No, this is NOT another picture of my grandmother...this is artist Ria Charisse's card. And her  “Thorny Twig" cast, a present from my friend Bonnie. For years I have been eyeing Ria's work, I  have a piece of her jewelry-but it is the casts that I love most. “The fascination with natural forms continues. After years working as a sculptor my aesthetic remains centered on the organic and the precious.” says Ria. I would like to get her plated pewter songbird feet next please. Just saying...

Where to find her work: the "Thorny Twig" at Hazel in Chicago and my Hummingbird Skull Necklace came from GoldBug in Pasadena.

Look! Our framed Alphabet letters are featured in the latest Land Of Nod Catalog. I love that the stylist spelled out one of my favorite boy names-and then put these on a BINTH Green wall...FUN!

( Thanks Jamie, Lia and Nancy from LOD for letting us use the picture here.)

Our BINTH Single Alphabet Letters have found a second home and are now available at Land of Nod. Where they have joined our Binth Baby Book and the Binth Matching Game. We are so excited.

Adrienne Gits, Linnea's sister sent us these great photographs taken in her son Beckett's nursery. I think she missed her calling as a stylist. Thank you!

Well, allow me to bragg for just a moment today...My friend Andrea from Arizona texted me last Sunday afternoon: “OMG. Ur prints are at the Banana Republic Concept Store in Scottsdale.” Really? Next I got a message from Justine, our girl in Manhattan, reporting that our prints are at the Banana Republic in Soho. Wow! How cool! Justine was kind enough to go right back there to get us some evidence...and if the security guard hadn't gotten in her way she would have taken much better pictures. But here they are in all their glory: the Queens and Kings from our Joker Prints Edition amongst Banana Republic's finest. As seen in Soho and Scottsdale. Tada!

I am a big sucker for yes, polka dots and naturally I am a huge fan of the design group "Friends With You". Their amazing little objects are sure to at least get a crack of a smile out of me here in dreary, grey and cold Chicago. I am not a serious collector, but when stopping at my favorite store FlyBird, right around a couple corners from me here in in Oak Park-I grab a blind box and add on to the group...so far I have never gotten the same one twice. Cool, huh?

I Love the colors, (happy) the shapes, (dots and circles) the material ( shiny white plastic.) And in case you are really, really down-Publishing House Gestalten, of course, published a book about “Friends With You”, so when all else fails, I open that book to my favorite page...( pictured here) Try it. It may work for you. Wishes do come true....

So, here we are in Red Lodge-tiny little town with cute stores up and down Main Street. This one caught our eye: Magpie Toys. Tall building with tin ceilings, shelves stacked high with wooden sculptures and objects, old toys, books, half of them not even for sale. Wooden guns, sling shots, rocks, horse shoe puzzles and pedal planes-all here is indeed powered by imagination—not batteries. Then there is the steaming hot cast iron fireplace with an old armchair next to it right there in the middle of it all. Magpie is humble and simple and because of that truly magical.

The owners Joel and Gloria Hardy call themselves "Purveyors of timeless toys, games, books & amusements." Both used to be teachers at the Sioux reservation near by, and started Magpie in 1991. The store's motto is: "As Good As You Remember. Better Than You Ever Imagined." Some of the toys are made by Joel right there in the store. Gloria tells me that he had crafted rocking horses and moose as well, but those where sold out when we got there. Check out the Montana flashlights...and that fantastic stick horse! (Gloria said to call or email her, their web site is down right now...406.446.3099)

Another Red Lodge store we spent some time in. Well, they had the good black Licorice from Holland, the original, of course I spend some time in there...and went back to for more. Twice. Anyhow, this is heaven: taffy as far as your eye can see, home made fudge and truffles and pralines, candy bars and jelly beans and lollypops and yes, licorice: they got the bears, coins, scotch terriers, the cats, they even have licorice taffy and then some good anise hard candy. Did I mention the fudge? All this and more in a place that really could also pass as a museum. Go!