commercial for an unusual type of university: Monsters University.

The ad is part of an ingenious campaign to promote the upcoming Monsters Inc. prequel, entitled Monsters University, due out this summer. In addition to strikingly realistic college commercials they have also created an amazingly clever Monsters University website, complete with degree programs (they have a School of Scaring, and a School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities!) and an incredibly realistic President's address that almost makes you want to enroll. Not to mention a school store that allows you to select the number of sleeves on your sweatshirt; hilarious!

Even after all that, do you still feel a bit confused about what the movie will actually look like? Here's the official trailer:





But if you want to kill a couple of minutes browsing through a wonderfully creative movie website, check out all the goodness about Monsters University here.

LETTERHEAD LOVE

My amazing friend, Kat, turned me onto the super cool blog Letterheady a couple of months ago and I have been meaning to post about it since. Letterheady is basically a tumblr-style blog dedicated to the beauty of personal and corporate stationery over the years. For paper-minded and graphic design-focused nerds like myself, it is pure visual heaven.

Let's take a look at just a sampling of some awesome examples, listed by their writers/owners, shall we?

Above: Andy Warhol, from an unknown date



   

Left: Groucho Marx, 1943
Right: Bob Kane, the creator of Batman, c. 1943






Above: Ray Charles, 1990 (tied for my favorite, with FLW's below)




   

Left: Ben Chapman, actor who played Gillman in 1954 film The Creatures of the Black Lagoon, 1981
Right: Muppets, Inc., later to be known as Jim Henson Productions, 1963






Above: Frank Lloyd Wright, 1946 (totally awesome, right?)




   

Left: Woody Harrelson, 1988
Right: Daily Planet, fictional stationery used during Superman: The Movie, 1978






Above: Charles Schultz, 1958




Cool, right? See many many more examples at Letterheady here.

THE WEDDING FILES: HAPPY HONEYMOON NEWS, PART TWO

Remember last week when I told you how I had been swooning over photos of Iceland for a while? Well I wasn't kidding when I said they were everywhere. Just this morning I stumbled across this great post on the NYTimes' blog, Lens, about a new documentary being filmed in the country. Artists Lindsay Blatt and Paul Taggart have decided to film the beautiful age-old autumnal custom of rounding up Iceland's wild horses--a breed found only on the island country that has a unique and fiercely protected genetic makeup. 


The film looks beautiful and (if possible) makes me even more excited to embark on this adventure with my fiance. If you would like to learn more about the project you can read the article here and contribute to their Kickstarter project here.

MUST SEE: MOONRISE KINGDOM

How was your weekend? I spent mine being both lazy (reading, dozing, hanging out with some friends) and being hyper productive (cleaning, prepping for the wedding, organizing). But my hands down favorite part of the weekend was an impromptu date with my fiancé on Friday where we went, on a whim, to see Wes Anderson's latest movie Moonrise Kingdom.




It was amazing. Seriously, the best, most heartfelt and artfully crafted movie I have seen in a long, long time. This clip of the adorable narrator, played by actor Bob Balaban, was Anderson's fabulous way of setting the scene of this vintage-inspired but altogether fanciful movie. The color palette, the costumes,  and the props (oh the props! swoon!) are just beautiful.




Here, for example, is one of my favorite moments in the movie. It wouldn't be a Wes Anderson movie without Jason Schwartzman and he totally delivered in his cameo role.

Moral of the story: go see this movie! It's a delight!

PER YOUR SUGGESTION: (W)ALT DISNEY POSTERS

   



My friend Courtney suggested I might like these posters; turns out she knows me pretty well because these are awesome! The artist Rowan Stocks-Moore re-imagined the normally bright and sappy Walt Disney poster and instead created something dramatic and dark and beautiful. Aren't they cool? I am especially in love with the Alice in Wonderland and Bambi posters. Thankfully you can buy these designs and more at Stocks-Moore's Etsy site here.

(via TQS Magazine)