Speaking of MacGruber...

...or MacGyver if you prefer, I came across the Tad Gear B.R.A.T.T. ($100) this morning. It's a highly versatile pocket mini-tool that can cut, pry open paint cans, pull up a troublesome nail on your deck, tighten a loose screw, or pop the top off a bottle of beer. And...yes, you could wear it over your middle finger, make a fist, and voila—instant brass knuckles. In other words, it's a MacGyver/MacGruber-enthusiast's dream tool. (Via Uncrate).

Second Seaty

Matt and I went to Second City last night and it was a lot funnier than I ever remember it being. What was even cooler is that many of the current cast of SNL were in the audience. Jason Sudeikis was a couple people away from me, and it was really interesting to see the guy that plays Blago watch another guy play Blago. But the biggest thrill was definitely when Matt came back from the men's room and said, "I just saw MacGruber!", (a.k.a Will Forte, his favorite SNL character). From a design perspective, I have to say I think it's really cool that in the fifty years they've been doing improvisational comedy, they're still using the same bent-wood bistro chairs, similar to the original side chair Model no. 14 designed by Michael Thonet in 1885.

The Homo Sapiens kitchen tool

I love twofers, especially when it comes to things that can double as other things. I'm not sure why this kitchen tool is called the Homo Sapiens (am I missing something really obvious here?), but regardless of the name, the tool sounds pretty awesome. It's a sandstone kitchen tool in the shape of a peeled potato which functions to sharpen knives, crush garlic, and grind herbs like a pestle. Check it out right here ($79).

Oh Lord won't you buy me a 1959 300SL?

Matt and I decided to take Hare for a long Monday morning walk, given the fact that it wasn't raining and we didn't really have a reason not to. The sugary-sweet morning springtime smell and the white blossoms on the street were enough to make me stop in awe. And then we saw a drop-dead gorgeous classic Mercedes Benz SL300 drive by us with a creamy white exterior and cherry red interior. It took me about three seconds to fully understand what Janis Joplin's 1970 lyrics "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" meant. She was talking about the car we saw, I'm 99% sure of it.

Hef's 300SL

Grace Kelly driving her Benz in the studio

Alfred Hitchcock pulling out of MGM in style

Jorie Butler Kent with her SL on the polo fields

Mateo Ilasco journal

I've recently gotten back into touch with a friend that I hadn't talked to in eight years. It's been amazing (thanks Facebook!) and one of the coolest experiences to re-learn all about someone you already know so well. Sort of like a human time capsule. Anyway, we got onto the subject of journals, and I thought it was about time for me to start one up again. Loving this Pleat Journal ($15) by Meg Mateo Ilasco. If only my handwriting was eight years better. It's worse.

All IN

I'm officially not complaining about the weather in Chicago anymore. This Friday it's supposed to be hot and sunny. One of my most favorite things to do in our apartment when it's nice is sit on our balcony (with a G+T obviously), watch the planes land at O'Hare and play a few hands of...you guessed it, Gin. Wouldn't it be fun to have some of these luxury playing cards? Above: Parade Bridge cards ($80); below: Tiffany playing cards ($30).

August | Morgan pillows

August|Morgan is a new Austin-based design duo that offers one-of-a-kind "pillows with provenance." They collect antique and vintage needlepoint and transform it into decorative pillows, like the above 18" x 18" Rainbow grid pillow ($250). Below: Hounds pillows ($200 for the pair); Plastic pillow ($125); Bergdorf Goodman pillow ($125).

Skeppshult bikes

It's finally almost bike season in Chicago, despite the fact that the weather forecast called for snow last night. Srsly, Chicago, WTF, let's go, this is getting really dumb. Everywhere else magnolia trees are blooming and the sun is shining! If I had any choice in bikes I think I'd get my mitts on a Swedish designed Skeppshult. The company claims there are many reasons people love Skeppshult. Some appreciate Swedish design, some like the upright seat positions, some prefer Skeppshult for the easy to operate gear shift and brake system, and then there's those who choose Skeppshult simply because a good looking bike inspires them to ride more often. That would be me. The downside is of course the prices start at around $1800 and work there way on up from them. Click here for more info.

Mary + Matt

OH my word. I am still reeling from the amazing fun we had in Princeton this weekend—every minute was a thrill, I'm in withdrawal and wish I could go back and do everything over again and then again and once more after that.


I stumbled on to this website this morning and realized it is in fact possible to be in love with a person and a website at the same time. Mary and Matt's general store based in Brooklyn is an nine-item online store, and it's total coolness. Congratulations stencil card ($6); Cotton bandana pocket squares ($40); skateboard deck chalkboard ($65); my favorite item, The David Hockney rugby shirt ($80); chocolate pie chart ($20); and who doesn't like Fruit Stripe gum ($1)!?

Sesame Letterpress coaster save-the-dates

I'm off for Princeton tomorrow morning for my brother's wedding! I've been so excited this week it's been hard to concentrate on anything else. These are the save-the-dates they sent out last Fall and they've been on my desk ever since. Aren't they cute!? Maryam got them custom made at the Brooklyn-based Sesame Letterpress. Coolness! See y'all on Monday.

Brelli Umbrellas

Why is it mid-April, but in Chicago it feels like February? The constant grey drizzle is making me want to commit Seppuku. But in an effort to be positive (yeah, right), check out how cool The Brelli umbrella by Pam Zonsius ($48, $68) is. It's chic, supremely functional, and environmentally responsible. It's simply made from just bamboo, cotton string, and a clear canopy, all of which are completely sustainable and renewable resources. Plus, get this—The Brelli will completely decompose within five years in a landfill. Nice. Now get me out of here!

vintage phones

There's something about the weight and the crisp connection of an old land line that will never go out of style in my book. Get one here ($215).

Roger Borg neon lamps

I love neon. In college I remember walking into my friend Ashley's aunt's house in Encino, a gorgeous Spanish compound with lush surroundings and some of the coolest art ever—including a blue neon sculpture in their living room. The neon against the rich woods and old stucco archways was a contrast I had never seen before. One day I want a crazy neon sculpture (and a vast Spanish compound would be OK too). Roger Borg has been working on some really cool neon lamps for the past year, that I really love. Borg founded 419 neon llc, a custom neon sign and lighting company based in New Jersey in 2003. Please contact roger@419neon.com for pricing, availability, sizes of lamps, or any other questions you may have.

Get Excited and Keep Calm

Yesterday in the New York Times a really interesting article ran about the role design plays (or should play) during an economic downturn. One of the images the paper used is the new Get Excited and Make Things poster by Matt Jones ($20, $50, $200) inspired by the hugely popular Keep Calm and Carry on Poster ($24)—which people are calling the pin-up of our age. The poster was also the pin-up for Britons living in fear of Nazi Germany during WWII. I'm thinking it was even more the pin-up of their age, but, in any case, I don't disagree that the poster is immensely popular today as a novelty. The original propaganda poster made its debut in August of 1939. Today you can find reproductions of the "Keep Calm" poster in homes, bars, design shops, on coffee mugs and even government offices. In fact, according to The Guardian, "The Lord Chamberlain's Office at Buckingham Palace, the prime minister's strategy unit at No 10, the Serious Fraud Office, the US embassy in Belgium, the vice chancellor of Cambridge University, the Emergency Planning Office at Nottingham council and the officers' mess in Basra have all ordered posters. Even David Beckham has the T-shirt, we are told."