So not IKEA: The cozy cottage of Carl Larsson

This week's post on decor8 (don't you love decor8?) about Swedish design happily reminded me of an art exhibit my aunt and I saw waaaaaaay back in 1997 at London's Victoria and Albert Museum: the first major exhibition of artist Carl Larsson outside of his native Sweden.

Neither my aunt nor myself had heard of Carl Larsson before the show (and we both like to think we know a lot of stuff about a lot of things), and we each stepped out of the show a little smarter, a little wide-eyed, and a little bit in love with the artist and his family.

Larsson frequently painted his wife Karin, their eight children, and their life at their cottage in the village of Sundborn. His work is almost magical, but the best thing is the way he and Karin designed their home:

Larsson's work, unsurprisingly, has heavily influenced Swedish design through the years. Case in point: most of these watercolors are over a century old, but their design elements could easily fit today in Country Living, Cottage Living (RIP), or a look-at-my-sweet-'n-chic-weekend-cottage-in-Lancaster-County feature in Domino (God rest its soul).

And is it just me, or does the Larsson pad seem like the happiest, most rainbow-iest place on earth?

(Thanks, Holly, for the inspiration.)

All images / websites / content © their respective owners.

Ways to have a JoanJett-aissance

I've been listening to a lot of early Joan Jett & the Blackhearts stuff these days. She's so loud and mean and tiny and so probably opposite me. But she does inspire me--so here's what listening to Joan Jett makes me want to do (except, um, in my nicer, Southern-raised way).

Write passive-aggressive letters on tasteful graffiti greeting cards!

Screenprinted greeting card, $4.25, L2 Design Collective

Wear cute I mean tough studded belts!

Skinny studded belt, $35, J.Crew

Drink beer! The hand-crafted, home-brewed kind!

Apple Crisp Ale Kit, $40, Brooklyn Brew Shop

Cuss! -ish!

Sterling Silver Oxidized Disc Pendant Necklace, $42, MetalTaboo at etsy.com

Learn to create a classic smoky eye!

Daily Beauty Tip, instyle.com

Play with dolls.

Barbie Joan Jett Ladies of the 80s Doll, $44.95, amazon.com

Write more angry letters on graffiti cards, this time to Mattel about ridiculous Joan Jett Barbie!

Screenprinted greeting card, $2.00, L2 Design Collective

All images / websites / content © their respective owners.

The Chef, his vinaigrette, and the dooo-dooo-DOOO

In seventh grade, my best friend and I suffered from the same disease: an incurable case of extreme boy craziness.

Of course, neither of us had ever had an actual boyfriend at that point. But what we DID have was secret code names for our crushes (you know, in case one of them, with some sort of magic supersonic preteen-boy hearing, intercepted one of our nightly "gush about your crush" phone calls). There was "Jacket." There was "Jersey." There was even "dooo-doooo-DOOOO-AMY!" (don't ask).

After my family moved in eighth grade and throughout the following years, my friend and I continued to share crush nicknames via letters and phone calls. One day, after college, she started telling me about "the Chef." And when she started calling the Chef "fiancee," I knew that he and I would have to get to know each other on a more suitable first-name basis.

Now, the Chef was "the Chef" for good reason: he's a chef (okay, not all the nicknames were creative). I made a trip to visit them a while back so I could get to know their first baby, the Chef himself, and, let's be honest, the Chef's food.

Not surprisingly, I instantly fell in love with all three. Nevertheless...I, being a long-standing friend, still felt obliged to quiz the Chef on several topics: Was he good to my friend? (Yes.) Was he a great dad? (Yes.) Can and will he clue me in on some awesome chef-ly recommendations? And he, being the new husband to one of my long-standing friends, totally hooked me up.

One of my favorite tips from the Chef? Order a liter of Shoreline Extra Virgin Olive Oil (it's shipped in from Crete, and it's only available online--buy it here) and use it in his simply perfect recipe for salad vinaigrette:

Combine 1 tbsp Dijon mustard + the zest of half a lemon + honey (to taste) + white wine vinegar (to taste--about 1/2 cup). Add olive oil (to taste), whisking it in slowly. Enjoy over greens with good friends.

Trust me. It's as delicious as a friendship that can survive 20-plus years of crushes on boys with nicknames ranging from "the Chef" to "dooo-dooooo-DOOOO-AMY!" (but seriously, don't ask).

Michael Pellew’s “Celebrity Sightings Series”

For the past few weekends in DUMBO, I've been noticing some fun-weird cartoon cards that have been placed just within eyesight at LAND (League Artists Natural Design), an art space from a non-profit agency for mentally disabled adults and kids called the League Treatment Center. The gallery, much to my chagrin, is always closed when I'm around, so I've never been able to get a good look at the cards until this Sunday when SCORE!--the center placed them in the front window.

I did a little digging, and it seems that these clever little pieces of handmade art are created by an autistic adult artist named Michael Pellew. Michael's subjects are often celebs, musicians, and politicians, and if you take a look at the pics below, you'll see that he not only has an extensive knowledge of pop culture, but he also has a great sense of humor.

These are hands-down my No. 1 card pick for Holiday 2009:

"Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson, Mos Def, Mayor Bloomberg, and Barack Obama would like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving."

"The Cure's Robert Smith, Marilyn Manson & Siouxsie Sioux would like to wish you a Merry Christmas."

"John Goodman, Mos Def, LL Cool J & DMC from Run DMC would like to wish you a happy Birthday."

"Adam Sandler, Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello would like to wish you a happy Bar Mitzvah."

"Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, Poison's Bret Michaels, Michael Bolton & Judas Priest's Rob Halford would like to wish you a happy Birthday."

"The Jonas Brothers would like to wish you a Merry Christmas."