+ loving: AAKKOSET by Kayiwa

So we've settled into our new place, and in my previous post, I mentioned doing some shopping for the bedroom.

It's not very big, and we have most of the main pieces already. Our bed is set up against one wall, flanked by Ikea's Bekvam stool on one side and Ikea PS Saga chair on the other, both serving as our bedside tables. There's a built-in wardrobe with sliding doors to the right of the bed, and we also bought a Stave mirror which is left leaning against the wall beside the wardrobe.

I'm waiting to get a bookcase or some sort of storage shelf into the room. However, we don't have that much to spare financially, so the furnishing process will take a while, which gives me plenty of opportunity to shop and browse around!

This AAKOSET storage system by Kayiwa is all over the design blogosphere this week. It's definitely not something we will be able to afford (check out the price here), but I can dream of owning it, can't I? AAKOSET can be used to store books, magazines, CDs/DVDs; leave it empty and it will still be a key feature in any room. It would look great as a room divider too! It also comes in black, blue, green, violet, orange, white, yellow.

A white one would look gorgeous in our room, but I think I would love a yellow one too. Right, I'll just continue dreaming...

Have a beautiful Thursday, everyone!!

Images via Design Milk.

+ shop at: Country Road Homeware

Hi all! I've missed you guys! It's been almost a week, and I'm now blogging from the new place! I managed to get some internet connection, although temporary (I reloaded my existing prepaid broadband), but it's better than nothing! The phone and internet should be connected some time next week, and then it will be back to business as usual.

Meanwhile, I've been catching up on some light reading, and also indulged in more than my fair share of shopping for the new place! We needed some trays/bowls for our knick-knacks, keys, watches and etc., and I combed the shops in the city, looking for something suitable. I wanted something small, as our make-shift bedside table isn't very big, and is already set up with a lamp and ipod dock, among other things.

And so I ventured into Country Road to check out their homeware section. Well, lets say I found not only my bowl, but a lot more other gorgeous stuffs to lust after! I walked out with a Bistro Ribbon Bowl in grey, a red Country Road Graphic Mug, and signed up for their cardholder program too! Looks like I might be visiting them more frequently...

Here's a collage of some of their collection. On the left are my mug and bowl; the rest, well, I thought they just looked good together. For future reference, perhaps?

Images from Country Road.

+inspired by: Packin' Up

Happy Friday everyone! What's your plans for the weekend?

It's pre-moving day for us. I should be packing. But somehow, it's not happening. I guess procrastination is the word here? Hopefully these gorgeous images will give me a well needed push!

In case you don't hear from me next week, you'll know that the internet connection is not up and running yet. Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Meanwhile... Have a good weekend!

Images: 1. by Heather Bailey | 2 & 3. by Corrie Bond

+ inspired by: Papershion by Kathryn Elyse

Continuing on the subject of sketching, here is my little secret: I'm not much of an artist when it comes to pen/pencil (or any other manual drawing media) and paper. Yes, I'm a design graduate and did okay during life drawing classes, but I've never been the type who can just draw anything or has her own style when it comes to putting lines on paper. As you can tell, I'm more of a word and visual person. I am good in putting things together and making them look nice. Other times, Autocad, 3D Studio and Photoshop has been my buddies in crime.

So, I'm very much envious of those who can draw, and do it well. I can spend a long time flipping and re-flipping pages and pages of gorgeous illustrations. And at the moment, artists who does fashion illustrations are my favourites.

Some time ago, I came across Paperfashion, by Kathryn Elyse (found thanks to Oh Joy!), and promptly fell in love with her beautiful blend of colors, confident strokes and rosy cheeked characters. The little round swirls and sketch marks somehow manages to add a cute and whimsical touch to her illustrations. Her art with watercolor fabulous,  both soft and realistically modern at the same time. How I wish I can draw and paint like that!!

Here are some of my fav picks. For more, check out Paperfashion blog. You can also find out more about Kathryn and her journey as a Fashion Illustrator here, or pick up some of her prints for yourself at her Etsy shop.

Enjoy!

+ inspired by: The Sketchbook Project 2011

Hi all! Ooh, is it Thursday already? Where did the days go? 2 more sleeps and it'll be moving day for us! Apologies for not posting yesterday; I took up the duties of window cleaning in the morning and and half the afternoon - got an effortless tanning session while I was at it (not that my mom would approve)!

The other half of the afternoon was spent giving Ally a hair cut - my first ever experience with the clipper, wait, let me rephrase that, my first EVER experience in giving anyone a hair cut! I think the results were alright, considering my only lesson was from YouTube!!

Okay, enough of the babbling; I want to share some exciting news! I just signed up for The Sketchbook Project!! Organised by Art House Co-op, the project, as they call it, "is like a concert tour but with sketchbooks". How cool is that??!

Basically, you sign up by choosing a theme, and they'll send you a blank Moleskin sketchbook, and then you just sketch away! Whether you follow the theme through to the last page, or branch out and go on a detour, that's entirely up to you. When you're done (before 15th January 2011), you send the sketchbook back, and along with over thousands of other sketchbooks, it will tour the US. Each book has a unique barcode, used for cataloguing as well as for the artist to track where on tour the book is viewed and how many times it's been pulled off the shelf.

I picked the theme "In 5 Minutes". I don't yet know exactly what I'll be sketching or doodling about, but I'm already thinking about how I want to customise the cover, the pens I need to buy to sketch with, and who (if anyone) will be picking it up when it goes on tour. I know this sounds silly, but I've not been to the US, and now my little sketchbook will do the tour for me! It's like a small part of me will be there... (okay, it does sound silly, I shall stop now)!

Anyways... If you're interested, hop over to the website and check it out for yourself. Who knows, our sketchbooks could go on tour together! Let me know if you do decide to sign up, I'd love to know what theme you've picked to sketch on!

I'll be posting frequent sneak-peaks once I receive the sketchbook and get started on the project, so make sure you check back for updates!

+ inspired by: Yellow. White. Gray.

It all started with the visual of Ally's white and gray work clothes against our yellow and white quilt. The colors got stuck in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Yellow. White. Gray.
White. Yellow. Gray.
Gray. White. Yellow...

And so here they are. I hope they'll inspire you in some ways too!

Image Credits: 1. My Silly Bear on Etsy | 2. nutraj on Etsy | 3. Dotti | 4. lamixx on Etsy | 5. Maneggi on Etsy | 6. Kate Spade

Image Credits: 1. Apartment Therapy | 2. FL/Y Pendant via bltd. | 3. Sara Sjogren via B.W.Y. | 4. Brook Farm General Store (found thanks to Creature Comforts) | 5. ZebrasAndBubblegum on Etsy | 6. sjengraving on Etsy | 7. Design Public (found thanks to Creature Comforts)

Have a good day, everyone!

+ wardrobe: Aforism 2010 Spring/Summer

Hi there! Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a good weekend!

Today's post is a little late. A lot will be happening this week; we are moving house! I know, we're hardly here long enough to have properly settled in, but due to conditions not under our control, we'll be moving out this weekend. The new place is only about 2 minutes away, a neighbouring suburb, but it still involves putting things into boxes and bags, piling them into a truck, bring it to the new place, unload, unpack, resettle. Interesting, eh?

Anyways, you'll have to excuse me if the posts for this two weeks are a little sporadic, as there's also the issue of a new internet/phone line connection to be settled. But I hope to be back to normal by the middle of next week (fingers crossed!).

I love the colors in this particular image, from Aforism's 2010 Spring/Summer Look Book. The briefcase/luggage, thou definitely not big enough for my clothes (and everything else), looks great against the blue door. And, for the boys, here's a quick peek at what Aforism has in store this season.

I have to admit, I'm more smitten with the vintage scooter! But of course, the clothes look great too!! And I hope this helped chased away your Monday blues!

Images found thanks to Fashionising.com. More of Aforism here.

+ inspired by: Balloons...

It's a chilly spring day, with rain and maybe some hail too.
I'm sitting at my desk, still in my jammies, thinking of balloons.

Happy Friday! And have a good weekend too!

Images: 1. by daddypete 2. by michiev 3. by bsilder (all via stock.xchng)

+ loving: Typographic Prints

Hello Pagies! One more day till the end of the week, I hope everyone is doing well!

I'm sure you've noticed, prints and posters with texts/ typographies are dominating the graphic world. Just key in "text prints" at Etsy, and a few hundreds will pop up. They are also slowly but surely spreading even onto bags, tea towels and cushion covers too!

Some might find the texts a little cliched: "Keep Calm and Carry On", "All You need is Love"..? But I think we could use with a little cliche-inspired words some days. Other times, just enjoy it as an entire graphic composition!

Anyways, I've been itching to get my hands on one (or ten), but have yet settled on which I truly love and must have - wish I can have them all! Some of them are also quite reasonably priced, depending on where you're shopping, and it's a great and cheap way to funk up any room in the house. I can just see it, hanging over the chair which acts as our bedside table, as part of a collage along the hallway (eventually, when I get my own hallway!), propped against the wall in the living room, as a focal point in the dining room perhaps? The possibility is endless! See, I told you I needed more than just one!

Here are some (read: loads) which caught my eye. Which one is your fav? (yes, you may choose more than one!)

Have a good Thursday!

Images: 1. Therese Senneholt Webshop 2. Made By Girl 3. theloveshop on Etsy 4. Keep Calm Gallery

+ inspired by: Jen from Cabin 7

Good Morning, Pagies! Happy Wednesday!

I have a thing for lofts. It is our dream to eventually live in one (New York, Soho or someone's backyard, it doesn't matter)!

Cabin 7 is the home and studio of Brooklyn based freelance writer and stylist Jen Jafarzadeh L'Italien and her husband Dan. The airy 825 sq. ft. loft is delightfully personalised with eclectic antique and flea market finds, art prints and handmade items.

I especially love the toilet door painted with with blackboard paint, the collages of art works, prints and pictures Jen created on various walls around the home, and her custom-made work desk. White walls always work wonders as a backdrop to characterized collections and pieces, don't you think?

Jen also owns an online shop by the same name (Cabin 7) with her friend Chris, selling gilded and vintage objects.

Images by Lara Robby, via Design*Sponge.

+ loving: Bowerbird Bazaar

We visited the Bowerbird Bazaar this past weekend, and had fun browsing the inspiring and beautiful products by designers and makers from around Australia. It was our first time there, but the bazaar has been running twice yearly since last year, and attracts not only the public but also retailers, businesses and the media.

I was ooh-ing and aah-ing from beginning till end, especially around the unique accessories, hand printed fabrics and print arts. We walked out with a hamb t-shirt (for him), a Printspace art print for our room, and a hand full of business cards for my future reference.

I plan to blog about a selection of my favourite designers from the bazaar soon; to find out more, pop over to Bowerbird's blog.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Page Thirteen: Launched!

Welcome! Page Thirteen is officially launched! 

Yes, I'm finally ready to share this "baby" with the world! 

Bookmark this page (pun intended), subscribe to it via a reader, and come back for frequent visits (just bring the coffee, I'll provide the rest!). 

Enjoy!

+ wardrobe: A Spring In Your Step!

Blue skies, fresh laundry flapping in the air, manicured toes and the start of daylight savings can only mean one thing: Spring is here!

And to get you (and me) in the mood, here's the first of many Spring ensembles. Today, it's something really sweet and simple, perfect for a weekend shopping in the city, or casual drinks with the girls. Pin on some of this season's must-have corsages (in your hair, on your dress, on your bag, even your shoes!) and you're ready for some sun and breeze! Don't forget the sunblock! :)

Pleat Corset Dress, Plain Skinny Belt, Rudy Body Bag, Egyptian Sandal & Floral Farer Sunglasses - all from Dotti.
Pork Pie Hat & Cameo Necklace - from Cotton On.

+ loving: Ikea's Homemade Is Best

People who know me will understand my soft spot for the blue box. We have a "history" together, and although things didn't turn out the way we expected, we still managed to remain "friends"!

Babbles aside, I was thrilled to discover Ikea's new coffee table cook book, Homemade Is Best. The gorgeously yummy pictures were taken by photographer Carl Kleiner, styled by Evalina Bratell, and put together by design agency Forsman & Bodenfors.

The ingredients are first presented in a still-life graphic portraits, and when you flip the page, ta-daa!, the yummy finished products! It's stripped down to the very basic; very "flat-pack", very Ikea. And totally ingenious and different!

Can't wait to get my hands on the book! Here are sneak peaks of some classic favourites!

Images from: Forsman & Bodenfors