Today's Finds

Handmade mug with spot pattern from Wakako Senda

I love everything in this Japanese shop; it was hard to pick a favorite. :)

Hand-knitted dog sweater from Camelotia

How beautiful is this dog sweater? I kind of want a sweater in the same colors for myself! (I would also love the dog too, but alas, now is not the time. Sigh.)

Anna Karina print from watersounds

Can I just say that 13-year-old me would've died for this print?! I was majorly into black and white decor for some reason. I insisted on painting my walls white (they had been pink), and changing my bedding and some of the art on my walls to black and white. I had also just taken an intro to French class, and I discovered Anna Karina about the same time too...so yeah, I would've gone nuts for this print. I should buy it to make my inner, angst-ridden tween happy. I still really like it now, obviously, so I guess my tastes haven't really changed all that much. :)

Vitra Kast Storage from Design Public

You know, in case you have an extra $11k lying around, this shelving system is the dreamiest.

Leather clutch from Mocha Bags

I love the simple shape of this clutch, and it comes in pastel pink too!

Today's Finds

Filomena muffin pan from Anthropologie

Tomato poster from Fine Little Day

Retro kitchen timers from World Market

Apple cutting board from Mix & Mash

Vintage flower storage bowls from Fishs Eddy


I recently started cooking again after (mostly) avoiding the kitchen for several years. To be honest, there are so many ways I'd rather spend my time, but as I get older, I'm trying to be more conscious of my diet and eating healthier, and it's hard to really eat healthy if you don't cook.

It's a challenge to make yourself do something you don't enjoy, so I'm thinking maybe some new cute kitchen things might be a good motivator for me. I'm a sucker for retro patterns and sweet silhouettes...am I ever! I know myself well enough to proceed with caution though. It's a fine line between "that's so cute sitting on my counter," and "that looks too pretty to use...I'll just leave it there."

I think I would use all of these things, though, and they might make cooking a little more fun. :)

Today's Finds

Corner shelf from Senkki Furniture

ATL poster by Methane Studios, found at the beehive

Artist's Toolbag: Scarlet by Fleabags, found at Maven

Happy sun cup by beardbangs ceramics

Rubber stamps from French Attic Finds

Today's Finds

Phantom hand collar from Fila Arcana

"Under this Moon" personalized ring from gemagenta

Tiny slip cast gem bowls from Bean & Bailey

1940s suede shoes from Vera Vague

Landscape print from Alice Potter

Shop Update!

Hey guys! Sorry to have been so M.I.A. lately...lots going on around here. We've been so busy that we still haven't bought our tree yet or finished Christmas shopping! Speaking of last-minute shopping, I've added new things to My Hideaway AND decided to offer a coupon code to all those amazing people out there who've also been working like crazy and had no time to shop. Save 20% on everything from now thru 12/24 with coupon code PARTYSNAIL. I'm shipping every day between now and Christmas so there's still time to get a gift if you're in the U.S., or just treat yourself! :)

Cute snail ornaments

Colorful ribbon ornaments. These are just so pretty! I took about a thousand photos and could stare at them all day.

And I added a few prints to the shop like this "Dream House" print,

and "My Favorite Day is Donut Day" print.

I'll be adding a lot more prints in January, and the next batch will be from paintings on canvas (as opposed to illustrations on paper like these) if that's more your thing. I have a few more works on paper to add also. I'd hoped to get everything listed before Christmas, but scanner woes have put a kink in my plans. If I can't fix it, it might be time for an upgrade. (If any illustrators or artists out there have a scanner they'd recommend, please share! I'll be your bff.)

Hope everyone is having a warm, fuzzy holiday season so far. Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends, and happy almost(!) Christmas to my fellow gentiles!!! :)
xo, Mary

Today's Finds

"Big Number Three" by edubarba

Pom-pom hat by Plexida

Hand thrown and illustrated bowl by Gemma Farrell Ceramics

Swiss tea towel with mini pom-poms by Nicole Porter Design

Teardrop stud earrings by Silver Lines Jewelry

I know I just featured a knit hat last week too, but it's almost pom-pom hat season, and honestly, that's all I can think about. ;)

Clockwise from top left: Landscape photograph by Lucy Snowe; Lines II original watercolor painting by Louise van Terheijden; Owlet paper sculptures by Kaper - Kate Kelly; "Sepia Pots" print by Francesca Whetnall; and "Almond Jar" print by Briana Taylor.

I was thinking about a lot of ideas when I put together this collection...the calming effect of still lifes (and also nature as still life), harmonious compositions and groupings of objects, and of course, building a color story. I'm in a contemplative mood these days, more than usual even, and this collection is just what I need today.

It's good to give your mind a momentary rest from mid-week craziness and just look at something beautiful, no?

New Prints and Other Stuff

I added some new prints to my Society6 shop, including the photo above. And you can get free shipping through the weekend! (You have to click through the link above to activate the free shipping.)

Here are a few other new prints added recently; you might recognize a couple of them from the blog. I love the way these look on various products, like this pillow, phone case, ipad case, and greeting card. They've just expanded the range of phone cases to include a couple of other models too.

At some point, I want to upgrade the furniture in my studio/office, including adding a comfy chair in the corner. When I do, I think I might buy that embroidery floss pillow as a present to myself. Is it weird to buy your own products? I don't know. But I think it would be so cute in a craft corner! :)

What are you guys up to this weekend? We are picking up a couple more paint samples to try out today...very exciting stuff. We also have less exciting stuff to do around the house like laundry and cleaning. I'm not one of those people who gets excited about household chores. (If you are that type of person, feel free to become my new best friend and come over all the time. ;)) I'm also going to try to squeeze in some studio time and maybe a mini adventure if the weather permits. 

Hope your Saturday is a good one. xo, Mary

Clockwise from top left: "Green Kimono" by Becca Stadtlander; "The Rider" by Yelena Bryksenkova; "Trapezing Twins" by Naomi Wilkinson; and "Nighty Night" by 3crows - Sara Pulver.

This week's collection is full of awesome folk art. I like that the three prints with ladies all feel as if they are involved in a performance of some sort...a circus act, a parade, a theatrical debut? I love that there are graphic patterns everywhere in this collection, and the color palette includes lots of warm oranges and reds as well as greens, complementary colors and the perfect palette for the current season, shifting from summer into fall. Also, I feel like I've met more than one dog in my time who felt like they were just letting you share the bed with them, so the role reversal in the 4th print is quite appropriate. :)

Free Shipping on Prints and Other Good Stuff

Just wanted to let you guys know that Society6 is offering free shipping worldwide till Sunday, and I've added a few new prints! Here are a few things you might not have seen:

I'm still loving my pillow, and I've got my eye on a few larger prints to order too, just having trouble deciding which ones. There's so much talent on that site.

I'm still plugging along on my paintings too, which I'll list in my Etsy shop maybe as early as next week! If there's interest, I will make them available as prints in my Society6 shop as well.

Hope everyone is having a good week! :)

New Things, Blue Things, and Old Things Too

We are still making little improvements on the house, one room at a time, while sticking to our fairly small budget. We've made one big purchase, a chair for the living room, which I'll blog about when it arrives. In the meantime, here are a few glimpses of progress.

We finally got around to hanging our prints from Elsa Mora in the little blue room. We still aren't sure what to call this room. Sometimes, it's "the library" because the opposite two walls are lined with overflowing bookcases. And sometimes, it's just the "blue room."

We aren't finished in here yet. I will probably change that table, as it's too traditional for my taste right next to the very old rocking chair, which came from my great grandparent's house (or possibly older?) so obviously, the chair stays. Actually, the table came from my grandmother's house and is probably old as well, but not "family heirloom" old. I might try to find another place in the house for it. It's challenging to mix family pieces in with more modern furniture, which is really more my style, while also incorporating little treasures picked up here and there. But I think we're doing ok so far. (Designing was so much easier in school when I could make a space from scratch, without history and attachment.)

That little elephant on the table came from India. A friend of Peter's brought it back for him a few years ago (she is Vietnamese and married an Indian man...they went to India on their honeymoon to visit his family). I believe elephants are good luck in India if their trunks are up, like this little guy. Someone told me that in India they have festivals to honor the Hindu god Ganesha, the elephant god, to bring about good fortune. I love to hear about traditions like that.

If you'd like to see detail shots of these prints and read more about them, I wrote about them here.

A couple of new pieces of pottery (bought several months ago at a vintage shop) lined up with other older things on our entryway table. The two on the far right came from a trip to Spain about seven or eight years ago. The one with the dandelion in the middle was a birthday gift (several years ago) from Peter, bought in a local shop in Arlington that's now closed. We were sad to see it go because the owner (a Japanese man from San Francisco who we got to know a bit) stocked great art, housewares, all sorts of stuff in a tiny shoebox-sized store. He was here in northern Virginia to take care of his ailing mother, and he would skype every afternoon on a laptop in the store with his daughter back in SF. She was really cute.

We used to know a lot of shop owners and restaurant workers in our old neighborhood, which is something I miss. Many of them are gone now, and we are too, moved further out to the suburbs where there's less of a "this is my block" kind of feeling...but I digress.

Here are the two recent additions: tiny little mid-century vessels that are so cute, don't you think? I kept carrying them around the store while I tried to convince myself not to buy them. After all, we have too many pieces still packed away and not enough places to display them. But there was no avoiding it; they had to come home with me.

I love that they are very different pieces but both have the same opening.

I also moved some things around on the mantel, but for some reason, I only took a photo of this side. So anyway, here are things you've seen before just rearranged. I love those silhouettes.

Last, but not least, is the new bistro set for the patio. Peter wasn't sold on buying a bistro set, but the bright, modern blue color won him over. It's such a good color! Also, the price could not be beat (I think the whole set was on sale for $87 from Target). Plus, they are very heavy, solid pieces; I'm guessing each chair probably weighs 20 lbs. They fold flat for storage, though because they are so heavy, I think they'll be fine left out in all but the most severe of storms. And the powder-coated steel is weather-proof and requires no maintenance (music to my lazy ears).

So, that's the progress for now. Hopefully, I'll have another progress post in a couple of weeks!