Water Play

I've been on the fence about giving Freida swimming lessons this Summer or waiting until next year. I feel like kids in LA really need to be swim safe in general, and I also think she'd have a crazy fun Summer if she'd learn how to swim. But at the same time, I know she's fearful of water and is happy as a clam to hang out at the seas edge jumping waves, or in a pair of floaties at the pool. I hear so many moms talking about what a waste of time it is to start kids lessons when they just aren't ready, and I really don't think she is. I think if she were motivated a bit more by kids in her bunk knowing how to swim, or if she ever asked about learning how to swim - I'd sign her right up. In any case, while googling around a bit for some kids swim schools in LA, I happened upon there images by Alix Martinez, and they totally made me swoon (and want to give her lessons!). How awesome is this water photography?? If I had boys, I would want a huge print on that taxi photo in their playroom. Just sayin'. Check out the rest of them on his website. And I'm curious to hear, at what age did you start your kids in swimming lessons?

Maid Easier

I have a friend here in LA who actually went to college. And graduated. With a Masters. She speaks a really good Spanish, and many of us had been hitting her up endlessly as our English - Spanish translator. I for one have a really difficult time conversing with my cleaning help. It's a bit shameful, really. Not speaking Spanish in LA is really not cool, and I definitely want to make sure my kids grow up with enough of a Spanish grasp. It's just much simpler to live here and be able to communicate with everyone easily. Our automated phone services now say "for English press 1"!! Anyways, my friend was getting tired of answering the many texts (How do I say 'wash the windows'/'put in the casserole'/'throw out old food from fridge'?) and had an impromptu little epiphany to create Spanish/English magnets specifically geared toward house help!

Enter Maid Easier. The most helpful $10 you will spend this year. I used to wait for my cleaning girl to come in the morning just so that I could be there to explain to her what I needed done that day. These little magnets have completely saved my sanity! I put my every week basic tasks up on the fridge, and rummage through the little tin container to put up the other tasks I want her to do that day, before I hightail out the door Thursday morning. It's been insanely easy! And my home has never been cleaner. (I've definitely come a long way since my very first cleaning lady!) You can buy Maid Easier magnets on Amazon, and start stressing less about your cleaning lingo.

Side note: the tin itself is not a magnet. I just found the easiest place to keep it was right there on the fridge, so I slapped a little square of adhesive magnet paper to the back of it, and voila.

Artist: Maja Lindberg

I was working on a blog post for a company recently, and was researching the Dreamworks logo (you know the boy fishing from the moon?), and I happened upon a children's artist that totally made me look. Maja Lindberg is a Sweden based illustrator and designer who says her work is inspired by fairy tales, dreams and childhood memories. Her art totally struck a chord in me, and I really related to some of her themes and inspirations. (I know that sounds really weird, since it's just childrens art, but since I've been working through so much pain and introspection, I find myself relating strongly to the oddest of things!) Here are some of her pieces:

Up In The Air

Fishing for Stars : Sometimes you feel lonely, even when you are surrounded by friends and family. But tomorrow is a new day…

The Babysitter : Who hasn’t been surrounded by kids and felt like this?

The Balloon : In many of my illustrations the children are up in the sky and flying. The best dreams that I’ve ever had is when you realize that  you are able to fly. It’s so easy and you wonder why you never done it before. I still remember one special dream that I had when I was a kid, I just moved my legs and started to raise up in the sky and I flew over the landscape, looking down on the hills, fields and the ocean.

Night Meeting : Face your worst nightmare, and hopefully you’ll learn that it wasn’t that bad.

You can check out more and buy her prints on her Etsy site.

Visually Fresh

My brother Yossi and his two equally-creative compadres Shloime and Yudi, just launched their pop-up shop selling (mostly YGD) original and inspired art to the masses! Visually Fresh is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a collection of fresh and modern art to be easily purchased, hung, and looked at. :)

But aside from the great art and simplistic shop, I'm totally enjoying browsing around the site and exploring the different levels of these guy's creativity. For instance, the description blurbs next to each piece are as wonderful as the art itself. Like this one:

When you place yourself in a box, don't expect to reach the top. To create, you must let go of all your inhibitions. You need to release your brain from the clutches of limitation. Let your ideas run wild. You can perfect them later.

And there are adorably creative surprises around every corner, like when I accidentally clicked on my empty cart:

But mostly, it's just a slew of wonderfully modern and uplifting typography art. Like this one by Menachem Krinsky:

Inevitably, I'm really being drawn to this one at the moment...

Also, remember the Think Good poster? You can snag one there too. Happy shopping!!

Finally Loving Geometry

I've been so smitten by shapes lately. I don't know if it's some sort of raging fad, but I see shapes everywhere. And since I always hated geometry, it's pretty funny how attracted I suddenly am to circles and triangles. I'm particularly loving the work of artist Mareike Boehmer. I first discovered her work when I fell in love with a pillow I spotted on Pinterest, and while I love Pinterest for inspiration, sometimes it's a wild goose chase to find out where something originally came from and who the creative genius behind it is. After some sleuthing I landed on a Society6 site offering up a slew of her beautiful geometric pieces - all available in many different forms. How lovely?

  

So is it just me, or is geometry suddenly everywhere? I even noticed that the two albums I have running on repeat most days have geometric cover art!! (Check out Young the Giant and Wild Belle.)

This is the pillow I originally spotted on Pinterest, I'm wishlisting some to stash next to my kaleidoscope throws.

And I just love the subtle edginess of this - coveting for my new iPhone. :)